Around The World Gaby and Gu 2006-2007

It's another sunny day in Tekapo, yeah !! We are going to make the most out of it by first going on a hike to Mount John, a hill that surrounds all the area and then by spending a couple of hours on the lake on a nice and romantic private cruise on the only small boat that proposes tours :O). We continue to be completely in love with this place !! :O)

It's amazing what a clear day can do to your mood and to the landscapes around you. We left Akaroa in a rather desperated mood, hoping for some sun to lighten up our day...and fortunately that's exactly what happened on our way to Lake Tekapo. We arrived there around 15h00 leaving us enought time to prepare for a magnificient sunset with amazing views on the mountain ranges around us and great reflections on this beautiful turquoise lake. Tekapo was just supposed to be a stopover on our way to Queenstown but we liked this place so much that we decided to stay one more day ! An excellent decision we guess. Check by yourselves ;O)

Yes, Akaroa is potentially such a romantic place ! Potentially because if you go there and spend two days with bad weather like we had, it can spoil your whole stay in this lovely french concession located within what was once a volcano. We had a good time there anyway but why did the sun only appear when we were leaving !!! ;O)

Kaikoura, definitely the place to go for Whale, Dolphin and Albatross encounters !! An amazing experience with the dusky dolphins, a kind of shorter and very acrobatic type which is usually found in the southern hemisphere as we were told. The encounter was quite impressive since they are very sociable even though they are totally wild and nothing is done to attract them. They just come around the boat, let themselves flow onto the wave and don't hesitate to spin around to impress us :O). We were also lucky enough to see really huge albatrosses flying around the boat. Simply a fantastic bird !! Well, very recommended encounter unless you are prone to seasickness like a certain me !! (Gundi) :O)

On our way to the southern island, we thought it would be worth paying a forced (you have to get there to catch the ferry to the other island) visit to the capital. Wellington didn't quite meet our expectations. The city is OK but it seems pretty messy and dirty. Furthermore, there aren't that many things to do or see there except the excellent Te Papa National Museum. Well, we won't remember this city as one of the nicest we have seen.

Orakei Korako, The Hidden Valley, our last stop in the very geothermal area of Rotorua / Lake Taupo before heading to Wellington. Once again, we were amazed by all the fantastic silica terraces and geyser activity of this place, which generates amazing colours. That is definitely our favourite of all the ones we have visited these past days.

Te Puia is a big Maori compound aiming at preserving the culture in the area and beyond. There is a fantastic Maori performance including the famous Haka and some games they used to play in older times. The compound also includes a carving and weaving school where Maori people can graduate from and keep traditions alive. It's great and besides it offers another great Geyser experience. We liked this place very much !

Wai-O-Tapu ! Here's something that really impressed us. Here, it's all about Geysers, Mud pools and different geothermal phenomenons that can be seen around the Rotorua area. It's really fascinating, like walking on the edge of a boiler.

Being "fans" of the Lord of the The Rings, one of our mandatory stops was the movie set of Hobbiton, in Matamata, two hours south of Auckland. Unfortunately, there isn't much left of the hobbits hole, since the production covered most of them after filming was over. However, the owners of the field where everything was shot managed to preserve some of them under the condition that no painting or furniture be presented to tourists. The location is amazing and with the help of our guide, we really could see how it looked back when they shot most of the scenes !

Wherever you look at around Auckland, you can see beautiful hills surrounding the city. They are, for most of them, extinct volcanoes that look now fairy-tale-style. Ten minutes across Auckland lies Devonport, a very nice little town with two of those hills, Mt Victoria and North Head, from which you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Auckland Skyline. We loved every bit of this very relaxing and quiet little seaside village

Here we are in New Zealand ! At first sight, Auckland, our first destination, looks like a clone of Sydney in much smaller. But when you take a closer look at it, it has nothing to do with it. It's a sailing city (America's Cup ! :O) very pleasant to be walked around. The highlight for us is the Auckland Museum with a very interesting display of Maori and Pacific Islands' culture with a Maori dance cultural show. Lovely !