So, it's been a while since my last post - unfortunately I didn't have access to t'interweb whilst I was there, hence the lack of online presence. Rest assured though folks, I'm back!
So, back a couple of weeks - had a very long flight from LAX (worst airport in the world fact fans) and got almost no sleep, but never mind, got to watch some good movies which killed a few hours. We were nearly redirected to Christchurch (an hour from Auckland, and on the South Island) due to fog but luckily we managed to land. Just.
New Zealand is an amazing place - I spent a few days in Auckland relaxing, and headed over to Piha beach. It's a lovely place with black sand and very dangerous rips, and the drive across the mountains to reach it was amazing - the views are just incredible.
After a few days in Auckland we flew to Christchurch and took a minibus to Kaikoura, winding along the coastal road and schlepping up mountains at 10KPH. Kaikoura is a lovely place, nothing like seaside towns in England.
The hotel in Kaikoura was lovely - we had a large room with a kitchen, a balcony that was (literally) 20 feet from the ocean with views of the mountains on our left, and a spa bath that was very relaxing,, especially after swimming in the sea.
So, back a couple of weeks - had a very long flight from LAX (worst airport in the world fact fans) and got almost no sleep, but never mind, got to watch some good movies which killed a few hours. We were nearly redirected to Christchurch (an hour from Auckland, and on the South Island) due to fog but luckily we managed to land. Just.
New Zealand is an amazing place - I spent a few days in Auckland relaxing, and headed over to Piha beach. It's a lovely place with black sand and very dangerous rips, and the drive across the mountains to reach it was amazing - the views are just incredible.
After a few days in Auckland we flew to Christchurch and took a minibus to Kaikoura, winding along the coastal road and schlepping up mountains at 10KPH. Kaikoura is a lovely place, nothing like seaside towns in England.
The hotel in Kaikoura was lovely - we had a large room with a kitchen, a balcony that was (literally) 20 feet from the ocean with views of the mountains on our left, and a spa bath that was very relaxing,, especially after swimming in the sea.
Ah yes, swimming in the sea. With dolphins. That had to be the most incredible thing I've ever done - we went out on a boat with wetsuits, snorkels and all that jazz, and pretty soon saw a pod of dolphins. Once we were given the signal to dive in we went and swam with the dolphins, who were playing with us - circling around us, jumping around, just amazing. We did four swims and each time there were hundreds of dolphins everywhere - you could just float and look down through your mask and they'd be swimming past you, underneath you... We swam for around an hour, saw two types of dolphins (dusky dolphins and common dolphins) and also saw some seals, and it was worth every penny. We nearly booked straight back on to the next tour when we got off the boat...
After Kaikoura we headed down to Dunedin, and once again nearly got sent back to Christchurch because of fog. We landed on the second attempt though...Whilst in Dunedin (well, Taieri Mouth) we headed up to Alexandria for lunch, and stopped by the Clyde Dam, and we also went to a place on the Dunedin peninsula where you go on a tour on 8 wheel drive off road vehicles to see seals and penguins. We were really lucky because we ended up getting a private tour....
The rest of the trip was fairly laid back, with a few tours of Auckland and the harbour. We also popped over to Devonport for a walk on the beach which was a pleasant day out.That's pretty much the New Zealand part of the trip - the photos should be going up very soon so keep an eye on http://www.flickr.com/photos/morals so you can see pics from the whole trip (Canada, USA and NZ).
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