We've had a surprisingly good time in Auckland despite many local New Zealanders (from other parts of the country) saying that Auckland wasn't worth seeing and wasn't great. It seems as though the North Island people say the South Island isn't great, and the South Islanders say the same about the north. We've enjoyed both...the south for lots of beautiful scenery, small villages, and charm and the north for lots of culture, things to do, etc.
We left our hotel bright and early and things were actually open in Auckland when we set out (being that it's winter here, many of the places we've been haven't opened until 9 or 10 and have shut down by 5). We grabbed our breakfast and began our ascent up Mount Eden. Mount Eden is a volcano. Auckland is built around 26 volcanoes. When we set out, it was sunny and fairly warm. At the base of Mount Eden was a cute park with a great playground. Ed found a fun zip lining ride that basically looked like a toilet plunger attached to a wire above. He rode it down and crashed (supposed to happen) into the four rubber tires above...they stopped you from continuing down. It was lots of fun to ride ("sweet as" as the New Zealanders would say). We then started our walk up the volcano. About half way up, the sky started getting darker, we felt a few drops, but kept going. By the time we reached the top, it was hailing and we were cold and wet. The top offered some nice views, but we didn't stay too long as it was pouring/hailing. We descended the volcano on the other side and the rain stopped. About half an hour later, it started pouring and we took cover under some trees, where we stayed relatively dry. The locals say that because Auckland is on a peninsula, the rain blows in, rains for about a half hour, then stops. That's pretty much what happened. We then walked to the Auckland Museum to get out of the rain again.
The Auckland museum was similar to the Canterbury one in Christchuch, but much bigger. The main attraction was the volcano exhibit...which was quite interesting. Ironically, it didn't rain once while we were in the museum.
After the museum, we walked to a little town called Parnell to stroll around the shops and cafes. Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday, so we continued our walk to our destination of Mission Bay. While we originally thought it was a fifteen minute walk away, we soon spoke to a local who informed us that it was over three miles (5 k) away. We thought...no problem...but, as usual, it started to pour on us as we were walking...and this time, there was no cover available. Luckily, the rain didn't last long...no more than 10 minutes. The walk out was really nice as we walked along the harbor the whole time.
As soon as we arrived in Mission Bay, we got some gelato. Ed ate tiramisu and Jeanette had chocolate. It was really good. We then walked around trying to find somewhere to eat. It was a cute town...seemed like a small village on Long Island (i.e. Port Jefferson). We ate dinner and it was terrible. Ed didn't even eat half his plate...which is saying something because he can eat almost anything. We caught a bus back since we were about 10 miles from our hotel, it was dark, and we didn't know if it would rain again. We then went to bed.
Today, we woke up early and walked around the city. There wasn't as much shopping as we thought there would be in the central business district. We ate lunch at The Orbit restaurant, which is in the Sky Tower. The Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere...even taller than the Eiffel Tower. The elevator had a glass floor and wall, so you could see down and out...Jeanette was petrified on the way up and wanted to cancel lunch. We made it up safely and had great 360 degree views in the restaurant. The restaurant rotated slightly while eating...it finished one loop in an hour. We saw people walking the sky walk outside around the building...very scary. The people are harnessed to a platform above and the walk is not attached to the building. People were also making the largest jump off any building in New Zealand...a 630 foot drop. Lunch was excellent. Ed had steak with mashed sweet potatoes and spinach. Jeanette had a penne pasta dish with chicken, roasted garlic, eggplant, spinach, and parmesan cheese. The elevator ride down wasn't as bad.
We're now headed to the airport for Sydney. We'll post when we can.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Christchurch
After taking an hour ride in a bus to the hot air balloon site, the bus driver stopped when we were almost there, the pilot let out some test helium balloons to check the air, and then informed us that we would not be able to take the flight because the weather wasn't cooperating...the wind was over 40 mph. So, the bus turned around and we began our journey home. Instead of going back to the hotel that we had already checked out of, we decided to walk around Christchurch for the day. It started raining by 8 am and was pouring by 9. Fortunately, we took refuge in a great natural history museum. The museum had lots of Maori culture (native Polynesians who were in New Zealand first) in addition to dinosaurs, birds (stuffed penguins, albatrose, etc), history of New Zealand, a Da Vinci exhibition, and an Antartic expedition exhibit. The museum was quite interesting and we spent several hours inside.
After the museum, we walked around in the rain some more. Most of it was covered by awnings, but we had to walk seven blocks back to the motel uncovered and got soaked right before leaving for the airport. Ed picked up the Bill Bryson book on Australia. So far, it's pretty funny. Thanks Jason for the recommendation. We returned the rental car and headed for the airport. Our flight was a little delayed because of the rain, but luckily, we left before the forecasted snow began.
After the museum, we walked around in the rain some more. Most of it was covered by awnings, but we had to walk seven blocks back to the motel uncovered and got soaked right before leaving for the airport. Ed picked up the Bill Bryson book on Australia. So far, it's pretty funny. Thanks Jason for the recommendation. We returned the rental car and headed for the airport. Our flight was a little delayed because of the rain, but luckily, we left before the forecasted snow began.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Almost finished with South Island
We've had a great time in the South Island. We're finishing our tour up in Christchurch. We are supposed to go on a hot air balloon ride tomorrow, but the weather isn't sounding too promising...we'll find out tomorrow morning at 5:30. From there, we will fly to Auckland on the North Island and then out to Sydney.
In Queenstown, we went on something called shot over river canyon jets...they went really fast and did 360s. All the ski areas were closed, so we didn't get to go skiing. The day we left Queenstown for a place called Te Anau, it snowed and the ski areas opened. We went on a cruise of Doubtful Sound, which is a fjord. It snowed while we were there...it was quite gorgeous. Apparently it normally doesn't snow on both sides of the mountain we had to drive over to get to the sound...but it did and it was gorgeous...although a little scary driving down unplowed roads in the snow...no one lives over there, so it was fun. The sound was beautiful. We saw dolphins and seals.
We then drove to Dunedin and to a great peninsula called Otago Peninsula. It was beautiful! We went to a beach at sunrise to watch penguins. We saw a few yellow eyed penguins and fur sea lions. We had to cross right in front of the sea lions and apparently they can be aggressive to humans. Luckily, we're alive and fine. It was amazing to see the animals in their natural habitat. There were only five other people on the beach when we saw the animals. It was great.
We then drove up to Christchurch as we are flying here to Auckland. We'll post more when we can.
In Queenstown, we went on something called shot over river canyon jets...they went really fast and did 360s. All the ski areas were closed, so we didn't get to go skiing. The day we left Queenstown for a place called Te Anau, it snowed and the ski areas opened. We went on a cruise of Doubtful Sound, which is a fjord. It snowed while we were there...it was quite gorgeous. Apparently it normally doesn't snow on both sides of the mountain we had to drive over to get to the sound...but it did and it was gorgeous...although a little scary driving down unplowed roads in the snow...no one lives over there, so it was fun. The sound was beautiful. We saw dolphins and seals.
We then drove to Dunedin and to a great peninsula called Otago Peninsula. It was beautiful! We went to a beach at sunrise to watch penguins. We saw a few yellow eyed penguins and fur sea lions. We had to cross right in front of the sea lions and apparently they can be aggressive to humans. Luckily, we're alive and fine. It was amazing to see the animals in their natural habitat. There were only five other people on the beach when we saw the animals. It was great.
We then drove up to Christchurch as we are flying here to Auckland. We'll post more when we can.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
More bad news
We've been having a fantastic time here on the South Island of New Zealand. The scenery is gorgeous...snow capped mountains reaching the sea or lakes. We walked on a glacier the other day, which was really fun, but freezing! At least we had a sunny day to do it. We then drove down to Queenstown, NZ, which is amazing. It's this great little city set at the bottom of a lake surrounded by mountains. Although many of the ski mountains were closed when we arrived, they've now opened due to a recent snow storm and more snow in the forecast. Yesterday we boarded a jet boat to view the Shot River Canyon. It was really fun. The guy drove really fast through this really narrow passageways surrounded by rocks on either side. He did 360s occassionally. It was really fun. We'll be in Queenstown until midday, then we're headed for a cruise on Doubtful Sound, which is supposed to be beautiful.
Well, the bad news is that the motherboard on our computer died. Therefore, we're unable to download/upload our pictures or update our blog frequently. So, although we've lost our camera, video recorder, and computer, we're having a terrific time! New Zealand is beautiful, although a little chilly and a bit expensive. We're hoping to take a hot air balloon ride in a few days in Christchurch, but that all depends on the river...if it's too windy, we don't get to go. Perhaps we'll do it elsewhere! Anyway, hope all is well with everyone.
Well, the bad news is that the motherboard on our computer died. Therefore, we're unable to download/upload our pictures or update our blog frequently. So, although we've lost our camera, video recorder, and computer, we're having a terrific time! New Zealand is beautiful, although a little chilly and a bit expensive. We're hoping to take a hot air balloon ride in a few days in Christchurch, but that all depends on the river...if it's too windy, we don't get to go. Perhaps we'll do it elsewhere! Anyway, hope all is well with everyone.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wai-o-tapu June 18, 2008
We woke up, ate some breakfast, and headed out to a geothermal wonderland called Wai-o-tapu. We arrived around 8:30 am. When we got there, we were the only car in the parking lot, making us wonder if it was open. Luckily, it was open…just seems like many people here don’t get a start until later in the day as we are often the only people at attractions early in the day…it is winter here, so the tourist season isn’t in full swing. The walk around was approximately 75 minutes long. That gave us just enough time to walk around as a geyser would be erupting at 10:15 am, and it was a short drive away, so we wanted to make sure we would be there in time.
As we began our walk, we saw huge craters in the ground with boiling mud and/or water inside. The mud was very soupy looking because it had rained a bit the day before. The most recent crater was formed in 1986 when some geothermal activity caused the ground to collapse. While walking, there were many danger signs warning us to stay on the path because our weight could cause a collapse. The smell emanating from the park was pretty wretched…just as we started getting used to it, the wind would bring a new smell of sulpher or something else pretty smelly. After seeing the craters, we walked over a bridge with the champagne pools on one side and a mud terrace on the other. The champagne pool side was very steamy and had an orange rim. We then walked through a wooded area with really cool trees to another section of the park. We saw an approximately 10 foot high waterfall colored fluorescent yellow by sulpher. We continued walking to another lake. Everywhere you looked there was bubbling water and you heard hissing sounds. While walking, we saw really cool rock walls that were wavy and had many different colors in them. Lastly, we walked down to a waterfall at the end of the park which cascaded into another lake. When looking over the lake, you could see mountains in the distance. It was very beautiful. As we were finishing our walk and heading back to the visitor center, we saw a place called “Devil’s Bathtub”. It consisted of fluorescent green water…crazy! We hurried back to the visitor center as it was nearing 10:00 and we didn’t want to miss the geyser. We actually had to drive there, so we got in the car and drove a short distance to the car.
We got to Lady Knox Geyser at 10:05 and took a seat in the mini amphitheater. Slightly after 10:15, a park ranger came and began a speech about the geyser. He also dumped soap into the geyser telling us that the soap helped mix the hot and cold water, which forced the explosion of water. Although the soap helped bring the eruption on, the geyser would naturally erupt everyday without the soap. The soap was added so that tourists could watch is at a specific time each day. While he was talking, water started bubbling and trickling out of the geyser. As time went on, the water force became more powerful, until it eventually shot approximately 20 meters in the air. It was pretty cool to watch.
After the geyser, we headed back up to town. There were two lakes near the airport which were supposed to be really cool…called the blue lake and the green lake. You were supposed to be able to walk between the two lakes to see the contrast in color. When we arrived, the walk was closed, so we were only able to view the blue lake…which looked like a pretty standard lake…no special blue hues. From there, we headed up to the airport in Rotorua to take our flight to Christchurch. It was a short and uneventful flight. After landing, we picked up the rental car and realized the camera bag was missing. All the videos of the Grand Canyon and North Island New Zealand in addition to some of our Los Angeles pictures and North Island New Zealand pictures are gone. Worse, our brand new camera and camcorder are gone. We were not happy, but what can you do?
We headed out towards Darfield. It was a pretty small town with not many accommodations, so we continued on to Springfield. On the drive out, we passed many wineries. As we got closer to Springfield, we were able to see the Southern Alps off in the distance as the sun was setting. The snow seemed to glisten as the sun set. We found lodging in a place called Springfield Motor Lodge. Although it provided a backpackers type of accommodation, it was quite nice. We were the only people staying there. We had a full kitchen, a living room, two and a half bathrooms, laundry, outdoor cooking and hot tubs, and four bedrooms available. The only bad thing was that the heating stunk and we were freezing until we went to bed…the comforter was quite warm! There was only one main restaurant in town, so we headed into town to grab some dinner before it closed at 7:00. At this restaurant, we realized what they called “pies” is closer to what we call “pot pies”. When speaking with the cook/owner/waitress/everything, she told us that New Zealand doesn’t really offer fruit pies. Ed had a venison pie and Jeanette had a chicken pie. They were quite tasty. The lady felt bad for us, so we wound up getting two pies, two salads, some potatoes, and a beer for $23…which is quite cheap for New Zealand. We’ve found eating out here to be really expensive…by US standards anyhow. Breakfast the next day consisted of bacon and eggs on toast for Ed and eggs on toast for Jeanette (they only offered eggs…nothing else!) cost $25. Luckily, almost every accommodation has a mini kitchen in it so we can cook food. We need to start doing that!
After dinner, we headed back, watched some television, and then fell asleep…we got under the covers in layers…Jeanette had on two sweatshirts and a long sleeved shirt and pants and Ed wore a sweatshirt and pants to bed because it was so cold. Luckily, we stayed warm during the night. From everywhere we’ve stayed, it appears that the places are heated with little space heaters and nothing else.
As we began our walk, we saw huge craters in the ground with boiling mud and/or water inside. The mud was very soupy looking because it had rained a bit the day before. The most recent crater was formed in 1986 when some geothermal activity caused the ground to collapse. While walking, there were many danger signs warning us to stay on the path because our weight could cause a collapse. The smell emanating from the park was pretty wretched…just as we started getting used to it, the wind would bring a new smell of sulpher or something else pretty smelly. After seeing the craters, we walked over a bridge with the champagne pools on one side and a mud terrace on the other. The champagne pool side was very steamy and had an orange rim. We then walked through a wooded area with really cool trees to another section of the park. We saw an approximately 10 foot high waterfall colored fluorescent yellow by sulpher. We continued walking to another lake. Everywhere you looked there was bubbling water and you heard hissing sounds. While walking, we saw really cool rock walls that were wavy and had many different colors in them. Lastly, we walked down to a waterfall at the end of the park which cascaded into another lake. When looking over the lake, you could see mountains in the distance. It was very beautiful. As we were finishing our walk and heading back to the visitor center, we saw a place called “Devil’s Bathtub”. It consisted of fluorescent green water…crazy! We hurried back to the visitor center as it was nearing 10:00 and we didn’t want to miss the geyser. We actually had to drive there, so we got in the car and drove a short distance to the car.
We got to Lady Knox Geyser at 10:05 and took a seat in the mini amphitheater. Slightly after 10:15, a park ranger came and began a speech about the geyser. He also dumped soap into the geyser telling us that the soap helped mix the hot and cold water, which forced the explosion of water. Although the soap helped bring the eruption on, the geyser would naturally erupt everyday without the soap. The soap was added so that tourists could watch is at a specific time each day. While he was talking, water started bubbling and trickling out of the geyser. As time went on, the water force became more powerful, until it eventually shot approximately 20 meters in the air. It was pretty cool to watch.
After the geyser, we headed back up to town. There were two lakes near the airport which were supposed to be really cool…called the blue lake and the green lake. You were supposed to be able to walk between the two lakes to see the contrast in color. When we arrived, the walk was closed, so we were only able to view the blue lake…which looked like a pretty standard lake…no special blue hues. From there, we headed up to the airport in Rotorua to take our flight to Christchurch. It was a short and uneventful flight. After landing, we picked up the rental car and realized the camera bag was missing. All the videos of the Grand Canyon and North Island New Zealand in addition to some of our Los Angeles pictures and North Island New Zealand pictures are gone. Worse, our brand new camera and camcorder are gone. We were not happy, but what can you do?
We headed out towards Darfield. It was a pretty small town with not many accommodations, so we continued on to Springfield. On the drive out, we passed many wineries. As we got closer to Springfield, we were able to see the Southern Alps off in the distance as the sun was setting. The snow seemed to glisten as the sun set. We found lodging in a place called Springfield Motor Lodge. Although it provided a backpackers type of accommodation, it was quite nice. We were the only people staying there. We had a full kitchen, a living room, two and a half bathrooms, laundry, outdoor cooking and hot tubs, and four bedrooms available. The only bad thing was that the heating stunk and we were freezing until we went to bed…the comforter was quite warm! There was only one main restaurant in town, so we headed into town to grab some dinner before it closed at 7:00. At this restaurant, we realized what they called “pies” is closer to what we call “pot pies”. When speaking with the cook/owner/waitress/everything, she told us that New Zealand doesn’t really offer fruit pies. Ed had a venison pie and Jeanette had a chicken pie. They were quite tasty. The lady felt bad for us, so we wound up getting two pies, two salads, some potatoes, and a beer for $23…which is quite cheap for New Zealand. We’ve found eating out here to be really expensive…by US standards anyhow. Breakfast the next day consisted of bacon and eggs on toast for Ed and eggs on toast for Jeanette (they only offered eggs…nothing else!) cost $25. Luckily, almost every accommodation has a mini kitchen in it so we can cook food. We need to start doing that!
After dinner, we headed back, watched some television, and then fell asleep…we got under the covers in layers…Jeanette had on two sweatshirts and a long sleeved shirt and pants and Ed wore a sweatshirt and pants to bed because it was so cold. Luckily, we stayed warm during the night. From everywhere we’ve stayed, it appears that the places are heated with little space heaters and nothing else.
Happy Birthday Mom!
Hi Mom,
Just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday. Sorry that we couldn't be there for it, but we hope you have a terrific day!
Love you!
Just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday. Sorry that we couldn't be there for it, but we hope you have a terrific day!
Love you!
Lost
Unfortunately, we won't post pictures from the North Island as we've lost our brand new really nice camera (our Sony) and also our video camera with Ed's chief ceremony and everything. It's quite a bummer as we remember having it to a certain point and we're not sure if it is actually lost or stolen...we remember having it to a certain point after landing in Christchurch. Oh well. We still have our little camera left and will have pictures of the South Island.
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