gubster's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New zealand New Zealand Well what can I say about New Zealand that hasn't been said b4? Sitting out here in the roaring forties on the pacific ocean it is comprised of two main islands ( and a few smaller ones I know nothing about!) . Picture this, mountain ranges, glaciers, rivers, crystal clear lakes, geysers, volcanoes, long beaches, clean air, etc etc and that's pretty much exactly what its like... In other words flip'n amazing!!! Its the diversity of the landscapes over these two shaky isles that makes it so amazing. Its snow caped mountains one minute and lush green farmland the next. It has all this and a fab maori culture a pile of freaky bizarre flora and fauna excellent tongue twisting place names and a crap load of adventure sports. Its pretty cheap and compact too. My journey through LOTR country did not last long but it was truly wonderful. After Christchurch I took the trans scenic train to Greymouth . The journey was breathtaking. I then headed onto Westport which I really enjoyed. Most backpackers don't really bother with this small town but I found it great. Everybody was really friendly there and there was plenty of tramping ( hiking) and caving to keep me occupied. The journey there from Greymouth beats the great ocean road any day. And the caving was so awesome. Then onto the nations capital Wellington (after a 3 hr ferry crossing). It was another harbor city and it was ok. A bit dead for me .Its a mixed up kinda city neither here nor there, but it has the te papa which was excellent and it has more cafes per head than New York. Auckland is to me a much better city (another harbor city). They call it the city of sails and there are a crap load of yachtsin the harbor so I am well at home here after sydney . I like it here and wish I had more time. Meting loads of people and drinking coffee with strangers, watching the yachts sail by. Its got the pacific on every side ( nearly ) cause its on a pretty narrow stretch of the Island which makes the harbor pretty spectacular.They say its pretty cosmopolitan, and after discussing that with some Scots English and Swis i tend to agree. Time to move on and I head to Fiji tomorrow. There are 320 islands in fiji....and only 5 days oohhhh the choices how will I cope! 12:34 p.m. - 2004-04-19 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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