New Zealand 2010
a vacation
Share- Saturday, October 30, 2010
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Well we have arrived at Heathrow, we had a Nice relaxing trip up in an Airport Taxi...took about 3 hours along the A303 including a stop...we arrived to Discover that our seats came with Priority boarding so we were checked in, through Customs and security in 20minutes flat. must be a record...so now Helen has plenty of time to wander around the Shops...leaving steve to sit with the Laptop and update the Blog and surf the web -
- Sunday, October 31, 2010
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Unusually for us we were up early this morning, so had 12 hours to kill before our onward flight. We decided to take the trolley bus tour to Manhattan Beach and Mall. Just to make you envious, it is 20 degrees and very sunny! We took a stroll along Manhattan Pier this morning and Steve very much enjoyed watching the women's volley ball on the beach!
It was then onto the shopping mall and a visit to a chinese restautant for lunch! We're just sat in the Hotel lobby now (next to the hotel Starbucks!), waiting for the airport shuttle bus! -
- Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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We arrived at Auckland Airport around 7.30, managed to make it through the very strict customs process!! Picked up our reliable wreck car! It is a Toyota Sprinter, but definately does not live up to it's name - even with us driving. -
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We had a lovely drive to Hahei (on the Coromandel peninsula) through very scenic countryside and on some lovely twisty roads.
The next day we were up quite early (still getting used to this time zone) and decided to walk to Cathedral Cove. Some of you may already know this as it was used in the opening scene to the second Nania film - Prince Caspian. It is a good 45 min walk to get there along the coastal path, which involves walking up and down the cliffs at least 3 times!! So you soon find out how unfit you are! But it is well worth the effort! Not much has changed in five years, except you are no longer supposed to walk under the stone arch. There are warning signs and it is roped off. Some of the rock had broken off and fell close to a tourist a little while ago and at some point will happen again. Not that this stopped many people, or us from climbing over the ropes and going through! We are after all in a land of the Bungy Jump!!
The walk back took longer, steps needed to be walked up instead of down! A weeks worth of excercise done in one morning though - not bad!!!
We then drove to the small passenger ferry which goes accross to Whitianga. Whilst waiting, we spotted the signs for the tsunami evacuation route, with a map to show the high ground in the local area! Needed when you live in a volcanic area! -
- Thursday, November 4, 2010
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We travelled down the coast from Hahei to Tauranga. Had a good look round and then returned to Waihi Beach where we stayed overnight. Beautiful stretch of beach, the wind was quite strong so the sea was quite wild! -
- Friday, November 5, 2010
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We stopped here for lunch, as we had stayed here 5 years ago when we did our house sit! It has changed a little - more houses and more traffic! We were glad to see the Grape Vine Cafe was still there and the food was still as good! -
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We were picked up from the airport and taken back to Mark, Helen, Ben and Arlo's house, where we are staying for a few days. Steve had to earn his supper on Sunday by helping Mark to cut down one of their trees!
We spent Tuesday at a nearby wildlife park - Willowbank - only small wildlife! And did manage to see a tiny Kiwi! -
- Monday, November 8, 2010
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We spent the day in Christchurch on Monday. Had a wander around Hagley Park and then a look at some of the earthquake damage, which is still being repaired.
We also took a bus to one of the Mall's and managed to catch the bus back to Darfield! -
- Wednesday, November 10, 2010
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We picked up a Campervan from Christchurch Airport - well actually we met in a hotel carpark after a confusing telephone conversation! But in true Kiwi style everything worked out fine!! This campervan is a bit of a palace compared to Dipsey (the van we had 5 years ago). We have also named this van and he is now known as Eddie !
We left Christchurch late morning and headed of to Arthur's Pass - this is a national park that includes a very spectacular road bridge accross a ravine. We stopped in a campsite just past here - the Jacksons retreat. Only 3 campervans in the end, so lots of space and quiet. Helen also managed to persuade Steve to go on a forest walk to see the local rapids. -
- Thursday, November 11, 2010
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We drove from The Jackson's Retreat onto Franz Josef - this was quite a long journey in time owing to the windy twisty roads, but being us we really enjoyed this! Also very spectacular constantly changing spectacular scenery.
We arrived in Franz Joseph around 3pm and found a campsite within the town. Then spent a couple of hours soaking in the hot pools! These were man-made hot pools, but still very nice and ranged from 36 degrees to 40 degrees! -
- Friday, November 12, 2010
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Another reasonable journey to do today, so another early start! The journey from Franz Josef to Queenstown, firstly follows the coast and then heads inland and the road winds it's way through mountains.
We did find a very nice spot for lunch by a lake - the beauty of a compervan - you can just stop where you want! -
- Saturday, November 13, 2010
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A great journey from Queenstown to Mildford Sound, especially the bit from Te Anau to Milford Sound. Approx 140 km of motorbike road heaven!! We did follow a group of bikers and were both very envious - this road is fantastic and the scenery to match! We also passed throught the Homer Tunnel - 1.2km tunnel straight through the mountain with a steep decline. This is traffic light controlled as not big enough for 2 lanes and you can wait for at least 15 minutes for the lights to change. But no-one minds the wait looking at the scenery around including waterfalls, snow covered mountains and parrotts dive bombing the cars! Just fab!!
We were booked into a campsite here and after a quick visit to the cafe settled down for the evening,
The rain started around 6pm and continued through most of the night with some pretty strong winds! Ha! I here some of you cry - but we woke to blue skies in the morning and because of all the rain the waterfalls were brilliant and more had formed than the previous day. -
- Sunday, November 14, 2010
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We booked ourselves on the 9.30 am boat trip to the Milford Sound information centre and underwater observatory. This was a really good trip especially as we had had rain the night before - there were lots of waterfalls! As you will see from the photos the weather had cleared up nicely for our trip! -
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After our boat trip at Milford Sound we headed back to Te Anau, approximately 170km away. We checked ourselves into a campsite and had time to do the washing! -
- Monday, November 15, 2010
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We headed back to Queenstown today and decided to stay here for 2 nghts. We had a long walk around the town and a trip on the Gondola. This is not so good when you have a fear of heights, but Helen managed to make it to the top without to much drama!
As a treat we decided to eat out on evening and found a very nice restaurant called the Captains Restaurant. -
- Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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For our last night in the campervan we headed for lake Tekapo. A lot more spectacular scenery along the way included a stop at the lake with a view to Mount Cook. The campsite we stopped at also had a view to Mount Cook and the snow caped mountains around it. -
- Thursday, November 18, 2010
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Today we headed back to Christchurch Airport to drop off the campervan and pick up a hire car for the weekend. We headed back to Darfield for an overnight stop with Mark, Helen, Ben and Arlo. - Friday, November 19, 2010
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We headed to Akaroa with Mark, Helen, Ben and Arlo. We were very pleased to find that we had a free upgrade at the accommodation.
We went for a couple of long walks on Saturday as well as sampling the local cafes and Restaurants. Akaroa has a french influence, so has very good food!
Sunday morning we watched Mark take Ben and Arlo out on a pedalo. Unfortunately they only had a 2 person pedalo available! -
- Sunday, November 21, 2010
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We had another 2 nights with Mark Helen Ben and Arlo before our flight up to Auckland. The monday we spent packing and had a very nice lunch at a cafe in Oxford. - Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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We picked up a campervan from Auckland Airport. This time we had booked El Cheapo through Jucy rentals! It was a 20 year old Toyota Hiace with a high top. The Campervan conversion was not as old as the van, but it was a little more basic than the one we had had in the South Island. But as its name suggested it was very reasonable and great fun! We headed for Russell in the Bay of Islands. Such a nice spot we decided to stay for 3 nights!
We caught the passenger ferry from Russell to Pahia and spent the day wandering around and enjoying a leisurely lunch. There was a cruise ship docked in the bay which meant the tiny town of Pahia was very busy. They had laid on a christmas market selling lots of different local crafts.
The next day we spent walking around Russell and did a walk over the hill to Long Beach - this did not look very far on the map but did envolve lots of hills! -
- Friday, November 26, 2010
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We caught the car ferry accross to Opua (5km from Paihia) and then checked in for our overnight cruise around the Bay of Islands! The cruise ship was called the Ipipiri - the name means - many places, but with only 30 en-suite cabins was quite small. We set sail around 2pm and enjoyed coffee and muffins! Moored in a bay between 2 small islands and went kayaking, which was great fun. Other passengers chose to go snorkelling or to the beach. We then set sail again and headed for another bay, Oke Bay, where we stayed overnight. We were entertained by the staff and some of the passengers high diving from one of the upper decks! Then enjoyed a 4 course dinner and sat with 3 other couples who we got to know over the evening.
We were awake early the next morning as breakfast was served between 7am and 8am, however it was worth getting up early to see the bay first thing. Very still and quiet with the sea like a mill pond!
We then spent the morning cruising back with the captain pointing out various sights, including dolphins.
This was a very good trip and included a lot of things in the price! -
- Saturday, November 27, 2010
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We stopped here for one night on our way back to Auckland and enjoyed a walk on the beach. Even went for a paddle. - Sunday, November 28, 2010
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- total distance: 26,192 miles (42.152 km)
Travelers
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Stephen & Helen ThomasTaunton, Somerset, UK
Followers
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lawrence kokNegeri Sembilan, Malaysia
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