How do you Experience New Zealand in 6 Days?

Located on the end of the Princes Wharf, the Hilton Auckland has a beautiful view of the harbour and the city skyline (varies depending which room one has). Similar to the Sydney Hilton, it has a new and modern feel. However, unlike the Sydney Hilton, the rooms here are are a bit bigger and feature balconies.

From the hotel it is an easy walk to the city center and SkyTower. Auckland is not really the type of city to just walk around in, but if one were to, the hotel is in a convenient location. The harbour ferries are also located right down the road.

I encountered some very pleasant valets, as well as a delightful host at the stylish bar/restaurant in the hotel. Overall, a very nice stay (beautiful sunrise in the morning included!).

We saw Baylys Beach on a map, and saw that it was the only beach with access anywhere near us, so we gave it a shot. We got that after a bunch of steep winding roads, and then the road pretty much just turned into beach...an extremely vast and open beach. Looking up and own the beach, all we could see was, well, more beach...with rocky cliffs and hills separating the beach from the green countryside.

There are many activities you can do at the beach: four wheel drive excursions, horse back rides, fishing, and shipwreck diving. While we took part in none of them (it was Winter--a little chilly), it was still fun just to walk down the beach watching a couple surfers take on some rough waves. Occasionally a four wheel drive or truck would pass us, but other than that, the huge expanse was empty.

If your driving along route 12 on the North Island, this is a great spot to see the West Coast and yet another beautiful perspective of New Zealand.

Being quite a fan of rugby for a couple years, and knowing I'd be in New Zealand during rugby season, I looked to see if there were any matches while I was going to be there. I was quite pleased to see that the 2006 opening match against Ireland was at a perfect time and location to fit into the vacation. The game was played at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, about an hour southwest of Auckland. The stadium only seats a bit over 26,000 people so tickets were a bit hard to grab, but we found a hotel and game package for a not-so-reasonable price. It turned out that Novotel, where I was staying, was the same hotel the players were staying at as well, so seeing many of the players was pretty cool.

The pre-game show was far better than any I had ever seen, with huge explosions and fireworks on the field along with a ceremony of dancing clovers and the singing of anthems. I've never felt such an intense heat coming from an explosion, not that I witness many. New Zealand's traditional Haka followed, which is something you can't miss; if you're ever at an All Blacks match do not be late!

It was a better game than anyone could have expected. New Zealand has never lost to Ireland in their history of rugby, but Ireland was ahead at halftime. The drunk Irishmen behind us definitely made that clear. The All Blacks turned up the steam in the second half and ended up with a solid win. Jimmy, the lad sitting behind us, wasn't too happy about the loss for Ireland, and there was a bit of dissension between him and an All Blacks supporter. I've found it is hard not go to a rugby game without running into a skirmish.

If you've never been to a rugby match, I do highly recommend it. The atmosphere is great and rugby itself is an excellent game. The All Blacks are especially a good team to see as they are one of the world's best teams and they have the Haka. In big matches such as this one, getting tickets as early as possible is also a good idea.

Oh yeah, and go the Wallabies ; )