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Detailed travelogue on Australia and New Zealand
Detailed Travelogue on Australia and New Zealand
Larry2006-05-27 03:23:16
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a tiring
flight, and having to drive in heavy traffic on a wide variety of roads -- I
arrived at the Bay of Islands. Sure enough, the place was overrun with kids
ready to celebrate New Years. A huge grassy area belonging to the local
school was rented out for the pitching of tents, and people were shouting,
partying, and drinking (though glass bottles were officially prohibited)
everywhere I went. The area was so crowded, the school was turning people
away, and all the accomidations in the area had NO VACANCY signs up.
I checked into the Abba Villa (a nice budget B&B with very friendly
hosts, located up the street from downtown Paihia, free from the party noise
below), and walked into town to get some dinner. Most restaurants and snack
shops were already closed, or sold out of most items (though the local
police were selling steak sandwiches to raise money). In the end, I went to
a small second-floor pizza place, and ordered a mini pizza. I probably
appeared pretty ragged, but sat down and looked out at the festivities from
the upstairs window.
I walked back to the B&B, planning to go to bed early that night, but
after taking a shower and sitting down in the little TV lounge, I felt much
better. A few minutes later, a Japanese girl from Osaka, who had also gone
to the same pizza restaurant and was staying at the B&B, came in and sat
down. She was travelling alone, but had been in New Zealand before,
studying English. I actually hadn't planned to stay up, but we started
talking about different things, and it turned out to be one of the nicest
evenings of my trip. An hour or two later, a Japanese guy (also travelling
alone) came into the TV room, and the three of us continued talking (in
English, and occasional Japanese). The guy had brought ramen with him all
the way from Japan to celebrate New Years. (Tradition holds
...
See photographs from:
Australia Gallery
,
New Zealand Gallery
