Auckland Transport
Auckland is a car city. They pretty much built it on, around and for the car. While the CBD now has a couple of pedestrian zones, the main means of transport for Aucklanders are their four wheels. First time you realize that, is when you have to wait for green on any crossing. I seems […] Read More
Hatches down for Lusi
The weather has been great yesterday, and I enjoyed a good time in Albert Park with a bunch of shirtless students from the nearly university, and my NZ travel guide. I also managed to get some Japanese Yen, as I realized it might be wise to have at least some local currency before heading north. […] Read More
Matariki
After 6 months on the southern hemisphere, I finally made it to a planetarium…. What I wanted to do already in the first week, but scrapped because of language issues, children’s programs of some comic figures hopping on the moon, renovations or the usual I’ll do that tomorrow…. It was worth it. We had a […] Read More
Rangitoto hike
Finally got my act together and set the alarm clock to 9 am. So I would make the Rangitoto Ferry at 10.30. The weather looked ok, warm, with lots of clouds, maybe not the worst to hike up a volcano. The Ferry took half an hour and let us ashore at Ragitoto‘s Ferry Terminal. I […] Read More
Māori
I’m fascinated with Māori culture. The first thing that astonished me is how visible it is here. In culture, language, names and people, you see Māori all around. Māori words have penetrated the Kiwi English, besides the occasional Kia Ora. Unlike Australia, where I actually only ever saw a handful of Aborigines. I was astonished to see Australia […] Read More
Miscellaneous
Ticked a few things off my list today. I went to the Japanese Tourist office to get my voucher for the train ticket trough Japan from a super lovely agent. She was sooo polite…! I’ll be in for a treat in Japan. I also got a number of brochures and maps… I seriously have to […] Read More
Pasifika
This weekend Auckland was all about the Pacific Islands. Pasifika, a two-day festival was held in the Western Springs Park. Creating a parcours throughout the green and around the lake, the Pacific Islands presented themselves with numerous stands, stages, entertainment, food, information, arts and crafts… Held since 1993 it has become the biggest festival of its […] Read More
Cooking lessons
More food. I got a private cooking class from Clinty, we did one of my favorites, raw Vietnamese Spring rolls. We went to an Asian market on K-road, and got provisions. I love those supermarkets. We had a couple of smaller ones in Brussels, but in Auckland with its huge Asian population, this is wonderland! […] Read More
New friends (and food)
I recently met up with Clint and his friend Nina in Grand Central in Ponsonby for an after-work beer. Ginger fusion, actually, something they had on the table and I joined in, not tasting the alcohol in it until it was too late…. Clint is a Pacific Islander through and through, coming from the biggest […] Read More