Kia Ora to New Zealand!

This post should have been uploaded December 29, 2012, but I couldn't get the photos to work, so I'm uploading it today instead.

Thirty-six hours after landing in Auckland, New Zealand is everything I expected it to be. Friendly, green, beautiful and clean, it's proven to be a wonderful place to start my 2013 adventure. Tomorrow I board the Flying Kiwi bus for the Coromandel Peninsula, but yesterday and today I explored the City of Sails.
After arriving at Jucy Hotel and storing my bag for the day, I decided to walk around the CBD (Central Business District). I found myself at Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 metres. I took the 40 second elevator ride to the first and second observation towers.  It was neat because you could see the CBD get smaller as you went up (the elevator had glass doors). The views were magnificent at the top! You could see 360 degrees around Auckland. You could also see those that were brave enough for the Sky Jump, where you can jump from the top of the tower in an 11 second, 85km/hr base wire jump, and the Sky Walk, where you can circle the tower on a 1.2m platform with no railing or balcony (you're hooked up to a safety harness). Too expensive (and too scary) for me!

The Sky Walkers leaning away from the Tower:

Today I boarded the Hop On Hop Off Explorer Bus, which visits 14 major sites around Auckland. I stopped at Mission Bay, a great beach right outside of the CBD, the Auckland Museum and Mount Eden. The Auckland Museum was amazing. Their displays on Maori and Pacific Islander culture are informative and interesting, and the Maori cultural performance was spectacular. There was even a short haka at the end, just what I had been waiting for.

Mount Eden is one of 50 volcanic peaks around Auckland. However, nothing has erupted for 600 years and most of the cones are dormant. Mount Eden is the highest and offers the best views. Here is the view of Auckland from Mount Eden:

On the left you can see the Auckland Harbour Bridge (you can bridge climb just like I did in Sydney) and on the right is the Sky Tower.

Tomorrow I board the Flying Kiwi bus to travel all around New Zealand. I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and exploring the north and south islands. It should be an adventure!

Goodbye Edmonton! Hello Auckland!

Today I said goodbye to Edmonton. After a month of saying goodbyes to friends and family, I thought today's departure would be easy. Boy, was I wrong! It's funny, no matter how many times I leave the country (and for a handful of times I've been gone for two months or more), it's still hard to say goodbye to close friends and family. Once I was past security, however, I was ready for my big adventure.

I'm off to Auckland, New Zealand, for a month before heading to my new home in Karratha, Australia.  I'm joining a tour group (www.flyingkiwi.com) to tramp around New Zealand during the southern hemisphere's summer holidays. Twenty-seven days of biking, hiking (tramping if you're from New Zealand), kayaking, camping, and other outdoor adventure activities. I've been looking forward to this since July and can't wait to get started. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the Haka performed live. I'm also looking forward to 23 degrees and sunny days with no snow, especially after leaving Edmonton's recent deep freeze!

Check out this link to view the Haka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y

I arrive in Oz January 28, with a brief stopover in Perth before continuing on to Karratha in northwestern Australia. Karratha is located approximately 1500km north of Perth and 850km south of Broome. Funnily enough, I've been there before, in 2009. My tour from Broome to Perth stopped in Karratha to pick up groceries on our way south. I don't remember much other than it was hot for August (and that's their winter!). I'm excited to call it home for 11 months.

I will be teaching grade 4, which means my new students can connect to my Edmonton students. I'm looking forward to emailing, blogging and exchanging letters with them over the next few months. It will be fun to share Australian culture with the Edmontonians and Canadian culture with the Karrathans. I've brought some Canadian books to share (thanks, Todd!) and I look forward to reading some Australian children's books too.

I won't be writing much in January (I am camping after all, and probably won't have a lot of access to the Internet), but I will post updates about New Zealand (with photos!) once I am settled in Karratha.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and family! I look forward to spending New Year's in New Zealand~ I will be celebrating a full 20 hours ahead of my Edmonton friends and family! May 2013 bring you your own adventure, whatever that may be!