Happy New Year from Auckland!

Kia Ora! And Happy New Year!!  Well I've sure had a packed last 4 days since we've arrived! After sleeping for a solid 12 hours on Thursday night after we arrived, we decided to do some adventuring throughout Auckland.

Friday morning we took the bus (by the way - super easy way to get around here!) to Auckland Museum. It was a perfect inside activity for the day, as it poured rain for most of the day. The museum is an architectural gem - gorgeous stone building and very unique design on the inside. The museum is 3 levels - the first level is Pacific and Maori culture, second level is natural history and the third level is war history.

 

I learned a lot about NZ culture and it was very interesting to see the similarities of NZ to Canada in their participation in the World Wars as a part of the British empire.  After the museum, we took a ride up the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Very neat experience, similar to the CN tower in Toronto.  This was followed by a much needed beer at the rooftop bar in our hostel!

Saturday morning we woke up early (to more rain!) to participate in more touristy activities. First up was a trip to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Adventure. Basically an aquarium that features King and Gentoo penguins, as well as many different types of native and tropical fish, sting rays, sea horses and 5 different types of sharks. A very cool set up, and a neat place to go... However highly over-rated for a backpacker on a budget.

Saturday afternoon took us to the Auckland Zoo. In one word - amazing! One of the best zoos I have ever been to. Giraffes, elephants, tigers, lions, rhinos, native animals to NZ, Aussie animals, monkeys, chimps, orangutans, Galapagos turtles, baboons, exotic birds and sooo many more!

 

Saturday was also New Years Eve, and the festivities downtown near our hostel were very neat. Queen St was filled with people wandering around and the atmosphere was amazing. We went to a pub for a beer or two and then wandered down onto the pier to watch the fireworks in downtown Auckland. We rang in the New Year 19 hours before our families at home in Saskatchewan, so it was a weird feeling. 

Today was by far my favorite day in NZ. We hopped on the ferry out to Waiheke Island for wine tastings and touring around. It was a gorgeous days, blue skies, sun and best of all - NO RAIN!  We toured 4 wineries today - Wild on Waiheke, Saratoga, The Hay Paddock and my favorite Goldie Vineyard. New Zealand is famous for it's Savignon Blancs, and today proved to us how good they are. However, Waiheke Island is the most famous for it's Sarays. Saray grapes are the same used to make Shiraz. However, on the island it is cooler and allows the grapes to mature slower than Shiraz and the climate allows the area to produce very high quality Saray wine.  DELICIOUS! At Goldie Vineyard (the first vineyard on Waiheke Island) we tried their flagship Cabernet Savignon/ Merlot/ Franc blend. It's on the 1001 Wines to Try Before You Die list. Smooth, full bodied and just right to end the day! We ended today on Little Onera beach, put our feet on the ocean and soaked in the scenery. Definitely not bad for our first day of 2012!  Tomorrow we start our Kiwi Experience tour with our first stops in Waitomo and Roturua. Will try to keep posting sometime in between my adventures!  Until next time...