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08/08/08 |
   
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January 2003 - June 2004 Why on hell New Zealand? Why leaving so far away, for such a long time? We heart this question so many times that we should have found a good response by now. However it is not so evident finding a good answer. Those who already visited the country know. For those who do not know New Zealand, we try to explain that "over there everything is new, everything is wild" but this is nothing else but an extract of a French song. The air is definitively fresher, grass greener (!) and sceneries are astonishing. Kiwis (people, not birds) are warm and particularly welcoming with migrants, surely because of the way the country was constructed. If we mainly were leaving in the North Island, we were also seduced by the South Island and we just do have one big regret: we couldn't plan a trip in the southern part of the wild and mysterious island. Is that a reason good enough for coming back.... as soon as possible? In September 2006 I had the pleasure to go back in NZ for 3 weeks. A pure delight!
NORTH ISLAND: Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Mont Manganui, Raglan, Otorohanga, Taupo, Wellington
AUCKLAND: Auckland is located in the North
Island and is the most populated city in New Zealand. It is
HAMILTON: is a city with around 300 000 inhabitants. It is nicely situated geographically (2h drive from Auckland, 1 hour from each coasts) in the Waikato region . It hosts annually an international balloon festival. Hamiltonian particularly enjoy the gardens where all the main Sunday leisure are organized. But before all these gardens are the Hamiltonian local pride.
ROTORUA: is a city in the middle of a region of high geothermic activity. Moreover the Maoris part of the population is higher here than in average in the country. If you add an intense sulfur odor, you will complete the originality of this ...explosive city!
MONT MAUNGANUI: In the "Bay of Plenty", on the Pacific coast. Like the French Cannes, it is a bath city, popular among the kiwis especially during summer breaks. Beautiful white sand beaches
RAGLAN: Windsurfing paradise, this black sand beach is the closest to Hamilton. Waves from the Tasman sea break infinitively on these steep bays and experienced or beginning surfers put their wetsuit and try to forget icy water.
OTOROHANGA KIWIHOUSE: Waitomo seems to be far away from everything for tourists and in order to attract people the region made great efforts with magnificent Waitomo glowworm caves, or Otorohanga, "kiwiana" capital. Kiwis are protected birds and national emblems. They leave during the nights.. so for tourist exhibition small houses have been imagined where the night has been created.. during the day! Flash is naturally forbidden, and I personally laughed a lot discovering our picture of a kiwi.. in the dark!
TAUPO LAKE: Le plus grand lac volcanique de la Nouvelle-Zélande, capitale mondiale de pêche à la truite (arc-en-ciel), il est également la source de la rivière Waikato. De nombreuses activités sont proposées à proximité: sportives (chute en tandem, randonnées pédestres ou à cheval, pêche, bateau), artistiques (woodcraft) ou gastronomiques (parc aux crevettes!), il y en a pout tous les goûts!
WELLINGTON: Capitale administrative de la NZ, cette ville est avant tout un port pittoresque peuplé de bâtisses victoriennes gravissant les collines abruptes. Malgré le vent (si fort que l' aéroport est parfois obligé de fermer ses pistes!), c' est une ville agréable, où les loisirs, les arts, les festivals et les restaurants semblent rythmer doucement la vie des citadins. Ne pas rater le Te Papa museum (gratuit qui plus est!) magnifique recueil de la culture et civilisation maorie, ainsi que le téléphérique qui escalade la montagne pour nous conduire aux jardins botaniques, véritable bouffée de nature aux portes de la ville. Cette ville est à présent capitale mondiale du cinéma puisque qu' elle a abrité le tournage du "Seigneur des anneaux" réalisé par le kiwi Peter Jackson!
Plus douce, plus paisible, plus verte que l' île du Nord, mais également plus majestueuse, avec sa chaine alpine et ses glaciers éternels qui surplombent l'océan (le Mont Cook culmine à 3755 m). Un climat plus rigoureux et une île globalement moins peuplée que celle du Nord, ce qui finit de la rendre plus sauvage. Mais est-il sensé d' essayer de comparer 2 îles... incomparables? Ci-dessous des clichés de notre séjour de 10 jours, où nous avons voyagé de Christchurch à Christchurch, en remontant tout d' abord la côte pacifique par le Nord, puis en longeant le détroit de Cook, en redescendant le long de la Tasmanie pour retraverser l'île d' ouest en est par la passe site d' Arthur.
September 2006: New Zealand, I am back! There's no word to explain how happy I was. These 3 weeks were like in my dreams, seeing all my kiwi friends, my favorite scenaries, going back to all these places I enjoyed so much. Nothing changed, as if I've never left.
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This site was last updated 04/15/07 |
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also
the financial and economic capital of the country. Auckland's harbor is
famous for having lodged America's cup several years consecutively.
One of the activity which could be done is to have a cruise in one of the
boat of the New Zealand team!
