Auckland New Zealand- At Last!

March 2, 2012
Hi all,

Arrived at long last in Auckland !  A fourteen hour flight is an ordeal but I know it will all be worth it. The Qantas flight was excellent, two great meals, great service, everything included B&B (booze and blankets)  except for one thing, the darn seats are too close together!!! Isn't that always the way it is.
When I arrived didn't waste any time, got a bus to the Auckland museum, which had a great exhibit on the Maori people.

The Maori people were the original inhabitants of New Zealand going back thousands of years.  They are Polynesian descendants starting originally in Southeast Asia 6000 years ago then moving across New Guinea, and Fiji with the last descendants settling in New Zealand beginning about 1000 AD.
Much like our own native American Indians, many of today's younger Maori have learned and retained some of the ancient cultural dances and songs.

Auckland is called The City of Sails, a harbor for the sailing elite. Remember after Dennis Conner won the America's cup in 1987 for the San Diego Yacht Club, New Zealand challenged the  US with a super fast carbon fibre monohull sloop the following year. Dennis responded with a super catamaran, and beat the Kiwi's soundly. It was later challenged in the courts with Dennis ultimately prevailing. The Kiwi boat was permanently mounted here at the harbour.

Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world. The original Moari word for Auckland is Aotearoa, which means "land of the long white cloud", for me it's been land of the dark cloud, little too much rain.  :)
Off to Queensland, and the beautiful south island of New Zealand, hope to catch some sun there.

Kiwi language lessons: OK is pronounced "ai-kai";  e's in words are generally long - leg is "leeg"

yours in travel,  Bill

Off to Australia/New Zealand Feb 29 - March 19, 2012

Hi Friends and Family!

I'm off again to see another part of this amazing world while I still can. This year it’s a new continent – Australia. But I can’t resist while I’m "down under", to revisit New Zealand. That’s one of my favorites. This is my first “go back”, but its close so why not? There are a couple of World Heritage Sites I will try to bag, including the Great Barrier Reef (got to snorkel there!), the Sydney Opera house, and the Te Wahipounamu region in New Zealand.

Australia is huge, it stretches about the length of the United States from east to west. Imagine “seeing the US” in 20 days!! I think it will take two or more trips to really get a feeling for this amazing country, so I’ll try to just hit some highlights on this trip.

I'll try to post to the blog including some pictures and videos every couple of days. Check back and travel with me! Click on the posted pictures for a larger view. Past weekly postings can be found in the "archives" here on the blog along with some postings from my prior trips.

We’ll see you on the road!! If you can drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at: doubleucubed@mac.com

Yours in Travel,

Bill