Nigeria’s most travelled woman, JaZzy Jess, is back with another adventure story from her odyssey of globetrotting. The destination, this time, is Auckland in New Zealand. Wonder where that is? New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. It’s on the extreme south end of the world map to the right. See what JaZzy has to say:
What was my inspiration to visit Auckland? The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. You are probably asking “what is the connection between the two?” The answer is proximity. Most of my trips start with the burning desire to visit somewhere or participate in an event, then I build a big trip around that one goal. I read about the Great Barrier Reef in Secondary School (High School) Geography class and it left a big impression on me. In my quest to see it, I also visited many other cities in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. I dubbed it my “DownUnder Adventures” It is the second most adventurous trip of my life so far.
I arrived in Auckland after a long stopover in San Francisco. I was so excited; I have finally made it to my sixth and final continent. I was now a world traveller who had touched all corners of the globe. 😊 Now, I smile as I write this because those were my thoughts on that day.
Before English Settlers, Auckland was a Maori settlement called Tamaki Makau Rau. It was the capital of New Zealand till Wellington became the capital city in 1865. Looking out from my balcony, I liked my first views of Auckland. I was staying at the centre of the city near the Sky tower, with views of the tower, Auckland CBD and the Viaduct harbour. Some major places I visited on my tours are:
Eden Mount: It’s a very popular place in Auckland, and a major tourist attraction. I saw a very affluent neighbourhood with many nice homes and restaurants. It is on the highest point of a dormant volcanic cone. The crater is called “Te Ipu kai a Maataho” meaning the food bowl of Maataho; the god of things hidden in the ground. I was told by a Maori taxi driver that it is a very sacred place for the Maori people, and centuries ago, many tribes lived around it. I could see all of Auckland from this summit, including the Sky Tower.
Winery on Waiheke Island: We took a ferry from Auckland to Waiheke Island. New Zealand is known for some amazing wine so we had to add wine tasting to our tour. We visited a winery where we had the opportunity to try different red and white wines and had some snacks. There is no doubt that NZ wine holds its own against wine from other parts of the globe.
Hobbiton houses: New Zealand is the home of one of my favourite movie series “The Lord of the Rings’ so I knew I had to see some of these homes built for the hobbits lol. They are really interesting and cute. You can find them in both Auckland in the north and Queenstown in the south of NZ.
Farm with Sheep Shearing show: part of our tour was a visit to the Agrodome farm where I saw ostriches, alpaca, emu, lots of sheep, and other farm animals. We were taken on a farm tram around the farm. One major attraction here is the sheep shearing show where you see a sheep’s fur removed just before summer in NZ.
Others are the Waitomo Caves, Te Puia, and Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland which were major highlights of my trip.
By the end of my tours of Auckland and its nearby villages and cities, I knew I was in for a magical trip. New Zealand remains one of my favourite places on earth. I really like it because it still remains naturally untouched compared to many parts of the world. I enjoyed the rides through its cities, mountains, valleys, natural landscapes with farm animals scattered in the horizon. The people are so active and it is the site of some of the most adventurous adrenal junkie sports which I love.
By the end of my “DownUnder adventures” Trip, I had gone sky-diving in Queenstown, ziplining, scuba -diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Yet it is my second most adventurous trip taken. So what is my most adventurous trip? Aaahhh that is a story for another day. Remember when I said I had visited my sixth and last continent? Well on this trip, I found out how to visit Antarctica; my seventh continent and truly final one. Making me a bonafide globe trotter 😊. What is next…….SPACE lol.
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