New Zealand is located exactly on a junction of Pacific and Australian tectonic plates.
Therefore, seismic processes are very common. Volcanic activity, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides are no wonder to locals.
In places like Rotorua, crust of the Earth is thin, allowing plenty of thermal areas to occur.
Wooden platform for viewing thermal activities, near Rotorua, New Zealand
They say it's good for skin to apply some of READ MORE »
Did I say they are relaxed in New Zealand?
Well, at least not in Auckland.
Parked the rental car on Sunday morning in a restricted area, just to find an infringement notice half an hour later.
Boy, these officers are fast. Probably they get a commission off each ticket, as in London.
In any case, 40 dollars went down the drain.
Infringement notice for parking the vehicle in a restricted area, Auckland, New Zealand READ MORE »
L.J. Hooker. Quite an interesting brand name for a real estate company, don't you find?
These guys (or should I say girls?) also operate in Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and China.
A sign on the street offering to buy some real estate, New Zealand READ MORE »
Not so inaccessible as it seems, Sky Tower offers a heart-throbbing activity during the day - the Sky jump.
Sky Tower during a day, Auckland, New Zealand
A little different from bungy, as here you are connected to two cables instead of one, and no rubber. READ MORE »
As a continuation of yesterday's post, that's the second prominent object visible from the apartment that we stay at. Auckland's Sky Tower. Tall, lean, mysterious, inaccessible.
Sky Tower in the evening's mist, Auckland, New Zealand READ MORE »
I just realized the horrendous mistake that I keep doing. I usually don't describe the view from the windows of the places that we stay!
Correcting it immediately.
St. Patrick's Cathedral at night time, Auckland, New Zealand READ MORE »
A house in a house.
Te Papa, the biggest, baddest and best museum of New Zealand, hosts The Marae, a community house of Māori.
Interior of The Marae in Te Papa museum, Wellington, New Zealand READ MORE »
In Australia, the culture of "laid-backness" can be seen when people finish their jobs strictly by 5 PM.
In New Zealand, they jog during the lunch break.
Jogging during a lunch break, Wellington, New Zealand
I started to wonder which is longer - READ MORE »
Coming to Wellington to participate in a meeting of Lithuanian community promised to be quite fascinating.
Firstly, I never heard of any Lithuanians living in New Zealand prior to the trip, furthermore, New Zealand is probably the most distant country from Lithuania.
Even if we met the people for the first time, it seemed like we are old friends. A good and nearly forgotten feeling.
Nice dinner in a restaurant during the evening, the BBQ in the backyard on the following day.
Flexibility and stretch test using a short broom, Wellington, New Zealand
Relaxed conversations, READ MORE »
A good example of corporate unawareness about real life outside the office walls.
Who on Earth could create such an ad in New Zealand?
Advertisement in a newspaper offering a job of a lamb boner, New Zealand
Even if in New Zealanders' version of English it is perfectly legit, there still are READ MORE »
What do employees tired of routine in their life do? They go for a vacation close by the sea. Or still better, leave their jobs and go travelling for a year.
What do the seals do when they are tired of the routine in the sea?
A seal relaxing on the rocks with a view at the mountains, Kaikoura, New Zealand
They go for the mountains. READ MORE »
New Zealand is environmentally friendly, fresh and clean. But not totally clean as some imagine. Take didymo for example. It becomes rather an important problem nowadays.
And now this. Some hills in the country started being ill with measles.
Pink spots plaguing the green hills, near Kaikoura, New Zealand READ MORE »
If somebody would have told me that one day I'll choose an electricity pole and especially power lines as objects of photography, I'd laugh heartily and have a good day onwards, as that seemed quite impossible. I am always trying to get those nasty things away from the frame, as it looks out of place in most of the compositions. "Wires are ugly", that was a strong imprint in my head.
Electricity pole with wires standing in front of red-yellow-black dramatic sky, near Oxford, New Zealand
Well, rapidly changing Canterbury's weather READ MORE »
A wonderful thing those glaciers. Just like living creatures, they move. Slowly, but persistently.
For example, Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are one of the most dynamic, so they not only move around 1 meter per day, but also have a turnover time of 5 years. It means that the rain that has fallen on top of the glacier 5 years ago, will become ice, travel down and melt on the bottom of the glacier today. That is considered fast in the world of glaciers.
Red moss on the rocks, grey ice behind, Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
One would expect only grey rock and white ice, but the area around delights the eye with READ MORE »
There are scores of extreme sports and activities to do in New Zealand.
Jet boating near Queenstown, New Zealand
Could select from bungy jumping, sky diving, white water rafting, jet boating and what not, if you just please.
The choice is overwhelming. As if you'd migrate from a communist block country with empty shelves in the shops, to a READ MORE »
