New Zealand!

Auckland, New Zealand

Having completed the first island stop of our vacation in Australia we were eager to see what the North Island of New Zealand had in store for us to see.  With limited time in Auckland of two full days and also the fact that Christmas fell on the second day it was a challenge to find things which were open and available.  On our first day we went to visit Rangitoto Island.  This volcanic Island sits just off the Auckland coast and has a rugged lava landscape formed over 600 years ago.  We took a 4WD road-train guided tour of the island arriving at the base of the summit cone where we then took 300 steps to the very top.  The only unfortunate part of the trip was the summit was covered in mist clouds as most of our time in Auckland had weather resulting from the remnants of Cyclone Evan which passed Fiji the previous week.  Despite the weather it was very interesting to tour the lave fields and view the city from the Ferry as we left and approached the city.  In the evening (Christmas Eve) we went out to dinner with our friends and then went to a small village which was reminiscent of the Henry Ford for all of us.  Here we walked around and enjoyed the Christmas lights and festivities.  

Our next day in Auckland was Christmas.  To the delight of Cooper and Brady Santa stopped during the night and dropped off some presents for them and they are further hoping for more when they return to China!  We spent a majority of the day relaxing in the apartment and going out for a brief lunch.  Later in the evening we went to the Sky Tower to take in 360 views of the city and ate a Christmas dinner at the Observatory restaurant at the peak of the tower.  We enjoyed ourselves in Auckland and look forward to what ChristChurch has in store for us.    

ChristChurch, New Zealand

For our first day we started with the ChristChurch Grand Tour, this would take half the day and was a private tour.  The first part of the trip was spent exploring the city, or perhaps better explained as touring what is left of the downtown district.  In September 2010 and then again in February 2011 the city suffered two massive earthquakes.  This was then followed by thousands of aftershocks throughout 2011.  As we have traveled to many places we have seen first hand the devastation of natural disasters and the impact on the lives of the local people; for example the typhoon in Thailand, the bombings in Bali and now the earthquakes in New Zealand.  As you experience these things first hand it makes you truly appreciate how fortunate you are and also how much assistance is required after such events.  The earthquake literally left the city in ruins with two large "red zones" where no one is allowed to enter to this day as they work on the demolition of buildings and begin the rebuilding process.  

Our tour stopped at the seaside villages  of Sumner which are right on the beach.  Here we took in panoramic views of the city, surrounding plains, mountains and coastline as we ventured to the top of the city hills.  Next we took a tour of the Botanic Gardens which really displayed the natural beauty of the city.  Here we saw exotic and indigenous plants found in New Zealand.  Following this tour we went "punting on the Avon", a relaxing boat ride on the Avon River.  This was a 30 minute ride on a classic Punt boat with an Edwardian-dressed Punter through the banks and gardens of ChristChurch.  

The second half of our day we went to the Kiwi Wildlife Experience.  We visited the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve where we viewed many of the wildlife that is unique to New Zealand such as the Kiwi.  Next we saw a fantastic Ko Tane Cultural Performance.  Here we witnessed the Tane Mahuta, the Maori God of the forrest and learned how the Maori lived on the South Island.  We witnessed their heritage, dance, singing all while many of the audience participated including ourselves.  After the show we enjoyed a Hangi meal served in the restaurant overlooking the wildlife park.  

Our second day was spent taking a TranzAlpine train from ChristChurch on the east coast of New Zealand to the west coast city of Greymouth.  However this was not an ordinary train ride it passed straight through the Southern Alps!  Stating that the scenery was amazing would really be an understatement.  The train was designed specifically to enjoy the views on the ride from city to city complete with large table seating, large windows and a open rail car for taking pictures.  As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words...  New Zealand is just as we imagined, an island with beautiful landscape!

Our trip to NewZealand was educational, the land was breathtaking and we all had a great time.  Having now completed a week in each of Australia and New Zealand we are looking forward to our next destination, a relaxing time in Fiji!