Arrangements

- Blog up and running
- Travel guides read
- New free Nokia phone with New Zealand map beta ordered and to be installed
- Flight is set
- Shanghai hotel set
- Auckland hotel set
- Rental car arranged
- Friend's visit set
- Family visit arranged
- Christchurch hotel set

Now I only need nice weather, good mood, perfect scenery, good fine, fine wine, open people, good health, digital camera (it's all in the eye of the beholder though :-) ) an in between plan (had many already ..) and I will have a perfect holiday, setting my mind to other stuff.

Hope this is over in a month

Weather now :-(

Auckland's Food and Wine

Food and Cuisine in Auckland

Auckland will tempt your tastebuds with locally grown produce, sea food from its abundant harbours and award-winning wines to match. Many of the region's restaurants have perfected "Pacific Rim" cuisine, fusing Pacific and Asian flavours with fresh local ingredients from  Auckland's rich volcanic soils.

Purchase the best of the day's catch from the waterfront Auckland Fish Market and learn how to cook it as the adjacent cookery school. Talk to the organic growers at the Matakana Farmers' Market as you sip on a freshly brewed coffee. Or sample Asian and Pacific Island cooked
specialties at the Otara Markets while shopping for freshly picked fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Wine in Auckland

Auckland is home to some of the country's oldest established vineyards and is well known for its chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon wines.

Dalmatian immigrants first established vines in the west and northwest of the region in the late 1800s. The family names are still attached to many of these vineyards and descendants of the early winemakers can be found serving at the cellar door.

The region's vineyards are clustered in five distinct areas - Waiheke Island, west Auckland, northwest Auckland, north Auckland (around Matakana) and the Clevedon Valley. Some of the larger wineries also process grapes grown in other parts of New Zealand, so a stopover for a tasting is well rewarded.

Test with post to Blogger

Haere mai, welcome to the official website for Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city.

Wherever you stay in Auckland, you're never far from breathtaking scenery, beautiful beaches, invigorating walks, idyllic holiday islands, outstanding food and wine, great shopping and exciting nightlife.

Use this site to plan your dream holiday, extended vacation, weekend away or day trip to Auckland. You'll find useful information on accommodation, sightseeing, activities and attractions, restaurants, events, maps, driving routes and other transport options. You'll also
find great deals and independent advice to make your trip one to remember.

Getting closer

A bit more then a month to go, will leave the 27th of June and my schedule in New Zealand is not really arranged yet but will be something like:

• 27-06 Amsterdam - Shanghai
  
• 29-06 Shanghai - Auckland

North Island

• 30-06 Auckland
  
• 01-07 Rotorua (friends)
  
• 02-07 Rotorua (friends)
  
• 03-07 Rotorua (friends)
  
• 04-07 Leave Rotorua
  
• 05-07 Gisborne county
  
• 06-07 Gisborne county
  
• 07-07 Hawke's Bay
  
• 08-07 Hawke's Bay
  
• 09-07 Carterton (family)
  
• 10-07 Carterton (family)
  
• 11-07 Carterton (family)
  
• 12-07 Wellington

South Island

• 13-07 Picton - Nelson
  
• 14-07 Abel Tasman National park
  
• 15-07 Kahurangi National Park
  
• 16-07 to Christchurch
  

Going back

• 17-07 Christchurch - Auckland - Shanghai
  
• 18-07 Shanghai - Amsterdam
  
• 19-07 Back in Amsterdam and getting 50!
  

My first stop, Shanghai

From Wikipedia:

Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: Shànghǎi; Wu (Long-short): Zånhae; Shanghainese (IPA): [zɑ̃'he]; abbreviation: 沪; nickname: 申), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is thelargest city of the People's Republic of China and the eighth largest in the world.^[4] Widely regarded as the citadel of China's modern economy, the city also serves as one of the nation's most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers.

Administratively, Shanghai is a municipality of the People's Republic of China that has province-level status. Also, Shanghai is one of the world's busiest ports, and became the largest cargo port in the world in 2005.^[5]

Originally a fishing town, Shanghai became China's most important city by the 20th century and was the center of popular culture, intellectual discourse and political struggle during the Republic of Chinaera. After the communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai languished due to heavy central government taxation and cessation of foreign investment, and had many of its supposedly "bourgeois" elements purged. Following the central government's authorization of market-economic redevelopment of Shanghai in 1992, Shanghai has now surpassed early-starters Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and has since led China's economic growth. Some challenges remain for Shanghai at the beginning of the 21st century, as the city struggles to cope with increased worker migration, a huge wealth gap, and environmental degradation. Despite these challenges, Shanghai's skyscrapers and modern lifestyle are often seen as representing China's recent economic development.

The two Chinese characters in the name "Shanghai" (see left) literally mean "up, on, or above" and "sea". The local Shanghainese pronunciation of Shanghai is /zɑ̃.'he/, while the Standard Mandarinpronunciation in Hanyu Pinyin is Shànghǎi. The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the Song Dynasty (11th century), at which time there was already a river confluence and a town with this name in the area. There are disputes as to how the name should be interpreted, but official local histories have consistently said that it means "the upper reaches of the sea" (海之上洋). However, another reading, especially in Mandarin, also suggests the sense of "go onto the sea," which is consistent with the seaport status of the city. The more poetic name for Shanghai switches the order of the two characters, i.e., Haishang (海上), and is often used for terms related to Shanghainese art and culture. In the West, Shanghai has also been spelled Schanghai (in German), Sjanghai (in Dutch), Xangai (in Portuguese) and Changhaï (inFrench), but since the 1990s the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of "Shanghai" has become universal in the West.

Shanghai's abbreviations in Chinese are Hù (沪) and Shēn (申). The former is derived from the ancient name Hu Du (沪渎) of the river now known as Suzhou Creek. The latter is derived from the name of Chunshen Jun (春申君), a nobleman of the Chu Kingdom (楚国) in the 3rd century BC whose territory included the Shanghai area and has locally been revered as a hero. Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use the character Shēn (申) in their names. Shanghai is also commonly called Shēnchéng (申城, "City of Shēn").

The city has had various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East", "Queen of the Orient".

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,148,400.

Several important cities are in the North Island, notably New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, and Wellington, the capital, located at the southern extremity of the island. Approximately 76% of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island.

According to Māori mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui. Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it from the sea. While he was not looking his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island and thus the Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui (The Fish of Māui). The mountains and valleys are said to have been formed as a result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish.

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Māori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" (greenstone being jade), possibly evolved from Te Wāhi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone". The island is also known as Te Waka a Māui which means "Māui's Canoe".

The South Island is often called "the Mainland". Today this expression is used humorously, although still with pride by "Mainlanders", since while it is a somewhat larger landmass than the North Island, only about a quarter of New Zealand's four million inhabitants live in the South Island. However, in the early stages of European (Pākehā) settlement of the country, the South Island was pre-eminent, with the majority of the European population and wealth focussed there due to gold rushes. It was not until the early 20th century that the North Island population overtook the South, with 56% of the population living in the North in 1911. In Māori legend, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Maui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught. However, the South Island has never been the main site of Māori population.