Freitag, 31. Dezember 2010
Samstag, 13. November 2010
Back in Germany..........
Physically, at least. The trip was exhausting, and extremely bumpy on the 2nd leg from Kuala Lumpur to Frankfurt, we had a head wind of 228 km/h at times, so it indeed took almost 13 hours.
Now trying to get back into "normal" life (whatever that means), sorting out luggage, groceries, mail, all that rubbish.
Once the most important stuff is done, I will find time to reflect on a lot of things and write some lists including "10 top things NZ" and "10 Musts for NZ travellers".
For now, this is the last thing we enjoyed in Auckland Airport - our last Flat White :(
Now trying to get back into "normal" life (whatever that means), sorting out luggage, groceries, mail, all that rubbish.
Once the most important stuff is done, I will find time to reflect on a lot of things and write some lists including "10 top things NZ" and "10 Musts for NZ travellers".
For now, this is the last thing we enjoyed in Auckland Airport - our last Flat White :(
Donnerstag, 11. November 2010
18 hours down, another 16 to go
We're in Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia, waiting for our flight to Frankfurt. Currently trying to figure out why this flight supposedly will take 13 hours?! The WiFi here is very slow, so this is all we're gonna say from here.
Tired, exhausted, most of all sad.
Tired, exhausted, most of all sad.
Mittwoch, 10. November 2010
Spezieller Post für Opa Hui!
1kg Green lipped mussels kosten 3,57 NZD (also so um die 1,85 €)!
Tut mir ja leid, aber wir hatten heute abend jeder 1 kg nochmal in dem belgischen Biercafe :D
Last Check-In From Auckland
We made it back to Auckland safely after staying last night in Hamilton at the Waikato River, where we both liked it much better than we initially thought. It is a vibrant university town with loads of young people = loads of nice pubs and bars, and we actually were able to do a pub crawl just using Irish Pubs (there were 3 of them only on the main Victoria Street!).
Everything was of course influenced by our thoughts about tomorrow, i.e. having to leave here and not knowing if &when we might be able to come back....
We're currently watching one of our favorite TV programmes on Discovery Channel, so bear with me if this is a little bit short.
We're checked in for both flights, and if everything goes to plan, we will back in "good"old Germany on Friday, and post a probably devastated entry from there.
Until then, enjoy yourselves with a truckload of pictures I just uploaded/am uploading to FlickR as we speak.
See you guys.
Everything was of course influenced by our thoughts about tomorrow, i.e. having to leave here and not knowing if &when we might be able to come back....
We're currently watching one of our favorite TV programmes on Discovery Channel, so bear with me if this is a little bit short.
We're checked in for both flights, and if everything goes to plan, we will back in "good"old Germany on Friday, and post a probably devastated entry from there.
Until then, enjoy yourselves with a truckload of pictures I just uploaded/am uploading to FlickR as we speak.
See you guys.
The Smell Of Rotten Eggs.... (Written offline on November 8th)
…. is the smell I will remember when I am gonna think back to our last weekend in New Zealand.
We're now in Rotorua since yesterday (Sunday 7th), where we will stay until tomorrow morning before leaving to Hamilton on our way back to Auckland.
When we took off yesterday morning in Turangi/Lake Taupo, we stopped a few times to take some breathtaking pictures of Taupo and its surroundings. Although very tourist-y, it still is an extremely lovely place, and living here must be delightful!
After having a quick snack in one of its cafes, we continued on the Thermal Explorer Highway until we reached the famous Huka Falls just out of Taupo. I can say I was pretty amazed by them! We were even lucky enough to spot one of the Jetboats that take tours right up to the falls. Pictures will be up on FlickR soon. I am writing this offline again, as we could get internet access here, but I really don't feel like spending 10 NZD for only 50 MB traffic, so we will wait until getting to Hamilton tomorrow afternoon.
Anyhoo, after the Huka Falls, we reached our first planned destination for that day: The „Thermal Wonderland“ in Wai-O-Tapu, about 30 km below Rotorua.
Wow. Just wow. We've seen it so many times already on TV on various travelling programmes - but nothing comes close to the real thing. Although I could've done without the unimaginable smell of foul eggs that hits you full stop as soon as you get close to the place. It's the smell of the sulphur, and it is totally overwhelming. Unfortunately, we didn't learn off our White Island experience, obviously, and forgot to take sweets and water to get rid of that smell, so we had to endure about 2,5 hours in the areal without any of them.......... the sights were worth the bouts of sickness that overcome you about every 100 m.
Our planet is a miracle, and Thermal Wonderland is one of the places where you can feel it in every single cell of your body.
A shower was much needed and appreciated once we got to our hotel here in Rotorua!
Later in the evening, we had our much anticipated Maori culture show and Hangi dinner (the food is cooked in a geothermal oven in the ground, and I can tell you guys, it tastes divine).
No. This is not me cheating on Rob :p This is me, getting taught how to properly do the „Hongi“, the traditional Maori greeting. Mind you, it has nothing to do with the apparent nose rubbing the eskimos do. You just shake hands, and press your noses against each other twice. It is meant to be the exchange of breath of life.
We later participated in the cultural show, I did a Poi dance and Rob did the Haka (no there won't be any pics, too embarrassing, and besides, our camera ran out of battery :D
It was a wonderful experience, a night to remember for sure.
Today, after a lie-in, we went to The Thermal Village of Whakarewarewa, a traditional Maori village where the descendants of ancient Maori tribes still live and use the geothermal energy to cook their food, fill their baths, heat their houses. I have no idea how they manage to live in that smell, nor how they manage to let their kids play right next to a spring that contains 138 C degrees hot boiling water.......... but we have seen the kids, and they seem MUCH happier and capable of life than those spoilt kids we know!
It was soooo interesting to walk through that Village, see how the Moari live, what they do, and hear the stories they had to tell.
Unfortunately, the famous Pohutu Geyser which apparently goes off at least once hourly decided to fool us today, as we waited almost 2 hours for it to blow off, but in vain. Oh well, you can't have everything, can you?
After a dinner at a Thai restaurant we're now watching TV in our TV bed before heading over to our sleep bed (yes we have 2 queen beds in the room!) before checking out at 10 tomorrow and head towards Hamilton........... not without taking a look at „The Shires“ in Matamata before!
Samstag, 6. November 2010
TheThree Volcanos Or: Mt. Doom & Co.
Isn't this impressive? This is Mt. Ngauruhoe, featured as "Mount Doom" in the LOTR trilogy, and we were - after some waiting around - lucky enough to catch him with his summit almost uncovered, and that doesn't happen very often!
Some more pictures are up on FlickR, also of our lodge room, which Rob took this morning. Don't fret about the unmade bed, I was still in the shower and hadn't done it yet :p
Tomorrow morning we've early off to Rotorua via Lake Taupo, and will take a look at the famous Lady Knox Geyser on the way there. There will be no updates tomorrow at least though, as we will have a long Maori evening with performances, cultural happenings, and a hangi feast.
Nice weekend everybody at home :)
Freitag, 5. November 2010
4000 km & Proud Citizens Of The Republic Of Whangamomona
Yep, it finally happened. We've become citizens of the Republic of Whangamomona. We've got passports to prove it, and photos will be up on FlickR in a minute.
After a very short night and a maybe future-wise interesting chat with our lovely host Dion when checking out this morning in Wanganui, we started the most time-consuming part of our whole NZ trip at around10 am, which would take us to the Mt. Egmont (Mt.Taranaki) National Park, and then to Lake Taupo via the Forgotten World Highway #43. This was actually a ridiculous detour, as you can get to Lake Taupo from Wanganui within 1,5 h......................... it took us 10 h in the end, but it was well worth it.
Driving up to the plateau of the active volcano Mt. Egmont (Mt. Taranki in Maori) was something that we will remember for quite a while, the view from up there was absolutely breathtaking and overwhelming. The only downside was that its summit was in the clouds so we couldn't see the crater from anywhere.
As if we hadn't seen already more beauty than we can possibly take in with our irrelevant human eyes, the Forgotten World Highway topped many of those beautiful things in many ways. The landscape was out of this world. There are no words to describe it, take a look at the pictures and judge for yourselves. Rob called it "Teletubby Land", and it indeed looked a bit like an artificial landscape made up for a childrens program.........yet it was all real. The drive took us just about as loooooooooong as I had expected, and because we took a detour over a gravel road to see NZ's highest waterfall, Mt. Damper Falls. It also took a 30 min walk over farmland, uphill and downhill, escaping from lost goats that were running about, and when we finally got to our location for the night in Turangi at the bottom of Lake Taupo, we were so deadly shattered that we decided to skip staying in Taupo tomorrow which would have meant to check out at 10 again, but stay for another night here indeed. The lodge we are in now is also amazing, we have an own little hut-type house with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and lounge, and are currently enjoying a nice glass of NZ white wine, a glass of Speight's Gold Ale, and watching some Sky TV. Tomorrow we will have a lie-in for a change instead of getting up at 8 like almost all other mornings, and then go for a short drive into Tongariro National Park to see the line of several active vulcanos including Mt. Ngauruhoe (or "Mt. Doom" for the LOTR freaks).
On Sunday, we will totally relaxedly drive up to Rotorua via Taupo, and check out all the unique thermal experiences around those two towns.
For now, we're just gonna watch some more TV and then s-l-e-e-p.
After a very short night and a maybe future-wise interesting chat with our lovely host Dion when checking out this morning in Wanganui, we started the most time-consuming part of our whole NZ trip at around10 am, which would take us to the Mt. Egmont (Mt.Taranaki) National Park, and then to Lake Taupo via the Forgotten World Highway #43. This was actually a ridiculous detour, as you can get to Lake Taupo from Wanganui within 1,5 h......................... it took us 10 h in the end, but it was well worth it.
Driving up to the plateau of the active volcano Mt. Egmont (Mt. Taranki in Maori) was something that we will remember for quite a while, the view from up there was absolutely breathtaking and overwhelming. The only downside was that its summit was in the clouds so we couldn't see the crater from anywhere.
As if we hadn't seen already more beauty than we can possibly take in with our irrelevant human eyes, the Forgotten World Highway topped many of those beautiful things in many ways. The landscape was out of this world. There are no words to describe it, take a look at the pictures and judge for yourselves. Rob called it "Teletubby Land", and it indeed looked a bit like an artificial landscape made up for a childrens program.........yet it was all real. The drive took us just about as loooooooooong as I had expected, and because we took a detour over a gravel road to see NZ's highest waterfall, Mt. Damper Falls. It also took a 30 min walk over farmland, uphill and downhill, escaping from lost goats that were running about, and when we finally got to our location for the night in Turangi at the bottom of Lake Taupo, we were so deadly shattered that we decided to skip staying in Taupo tomorrow which would have meant to check out at 10 again, but stay for another night here indeed. The lodge we are in now is also amazing, we have an own little hut-type house with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and lounge, and are currently enjoying a nice glass of NZ white wine, a glass of Speight's Gold Ale, and watching some Sky TV. Tomorrow we will have a lie-in for a change instead of getting up at 8 like almost all other mornings, and then go for a short drive into Tongariro National Park to see the line of several active vulcanos including Mt. Ngauruhoe (or "Mt. Doom" for the LOTR freaks).
On Sunday, we will totally relaxedly drive up to Rotorua via Taupo, and check out all the unique thermal experiences around those two towns.
For now, we're just gonna watch some more TV and then s-l-e-e-p.
Donnerstag, 4. November 2010
Wanna become a Vegetarian?
Seriously, how fucking ridiculous can it get?! New Zealand has got like 60 Mio sheep, so you can be relatively sure that a few million of them are on the North Island, right? And so I think it is just fair to ask: "Why on earth do a few hundred of them have to be squeezed into 2 trucks together with a few dozens of cows (same question!), and transported from the South to the North Island under totally unacceptable conditions?!"
Although I am a devoted eater of almost everything including meat, I seriously considered to become a vegetarian today when having to watch this on the ferry, because I do not want to be partially responsible for complete madness like this.
As you might have gathered, we are back on the North Island, with a 2h delay due to a fucking machine problem that made us leave Picton 20 mins late, and go so slow that we arrived in Wellington at 7 pm instead of 5, with yet 3 h to go.
As everyone who knows me will have guessed, I was fuming about this, but now comes the great thing: Unlike any German I know, all Kiwi employees on board of the vessel were extremely helpful when we explained them that we had booked a lodge for arrival time 8 pm, and that now those people would have to be contacted, but that we unfortunately had no phone on us. They took our booking details and not only emailed but also phoned our hosts for tonight still from the ship whilst being at sea, the amazing AnnDionLodge in Wanganui, to let them know we would be 2 h late.
When we finally arrived here in Wanganui at 10 pm, we received the warmest welcome ever from our host Dion, and we realized soon this is the most amazing place we've stayed in so far. The pictures on their website don't do it any justice, it is perfect, and feels like home. It really does, hell Rob even went through the place into the huge guest kitchen in his pyjamas to get glasses, and didn't feel uncomfortable at all! When we get back to Aotearoa one day, we will stay here for at least a week, but unfortunately our tight schedule doesn't allow us to stay longer than one night this time.
Tomorrow morning we will be leaving towards Taupo region via the Forgotten World Highway.
Very tired now, so beddybyes. Pictures are up on FlickR.
Although I am a devoted eater of almost everything including meat, I seriously considered to become a vegetarian today when having to watch this on the ferry, because I do not want to be partially responsible for complete madness like this.
As you might have gathered, we are back on the North Island, with a 2h delay due to a fucking machine problem that made us leave Picton 20 mins late, and go so slow that we arrived in Wellington at 7 pm instead of 5, with yet 3 h to go.
As everyone who knows me will have guessed, I was fuming about this, but now comes the great thing: Unlike any German I know, all Kiwi employees on board of the vessel were extremely helpful when we explained them that we had booked a lodge for arrival time 8 pm, and that now those people would have to be contacted, but that we unfortunately had no phone on us. They took our booking details and not only emailed but also phoned our hosts for tonight still from the ship whilst being at sea, the amazing AnnDionLodge in Wanganui, to let them know we would be 2 h late.
When we finally arrived here in Wanganui at 10 pm, we received the warmest welcome ever from our host Dion, and we realized soon this is the most amazing place we've stayed in so far. The pictures on their website don't do it any justice, it is perfect, and feels like home. It really does, hell Rob even went through the place into the huge guest kitchen in his pyjamas to get glasses, and didn't feel uncomfortable at all! When we get back to Aotearoa one day, we will stay here for at least a week, but unfortunately our tight schedule doesn't allow us to stay longer than one night this time.
Tomorrow morning we will be leaving towards Taupo region via the Forgotten World Highway.
Very tired now, so beddybyes. Pictures are up on FlickR.
Mittwoch, 3. November 2010
That's The View Out Of Our Hotel Room Window
Well, actually now it's dark because it is almost 10 pm, but this was the view when we came here around 3 pm. The water was at low tide then, but when we came back from the Indian we had dinner at, it had risen.
Off to bed, nighty nighty :-*
Wednesday, November 3rd – just arrived in Nelson/Abel Tasman National Park
Wow. The hotel really keeps the promises it made on their website, it is beautiful. A little river flows directly underneath our window, and it has all facilities you would want and need for a bit longer stay, which we will unfortunately not have, seeing as we will go back to the North Island tomorrow afternoon.
We're just about to freshen up a little bit after the drive from Greymouth which was nothing spectacular, but then we didn't really want to stop anywhere in particular, as wanted to get to Nelson early to rather explore that a bit – which is what we are gonna do right after updating the blog and uploading pictures. Oh there was one thing worth mentioning though – New Zealand's longest swinging bridge! I had one step on it and happily gave it a miss, whilst Rob took the return walk........I admire him for that courage which I couldn't come up with.
So we're still alive, happy and looking forward to the sadly last week of our adventure, which will lead us up the West Coast of the North Island, and then into the Thermal Wonderlands via the Forgotten World Highway this weekend, ending it in Rotorua for a 2 night stint on Sunday.
Pictures of the last 4 days are as usually up on FlickR :)
Pictures of the last 4 days are as usually up on FlickR :)
Greymouth on November 2nd after crossing the Southern Alps
It's now Tuesday the 2nd, and we've just arrived in Greymouth after an amazing drive over the Southern Alps via the Arthur's Pass. Rob had never seen really big mountains before, so he was all „awww'!“ and „oh!“ when we left Christchurch, whilst I am easily bored by that certain sight. Not bored at all though by the sheer beauty of the landscape, the crystal clear lakes, the trees whose names we probably won't ever know, because almost everything that grows here in NZ only grows here and nowhere else in the world.
At Arthur's Pass Village, we took a break to swap drivers and have a snack, and came across one of NZ's unique birds, the Kea. Looks a bit like a parrot, but with a little different beak, and those creatures are bloody greedy LOL! We and other guests had to guard our food, otherwise they'd steal it right from your plate!
Short before Greymouth, we stopped at Shantytown and had a ride on an ancient steam train, a very informative walk through the remains of a millsaw, and ancient goldrush town, and the rebuilt China Town the set up as a hommage to the Chinese miners who helped building up these enterprises.
We'll upload all the pictures from the last days as soon as we get decent internet and actually some time to do it, which might still take a while, so when you people read all of this, we might already be back on the North Island. We've again got no decent internet here in the Ashley Hotel, but maybe tomorrow in Nelson, which we are particularly looking forward to, as not only the hotel looks marvellous, also the town seems to be worth checking out further. As there is really nothing on the way there that we might want to check out thoroughly, we will hopefully get to Nelson
relatively early.
So beautiful, it takes your breath away.........
Checking in from Christchurch on the 1st of November on the South Island were we landed after crossing the Cook Strait early this morning.
Getting up at 6 am wasn't exactly my cup of tea, to be honest. I am suffering a bit from insomnia lately, but then so is Rob. Probably due to the bouncy beds that make you jump whenever your spouse is only doing the slightest move, but most definitely also because I just can't put my mind at rest at night. We're experiencing so much, see so many insanely beautiful and exciting things, that it would take a braindead person not to be affected by it.
We're still going strong though, and were able to prove all the oh-so-brainy tourist guides wrong today who claim to know that the Cook Strait is almost always very rough waters and bumpy etc pp blabla................... it was as quiet as a duck pond. Absolutely no waves or anything like that.
However, we drove down Highway #1 after we arrived in Picton, and I can honestly say that this was the most beautiful drive we've done so far. The region around Kaikoura where we had a lunch break is just indescribable........ we took a lot of pictures, but seriously doubt that only one of them will actually be able to show the beauty of this country. I said exactly the same once after I met Michael Stipe, when I realised that no picture could ever mirror the blue of his eyes........ it's the same here. No matter how many pictures we take, none of them will truly mirror how turquoise the water is, how blue the sky, how green the meadows. It's just not possible to put so much beauty into digits or on celluloid. You have to see it with your own eyes.
Who would ever believe that you stop at some random place somewhere along the coast, to take some pictures of a brilliant spot, and suddenly find yourself surrounded by furry seals?! Who just happen to lie around there, not in the zoo, not fenced in, no! Just on the beach, on the rocks, 2 m away from you! And not only in this one particular spot, nope! They're just everywhere, wherever you stop, around Kaikoura! And the worst thing about New Zealand probably is that you at some point can't take all the wonders in anymore....... when we had taken pictures of a few seal colonies, Rob said at some point along the way „oh there is another one [colony]!“ - and I just went „oh yeah, another one.“ You can't help but get used to things you've never ever experienced before in your life, just because there are so many miracles happening here every day, that your brain literally forces you to format it, otherwise you wouldn't be ready for the next wonderous thing to be taken in. I can't explain it any other way.
We're now in Christchurch, only for one evening, because tomorrow we will go over the Arthurs Pass to the West Coast of the South Island. We've taken some pictures of what is left of Christchurch, which is very pittoresque and lovely, and some pictures of the damage that is still visible after the fatal earthquake of 4th of September. I was kind of resistent to believe that there are still aftershocks now, but when we were having a pre-dinner Kilkenny at an Irish Pub, I was taught otherwise, as the barstools, the table and the building rattled for a few seconds just like when a tram goes by............... just that the tram had stopped going already at 4.40 pm. Yep, a little earthquake. No one else seem to take any notice, they're probably used to it meanwhile.
I can't really complain about food................ Wagamama twice in just 48 h isn't too bad at all, is it :D?
At any rate, I can't be bothered to figure out the internet, so this will have to wait another day, and then you guys get to read and see twice as much as usually!
Wellington on 31st of October
Aaaaaa-ooooo-teeeee-aaaaa-roooo-oooo-aaaaa.
Spent a windy yet brilliant day in Wellington on Sunday, although we couldn't get into the Movietours as it was fully booked (blame me for not prebooking it weeks ago, but then I didn't know that there was something like „LOTR Movie Tours“, did I?!? I still have to watch those movies yet, and I don't know what could happen to make me do that!!).
Which was our luck really, as we decided to just take a bus to the „Weta Caves“, that famous studio were all the animations and artworks for films like LOTR and AVATAR were being produced.
Apart from me just LOVING to explore cities by bus, it turned out that one of the world-wide acclaimed illustrators for LOTR, Mr. John Howe, was doing a book signing at the Weta Cave this afternoon!!
Although I have absolutely no idea who he is, nor did I know anything about anything that was being put on the shelves there, everyone apart from me knew, apparently. There were long queues, with people frantically buying books and stuff, and so we queued up. In the end, Rob got his book signed, I took pictures, but I still don't know who from...... although I thought it was amazing that they had a collection of hairdryers on display!
Anyhow, today really got me into Wellington. I mean, REALLY. I honestly wish we could spend another day here, so I could take in even more of this city, but then in about 8 hours we will get up again to hit the Bluebridge Ferry terminal to get onto our ferry to the South Island.
If it wasn't for this trip, I'd talk Rob into exploring a certain quarter of Wellington which we drove through today by bus, and which I absolutely loved............we'll keep that for next time.
There will be a next time. I don't know when, I just know we will have to come back to Aotearoa, be it for another holiday, or for whatever life might throw at us....
We took the Cable Car today, and had an amazing view of the city and the port, went into some shops (yes!! the NZ shops ARE open on Sundays, no matter what you stupid travel guide writers might say!!), and got some Rugby/All Blacks treasures to take home (did I mention yet that I LOVE Rugby and especially the All Blacks, even though they lost against bleeding Australia last night?!), then we went for dinner into the most acclaimed Chinese restaurant only to realize that the portions were so small we had to go into a Kiwi Pub to get some afters in form of fish guijons and squid bits later. Turns out that place had the first decent cocktails since we arrived in NZ, so we had a Margarita (Rob) and a Mojito (me) before heading back to the hotel were we are now, getting ready for bed and the crossing of the Cook Strait tomorrow morning.
I am writing this offline, can't be bothered to buy another internet ticket, so it might be some time until I can actually post this. But then Dad and Tara phoned last night, which was lovely!!, and everyone else will probably have the patience to wait. ;)
I'll give you guys the chance to waste some time in between: What tattoo shall I get? A proper Moko of some description, or - what I prefer – one verse of the Maori version of NZ's national anthem in spiralform, and where should I get it tattood (if I can work up the courage to do it, that is!!)?
Over and out from the North Island.
Samstag, 30. Oktober 2010
Wellington - The Windy City
Looks like this city got the name right. It's just as bad and freezing cold as it was in Auckland, and the weather really isn't capable of befriending me with either one of those cities. It was so nice and warm and sunny the whole week everywhere else, that I am kinda feeling sorry for not being able to enjoy two probably really great cities, but as soon as you leave the hotel, you think you've been relocated straight to Antarctica. Nevertheless, we of course had a long walk around the Wharf, spent 2 amazing hours in the world-renowned Te Papa Museum, and finished the first impressions of Wellington at Wagamama, where I was finally able to stuff my face with my favorite delicacies again after almost one year of deprivation :D
Now preparing for a LOTR movie tour tomorrow (it's Rob's time for a treat now, he's had to endure so many Maori-related sightseeings with me already, so I will endure this for him) through the whole town, before that some more sightseeing (we still need to go with the cable car!), and other than planned, NOT dinner at Kai in the City, as that place has unfortunately closed down. So our first Maori meal will have to wait until next Sunday in Rotorua :(
As we will be crossing over to the South Island on Monday early in the morning, this might be our last entry for a few days, as we will not really have time down there to check in here. Stay tuned though, as latest next weekend there will be updates! Maybe earlier, but no promises!
Now watching All Blacks vs. Wallabies.
Now preparing for a LOTR movie tour tomorrow (it's Rob's time for a treat now, he's had to endure so many Maori-related sightseeings with me already, so I will endure this for him) through the whole town, before that some more sightseeing (we still need to go with the cable car!), and other than planned, NOT dinner at Kai in the City, as that place has unfortunately closed down. So our first Maori meal will have to wait until next Sunday in Rotorua :(
As we will be crossing over to the South Island on Monday early in the morning, this might be our last entry for a few days, as we will not really have time down there to check in here. Stay tuned though, as latest next weekend there will be updates! Maybe earlier, but no promises!
Now watching All Blacks vs. Wallabies.
Freitag, 29. Oktober 2010
Napier, My Love. Oh and 1st encounter with a real Kiwi!
Today - yeah I know it's getting boring, but what can I do if one superlative catches up with the other – was such a fantastic day, in so many ways.
We actually had our first real lie-in since we arrived in Aotearoa and didn't get up until about 11 to hit the town centre of Napier, the „Art Deco Capital of the World“. We parked at the Marine Parade and first had a flat white coffee (this is going to be tough in Germany, we got SO addicted to this NZ staple!) before having a long stroll around the city.
I have read a lot about Napier before we got to NZ, but again the reality tops everything. I just bloody L-O-V-E-D it. The art deco houses that give you the feeling of being in a polished dollhouse, the cute little shops everywhere,the takeaways, the coffee houses, the looooong marine parade along the extensive beach............ if it wasn't for Russell, I guess this would be my favorite. I just couldn't get enough of the sight. It's almost unbelievable what people were able to accomplish rebuilding this place after the devastating earthquake of 1931. Did I mention yet that I LOVE it?
Visiting the National Aquarium of New Zealand after our city walk was another highlight of the day (I take it you all have realized meanwhile that every single day here consists of highlights, nicely lined up), because it actually features a Kiwi enclosure – kind of a dark room with a natural Kiwi environment, and after our eyes had gotten used to the darkness, Rob spotted the furry beaky little cutiepie, and took tons of pictures which will probably all have to be manually brightened,but hey - it's a KIWI! This might have been the once in a lifetime experience to see one of these fellows live.
We ended this dream of a perfect day with a great takeaway from Noodle Canteen, and later had some pints of TUI Ale in the sports bar at our hotel, watching the rugby match between Wellington and Christchurch – and OH I am SO gonna become a Rugby fan! Forget about football and all these poofs running about screaming after a fly has hit them: Rugby is REAL sport for REAL men! Of course all those beautiful strong Maori guys aren't hurting anyone's eye either :o
Right people, we're now enjoying a glass of Hawkes Bay Chardonnay before we hit the pillows, because tomorrow means getting up at 8 am to drive down to Wellington in order to check in sometime in the afternoon to make the most out of the 1,5 days we will have there. First stop will probably be Wagamama before hitting the famous „Te Papa“ museum for all things Kiwi
Donnerstag, 28. Oktober 2010
Gisborne/Napier
After a delicious dinner at the Fettuccine Brothers in Gisborne, which featured absolutely everything from Green lipped mussels, seafood chowder, Spaghetti with seafood and Spaghetti with coriander & lime meatballs including a ridiculously expensive but velvety smooth Grappa afterwards, we decided last night that we would leave for Napier today if we found a relatively nice hotel there for a relatively decent price.......... and indeed we did. Seeing as the Portside Hotel in Gisborne was fully booked so we couldn't have added another night there anyway, we booked ourselves into the Bluewater Hotel in Napier, actually in Ahuriri/Westshore. We have a nice room with harbour views and spa bath, very spacious although not recently refurbished, but very clean and for only 119 NZD per night.
Before we headed here though, we took some pictures in Gisborne which will be up on FlickR in a minute, and took a drive through the marvellous quaint yet busy city centre, and decided this could be the 3rd location we could easily live in, after of course No. 1 Russell and also Whakatane, which we both really liked.
Of course we also went to the famous Landing Site where Captain James Cook first set foot on Kiwi grounds on October 8th, 1769 (he falsely reported the 9th which was later corrected).
The drive to Napier was our shortest so far, a little more than 200 km, so not even 4 hours (yes you have to calculate roughly 2 h for 100 km here, not only because of the bad and bendy roads, but of course also because you are stopping every now and then to take pictures, have a snack or simply admire the landscape).
We are actually both a bit tired and worn out today, which is probably no wonder after 2100 km within 8 days, of which actually only 6 days were driving days, so we were doing an average of about 350 km per day, which is quite exhausting on these roads. So we basically had dinner at 5.30 pm today, and oh Wanderer, if you ever get to Napier, do not miss out on the fabulous Speight's Ale House. It features not only absolutely every brew this fantastic brewery has ever come up with, but also really excellent food, cooked to your liking.
We came back to have another handle of Tui Ale here at the hotel attached bar in the Quayside Restaurant, before crashing in our room just to have a spa bubble jet bath, write this entry and post some pictures. I guess we could both really do with a quiet long evening, facing a lie-in tomorrow morning, before we then hit the centre of Napier to take a closer look at the Art Deco buildings and of course go into the famous Aquarium that apparently also houses a Kiwi bird.
On Satuday, we'll be heading to Wellington to spend the weekend in the capital before crossing the Cook Strait very early on Monday morning for our 3 day roundtrip on the South Island.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past days since Friday, we're walking and driving in shorts, and if it wasn't for the still chilly wind, you could think it's already summer here.
Alright then, we hope everyone back at home is safe and sound, we'll be probably reporting from Wellington at some point!
Mittwoch, 27. Oktober 2010
Gisborne After The Drive Of Hell
Whose idea was it to drive around the East Cape „to enjoy the authentic landscapes, some Maori sites and just have a really relaxed day“, instead of taking the shortcut aka Highway #2?!?!?
Ok ok, I admit it, it was my stupid idea. But I had good reasons, also known under the name „Macadamia Nuts“. We'll be getting to that bit later.
To cut a long story really short: It was a shitty drive. Nobody ever told us anywhere that about 80% of the route was basically undriveable due to landslides, roadworks (which consisted of a few red cones being put somewhere in the middle of the road to moniker business, yep they've heard of pretence work here too, trust me) and other occurances, which had us down to an average speed of 40 instead of the desired 80 kmh. So instead of having a relaxed drive with a lot of stops along the way, we had to really hurry things in order to make it to Gisborne at a relatively decent time. Thankfully – for us at least – most of the Maori sites were private only anyway, hell they even shut down the complete village where Whale Rider was filmed, totally understandable after being exposed to idiot tourists who have never heard the word „privacy“ before,and basically treated the holy maraes etc like movie sets............. still sad though, because their culture is something I will keep on investigating, because I am so intrigued by it.
Well, to get back to the main reason for taking the detour along the East Cape: We of course stopped at the famous Pacific Coast Macadamia Nut Farm. I had a tub of homemade Macadamia nut & Manuka honey ice cream, whilst Rob was tucking into a homemade Panini with all the usual stuff plus Macadamia pesto. Do I have to say it was simply divine? Needless to say, we bought some of their treats to take home (that is if Rob can hide the bag long enough from me, hehe, but don't tell him yet :p). We took a walk around the property which is actually up for sale, as the owners are due to retire. Anyone fancy to invest 1,6 Mio NZD into a flourishing business that will be nourished by your's truly Dunja & Robert? Seriously, those guys are making a fortune out of a few Macadamia & orange trees.
Right now we're in a really beautiful room in the Portside Hotel in Gisborne which we booked for tonight only, and will be debating later after dinner at the Fettuccine Brothers if we will add another night, or drive through to Napier tomorrow and take a 2 day break there.
Either way, I might upload some pics as well later. I am writing this offline atm, as we haven't bought an internet voucher yet, so we're first off for dinner. Sk sk sk sk.
Dienstag, 26. Oktober 2010
One Of The Best Days. EVER.
We had our trip to White Island today, NZ's most active marine volcano, and it exceeded all expectations.
On the way to the volcano which is about 50 km off shore Whakatane, we saw a blue whale, and the skipper told us that it's fairly rare at this time of the year to see whales, and blue whales are apparently so rare that we could consider ourselves really lucky.
On the island, we had a strange unique amazing time, wearing hard helmets and gas masks because this was the only way to survive the sulphur smell of the crater and the other surroundings.
And as if all of this wasn't enough yet, we were accompanied by a large group of pilot whales on the way back to Whakatane, they literally followed our boat and posed for us. We shot almost 850 photos, a percentage of them will be up on FlickR as we speak.
And last but not least, we saw another blue whale close to Whale Island, a small island near Whakatane, and this time it was a really BIG one, skipper said approximately 90 feet.
All of this day will forever be burnt into our minds, hearts and souls. I am starting to wonder how much of these we will actually leave here.....
We love you, New Zealand. Every day a little bit more.
On the way to the volcano which is about 50 km off shore Whakatane, we saw a blue whale, and the skipper told us that it's fairly rare at this time of the year to see whales, and blue whales are apparently so rare that we could consider ourselves really lucky.
On the island, we had a strange unique amazing time, wearing hard helmets and gas masks because this was the only way to survive the sulphur smell of the crater and the other surroundings.
And as if all of this wasn't enough yet, we were accompanied by a large group of pilot whales on the way back to Whakatane, they literally followed our boat and posed for us. We shot almost 850 photos, a percentage of them will be up on FlickR as we speak.
And last but not least, we saw another blue whale close to Whale Island, a small island near Whakatane, and this time it was a really BIG one, skipper said approximately 90 feet.
All of this day will forever be burnt into our minds, hearts and souls. I am starting to wonder how much of these we will actually leave here.....
We love you, New Zealand. Every day a little bit more.
Montag, 25. Oktober 2010
Greetings From The Bay Of Plenty
We arrived a few minutes ago in Whakatane after an unforgettable day yesterday, which we half spent at the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi, before heading back southwards again to the Coromandel Peninsula via Auckland again (I drove over the Harbour Bridge oh yeah I did).
We spent last night in a pretty bad motel again in Thames, and I have to say I've rarely ever seen a more dead town than this one. It was literally a ghost town, and I really don't know why the Coromandel Peninsula is so dear to the Aucklanders -but then who understands the Kiwis anyway (not only because of their ääääääcceeeeeeent!). Ok the drive on the peninsula's west coast today was really a treat, and so was Hot Water Beach this afternoon, where we dug ourselves into the boiling hot water that comes to the surface as soon as you dig a whole into the sand. Not only did I burn every limb with the hot water, but also my back due to the glowing sun. Yet, who cares, it was another marvellous day in the most beautiful part of the world.
We're now in Whakatane in a brilliant motel with a luxurious spa bath which I am SO gonna use despite a bright red back later when we come back from the Irish Pub we found almost next door. Gagging for a cool Guinness and finally a true Kiwi filet steak!
I'm now on a free internet voucher with only 2MB credit, will figure out tomorrow how much it will cost to upload the photos from Waitangi/via Auckland/Coromandel. After our day trip to White Island (NZ's most active marine volcano), that is.
Nau mai, haere mai.
We spent last night in a pretty bad motel again in Thames, and I have to say I've rarely ever seen a more dead town than this one. It was literally a ghost town, and I really don't know why the Coromandel Peninsula is so dear to the Aucklanders -but then who understands the Kiwis anyway (not only because of their ääääääcceeeeeeent!). Ok the drive on the peninsula's west coast today was really a treat, and so was Hot Water Beach this afternoon, where we dug ourselves into the boiling hot water that comes to the surface as soon as you dig a whole into the sand. Not only did I burn every limb with the hot water, but also my back due to the glowing sun. Yet, who cares, it was another marvellous day in the most beautiful part of the world.
We're now in Whakatane in a brilliant motel with a luxurious spa bath which I am SO gonna use despite a bright red back later when we come back from the Irish Pub we found almost next door. Gagging for a cool Guinness and finally a true Kiwi filet steak!
I'm now on a free internet voucher with only 2MB credit, will figure out tomorrow how much it will cost to upload the photos from Waitangi/via Auckland/Coromandel. After our day trip to White Island (NZ's most active marine volcano), that is.
Nau mai, haere mai.
Samstag, 23. Oktober 2010
This Is The First Day Of My Life
Feel I was born right on the highway.......
(Sorry Mr. Oberst for destroying your best lyric ever)
But that is exactly what I, what we feel, about Russell/Bay of Islands. This was the first photo I ever saw of New Zealand, and for about 17 years I carried it in my heart, not knowing why.
Now I know.
This is where we want to live. Either with a lottery win, or when we retire.
There is no other place like this on earth. Anywhere. I thought MorroBay/California was about the closest a place could get to kick me out of my shoes, and I still feel the same about it - but now that I know Russell, I'd go for it anytime.
This place is magic. I can't describe it better. The views are so ridiculously stunning that I am almost waiting for someone to tear the screen down and yell "Candid Camera!! It was only a photo!!". The smell of New Zealand's unique flora and fauna is sheer overpowering, and as if God had made a pact with the Devil to show us what we are missing out on living in Europe, the weather is the most gorgeous I've had all year............ and we're even only getting into spring here.
We're enjoying the most wonderful accomodation in the Russel Bay Lodge, with fantastic sea views and everything you need to enjoy some luxury. It's a short but demanding walk downhill into the ancient town of Russell (and don't remind me of the walk uphill LOL!), but whoever decides they're going for it,will be rewarded with a unique experience. Walking the historic streets of the former "Hell hole", having a drink on the terrace of the famous "Duke of Marlborough" hotel, going on a Dolphin Cruise (and actually see dolphins, look out for pictures on Flickr), have dinner at one of the Thai places or if you fancy, some seafood.................. or just do what we did tonight and have some Fish&Chips on a bench on the shore, watching the sunset.
I've rarely ever felt so alive.
Before we got to this paradise, we went up Far North, where we visited the ancient Kauri Forests and saw "Tane Mahuta", The Lord Of The Forest, before we had a night's rest in a really crappy motel (Boy are they gonna be upset about the review I am gonna give them!!) in Pukenui on Thursday night. Thank God it really was just for a few hours of sleep before heading to Cape Reinga..............another real magic place. Being there and actually feeling the souls of the dead Maori people leaving for Hawaiki (the afterlife), passing the ancient Pohutukawa tree down there, still gives me the shivers and will forever be a moment to remember.
Coming back, we stopped at the giant sand dunes where Rob took a sandboard downhill (I couldnt face the walk up there LOL!), and of course at 90 Mile Beach where I got unintentionally wet and had to change trousers. Collected some beautiful Paui mussel shells too!
Tomorrow morning we have to say Goodbye to Russell (for now, we will come back someday somemorning sometime, otherwise I wouldn't be able to deal with it), and head down via Whangarei to Thames on Coromandel Peninsula.
I doubt we will be able to catch the spirit of everything we are experiencing here, but at least I have tried. Honestly.
Be good, and behave, everyone. We love you all :)
(Sorry Mr. Oberst for destroying your best lyric ever)
But that is exactly what I, what we feel, about Russell/Bay of Islands. This was the first photo I ever saw of New Zealand, and for about 17 years I carried it in my heart, not knowing why.
Now I know.
This is where we want to live. Either with a lottery win, or when we retire.
There is no other place like this on earth. Anywhere. I thought MorroBay/California was about the closest a place could get to kick me out of my shoes, and I still feel the same about it - but now that I know Russell, I'd go for it anytime.
This place is magic. I can't describe it better. The views are so ridiculously stunning that I am almost waiting for someone to tear the screen down and yell "Candid Camera!! It was only a photo!!". The smell of New Zealand's unique flora and fauna is sheer overpowering, and as if God had made a pact with the Devil to show us what we are missing out on living in Europe, the weather is the most gorgeous I've had all year............ and we're even only getting into spring here.
We're enjoying the most wonderful accomodation in the Russel Bay Lodge, with fantastic sea views and everything you need to enjoy some luxury. It's a short but demanding walk downhill into the ancient town of Russell (and don't remind me of the walk uphill LOL!), but whoever decides they're going for it,will be rewarded with a unique experience. Walking the historic streets of the former "Hell hole", having a drink on the terrace of the famous "Duke of Marlborough" hotel, going on a Dolphin Cruise (and actually see dolphins, look out for pictures on Flickr), have dinner at one of the Thai places or if you fancy, some seafood.................. or just do what we did tonight and have some Fish&Chips on a bench on the shore, watching the sunset.
I've rarely ever felt so alive.
Before we got to this paradise, we went up Far North, where we visited the ancient Kauri Forests and saw "Tane Mahuta", The Lord Of The Forest, before we had a night's rest in a really crappy motel (Boy are they gonna be upset about the review I am gonna give them!!) in Pukenui on Thursday night. Thank God it really was just for a few hours of sleep before heading to Cape Reinga..............another real magic place. Being there and actually feeling the souls of the dead Maori people leaving for Hawaiki (the afterlife), passing the ancient Pohutukawa tree down there, still gives me the shivers and will forever be a moment to remember.
Coming back, we stopped at the giant sand dunes where Rob took a sandboard downhill (I couldnt face the walk up there LOL!), and of course at 90 Mile Beach where I got unintentionally wet and had to change trousers. Collected some beautiful Paui mussel shells too!
Tomorrow morning we have to say Goodbye to Russell (for now, we will come back someday somemorning sometime, otherwise I wouldn't be able to deal with it), and head down via Whangarei to Thames on Coromandel Peninsula.
I doubt we will be able to catch the spirit of everything we are experiencing here, but at least I have tried. Honestly.
Be good, and behave, everyone. We love you all :)
Mittwoch, 20. Oktober 2010
Day 2 in Auckland
Today we did a real tourist day, after getting up around 8 am, feeling totally fine and in no way jetlagged.
We were at Sky City and of course on the highest level of the Sky Tower, then hopped on and off the Explorer Bus, and took a tour around Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium. Especially the penguin tour was worth it!
Pictures, not named yet, are uploaded to FlickR!
Now off to have dinner @Bolliwood. I guess King Prawn Masala is in order after literally being blown away by the storm today!
We were at Sky City and of course on the highest level of the Sky Tower, then hopped on and off the Explorer Bus, and took a tour around Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium. Especially the penguin tour was worth it!
Pictures, not named yet, are uploaded to FlickR!
Now off to have dinner @Bolliwood. I guess King Prawn Masala is in order after literally being blown away by the storm today!
Dienstag, 19. Oktober 2010
The Eagle Has Landed
We're here. About 3 hours ago, we landed in Auckland. Too tired after a 44 hour trip to really say anything else for now, other than: The beauty of this country, which we were lucky enough to see from the air, is breathtaking.
Now some rest,although we are still to wound up to sleep, and then explore the city.
PS: Kuala Lumpur Airport has an in-built JUNGLE!!
PPS: Pics will be uploaded more or less frequently to my FlickR account. Enjoy :)
Now some rest,although we are still to wound up to sleep, and then explore the city.
PS: Kuala Lumpur Airport has an in-built JUNGLE!!
PPS: Pics will be uploaded more or less frequently to my FlickR account. Enjoy :)
Samstag, 16. Oktober 2010
Online Check-In @Malaysia Airlines Rocks
We're checked in for both flights tomorrow and Monday. So in theory we only need to be at the airport 60 mins prior to departure to drop the bags, but somehow there was no option for the 1st flight to choose the 2 seats A & C next to each other at the windows anywhere in the whole aircraft, so we had to go for D & E in the 5er middle front row, and we want to try and change that tomorrow, which means we'll still leave around the initially planned time. For the 2nd flight, all is fine, we got A & C there, so in case we can't change the 1st flight's seats - so what, it'll be fine :)
Bags are packed, should be within or just slightly over the weight limit. Had quite some fun setting up a Mii for each of the suitcases in order to check the weight with the Wii Fit Board LOL! Turns out both suitcases' COGs are slightly to the right (this is the last time I am gonna mention that infamous gaming company during the next 4 weeks solid btw >:-(). Packed one outfit each into the other one's bag in case one of the bags arrives late.
Rattus is safe in his preferred holiday home and currently being pampered 24/7 and will most likely not want to come back afterwards *sob*.
At any rate: There's no way out anymore. See you in Te Ika A Maui in about 60 hours.
Bags are packed, should be within or just slightly over the weight limit. Had quite some fun setting up a Mii for each of the suitcases in order to check the weight with the Wii Fit Board LOL! Turns out both suitcases' COGs are slightly to the right (this is the last time I am gonna mention that infamous gaming company during the next 4 weeks solid btw >:-(). Packed one outfit each into the other one's bag in case one of the bags arrives late.
Rattus is safe in his preferred holiday home and currently being pampered 24/7 and will most likely not want to come back afterwards *sob*.
At any rate: There's no way out anymore. See you in Te Ika A Maui in about 60 hours.
Donnerstag, 14. Oktober 2010
The Final Countdown
Let's see......
So all there's left is another 2 days of work, ferry the rat into his holiday home, and instruct my favorite colleague what to do with the key in which case.
Oh yeah, and of course packing the rest, care for the plants, reset heating, empty fridge etc pp blabla..................... and pop the champagne bottle cork tomorrow night!
Rob's getting a bit nervous now, whilst I am becoming all calm and relaxed....... something tells me that everything will now finally come into its right place.
71 hours until take-off. Dear Lord.
- Mail being stored for the next 4 weeks - check.
- Suitcases already half packed with stuff we don't need here anymore - check.
- Every single detail of every single booking printed out and put into the NZ folder that will go into my hand luggage - check.
- Last things being washed and ironed - check.
- Advised the tax accountant what to do in which case - check.
- Life insurance recipients changed - check.
- Informed Dad about everything that he needs to be informed about in an emergency case - check.
- Double checked travel insurance - check.
- Winter tyres on both cars for when we come back - check.
- Informed one neighbor of trust so he can empty the mailbox of rubbish - check.
So all there's left is another 2 days of work, ferry the rat into his holiday home, and instruct my favorite colleague what to do with the key in which case.
Oh yeah, and of course packing the rest, care for the plants, reset heating, empty fridge etc pp blabla..................... and pop the champagne bottle cork tomorrow night!
Rob's getting a bit nervous now, whilst I am becoming all calm and relaxed....... something tells me that everything will now finally come into its right place.
71 hours until take-off. Dear Lord.
Samstag, 9. Oktober 2010
The Itinerary as we plan it....
October 17th - October 19th - travels...
Frankfurt (FRA), 12.30 h, October 17th - Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 06.25 h, October 18th
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 21.20 h October 18th - Auckland (AKL) 12.20 h, October 19th
Seeing as we will have a stopover in Kuala Lumpur of almost 15 hours, and it will be around bedtime for our body clock when we arrive, we've booked a day room in the Concorde Inn Sepang Hotel at Kuala Lumpur airport to get some hours of rest before the second leg of our 36 h trip. I'm especially looking forward to dinner in the "Melting Pot Cafe" before we take off again!
I've now heard that everyone recommends you sleep on the second flight .. oh well, we'll do it this way, and maybe have some sort of nap on the 2nd plane, but I am pretty sure we'll be too excited to sleep, knowing that the next touchdown will be in Auckland!
October 19th - October 21st - Auckland
We've decided to give our jetlagged bodies a 48 h rest and stay in Auckland to explore the "City of Sails" a little bit. A room is booked in the Bianco Off Queen hotel which is located right next to Auckland's busy main street "Queen Street", and basically walking distance to everywhere we want to go during those 2 days.
Some of these places are:
http://www.bolliwood.co.nz (Ponsonby in general)
http://www.viewauckland.co.nz/pubsandbars/ocarrolls-review-58611.html
http://www.occidentalbar.co.nz/ (the mussel pot seems to be really worth it!)
If we want something for lunch whilst checking out the famous Ferry Building, we will either drop into Wagamama or just stay for dinner at The Harbour Side restaurant (I guess I might even prefer the latter ;)).
On October 21st, we will pick up our car at Ace Rentals around 10 am, and then we're off to the Far North.
October 21st - October 22nd - Far North
Once we got our rented Nissan Bluebird on Thursday 21st, we'll be heading northwards on the Highway #1, and then turn left onto the Highway #12 towards the Westcoast of the North Island. Here we'll be visiting the famous Kauri Forests before driving up back on Highway #1 to the farthest point north - the famous Cape Reinga. It will be quite a treat to watch the Pacific Ocean and the Tasmanian Sea merge at this historically important spot, which is also known as "Spirits Bay", because a Maori legend says that the spirits of their late relatives leave for their journey to the afterlife.
Depending on how much time we have left, we will either visit Cape Reinga still on Thursday 21st, or much more likely, end the day half way up the Ninety Mile Beach in our accomodation for the night, Pukenui Lodge, and drive up to Cape Reinga the next day which would mean getting up quite early.
October 22nd - 24th - Bay of Islands (Russell)
Seeing as this was the first picture I ever consciously saw of Aotearoa sometime in the 90s, we thought it would only be logical if we spent our first weekend in New Zealand here. To celebrate this occasion, we went 10 NZ$ above our self-imposed budget of 150 NZD per night, and booked The Bay Suite at The Russell Bay Lodge, which has an own patio with breathtaking sea views. If this isn't the right place to fully start our Kiwi adventure, then I don't know.
Before we get there on Friday 22nd though, we will have to stop at a very meaningful place: At Waitangi, where the treaty of 1840 was signed on February 6th. This will most likely be our first close encounter with the Maori Culture, and God knows I cannot wait.
The weekend in Russell will then be for relaxing, sightseeing, eating and drinking. Possibly at the famous Gables (it's been closed for huge refurbishing and has just reopened again), or maybe at the Kamakura, or just at Sally's. Whenever not doing the a.m., we'll be watching the approx 800 boats coming in from Auckland, as it is Labour Day Weekend and therefore the weekend of the annual Coastal Classic. And of course, as we're proper tourists :p, the famous Cream Trip must not be missed and will happen at 1.35 pm on Saturday October 23rd.
October 24th - October 31st - Bay of Plenty/East Cape/Hawkes Bay/Wellington
This will be the mostly pre-planned, though partly spontaneous trip to Wellington on the Pacific Coast Highway around the East Cape via Coromandel Peninsula.
We will stop on Sunday 24th in Thames, Coromandel, where we booked a night in the Avalon Motel, which isn't exactly our first choice, but seeing as it is Labour Weekend, and Monday therefore a national holiday, the nicer places were booked.
But hey, we've got the mostest awesomest location booked in the Bay of Plenty for the following two nights from Monday 25th - Wed 27th in this dreamy hotel in Whakatane. Of course a day trip to White Island, New Zealand's only active marine volcano, is already booked for the 26th :) Before, I guess we will just have to have dinner at The Wharf Shed which apparently is almost world famous & award winning for its unique seafood dishes.
On the next day we head to Gisborne, where we will be staying at the beautiful Portside Hotel. We've booked one night to secure accomodation for the 27th, but we might add another night, as we deliberately left the time between 27th and 30th open for spontaneous decisions. On the way to Gisborne we will most definitely take a stop at the famous Pacific Coast Macadamia Nut Farm which is well known for its Macadamia & Honey ice cream, so a must for an ice cream & macadamia nut addict like me :o Of course, some dinner places have been sussed out already too, one of them is this.
I am especially looking forward to this day trip from Whakatane to Gisborne on the 27th, as it is basically through Maori Land, which is what the region around the East Cape is often called, as sometimes up to 80% of the population are Maori. There will be beautiful carvings, maraes and other precious signs of their culture everywhere to be seen.
After our stint in Gisborne we will head via Napier with likely one night stay (if we win the lottery, it will be here at the Nautilus; if not, we'll find somewhere a bit cheaper but still nice :)) towards Wellington, where we will stay from October 30th to November 1st in the IBIS Wellington, which is located almost next to the Bluebridge Ferry Terminal. As we are really into nice food and want to try as many different world cuisines as possible wherever we go, we might have dinner at a Cambodian restaurant, although there seem to be so many great places to try! At any rate, the 2nd evening we will eat at Kai In The City, which was suggested by Paul, and apparently offers great authentic Maori food.
November 1st - November 4th - South Island
Why Ferry Terminal, why next to it? Well, because we will be crossing the Cook Strait from North to South Island on November 1st at 08.00 am, which means reporting time at the ferry is 07.00 am.
We'll be arriving in Picton around 11.00 am so we hope to hit the road about 30 mins later and have a great lunch at one of the famous "snacks" around Kaikoura, which means nothing but "meal of crayfish". Which is of course what we are gonna tuck into, maybe at one of Kaikoura's places, maybe outside the town. At any rate, we will try to at least suspect the sight of a whale, although we will unfortunately not be able to do a special whale watching tour which they offer, because we will be heading further south towards Christchurch later in the afternoon, where we will spend our first night on the South Island right in the City Centre on Cathedral Square in the Camelot Cathedral Square hotel, which is located next to pubs and bars, so excellent after a day on the road, when all you want is a nice meal and some nice cool drinks before you hit the pillow!
The next day will be the day where we'll cross the famous "Arthur's pass". I am really super looking forward to this drive, and seeing as it's not much more than 240 km to drive, it will be a nice relaxed day on one of the scenic roads of New Zealand!
If we get there early enough, we'll of course stop in Shantytown and get a feeling how it was during the goldrush of the 1860s.
At any rate, our 2nd day on the South Island will end after a transcoastal trip highlight in Greymouth at the west coast, where we will stay in the Ashley Hotel for the night. We've prebooked all accomodation on the South Island because we don't have much time there, and cannot have any glitches spoiling these 3 days.
On Wednesday November 3rd we will be heading towards Nelson, which is supposed to be a really nice and cosy place to be, with lots of nice pubs. To celebrate our last evening on the South Island, I've put some effort into finding just the right accomodation (whilst the previous 2 nights we'll be staying where it's most convenient travel-wise), and found this marvellous place for a ridiculously low price.
As it's not quite 300 km from Greymouth, we might be getting up early in order to put in some stops on the way where it's worth it, and still get to this wonderful place relatively early to relax and enjoy whatever it might have to offer.
Sadly, we have to get up early again on Thursday 4th, because our ferry back to the North Island will be leaving Picton at 2.00 pm, which means driving up there 130 km and be there at reporting time 1.00 pm.
November 4th - November 10th West Coast/Forgotten World Highway/Central Plateau
When getting back to the North Island, we'll hit the road again instead of staying another night in Wellington. We'll be going up the West Coast until Wanganui where we will be spending the night at a lodge . If we can squeeze it in somehow the next day, we'll take a glance into Mt. Egmont National Park, and then at Stratford hit the famous "Forgotten World Highway" #43, where we initially planned to stay the night at the Whangamomona Hotel which is the headquarter of the "Republic of Whangamomona", but first none of their nicely refurbished rooms have an ensuite, and second they have no vacancies on the Friday night. So we'll just have a drink and/or a meal there passing by. It is quite a detour towards Lake Taupo which will be our next stop, but since I read about Whangamomona in some travel guide, I wanted to go there, because things like this are what travelling is about: Meeting weird people, learning weird traditions and try to become a part of them. So this is what we will do.
At any rate, after spending the night at this stunning place, we will head via Lake Taupo (either spend a night there or stay another night at the Creel) towards Rotorua where we will stay 2 nights from November 7th to 9th at this beautiful hotel which not only offers great accomodation, but also a daily Maori Culture Show which is not to miss. We will then have enough time to explore all the volcanic wonders around Rotorua including Thermal Wonderland and of course TePuia.
Right afterwards we'll have to visit the LOTR filming sites in Matamata, as Rob is a big fan of the movies. Depending on what time it will be, we'll either drive through to Auckland already on the 9th, but most likely spend the night in Hamilton, and then go back to Auckland on Wednesday the 10th so we will have another night there before we fly back on November 11th at 14.15 h.
So this is what we plan for our 23 days in Aotearoa, if everything goes to plan it will be 23 days we will still be thinking of when we're old and decrepit (me earlier than Rob :p).
Pictures, reports etc. will be posted either here or on my FlickR account whenever we get decent WiFi and of course the time to do it. At any rate, when we come back, it'll happen anyway, so stay tuned.
November 11th - November 12th - Travels
Auckland (AKL), 14.15 h, November 11th - Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 20.05 h, November 11th
Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 23.59 h November 11th - Frankfurt (FRA), 06.05 h, November 12th
Back home :(
Frankfurt (FRA), 12.30 h, October 17th - Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 06.25 h, October 18th
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 21.20 h October 18th - Auckland (AKL) 12.20 h, October 19th
Seeing as we will have a stopover in Kuala Lumpur of almost 15 hours, and it will be around bedtime for our body clock when we arrive, we've booked a day room in the Concorde Inn Sepang Hotel at Kuala Lumpur airport to get some hours of rest before the second leg of our 36 h trip. I'm especially looking forward to dinner in the "Melting Pot Cafe" before we take off again!
I've now heard that everyone recommends you sleep on the second flight .. oh well, we'll do it this way, and maybe have some sort of nap on the 2nd plane, but I am pretty sure we'll be too excited to sleep, knowing that the next touchdown will be in Auckland!
October 19th - October 21st - Auckland
We've decided to give our jetlagged bodies a 48 h rest and stay in Auckland to explore the "City of Sails" a little bit. A room is booked in the Bianco Off Queen hotel which is located right next to Auckland's busy main street "Queen Street", and basically walking distance to everywhere we want to go during those 2 days.
Some of these places are:
http://www.bolliwood.co.nz (Ponsonby in general)
http://www.viewauckland.co.nz/pubsandbars/ocarrolls-review-58611.html
http://www.occidentalbar.co.nz/ (the mussel pot seems to be really worth it!)
If we want something for lunch whilst checking out the famous Ferry Building, we will either drop into Wagamama or just stay for dinner at The Harbour Side restaurant (I guess I might even prefer the latter ;)).
On October 21st, we will pick up our car at Ace Rentals around 10 am, and then we're off to the Far North.
October 21st - October 22nd - Far North
Once we got our rented Nissan Bluebird on Thursday 21st, we'll be heading northwards on the Highway #1, and then turn left onto the Highway #12 towards the Westcoast of the North Island. Here we'll be visiting the famous Kauri Forests before driving up back on Highway #1 to the farthest point north - the famous Cape Reinga. It will be quite a treat to watch the Pacific Ocean and the Tasmanian Sea merge at this historically important spot, which is also known as "Spirits Bay", because a Maori legend says that the spirits of their late relatives leave for their journey to the afterlife.
Depending on how much time we have left, we will either visit Cape Reinga still on Thursday 21st, or much more likely, end the day half way up the Ninety Mile Beach in our accomodation for the night, Pukenui Lodge, and drive up to Cape Reinga the next day which would mean getting up quite early.
October 22nd - 24th - Bay of Islands (Russell)
Seeing as this was the first picture I ever consciously saw of Aotearoa sometime in the 90s, we thought it would only be logical if we spent our first weekend in New Zealand here. To celebrate this occasion, we went 10 NZ$ above our self-imposed budget of 150 NZD per night, and booked The Bay Suite at The Russell Bay Lodge, which has an own patio with breathtaking sea views. If this isn't the right place to fully start our Kiwi adventure, then I don't know.
Before we get there on Friday 22nd though, we will have to stop at a very meaningful place: At Waitangi, where the treaty of 1840 was signed on February 6th. This will most likely be our first close encounter with the Maori Culture, and God knows I cannot wait.
The weekend in Russell will then be for relaxing, sightseeing, eating and drinking. Possibly at the famous Gables (it's been closed for huge refurbishing and has just reopened again), or maybe at the Kamakura, or just at Sally's. Whenever not doing the a.m., we'll be watching the approx 800 boats coming in from Auckland, as it is Labour Day Weekend and therefore the weekend of the annual Coastal Classic. And of course, as we're proper tourists :p, the famous Cream Trip must not be missed and will happen at 1.35 pm on Saturday October 23rd.
October 24th - October 31st - Bay of Plenty/East Cape/Hawkes Bay/Wellington
This will be the mostly pre-planned, though partly spontaneous trip to Wellington on the Pacific Coast Highway around the East Cape via Coromandel Peninsula.
We will stop on Sunday 24th in Thames, Coromandel, where we booked a night in the Avalon Motel, which isn't exactly our first choice, but seeing as it is Labour Weekend, and Monday therefore a national holiday, the nicer places were booked.
But hey, we've got the mostest awesomest location booked in the Bay of Plenty for the following two nights from Monday 25th - Wed 27th in this dreamy hotel in Whakatane. Of course a day trip to White Island, New Zealand's only active marine volcano, is already booked for the 26th :) Before, I guess we will just have to have dinner at The Wharf Shed which apparently is almost world famous & award winning for its unique seafood dishes.
On the next day we head to Gisborne, where we will be staying at the beautiful Portside Hotel. We've booked one night to secure accomodation for the 27th, but we might add another night, as we deliberately left the time between 27th and 30th open for spontaneous decisions. On the way to Gisborne we will most definitely take a stop at the famous Pacific Coast Macadamia Nut Farm which is well known for its Macadamia & Honey ice cream, so a must for an ice cream & macadamia nut addict like me :o Of course, some dinner places have been sussed out already too, one of them is this.
I am especially looking forward to this day trip from Whakatane to Gisborne on the 27th, as it is basically through Maori Land, which is what the region around the East Cape is often called, as sometimes up to 80% of the population are Maori. There will be beautiful carvings, maraes and other precious signs of their culture everywhere to be seen.
After our stint in Gisborne we will head via Napier with likely one night stay (if we win the lottery, it will be here at the Nautilus; if not, we'll find somewhere a bit cheaper but still nice :)) towards Wellington, where we will stay from October 30th to November 1st in the IBIS Wellington, which is located almost next to the Bluebridge Ferry Terminal. As we are really into nice food and want to try as many different world cuisines as possible wherever we go, we might have dinner at a Cambodian restaurant, although there seem to be so many great places to try! At any rate, the 2nd evening we will eat at Kai In The City, which was suggested by Paul, and apparently offers great authentic Maori food.
November 1st - November 4th - South Island
Why Ferry Terminal, why next to it? Well, because we will be crossing the Cook Strait from North to South Island on November 1st at 08.00 am, which means reporting time at the ferry is 07.00 am.
We'll be arriving in Picton around 11.00 am so we hope to hit the road about 30 mins later and have a great lunch at one of the famous "snacks" around Kaikoura, which means nothing but "meal of crayfish". Which is of course what we are gonna tuck into, maybe at one of Kaikoura's places, maybe outside the town. At any rate, we will try to at least suspect the sight of a whale, although we will unfortunately not be able to do a special whale watching tour which they offer, because we will be heading further south towards Christchurch later in the afternoon, where we will spend our first night on the South Island right in the City Centre on Cathedral Square in the Camelot Cathedral Square hotel, which is located next to pubs and bars, so excellent after a day on the road, when all you want is a nice meal and some nice cool drinks before you hit the pillow!
The next day will be the day where we'll cross the famous "Arthur's pass". I am really super looking forward to this drive, and seeing as it's not much more than 240 km to drive, it will be a nice relaxed day on one of the scenic roads of New Zealand!
If we get there early enough, we'll of course stop in Shantytown and get a feeling how it was during the goldrush of the 1860s.
At any rate, our 2nd day on the South Island will end after a transcoastal trip highlight in Greymouth at the west coast, where we will stay in the Ashley Hotel for the night. We've prebooked all accomodation on the South Island because we don't have much time there, and cannot have any glitches spoiling these 3 days.
On Wednesday November 3rd we will be heading towards Nelson, which is supposed to be a really nice and cosy place to be, with lots of nice pubs. To celebrate our last evening on the South Island, I've put some effort into finding just the right accomodation (whilst the previous 2 nights we'll be staying where it's most convenient travel-wise), and found this marvellous place for a ridiculously low price.
As it's not quite 300 km from Greymouth, we might be getting up early in order to put in some stops on the way where it's worth it, and still get to this wonderful place relatively early to relax and enjoy whatever it might have to offer.
Sadly, we have to get up early again on Thursday 4th, because our ferry back to the North Island will be leaving Picton at 2.00 pm, which means driving up there 130 km and be there at reporting time 1.00 pm.
November 4th - November 10th West Coast/Forgotten World Highway/Central Plateau
When getting back to the North Island, we'll hit the road again instead of staying another night in Wellington. We'll be going up the West Coast until Wanganui where we will be spending the night at a lodge . If we can squeeze it in somehow the next day, we'll take a glance into Mt. Egmont National Park, and then at Stratford hit the famous "Forgotten World Highway" #43, where we initially planned to stay the night at the Whangamomona Hotel which is the headquarter of the "Republic of Whangamomona", but first none of their nicely refurbished rooms have an ensuite, and second they have no vacancies on the Friday night. So we'll just have a drink and/or a meal there passing by. It is quite a detour towards Lake Taupo which will be our next stop, but since I read about Whangamomona in some travel guide, I wanted to go there, because things like this are what travelling is about: Meeting weird people, learning weird traditions and try to become a part of them. So this is what we will do.
At any rate, after spending the night at this stunning place, we will head via Lake Taupo (either spend a night there or stay another night at the Creel) towards Rotorua where we will stay 2 nights from November 7th to 9th at this beautiful hotel which not only offers great accomodation, but also a daily Maori Culture Show which is not to miss. We will then have enough time to explore all the volcanic wonders around Rotorua including Thermal Wonderland and of course TePuia.
Right afterwards we'll have to visit the LOTR filming sites in Matamata, as Rob is a big fan of the movies. Depending on what time it will be, we'll either drive through to Auckland already on the 9th, but most likely spend the night in Hamilton, and then go back to Auckland on Wednesday the 10th so we will have another night there before we fly back on November 11th at 14.15 h.
So this is what we plan for our 23 days in Aotearoa, if everything goes to plan it will be 23 days we will still be thinking of when we're old and decrepit (me earlier than Rob :p).
Pictures, reports etc. will be posted either here or on my FlickR account whenever we get decent WiFi and of course the time to do it. At any rate, when we come back, it'll happen anyway, so stay tuned.
November 11th - November 12th - Travels
Auckland (AKL), 14.15 h, November 11th - Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 20.05 h, November 11th
Kuala Lumpur (KUL), 23.59 h November 11th - Frankfurt (FRA), 06.05 h, November 12th
Back home :(
Montag, 16. August 2010
So this is it........
........after months of preparation, dreaming, planning, getting excited, it's almost there: Our trip to New Zealand, in Maori "AOTEAROA" (land of the big white cloud).
This place is gonna be our "NZ Central"......... for reports, photos, rants, ramblings and the likes. You get the picture.
We'll be starting it off with posting about plans, bookings we've made, arrangements etc, and who knows, maybe I'll get back into the swing of webblogging with this.
At any rate: Here we go.
This place is gonna be our "NZ Central"......... for reports, photos, rants, ramblings and the likes. You get the picture.
We'll be starting it off with posting about plans, bookings we've made, arrangements etc, and who knows, maybe I'll get back into the swing of webblogging with this.
At any rate: Here we go.
Abonnieren
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