Natural New Zealand
In and around New Zealand
Well, admittedly I have completed my travels in New Zealand so this is sort of cheating, I think. But I can honestly say that I'm glad that I didn't take the time out while I was there to spend on the computer updating my blog. There were too many interesting things to get out and see and unlike my time spent in Egypt and India where everything was just so foreign I felt more at home here in the sense that it was my first "westernized" country I had been to in 3 months. They certainly make it easy to travel around this country and the people are so friendly it was an overwhelming change for me coming from India where just trying to figure out how to get somewhere is a challenge in and of itself where you have to negotiate your way through the people trying to make money off from you and then confirm that you are on the right bus/train before departing. This is a traveler's paradise!
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Adria
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1
Culture Shock in Auckland
Well I feel as though I've hit a wall. I left India on the evening of the 7th and after spending a day sleeping in an airport hotel in Kuala Lumpur... Continue reading »
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2
Art Deco
Well it takes Sebastian and I almost all day to reach Napier. Along the way I learn that cities in New Zealand almost all have something associated... Continue reading »
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3
No room at any inn - lessons learned!
So Rachel and I arrive at the information center in Wellington after storing our bags and we find it a nuthouse. It seems that there are many activ... Continue reading »
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4
Christchurch
So once again I have arrived somewhere and I am in an indecisive frame of mind. The journey from Wellington to Picton via ferry was a bit rock... Continue reading »
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5
Whale Watching!
We arrived with enough time left in the day to set up a whale watching tour for the next morning - 7:45 AM to be exact - ouch! I was really hoping... Continue reading »
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6
Not enough time spent here!
On our way from Kaikoura we made a quick stop to take a walk, which was nice to be able to have the freedom to do! Ahhh, the joys of having your ow... Continue reading »
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7
Sea Kayaking, seals and backpacker boats!
I am really looking forward to doing this trip, we are doing a 2 day kayak/hike in the park. Our day starts really early as we chose to drive into... Continue reading »
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8
The jade carving capital
We had a pretty long drive from Marahau to Hokitika and we made a couple of stops on the way, first at Buller Gorge - the sight of the longest swin... Continue reading »
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9
Rain forests and glaciers?
This area has an incredible amount of annual rainfall so I'm not surprised when we arrive and it's raining. I took the time to hit the internet caf... Continue reading »
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10
Lake Wanaka
As I indicated in my previous entry, we started the drive from Fox Glacier to Lake Wanaka and it was, by far, the most beautiful ride that I can re... Continue reading »
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11
Milford and Doubtful Sounds
We moved on from Wanaka with hopes to see both Milford and Doubtful Sound and we decided to stay closer to Doubtful Sound because this was where we... Continue reading »
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12
A short stop
This was just a stopping point for us so we didn't have to drive so far the next day to get to the Catlins. I am sorry to admit that we didn't take th... Continue reading » -
13
The Catlins
We started the drive from Invircargill the next morning nice and early in order to be able to take in some of the many stops on the way to our host... Continue reading »
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14
Dunedin
Dunedin is a charming city with lots of European charm. I felt as if I were in Ireland or Scotland! The center of the city is an octagon in plan an... Continue reading »
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15
Rain, rain, go away
The drive to Mount Cook was rather long. Before we reached our destination we were awed by the aquamarine waters of Lake Pukaki and the views of th... Continue reading »
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16
Incredible Water color
We arrived in Lake Tekapo and it was still raining, this was after we drove from Mount Cook in the rain while sitting soaked (and shivering in my c... Continue reading »
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17
Akaroa
The drive to the Banks Peninsula was rather uneventful, other than the fact that we almost ran out of gas. We found a station in time but we had to... Continue reading »
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18
Christchurch - again!
This was basically a stopover to shorten our ride the next day to Picton, where we sadly had to return the car! I was surprised that the owners at... Continue reading »
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19
Picton
After a long day of driving we arrived in Picton. We took advantage of being able to stop off wherever we wanted along the way when excitingly I sp... Continue reading »
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20
Wellington
Having learned from my previous experience here we booked ahead. We arrived late on a Monday so it was really quiet as we walked through the city t... Continue reading »
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21
Taupo
Well I seem to have started a trend here in the north island....I started out from Wellington at 8:00 AM and I was supposed to arrive in Taupo arou... Continue reading »
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22
Rotorua
Fortunately the bus ride to Rotorua was rather uneventful, I was almost expecting some sort of natural disaster to befall me on the way but I was t... Continue reading »
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23
The fascinating caves of Waitomo!
The bus ride to Waitomo (not to be confused with Waitopo) was the most interesting to date for me as the bus driver was a really talkative guy who... Continue reading »
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24
Bay of Islands and the once in 150 year storm
Well first off, it was not the typical thing to go from Waitomo all the way up to the Bay of Islands in one day, but we wanted to test out the bus... Continue reading »
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25
Auckland - again!
Well I am certainly glad that I extended my time here in New Zealand, I was able to move at a pace that made me feel relaxed, a key thing when you'... Continue reading »
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