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Oceania
  • Nadine Bless
  • Nadine Bless

Oceania

A 79-day adventure by Nadine Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 28, 2015
  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Auckland & Rangitoto Island (Nomads)

    October 31, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After 30 hours of travel here I was happy to discover beautiful downtown Auckland around Queen Street and the harbour. You find nice old buildings in between many skyscrapers and the skytower, the landmark of the city.

    Highlight for me was the walk around the harbour with all its huge yacht and sailing ships and Rangitoto island (1/2 ferry ride from the wharf) where you can hike to the volcanoe top and an amazing view over the bay and tiny Auckland in the distance. It was fun experiencing Halloween in Auckland too :)    Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Waitomo Caves & Maori Town in Mourea

    November 2, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Leaving Auckland with the stray bus the first sightseeing stop brought us to the Waitomo caves. Floating in a boat through a part of a dark cave it felt like in space with a thousand stars around you while you are actually surrounded by thousands of glowworms in the dark.

    The next stop introduced us to Maori culture that is so obvious in most of the town names in NZ. We learned the welcoming (Kia Ora!), the poi dance (for women) and the haka dance (for men) and listened to traditional songs after typical Maori dinner. We slept together on the floor of the major Maori house, quite an experience.    Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler
    1

    Hobbiton :)

    November 3, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Went and visited Bilbo and Frodo in their houses in Hobbiton and suddenly felt so amazingly tall the first time :) It becomes clear to you why Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin missed their home so much while rescuing the world from Sauron :DRead more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Tongariro National Park Alpine Crossing

    November 6, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    A tough 20km and 7h hike over the mountain in between two snow topped volcanoes. As it is still an active volcanoe area you smell the sulfur in the air and you can spot smoke coming from holes in the ground. Besides that the great weather made the snow and the lagoons even more shiny and beautiful. Finally, I was surprised and very proud of myself having made it to the other side of the mountains :)Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Stop over in Wellington (Nomads)

    November 8, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Just spending some time in the Weta movie studio with the Lord of the Rings characters (actually I found myself looking a bit similar to Gollum in my current illness state haha), on the night market and watching the firework in the harbour before taking the ferry to Picton and the South island the next day 🎉Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Abel Tasman National Park (The Barn)

    November 9, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Kayaking! Definitely the best way to explore the famous national park on your own. Got to see clear water, seals and I could finally find penguins :D

    That was when the weather suddenly changed (typical NZ weather) and we found us paddling in the rain and surrounded by a white curtain. Luckily, but just after some time, we made it to the pick up point :)Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Franz Josef Glacier (Rainforest Retreat)

    November 12, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A 2h walk from Franz Josef Village you get to the base of the Franz Josef glacier where you can see it sitting between the mountains and you also see how it has carved the valley over the thousands of years back in time. All the way on the trail you follow the water coming from the glacier. Its colour invites you for a swim if it wasn't that freezing cold. In order to hike on the actual glacier a helicopter trip would be defintely the best experience.Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Views on Mount Cook

    November 16, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Impressions from various view points around Mt Cook...

    While you could already feel and see the summer coming, snow was still falling on the mountain tops during the night 🌞❄️

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Somewhere in nowhere

    November 17, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Somewhere in nowhere - that's easy to find in NZ, the country that has actually more sheeps than inhabitants. Anyway, NZ is rather not a destination where you expect visiting wold famous cities. But it definitely is famous for its stunning and unique countryside. That's why the following impressions, including all the beautiful colours, the sheeps and cows 🐏🐐🐂🐃🐄, deserve their own special attention here :DRead more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Christchurch (YMCA Hostel)

    November 18, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Christchurch - a city shaken and still shaped by the desastrous earthquake(s) in 2011. Under the name 'Re:START' and projects like 'gap fillers' you find hundreds of ship containers replacing former shop buildings and offices and filling gaps between houses in the streets. Many reconstruction and art projects and the onnispresent construction sites resemble the will of the Kiwis in Christchurch to build up a new, modern and especially safe city for the future.Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Wanaka (The Base Hostel)

    November 21, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    This small town right next to its beautiful lake is the perfect place to escape busy and noisy Queenstown. During the day you sit in a café or on the waterfront while the sun is shining and the wind is getting warmer during spring time. For rainy days you visit puzzling world and the paradiso movie theatre with its comfortable seats and homemade and still warm cookies.Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Milford Sound day trip

    November 23, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    A day trip from Queenstown you enter the fjordland and the most rainy part of the country. On one of the many not so lucky rainy days, as it definitely was, there are waterfalls coming down from every side of the fjord and its steep rocks once carved out by huge glaciers during ice age. While the boat ride was also pretty shaky it was the fun challenge to stay as dry as possible (it was obviously not really possible to stay dry :D) and still get some good pictures.Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Queenstown (Base & Black Sheep Hostel)

    November 24, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Queenstown - the backpacker and tourism hub, the party hub and last but not least the bungy and adventure hub of NZ. Besides the many travel agencies, hostels and tour and information stores Queenstown has a beautiful waterfront and landscape. Even though it is a pity that the town appears that touristic I still have to admit that watching others jumping from the bridge on a bungy rope and following the pub crawl, as the last evening with the stray bus crew, will definitely stay in my NZ memory.Read more

  • Nadine BlessOceaniaTraveler

    Christchurch > Sydney

    November 25, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    GOODBYE clear blue lakes, snow topped mountains and glaciers, crowds of sheeps and freezing winds in NZ spring.... HELLO to a new chapter and a hot Australian summer!

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