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Sunday 6th MarchSunday, March 6. 2011
Well we arrived back home on Thursday after a very long a tiring journey. There were no problems with the flights they were all on time - just that travelling for 36 hours with very little sleep coupled with a 13 hour time difference takes it out of you.
The only minor hiccup was that we thought that we had lost one of our cases. It has bright coloured top and it had been put on the belt the "wrong" way up so all I could see was a black case - but it turned up (literally!) We are starting to get over the jet lag - had a good night's sleep last night and feel much "brighter" today. All washing done. Everything put away - seems like we have never been away!!!! Well that is the end of this blog - hope you have enjoyed it and thanks for reading it. Tuesday 1st MarchTuesday, March 1. 2011
Well the New Zealand holiday is almost at an end. This time tomorrow we will be in the air on our way back to the UK.
Since arriving back from our "road trip" we have been relaxing and spending some time with the family before going home. The main highlight over the last few days was last night when we went to see Neil Diamond who was starting his latest world tour in New Zealand. I will let you know when I get home. Thursday 24th FebruaryThursday, February 24. 2011
Sorry I have not posted for a few days but I have not had a very good Internet connection for a few days.
Monday 21st FebruaryMonday, February 21. 2011
Yesterday we moved on to Taupo which is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo and is probably as near as you can get to the centre of New Zealand.
The lake is the largest lake in New Zealand and as you can see is quite spectacular. Today it was decided that we would take a boat trip to see the Maori rock carvings. Now there are two ways to do this trip, well actually there are four, either by super duper modern catamaran or by an old clapped out steamer - guess which one it was decreed that we go on - got it in one! Incidentally the other two ways are by sailing boat or by kayak. The total trip was about two hours and started off by going round several of the bays and then to the sculptures. Now because these are Maori carvings the assumption is that they have been there for many years but that is not so - they were only done in the 1970's When we had returned from the boat trip we (well me) decided that we needed a bit of excitement so we went for a plane ride - now calling it a plane may stretch the bounds of credibility as it was a Cessna Floatplane. Now you have to bear in mind that the last plane we were on was an Airbus A380 which is about the biggest plane around at the moment and this is right at the opposite end of the spectrum - and we will not even go down the road of when it was first built (1970's - can you see a theme developing?) The trip in this plane was breathtaking - it was almost impossible to take in all of the scenery. We have seen some spectacular scenery whilst driving around but to see it from the air was something else. More photos from this flight can be found in my photo gallery. Tomorrow we move on to Rotorura - our last stop on the "road trip" before we return to Auckland Saturday 19th FebruarySaturday, February 19. 2011
Wednesday 16th FebruaryWednesday, February 16. 2011
Today we went on a trip to the Bridge to Nowhere. This entailed being on the road by 07:00 as we had a two hour drive ahead of us in order reach the starting point. Although it was only 75km the roads were not what you would call good - in fact you would not even call them bad. Quite a bit of the road was not much more than a single track that was winding its way up and down the hillside, and just to round it all off the last 15km was on gravel roads.
Despite the minor problem of getting there we were actually early. Once everyone else had arrived we were issued with our life-jackets (oh I forgot to mention that the journey was by jet boat up the river) The journey to the landing point took about an hour. Once at the landing point we all disembarked the boat and set off on a 40 minute walk to the bridge through the forest Eventually we reached the bridge. So you are now asking why is it called the Bridge to Nowhere when it goes across the gorge? Well in typical government style back in 1917 they offered land to returning soldiers but what they failed to tell these "settlers" was that the land was on the side of a hill. Part of the deal was that a road would be made to link these new settlers to the nearest towns and in order to do so the bridge was built over the gorge. Unfortunately it was not possible to cultivate the land around there so the settlers moved out leaving the Bridge to Nowhere. After the return trip to the boat we then went a little further upstream for lunch before returning along the calm and serene river Wamganui Tomorrow we move on to New Plymouth so watch this space Tuesday 15th FebruaryTuesday, February 15. 2011
Sunday 13th FebruarySunday, February 13. 2011
Saturday 12th FebruarySaturday, February 12. 2011
Greetings from Wellington - the place that seems like the skateboard capital of the world. You would not believe the number of folk that go around Wellington on a skateboard.
This morning we went on a "Seal Safari" which started off with a drive up to the highest point of Wellington so that we could admire the views - unfortunately Wellington had a lot of low cloud today so the views were not that good. This was along, what we thought at the time were some poor tracks (little did we know what was in store for us later) but fortunately we were in a 4WD vehicle. After we had been to the top there was only one way to go and as we all know that way is down - a most interesting drive on gravel There were about twenty or so seals there today but when it is winter that will growto something in the region of fifty with another colony of about 200 in the next bay. We were able to get within about a couple of meters of the seals who did not seem the least bit bothered by our presence. We had about half an hour around the colony before setting off back. Now for some reason best known to our guide/driver he decided to take us the scenic route close to the sea rather than higher up the beach. Well of course the inevitable happened and we got stuck Fortunately were this happened was close where there were some locals who came and pulled us out!! Our driver was a guy called Nathan Gray who only did this as a part time job as his full time job was a travel writer. He is considered as one of New Zealand's top travel writers and has written a book about his 4,000km walk along the Great Wall of China. He also has a degree in law and in politics. The rest of the journey back was uneventful, fortunately. Once back we then went to find the cable car to take us up to the Botanical Gardens. We felt a bit cheated by the cable car as it was not one that was suspended on a cable but one that was "driven" by a cable but one that used a cable to "power" it. Once at the top of the Botanical Gardens we then had a vey pleasant walk back down. Thursday 10th FebruaryThursday, February 10. 2011
Wednesday 9th FebruaryWednesday, February 9. 2011
Monday 7th FebruaryMonday, February 7. 2011
Today is our last day in Gisborne and we have to admit that we have enjoyed the last three days. Firstly the motel has been very comfortable
But the one thing that has made the stay so enjoyable has been the weather - admittedly it has been hot, hot, hot. One thing that we have noticed about Gisborne is that it is a totally different place to anywhere else that we have been to. Most of the places that we have visited have had a "holiday" feel to them but Gisborne is different in that it is more of a residential city although it is fairly new having only been built around about the 1900's and having suffered major cyclone damage in 1988. Along with the majority of New Zealand Gisborne was another of the places that Captain James Cook first set foot on and there is the obligatory statue to him here. I have to say that when you see and read the exploits of Cook you can only admire the man - how somebody could sail half way round the world, keep control of his ship and men and encounter the Maori warriors is nothing short of incredible. Today we went to Eastwoodhill Arboretum which is about 35km outside of Gisborne. We were not sure what it was going tom be like but were pleasantly surprised at not only the size if the place but at the views and scenery There are several well signposted walks around the grounds - one of which takes you up to the "summit". This is a fairly steep walk but is well worth the effort for the views - some of the best that we have seen in NZ. Tomorrow we set off for Napier Sunday 6th FebruarySunday, February 6. 2011
Today is an important day in NZ - it is Waitangi Day, the anniversary of the signing of the treaty at Waitangi in 1840. This is a public holiday but as it falls on a Sunday it means that there is no "day off work" although there is a move a foot to "Mondayise" these holidays.
The Treaty was one of those occasions where the British carried out their usual policy of "robbing" the Maori's out of their own land and is still the subject of much unrest between the Maori nation and the New Zealand government. There was a report a few weeks back that one of the tribes had come to an agreement with the Government to give up their claim for several million NZD. Today has been extremely hot with temperatures well into the 30C's making it very uncomfortable. We went for a walk around Gisborne and, by accident, came across the (or maybe one of) cemetery in which we found the monument to the Poverty Bay Massacre. This was quite disturbing in that it listed the names and ages of those slaughtered in 1868 Te Kooti, a Maori 'rebel' leader. When you see a list of whole families with children aged 9 years, 4 years and 1 1/2 years it brings home what some people have suffered. I think that such a lot of the history is due to the fact that New Zealand is such a young country and that almost everything has been recorded. Saturday 5th FebruarySaturday, February 5. 2011
Thursday 3rd FebruaryThursday, February 3. 2011
Today we went on a trip to White Island which is the only active volcano in New Zealand.
The trip entailed first of all a boat trip of an hour and a half and then in order to reach the island there was a trip in a "tender". Well actually it was an inflatable dingy.
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