TravelStream™ news feed for member jackandandrew on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jackandandrew en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 15 Jul 2006 20:25:32 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151884500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151884500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151884500/tpod.html Sat, 15 Jul 2006 20:25:32 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Nadi and Mana Island, Fiji

BULA everyone! Welcome to Fiji! Well its alot hotter here than in New Zealand thats for sure, but i must say, we are still missing Queenstown!! Weve both managed to get our tans back which is the best news and have enjoyed the past week on Mana Island, which is nothing short of gorgeous! After an hour boat ride to the Island, we settled in to our tent! (which was half the price and double the room of a dorm, ha, suckers!) and spent pretty much the next 6 days on the beach with four girls that were in the tent next to us. We spent a few hours walking around the Island, finding sea snakes and star fish! Also playing football with the locals and American Football on the beach!
All our food was provided in the price which consisted of spag bol, steaks and currys! Brilliant! Oh, and banana cake in the morning, which is now officially Andy and my favourite cake! The nights generally consisted of the locals staring in Fijian/Island/Pacific Nights which were really good but all consisted of the same dances but just different costumes! Also Andy, Esme, Lile, Beth, Luce and I engaged in mammoth card sessions during the evening which acually lasted hours! A great way to pass the time when there was no goon available, just expensive, imported beer!
The weather was excellent everyday except for one where it rained all day! Tradegy! Not to frett, as we spent the day reading, catching up on the old diaries and sewing Canadian badges onto our bags as a tribute to the great Patrick, stupid Carcone, and all the other fantastic Canadians we have met on this trip!
Oh and there are lots of mozzies here! I have 13 bites on 1 side of my foot and i wouldnt like to see what it would look like without mozzie repellant on! Not to worry though as im leaving for LA tomorrow! Andy is staying in Fiji for another 10 days and is meeting 2 girls that we met in New Zealand and also Dan. Then he is off to California for 5 weeks to explore and meet with his family! I on the other hand am meeting Matthew Shipley in LA where we will be celebrating Independance Day together and doing the usual LA stuff such as shopping and maybe checking out famous peoples houses! oh dear me.
It will be a very sad moment tomorrow when J and A on Tour will officially end but thats the way the cookie crumbles unfortunately! Andy is due home on September 3rd and im home on the 11th July to earn money and get ready for uni. Wow, thats only a week away, scary!! Anyway, you will hear from us soon, we hope you have enjoyed the travelpods we have made and hopefully have encouraged people to do a bit of travelling themselves. If not, then just try some goon, its the same.
For the last time - Jack and Andrew xxxxxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151119500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151119500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151119500/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 02:00:32 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Queenstown!, New Zealand

Kialda and welcome! Ok, so we finally made it to Queenstown after driving through tretcherous conditions but it was definately worth it! The best place by far in New Zealand, only to regret not getting here sooner! Snow....good! Bars....good! and a burger bar......good! Also, we were with some of the best people we have met in the last 5 months, plus we met up with 2 of the originals!!! Dan and Matt!! The fantastic 4 were back in full gear, only to be saddened knowing that The Whiteglove (Pat) was still in Oz!
Take me back to Queenstown!
We were unfortunately only there for about 4 days but had a complete blast! Andy, Simon, Bobbi, Becky and myself also managed to find time to do, oh i dont know, THE WORLDS LARGEST BUNJY JUMP BABY!!!! Unfortunately, the nerves got the better of Becky in the end, but we still managed to do it so all good! I can honestly say, standing on that ledge, 134 metres in the air, looking down to a very small river was the most scared ive ever been in my life. I even think i may have shed a tear, and instead of jumping, i think my knees buckled and roled off! I was too adrenalin pumped so cant remember it all!Andy and myself will show you the photos and the t shirts when we get back! ha!
We also took a day trip to the Milford Sound, which is the most scenic area in New Zealand. It was brilliant, even though there was alot of driving, we did get to see alot of scenery and a good boat trip with free coffee so i cant really complain!
The fantastic four plus a few others did manage to reunite in karaoke style with Matt singing Mustang Sally as beautiful as ever and all of us singing Wonderwall. Better than the original i say!
That just about summed up our time in Queenstown. For those looking for a good time in New Zealand, head straight for there!!! Onto Christchurch, our final destination! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151117820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151117820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151117820/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 01:11:31 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Wanaka, New Zealand

Kialda and welcome! As the Mauris say. So we all left the nice little town of Franz Josef where Andy was taught how to become a glacier jumping ballarina and onto Wanaka. It was our bus driver'(Crunch) first trip and as more snow was appearing, we all had to go and help him put on the chains! Well, by help i mean getting the Canadians to do it and then all the English just have a massive snow ball fight and be as useful as a cat flap in an elephants house!
Right, so we got to Wanaka and we all stayed in a very cosy hotel. Yes! Hotel, not hostel! It had a log burning fire and ...........a bath!!! I didnt actually have a bath come to think of it, but nevermind. That night we all went to a Thai restaurant for a nice change to beans. Unfortunately, we did have to engage in adult conversation. By adult, i mean football and by conversation, i mean abusing Peter Crouch (Dan, Matt, Pat, thats how we role!).
The next day, after leaving our pro snow boarder Canadian friend, Simon behind to tear up the hills of Wanaka, Andy went to do his sky dive. We both have been trying to book one for the last week or so and all 4 times it was cancelled. So i gave up on the idea but Andy managed to catch some good weather and do the dive. To see him in the plane, go to www.skydivenz.com , click on view my picture and go to JUNE 19th. I think hes the first there. It looks so funny!
Anyway, now onto the best place in New Zealand, Queenstown!! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151109240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151109240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151109240/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 00:33:19 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Franz Josef, New Zealand

G'day people and welcome once again! Thankfully, this entry actually has some useful news in it! What a surprise! So we arrived in Franz Josef at a really nice hostel that gave us a beautiful view of the snow covered mountains! Photos are on there way. There was a big hot tub outside which we all went in when it got dark. There werent actually any lights by the tub so when i was about to get in, someone wrongfully told me there was a step just under the surface. Obviously there wasnt so i ended up landing face first into this pool, making a complete fool of myself as normal!
The pinnacle of our New Zealand trip was to happen the next day when we climbed the Franz Josef Glacier that cannot be described as anything other than fantastic! Again, photos are going to be on there way. We were even given pick axes which i thought was the most stupid idea giving a group of 19 year olds a weapon, but surprisingly, no one was hurt!
Funny story: The was a really steep bit where we were really having to dig in our metal spikes we were wearing on our feet, and being told what to do by our group leader as we were climbing down a cravass. I made it down only to turn round and see Andy flying through the air after slipping. He miraculously landed on both feet in smooth gymnastic style and the look on the guide was priceless! She exclaimed "how the hell did you do that???", in which Andy replied "that..........is how i role!" A moment of pure genius!
We were also lucky enough to meet up with the 2 Andys we met in the North Island, which was good fun as it was Beckys birthday so all went for a drink in the bar and a pizza! Beautiful! 4 guys, 3 called Andy, not annoying whatsoever.
Onto Wanaka, the first official Ski stop. More snow on its way! Woohoo! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151033760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151033760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151033760/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 00:19:32 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Lake Mahinapua, New Zealand

Thank the Lord, i bring great news! This entry is going to be better than the last! Thankfully, Kiwi Experience has already recognized that there is nothing at this place! Seriously, picture this.......a hostel on the side of the road.....thats it. So to add a bit of spice to the night, it is tradition to have a fancy dress party. The theme was BIN BAGS so after buying a load of bin bags and playing a bit of footy by the beach, we let our imaginations role! 3 guys on our bus, Matt, Paul and Simon decided to be the phrase "when in rome". So they dressed as Romans with that phrase written on them. Quite amusing, but i have a feeling you had to be there! There was a Wonder Woman and also a Gladiator that seemed to have got the wrong idea as he had decided to dress in foil. Anyway, Andy went as a Gorilla. Which consisted of covering himself in bin bags, then cutting them all in to slices. Poor old Andy had such high hopes for his costume and as i am writing to you now, has just proclaimed that his costume was the worst of the evening and he is proud to admit it.
I went for the more unPC approach and decided to go as Osama Bin Laden. This consisted of wrapping my towel into a binbag, using that as a turben. Then having a dress and a wrap on top, covering some pipe i found outside to be my hill walking stick and having Sally use make up to give me a black beard, not a ginger one that im so used to having! Also i was kindly lent a military scarf which went round my neck to produce a fantastic Osama Bin Laden lookalike.
Anyway, the next day, woke up nice and early to leave for Franz Josef with a huge grin on my face as i knew.......there was going to be..........snow!! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151120820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151120820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151120820/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 00:04:25 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Christchurch, New Zealand

Kialda! And here we are now, in Christchurch, both raring to go as we are going to Fiji tomorrow! whey! Good by snow, oh how we love snow! To be honest, not much has happened here in Christchurch, apart from wanting to be back in Queenstown, or the Instanbul Kebab House in St Neots. The weather has been pretty bad here as its rained not snowed, and we both realised we should have stayed in Queenstown a couple of days longer, but because the weather conditions are pretty unpredictable, we couldnt afford for our bus to be delayed and miss our flight, so better be safe then sorry! That was until we were both brought horrible news that Queenstown was enjoying there first night of the winter festival with fireworks, a huge half pipe, dancing on tables and a pyjama party! I cried.
So we have spent our time celebrating the winter festival by catching up on e mails, travelpods and doing the laundry. And so this is our last night in New Zealand, after having a wicked time and meeting absolutely fantastic people, catching up with Matt and Dan, being extreme and just genuinely enjoying the shear contrast New Zealand has to the East Coast of Australia. Its been a wicked last few weeks and i think a week on a deserted beach on an island is called for. O wait, we are.....tomorrow! HA!
Coolio, we will rendez vous soon! See you in Fiji, Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151032620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151032620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151032620/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:27:26 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Westport, New Zealand

Welcome once again and Kiwi Experience obviously being their amusing little selves decided to take us to another rather random town in the middle of nowhere, so i will tell ya exactly what happened and if ya dont like it, i apologize!
Ok so after we had dinner, our new South Island crew went to a quiz, however, after seeing there was free pool, we all VETO' the idea of a quiz and spent the night in the Bar, watching New South Wales lose to the Queensland in rugby, and playing endless amounts of pool while chatting and obviously losing to the locals!
Thankfully, we were leaving the town the next day but i did enjoy watching a bit of Lord of Rings when i got in so ........when in Rome!
Once again apologizing for such a useless excuse for a travelpod entry, but things can only get better!! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151031360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151031360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151031360/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:23:33 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Nelson, New Zealand

After quite a rocky and stomach churning boat ride to the South Island (not helped by the night before), we all arrived in the South Island where we stayed in a town called Nelson. We stayed in a hostel/pub owned by a Scottish lady, which was surprisingly welcoming as Andy and myself actually had to act like adults for once and have a wine tasting session!! suite you sir! Us, being 19, obviously couldnt tell the difference between a fine white and the boxed "goon", we had been drinking for 3 pounds for 4 litres up the east Coast of Australia for 3 months, but anyway, still enjoyed it!
We were also brought the bad news that there wasnt going to be any snow until the south of the south island! Not happy whatsoever, so once again were subject to rain and wind. We did enjoy having a roast dinner that night which bought a nice change to noodles!
I soon became far too aware that we were acting scaringly mature with all this wine tasting and roast dinner eating, so thankfully it was only a 1 night stop off!
Onto Westport tomorrow, another lively old gold miners town! HA!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151030340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151030340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1151030340/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:16:10 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Wellington, New Zealand

Hello and welcome once again to a very cold and windy New Zealand. We were in Wellington for 2 nights and it sure did live up to its name! Oh dear me! All it did, was rain and blow freezing cold gail force winds at us, which surprisingly, was not very welcoming!!
It was the first time in a while, that Andy and myself could actually enjoy a lyin so without a doubt, took full advantage of that, along with all the other bus load of cool people that we met!
Im aware, that it was very uncultured of Andy and I but actually leaving the hostel due to the weather became very unappealing as it became apparent to evreybody else in Wellington as i looked out the window on a saturday afternoon and the streets were deserted!
That night, after not being able to leave the hostel due to "The Day After Tomorrow" style weather, we decided to have our own hotel party in the oppposite room. Which actually, after several hours of playing card games and drinking boxed wine, seemed like a fantastic idea!!
However, after obviously regretting that idea the following morning, we ventured out of sunny Wellington to the South Island! WE WANT SNOW!!!! Jack and Andrew xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1150086120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1150086120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jackandandrew/j_and_a_on_tour/1150086120/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:08:34 -0400 To the he shes of Thailand...to the Gangstas of L.A,follow us on our way :)

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Who Knows!!, New Zealand

G'day and welcome! Well we arrived in River Valley around lunch time. There was a river, there was a valley and there was a surprisingly nice lodge!! After meeting a few guys on the bus, we spent the after noon playing football, cards and getting ready for the big match that night. 1am to be axact. After a lovely roast dinner, we all enjoyed watching Ireland lose against New Zealand in the rugby! And most of all watch England win an unconvincing victory over Paraguay! A message to the fantastic 3- get Peter Crouch out the team!! All non Liverpool fans should agree!
This stop is for people wanting to do grade 5 white water rafting. As we both have already doen it in the Smokeys in Tennessee, we decided to save our money! Along with half the bus! Once again, up early due to our tight time scale and now heading for a CITY!! Bring on Wellinton! Both missing the Fantastic 3! Jack and Andrew xx
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