Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2429

Sorry, I have been having so much trouble trying to get this out. We have been here almost a week and everything is quite wonderful and exciting. We had a good albeit rather long trip on the plane. The day we arrived was cool and cloudy, but not uncomfortable until the sun went down. Our friends, John & Betty Rose, met us and then, Kenneth Ranger and his family came and picked us up to go to Piha Beach where a lot of the church people we knew were having a reunion. It was marvelous to go back to the old campgrounds, old friends and go down to the beach where we spent many summer days. On Sunday and Monday, the Roses took us around Auckland - almost nothing is the same. John & Jim went ... read more

Once we got into our second rental car, affectionately named "Hot Tamale" we were back in action. This time we had brakes that worked, and a radio (plus a Coldplay tape we got from the cottage). Our drive was about 3 hours long. From the Bay of Islands, on the Pacific, we were headed west to Ahipara on the Tasman. Along the way we stopped at Matauri Bay in the Bay of Islands and spent a few hours soaking up the sun, reading, and snacking. The wind was a bit chilly, so we made 'pods' in the sand, to keep us blocked from the wind. The Bay had deep blue water and peach sand. Sailboats filled the horizon, as this region is one of the best places to sail in the world. After Matauri we stopped ... read more

And there we were 20 kilometers into the bush in our backcountry hut. We had just woken up from a night of wine-drinking and tale-telling with bunch of Dutch, Kiwi and English. Garth, a Kiwi dairy farmer, had given us lessons on how to birth a cow. Heald, a Dutch actuary, enlightened us with the immigration policies of Holland. And I never said a word about Bush. We were packed and ready for the infamous Tongariro Crossing, a New Zealand Great Hike at 9000ft elevation that crosses Hot Thermal Pools spitting steam and bubbling sulphur, volcanic lakes and craters, not to mention the volcanos themselves. Clad in rain gear and thermal jackets, we made our way, when suddenly, we were passed by a couple wearing jeans, a polo sweater and carrying a purse. Huh? We looked ... read more

Well, my time in Wanaka was a little sort lived . . . I'm back in Christchurch. After a long conversation with my mom on Wednesday I decided that going back to Christchurch would be the best thing to do. Although Wanaka is beautiful, I just don't know if there would have been enough there to keep me occupied. There also was the problem that most places in Wanaka weren't going to start hiring for summer until the beginning of December and since it is a small town, I can assume that they would want to hire other Kiwis rather than some crazy American. I feel that this will be the best situation for me, there is always work in a city and I may be able to find a rugby team/club/group to play with :) ... read more

8.11. - Prechod narodnym parkom Tongariro Po splave carovnej rieky Whanganui sme sa presunuli cc 50 kilometrov do narodneho parku Tongariro, ubytovali sa v kempe a konecne zmyli zo seba riecne blato :) Dalsi den rano sme vyrazili na "Tongariro crossing" - udajne najpopularnejsiu jedno-dnovu turu na Novom Zealande. Vlastne sme prvy krat zazili riadnu masovku mnozstvom ludi pripominajucu nase tatranske doliny (pocas sezony spravi tuto turu 2000 ludi denne!!!). Scenicky to bol ale krasny zazitok kombinujuci vystup na sopku, pohlad do nespocetnych kraterov, sopecnych jazier a pochod mesacnou krajinou. Prvy usek cesty sme stupali krasnou lavovou krajinou a predbiehali cele roty nemeckych a francuzskych geriatrikov. Potom sme odbocili na krasnu sopku Mt. Ngauruhoe (2287m), ktora bola pouzita pri natacani Pana Prstenov ako znamy Mt. Doom. Stupanie po upati sopky bolo prijemne lebo ... read more