Nothing forever and then two in a row...
A(nother) last good-bye from New Zealand: We're making good use of one of Samsung's free internet stations at Auckland airport (I guess I just made their advertising idea work) while waiting for our plane to L.A.. We had a nice last day here with a slow morning. After breakfast we went on a hike up to the highest volcanoe overlooking all of Auckland, its different neighborhoods, harbors, beaches, etc.. and then on to NZ's oldest museum, where we learned more about volcanoes and Maori culture. Before grabbing a late lunch and heading out to the aiport early to drop off our car, we went to one of Auckland's great beaches, had an ice-cream and enjoyed the "winter" one last time.
Now it's waiting for our plane. It's supposedly not booked out, which leaves hope for some extra leg room. Let's keep fingers crossed! Strange to think that it's now 7 p.m. here on Sunday and we'll get to L.A. at 2.40 pm on Sunday - i.e. technically before we left. Time's an interesting concept, isn't it?
We're off to finding something nutritious before living off of airplane food for 2 days (or however long it may be).
As we said yesterday: We'll be in touch with you guys as soon as we have returned to Nashville and to feeling human again.
Take care, P & L
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Finally.... a computer, some change and some time left to update this blog one last time for this trip. Sorry about the long pause.
Indeed, it is the end of our trip already. We're flying out of Auckland tomorrow night and get back to Nashville on Monday, so the plan.
Lots has happened after the last update. We pretty much travelled all through the North Island. From Picton on the South Island, we went on an early and chilly, but beautiful ferry ride to Wellington, which was nice, yet slightly disappointing for us after other travellers and the Lonely Planet had raved about it so much. From there we drove on to Tongrariro National Park - Peter Jackson used it as the setting for Mordor. Hard to find words to describe that place. It's "just" stunning. The whole area around the central North Island is, actually. Close by is Lake Taupo, NZ's biggest lake and, again, an immensely beautiful place. It's full of trout, has natural hot springs on the shore and is backed by the snow-covered volcanoes of Tongariro. Our stay in Taupo also put us into pizza-nirvana - it's home of the best pizza in NZ and the third best in the world, according to those who know. And, boy, was it ever a treat! YUMMY. Nearby Rotorua, thanks to its hot springs the most touristy place in NZ, was a disappointment, really. We were there on a Sunday morning, sure, but still... On we went quickly to the amazing (!!!) beaches and NZ's kiwi center at the Bay of Plenty and Mount Manganui in the East of the Island and further to the Coromandel Peninsula with its lush forests, rough shoreline and great hikes. After all that nature we spent a night in Auckland and went further to the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland. Now we're back in Auckland, actually enjoying NZ's biggest city (which most other people had talked down, so that we were pleasantly surprised). Tomorrow it's back home, which on the one hand we're excited about. On the other hand it'll be somewhat tough saying goodbye. New Zealand has left us lost for words with all its beauty more than once, that's for sure. Looking back, we are quite glad that we went during the southern hemisphere's winter (not that we had much of a choice, but still). I have to admit, we were somewhat scared of what to expect weather-wise in NZ when so many people asked us if we wanted to go skiing and if we had remembered to bring gloves, hats, scarves, etc.. Our experience was that, yes, there was plenty of snow and it did get chilly - BUT: we mostly had beautiful weather, around 12-17 degrees Celsius (60-70 degrees Fahrenheit?) and almost always sunshine or a few clouds and showers with sunshine following. As mentioned before, an added benefit of the winter was that we didn't have to reserve or book anything in advance, so that we were quite flexible and didn't have to share every sight with millions of other tourists :)
All in all it's been a great vacation to two fantastic countries and if at all possible, we shall be back. Until then: So long Southern Cross, New Zealand, Australia. We will miss you. Sniff, sniff.
At last, an attempt to summarize highlights and lowlights of this trip:
lowlights:
- Warrnambool and its Beachfront Backpackers
- Cairns
- Rotorua
- our departure from Sydney (Air New Zealand was being punky and has some work to do in terms of customer service and friendliness)
- Wellington's World Wide Backpacker - the people running it were just a bit too apathetic about their job.
-Matamata - Peter Jackson's Shire setting. It's a small town with nothing in it other than NZ's best cafe (recently voted as such) and the Shire, which, however, is on private property, doesn't really exist anymore, and can only be visited as part of a tour that costs you NZ$50. Please...
highlights:
- staying with our Australian hosts, Kev & Kath in Melbourne and Sarah, Chris & Co in Sydney
- The Great Barrier Reef
- The Great Ocean Road
- the Melbourne Botanical Gardens
- SYDNEY
- Our eco-friendly B&B in Christchurch: "English Park". Check it out and spread the word if you go!
- Hanmer Springs and its...well...hot springs when it's cold outside and one can watch the night sky with its mesmerizing Southern Cross.
- Picton and "The Villa" backpackers. A GREAT, clean and good-deal place!
- Abel Tasman National Park and kayaking along its shores.
- Tongariro and Taupo. Just all of it.
- Mount Maunganui's beach. Endless stretch of world-class sand and crystal-clear water. Sigh.
- Cathedral Cove on Coromandel.
- The biggest and oldest kauri tree in Waipoui Forest (North Island, west coast)
- Auckland and the Bamber House backpackers (apart from its notoriously dirty kitchen)
That's what stands out in our minds at the moment. We may add or subtract once we're back home ;-)
Pictures will follow in the next few days to give you a better impression of all of this (give us a day or two to sleep off the jetlag).
Indeed, it is the end of our trip already. We're flying out of Auckland tomorrow night and get back to Nashville on Monday, so the plan.
Lots has happened after the last update. We pretty much travelled all through the North Island. From Picton on the South Island, we went on an early and chilly, but beautiful ferry ride to Wellington, which was nice, yet slightly disappointing for us after other travellers and the Lonely Planet had raved about it so much. From there we drove on to Tongrariro National Park - Peter Jackson used it as the setting for Mordor. Hard to find words to describe that place. It's "just" stunning. The whole area around the central North Island is, actually. Close by is Lake Taupo, NZ's biggest lake and, again, an immensely beautiful place. It's full of trout, has natural hot springs on the shore and is backed by the snow-covered volcanoes of Tongariro. Our stay in Taupo also put us into pizza-nirvana - it's home of the best pizza in NZ and the third best in the world, according to those who know. And, boy, was it ever a treat! YUMMY. Nearby Rotorua, thanks to its hot springs the most touristy place in NZ, was a disappointment, really. We were there on a Sunday morning, sure, but still... On we went quickly to the amazing (!!!) beaches and NZ's kiwi center at the Bay of Plenty and Mount Manganui in the East of the Island and further to the Coromandel Peninsula with its lush forests, rough shoreline and great hikes. After all that nature we spent a night in Auckland and went further to the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland. Now we're back in Auckland, actually enjoying NZ's biggest city (which most other people had talked down, so that we were pleasantly surprised). Tomorrow it's back home, which on the one hand we're excited about. On the other hand it'll be somewhat tough saying goodbye. New Zealand has left us lost for words with all its beauty more than once, that's for sure. Looking back, we are quite glad that we went during the southern hemisphere's winter (not that we had much of a choice, but still). I have to admit, we were somewhat scared of what to expect weather-wise in NZ when so many people asked us if we wanted to go skiing and if we had remembered to bring gloves, hats, scarves, etc.. Our experience was that, yes, there was plenty of snow and it did get chilly - BUT: we mostly had beautiful weather, around 12-17 degrees Celsius (60-70 degrees Fahrenheit?) and almost always sunshine or a few clouds and showers with sunshine following. As mentioned before, an added benefit of the winter was that we didn't have to reserve or book anything in advance, so that we were quite flexible and didn't have to share every sight with millions of other tourists :)
All in all it's been a great vacation to two fantastic countries and if at all possible, we shall be back. Until then: So long Southern Cross, New Zealand, Australia. We will miss you. Sniff, sniff.
At last, an attempt to summarize highlights and lowlights of this trip:
lowlights:
- Warrnambool and its Beachfront Backpackers
- Cairns
- Rotorua
- our departure from Sydney (Air New Zealand was being punky and has some work to do in terms of customer service and friendliness)
- Wellington's World Wide Backpacker - the people running it were just a bit too apathetic about their job.
-Matamata - Peter Jackson's Shire setting. It's a small town with nothing in it other than NZ's best cafe (recently voted as such) and the Shire, which, however, is on private property, doesn't really exist anymore, and can only be visited as part of a tour that costs you NZ$50. Please...
highlights:
- staying with our Australian hosts, Kev & Kath in Melbourne and Sarah, Chris & Co in Sydney
- The Great Barrier Reef
- The Great Ocean Road
- the Melbourne Botanical Gardens
- SYDNEY
- Our eco-friendly B&B in Christchurch: "English Park". Check it out and spread the word if you go!
- Hanmer Springs and its...well...hot springs when it's cold outside and one can watch the night sky with its mesmerizing Southern Cross.
- Picton and "The Villa" backpackers. A GREAT, clean and good-deal place!
- Abel Tasman National Park and kayaking along its shores.
- Tongariro and Taupo. Just all of it.
- Mount Maunganui's beach. Endless stretch of world-class sand and crystal-clear water. Sigh.
- Cathedral Cove on Coromandel.
- The biggest and oldest kauri tree in Waipoui Forest (North Island, west coast)
- Auckland and the Bamber House backpackers (apart from its notoriously dirty kitchen)
That's what stands out in our minds at the moment. We may add or subtract once we're back home ;-)
Pictures will follow in the next few days to give you a better impression of all of this (give us a day or two to sleep off the jetlag).
Monday, June 26, 2006
Kia Ora!
After a quite distressing good-bye from Australia (Air New Zealand couldn't find our booking), we finally arrived safely in Christchurch on NZ's South Island last Thursday. At that time we were literally thrown into winter - it was freezing (as promised) and roads were closed everywhere throughout NZ due to snow and ice :-( Still, we enjoyed two somewhat rainy days in Christchurch and surrounding area and then headed up north to Kaikoura (famous for whale watching, although we didn't get to see one) and west across mountain ranges to Hanmer Springs, where we spent our third night in NZ. Hanmer is famous for its hot sulfur springs and apparently is the less touristy version of Rotorua on the North Island. After a good soak under an amazing (and freezing cold) starry sky, we headed up to Abel Tasman National Park (north of the South Island). Now, not that any part of New Zealand is dull or boring in any way, but THAT is a beautiful park!!! We were really lucky and had sunshine all the way through our stay there (2 days) and especially for the kayaking trip we went on yesterday. Leaving early in the morning, we were introduced to the dos and don'ts of kayaking and headed on out, around hidden islands and beaches, one of which we stopped at for lunch before paddling back. Definitely one of the most amazing things I (we) have ever done (although my back and shoulders are REALLY sore today). Wish we could show you some pics, but we're currently at a more low key internet cafe, where digital cameras are difficult to hook up. We'll make that up, I promise...
Currently we're in Picton (north-east of the South Island), waiting for our ferry to the North Island early tomorrow morning. We're a bit sad, I believe, that we didn't quite have the time (and the weather?) to make it all the way to the south of the South Island, i.e. the Southern Alps, fjordland, glaciers and more stunning landscape. Alas, we'll just have to come back (very sad, indeed ;-)). We believe we'll have enough time to get a good impression of the North Island, however. If the weather plays along, we'll get to see Mordor (Tongariro NP) and the Shire there...maybe!?
In less factual terms, we've been greatly impressed with the country, its people and, of course, the countryside. It has been somewhat challenging to meet so many folks on the road and in the hostels who have been here for 9+ months, working and travelling. At the same time, we have run into other working people who've flown down here for 3 weeks or even 10 days - so I guess it is all up to what you make of it and what you expect. I suppose one would have to work after a while, too, as even low-key travelling can suck finances dry surprisingly fast, we're noticing.
Last but not least, let's see if we can come up with some first impressions of NZ, as well:
- The kiwis sound like Aussies with a Scottish accent. (P)
- ...sounds a lot like South African English to me ...especially the "e"... (L)
- Looks like Canada does in my mind (P)
- Palm trees in the snow!!!
- Christmas music in restaurants - does that come with the snow??? (L)
- Amazing night skies.
- Feels more Continental than Australia for some reason.
- Seems to have an active "hippy" culture - organic foods, great environmental awareness (how could one not be aware of the environment in this country?)...
- Definitely as great as I've expected. Very happy. (L)
That much for the moment. More from the North Island...
Currently we're in Picton (north-east of the South Island), waiting for our ferry to the North Island early tomorrow morning. We're a bit sad, I believe, that we didn't quite have the time (and the weather?) to make it all the way to the south of the South Island, i.e. the Southern Alps, fjordland, glaciers and more stunning landscape. Alas, we'll just have to come back (very sad, indeed ;-)). We believe we'll have enough time to get a good impression of the North Island, however. If the weather plays along, we'll get to see Mordor (Tongariro NP) and the Shire there...maybe!?
In less factual terms, we've been greatly impressed with the country, its people and, of course, the countryside. It has been somewhat challenging to meet so many folks on the road and in the hostels who have been here for 9+ months, working and travelling. At the same time, we have run into other working people who've flown down here for 3 weeks or even 10 days - so I guess it is all up to what you make of it and what you expect. I suppose one would have to work after a while, too, as even low-key travelling can suck finances dry surprisingly fast, we're noticing.
Last but not least, let's see if we can come up with some first impressions of NZ, as well:
- The kiwis sound like Aussies with a Scottish accent. (P)
- ...sounds a lot like South African English to me ...especially the "e"... (L)
- Looks like Canada does in my mind (P)
- Palm trees in the snow!!!
- Christmas music in restaurants - does that come with the snow??? (L)
- Amazing night skies.
- Feels more Continental than Australia for some reason.
- Seems to have an active "hippy" culture - organic foods, great environmental awareness (how could one not be aware of the environment in this country?)...
- Definitely as great as I've expected. Very happy. (L)
That much for the moment. More from the North Island...
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