Meet the Zinickies
- Virtual Traveller 86
- May 11, 2020
- 4 min read
Day Three: Country No.14
NEW ZEALAND Arrival Time: 08:51am
“New Zealand's friendly and down-to-earth people will be one of the things you treasure most about your visit.” Well so says the ”official New Zealand tourism website” (newzealand.com). Mind you, having met a bunch of New Zealanders whilst on holiday almost 25 years ago I can safely say that from my own experience, this is very true. In fact, New Zealand is no. 1 on my list of must-see places.
NORTH ISLAND
A flight from Melbourne to Auckland takes approximately 3 hours 40 minutes (expedia.co.uk). Auckland is New Zealand's largest city. “The region is home to some 1.5 million people and is also the largest Polynesian city in the world.” (newzealand.com). Auckland is often referred to as the City of Sails and according to one tour guide, has more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world. The same guide states that the ratio of sheep to people is about 7:1, which means there are about 30 million sheep! (tourradar.com). My New Zealand friends can tell me if this is about right.
“New Zealand's indigenous Māori people called this land Tāmaki Makaurau, a maiden desired by a hundred lovers. The name still holds true, as Auckland's lifestyle is ranked amongst the best in the world...named as one of the top 10 most liveable cities in the world by The Economist.” (newzealand.com). I think one of the stunning things about New Zealand is how diverse the landscape is. Rainforest, rolling hills, mighty snowcapped mountains, glaciers, fjords, golden beaches, volcanoes...and so much more.
During my time on the north island some of the places I visited were Auckland, Tongariro National Park, Waitomo Caves, the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua and Wellington.
Photos on the left hand side are Auckland & those on the right are in Tongariro National Park
1. Coromandel Peninsula
2. Coromandel Peninsula
3. Fur Seals can be spotted at a number of locations across both islands.
4. Abseiling down into the Waitomo Caves, near Rotorua
5. Zip-lining in the caves
6. Rotorua
7. Champagne Pool at Wai-O-Tapu, Rotorua
8. Rafting on Kaituna River, Rotorua
9. A gorgeous Kiwi
Wellington
On the outskirts of New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, is “the world’s first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary.” Zealandia has a 500-year vision (yep 500!); to “restore a Wellington valley’s forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state.” This 225 hectare ecosanctuary has “reintroduced over 20 species of native wildlife back into the area.” (visitzealandia.com). Some of these had been absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years. This was a brilliant walking tour (via google earth).
1. Wellington
2. Wellington Cable Car
3. Wellington, from Mount Victoria Lookout
4. Zealandia’s resident takahē pair since 2013 are Nio & Orbell; & I managed to see one!
5. Takahē are classed “nationally vulnerable” & number just over 400.
6. A pair of Takahē
7. Suspension bridge in Zealandia
8. Zealandia
9. Coast along southern suburbs of Wellington, at Te Kopahou Visitor Centre
SOUTH ISLAND
Christchurch (home of the lovely Zinickie family!)
In February of 2011 Christchurch and surroundings were hit by a major earthquake. Ever since it has been working hard to recover and rebuild. The Cathedral was one of the city’s numerous historic buildings to be damaged. The Cathedral requires extensive restoration. Until this is completed services have been transferred to a new ‘Transitional Cathedral’. It was designed by Pritzger Prize-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. I was able to take a virtual tour of the building. I had great fun in Christchurch exploring the city centre and surroundings.
1. Christchurch Transitional Cathedral
2. Due to its building materials the structure is also known as the “cardboard cathedral”.
3. Window at front of the Transitional Cathedral.
4. Work has now begun on repairing and renovating the damaged ChristChurch Cathedral.
5. Approaching Diamond Harbour Wharf
6. Approaching Horomaka Island, in the area of Port Levy
7. “Who lives in a house like this?”
Other places I visited on South Island are highlighted in my photos below.
1. Fox Glacier, Westland Tai Poutini National Park (over 13 kilometre in length, the Fox glacier plummets 2,600 metres from high in the Southern Alps. Both Fox and nearby Franz Josef Glacier flow around ten times faster than most valley glaciers).
2. Lake Manapouri, Pomono Island, Fiordland
3. Overlooking Queenstown (spot the bungee jumper)
4. Moeraki Boulders: Some of these large spherical stones weigh several tonnes and can be as much as two metres high (newzealand.com)
5. Milford Sound, Fiordland
6. Milford Sound, Fiordland
As you can see from the number of photos, I absolutely loved New Zealand! I got so carried away that I ended up spending over four hours exploring. I really need to speed up as I still have 12 countries to do!
Perhaps one day I might just get to see New Zealand for real.
Departing New Zealand: 12:57 (eek!)
I’m having great fun doing this virtual tour of the world. However there is a serious reason behind it. Due to the current coronavirus pandemic there is less opportunity for vital fundraising to take place. UK charities rely heavily on donations and many are now facing the threat of closure. So I am raising funds for two charities, The Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK) and NHS Charities. You can read my reasons for choosing these in an earlier post.
Sources
https://www.touropia.com/explore/new-zealand// / https://www.newzealand.com/in/feature/new-zealand-must-do-experiences/
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