I suspect that with limited time you'll choose only the South Island,
especially if you have just two weeks. Back in 2007 I did a crazy two-week
NZ/Oz trip from Toronto - visiting family and friends - and only saw a tiny
part of the North Island in my week in NZ. First major trip with my E-1, and
at the start I missed some good photo opportunities - foolishly forgot that
batteries don't last a year or two as with OMs!
Herewith a distillation of my notes to the folks back home, in case they're
of interest to the group. Personal stuff excised for the most part. Kiwis
and Aussies are welcome to refute anything stated. A couple of Rotorua-area
pictures from the trip at
<http://www.galleries.ownvolition.com/index.php?gallery=New%20Zealand%2C%20N
ovember%202007>; te rest are still awaiting Lightroom/Photoshop treatment
three years later :-(
BTW, I was flying on points, hence the insane routings on Air Canada/United.
Michael
<<
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 0 (the preamble)
Wednesday 11/21 12:25 EST - Friday 11/23 05:10 NZ
Toronto-Chicago-San Francisco-Auckland
New Zealand
Auckland: Fri. Nov. 21 - Mon. Nov. 26
Kerikeri/Bay of Islands: Tue. Nov 27 - Wed. Nov. 28
Rotorua: Thu. Nov. 29 - Sat. Dec. 1
Australia
Melbourne: Sun. Dec. 2 - Mon. Dec. 3
Sydney: Tue. Dec. 4 - Fri. Dec. 7
Saturday 12/8 09:30 AE - 20:57 EST
Sydney-Honolulu-Los Angeles-Denver-Toronto
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 3 / Fri Nov 23 (Auckland)
Arrived in the dark, so not much to see of the city coming in.
No free wireless connectivity at the airport - skip it for now. Got a
Vodafone pay-as-you-go SIM for the phone. Hire car was ready, black Holden
Viva, whatever that is. I've reserved an automatic, to minimise
distractions.
Easy drive to the city, staying with my cousin Philip and his (Texas-born)
wife Norma. Beautiful flat [condominium, for those in the non-English
speaking world] facing onto the Auckland Domain (a large park).
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 4 / Sat Nov 24 (Auckland)
Did the tourist thing at "Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter and Underwater
World", okay but nothing special. Lunch at a nice cafe in Mission Bay, then
back.
Spent a few hours at the Auckland Museum, which is perched on the highest
point of the Domain. Ground floor is NZ history, very well presented, and
there is a special exhibit on Charles Darwin, also very interesting. First
floor is natural sciences, skipped that, and second floor is a war museum,
raced through that as 5:00 closing approached.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 6 / Mon Nov 26 (Auckland)
Starbucks to get e-mail at Wi-Fi hotspot. Not cheap - NZ$10/hour. Did a Web
search for free wireless access; seems there's basically no such thing here.
Explored downtown. Took ferry to Devonport, a seaside community on the North
Shore.
Did the Maritime Museum after that, for a couple of hours. Very good
presentations on early Polynesian voyagers, their boats, their navigation,
etc. Starting to get a real feel for early NZ history.
Out to Irish pub for dinner, for a change. Guinness is Guinness.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 7 / Tue Nov 27 (north to Kerikeri)
Say goodbye to all, get on the road north - late, it's 10:45. Hope to get to
... Kerikeri by supper time. I'm taking slower routes up the west side of
the North Island. These "highways" are two lanes, speed limit 100 in the
country and 80 or 60 or 50 in towns. Philip said limits are enforced but you
won't be stopped for 10 over.
Lots of road construction (just like home), so all sorts of speed
restrictions. There are only occasional passing lanes, so it's a good thing
I pretty much have the road to myself going north. Twisty turny roads...
Sharper curves are signed with a lower speed limit; experience shows you can
safely do 15 over that (on dry roads). Through one of the national parks,
the highway is all switchbacks up and down, so I missed the views whilst
concentrating on the road.
Stopped at the Kauri museum on the way. Kauri is a native tree that grows
huge, rather like redwoods, and lives long - some of them thousands of
years. You may imagine a Kauri museum as a collection of big, dead trees,
then - but you'd be wrong. Or you'd have been thinking of a Joni Mitchell
song... The trees grow huge and straight, and the wood is relatively hard,
so used in all sorts of construction, furniture, even shipbuilding. The
museum also has exhibits showing how the felling and sawing of the trees was
done over the years, from pitsaws to more modern sawmills.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 8 / Wed Nov 28 (Kerikeri/Bay of Islands)
[My friend] Eila's ancestors include some of the early missionaries to NZ,
and her grandfather was instrumental in the establishment of the Trust that
manages the area where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between
(some of) the Maori and the British. Apparently this grandfather was trying
to raise funds for the purchase of the area, happened to mention it to the
then-Governor General, and the next thing you know the GG had purchased the
land and had a Trust set up to manage it. Eila's on the current Board of
Directors. So I got the "director's tour" of the Trust lands and a good
recitation of the history from a very knowledgeable guide.
Took the short ferry across the bay to Russell, which is more of a
tourist/resort town. Strolled around to look at the architecture, bought
some veg for supper at the organic market, took the ferry back, and headed
"home". I paid a quick visit to the historic Mission houses and to a
reconstructed Maori village [I think - the information centre was closed] on
the edge of Paihia.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 9 / Thu Nov 29 (south to Rotorua)
Bit of a fright when I filled up with petrol for the trip and the bill was
$76. Clearing before Auckland to give a false sense of security, then heavy
rain through Auckland, then clear most of the rest of the way to Rotorua.
It's about 500km overall, about 7 hours on the road, so 9:00-5:00 with a few
stops. Very comfortable with driving here now, I'll have to be very careful
when I get back home.
The B&B owners are an interesting couple, Trevor (originally a Scot) and
Trinka (a Korean). Turns out Trevor lived in South Korea for some 30 years.
Hints of Basil Fawlty here :-) .
Internet access (wired) at the backpackers' hostel is NZ$2 per half hour -
seems to be the going rate.
Guinness with bangers and mash - the universal meal. Passable "Irish" music
from the house duo.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 10 / Fri Nov 30 (Rotorua)
Spent most of the day walking around the volcanic area called Waimangu.
Thermal springs and pools, small geysers (nothing dramatic), tour of the
lake formed after a volcanic eruption on the 19th century. Lots of history
and geology.
Did the sorta-touristy thing in the evening with a visit to the Mitai Maori
Village. Explanation of traditions, traditionally cooked meal, cultural
presentation/show of Maori song, dance, etc. - vaguely worthwhile.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 11 / Sat Dec 1 (Rotorua)
Checked out, wandered around town, spent time at the Rotorua Museum for more
culture and history, then on the road (have to get back to Auckland by this
evening).
On the way (well, not really, it's in the opposite direction, but close
enough...) visited more volcanic / thermal stuff at Orakei Korako.
Back to Auckland, trip seems much shorter than the drive down on Thursday.
Got rid of the hire car (to save time in the morning), lazy so ate at the
hotel. Crappy Internet access - expensive, sold by the 10s of megabytes so
you have to guess your usage in advance, poor wireless signal, used up my
20MB purchase in about 20 minutes.
>>
Just FYI for the Victorians and NSW folks, here's some continuation across
the Tasman.
<<
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 12 / Sun Dec 2 (to Melbourne)
[At the airport] went to rent a SIM card to have a local phone for the next
two days, discovered that bad customer service is universal, finally
successful.
Took the tram into town to explore [Melbourne is famous for its trams]. Took
the hour-long "circle" tram around the city centre to get a general idea of
the place. Melbourne is famous for a lively restaurant scene along all the
little laneways between the streets. It's a Sunday, so things are not so
lively. Good reason for a return visit.
Met Wayne Harridge for supper and a discussion of photography.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 13 / Mon Dec 3 (Melbourne)
One of the attractions in Victoria [the state, for those of you who studied
geography in a previous lifetime rather than this one] is the Great Ocean
Road, which runs westward from Melbourne along - wait for it - the coast.
Built originally to make it easier to bring timber from the forests to
sawmills in the city - the earlier methods were to haul it further inland to
the main road, or haul it to ships on the coast.
It would be a full-day trip to go from Melbourne out to the major
attractions (rock formations just off the coast, called the Twelve
Apostles). Jill offered me the Land Cruiser to drive out, but I thought I
wouldn't see too much whilst concentrating on driving a noisy truck out and
back, so I opted for a coach tour. Again a little touristy, but got to see
the area better, with a few stops at beaches and rainforest reserves. And
(good) running commentary all the way on history and geography.
The driver mentioned on the way that we could book ahead for a helicopter
ride at the Twelve Apostles. Never been in a helicopter before, but sounded
like fun. Booked the longest - 15 minutes - because the shorter, six-minute
ride sounded like just enough time to take off and land. Only two real
safety rules: "tail rotors kill people" and "don't open the door in flight".
Amazing trip! I'm now addicted to helicopter trips, so will have to do all
sort of green, eco-y things to stay carbon-neutral :-) .
The "Apostles" (originally called the "Sow and Piglets", apparently, from
the relative sizes) are rock pillars left standing when wave action eats
away at the coast, leaving slightly harder rock intact. Eventually the wave
action eats away at the base of these pillars too, leading to collapse.
There were once 18 or so Apostles, now only 11, of which two look a bit
precarious. Back to Melbourne mostly inland, not so interesting.
Small "north African" restaurant in Port Melbourne called Kamel, very good.
Melbourne is actually the largest Greek city outside Greece, but I have the
Danforth, so no real need to go Greek here.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 14 / Tue Dec 4 (to Sydney)
Meandering drive up to where [my friends live, in Northern Beaches area],
Bayview, lovely house looking north into the bay. Bayview is a bit north of
Narrabeen, south of Pittwater, for you map readers or Google Earthers. Lazy
afternoon with just the right amount of good wine; good to know oenophiles!
Heavy rains in the late afternoon, and even some hail - unusual in summer.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 15 / Wed Dec 5 (Sydney)
Overcast and a bit rainy, but we stayed with the plan to tour all of the
Northern Beaches nonetheless. Weather got better. Lunch bayside. Down to
Manly late afternoon. Said goodbye and hopped on the ferry to Circular Quay
(main ferry terminal for Sydney, at north end of CBD - Central Business
District).
Met [friends] for supper, then went over to the Opera House (Playhouse
theatre) for the Athol Fugard play "Sizwe Banzi is Dead". Very interesting,
very good. A surprise to all of us, as we had not read the programme
closely, it was presented in French (with English surtitles) - the (British)
director is now based in Paris.
Petersham [is] my next home for a couple of days.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 16 / Thu Dec 6 (Sydney)
Heavy rain most of the morning, so I didn't go out until nearly lunchtime.
Into the City by bus, ferry out to Fort Denison which is a tiny island in
the inner harbour, built (with convict labour) originally for defence but
over the years had primarily been used for navigation aids like lighthouse
and tide measurement. Lunch with a glass of wine looking west over the
harbour towards the - famous - bridge and Opera House. The only diner, very
peaceful.
Decided I'd do the bridge climb tomorrow. It's a commercial venture, they
take groups up every 15 minutes daytime / dusk / night, either up to the
summit via the eastern upper span and back down on the western, or similarly
up but then down ladders to the lower span and back on that. You'd have to
see it to know what I mean about the difference. Don't know how I'm going to
do this with my fear of heights, so this may be a stupid decision.
Back to shore, quick stroll through the Museum of Contemporary Art but
nothing that really interested me. I thought Chris had said "any bus except
the 470" to return, but there are so many departing CBD that I decided for
safety to wait for the 413 I came in on.
Supper (plus a good BYO choice from the bottle shop just down the road) with
Chris at semi-outdoor table in nice Italian place nearby in Leichhardt.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: day 17 / Fri Dec 7 (Sydney)
Lovely sunny day, good weather forecast. Need to be at the bridge by 3:00.
Spent the time before that at the Maritime Museum. On-board tours through a
naval gunship, a submarine, and a replica of (Captain Cook's) Endeavour.
Special exhibits on notable shipwrecks (a big part of the country's earlier
history, apparently) and Ötzi, the mummy discovered some year ago in a
glacier in South Tyrol (Alps in Austria/Italy). Not sure the maritime
relevance of the latter. Lunch harbourside at Darling Harbour. No alcohol,
as you have to be under .05 (and "of sound mind" too) to do the bridge
climb.
Preparations for the climb take the best part of an hour. Essentially you
can't take anything up with you except what they issue. You put on a
jumpsuit over your clothes, plus rainpants and a hooded poncho in wet
weather. Optionally a cap clipped to the jumpsuit with a lanyard, then a
lanyard on your glasses if worn, a belt-like harness with a pouch for a
radio, and finally a tether from harness to a "traveller" that will follow
along the safely rail beside you all the way and keep you attached while
moving along. And then the radio headset. All dressed, you climb up ladders
to a small platform simulating a bridge catwalk. So far so good. Radio,
connected to the headset (bone conduction, so ears are not covered and you
can still hear everything around you), radio check, good to go.
It started raining just before we went outdoors to walk to the entrance for
the climb. By the time we'd gone up the first stairs to get to the catwalk
under the approach ramps, it was pouring, and a thunderstorm was moving in.
The catwalk are over roads before you get to the south pylon, and are in
some places solid (planks) and in other places open steel mesh. They are
about a metre wide, with metre-high handrails both sides and the safety line
for the "traveller" on one side or the other. This was the tough part - I
really wasn't sure I was going to make it, I've never felt so nervous in my
life. Plus it was wet and the wind was getting up.
By the time we got to the south pylon (where the approach ramp ends and the
span proper starts) the thunderstorm was in full swing, and we had to wait
it out. More and more groups arrived, and if the waiting area is full they
start sending the first groups back and that's it for the climb - no refunds
but on request a voucher for another attempt. We waited about 45 minutes,
and were minutes from being sent back when it cleared a bit and we were
given the "go". I was still nervous enough that I was almost hoping it would
be cancelled :-( .
Up a series of ladders, in the open outside the pylon, to get to the start
of the upper span. I guess I had calmed down a bit at this point, even
though this should have been scarier than the catwalks. We had been taken up
the ladders on the western side so that they could get more of the waiting
groups up quickly, and then had to cross the width of the bridge on a
catwalk to get to the eastern side for the climb. Not fun! Traffic and
trains below, far below.
The climb to the summit, from this point, is easy and feels very safe.
Fantastic view. I was still a bit nervous on the way down, especially down
the ladders and across the catwalks, but managed fine.
Recommended.
*** NZ/Australia 2007: very long day 18 / Sat Dec 8 (back to Toronto)
What to say? It'll be 30+ hours from Sydney airport arrival to being back
home, and I need a few hours sleep in the middle to turn it into two days.
Off to the airport at 7:15 for the 9:30 flight. Sydney to Honolulu,
interesting chat all the way with an IBM Australia senior project manager.
At Honolulu, walked the greatest distance between any two points to transfer
between Star Alliance partners Air Canada and United. Left Sydney Saturday
morning, it's now Friday night. Slept most of the way (i.e, for about four
hours) to Los Angeles. Saw the famous HOLLYWOOD signs on the Hollywood Hills
- impressive even from a distance.
Off the plane and straight into an alternate universe - tinny Christmas
carols pouring out of the ceiling and smothering me as I enter the arrival
gate. LAX is supposed to be a nightmare, but this time the next flight (to
Denver) is from exactly the same gate as the arrival, in fact even the same
aircraft. Denver is (unsurprisingly) in the midst of a snowstorm, 8" of snow
expected, current visibility 1/4 mile. Gonna be flight delays. Now in
linguistic alternate universe: "uh huh", "you bet".
Denver airport has kindly provided free Wi-Fi access, as long as you don't
mind a bit of advertising. All good, except they block port 25 so you can't
use SMTP and therefore can't send e-mail. And customer service is 9-5
Monday-Friday only. And the FAQ has no questions and only answers to
questions you wouldn't have asked anyway. And there's no paid alternative
network like Boingo. Thank you ever so much DIA - one hand giveth and the
other taketh away.
>>
On 2/18/11 7:18 PM, usher99@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Now understand this - Brian lives in one of the most astonishing
> environments
> on the planet. It is more or less civilised (good food and beer), they
> speak
> English of a strangled sort and you look out of a hotel room each
> morning, over
> the lake, and choke. Go there. ASAP.
>
> The CVO has been paying attention. She had been thinking of a NZ trip
> and now seems set on it.
> Would be nice to meet Brain if possible and have a Speight's Old
> Dark. If all works out can likely swing a couple weeks --perhaps Dec?
> Will pay close attention to any suggestions on places/timing. Hard to
> believe the last trip even close was to a meeting in Cairns in
> 2000--only brought my OM2 and 3 lenses. Will bring an OM kit this
> time too.
> The CVO has Spoken, Mike.
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|