Greetings from Down Under . . .
July 26/08 -We arrived safely in Auckland New Zealand . . . Ann's flying time - 19 hours - Ottawa - > Toronto -> San Fransico -> Auckland. THANK YOU Areoplan for the Executive Class Tickets! It made all the difference.
Debbie's flying time - 30 hours - Ottawa -> Vancouver - >Hong Kong -> Auckland. Debbie says THANKS to Cathay Pacific. She was randomly selected for an free upgrade to Executive Class on the 11 hour Hong Kong ->Auckland stage of the trip. Obviously, we are kicking off this phase of our adventure in style!
And speaking of style - I am sure you're all interested in knowing just what we brought along for our 5 month trip - we each are carrying one large packsack and one smaller day pack filled with (each) 3 pairs of pants that zip off into shorts, 3 short sleeved t-shirts, 2 long sleeved t-shirts, 1 fleece, 3 pairs of shoes (hikers, sandals and a pair of crocks) , a few changes of underwear, 50 sunblock blouse and hat, 1 rain jacket and being the princess that I am, I also brought along a pair of rain pants which I have been extremely thankful for given that since we've arrived, NZ has experienced its worse winter storm in decades, +150 k winds and torrential rains with ++ flooding in some areas. In addition, we each have a large zip lock bag holding the "anti" drugs . . . anti-nausea, anti-diarrhea, anti-malarial, anti-biotics etc. etc. etc.
Auckland is a beautiful . . . population 1.4 M, it is surrounded by 48 volcanic mountains, 50 islands, 21 parks and 50 vineyards! (no wonder is has been voted as one of the worlds most beautiful cities!). Auckland a.k.a the "City of Sails" has more boats per capita than any other city in the world.
This past week (as we make our way towards the south island) has been very busy, and FUN! We visited the Antartic Expedition Centre - artifacts from Cpt Scott's expedition to the Antartic (1910-1913), spent an hour or so watching the (tres cute) penguins doing their thing (basically just standing around), attended a Maori Cultural Show at the Auckland Museum, a Thai Flower and Food show, went on our 1st winery tour (3 different wineries), and caving at the Waitomo Caves (an amazing site to see with its hundreds of thousands of glow worms hanging from the rocks).We also visited a Geothermal Park in Rotorua, saw pools of boiling mud, cascading hot water and even examples of land coral. We topped this off with a couple of hours lounging in mud bath and sulfur water spa. It was then off to the Argodome for a very amusing Sheep Shearing show (45 seconds to shear a sheep) and the sheep shearer wasn't bad either! We also feasted on a Maori Hangi dinner (chicken, lamb, veggies baked under the earth) and a cultural show.
Today (Aug 2) we are planning to go to the Wellington Zoo before taking the ferry tomorrow to the south island.
Our impressions so far . . . NZ is a beautiful country. Though it is winter it is still very green (reminds us of Ireland) with sheep (45M) dotting the country side. The country and its people are totally tourist friendly!
Attached are some photos from our adventures in the North Island. Take care all, we'll be in touch soon.
