Aug 1, 2010 - Auckland (again)

We left Mt M this morning and headed back to the largest city in NZ - where all of us are flying out from. They also had a volcano exhibition as Auckland is built on over 600 volcanoes (not active). ... I'm not actually staying in Auckland until my flight on Wednesday but heading up to the Bay of Islands for a couple of days. ... 9 more days to go.We left Mt M this morning and headed back to the largest city in NZ - where all of us are flying out from. They also had a volcano exhibition as Auckland is built on over 600 volcanoes (not active). ... I'm not actually staying in Auckland until my flight on Wednesday but heading up to the Bay of Islands for a couple of days. ... 9 more days to go....

Jul 12, 2010 - Visit Sneeze

Our main task for the day was to get over to Auckland in reasonable time to visit my old friend Sneeze. ... The roads got better but busier as we came into Auckland. ... We ate, chatted a lot, swapped our experiences of parenthood, heard a lot about the challenges and rewards of emigrating to Auckland, had a really good time. ...

Jul 9, 2010 - Kiwis and Volcanoes

I've been fairly busy in the last few days visiting the sights of Auckland, starting with the zoo where we managed to spot a kiwi- as you're not allowed to disturb them with light the photo is very dark but you can see the outline of the kiwi in it. ... On Thursday I walked the Auckland Coast to Coast Walkway- a 16km track going through the city of Auckland from one harbour to the other via Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. ... The crater of Mount Eden was massive! The tree at One Tree Hill has been cut down but there is a pillar there instead.I've been fairly busy in the last few days visiting the sights of Auckland, starting with the zoo where we managed to spot a kiwi- as you're not allowed to disturb them with light the photo is very dark but you can see the outline of the kiwi in it. ... On Thursday I walked the Auckland Coast to Coast Walkway- a 16km track going through the city of Auckland from one harbour to the other via Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. ... The crater of Mount Eden was massive! The tree at One Tree Hill has been cut down but there is a pillar there instead....

Jul 6, 2010 - Auckland

I arrived in Auckland - the largest city in New Zealand with 1. ... Would have been much prettier if the weather wasn't so wet and windy!! Today I got on the Auckland Explorer hop-on hop-off bus tour getting off at Kelly Tarltons Underwater World and then at the Sky Tower - the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere. ... I leave Auckland tomorrow to head to Coromandel. ...

Jul 5, 2010 - Auckland, The War Memorial Museum

Auckland is built on a volcano field consisting of at least twenty five volcanoes-all dormant or extinct. ... The display at the museum has a room where you sit and watch as if you are in an Auckland house looking over the harbour as a new volcano errupts. ... Auckland council has made contingency plans just incase an erruption does occur including a list of items to store in your home, my favourite item listed is a bbq for cooking- only in New Zealand! They also have a very interesting display about war in New Zealand including a Japanese Zero bomber plane and a Spitfire. ...

Jul 3, 2010 - Sucky day :(

Well I flew into Auckland yesterday and got to the hostel at 9pm. ... Auckland seems rough and rainy. ... I got a private room as I'd just had all I could take of sharing for now.Well I flew into Auckland yesterday and got to the hostel at 9pm. ... Auckland seems rough and rainy. ... I got a private room as I'd just had all I could take of sharing for now....

Jul 1, 2010 - Arriving Back In Auckland!

I made it safely back to Auckland in the wee hours of Friday morning and the first stop was the coffee shop for a latte! That was after I had stood like a horse so that the customs official could ascertain whether my boots were safe to bring into the country. ...

Jun 21, 2010 - The Kiwi Express

We left Easter Island a couple of weeks ago now, on a Saturday morning and eventually arrived in Auckland on a Monday morning – now I know we crossed some time zones but this was by far the longest journey of the trip so far (Hong Kong to London won’t even top it) so when we arrived in Auckland we couldn’t face a 12 hour bus trip south to Wellington so cheated and hopped on another flight. ... What they do do very well however is coffee and Pinot noir! We then commenced our road trip up to Auckland (Lynne very kindly drove us all the way back) where we stopped overnight at Lake Taupo and enjoyed some thermal hot spa action in a limestone cave, oh and more fish and chips. ... Next stop was Rotorua where we saw the really cool thermal springs and spurting guisers (in the poring rain) before an overnight stop in Auckland before flying out to Oz. ...

May 31, 2010 - Last days in the Southern Hemisphere

A good, fun day – hopefully we have many more of these still to come! Monday 31st May Sitting in Auckland, on our last night in New Zealand – and our last night in the southern hemisphere It is also our last night in Autumn – hurray! – although there seems to be a stream of REALLY bad weather following about two days behind us: most of the places we have visited in the last week are now under either snow or water! Also a bit worrying that San Francisco seems to have lower temperatures forecast than Auckland does! As expected, we have crammed a lot into our last few days. ... Our caving adventures over, we did a late drive up to Auckland, where we spent today. ... The pace was a bit slower today, as we did the “getting ready to leave” stuff – washing, posting stuff home etc, before going up the Sky Tower, for its spectacular views of Auckland and its surrounds (you can see over 20 volcanoes) - and it views of the “jumpers”: people who have paid to be strapped into a parachute like harness and dropped 192 metres from the viewing deck to the ground below. ...

May 13, 2010 - New Zealand

April 28th Got to Auckland, New Zealand in the evening and what a difference in weather. ... In Auckland I went to the Sky Casino and and lost a quick $50 and then went to a couple bars. ... May 1st I rented a car to go to Rotorua, about 3 hours south of Auckland. ...

May 4, 2010 - Back in the USA

And it was a great place for a picnic! Sunday we drove into Auckland and to the top of Albert Park where you can see the entire Auckland area. ... There is so much more to see in Auckland, but we really wanted to head to the Northlands. ... We left them around noon and were able to get to Debbie’s Top Ten Park before the heavy rush hour of Auckland traffic. ... Steve, daughter Sarah and a friend of theirs were planning to go into Auckland for the big ANZAC celebration the next morning, so we were able to join them. ...

Apr 20, 2010 - Day 1 - WE'RE OFF...

Written by Campbell We were excited and nervous as we boarded the plane to Auckland. ... We went pass Lake Taupo in a flash and soon we were landing in Auckland. ... To us the airport was huge and was very quiet.Written by Campbell We were excited and nervous as we boarded the plane to Auckland. ... We went pass Lake Taupo in a flash and soon we were landing in Auckland. ... To us the airport was huge and was very quiet....