Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2392

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington December 22nd 2005

Quick blog to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!! I'm sure you're dying to know that it's warm a sunny today although the forecast for Christmas day is a bit mixed.....we'll see what happens! We're going to Graeme & Anna's for Xmas Breakfast and then off to Simon's Mum's house for Xmas Dins with the family which will be fantastic. On boxing day we're hitcxhing the ferry to the South Island where we'll do the 4 day Queen Charlotte walking track - we have back-packs, tent, sleeping bags and everything! Just like inter-railing again but with a bit less debauchery and no likelihood of Greg Norman practising in the field next door......don't ask!! Then we're bussing to Nelson for Hogmanay with Lotty & Brett at their mad friends house who ... read more

Invercargill to Te Anau

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island December 22nd 2005

Leftwich

Today is Michael’s birthday. It is a travel day so we won’t be able to celebrate too much. We are up early to get packed to move on to Te Anau. The next few days we will be moving on every day. We don’t really like to have to pack up every day but sometimes it must be done. We don’t have any food for breakfast, but Michael remembers that there is a Starbucks in Invercargill so we leave our bags at the motel and go there. As we are sitting enjoying our muffin and danish, Michael sees a sign proclaiming that we are in the southernmost Starbucks in the world. We photograph Michael by the sign to add to his obscure Starbucks collection, like the one he has from Shanghai, and ponder where the northernmost ... read more

Kaikooura, New Zealand

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island December 22nd 2005

Diving!

MikeandEmily

Went out to sea on a whale watching trip. We were lucky enough to see 4 sperm whales ... named because when their heads are cut open, the oily substance inside looks like sperm.... read more

Christchurch, the end of our New Zealand journey

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch December 22nd 2005

Christchurch Cathedral

mel andy

17.12.05 We have now started going to bed later and getting up later! We are relaxing now after relentlessly exploring as much of New Zealand as we could. So we had a late breakfast and had a slow walk to Cathedral square to see the market. They had lots of craft stalls. From here we walked over the river Avon to the Arts Centre for another market, this one was bigger. Then we went into the Arts Centre where there are lots of specialist shops and work shops. Upstairs there was a bead shop. So we spent an hour or so here creating and making our own bracelets. From here we went and had lunch at the side of the river (as the sun had decided to shine today). We fed the baby ducks. Then we ... read more

Round East Cape

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Opotiki December 21st 2005

Michaelandlesley

Opotiki to Gisborne Firstly, a word of apology about the photos appearing as they do. Don't ask me why but it is impossible to sort them properly so they appear in the wrong entry. Sort it out yourself I suppose and guess where they are meant to go. Then we got to Opotoki from where we did a full day's cycling in good weather to Maraetai Bay. The hostel here was great, right on the beach a sprawling wooden construction with outdoor fire. It was run by a generous spirited and enthusiastic Maori guy and son. It was tempting to stay another few nights to dive and chill but instead off at the crack of dawn to Hicks Bay. We were drenched a few times on this one and went on to the Kawakawa Hotel in ... read more

WOW, No internet in the South!

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Wanaka December 21st 2005

Mike nz

Hello and sorry to you all, I have been away for quite some time and christmas is upon us. People are hopefully done all there exams by now. And now you can all relax I hope. Christmas is a great time of year, sit by the fire on a cold day and drink so hot chocolate...Except when you are in NZ. Everywhere there are advertisements for swim wear, and commercials which say "christmas on the beach". Dear god this place is weird. I guess I should sum up where we have been for the last little while. It appears that everyone thought that we were dead or something, but if fact, it's not true. We have been pretty busy actually and we have seen some amazing things. Lets start, shall we? We took the ferry ... read more

Cold Weather Clothing Issue and More Christchurch

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch December 21st 2005

Gear...Lots and Lots of Gear

Bully

In the morning, we headed over to the Antarctic Center in order to familiarize ourselves with its layout, check our e-mail, and take the museum tour. The tour was quite enjoyable. At 1pm, we checked in for our cold weather issue. After watching a video, we went to the changing room to try on every piece of cold weather clothing issued for our travels. The clothing came in two large bags. The first bag is items that we need, but not required at all times or duplicate items. The other bag is our extreme cold weather carryon bag. We must wear the contents of the ECW bag the day of departure (tomorrow). After clothing issue, we head back into Christchurch (the airport is quite a distance away from the city center). We ate dinner at the ... read more

Stewart Island to Invercargill

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island December 21st 2005

Leftwich

We wake with rain still falling but not the fog we had last night. We have breakfast in our room, pack up and leave our bags at the motel. We walk down to the Museum in the rain. It is a tiny museum and not quite as interesting as others we have visited but it is raining and there is not much to do in Oban. After we spend as much time as we can in the museum we go down to the South Sea Hotel and get on the Internet in their bar. We look up a lot of information on places we are trying to single out to stay in some of our remaining cities. We have lunch in the restaurant, read in the newspaper that there has been heavy flooding in the Southland, ... read more

Vila

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Karamea December 21st 2005

Efter att vandringen ar avklarad aker vi med buss till narmsta lilla hala, dvs, Karamea. Har finns inte mycket mer an en bar, nagra hotell och vandrarhem och bondgardar. Vi tar in pa ett Hippie-inspirerat vandrarhem/galleri/radiostation och vilar upp oss under eftermiddagen. Pa kvallen testar Per den lokala specialiten "whitebait" som ar fiskyngel hopklumpat till en burgar-liknande skapelse som sedan friterats. Smakar sadar. ... read more

Hanmer Springs

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Hanmer Springs December 21st 2005

Happy Birthday to me

Sara Nick

This aptly named place has natural hot springs pumped into less natural pools for all to sit in. We spent a few hours of my birthday doing just this. It's nice enough for a bit but not terribly exciting. Perhaps that's the point.... read more

Brief history of New Zealand

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year...more history

Forum Topics for New Zealand

Rakiura TrackPosts: 4

Pre-pay mobile phone SI...Posts: 9

Win one of two 24 Day A...Posts: 1

24 hours in AucklandPosts: 9

Christchurch (NZ) earth...Posts: 30

Best time of day???Posts: 2

Rental cars.....best ag...Posts: 2

TB Auckland (NZ) get-to...Posts: 15

Is there a more beautif...Posts: 5

Top 10Posts: 2

South Island Hidden Gem...Posts: 8