BootsnAll Travel Network



Articles Tagged ‘1’

More articles about ‘1’
« Home

Rangitoto Island

Wednesday, October 19th, 2005

Today I went via ferry to Rangitoto Island. It was just about 20-30 minutes away. The island is situated in the Hauraki Gulf. It is a dormant volcano, which last erupted 600 year ago. The island is about 250m above sea level-almost the same height as the city’s Sky Tower, which I visited yesterday.

It took about a 1/2 hour to climb to the summit but unfortunately, it was quite cloudy and I did not get the spectacular view of Auckland I thought I was going to get. We then took a train/tractor through the Pohutukawa forest. The Pohutukawa is NZ’s Christmas tree. The whole island turns crimson when these trees flower. There were also lava trails and fern glens on the island. It was a nice day off the beaten track.

Me amongst the lava rocks:
IMG_1398[1]

Okay, now here are some obervations I have made so far about Auckland:

-Every other person has a backpack.
-The McDonalds here is much nicer and has a million more choices than the one at home!!! (McCafe)
-I have seen every nationality but can count on one hand how many black people I have seen .
-There is no pollution in Auckland because there are no major industries. Tourism is the Big one for them. As a result, the air is so clean and fresh and cool, that I am exhausted by 9PM:)
-I have only met 2 Americans in the week I’ve been here so far-2 guys from California who are surfers. Most people I’ve met are English or Irish who are here on a working visa.
-All in all Auckland reminds me of New York, only cleaner.

Ki Ora, Brilliant, Cheers!

Tuesday, October 18th, 2005

Well, did a lot of sightseeing today and took an afternoon tour. It included the Auckland Museum, Mt. Eden, various neighborhoods, and the Sky Tower. It is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. It was very similar to the CN Tower in Canda. The have skyjumping as well. I took a photo of some nut that was doing it while I was there. Basically, she bungy jumped off the tower. Yeah, okay. I am not even going to lie and say I did it…haha.

The Sky Tower in the distance:
IMG_1313[1]

The Sky Tower at night on an angle:
IMG_1406[1]

A long way from home at the Sky Tower:
IMG_1369[1]

At the Marina:
IMG_1319[1]

View from Mt. Eden:
IMG_1329[1]

Ferry Building:
IMG_1308[1]

I got to talking to the cute 32-year old tour guide and come to find out he used to work for Contiki in Europe. He was really good friends with my tour guide, Tim. Too funny. He was telling me they are very desperate for workers – teachers, police etc. They actually had to go to the UK and recruit 72 people to come work in NZ. Interesting. Apparently, it is like everywhere else-the jobs don’t pay enough for one to live there.

Hiya mate…

Sunday, October 16th, 2005
Today (Monday) I did alot of walking around. Spent about 3 hours at the New Zealand Maritime Museum. It was pretty interesting. Barbara-you would have loved it. I now know why they call Auckland, the "city of sails." The streets ... [Continue reading this entry]

I’m in Auckland!!!

Saturday, October 15th, 2005
Yep, arrived here and what's the first thing I do? Buy internet time. Guess I'll have to get used to that:) It was another long flight and crossed the Int'l Date Line so a bit strange. There were not one, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bonjour from Tahiti!!

Saturday, October 15th, 2005
Well, arrived in Tahiti to the pitch darkness at 6PM on Thursday. Airport was small and had to climb down the ladder on the tarmac. Nice. They did have a tahitian band playing island music and gave everyone a flower. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Leaving Los Angeles

Saturday, October 15th, 2005
It would have been nice for the pilot to tell us that we were leaving. People were still standing in the aisles as we were taking off. My flight was on Tahiti Nui-super laid back for an airline. ANyway, I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Less than a week to go….

Thursday, October 6th, 2005
All I can say is Yayyyyyyy!

Condones Gratis

Thursday, September 15th, 2005
For those Spanish speakers out there, yes that translates to "free condoms". I went to the county health department this morning for my immunizations and that is what I learned. For all the times I have complained about health ... [Continue reading this entry]

Boston 2005

Monday, September 12th, 2005
Boston Skyline BostonSkyline.jpg Cool Building CoolBuilding.jpg Fenway Park Fenway.jpg Kristen & Norah at Fenway Park (Boston won!!!) NKfenway.jpg

Can it be-One Month to go???

Monday, September 12th, 2005
Yes, it is. I just looked at the calendar. I was in Boston last week for a trade show and it went really well. I even had 3 days to be a tourist. It still feels unreal that I will ... [Continue reading this entry]