Auckland!!

Ryan and I took the Ferry into City Center. We were staying in Devonport about 8 minutes away across the water. Did some shopping and went to the Museum. Walked through the Chinese Lantern Fest setup. Had dinner at a Chilean place, then headed out to the nightlife with Jason and we stayed out till 3am.

Sunday - had brunch with jason then met Ryan at the Big Gay Out Fest. We volunteered with the NZ AIDS Foundation then went to the concerts. After the fest ended we met the entire gang for drinks.

Monday - took a 30 min ferry to Waiheke Island. Beautiful there! We rented scooters and visited 3 vineyards. I had a little brawl with my first round-a-about. LOL. Adrenaline rush! Ha. At least I survived; and managed to ride on the left side of the road ok.

Auckland

NZ - road trip to Rotorua

So Ryan and Jason picked me up from the airport at Auckland. Had a quick dinner and then climbed Mount Victoria. The night time climbing, was um, interstingly fun. Haha. The next morning, Ryan and I rented a car and drove 4 hours to Rotorua to visit an authentic Mauri Village. We also went to the museum, then to a wildlife sanctuary, then walked barefoot and sat in hot springs created by the geothermal land all over the volcanic area. The marui village was fantastic. We met natives, had an authentic dinner cooked underground in the hot rocks and springs, and saw a village performance, followed by a night walk. Drove back to Auckland and got home
around 1 a.m.

New Zealand - Rotarua

Melbourne Part 2

Managed to see most of this great city in the past 4 days. Some of the notable areas I've walked through include: CBD, St Kilda, Fitzroy, Docklands, Prahan, South Yarra and of course Northcote where I'm staying. Food here is great, so is the architecture. Saw the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, went to the Laneway Music fest, and to the City Museum for some good historic info on Melbourne. Been sampling the local wine here daily. Fantastic stuff. The summer weather has stayed in the 90s and sunny. No complaints from me compared to icy Chicago. Glad I got to see all my friends that live here and meet some new ones. =)

More Melbourne