Blogs from North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 1179

We set off today down the west coast. There was nothing there! No towns for miles. We drove through Dargaville and Helensville. We arrived in Auckland early evening and went for a well deserved beer. Tried to call parents at 6am sunday morning! oopps! 31.10.05 Got up and headed for the Coramandel, Thames. Had a walk around the town and had our lunch on our own private beach. Mel sunbathed whilst Andy played in the rock pools. Stayed in Waimou just north of Thames. 1.11.05 Today we went to an old gold mine and stamper battery. This area is known for gold. Coramandel is where they first found gold in New Zealand in late 1800's. In Waihi there is still a working open cast mine today that produces millions of dollars a week. The old guy ... read more

Greetings from Godzone (God's own country)! Cait and I landed in Auckland yesterday morning. We're at the Fat Camel hostel in downtown. Lots of young backpackers, loud colorful decor and clean, if impersonal. We've already done so much in just two days. The Sky Tower is the tallest point in the Southern Hemisphere at 382 meters (? Not sure about that fact.) We've seen at least half a dozen people jump off it! On Monday, Cameron Dias jumped off! They attach you to cables and you have a controlled fall for about 12 seconds. Parnell Road is filled with cafes, a GREAT chocolate boutique, restaurants and craft stores. Queen Street is the downtown with courtyards of Asian food stands, tall buildings, designer stores and the only apartment buildings we've seen here in Auckland (everyone owns houses). ... read more

I awoke at around 9 to the sound of Adam getting into his bed after doing the early morning 'walk of shame' back from Anita's hotel. Ha HA! He was feeling rough as fook and couldn't remember much from the previous night, but somehow I'd seemed to have escaped the worst of it. The vague plan to see Lady Knox's geyser went straight out of the window as Adam needed some recovery time and the concentrated Sulphur fumes might not have been the best beer-antidote, so I ventured out to see the Government Gardens, some thermal vents and a spot of Crown Green Bowling - how twee! 12 o'clock struck and it was clear the day was a wipeout when my delayed hangover started to kick in. The only solution was to settle down to 'Hulk' ... read more

Next door to Paihia is Waitangi, this is the birth place of New Zealand. We went to Waitangi treaty grounds, this is where the treaty was signed between England (Busby 1840) and the Maori chiefs for protection of the island by queen Elizabeth and peace on the island. But this is also after the europeans invaded the island and caused all the upheaval in the first place. We watched a short history video, walked around the gardens and to the treaty house where it was signed. We went in the meeting house, which is like a community hall for the maori people. Inside you have to take your shoes off. It's made of wood with lots of carvings and decoration. In the afternoon, as the sun had shown itself, we relaxed on Piahia beach. 29.10.05 After ... read more

Today we went on an all day trip on a boat. We were expecting to see and swim with dolphins, see the islands and go through the famous hole in the rock. We did all of these! We set off at 9.30am, called at Russell over the bay to pick up some more people and then went on the hunt for dolphins, but this time it was organised! On our way we saw some nice scenery, lots of islands with sandy bays. The sea is bright blue and turquoise. We came into a bay where there was a pod of 8 dolphins that didn't have young so we could swim with them. So we put on our wet suits and snorkels and were told to jump off the boat into the boom net in the ocean. ... read more