New Zealand Travel
What Happens To Tourists in New Zealand After An Earthquake
Earthquake Damage, Lyttleton, New Zealand As I write this we are tidying up after a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake in New Zealand. The sensational reported by both local and overseas media makes it hard for tourists to get a real view of what’s happening here. So I’m writing this to add some reality to the…
Read MoreNearcation from Wellington: Cape Palliser, Wairarpa – Plus Video
If you are stuck in Wellington, New Zealand but need a break for a day or longer than you can do a lot worse than heading over the Rimutakas to the the Wairarapa. Only about 1.5hours out of Wellington, but separated by high hills, its a bit of a rural idyll. But not for the whole…
Read MoreWellington’s Zealandia – Is It Worth The Entry Fee?
Every six months or so Wellington city has taken to making all the city-owned tourist attraction free for a gold coin donation (NZ$1 or NZ$2). I took the opportunity to see if Zealandia’s wopping NZ$28 (US$21, £13, €16) fee for the combined entry into the visitor centre plus the wildlife sanctuary was worth it. As the…
Read MoreNew Zealand: Home of the World’s Only Gaudi Inspired Public Toilet
Public toilets are important if you are travelling. Their location, quality, and price are all important considerations. But they aren’t often the main reason to stop in the town, nor does the town often build a tourist industry around said toilets. Unless the town is Kawakawa. And the toilets were designed and even partly constructued…
Read MoreStay Safe in New Zealand’s National Parks
Is New Zealand safe? A question asked by many. Well frankly, no its not, not if you intend to leave your brains at home. Most overseas visitors come to New Zealand for the “great outdoors”, the “wilderness experience” or to part take in our famous “adventure tourism”. A lot of them visit one more National…
Read MoreWellington Street Art – Stainless Steel Braille Sculpture
Wellington has quite a lot of sculpture around the streets. I’ll feature some of the more unusual ones over the coming weeks. This one is called “Invisible City“. It looks like it should say something in Braille – but it doesn’t – that’s art I guess! Actually its a useful place to meet people as…
Read MoreANZAC Day in New Zealand
If you travel New Zealand, you will soon notice that we have some of the longest shopping hours of the civilized world. Most supermarkets are open 7 days, in larger centers usually from about 6am to 2am. Now it wasn’t always so, and you don’t have to be ancient to remember when everything shut down…
Read MoreHokianga Harbour Heads, New Zealand
The Hokianga is on of New Zealand’s largest harbours, which is not to say that there are any large towns on it. I snapped this picture on the outskirts of Opononi – which I won’t be surprised if you have to look up! This picture shows the two taniwha (sea monsters) who guard the entrance…
Read MoreMatai River at Nelson, New Zealand
Taken on a beautiful sunny Easter Sunday in Nelson. The Matai River runs through the town of Nelson and there is an attractive and easy walking/cycling track that runs along most of its length. There are some pretty nice houses to have a look at along the route as well and we passed by the appropriately named…
Read MoreCunard’s Queen Elizabeth Leaving Wellington Harbour
Wellington, New Zealand was founded for its fine port, and to this day is a busy one. Its not often that you see quite such a large cruise ship as the new Queen Elizabeth though! In fact the previous week we’d seen her sister ship the Queen Mary come through I took this shot from…
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