New Zealand - Blogabond

Back to Welly - Night 66

Playing tourist again, I finished off the top three floors of the gargantuan Te Papa museum today and then wandered to Cuba Street for lunch and shopping. For those of you keeping score (Paolo, this is you), Cuba Street Kebabs has the largest, though not the best tasting, kebab I’ve experienced...

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exumenius on December 15, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

Census of the Seals - Night 65

And then there were 6. We lost two volunteers this morning, Melissa and Kathleen. Melissa, had just spent a semester at Western Australia University in Perth and was headed home to Chicago for Christmas. Kathleen has been at GVN for the past two and a half months and now too was headed home...

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exumenius on December 14, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

Yes, We Made It!!

Hey everybody! We've done gone now..... We are in NZ now and staying with a lovely couple (Wayne and Kathy) at Alabar Ranch about 45 minutes from Auckland. Alabar is a breeding center for horses on about 300 beautiful acres with views across the water of Auckland and the surrounding...

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TwoSouls on December 14, 2007 from Pukekohe East, New Zealand

from the travel blog: New Zealand: Santa Wears Burmudas

GVN Christmas Party - Night 64

Another day off for the overworked GVN volunteers. Today’s excuse for not working was the official company Christmas party. Toby drove us down to a park on Eastbourne for the big event. When we arrived, Colin, the founder of GVN, was busy handing out glasses of champagne and overseeing the...

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exumenius on December 13, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

Point Break

From the world of puzzles to the world of outdoor adventures by day and partying by night. Queenstown had been much hyped as most people's (travellers') favourite Kiwi town and I, not being a huge fan of the 'travelling for aprtying' school of thought, was prepared to be disappointed. Not at...

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Alex Kent on December 13, 2007 from Fernhill, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

Where Have All The People Gone?

Amdittedly it was already dark when we set off, but it wasn't particularly late, and we were driving down the main north-south highway on the south island, so it was with increasing disbelief that we eventually counted a total of 9 cars going in the opposite direction ... in over FOUR HOURS of...

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Alex Kent on December 12, 2007 from Wanaka, New Zealand, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

Fox Glacier (mint anyone?)

Arriving amid more sheets of driving rain and clad in jeans and rain jackets, we huddled in our prospective tour operator's cafe and debated the appeal of trekking for several hours on a large block of ice in the pouring rain and chilly wind with shit visibility and another long drive ahead. ...

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Alex Kent on December 12, 2007 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

Sailing the Harbour - Night 63

Life as a volunteer is rough. We took the day off today and commandeered the GVN sailboat for a day on Wellington Harbour. Since none of us are ordained sailors, the company hired Terry, a certified master yachtsman, to guide us for the day. An older gentleman, Terry was the quintessential...

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exumenius on December 12, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

On the Trail of Possums - Night 62

Today’s activities took us to East Harbor Park just across the bay from Lower Hutt. Our stated objective was to check and re-bait a line of possum and rat traps throughout the park. The catch was that our designated line was located in the valley between the two mountain ranges so we would...

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exumenius on December 11, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

The Middle of Nowhere

After our session on the water we started the huge drive down to Punakaiki, and while the boys dozed I enjoyed an idyllic drive through some of my favourite scenery from the trip - along the Owen River, which meanders its way through broad, flat flood plains fringed by beautiful banks of verdant...

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Alex Kent on December 11, 2007 from Punakaiki, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

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