Our travels
Video+Pics
Cycling
Walking
About us
 NEW-ZEALAND  FromSingapore we flew to Sydney and from there on to Auckland. Customs is very bad organised and it took us two hours to pass the border. Very tired from the nightflight the first thing we do is search a hotel. It didnīt take long to find a affordable room and we lie down for a moment. The next day we start our tour at 'One tree hill', an old vulcano in the middle of the town. There was a lot of wind, but the scenery and views of Auckland were great. After that we drove to Roturua. A vulcanic area with a Maori informationcentre. After the full tour we found a motel in Roturua.   More south you will find the Urewera
National Park. This park is mostly original forest. We drove a 120 km long winding dirtroad along
The Waikanamona lake. This enormous lake is once formed by a landslide.The next morning it is very cold (freezing) and we decide to go north again. The weatherman says it is warmer there. We follow the coastline untill the most eastern point of New-Zealand, the Eastcape. After 726 steps we have reached the lighthouse and enjoy the beautifull view. The only other tourist who took all the steps turned out to be a dutchman too. Coincidence ?  That night we sleep in Opotiki.
A very small place at the eastcoast. The only restaurant open is a bar where you can eat too. The food is really good, and the beer(Lion
Red) is, according to the barkeeper, the best in the southern hemisphere. We read all the Maori legends on the area. And when we see the signs we recognise them. There once were two sistermountains that went for a walk. While one of them made fire to cook the other sister left secretly. The first was very angry and threw a piece of burning wood to her sister. She was hit just when the sun rose. And everybody knows that mountains that are not back when the sun rises stay there for ever. One can still see the burning wood smoking on a little vulcanic island just of the coast. 
Further inland we arrive at 'Lake Taupo'. The area has lots of geothermic activity. Almost all hotels have in room 'hot-tubs'. It is great
to enjoy a warm bath in your room while looking at the snowcapped mountains outside. Lake Taupo is a real tourist hotspot. There is much
to see and much to do. A great thing to do is go jetboating. Or visit the colourfull areas with geysers and hotsprings like wai-o-tapu.   Time to go back to Auckland. We have some time left to visit the Skytower, it opened just a few days ago. 
 In the Skytower you can see Auckland under your feet. At the viewing platform there are many glassplates in the floor. If you think it is scary to stand on the glass, you have beautifull views from the normal windows too. Our short trip through New-Zealand is over. We take a plane to Cairns, Australia. |