Scenery to soothe your soul
In contrast to the dryness of Central Otago, Southland is lush and green. Tranquil waterways attract fly-fishing enthusiasts in search of brown trout. Near-pristine southern rainforest provides opportunities for day walks and hiking. The amazing Catlins Coast promises wildlife encounters and the chance to see Curio Bay - a petrified forest of subtropical kauri and other trees dating back to the Jurassic age.
Southland's largest urban centre is Invercargill, a city of 49,000 people. Visitors come to admire the elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, gardens and landscaped parks.
A half hour drive south from Invercargill is the fishing port of Bluff - home to the famous Bluff oyster and a lively annual seafood festival.
From Bluff, visitors can catch a ferry to Stewart Island - a haven for native bird life and the only place in New Zealand where you can readily see kiwi in their natural habitat.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Southland (Murihiku)
Scenery to soothe your soul,Southland (Murihiku)
In contrast to the dryness of Central Otago, Southland is lush and green. Tranquil waterways attract fly-fishing enthusiasts in search of brown trout. Near-pristine southern rainforest provides opportunities for day walks and hiking. The amazing Catlins Coast promises wildlife encounters and the chance to see Curio Bay - a petrified forest of subtropical kauri and other trees dating back to the Jurassic age.
Southland's largest urban centre is Invercargill, a city of 49,000 people. Visitors come to admire the elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, gardens and landscaped parks.
A half hour drive south from Invercargill is the fishing port of Bluff - home to the famous Bluff oyster and a lively annual seafood festival.
From Bluff, visitors can catch a ferry to Stewart Island - a haven for native bird life and the only place in New Zealand where you can readily see kiwi in their natural habitat.
source:
http://www.newzealand.com /travel/destinations/regions/southland/southland-home.cfm
A tale of two coastlines
The subtropical Northland experience promises a contrast between the relative sophistication of the east coast and the soulful simplicity of the west coast.
Much of Northland's extensive coastline remains unspoilt - an aquatic playground for adventure activities and escapist relaxation. Whangarei and Opua are havens for international and local yachts; Tutukaka and Russell are game fishing hot spots; the beaches of Doubtless Bay are endlessly beautiful.
Throughout the region you’ll also enjoy the shopping, dining and entertainment possibilities that stem from the distinctive local culture, which embraces art, creativity, organic farming and alternative thinking.
Northland’s history is rich and interesting. It is believed that the first Polynesian voyagers arrived in Northland during the 11th century. Today Waitangi is the seat of Maori culture, which is very much alive in this region (32 percent of the population are Maori). European settlement began in the 1840s, further enriching the region’s colourful past.
source:
http://www.newzealand.com /travel/destinations/regions/northland/northland-home.cfm
Kings Dolphin Cruises & Eco Tours
Kings offer dolphin swimming & whale watching cruises in the Bay of Islands on the ‘Dolphin Seeker’. See wildlife in their natural habitat and have a chance to swim with the dolphins in the wild. The ultimate marine adventure where you get to experience dolphins up close.
Different types of whales may be seen outside the islands on your way to the famous Hole in the Rock & Cathedral Cave. Your captain provides a full commentary on the history of the Bay of Islands along with dolphins, whales and other marine life in the Bay.
source:
http://www.newzealand.com /travel/about-nz/features/bay-of-islands-feature/bay-of-islands-nature-details.cfm/businessactivityid/153199/startrow/2/product/Bay%20of%20Islands%20Nature/seed/070508.html
Explore NZ - Auckland's Whale & Dolphin Safari
Auckland's Whale & Dolphin Safari takes you out on the beautiful Hauraki Gulf which is considered one the most biologically and geographically diverse marine parks in the world. Over 22 species of dolphins and whales have been seen in the Gulf, and we have encounter marine mammals on well over 90% of our trips, the highest success rate of any marine mammal operation in New Zealand.
Auckland's Dolphin and Whale Safari is permitted to swim with dolphins and this is a rare privilege that occurs when the strict conditions are met. The experienced crew ensure the most comfortable and informative day possible is provided onboard the luxury 20m power catamaran.
Departs daily from the Auckland Viaduct
source:
http://www.newzealand.com /travel/about-nz/features/bay-of-islands-feature/bay-of-islands-nature-details.cfm/businessactivityid/178065/startrow/1/product/Bay%20of%20Islands%20Nature/seed/070508.html
Bay of Islands, Northland
In this place of calm water ocean and golden sand two peoples came together to form the Maori-European country we know today as New Zealand. The unique and colourful history of the Bay of Islands is an unusual backdrop to a place renowned today as a naturally beautiful ocean playground.
On the east coast of Northland a length of sand and rock coastline circles a sea pierced by 150 islands. Discovered by legendary Maori navigator Kupe, visited by Captain Cook in 1769, home to the Nga Puhi tribe (iwi) of Maori, the Bay of Islands is a truly remarkable area.
History and culture
Not so long ago this land saw the throng and bustle, blood and tears of ship deserters, whalers, sealers and sailors. The Bay of Islands, birthplace of New Zealand as we know it today, was once a bustling seafaring and political base fusing Maori and European culture. Now it is a place of holiday fun and water adventures, refined food and wine pleasures and quiet contemplation of the past.
Several towns are scattered like shells around the coast, each with its own individual feel. There's the main holiday town Paihia - a vibrant, uptempo place and a few minutes away elegant Russell, once a whaling town, now a tranquil oasis.
It's a sweet irony that the town described in the lawless late 1800's as 'the hellhole of the Pacific' is now one of the country's most refined places to visit. In Russell, our colonial past is honoured in our present with carefully restored historic buildings such as Christ Church with its bullet holes from the Maori Wars.
In Waitangi amid a quiet reserve you'll find the Treaty House and a fully-carved Whare Runanga, or Maori Meeting House. Waitangi is the historic site where Maori chiefs and European representatives signed the charters that formed our governing agreement, the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1840.
This was years after the initial conflict created by the arrival of French navigator Marion de Fresne in 1772 which resulted in bloodshed of both Maori and Europeans. Later came religious leaders like Australian Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden in 1814 and the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the south-west Pacific, John Baptist Francis Pompallier. Bishop Pompallier was respected by Maori chiefs and European leaders alike and was present at Waitangi.
Less than 15 minutes drive from Waitangi and you're in Kerikeri. This fertile orchard town is also an artist's retreat with an arts and crafts trail as well as wineries, the magnificent 27m Rainbow Falls and nearby kauri forest, Puteki. If Bay of Islands is a magnet for boaties, the town of Opua has the greatest pull with every kind of boat to be found in its safe harbour. This is the way you come to Bay of Islands by boat. And if you come by road, your gateway is Kawakawa.
It's extraordinary that amid all the colonial history of this area in this township you’ll find the only building in the Southern hemisphere designed by Austrian artist, Frederick Hundertwasser and the last of his buildings before he died in 1999. Even more curious, it’s the public toilet.
What to do?
Country cafes, gourmet restaurants, kayaking, swimming with dolphins, touching history, walking coastal tracks, seeing Maori war canoes, game fishing, cruising, resting. Bay of Islands has an abundance of different kinds of experiences to connect with the people and culture, ocean and land.
Visit Cape Brett Lighthouse (c1906) by walking track or take a boat to Grand Cathedral Cave or 'the hole in the rock'. Follow big game fisherman and American Western writer Zane Grey who caught marlin here in 1921. Be guided through historic sites with story-telling. Feel the roar of noise at Haruru Falls, a rare horseshoe-shaped waterfall that flows to the legendary 'taniwha' or water monster in the lagoon below.
Walk along a red pohutukawa tree blossom-strewn golden sand beach. See whales, penguins, seals and listen to the songs of seabirds. Have a round of golf on the most majestic of courses. Ride a jet-ski in the hot sun, sit in the shade with an iced tea. Always in the Bay of Islands you can feel the past close behind while anticipating the pleasure of what’s to come.
Source:
http://www.newzealand.com /travel/about-nz/features/bay-of-islands-feature/bay-of-islands.cfm
Northland Tai Tokerau
The subtropical Northland experience promises a contrast between the relative sophistication of the east coast and the soulful simplicity of the west coast.
Much of Northland's extensive coastline remains unspoilt - an aquatic playground for adventure activities and escapist relaxation. Whangarei and Opua are havens for international and local yachts; Tutukaka and Russell are game fishing hot spots; the beaches of Doubtless Bay are endlessly beautiful.
Throughout the region you’ll also enjoy the shopping, dining and entertainment possibilities that stem from the distinctive local culture, which embraces art, creativity, organic farming and alternative thinking.
Northland’s history is rich and interesting. It is believed that the first Polynesian voyagers arrived in Northland during the 11th century. Today Waitangi is the seat of Maori culture, which is very much alive in this region (32 percent of the population are Maori). European settlement began in the 1840s, further enriching the region’s colourful past.
