Thursday, November 22, 2007

Trip to Never Never Land....

Rugged mountains, dramatic coastline and lush forests where the spirit of adventure beckons; since the day that the polynesian explorers (Maoris) settled here were explored by Kupe(the great explorer) who first sighted New Zealand from afar, wreathed in cloud and named it Aotearoa-The land of the Long White Cloud.

The first moments that my eyes opened amidst the clouds shimmering white, i really felt as if i were in heaven; atop the aircraft as i saw it glide through clouds layer after layer almost land into the sea only to find a tiny trail of runway amidst the lengthy trail of beaches.... welcome to Xanadu; paradise upon earth - New Zealand.

As i pursued the travel guide; i was literally lost as to decide upon a decent itenary that would involve the scenic beaches, forlorn forests, delicate dolphins, cavernous glow-worms, dormant volcanoes, ice-capped mountains, lush wineries, heart-pumping adventure (bungy, kayak, sky-diving) and maybe also indulge across the flavor-rich Maori Culture.

Even now after the entire adventure has finished i am reeling under those golden-days as they say, once u get to new-zealand you shall take home memories or superb hospitality, virgin nature, a smorgasbord of outdoor activities as mild or as mad but just as you wished it to be.

Before i end up writing another book of adjectives upon this country, i must first complete the post with my itenary of 14 days across only North Island (the cheaper cousin of the south-island)

Day 1 - Transit Trip in Singapore ( 1 entire day of traveling the city of tourism)
Day 2 - Landed in NZ, went across to Magic Travels (cheapest and the best ever- Trust me on this one) to book my travel itenary for bay-of-island tour and checked Auckland city the rest of the day.
Day 3 -
Isite (Sky Towers in Auckland) , Kelly Tarton(Underwater world and penguins)
Day 4 -
Waiheke Islands (Scenic Beaches and Awesome wineries with free wine)
Bay of Islands tour ( 4 days and 3 nights)
Day 5 - Hole in the Rock (Pahia ) & Dolphin Cruise
Day 6 - Cape Reigna, 90 Mile Beach tour & Sand Surfing
Day 7 - Russel (Biking), Waitangi Treaty Grounds
Day 8 - Hoitangi Passing, Kauri Trees and Tane Mahuta (The god of living - Maori)
Back to Auckland
Day 9 -
Mt Eden, Nightlife @ Auckcity
Waitomo, Roturo & Taupo Exploration - Northland Exposure Tour ( 3 days - 2 nights)
Day 10 - Waitomo Glow-worm caves, Maori Tamki Village experience (Taupo)
Day 11 - Jet Skiiing (Huka Falls) , Rotorua Thermal reserves, Lady Knocks Geyser
Day 12 - Taupo Bungy, Exploring the city
Back to Auckland
Day 13 - Onahu Bay, Kayaking, Sky Tower, Sky City Casino
Day 14 - Teary-eyed departure back to India

The entire trip costs me around 80,000 INR/- (including the flight tickets); compared to 2-3 Lakhs offer of the cheapest guided tour operators from INDIA; which i must add would still be worth the experience.

So without much further ado, i must say for the next globe-trotter who chances upon this site; be sure that u have at a Tick in the southern-hemisphere all across NZ in this life or the next :)

Be sure to check out my detailed exploration across each and every day in NZ and also a few additional Tips and Tricks up my sleeve.

4 comments:

Shreyas said...

Riveting read with nice pics. Well compiled.

Deepak said...

Thanks a lot dude ... really appreciate your feed-back.. Hopefully it shall be useful for the future traveller to this beauty

Preeti said...

I have always wanted to go to NZ. I will someday. Probably settle there. In a house opposite a lake and write a book or something. Scenic, and awesome. Good job on the blog. Was a nice read.

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