The Internal - Newsletter 4/04

Since there have not been any arrivals or departures during the last week, we will skip that part of the newsletter. However, the next week is getting busy and we are looking forward to welcome Kevin and Frank.

WHAT’S ON IN AND AROUND AUCKLAND

ST PATRICK’S FESTIVAL   11-17 March 2004

Celebrate Ireland’s national day in Auckland with the best of Irish craic!

A whole week of celebration and the following events are just a little piece of the cake:

Friday12th                  Guinness Travelling Hooley, from 6pm to 1am

Climb one of the free party buses and travel to all the official Irish Festival Pubs (about 10) for a night of great entertainment. Most pubs will also have a life band playing.

Friday 12th &              Aotea Square Markets at Aotea Square, 10am to 6pm

Saturday 13th                  A great variety of stalls selling everything from designer clothing, hats, and jewellery to arts ad crafts, homemade organic foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, pacific textiles and ceramics. Free entertainment on Saturdays from 12noon to 2pm.

Saturday 13thHugh Green Group St Patrick’s Parade, Queen Street 12pm

Guinness Irish Music Festival, A “Fleath” in Aotea Square,

12-5pm

Sunday14th              Princess Wharf Irish Music and Dance Display, Princess Wharf,

Quay St 1-5pm

Wednesday 17th,      Begin your St Patrick’s Day with breakfast or brunch at one of the

official Irish Festival locations. All day entertainment – music, dancing, food and more. Guinness flowing like the river Shannon.

It is a shame that this day is in the middle of the week …… Anyway, there is a lot

more going on! Check out the homepage for the full festival guide:

www.stpatrick.co.nz

PASIFICA FESTIVAL            12 – 14 March 2004

Transport yourself to the Pacific for the day as Western Springs comes alive to the many and various sounds, smells and rhythms of the island. Pasifica is the largest one-day cultural festival in the South Pacific – a melting pot of dance, food, art and craft stalls with non-stop entertainment at four stages.

12 March       Pasifica Festival Opening

13 march       Pasifica Festival

14 March       Voices of the Future (church choirs, bands and dance groups)

Western Springs lakeside and stadium, Great North Road, Western springs

For more information visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/events/pasifica

How to get there? Take bus number 042 (Unitec), 043 (Mt Albert Shops) or 045 (Pt Chevalier) – they are all departing from downtown, outside the Britomart Transport Centre (Stop D8) and will bring you to Western Springs.

MAORI & PACIFIC ISLAND FESTIVAL      18 - 20 March

Manukau Sports Bowl, Te Irirangi Drive, Manukau

This cultural festival was started in 1976 to provide a showcase opportunity for young

Polynesians and Maori, bring schools together, as well as the different cultures within them.

Today, the festival features over 10,000 students passionately performing songs, dances and hakas from Maori, Pacific Island and Asian cultures, demonstrating the pride that they have in their cultural heritage. It is vibrant celebration of creativity, colour and culture.The festival also has speech and art competitions, and an array of food and craft stalls.

Thursday, 18 March12.30pm – 5.30pm

Friday 19 March                   09.00am – 5.30pm

Saturday, 20 March            09.00am – 5.30pm

How to get there? It is quite a long way to go, but if you want to be enriched by this unique cultural experience there are at least two possibilities:

You could hire a car together with some other interns and e.g. combine this festival with a visit of Northland, Cape Reinga and the huge Kauri trees. Or you could travel by bus.

If you are interested in going there – just let me know and I’ll check if I can get you some special package (car/bus + accommodation).

AUCKLAND ZOO

We went to the zoo last weekend ($10 with the International Student Card) and had such a lot of fun that it took us about 4 hours to walk through. You can find all kinds of animals you are familiar with, like giraffes, hippos, lions, elephants, penguins, kiwis, chimpanzees. But also some other animals, you probably have never seen before, like a red panda and some kind of rabbit (sorry, I forgot the name already – picture!). Although the parking was overcrowded, it has not been too busy in the zoo itself. It is set up in different topics and the enclosures are quite big and well built with natural separations. It is fun to go through, read the provided information and visit the encounters. There are about six encounters every day (with different animals), when  e.g. the elephants get a shower, then a mud bath, do some exercises and the keeper will provide you with some extra information.

It is definitely worth a visit!

GOOD TO KNOW

• At the moment friends telephone cards seem to be the cheapest way for calling to Germany (even cheaper than Kia Ora)

• We can provide information on where to look for a car, how to buy a car, how to open a bank account & what to do when you are loosing your passport – requests by e-mail!

• We are on our way to build up a partnership with the Travellers Contact Point New Zealand. So, whenever you want to rent a car, need an accomodation somewhere, looking for a car insurance, book a ferry or an inland flight – whatever – let us know, and we will get the best deal possible for you.

BLACKBOARD

If there is anything you want to make public (you look for a flatmate, want to sell your cellphone card, need a tent, a sleeping bag, sell your car) – that’s the place! Send us an e-mail and we can fill the blackboard of our newsletter.

MESSAGE FROM JONATHON

Hey guys! Was great meeting some of you at the Vorbotten bar! 

This week I thought I would write a little bit about films in Auckland.  I quite like foreign films – of course to me NZ movies are foreign, as are German ones! But if you like the film festival type of movie, here’s where you can find it in Auckland.

The most well-known place to catch festival films is at Rialto cinemas.  There are Rialto cinemas in Auckland and other towns which specialize in films that aren’t blockbusters – in fact there is a Rialto cinema outside the window from where I am typing this!  ‘Goodbye Lenin’ looks to be showing. . .

Underneath the main public library in downtown Auckland is the Academy theatre, which also specializes in foreign movies.  So too does the Lido cinema in Epsom.  Both theatres advertise daily in the main Auckland newspaper, the NZ Herald, so you can see what’s playing each day.

There are also two big film festivals in Auckland each year.  They happen during the NZ winter, so I can tell you more about this year’s festivals when the time comes.  The Auckland Film Society has regular screenings of special movies at a screen in Sky City theatre and at the Academy cinema.

If you prefer DVD’s and videos, the best place to go is Videon for rentals.  They are on Dominion Road, not far out of central Auckland.  They specialize in foreign and festival films and have a great selection. 

On TV, Sky has a channel for foreign movies, the Rialto channel.  This used to be called Sundance channel, a well-known American alternative channel, but changed their name to match the Rialto chain of cinemas in NZ.

So if the NZ scenery is getting boring, or you want to see something in German, French, Russian or Bengali, check out these places.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!