Today is our last day of vacation – it’s time to head back home. Plans for today were to check out the downtown area and the Auckland bridge, but once downtown we find parking rates are $15/hr (ouch), so we check out the bridge. We accidentally head over the bridge instead, but it works out […]

We survive the night in the haunted hotel with our only problem the person next door with a terrible cough. We meet up with our group for the Spellbound tour of Waitomo Caves!! After donning our safety helmets, we enter the cave on an elevated platform above the running water. We head 10 meters into […]

This morning we drive to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Water) which is a thermal wonderland located 35km outside of Rotaroa. Wai-O-Tapu is covered with colourful craters, steaming waters, hot and cold pools,vents and hissing fumeroles. A volcanic wonderland of geothermal activity. We spend a couple of hours walking the  well-marked paths of this amazing park. The pools […]

In the morning we brave the cool rain and walk thru the Maori Village of Ohinemutul and see St. Faith’s Church.  We can hear the choir singing as we stroll thru the mist created by the hot vents. We also see Tuma-te-kapua Whareenui meeting house with its carved poles. We then head over to the […]

After a good night’s sleep, we head to the tourist info center to book our tour of Hobbiton. We head out on a 3hr guided tour to Hobbiton. The drive out is picturesque – rolling green hills with hedges separating the fields full of sheep and cows. Hobbiton is a permanent movie set on a […]

Today we head to Matamata to visit an old friend from our earlier travels. We manage to figure out how to navigate thru the city with its many roads under construction and numerous traffic circles. Once on the highway it is smooth sailing to our first stop – Cambridge is famous for its race horses. […]

Up early for our trek out to the airport. We decide to take Public transport and, after a shaky start, get it figured out. It’s a short flight from Sydney to Auckland – just 3 hours. After arriving in Auckland we have to pick up our rental at the airport drive out to our hotel […]

Today we head to Darlington Harbour. On our way we pass thru a lot of construction sites putting up highrises and some wharf upgrades. As we stroll down the road we pass numerous coffee shops and eateries filled with office workers. We stop to have a look at the world’s largest Imax screen on our […]

Took public transportation out to Bondi Beach this morning, weather was a little overcast but comfortable. What a perfect beach, beautiful sand and surf. We removed our shoes and walked along the beach watching the surfers ride the mild waves, as well as a few people body surfing. During our walk we spot a porcupine […]