Aymi’s Adventures

Dinner in Aukland’s Skytower 

The long flight to Aukland from LA was exhausting and I was very upset at completely loosing a day after crossing the international date line. I have no record of 13th Aug, I set off from LA on 12th and arrived here on 14th and am feeling very cheated. Oh well Shit happens I guess!

The first thing I have to say about New Zealand is how spectacular the scenery is, from the beaches and volcanoes in the North Island to the mountains and glaciers in the South Island.  Before coming to New Zealand I was not really that interested in it and only going to spend 3 weeks quickly skipping through it as I didnt think I would like it.  As it turned out I loved it, spent just over a month there which was still not nearly enough and would love to go back one day – maybe in summer next time to see the North Island at it’s best.  The main highlight for me of course was meeting up with my parents there.

Some of the beautiful scenerary, Ma n Pa enjoying sunset on the beach.

The first thing I did after arriving into Aukland at 5am was to change into my trainers.  Flip flops and New Zealand in winter just dont go together.  After hanging around for a few hours I finally got a bus up to Keri Keri in the Northlands area arriving about 2pm.  It was kinda surreal seeing Mum and Dad there waiting for me at the bus stop, but after the journey to their friends house where we were staying it was just like old times, almost like I hadn’t been away at all. 

I saw most of the North Island with Mum and Dad, staying in Keri Keri was the base for exploring the Northlands including 90 mile beach, its sand-dunes, sand-boarders and quicksand leading up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point and meeting place of the Pacific Ocean & Tasman Sea. Then there was the boat trip around the Bay of Islands taking in Russell, Cape Brett, the Hole in the rock, with a few dolphins racing the boat and two killer whales thrown in for good measure. There was Waipoua forest with New Zealand’s largest kauri tree, Tane Mahuta. We also saw the widest trunked Kauri tree and the seven sister trees before heading to gum diggers museum.

Dolphin racing our boat.

Soon it was time to leave Keri Keri so we headed South and ended up in Tauranga it was a really nice small town atmosphere, with some decent nightlife. Mount Mounganui nearby was a nice short climb and had a great view over the seaside town. Then it was back up to Aukland for my last night with my parents. We had dinner in the sky tower which was amazing, not sure Mum really appreciated the views as she was too busy concentrating on the height! 

Auklands Skytower surrounded in the mysterious night mist.

After my parents had left I spent another couple of nights in Aukland and then headed down to Lake Taupo which was absolutely stunning.  I managed to do a skydive here which was such an amazing feeling and stunning views over the lake.  Then there was horseriding around the highlands with the sulphur seemingly steaming from the ground finishing up with a traditional Mauri show and Hangi dinner.  From there it was down to Wellington and the Te Papa museum where I decided to stay one night only as the hostel was not nice and go over to the South Island a day early. 

Skydiving, horseriding, Mauri Show

The South Island was amazing, from my first night in Picton, the smallest town ever, maybe even smaller than Pott Shrigley to my last night in Christchurch, I loved it.  The Kiwi Experience bus was great fun, although it did annoy me a little been told when to eat, when to pee, when to sleep, kinda takes the fun out of independant travelling, but also makes it a lot easier to meet loads of people and just get drunk all the time, as everything else is done for you! 

The Kiwi bus and some of the friends I made on it.

The main highlights were the glacier walk at Franz Joseph, learning to ski (and the apres ski where teapots were the order of the day) in queenstown, jet boat riding, fancy dress party at poo pub, and the great people I travelled with.

Franz Joseph Glacier walk, My fancy dress creation at the Poo Pub – Jordan you look fab!!

 More stunning scenic views of New Zealand