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Published: November 8th 2005
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Entry by Gemma
We have just had a lovely two weeks with my mum and dad. They arrived on monday 24th October and we met them at Auckland airport. It was an emotional reunion in the arrivals lounge! Dad was limping as he came through as he had fallen down a great big hole on his last night in Fiji. They are on an 8 week trip to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. After lots of big hugs Dave drove us up to the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island. We stayed in a nice motel in Paihia, with a swimming pool and a hot tub which dad soaked in to try and help his leg! We spent a day sailing around the Bay of Islands, we were the only ones on the boat, the skipper Glen was really cool. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day. We stopped off at an island and we walked up to the top to get great views, Glen then brought us a picnic, which we ate on the beach. Me and Dave went sea kayaking before we set sail back to Paihia.
On our last
day in Paihia we went to Waitangi which is like a national trust area and is where the treaty of Waitangi was signed. The treaty was between the Queen of England and Maori chiefs, and as such Waitangi is regarded as the birthplace of modern New Zealand. There was a flag pole to mark where the treaty was signed, on the lawn in front of the Treaty House where the English governor was resident. To commemorate previous anniversaries of the signing, there is both a Maori meeting house and a traditional Maori war canoe on site.
After the Bay of Islands we drove down the west coast back to Auckland through the Kauri forest, which has giant and ancient trees. We spent three nights in Auckland, dad loved it as it is the City of Sails and being a keen sailor was in his element. We spent a nice afternoon at a beach called Mission Bay just outside the city centre. We also had an amazing meal at the top of the Sky Tower overlooking the city and harbour, a really cool experience, no good if you are scared of heights! We got a ferry out to Rangitoto Island
Gem and Gee, Bay of Islands
From a lookout on one of the islands. a dormant volcano and we walked up to the summit, which gave great views of Auckland.
From Auckland we flew down to Queenstown in the South Island. The plane journey itself was exciting because as you come in to land you fly right between the mountains and land next to the lake. Definitely the most spectacular plane journey i have ever been on. We stayed in a beautiful apartment in Queenstown right next to the lake surrounded by mountains. The mountains were actually one of the settings for Lord of the Rings. The view from our balcony was breathtaking. We had a great time in Queenstown, strolling along the lake into town and drinking in the bars next to the lake. Mum and dad were very brave and went on a shotover jet boat on the lake and along the river, it does fast spins and sharp turns and definitely gets the adrenalin pumping. Me and Dave decided to take a walk up to Queenstown hill to keep our fitness up and soak in the views of Queenstown.
Whilst we were in Queenstown we went on the gondala, which also gives great views over the region, but the best
Picnic, Bay of Islands
Made by our captain, Glen. thing about it is at the top you take a ski lift up to ride on the luge. They are sort of like go-carts but without an engine down a steep track, so much fun! You can see in the photos what it is, it is hard to explain. We all loved it, me and mum were giggling away! They are really fast. I think it was one of the highlights of the two weeks for all four of us.
From Queenstown we hired another car to do some touring of the South Island. We drove up to the Franz Josef Glacier on the West coast. Me and Dave went on a full day guided walk up in to the glacier, you can see from the photos that it was an amazing experience. It was a bit scary at times as you had to step over huge crevasses in the ice and squeeze between tiny walls of ice. We were kitted out with talonz which were like sharp grippers on the bottom of your feet and ice-axes. Most of the walk was up and down steps carved out of ice made by our guides. It is the steepest comercial
glacier in the world and is advancing really fast, so each day they have to cut new steps, as the glacier is changing so rapidly. Mum and dad had a lovely day doing walks in the area, including one which takes you to the face of the glacier. Dad's leg wasn't quite up to walking on the glacier.
From Franz Josef we drove across Arthurs Pass to Christchurch, the scenery was beautiful. We had a lovely few days in Christchurch, it is very quaint. The River Avon runs through it and it has a cathedral and trams running through the city. The first day we just wandered around the city and had a lovely meal at a restaurant called Dux de Lux, we had been to the one in Queenstown and was one of my favourite restaurants. We then spent the weekend with family friends who emigrated to New Zealand about five years ago. Their house in Christchurch is beautiful and they hosted us for the weekend showing us the sights. On the saturday they drove us up to the hills to show us the views over Christchurch and the whole region. We then went to the beach and
had a lovely lunch in a beachside restaurant. We spent the afternoon in the city centre, walking around the Botanical Gardens and in the Arts Quarter. In the evening we went back to their house for a bbq and we bought a box of fireworks, which we had a good giggle about because they weren't quite as spectacular as some of the others going off, it gave us a good laugh and the children enjoyed it. On the sunday they picked us up from our apartment and took us south of Christchurch to Akaroa on Banks Peninsular. We went on a boat trip to see the Hector Dolphins (the smallest dolphins in the world). It was a cold day, but it was well worth it as we saw lots of dolphins, they played for ages at the front of the boat, it was amazing. We had lunch at a fish and chips and wandered around town. The whole area was beautiful and it was a lovely day.
Monday morning mum and dad flew to Australia. It was hard to say goodbye, but we will be seeing them again for a week in 3 weeks time in Perth Australia. I
am looking forward to spending more time with them. We had such a great two weeks, mum and dad fed us up, it was lovely to live in luxury for a while, staying in plush apartments and eating out lots. I think they enjoyed it too. We were very lucky with the weather, they must have brought it with them from Fiji because the sun shone nearly every day for two weeks. Thanks mum and dad.
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bruv
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green
now youve got me really jealous ,the glacier looks fantastic!!!! love you ian