Wednesday, May 29, 2019

We saw this interesting video played in the Volcanoes gallery at Auckland Museum, which shows how the huge eruptions dating back over 26 million years created many of the most iconic landscape features in New Zealand such as Lake Taupo, Rangitoto Island and city Auckland. The information below is from the website https://teara.govt.nz/en/geology-over... "New Zealand is part of a continent called Zealandia, most of which is under the ocean. The country lies across two moving plates – segments of the earth’s crust. As these plates collide, rocks are being pushed up, creating hills and mountains, including the Southern Alps." "About 25 million years ago Zealandia began to split apart. Still mostly under the sea, it now lay at the junction of the Australian and Pacific plates. Close to the plate boundary, part of the sunken continent was pushed up, creating the land area of New Zealand."

Monday, May 27, 2019

Slow motion | Zero project music | Anawhata | Piha | Travels With Phillip

Autumn in Cornwall park, Auckland

Autumn in Cornwall park, Auckland

May is the end of autumn in New Zealand. Therefore, winter will start in June. We visited Cornwall park on the last weekend of May and went around the place, looking at the autumn trees and landscape.

The picturesque Cornwall park is a great place to visit in autumn. There are many nice walking tracks throughout the place, featuring autumn trees with red and gold leaves. Cornwall park also features many farm animals, including sheep and cows grazing under the trees.

"Cornwall Park has something for everyone from experiencing an urban working farm within New Zealand’s biggest city, finding off-road trails to run along, playing games on the open-lawns, bbq-ing with friends and family, to simply relaxing under your favourite tree."(http://cornwallpark.co.nz/see-and-do)

The end of video is 4 minutes drive crossing the Cornwall park and One tree hill park.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Walking along the Waikato river, Hamilton city

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Road Trip From North Piha To Anawhata beach

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Huntly, Towns in New Zealand

Road trip, Huntly, Towns in New Zealand

Phillip had a two weeks school holiday in April, so we decided to visit the Hamilton gardens in Hamilton city. On the way back to Auckland we passed through and stopped by the small town Huntley. Huntly is next to Waikato River and it has several lakes and parks with picturesque walkways, all surrounded by rich farmland. The information below is from the website https://www.newzealand.com/int/huntly/ "The coal town of Huntly makes an interesting stop between Auckland and Hamilton. Huntly is the site of a massive coal-fired power station. It was once a major source of coal – the open cast coal mine produced around 10,000 tonnes a day when it was fully operational. Coal was first discovered here in 1842 by a local reverend. In the 1860s, one of the seams was opened up to provide coal for the river boats using the Waikato River. There are several farmstays in the area along with several great walking trails including Lake Hakanoa, an easy 45-minute loop walk taking in picturesque lake surrounds."

Monday, May 20, 2019

Zero Project Music | Silent Dreams | Travels With Phillip

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Parry Kauri Park, Warkworth

On the way back to Auckland, we stopped by Warkworth museum, but we did not go inside as the museum was closed at 3 pm. We saw a big Kauri tree standing in the front the carpark and we decided to have a look. This giant is 800 year-old and goes by the name McKinney Kauri . We took a half hour walk through the boardwalks. The trail was great as we were surrounded by native trees and birds singing. It was also very easy to walk in and after 15 minutes we reached the lookout platform. The information is from the website https://warkworthmuseum.co.nz/parry-k... "The Warkworth and District Museum is located in the beautiful Parry Kauri Park. Take an easy stroll along one of the well-made boardwalks, through the native bush, to the lookout and kauri tree grove. " "Kauri can grow to over 50 m tall, with trunk girths up to 16 m, and live for over 2,000 years. New Zealand’s largest kauri, Tane Mahuta, is on the West Coast "

Friday, May 17, 2019

The Best places to see the cherry blossoms, Auckland City

It is summer time in December in Auckland, we have been some great places to see the cherry blossoms in spring, here are four great places in this video. Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple Auckland Domain Auckland Cornwall Park Auckland Botanic Gardens

1000 year-old Kauri Tree, Parry Kauri Park, Warkworth

A Big Kauri Tree, Parry Kauri Park, Warkworth

A Ferry Trip to Auckland City, Fuller ferry, Waiheke Island

A Ferry Trip to Auckland City, Waiheke Island

We had a one day trip to Waiheke Island to see Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf 2019. It took only a 40-minute ferry from Downtown Auckland to the Island. The return ferry ticket costs NZ$40 for the adult.

We visited some popular places in Waiheke, such as popular beaches, Art gallery, Museum and historical village. With pristine beaches, world class wines, and fantastic cuisine, it’s easy to see why Waiheke Island is considered the jewel in the Hauraki Gulf’s crown. The Island is very proud to have been voted one of the world’s Top 20 islands by Conde Nast Traveller in 2016, and included on Lonely Planet’s list of top 10 travel regions in 2015.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

North Head, Devonport, Auckland

During the summer holidays in December, we went to Devonport town in North Auckland. We revisited some popular spots in this town, such as North head and Mt Victoria.

North Head is one of the oldest of approximately 50 volcanic cones in the Auckland volcanic field having been formed over 50,000 years ago in a series of great volcanic explosions. The North Head Historical Reserve is considered to be the most significant historical coastal defence site in New Zealand and receives a significant number of visitors each year. Whether you wish to delve into the historical detail of the location or enjoy a picnic lunch and the picturesque views, North Head is a fantastic place to explore and spend time.

Te Waha Point, North Piha, Waitakere regional park

We planed to visit Anawhata beach on Easter weekend. After reaching Te Waha Point by North Piha walking track we relised that it would took long time. so we decided to go back Piha beach and drove through Anawhata road to the beach.

Mother’s Day in New Zealand

Mother’s Day is a day for many people to show their appreciation towards mothers and mother figures worldwide. It is an annual event but is held at different dates in the calendar, depending on the country.
Mother's Day is not a public holiday. It falls on Sunday, 12 May 2019 and most businesses follow regular Sunday opening hours in New Zealand. Mother’s Day in New Zealand is celebrated every second Sunday in May. Though not an official public holiday, this special day is widely observed by much of the country’s population.

Auckland Zoo, New Zealand, Long version

Auckland Zoo, New Zealand

We visited the Auckland Zoo before Christmas day. Auckland Zoo is a great place for the family, especially for young children. There are many educational programmes within the zoo and also many fun activities to do. We have been here many times, but this time we finally saw the kiwi bird during their feeding time. The kiwi house was very dark so the cameras could barely film them due to no lighting.

However we didn't some of the more popular animals such as the hippopotamuses. This could be due to the fact that there are some ongoing projects around some areas.