Tag: North Island
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Rotorua
Isabelle wonderful person that she is moved her booked trip to a geysir and a thermal park back a day. That way I could join her. So after I reached Roturua and booked into the hostel we met up and went along Lake Rotorua past a living Maori village to Kuriau Park which is full…
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A night with the Maori
Tonight be had the chance to sleep on a reconstructed Maori village (with a few addons) and eat some hangi (dish cooked in the earth). After a more informal greeting by our hosts we got the chance to try our hand at a few stick games and some flax production. Of course only after we…
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A visit to Hobbiton
After we had a cider in the local pub and a good nights sleep in a nice lodge the next planned stop was Hobbiton. Or at least the place where the Hobbiton scenes of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit where filmed. The first contract stated that the film crews had to revert…
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Down down into the hole we go
Today was a pay or get bored kind of day. The place we went to was in the middle of nowhere and the reason we went there are some caves that are inhabited by glowworms. Those cannibalistic maggots have silk strings hanging from them and produce bioluminescence as a byproduct of their digestion. The light…
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Cathedral cove
After hotwater beach we had an appointment with cathedral cove. Which in the end is another hole in the rock. The kayaking tour had been cancelled because of forecast thunderstorms. So whoever wanted to go there (the whole bus) had to walk Nice views all the way. Just somewhat cloudy. And then it started to…
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Fire alarm and no one cares
In Auckland we where booked into Nomads. Which just is a lot of beds on 6 floors with little space in between. The kitchen is on the 7th floor. While I was up there having just chucked my pasta into the pot an alarm sounded. – Probably just a smoke alarm because someone cooked the…
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A blown tire
After the shocker with the child in the water the drive back to Auckland was all the excitement we had to expect for the rest of the day. The trip was supposed to be pretty uneventful. Had the main road had not beem closed because a milk truck rolled over and the milk all coagulated…
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Hole in the rock and dolphin cruise
One of the touristic attractions of Paihia is the Hole in the rock. To get there you can either take a helicopter ride or you book a boat trip through the Bay of Islands with its 144 islands. With the latter you get to see more of the little islands and you have a good…
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Daytrip to Cape Reinga
The day started early with a different bus for our trip to the northern most point of New Zealand – Cape Reinga. The other bus was necessary as we went on a drive over 90 mile beach (which is only a little bit more than 50 miles actually). And 4 wheel drive definitely is a…
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Kauri Trees
Kauri trees are the biggest trees in New Zealand. Not the highest. The trees where massive (40-50 meters high with a diameter of 5 meters) and almost everywhere in the North Island as it seemed. To make it even better the wood is always straight, smooth and does not contain those ugly holes produced by…