Blogs from Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Musím uznat, že kontroly i odbavení v Hong Kongu byly vůbec ty nejrychlejší, co jsem doposud zažila. Tak odlétame i přilétáme do cílové destinace na čas. V Aucklandu už ty kontroly tak lehce absolvovatelné nejsou. Nesmíte dovážet žádné jídlo, Vaše turistické vybavení musí být důkladně očištěno od semen cizích rostlich, aby nehrozilo riziko zanesení nechtěného plevele do unikátní novozélandské přírody a to vše pod pohrůžkou pokuty 400 NZD (novozélandských dolarů). A věřte nebo ne, jeden pár, co s námi cestoval byl zadržen za přenesení mandarinky a musel tuto částku na místě uhradit. Ještě jsem se předpokládám nezmínila o tom, že hned první den, a to na letišti v Londýně, přišli první ztráty. Z celkových 11 členů výpravy je nás tedy už jen 10. Tím odpadlíkem byl bohužel 84letý pán, který se při čekání na přestupný let ... read more

Finally we’re off to the beach! Russel is a peninsula in the Bay of Islands, 3-4 hours north of Auckland. It’s an area of 150+ small islands scattered around an area with a rugged coastline, amazing beaches and beautiful nature. Almost everywhere you look, you can see the ocean. So straigh away, we felt right at home. We arrived in the late afternoon, but the boogie boards had to be testet straight away, so we headed for the beach even though it was a bit late. The water was freezing (about 19 degrees), but it was so much fun in the waves that you forget about it when you’re out there. It’s only when you come back in with blue lips and tingling fingers, that you really start feeling it. Luckily we all brought full wetsiuts, ... read more

I spent the past two days with two girls from the hostel. After we met, we talked a lot. We had some noodles with pesto for dinner and went out to the beach for ice-cream after; it was a nice day. The next day I went on a tour to Cape Reinga; it was a lot. A lot of places and activities for one day. The cape itself was impressive - we had great weather and all that. More important, though: In Maori culture it's a very spiritual place, where the souls of the departed enter the underworld. I felt a weird sense of peace when I was heading down to the lighthouse, so maybe there's something to that. We also went sand-boarding, which was fun. I got sand in my mouth and almost ran over ... read more

After another “fun” day of sitting in a bus for 11 hours (with a bus driver named Gollum), I arrived in Auckland. Since Auckland isn't exactly my favourite city, the next morning I took the ferry to Waiheke island with Eva and Marina (met them earlier on my trip). The island was gorgeous. You could see the ocean from most parts of the island and it was all so green! We walked around a little village called Oneroa and slept on the beach for a bit. It was a lovely little getaway from the busy city. The bus to the Bay of Islands felt like a school trip. The bus driver, Muesli, made us introduce ourselves with our name and country. It worked, it broke the ice. When we arrived in Paihia, we all took the ... read more

Tuesday was Waitangi Day in New Zealand. The Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori and the British was signed in Paia on this day and it is now a public holiday. We spent the morning with Debbie at Hamilton Gardens. These are the beautiful Botanic Gardens by the banks of the Waikato River which are a major tourist attraction here. We have visited before but they have recently opened more of their specialty gardens so another visit was compulsory. It was a beautiful crisp, clear morning and we set out, accompanied by Debbie, Criss and Oscar. to walk the short distance to where these start. Surrounding the specialty gardens are green lawns and we walked through these and down to the riverbank. Dogs are allowed to run free here and Oscar had a great time galloping ... read more