Blogs from Oceania - page 7373

Hi Everybody. I just got to Auckland, but i thought Id write a bit about Fiji first, and finally stick some dam photos up there, actually no wait, I can put up pictures of the Cook Islands, but they are all pretty much the same thing, Palm trees/sand/alcohol. Fiji was cool, nothing what so ever to do, sat on an island, amazingly I still managed to cut my foot open on some coral, I am seriously rethinking jumping out of a plane if I can get hurt so much on the ground! There really was nothing to do on fiji tho, and everyone runs on Fiji time, which basically means late, so you spend a lot of time sitting around. Got a hell of a tan now tho. Heres a couple of pictures from the Cook ... read more

Hi again folks, as you can see from the location I’m safely back in Wellington at the moment taking stock of life and thinking over what to do next. Moving on from Wanganui (we stayed another night in town in the same hostel as when we’d passed through previously), after an hour and a half we hit Palmerston North, one of the great splodging cities of New Zealand with very little in it whatsoever. To be fair to it, it has a pleasant air about it, there’s all the things that a city in New Zealand should have (Pak n Save supermarket, Sounds CD store, cash converters, a host of banks, small park…you get the picture), but with the bizarre situation where they seem not to cater for visitors at all. Well not in the backpacking ... read more

Vrijdag naar Sydney gevlogen en in een hostel in Bondi Beach aangekomen. Deze dag maar even rustig aan gedaan, lekker op het strand gelegen en gezwommen. S' avonds lekker op het dak hier gezeten, ze hebben een groot terras met zicht op de zee en de wijk,erg mooi om te zien. Met een aantal mensen zitten praten tot om 22.00 uur het dak dicht ging, daarna met een nederlandse naar een lokaal cafe gegaan, gezellig een biertje gedaan, prima avond. Zaterdag redelijk op tijd de stad in gegaan (10.00 uur), het weer was geweldig, veel zon. Gelijk begonnen bij het beroemde Sydney Opera House (met die mooie bogen). Heb een rondleiding gehad, erg interessant. Zou 4 jaar duren en 7 miljoen dollar (eind jaren 50) om te bouwen en dat werd uiteindelijk 14 jaar en 102 ... read more

I'm writing from the city of Invercargil, New Zealand's southern-most city. Also, the location of Burt Munroe's home in The World's Fastest Indian. I've had an amazing past week, so get comfortable. It began the night before my a three day expedition of Doubtful Sound with Fiordland Wilderness Experience. I met my expedition group with the owner, Bill. He briefed us on our trip and gently broke the news of our pre-6 am wake up times. Ouch. To Doubtful Sound from Te Anau, there was 3 hours of van travel and boat ride across Lake Manapouri before we could think about our paddle. We were getting our money's worth, he insisted. The next morning, not so bright but very early, I sat with my gear on a dark curb under a flickering street light, trying not ... read more

Since my last entry I've made my way to the South Island of New Zealand. I didn't think it was possible, but the scenery is even more gorgeous down here! My first stop on the South Island was Nelson and it was absolutely gorgeous there. I wish I had had more time to spend in the Nelson area, but unfortunately I only had two days. I spent one day sea kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park where I got to see a blue penguin, some sea lions and other birds and ocean life. The park is beautiful and I saw it from a different angle while paddling around a couple of the islands and along the coastline. The next day I saw a bit more of the park as I took the water taxi to a ... read more