The inhabitants of New Zealand were Maori who came to New Zealand from Polinesia around 800AD. The British had an important document signed with the natives of New Zealand, called the Waitangi treaty and they also established their first settlements there in the year the treaty was signed. In 1907 New Zealand became an independent state.
EU citizens can enter the US without a visa, yet they still need to fill out the on-line registry form (ESTA – Electronic System for Travel Authorization) and await the confirmation from the US side. It’s just a formality and it’s usually confirmed just seconds after the last click you make. You can find it in many languages (including Slovene) at: CLICK!
Los Angeles is among the biggest cities world-wide, both by population and the area it covers. The city covers 1.290 square kilometers and has “only” 4 million people, but the larger metropolitan area has 13 million of population.
Los Angeles is world in itself, because we can (at least according to Wikipedia) hear 225 different languages on the streets of the city.
LA and it’s larger metropolitan area offers many different theme parks, including Disneyland, as well as the historic town center, but there are also many sunny beaches as well as snowy mountains, and of course the famous Beverley Hills, as well as Santa Monica, with an excellent youth hostel HOLLYWOOD just a few yards away from the sea!
Apart from the Hollywood boulevard you MUST spend at least half a day at the Universal Studios, which is a great combination of a tour and a theme park, including 3D presentations of adrenaline rides and a look behind the movie making magic in the filming studios, where you get to see some tricks of the trade.
You can read more about it at www.universalstudios.com.
After a long flight with occasional naps and some in-flight movies we’ve arrived at the youngest of lands at 6am, or put otherwise, about half an hour earlier then anticipated. After a passport control (Slovenian citizens don’t need a visa) which was rather quick, there was a thorough search by the Bio security. There is a whole range of products you are not allowed to bring into New Zealand. They are so thorough they even check the soles of each hiking boot that could contain bacteria, virus or similar nuisance.
The early arrival was just what I needed to adapt to the new land (purchasing and inserting the New Zealand SIM into my cell phone and to gather the basic information before taking over the car I had arranged).
Renting a car is a lot cheaper in New Zealand than in most European countries, especially if you avoid the newest and exclusive cars, but chose the recommendation of the New Zealand’s Youth Hostelling organization www.yha.org.nz and select the Omega company, which might have a bit older cars, but they are all in a perfect working order. You can rent them at 15€ a day (www.omegarentalcars.com ) and you pay extra 4€ daily for insurance. And there are also other similar companies to be found. The cost is also this low because there is a very simple system of getting and returning the car. You simply take it to the arranged parking place at the airport and lock the keys in the car.
Now let’s return to Auckland, which is as most of New Zealand on the volcanic area and to get the first impression of the city it’s best to climb up the inactive volcano from which we can see the entire urban area. This volcano has become a desired tourist sight because of it’s excellent view of the city.
And our next stop is already in the city center itself. Compared to European cities of similar size the parking is very cheap here, since a whole day in a parking house costs about as much as an hour in European cities.
With all similarities (except the driving on the left side) there is an odd difference. The pedestrian crossings function differently than the ones we’re used to. Every road is closed off for cars and the pedestrians can use the entire crossing as a walking area, which does seem somewhat strange.
After a snack in the center it’s almost necessary to go to the other hill, where there’s a museum in an impressive building and then continue towards the marina near the beautiful beaches.
Among all the attractions that Auckland has to offer I my first suggestion would be the Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World. You can buy the tickets online and save 10% www.kellytarltons.co.nz/home.
It is here that you’ll get a genuine Antarctic feeling and meet the marine life of New Zealand and of course the penguins that reign over coldest of continents, as well as be able to you’re your endurance in water chilled down to Antarctic temperatures for half a minute.
Rotorua is a simpatico little town and a nice base-point for visiting dozens of attractions that you can find at www.rotoruanz.com/attractions. In the near of Rotorua you can get acquainted with the Maori culture, geothermal activities, the flora and fauna, or if you stay in town for longer, you should try one of the wellness centres with thermal water.
I definitely recommend a visit at MITAI (a native village), where you’ll get to experience the Maori culture. Plan a few hours for the visit, which starts with a brief introduction of Maori culture and continues with a tour of the village, including a look at the traditional boats and a cultural program in the village, which concludes with a delicious dinner made by native recepies. You can find more information at www.mitai.co.nz.
It’s for its geothermal activates that Rotorua and its surroundings got the title of being the tourist center of New Zealand for. The Earths crust is obviously the thinnest here, so we can enjoy the colors of nature that we are not accustomed to anywhere else; from the fluorescence green to the metallic violet. We can walk on ground heated over 50°C or splash around in water close to the boiling point and all of that in the company of the sulfuric smell. All of it gives us a feel of being in a prehistoric land and the flora even deepens this feeling, for it is something we might know only from the movies about prehistoric time.
The receptionist at Youth Hostle Treks Rotorua suggested (amongst the many parks) the two, where all the geothermal beauty and natural phenomena can be seen, that we were able to observe in Europe… some million years ago.
New Zealand is a country where we can find some unique animals and among them there is the popular Kiwi. At the word kiwi most Europeans would think of the kiwi fruit, but the fruit got its name from this rather extraordinary bird. A kiwi is an odd bird that hasn’t got wings, nor a tail, but it’s got an exceptionally long beak and is naturally hatched from an egg. A fully grown animal weighs at a few kilograms. It’s a nocturnal bird that sleeps through the day and searches for food during the night with its long beak in the ground.
Although I’ve seen the warnings about kiwis on the road, but haven’t seen a single one. You can, however, se many in especially set up centers, one of which is near Rotorua at Rainbow springs. You can also find the online at www.kiwiencounter.co.nz, apart from the kiwi you can also admire other animals. Considering MITAI – the Maori show, you can also se kiwis in action (that is during the night).
Rainbow Springs: Kiwi Wildlife Park is a unique must-see experience for anyone who wants to get to know New Zealand’s wonderful environment and animals, both during the day and at night. Your ticket allows you unlimited entry for a 24 hour period.
Located Rainbow Springs the Kiwi Encounter is a unique scientific attraction, which allows you an insight into the entire process of kiwi conservation – from collecting kiwi’s eggs, incubation, hatching and then raising the kiwi until the moment it’s ready to be released into the wild.
But before we take our leave of Rotorua, let us consider the Paradise Valley – a name most rightly earned. Here you can see just about anything, from small animals, birds, miniature kangaroos, right up to real lions. All of this is in the embrace of the crystal clear water that is also bottled. Before visiting, you can learn about the park at www.paradisev.co.nz
More information about Paradise Valley Springs at www.paradisevalleysprings.co.nz
You can reach Wellington by a more scenic or a shorter route. Naturally everybody who isn’t pressed for time decides upon the scenic route through the national park and nice little towns toward the capital. On this road you can enjoy the unspoiled nature.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, although with his 180.000 inhabitants isn’t nearly as large as Auckland or Christchurch. It does, however, feel like a real city during day or night. Wellington prides itself especially with a huge botanic garden you can reach by a cable cart and descend from the top, right down to the parliament building and the national museum Te Papa, which is only a short stroll away from the parliament along the coast or through the city center. It’s noticeable also that there is hardly a museum or a park in wellington you need to pay extra for, including the TE PAPA, which is among the best museums I’ve ever seen (and there were many both thorough Europe or the rest of the world).
Wellington is also a port, from where you can depart for the South Island, which is bigger, but less populated than the North one.
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