Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2438

24.10.- 26.10.2005 - posledna navsteva Christchurchu (3 dni) V Christchurchi sme konecne zocili novy prirastok v rodine Kuzielovcov - malu, krasnu kiwacku Vivien. S takouto kompletnou rodinkou sme isli na vikendovu prechadzku do okolia Christchurchu a opat sme objavili niekolko krasnych zatok, ktore boli plne plachtiacich lodiciek a kanojkujucich christchurcanov. Vecer sme prisli do domceku, v ktorom byva Darren (nas kamarat z ladovca) a uz nas tam cakalo rozvoniavajuce barbecue za ktorym sa kucharsky obracal Duncan. Takto sme si vsetci spolu zaspominali na ladovcove chvile a na druhe rano sme sa s Darrenom vybrali liezt na nedaleku skalu s nadhernym vyhladom na Christchurch. Na nase velke prekvapenie vsak bola uplne neodistena a tak sme si pod skusenym dohladom Darrena vyskusali liezt na friendoch a vklinencoch. Tato skalka je len jednou z dalsich asi 12 skal v ... read more

At $4, the spade seemed a little expensive, but necessary, as we swooshed through the sand towards a huddle of tourists in the middle of the beach. The instructions from the spade-man were to feel with your feet for warm sand, then start digging - so we did. However, we'd left it rather late, and the tide was pressing, and although some people were luxuriating in expertely crafted sand-baths, we couldn't find warm sand for love nor money; the boat had sailed, without us on board, and the only thing to do was invade, pirate-style, (or maybe 'colonise' is a more fitting word). Gingerly, one foot at a time, we edged into the remarkably warm, and crowded pools. Unbelievably hot, near-boiling water flooded through the sand, burning our feet! Fantastic! Turns out it's not just ... 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

Hello all! I have been on the South Island of New Zealand since Sunday. We spent Sunday night in Nelson, quite a cute little town that is boasted as having the most sunny days in New Zealand. On Monday we moved on spending most of the day on a beach near Nelson and went to Westport for the evening. Tuesday we drove along the coast eventually stopping at Lake Mahinapua where we stayed at a small pub and had a fancy dress party. Franz Josef was the place to be on Wednesday and then yesterday we arrived in Wanaka where Laura and I decided to stay and relax for a day. We were supposed to have a free day in Franz Josef, but being that the town is really small, Laura and I came here and ... 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