Another Travel Day....With Only a Slight Delay

Travel to Mendoza, Argentina
Friday, March 14th, 2014

Today was another travel day. I would be making my way from Iguassu to Mendoza, Argentina. Like every little flight around here, I had to go through Buenos Aires. I had a relatively early morning flight out of Iguassu. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, I found it pouring rain and pretty much every flight delayed. The domestic airport in Buenos Aires is probably one of the least equipped airports I have been too (for a city this size). Not many places to sit and wait. The restaurants were full. The floor was full and I was tired so it was not a great delay.

Of course, flight delays are always the least of the concerns when on vacation. At least I knew I was getting there eventually.

And eventually I did. It was then a quick taxi ride to my hotel and then I still had time to sort a few things out.

Not sure this room was big enough. Just not enough space. 

Once settled in (you know, unpacking, laundry etc), I headed out to make some plans. I had 4 days planned in Mendoza and had at least a couple things I wanted to do. Of course one is a wine tour (because I'm in wine country) and the other was a visit to the Andes mountains (because I'm close to the Andes). I had been in touch with a few tour companies before I arrived and all their offices were just down the street from my hotel so as I was looking for restaurants I headed out to finalise my days. That did not take long at all.

It was then time for a nice dinner and then to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

Julie

Travel Time.......Again

Travel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Amman, Jordan
Friday, December 27th, 2013 and Saturday, December 28th, 2013

I mentioned in my Christmas posts that I had another week off work and was spending that time in Jordan. I decided a few months ago that I wasn't spending New Year's in Riyadh, and most people were heading home or had to work the holidays so I decided to find some place to go. Jordan has always been high on my list of places to visit while in the Middle East and I had looked at tours before, but they never seemed to fit into my schedule. But this time it fit perfectly so I quickly signed up for an 8 day highlights tour of Jordan with G-Adventures. Flights were not overly cooperative so I decided to fly in the night before the tour started and then I could relax all of the next day.

Jordan has always interested me. Of course like many people I wanted to recreate the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when they first got a glimpse of the Treasury at Petra (you remember, where the holy grail was hidden). The history in this country is so interesting. There is such a combination of confirmed documented history, folklore and biblical tails. Regardless of what is true or not true or what you believe or don't believe the place is pretty amazing.

I was a little concerned about the weather on this trip. The whole middle east has been experiencing a cold spell and Jordan was experiencing more snow than they have seen in a good long time but it didn't stop me. I just made sure to pack more warm stuff than you would normally think about. Not to mention that fact that we would be spending a couple days/nights in the desert and even in the summer, it cools down a lot at night so I went prepared.

The trip to Jordan was pretty uneventful, just a short flight, quick run through the airport and then it was off to the hotel. It was dark by the time I arrived so didn't get a chance to look at much....although I could see the remains of what was a record snowfall. A quick walk around the block to find some water gave me a quick reminder that I was no longer in Saudi Arabia (they sell beer everywhere) and then I had a  good nights sleep.

Saturday I slept in a bit as there was nothing I really needed to do.....like at all. When I did wander out of the hotel my first chore was to find some more Jordanian cash.....then shawarma. At 1800 (6pm) I met up with the rest of my tour group and our tour guide. We took care of all the initial introductions and paperwork and then we were off to find some dinner.

It didn't take long to figure out that our guide Ayman was going to make sure we experienced everything he thought was awesome in Jordan. The group of us hopped into a few cabs and what not and headed to Hashem Restaurant. Now the menu consists of nothing but bread, hummus, foul (usually fava beans, tahini, olive oil and such. Very middle eastern but a little different depending on what country you're in) and falafel but I assure you it is so good and really cheap. I have really developed a love for hummus but this is probably the best I've ever had.......and dinner cost like 1 USD so who can complain about that? It was then to another lively spot for a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. Sunday we would head out and start seeing the sights.

Julie

A Few Days in Milton

Milton, Ontario, Canada
Monday, January 3rd to Thursday January 5th, 2012

I made it to Toronto. My bags some how gained a pound at the airport in Calgary (not sure how since they contained the exact same things but whatever, I moved a few things around and they let them on without excess fees.....other than the extra bag fee that I expected). My plans in Toronto we pretty simple, rest, relax, do a little shopping and catch up with Steve and Heather. Well, mostly Heather since Steve was working most of the time I was there.

So Heather and I did just that, we did some shopping, watched some movies, ate some things I won't be able to get once I'm in Saudi Arabia and just had a good time. Yes, we watched some hockey as well......that Canada versus Russia semi-final game was very, very exciting (I'm sure you all saw it).

It became obvious while in Milton that I had hurt my back one of those times I picked up my very heavy bags. Lucky I was still in Canada and able to get some very good muslce relaxants/pain killers for my long travel days.

And that about sums up my days in Milton. On Thursday, Heather left work early, (she had been off until then) to take me to the airport. There I had a brief struggle with the Continental airlines people about baggage (managed to get all the extra bags on for only about an extra $200 CAD....which was pretty good) and then sat down to have a beer and watch some more hockey.....once I got through security which is a pain when wearing extra layers of clothing and boots and with 2 lap tops.

Heather and I before we left for the airport. Yes, Heather is indeed pregnant......due April 15th. Of course the whole family is super excited and she has allowed me to share this picture with you all.

My trip to Saudi was long.....and long......and a little bit longer but I will get to that in my next post. For now just imagine me on a 12 hour flight over the Atlantic heading to my new home.

Julie

Organized Chaos

I officially have a week to get all this sorted and into my suitcases.

If only my stuff would learn to pack itself....or Debi was here to pack it for me (she did such a good job with my stuff when I left Australia).

Wish me luck!

Julie

Yes, I Would Like a Maori Warrior for Christmas

North Island, New Zealand
Sunday August 7th and Monday August 8th, 2011

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

Sunday morning we had this great and exciting plan to go sea kayaking....unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it got cancelled. Probably a good thing. The waves were pretty high and the the current a little strong so I feel like it would have been more work than fun.

Instead we stopped at a cute little seas side town called Hahei, grabbed a latte and then took a short hike to Cathedral Cove.

Cathedral Cove. Don't worry, I'll give you a closer look.

Not quite there yet but we're getting there. Burto said it was like a 5 minute walk. We have learnt quickly that if Burto says 5......prepare for 30.

Part of the little trail that took us towards Cathedral Cove.

And here we are.....Cathedral Cove.

That's me on the rock in case you can't quite pick me out.

These guys went floating by filming the beach. We waved. Maybe we'll show up in a promotional video somewhere.

Cathedral Cove was another beautiful beach spot. There's a bit of a catch 22 when traveling in New Zealand during the Winter. On the one hand, there's not nearly as many people around and places like Cathedral Cove are pretty much empty. On the other hand, you get to hang out on these beautiful beach spots but it's too cold to go swimming or do any suntanning.

Anyway, our journey continued from there as made our way to Waitomo.

The Twin Kauri trees. They are thought to be 200 to 300 years old. They can live to be 1,000 years old and get up to 80 metres (262 feet) tall. The Coramandel Peninsula use to be covered with Kauri trees but after years of the trees being cut down to be used in building and construction there are a lot less of them. The tree is now protected and cannot be cut down.

From there made our way to our accommodation for the night in Waitomo. The area is known for a couple things........caves and cows. Neither one of those things interest me very much but it's pretty so I enjoyed that.

We spent the night sampling more New Zealand beer and chatting over some food (there was also an attempt at playing some pool). Monday would be another busy day......for some people......but a nice relaxing day for me.

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Monday morning the group got up nice and early......and I slept in. The rest of the group was off to do some dark water rafting. Basically that is tubing and climbing through caves and tiny little tight spaces. Those are a few things I just don't do so I sat this one out. Instead Burto cooked me breakfast, we loaded up the van and then went to meet the others afterwards.

Look, there are some cows now. But like I said previously, I skipped the caves. What I learned while waiting for the others, a kiwi.....not just a fruit. It is in fact the national bird of New Zealand. A little rare and nocturnal it is not often seen but from pictures......it's kind of cute.

The group in the van after picking everyone up after the caving. Actually a lot of space. We will lose a bit of space in a few days when we pick up a few more passengers and another guide but we'll make it work.

Today we were making our way to Rotorua a great place to experience all kinds of New Zealand fun.

This is Zorbing. Basically they put you inside a giant ball filled with warm water and roll you down the hill in it. I also skipped this activity. Apparently it is kind of like a water slide but slightly different.

A little video of what Zorbing looks like. I can't lie......does look fun. Maybe next time. This is Nikki's run down the hill. Everyone in the group (except Louise and I) took the ride.

From there we made our way to a different wildlife and adventure park. Burto had never been before but we had some extra time so we checked it out.

Love it. He's so fuzzy and stuff.

This adventure park offers lots of different activities including bungy jumping, and sky diving (but without jumping out of a plane. It's like one of those big air jet things that keeps you floating above a big pillow) and the Swoop (like a bungy jump but more swing like) and a jet boat ride.

The boys were super excited about the Jet Boat ride. Burto has been talking about it since Friday.

Evan and Burto all ready to go.

During their ride. Apparently it was super fun. The boys were impressed.

Louise and Nikki took a shot at the Shweeb. It's like a bicycle but they run along a rail......and you have to squeeze into this small and tight position. It was a head to head race between Nikki and Louise (pictured above). The group was pretty split as to who would win the race and it was a back and forth over the 3 laps.

Lucky for us it was totally a tie so we didn't have to choose a side.

After checking into our accommodation we headed out for dinner.....an event that is certainly the highlight of the trip thus far.

The group of us at dinner. Starting in the white jacket is Katie, Nikki, Jenny, Evan, Eilidh and Louise.

Our dinner tonight was at the Mitai Maori Village where we were able to experience a traditional Maori dinner and ceremony. It is interesting to note that the Maori people really only have one traditional food, the sweet potato, however they certainly have a very traditional ceremony around dinner.

This is the "hangi" or traditional Maori feast, which is cooked underground for hours. There's beef and potatoes and sweet potatoes and carrots and it all smelled really, really good. The dinner was fabulous but the ceremony was better.

On the North Island of New Zealand, there are over 70 main Maori tribes (by comparison there are only 5 on the South Island). This 70 break down to thousands of sub-tribes/families. The Mitai are just one of those families. The Maori people are related to those in Polynesia so you will see some similarities to people of island nations such as Samoa, Hawaii, Tonga, Fiji and others. Even with 70 different main tribes throughout New Zealand, they all speak the same language and share a lot of the same customs. Something that is different between the sub-tribes is the Haka.....but I'll get into that in a little bit.

We traveled our way through the village and next to the river to wait for the arrival of the warriors.

Here they come by "waka".

A short video I made of the warrior's arrival. You can hear them making their arrival known. This is to make sure that the visitors who are here (that's actually us) know that they are strong and will fight if we are here to attack.

A look at a few of the warriors.

This is the chief. As the Chief he is allowed to have many wives, although the warriors are only allowed to have one. You can see the tattoos on his legs (which are real and seem to be taking the place of pants). They are symbolic of waves and water.

You can see the facial tattoos worn by this warrior. In this case they are fake and most Maori no longer wear the traditional facial tattoos. In the past they would have actually been made by carving grooves into the face, letting them heal and then repeating the process. It was believed that if you couldn't handle the pain, then you didn't deserve the tattoo.

Music and song is a very important part of Maori culture. They of course have traditional instruments and games but also have grown to love items that have been introduced to their culture by Europeans (etc) over the year. Many of the games/songs/dances that they do are exercises they use to perfect skills such as hunting or fighting.

An example of some Maori music.

Very intimidating. Very strong. The makings of a perfect Maori Warrior. Cute and shirtless........totally a bonus.

The Mitai Haka. The haka is probably traditionally known was a war dance performed by men. As you can see from this video however, women also perform the Haka. It also is not always associated with war. It could be part of a welcoming ceremony for important and distinguished guests but from what I can tell it still always involves showing the strength of the village. Maori women were also known to be very strong and fierce so it is no surprise that they would be a part of a Haka, especially if the defense of their village is at stake. The most famous Haka is probably the one performed by the All Blacks rugby team before all their games. I didn't post it here but I assure you, if you've never seen it, you can find in on YouTube.

While the show was certainly the highlight, the dinner was also very enjoyable. In short, if you are in New Zealand, you must visit a Maori Village and share this great culture with some amazing people.

Eventually our night ended and we headed back to our accommodation. Some more very busy days ahead.

Julie

If you Would Spell it Like you Say it, I wouldn't be Lost Right Now

Good thing I'm not driving.

Around Auckland and Travel to Whitianga, New Zealand
Friday, August 5th and Saturday, August 6th, 2011

Friday morning I got up nice and early (by my holiday standards) wandered up the hill (seriously, the hills are getting a little old?) and made my way to the YHA where I met up with my tour guide and tour group. With the short time that I have here in New Zealand I decided that I wasn't going to waste anytime waiting for buses or looking for hotels or trying to figure out the best places to see. I figured I'd let someone else figure that out and booked a 16 day tour with a small adventure company (Haka tours).

The day started with a meeting at 0800 at the YHA. We met our driver and we met each other and then had some breakfast before part of the group headed off to do some adventures. Everyday of this trip there is the opportunity to do some adventure activities. Some of the group had pre-booked into things. I figured I would just see how things went and do things as I went along. There were a few things I knew I absolutely had to do and really wanted to do but in many cases I was just going to see what other people were doing. Things are always more fun in a group.

New Zealand is the adventure capital of the world (or so I'm told). People here like to throw themselves off anything and everything and climb through things and float over stuff. I was a little more interested in the climbing and hiking and frankly just the sightseeing........there is a reason why so many movies are filmed here. Such a beautiful country.

Anyway, after breakfast, those of us who were not going canyoning or caving or whatever it was, got to hangout with our driver/guide (Mike Burton........but we will call him by his nickname Burto). He took us on a little tour of the the Auckland area. First off, he felt that we should stand on a volcano..... I had already done it but always fun to do it again.

The view from Cornwall Park. Today, we got a little bit of rain in Auckland, but that didn't dampen our spirits. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city with a population of 1.4 million.....which happens to be about 1/4 of the country's population. So you can guess that as we travel on this tour, we will be traveling through some very unpopulated areas.

The Obelisk on One Tree Hill in Cornwall Park. This is the top of the volcano. Yes, that is a rain drop on my camera. Hopefully we wouldn't be seeing too many more of those.

We then headed out to check out Achilles Point. A really pretty spot but historical as well. It is named after the HMS Achilles. The area commemorates the 1939 battle of the River Plate where the New Zealand crewed Achilles engaged with other allied vessels to defeat legendary German cruiser Graf Spee.

The beautiful view from Achilles Point.....and look, I think that's sunshine.

That most definitely is sunshine. You will also find this at Achilles Point.

From Achilles Point we headed out of the sunshine and into the snow. That's right....snow. But not what you think. We headed to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Adventure and Underwater World. Kelly Tarlton was a treasure hunter/diver/explorer/inventor etc. He was not a rich man but had a dream to bring some of the world to the people of New Zealand.

The entrance into the Antarctic Encounter.

This is what you will find on the other side.....penguins.....about 80 of them. The enclosure makes about 3 tonnes of snow every day for these little guys. The environment is computer controlled to simulate the day/night cycles the penguins would normally experience.

Kelly's big dream however was to allow people to view the wildlife of the oceans the way a diver does......surrounded by it. I'm told that it was here at Kelly Tarlton's that the first underwater observation tubes were built. And now they're everywhere.

The underwater tube I'm talking about. The floor down the centre moves on its own so you can just stand there and look at the fish and sharks and rays as they swim around you.

A few more of those fish. Kelly Tarlton's is built in an old sewage treatment area so a lot of the infrastructure required was already in place. Once started it took about 10 months to build. In opened to the public for the first time in 1985.......the realization of Kelly's dream. Kelly Tarlton died 3 months later.

We arrived in time for feeding time . Here is a small little video I made of the eels being fed. I have firmly established that I do not like eels. They look far too much like snakes. Just really creepy. And apparently they have one hell of a bite so keep your hands way out of the way....especially during feeding time.

Once we left Kelly Tarlton's we settled into our accommodation for the night......I took a nap (that sinus infection has seriously moved into my chest) and waited for everyone else to come back from their activities. We then headed out for dinner and a bunch of us headed out to sample some of the Auckland night life.

City Hall at night. The city is really pretty.

Sampling some beer. I feel this will become a theme of the trip.

Eventually we made our way back to bed. We would be heading out on the road the next day. Lots of New Zealand to see and not much time to do it.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Saturday morning we hit the road at around 0900. Our destination was Fitianga but before you look for it (and can't find it) on a map (like I did), you have to be aware of the fact that when a Maori word is spelt with a "wh" it is actually pronounced as a "f". So in fact where we were heading was Whitianga. It sits on the Coramandel Peninsula and the road we took was narrow and windy and really beautiful. It's a range of old volcanoes but you probably wouldn't notice that much at all. We followed a gorgeous coastline and of course had a few stops along the way.

The Old Star and Garter Hotel in Coramandel Town. You will be happy to know that they are biker friendly (it even says so on their website) so if you're a biker and in town, stop by.

Some of the view we enjoyed while travelling along the Coramandel Peninsula. So pretty. You can just make out some of the wheki (tree ferns) in this picture. On many of them you will see a spiral growing out of the centre of it. The spiral is symbol the Maori use to represent the beginning of new life.

A little look at the road. I enjoyed the ride but Katie (one of the other girls on the trip) did not so much. Car sickness and this road do not get along.

This is the van. Certainly a cozy little fit for the group for 16 days.

Some more of the road.

Our drive took us past some very beautiful beach spots so we had to make a break for some beach time.

Our attempt to get to a very private secret beach was derailed by this very deep water crossing. The tide was just a little bit too far in still. The boys attempted it (that's Evan in the water, Burto in the black hoodie) but the girls decided that we were not going to. When you've got 6 girls and 2 guys riding around together, I think the girls are calling a lot of the shots.

It was a pretty spot. Can imagine it would be really nice in the summer sun.

We decided to head to another spot at The Otama Reserve. The group consists of Evan from Australia, Louise and Nikki from the UK, Eilidh (pronounced like Eely) from Scotland, Katie and Jenn from Toronto and Me (and of course Burto from New Zealand. Everyone on this tour is pretty much a teacher except Evan (who is a journalism student) and myself. The Rugby World Cup is being hosted by New Zealand starting in September, so we made a lot of rugby stops. Now I think we know I like rugby but you can't throw the ball quite like a football.

The beach at Otama Reserve. Another gorgeous location even in the overcast weather.

Upon arrival in Whitanaga we went to participate in our first surprise of the trip, although it was ruined by some continual guessing by certain group members (Ok that would be Nikki). That surprise was that we were going to do some bone carving. A much more labour intensive process than I ever expected, I totally understand why bone carved items are so expensive in stores. If they aren't a little expensive.....they aren't hand carved. My little fishhook necklace took me a good 2 hours.....and I had help.

Looks pretty good right? And yes it did take me like 2 hours. To wear a Fish Hook shows to be witty, friendly, strong willed, determined to succeed until the end of life. The Fish Hook is also a part of the Legend of Maui, who was half man and half-god. It is said that his fish hook caught the greatest catch in history, The North Island of New Zealand.

After our bone carving we headed back to our accommodation for the night for dinner before heading to a local pub to watch some Tri Nations Rugby. The Tri Nations is New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This first game was between the Wallabies (that's Australia) and the All Blacks (obviously New Zealand).

Is Evan waiting for a bus? No, just having a beer all alone on the street (that doesn't seem strange does it). The place where we stayed had a bar so no BYOB. This is how he got around it.

The game was pretty good and it was fun to see how excited everyone here gets over the games. The All Blacks won by the way and I got to taste some very good New Zealand beer.

Two days down.....so much more fun to come.

Julie

I've Arrived.........Again

Auckland, New Zealand
Tuesday, August 2nd to Thursday, August 4th, 2011

So I am slowly making my way home (as in Canada) but not without visiting a country I have always wanted to visit, New Zealand. The land of kiwis and volcanoes and All Black Rugby has long been on my list of countries to explore so before returning to the other side of the world....I've made a stop.

My plan on arrival here is to spend a few days in Auckland, hop on a 16 day tour that will take me to the rest of the country and then finish up with about 5 days in the Queenstown area to check it out and hopefully do some skiing. Yes, the weather is expected to be much colder.....and less predictable than in Darwin, but I think I'll manage.

I left Darwin at 0140 (yes that is 1:40 in the morning) after a long but really fun day at the Darwin Cup. Probably wasn't the best idea to spend that much time out in the sun and doing that much drinking before getting on planes for almost 12 hours but what can you do. My last few hours in Darwin were very memorable and will leave a lasting impression. I felt like total crap when I finally arrived in Auckland but at least my only plan was to get a new Sim card for my cell phone, eat some food and plan the next couple days so I wasn't too concerned.

Of course part way through my trip I got the terrible news that Great Gramma had passed away. I knew she had gone into the hospital the day before but really had expected her to return home like she did every other time. Mom assured me that she passed away peacefully in her sleep and that is the best you could hope for. She lived an amazing life and will be missed. I think we all know she will always be with us and would be happy to see us enjoying life as she did. Not all of us will reach the 100 year old milestone she did but we can all try.

Eventually I did make it to Auckland, got settled into my hotel, found all the other things I needed and went to bed. Well I actually discovered that it's almost impossible to find pseudoephedrine in New Zealand but that's another story.

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Wednesday rolled around and eventually I got out of bed and headed out to see Auckland. The first thing you notice is how hilly it is. It seems like everywhere in Australia (except Hobart......and parts of Canberra) is totally flat and pretty easy to walk around. Auckland......not so much. A much better workout walking up and down the streets here. I was staying pretty central in the city however so it wasn't that far to get anywhere.

A look at the old Ferry Building down on the waterfront.

Also down on the waterfront.

At the entry way to Albert Park.

The fountain in Albert Park.

After walking up to Albert Park I made my way to the Auckland Art Gallery. A small little place which is free to visit and it won't take you very long to wander through but totally worth a look. It gave a nice little introduction to some of the Maori Art and culture I would be seeing throughout New Zealand. Naturally I felt a good place to visit next was the Auckland Museum. A little bit of a bus ride to get there but really worth it.

Out front of the museum, which also acts as a War Memorial. The area is considered to be consecrated ground.

The museum collects a $10 "donation" entry fee from anyone not from New Zealand. (I hate specified "donations" fees. If you want me to pay to visit, just charge me a entry fee), which of course helps with the up keep of the museum and the purchase of new pieces and exhibits. It is a pretty all inclusive museum. On each floor you get a glimpse of a different aspect of New Zealand history and life.

The First floor gives you a great overview of Pacific culture, including that of New Zealand's Maori People. I must say after a year in Australia, where the history of the Aboriginal people is often......well let's just say it is not a very nice history, it is refreshing to see a culture that is so admired and respected. If you don't know anything about the Maori People, I am sure by the time I leave New Zealand I will have shared as much information about them as I can.

Looking into a gallery of some of the items connected to the Polynesian Culture.

The Maori People have been in Aotearoa (that's the Maori name for New Zealand) since around 1300 AD. They would have arrived here after many epic waka (that's canoe) voyages from the Islands of Eastern Polynesia. These voyages have established the Maori people as some of the greatest navigating people of all time. Maori's were (and are) known to be great warriors. It makes sense now that so much of the Maori culture was been maintained and is respected in New Zealand. When European explorers began to arrive to claim the land for where ever they were from (let's face it.....Britain), the Maori's fought back. Eventually treaties were signed and agreements made and now the New Zealand national anthem is sang in Maori......and then English. But that is just a glimpse, I'll explore it more throughout my journey.

This is a vaka tapu built for the chief of the Taumako clan of Tikopia. It is famous in Tikopian tradition and has made long ocean voyages to Anuta and Vanuatu. Not sure you could get me in one of these in the ocean for more than a few minutes. This canoe has its own spirit guardians and seasonal rituals and appeals would be made to protect the fishermen on board.

An example of some of the weapons Maori warriors would have used. Traditional Maori combat was fought hand-to-hand mostly with short or long clubs such as these.

You will find this in Maori Court in the museum along with all the other Maori cultural items. This is a pataka. Traditionally it would have been used to store things like food and valuable items to keep them safe.

The second floor floor of the museum is all about the natural history of New Zealand which of course focuses on the volcanoes. There are a whole lot of volcanoes in the area. They have a fun little exhibit set up where you can sit in a "living room" and experience what it would be like to have a volcano erupt just outside your front door.

The third floor of the museum is all about the Military history of New Zealand and acts partially as a war memorial.

Ahhh yes.......the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire......probably the most famous of the Vickers built aircraft. This one was relocated to this third floor display (in a dismantled state I must add) in 1997. Once it was loaded up, the walls and roof were closed in around it and the conservation process was started. It looks to be in great shape now and is in a very environmentally controlled space so should age very well.

Outside the museum. Beautiful spot. Overlooks most of the city.

I wandered past this billboard. I just found it funny.

And that was about all I managed my first full day in Auckland. Back to my earlier pseudoephedrine comment, I have managed to develope one serious sinus infection so am resting up as much as possible before heading out on my tour.

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Thursday morning I decided I better check out one of the very prominent features in the Auckland area........a volcano. There are more than 50 cones and craters in the Auckland area. If you're walking up, there's a good chance you are on a volcanic cone. I decided that I would hop on a ferry and make my way out to the most recent, largest and least modified volcano in the area....Rangitoto.

There are ferries that take you out to the island and then once there you have the choice to walk the island and to the summit or take a tractor ride. I opted to take the hike. Big thing to remember is what time the last ferry leaves the island at the end of the day. If you miss it........you get to spend the night.....but there is nothing there (especially this time of year) so it's not a great place to spend the night.

A little bit of the view from Rangitoto......well on the arrival level anyway. Rangitoto stands 250 metres (850 feet) tall and you have to know I would be climbing up to the top.

Part of the trail up. Although the island is mostly uninhabited, there are many paths and trails and roads on the island. The roads were mostly built by prison labour.

Part way up and coming out of the trees. That's the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is one of the many places in New Zealand that you can bungy jump. Did you know that New Zealand is home to the world's first commercial bungy jump? It is in Queenstown. No, I don't plan on bungy jumping while here but I might watch other people do it.

Part way up the sun came out which was a good thing. It was summer when I left Australia (well technically it's winter there too but in Darwin it always feels like summer) but it is certainly winter here in New Zealand. Much colder than I am accustomed to.

At the summit of Rangitoto. During World War II, Rangitoto became home to many Military installations. This would be the summit Observation post.

The view of Auckland from the summit. Rangitoto was formed about 600 years ago, most likely through a series of violent eruptions lasting anywhere from 10 to 200 years (scientists are still discussing this point).

A zoomed in look at the Auckland sky tower. Wikipedia (as well as other sources) tell me it is the tallest free standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It happens to be 328 metres (1076 feet) tall.

A couple of the cute little birds I encountered during my climb. These little wax-eyes (or silver-eyes and I've also seen them referred to as white-eyes) were super friendly. They didn't seem to beg for food but they certainly were not afraid of anyone who was hanging around.

Another view from near the top. Such a beautiful spot. Think I'm starting to get an idea of what the next 3 weeks will look like.

A few more of the birds you can find on the island. It is a protected reserve so you cannot bring dogs or any other animals onto the island. In the past animals such as goats, deer and wallabies have called the island home but they have all disappeared or been eradicated. The Department of Conservation is still in the process of eradicating the island of mice, rats, cats, rabbits and hedgehogs. The island is still young so not quite able to support huge bird populations yet but it is getting there. Best part of Rangitoto.....and New Zealand in general....NO SNAKES.

A look at the Controlled Mine Base which you can no longer visit due to the presence of asbestos.

Walking along the shores of Rangitoto. A really good way to spend a day.

A look at some of the lava fields that cover a large portion of the island. Lava fields of course contain no soil so can therefore support no plant life. Slowly wind blown soil and the slow breaking down process will enable this area to maintain plant growth as well. Important to note that there are also no streams of any kind on Rangitoto so plantlife rely on rainfall for moisture.

This is a bache. In the 1920's and 30's about 140 of them were built on Rangitoto. A bache is a small holiday home although some people were living here on a permanent basis. The legality of the baches was questioned and after 1936 no more were built. Most have since been removed but you can still find about 30 scattered around the edge of the island. They are being preserved and most are still used by thier owners in the summer.

This was origianally part of a stone wall that lead to the mens' toilet. It was convict built in the 1920s' and 30's and some of the only remains of structures built on Rangitoto for community use. It is quickly deteriorating and is a little unsafe so has been fenced off while being assessed for repairs.

Eventually I had to grab the last ferry back to Auckland. It was a wonderful day and I now have an even better idea of what I have in store. Tomorrow I meet up with the group of people I'll be spending the next 16 days with. Looking forward to it. If the frist 2 days are any indication, I will not be disappointed with New Zealand.

Julie