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Photography has changed the way I see the world around me.

Through it I discover new things and rediscover old ones. Like my island, New Caledonia.

This blog is just me sharing my world through my photography.

Hope you enjoy.

Posts tagged auckland war memorial museum
AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND

AUCKLAND

I’m sad to say that these are the last photos of our camper-van trip around the north Island of New Zealand. They include the day we left Waitomo and the two full days in Auckland before heading back home to New Caledonia. Not much to show unfortunately as we were quite busy running around shopping for specific things. Alain and I anyway. If you like to see a little more of what we were up to for these three days, check out the videos of these last days

So we woke up on a beautiful, fresh morning. Alain and I went for a stroll around the Roselands Restaurant’s green surroundings. We got a closer look at our friends the donkey and the cattle. Once the beautiful golden hour light appeared through the clouds we took a couple of photos and on the way back to the scamper-van I took another of a different field. The light was so beautiful. These photos are some of my favourites of the trip.

After breakfast it was time to make our way back to Auckland. We had a quick stopover in Hamilton, just to grab a couple things. Once back in Auckland we cleaned out and refilled the waters in the camper-van before returning it. It was our first time traveling in a camper-van and all agreed that we didn’t feel cramped at any time. Yes it’s small but we managed not to step on each other’s feet. A great way to explore New Zealand. A lot freedom to move when ever you like but not stay wherever you’d like, though. Worth doing at least once in a life time.

I got up early one morning in hopes of going to Mount Eden for a couple of photos but it was grey and overcast and raining. I changed my mind and decided to head over to another park I saw on our first day here. It led up to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. A beautiful building with gorgeous surroundings. Check out the video to see a bit of the park. About an hour after sunrise the sun broke through the clouds and I started to regret my decision to come here. Oh well. I took a few photos and headed back to the hotel.

One morning we had a delicious breakfast at Al’s Deli and in the toilet they had a riddle “There’s two twins that live either side of a bridge, and sometimes they cry. What are they?”. Do you know the answer?

Alain and I went to Takapuna on the North Shore to check out a shop. We didn’t find what we were after so we walked around a little and found the Takapuna Beach. It started raining pretty heavy so we quickly took a photo then cover. We headed back into the city to join the girls after that.

Alain took a couple of photos of The Guardian building which I found interesting. I wanted to include them in the blog so I edited them and oh man do I like these photos. I have no idea when he took them but i’m glad he did. For me it’s the Kiwi version of The Daily Planet in Superman. He also took another photo that I really like, the Skytower amongst cranes. Excellent shot.

On the eve of our departure, friends arrived to start their camper-van holiday. After we all had dinner together, the teenagers of both parties wanted to checkout the nightlife but weren’t too confident going out on their own. So we decided to accompany them. I mentioned in the video that the teens were surprised we knew the music. Not much of a surprised since it was old tunes remixed. I don’t know if they believed us. We did feel slightly out of place being the only over 30s in the joint. Well there was one other bloke just hitting his 30s, who came up to us and said “Man, I thought I was the oldest guy here but you guys… f**k!”. Boy didn’t we feel old all of a sudden. Little p***k. Nonetheless we had a great time.

An early morning departure meant we couldn’t have an all-nighter. Not at our age anyway hihihi. Got to the airport early. Checked-in and had breakfast. And that is that, my friends.

That’s it for our little trip around the north Island of New Zealand. I apologise for the bad video quality, I promise I’ll try to improve on that. I hope these videos have helped you in some way or at least entertained you. One more time, a huge thank you to Alain for the use of his photos and videos to help me tell a better story. And to Manu and Paloma for an unforgettable trip. Last but not least, thank you to all of you for watching. Goodnight.

p.s. I haven’t mentioned it before, only because I hadn’t realised, but all the links I provide in my blog posts are NOT affiliate, commercial or sponsored links. I DON’T make any money from these links. I provide them as quick access to extra information, that’s it. If that ever changes, in any way, in the future, I will let you know. Promise.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

AUCKLAND

LAST DAYS

So I have to start by apologising for not having added some dawn photos from Roselands Restaurant. No excuses, I just forgot. I had rendered and uploaded the video before I realised the beautiful morning was missing from it. But you’ll get to see them on the photo blog.

A beautiful, quiet morning in Waitomo this morning. Alain and I went for a walk and took a few photos before heading back to the camper-van for breakfast. Roselands Restaurant is situated in gorgeous, countryside surroundings. The light we had this morning made for beautiful photos. Some of my favourites of our trip.

Not much to show from our last three days in New Zealand. Which is why I decided to put it all into one video. We mostly shopped and ran around looking for specific things. So this video is a mish-mash of our last days.

We made a small stopover in Hamilton just to grab a couple of things. It was more a drive-by than anything else. Arriving in Auckland we stopped at a service station to empty out the grey water and toilets of the camper-van before returning it. We then made our way to the hotel. The Auckland War Memorial Museum is in the video because I’d intended to go to Mount Eden to shoot sunrise but because of the grey, overcast, rainy morning I decided to just wander around the city and found myself here. A decision I regretted as the sun poked through the clouds about an hour after sunrise. The park around the memorial is beautiful though. We checked out the Skytower and the casino where I got screamed at for filming. I stumbled upon the beautiful hall of the Grand Central Apartments which are situated next to Spark Arena. I met up with Jenny, a friend who worked at the Mexican Cafe, to catch on how things were going. Vegetation walls in a building and old architecture as I wandered near the quay heading back into the heart of the city. A DJ in a shoe store… nothing else to say about that. And on the eve of our departure, we had friend arriving to start their holiday. The teenagers wanted to checkout a nightclub but weren’t confident doing it on their own so we went with them. The teens were surprised that we recognised the music… at our age. Actually, they were old tunes remixed. No creativity these day. We felt a little out of place as we walked in when we saw we were the only “adults” in the joint. And felt even older when a guy walks up to us to say “Man, I thought I was the oldest guys here but you guys… f**k!”. We’ll just leave that as is. Early morning departure meant the oldies had to get their sleep.

So that’s it for our little camper-van trip around the North Island of New Zealand. Thank you very much for following us through my videos. I hope it’s helped you in some way, if not, then at least entertained you. I’m heading to Japan in a couple days but more on that on a later post. For the last time, a big thank you to Alain for the use of his videos and photos to help me tell a better story. Not to forget Manu and Paloma for a memorable trip and for letting me include them in the videos. And of corse to all of you for watching. Goodnight.

p.s. I haven’t mentioned it before, only because I hadn’t realised, but all the links I provide in my blog posts are NOT affiliate, commercial or sponsored links. I DON’T make any money from these links. I provide them as quick access to extra information, that’s it. If that ever changes, in any way, in the future, I will let you know. Promise.