New Zealand

[Bob K.]

Looks like I'll be going to New Zealand in February. We'll be staying in Auckland, but hope to get around. Any suggestions? Any camera shops where i can get 120 b&w film?

thanks,
bob k.

 

[Vaughn]

How far around the Auckland area are you thinking of? Day drives or overnight trips? And what sort of things are you interested in?

It might worth your while to Fed-Ex some film down to where you will be staying.

 

[Bob K.]

Most likely day trips. Lanscape, city, people, anything interesting...

Why Fed-Ex the film?

 

[Vaughn]

Fed-X film -- just a way to get a lot of film to where you are going without having it go through Airport x-ray, making sure that you have enough film of the type you work with available (and not be at the mercy of NZ prices and availibility), and not have so much film with you when arriving that the customs folks think you are importing film for retail. Just a suggestion that may not be needed.

(Long) Day trips --

Rotorua -- 3hrs drive (235km). Touristy, but good Maori cultural stuff, hot pools, mudpots, etc

Coromandel Peninsula -- 2.5 hours to Whitianga on the east coast (190 km)

Bay of Islands -- again touristy, but pretty -- 3 hrs, 245 km A loop can be done -- up the west coast and back the east coast

The East Cape is great, but to go around the East Cape and back is a full days driving w/o stops.

Te Urewera National Park -- incredible, but a 4+ hr drive one way -- but you can got thru Rotorua

Times and distance from Google maps -- won't swear by them!LOL!

But you can do a lot of work right around Auckland, and perhaps some Kiwis will chime in with more local highlights -- I did not spend too much time around Auckland itself.

Have fun!

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

With all due respect to my Kiwi neighbours and your travel plans, I really think Auckland is a poor choice. The first thing you'll experience out of the airport is a teeming, seething mass of humanity in Auckland city that can sometimes resemble Shanghai, but with thousands of cultures colliding head on. It is busy, noisy, fumy, congested and a lot of footwork is required to get from one place to another. It gave me a headache one day, nausea the next (the latter being from food poisoning). Having said that, Aucky is central as a travel base around the north but problems with traffic flow (a lot of it in gridlock) will slow travel down. Find your own space.

Consider Christchurch on the South Island; hop over to the north on the Picton-Wellington ferry through the Marlborough Sounds.

Google is misleading: it is not so much the frequency of the HILLS that slow travel down, but their size. Factor in extra time to stop and gawk and definitely I recommend the road trip to Milford Sound — the highest, starkest, boldest and wettest mountains that are utterly confronting in their size and profile. Everything else is just too touristy (including but not limited to Rotorua). Bay of Islands is oh-so-pretty but as in previous posts, it too, has been to the death as a tourist destination.

 

[Vaughn]

Its been 23 years since I have been to Auckland -- my how time flies! And I was on a bicycle, so gridlock was not a problem (other than worrying about getting hit). So I bet things have changed, and probably not for the best, city-wise. I had some real doubts about my planned 6 month bike tour (my first) after putting the derailer thru the spokes 10 feet (3 meters) from the airport.

Those doubts were removed once I left Auckland and headed north -- just got out of the city and was slowly going up a hill (had my 4x5, backpacking gear, diving mask, and other stuff on the bike!), when a Toyota van came along side and matched my speed. The slider door open up and there were some Maoris in the back with a keg of beer. As I made my way up the hill, they handed me a cup of beer and refreshed it several times by the time I made it to the top. I knew then I had made the right choice!

For photos in Auckland, I remember Mt Eden being nice, and also up on a hill where there was a great museum.

 

[vdonovan]

It is almost impossible to find any film at all in New Zealand, 120 film worst of all. Bring your own film or have it shipped to you.

I agree with the other posters: Auckland, while a nice place to live, is not very scenic or rich in culture. Get up north where there is more Maori influence, or down south where the scenery is more dramatic.

 

[Bob K.]

My step-daughter has been accepted to university in auckland, so I don't really have a choice where we stay.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Its been 23 years since I have been to Auckland -- my how time flies! And I was on a bicycle, so gridlock was not a problem (other than worrying about getting hit). So I bet things have changed, and probably not for the best, city-wise. I had some real doubts about my planned 6 month bike tour (my first) after putting the derailer thru the spokes 10 feet (3 meters) from the airport.

Those doubts were removed once I left Auckland and headed north -- just got out of the city and was slowly going up a hill (had my 4x5, backpacking gear, diving mask, and other stuff on the bike!), when a Toyota van came along side and matched my speed. The slider door open up and there were some Maoris in the back with a keg of beer. As I made my way up the hill, they handed me a cup of beer and refreshed it several times by the time I made it to the top. I knew then I had made the right choice!

For photos in Auckland, I remember Mt Eden being nice, and also up on a hill where there was a great museum.

Yes, I also circumnavigated New Zealand as a bicycle tourist in 1986, hit once near Taupo by a drunk. And had darts thrown at me by hoons at Haast Pass. Ha. I'm still around! Carried a Nikon F3HP and 28mm lens in handlebar bag, low-riders and rear panniers; Kodachrome trannies of this trip exist somewhere and would be well worth a look back to the youthful days before education and a car came along. Whoa! How things have so much changed... You'll see many, many bicycle tourists doing "The Loop" around NZ and they do need a wide berth with large loads, a bit of wobble, sweat and LPG (legs, pedals, gusto).

BobK, I guess if daughter is at Auckland Uni that's the end of the matter in regards to choices of where you can stay but I cannot hide my disappointment. But I trust you'll get a kick out of the "change of scenery" from your original place of abode in Florida.

 

[Vaughn]

Yes, I also circumnavigated New Zealand as a bicycle tourist in 1986...

I was on the bike in NZ from 10/86 to mid-2/87. I would have been the tall hairy gent on an over-loaded mountain bike! Glad the "hoons" were not around at Haast Pass -- that ride from the coast along the Haast River and over the pass was one of my favorite days of riding.

I went to uni for a year down near Christchurch (Lincoln College) in 1975 on an exchange program from Humboldt State University. A great experience -- I hope your daughter enjoys her time in New Zealand at least as much as I did! Getting "down" there takes so long and much $$, it is a pity you can't spend more time -- a good reason for another visit later on in the school year! (but beware, in 1975 it snowed at Lincoln College on July 4th -- did not stick, though.) You might consider a return trip after the school year ends (or right before to avoid the summer holiday crowds)!

Enjoy!!!

 

[Sean]

I am 45mins north of Auckland. Definitely don't judge NZ by Auckland A NZ city will never compare to the unbelievable beauty that lies just beyond it. You might want to take a bus tour to the tip of the North Island, it is a big day trip and you can depart from the city centre. If you are renting a vehicle I highly recommend getting a GPS, NZ road signage will give you a nervous breakdown hehe. If you head up my way just let me know, there is a big nature reserve at the end of the peninsula I am on so I could take you on a hike through the Bush and up to some hills overlooking the Hauraki Gulf, auckland in the far distance (2hr walk maybe).. pretty neat. Just PM me.

Sean

 

[Vaughn]

When I was in NZ in 1975, I remember on the news a gent replying to tourists' complaint about the lousy road signs, "If you don't know where you are, what are you doing here?"

 

[Bob K.]

Is there any thing of interest in Auckland? Architecture? Communities? People? Parks...

 

[Vaughn]

Mt Eden -- the highest point in the city that was once a fortified Maori village (or Pa). There are several other similar hills that you probably would want to check out -- One Tree Hill (also a large park), perhaps Mt Wellington. These hills will give you views of the city, and are interesting as historic Maori sites and as volcanic cones.

The Auckland War Memorial would be good place to visit. MJ Savage Memorial Park looks good on Google Earth, but I have not been there. Google Maps/Earth is a nice tool for checking out possibilities.

 

[Chris Nielsen]

Cheapest place to get film is online from photo.co.nz in Christchurch. They will ship overnight to Auckland and their prices and service are the very best

 

[P C Headland]

Film is still readily available (35mm and 120, at least here in Wellington), but it will cost quite a bit more than back in the US. Bring it with you, just keep it in your hand carry and you'll be fine. You can sometimes find reasonable deals on the local auction site (www.trademe.co.nz). E-6 development is expensive.

Near Auckland, you've got the islands in the Hauraki Gulf that are worth a visit. A little further afield, you could head over to the Coromandel.

If you've got the use of a car, and a week or so, the options are many.

 

[Bob K.]

Thank you everyone.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Mention is made to have a look at Manukau Heads and Whaipu with its dramatic perched lighthouse on a rocky bluff. The area is renowned as an expansive, fairly pristine marine environment but the main difficulty is wind and weather and keeping dry from the tumult washing ashore. It's a good for stormy days when you can tolerate the gloom and capture something on B&W.

 

[paulie]

st heliers beach is nice , my wife took some nice shots down there, mt wellington i second that great place to eat your drive through burger.point england is a great place lots of fantails and tui's.

piha beach just a short drive away,thats a nice quiet beach especially in the winter.

i also like north harbour again close by.

theres a good shop in morningside selling film gear, and a pro shop , cant remember the street.

nz is a great place , and auckland is great

enjoy i know i loved living there

http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/new-zealand-fairy-falls.html
the fan tails fly around at the bottom catching flies, and they just fly around you so close, magiacl