Copthorne Harbour City Auckland

... wir es uns gutgehen:<br>Wir machten einen Ausflug nach Devonport, wo es die tollsten Pralinen der Welt gibt.<br>Ausserdem gingen wir ins Auckland Museum und kamen zum ersten Mal in Beruehrung mit der Maori-Kultur. Irgendwie sind wir durch den Hintereingang reingegangen (das haben wir aber erst spaeter gemerkt) und haben dadurch nichts bezahlt... Im Museum gab es unter anderem einen Abschnitt ueber Vulkane, weil Auckland ja auf/zwischen ca. 20 Vulkanen gebaut ist ...

... something about a woman and the moon!!!<br><br>Wellington - Te Papa'ing<br><br>I got into Wellington that evening after the 3 hour ferry crossing to the North Island. I'd two days here. That evening I crashed in bed with room service - yes - in a hotel again - thanks to last minute.com - total bargain had. <br><br>Next day - I slept it - because I could. Then headed to Te Papa musuem - in which Kiwis take great pride - its a modern beast of a building on ...

... greeted us in 57 languages and was cracking jokes the entire time. I guess they know to give the crazy bus driver to the backpackers. When we got there we watched a recreated version of the historical event when the European settlers introduced firearms to the Maori people. Then we walked around a traditional recreation of what their village would have looked like. The Maori people use this tactic of intimidation called Haka. It is a dance and they bulge their eyes out and flick their ...

... hilly. I met another dude from South Korea just leaving Kawakawa. Crossing paths, i bore him the bad news. "Ohh wess, this countwy vweawy hiwwy" He'd ridden down from 'The Cape'. Anyways, I quit my crying and tackled these monsters of hills, being motivated by my relevant position to the 'finishing post'. I get to the top of one such hill and there it was....the City of sails. The sky tower was like a tiny little toothpick away off in the distance, obviously a few hours ...

... At least 3 passengers attempted this - some of them not so young, along with a number of members of staff. The Sky Tower rises some 1000ft above sea level, but the jump takes place at 630 ft and those brave enough to do it plummet to the ground at around 75km/hr and spend approximately 11 seconds in the air all for the cheap price of $200 New Zealand ($100 dollars American or £80 English). Having spent some time at the Sky Tower we ...

... the house nestled in a thicket of garden delights, buzzing bees, and a friendly cat which Chris had refused to name to avoid becoming attached to it and giving it a home (which didn't stop the cat from coming in and sitting on one of the dinner table's chairs while we had our meals.) <br><br>At the Airport in Fiji I was drawn to this fantastic and beautiful woman named Trudie. She was glowing after a conference with the self help guru Anthony Robins ...

OMG! It took forever! A total of 20 hours flying. Four hours to L.A., 6-hour layover (Thanks Alvarado's for the picking me up and gettin' lunch and some tourist time at Griffin Observatory), then a 15 hour flight from L.A. to New Zealand, then a three hour layover, then another 4 hours from New Zealand to Adelaide.