Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2434

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington November 3rd 2005

Hi Guys We've been staying with Louise for 4 days and we're off early in the morning to catch the ferry to Picton on the South Island. Managed to arrange training every night so the gi's have been out of the bag! Lisa has been here too so the gals have been my own private harem tee hee Enjoy the pics...... ... read more

view of Wellington from the botanic garden

Rotorua:Capital of Maori Culture, steaming geysers, and bubbling mud pools.

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua November 3rd 2005

Marae in Rotorua

ShellyAbroad

Hi Everyone, Thanks for keeping up with my blog! I have been a little busy and have made some entries before others- leaving it all out of chronological order. My Apologies! Keep on reading them and checking out the photos though, there are still several left to update. When I was visiting Te Papa museum, I met Faith and Poiharare,the lovely maori ladies who worked at Te Puia, the maori carving institute in Rotorua. They invited me to come visit them up in Rotorua, and since Rachel and I were so close while in Taupo, we headed that way after saying goodbye to all our friends. (Sort of to take our minds off missing our buddies!) From Taupo, we caught a 6:45 am bus to Rotorua...which was very diffiuclt due to all of our luggage! Luckily ... read more

The Capital

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington November 3rd 2005

UncleTravellingRick

Spent the afternoon looking through NZ's huge national museum Ta Papa ('Our Place'). There's some facinating stuff in there, not least a marine exhibition with a replica Ray that exactly matched the one The Germans had found on 90Mile beach and clarifying the fact that it wasn't actually dangerous, and was technically an 'Eagle Ray' - you learn something new every day! We were joined by Natallie, a bubbly girl that we'd bumped into in Auckland who was also staying at the Wellington YHA. It's always really good seeing people time and time again along your travels, and even if you can't remember their names, you always greet each other as though you were the best of pals - it's really cool. Chicken Fanjita's went down a treat before we headed into town, hoping for some ... read more

Hi from Hahei!

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hahei November 3rd 2005

Stingray bay

mel andy

We drove to Whitianga on the westside of the Coromandel. Had a short walk around the town and decided to move on. So we drove to Cathedral cove in Hahei. We parked in the carpark and from there it's a 45min. walk. And it wasn't an easy walk. The walk took us past Stingray bay, beautiful The water is all different colours of blue and turquoise and so clear! Back onto the track for some up hill hiking we arrived at Cathedral Cove. Wow! It is known for it's limestone cliffs and a hole in the cliffs that you can walk through. We relaxed on the beach and had our lunch. Andy dug a big hole and burried himself, as boys do! The walk back was better, maybe because we had eaten, but it was still ... read more

leaving wanaka :'(

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Central Otago » Wanaka November 3rd 2005

wanaka

houltfamily

testing out our journal before we leave!... read more

Rained out in Arthur's Pass

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch November 3rd 2005

Lake Rototiti

jtq_99

Well, we are currently in Christchurch right now trying to find some transportation. Taking shuttles everywhere has gotten old, and just too expensive. After leaving Greymouth we headed back to Arthur's Pass where we attempted to ski a few months back, but this time we were going tramping. Needless to say, this tramping expedition didn't go as well as our previous trip in Nelson Lakes. The weather was against us, I got sick, then there was no where to stay, and on and on and on....Our plan was a 6 day tramp starting on the east side of the Southern Alps, hiking over Harman Pass and back down the western side of the Alps, with a stop at a Julia Hut where there are thermal pools to soak. But, we never got that far. First off, ... read more

Arthur's Pass

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island November 3rd 2005

Leftwich

We wake up and a storm is moving in. By the time we get showered and dressed it is raining pretty hard. We have breakfast and go to the DOC center where we spend a lot of time learning about Arthur’s Pass. The DOC guy tells us about some day hikes that could be made in wet weather. The DOC center also serves as the Arthur’s Pass museum. In 1865, gold was discovered on the west coast so a road was built through Arthur’s Pass by 1866 to serve the stagecoaches making the alpine crossing. The trip took 36 hours, divided in 12 hour days. It was not an easy trip. The railroad tunnel took 15 years to build and was finally completed in 1923, thus ending the stagecoach service. Arthur’s Pass now has a population ... read more

I've found a new calling

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty November 3rd 2005

Gldngirl

I have returned from my boat cruise in one piece, and very much enjoying my time in New Zealand. I boarded the ship via a little motorboat with 9 other people and was welcomed aboard by the crew of "The Rock". We then headed out to the Bay of Islands and did some air gun shooting at a bottle being towed behind the boat. Lame as it may sound, it was pretty fun! We then fished at dusk for Snapper. I am proud to say caught 2 out of the 3 fish that we had with our nice dinner of steak, assorted salads, bread, fresh mussels and dessert. I then chatted and got to know the crew, my fellow visitors and the captain. He was telling me that he is trying to open a hatchery for ... read more

Quick update!

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Taupo November 2nd 2005

ShellyAbroad

Kia Ora! I've been really busy lately, finishing exams, hanging out in welly, saying goodbye to friends, and moving out of my flat in Wai te ata. I'm in Lake Taupo right now- and it is beautiful!! Internet is super slow and really $$ here, so a real update will have to wait until later this week. Just wanted to let you all now, I am still alive, and living all that NZ has to offer. I have tons of pictures and stories to share, as soon as I can get my hands on a decent computer. SO- stay posted!! Cheers!! shelly... read more

Nelson to Greymouth to Arthur's Pass

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island November 2nd 2005

Leftwich

The bus picks us up at 7:30 am and we drive a few hours then stop for a tea break. Michael and I have been napping during this time. We have another four hours before we get to Greymouth so I get out the computer to record information in our travel journal. This makes the time go quickly and we stop about 12:30 for a quick lunch before going into Greymouth. We are dropped at the rail station in Greymouth to catch the Tranz Alpine train to Arthur’s Pass. I ask Michael if he knows how far our motel is from the train station and he says he doesn’t, but the town can’t be that big. The town of Arthur’s Pass in Arthur’s Pass National Park is a tiny enclave of small cabins that were built ... 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

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