My Travel Diary Webseries Part 5: Wellington to Christchurch, New Zealand

My Travel Diary Webseries Part 5: Wellington to Christchurch, New Zealand

After my short tour, I took evening flight from Wellington to Christchurch for around 50 minutes. Christchurch is located in the South Island of New Zealand and the third most populous city after Auckland and Wellington. The founder John Robert Godley named the Christchurch after his Alma Mater Christ Church from Oxford, England. My tour for Mount Cook was cancelled due to bad weather condition so I decided to go for a 2-day Christchurch city tour. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); First attraction is the Christchurch Botanic Gardens was founded in 1863 with the area of 21 hectares. The garden is located in the city centre of Christchurch, open daily and the entrance is free. Guided audio tour of the Gardens in electric shuttles is also available. The shuttle meeting point is at the museum gate outside the Visitor Centre. Second attraction is Punting on The Avon inside the Botanic Gardens. The fee is NZD 30 for adults and NZD 15 for children and online booking is available on this link. Cruise the tranquil Avon River as the Punter who wears Edwardian will take you a boat ride for 3o minutes.  See the ducks gliding on the water and seeing the beaut

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My Travel Diary Webseries Part 4: Auckland to Wellington, New Zealand

My Travel Diary Webseries Part 4: Auckland to Wellington, New Zealand

I woke up early morning to catch my flight from Auckland to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, the second most populous after Auckland and located on the southern tip of the North Island. Wellington was derived from the name of first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley. Nobody assisted from Air New Zealand to check in my luggage since they are promoting self-service. I just printed the boarding pass and luggage tag generated from the machine, put the sticker on my luggage, took the tray, drop my bag and ready to fly. After 1 hour and 5 minutes, I arrived safely at Wellington Domestic Airport. My transport going to my hotel is the shared ride that I booked via Super Shuttle  and the fare cost is NZD 22.00. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); My itinerary for the day is Wellington City Sights and Coast Tour around the city. It is a little bit cold in Wellington and weather seems to be unpredictable. First stop is the Old Saint Paul’s built by the Anglican between 1865 to 1866. It was constructed from native timbers materials and considered as one of the best examples of Gothic Revival architectural in the wor

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My Travel Diary Webseries Part 3: Waitomo Caves and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Hobbiton Movie Set

My Travel Diary Webseries Part 3: Waitomo Caves and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Hobbiton Movie Set

In this episode, I will join the group tour for Waitomo Caves and 'The Lord of the Rings' Hobbiton Movie Set Day Trip from Auckland. The pickup time from my hotel is 7:00 am and the tour is approximately 11 hours including travel time to the locations. Distance from Auckland to Waitomo is 195 km and travel time is around 2 hours and 30 minutes. On the way to Waitomo, the beautiful scenic views of farmlands and rolling hills enchanted us. Waitomo Glowworm Caves is one of the famous attractions in the North Island of New Zealand. Adult ticket cost NZD53, NZD24 for child and NZD131 for family and online ticket booking is available on this link. Open daily from 9am and the tour departs every 30 minutes. Most of the cave guides are descendants of the Maori chief having wide knowledge about the area. The cave is accessible by boat and tour last for 45 minutes. Unfortunately, photography and video are strictly prohibited inside the Glowworm Grotto. New Zealand glowworm (Arachnocampa Luminosa) can be found only in Waitomo Glowworm Caves in New Zealand. It is a must-see experience to see the tiny glowworms produce natural lights display inside the cave. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogl

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My Travel Diary Webseries Part 2: Hongkong to Auckland, New Zealand

My Travel Diary Webseries Part 2: Hongkong to Auckland, New Zealand

All the way from Hongkong, I flew for 11 hours just to reach Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is not the capital of New Zealand, but it is the largest city and most populous in the country. There are two main islands in New Zealand; the North Island and South Island. Auckland is located in the North Island; it has estimated population of 1.657 million in 2017 and the largest Polynesian or the Maori population on earth. Upon arrival at the immigration, the officer asked me what I will do in New Zealand. I simply reply that I will go for tourism and he stamped my passport. I already booked my prepaid shuttle going to the hotel via Super Shuttle and the ticket cost is NZD 35.00 for shared ride. Since I arrived late in the afternoon at Auckland, I decided to be on my own tour rather than joining the group tour. Every time I am travelling, I always prefer to book my hotel near the city center so that everything is accessible like restaurants, bars, tourist spots, etc. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); After I check-in at the hotel, I immediately walk for around 16 minutes or 1.5km to reach the Sky Tower. Sky Tower is a telecommunication tower and observation tower lo

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New Zealand Shooting Spree Death Toll Reaches 50, the name of the Suspect to be Deleted

New Zealand Shooting Spree Death Toll Reaches 50, the name of the Suspect to be Deleted

As Jericho's Place Blog shows our solidarity with the victims and community of New Zealand, we will delete the name of the suspect in all our blogs not to make him fame but devote our sympathy to the victims of this horror attack. Updates from different News Agencies state that the man behind the shooting was charged with murder after the attack of the 2 mosques at Christchurch, New Zealand last 15 March 2019 during Friday prayers. The motive behind the killings is still being investigated by authorities. Some reports show that a manifesto circling the internet stating a subculture of extremism played an influence over the terror rampage, but it is still not confirmed. The death toll rose to 50 people with more than 30 people recuperating in hospitals. The victims arrived with multiple injuries on their bodies, cuts and embedded glass fragments that require multiple surgeries. Some of the victims are refugees from Syria and Afghanistan who fled to their country because of political insurgency but suffered and died on this atrocity. (Tourist landscapes and sceneries of New Zealand- photo credit from Jerichosplace.com) The world cannot believe that a quiet place like New Zealand

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