ruairioc's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member ruairioc on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ruairioc en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:30:07 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Spa Days and Fishing Trips — Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224723120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224723120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224723120/tpod.html Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:30:07 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

After the activity of climbing the Franz Josef glacier we were delighted to take some time out in Hanmer Springs where the local spa and thermal pools are the big draw.

We spent a day getting massages, soaking our bodies in sulphur and thermal pools and generally getting spoiled.

The owners of the Alpine Lodge where we stayed were originally from Wales and gave us the welcome of the trip in New Zealand so far. Bob and his wife made us so at home with welcome baskets, excellent facilites and by providing anything a travelling group could need. The place even backed onto the local golf course and I took the opportunity to get in a round and sharpen up my game so I don't end up losing my shirt when I get back to the friendly!? games and sidewagers back home!

We have nearly completed the trip of the South Island and passed near to Christchurch as we travelled up the northeast coast of New Zealand to the picture perfect seaside town of Kaikoura.

In Maori "Kai" means town and "Koura" means crayfish so literally this is the place to go fishing for lobster; and fish we did as we took an early morning charter off the coast with a local fisherman who provided deep sea reels, bait and all gear necessary to probe the depths and catch some decent fish. We had a superb time as we caught a mountain of red sea perch and blue cod which were duly filleted for us by Justin the captain.

On the way back we checked the crayfish pots and luckily enough there was enough for us to take home and have a royal BBQ lunch.

Off to catch the car ferry tomorrow to the North Island and the town of Wellington.
]]> Scaling a Glacier — Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224145140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224145140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224145140/tpod.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:31:08 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand

Franz Josef Glacier is the jewel in the crown of the West coasts tourism business.
This is one of the few places in the world where glaciers are so accessible to the general public and we took the opportunity to explore this ice monster by signing up with Glacier Guides for their full day trek on the glacier.
It takes two days to get from the valley floor to the top of the glacier. We made it about a quarter of the way up on a fully equipped 16km hike on the ice.
Such an experience as we became instant mountain goats thanks to the crampons we fitted. The glacier moves one to five metres a day and the guides were there to teach us the basics of walking on the ice, keep us out of trouble and cut new steps into the glacier which allowed us get through the toughest areas of the climb.
Some of the areas we passed through were really tight and it was here that we had the scare of the trip as one of the girls in our party lost her footing and wedged herself into a crevasse and couldn't move. Our guide couldn't get her out so we had to wait for another guide to come and between the two of us we managed to get some leverage and shift her. Very very very scary to be caught between two sheets of glacial ice especially when there's the possibility of it moving at any time and crushing you!
The eight hour trek flew around as we encountered ice caves, cut our own ice steps, met the local inquisitive kea parrots which followed our progress and hauled ourselves over every type of ice structure imaginable.
I know that we keep saying this on our trip but what we did today has to rate as one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences ever.
]]> Time off in Wanaka — Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224316560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224316560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224316560/tpod.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:30:50 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand

After a couple of days of hard driving we decided to stay a few nights in the sleepy lakeside town of Wanaka. We had a quiet few days recovering from the excesses of Queenstown, enjoyed some Thai cuisine, a night in where Salud spoiled us by cooking some delicious paella and took some walks around the area including a tough climb to the top of Mt Iron.
So good to just chill out; Caroline and I worked on improving my NLP lecture for magicians and Salud got some deep tissue massage to relieve some pain in her shoulder after surviving her run in with the rocks of the shotover river rapids.The drive up the west coast to Fox Glacier was amazing, full of lakes and snow covered mountain tops. We took our time to get to the glacial region of New Zealand and had lunch overlooking the Fox Glacier.
]]> Jurassic Park — Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224101640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224101640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1224101640/tpod.html Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:30:59 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand

The area around Milford Sound really did look like Jurassic park. It was a good four hour journey from Queenstown through some of the most narrow and steep mountain passes imaginable.

This is one of the wettest places on the planet with an average of 6 metres of rainfall and 260 days of rain a year. When we visited was no exception; mist and fog covered the area as we crawled over the passes past the snowline and felt our ears pop as the road literally fell away down the mountain and we decended rapidly into a forgotten land.

Milford Sound itself comprises of a few small lodges one of which we stayed in which caters to the eco tourists who come to walk or cruise around this fiordland area. The superstar of the local wildlife here is the enquisitive Kea parrot which would steal your wallet as soon as look at you. A big beautful green bird, they have literally no fear and look at you as if to say..what the bloody hell are you doing in my back garden!

We spent a full day here in the mists of Milford cruising around the sound itself and getting up close and personal with a few really impressive waterfalls. One of them was called the dissappearing waterfall as the water was literally blown straight up in the air by the 50 km an hr gusting winds that battered the coastline.

Easily one of the most stunning places purely in terms of the scale of scenery we have seen on this trip.
]]> Adrenaline High — Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223977140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223977140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223977140/tpod.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:19:17 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Queenstown, a beautiful lakeside town, the home of the bungy and centre of the world if you are into anything to do with activities creating adrenaline.

We had a complete blast here as we visited the famous Minus 5 ice bar where we were provided with Parka Jackets and gloves and everything including our drinks glasses were made of ice.

We opted to push the boundaries of what our bodies could handle in very short time. We bungee jumped off the Kawarau Bridge after struggling with the nerves all morning. Enjoyed the experience, especially being collected by boat from the rope hanging upside down.

We took the opportunity to save money by doing a combo of activities all in the one day. The Canyon Swing was terrifying as we jumped backwards, had a freefall of 60 metres before accelerating to a top speed of 150kph as we swung over the shotover canyon. Superb. The shotover Jetboat ride was a highspeed race through narrow canyons barely missing walls and doing cool 360 degree turns.

We flew by helicopter to the top of the shotover canyon and joined a rafting tour as we learned the ropes of controlling a raft so we could navigate the class 5 rapids! We managed it but Salud fell off at one point as we took on the first rapids, so scary but we managed to rescue her and get her back on board and out of the freezing water.

Salud left Caroline and I to complete the last challenge...the Nevis Bungee at 134m is the highest in New Zealand. We both jumped, Caroline got to do it twice as they didn't film her jump the first time. What a rush; 8.5 seconds freefall from a capsule suspended between two mountains.

We really loved the experiences here but are also looking forward to giving our bodies some well needed rest.

]]> Icebergs Ahoy — Mt. Cook Village, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223715060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223715060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223715060/tpod.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:53:25 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Mt. Cook Village, South Island, New Zealand

Entering Mt Cook national park, passing the multitude of hydroelectric dams, salmon farms and snow tipped peaks gave us pause to contemplate just how bloody amazing the scenery in this country is. Many scenes from the lord of the rings movies were shot here in MacKenzie country and its easy to see why.

Our YHA was cosy, warm and the staff really friendly and we unpacked and geared up for a hike up to Kea point with views of Mt Cook, Mount Sefton and the Muller Glacier. Walking through the snow and mountain air, taking in the views and having the odd snowball fight is definately one of the best ways to spend an afternoon.

Between the skiing and all the walks in this alpine region can you believe that this Irish boy is starting to get a bit of colour (Well at least on my face lol)!!

The highlight of our trip to this region was without doubt the trip with Glacial explorers. We set off by lifeboat on the Tasman Valley lake to view the floating icebergs which were falling off the retreating tasman glacier. This is one of the few places in the world where you can get up close and personal with these ice monsters inland, at this altitude and in natural surroundings. We got absolutley soaked by the spray coming off the ice cold water and had great fun with the group as we all sang our national anthems with pride and gusto.
]]> Spa treatments and thermal pools — Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223541300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223541300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223541300/tpod.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:37:04 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand

On our way to Lake Tekapo we decided to take advantage of some spring sales and stock up on some cool Columbia jackets. We enjoyed the scenic drive through the mountains and visited the church of the good shepherd on the bank of the lake itself.

The Alpine spa with outdoor hot pools on the lake shore was divine and even more spectacular than usual as it started snowing while we were having a good soak.

We were fighting fit and all recovered from the few days skiing after a few relaxing massages and finished off our visit to this picturesque town with dinner in Pepe's Italian around a roaring fire.
]]> Springtime Skiing — Methven, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223367120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223367120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1223367120/tpod.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:21:27 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Methven, South Island, New Zealand

The drive up to Methven where we were staying was wonderfully scenic passing the Raikaka Gorge with the bluest ice melted water you've ever seen.

Unfortunately the first day we were supposed to ski was cancelled due to the strongest gale force winds they had all year that caused multiple trees to topple over and even blew a caravan off the road. We tried a little sightseeing but gave up, had a nice Thai dinner, caught a movie and retired to the safety of the lodge to ride out the storm.

Over the next two days we made the most of the skiing especially as the 5th Oct was our 7th wedding anniversary! Caroline stuck to the beginners slopes as it was her first time skiing, Salud went from strength to strength and I made it up to intermediate level five, just one away from advanced!

The views from the top of Mt Hutt were out of this world with multiple snow covered peaks in every direction.
We were lucky enough to be able to catch the exciting Peak to Pub race where the competitors skiied down the mountain, cycled from the summit to the base and ran the remaining 8km to the Blue Pub.

We were very sorry to leave the crisp and clear mountain air and continue our journey.
]]> So English Christchurch — Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222933740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222933740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222933740/tpod.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:59:07 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Flying into a new country always challenges you as you seek to understand the culture and get your feet. New Zealand was relatively painless after coming from Australia. First impressions of the kiwis are that they are a wonderfully welcoming and earnest people wanting to make sure you are completely at home in their country.

After spending nearly three months in Oz it was quite a relief to pay much less for much better quality accomodation. We explored Christchurch taking in the sights. The cathedral, the avon river and its punting boats, the old trams and even the odd red phonebox.

The street names were quite unexpected, with some of the major streets being Armagh, Belfast and Ballymena!

Our friend Caroline Currid arrived from Ireland and we all went along to a traditional Maori show which concentrated on telling the history of the Maori people through the medium of a full on storytelling extravaganza. The weather turned nasty and as the show was mainly outdoors they issued us with blankets and continued on. What professionals.We had a wonderful time at the show and chatting to the actors at the dinner which followed.

Next Up skiing in Mt Hutt!
]]> Sydney Central — Sydney, New South Wales, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222684320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222684320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ruairioc/magicaltrip2008/1222684320/tpod.html Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:46:58 -0400 This is it. The Big One. "There and back again" only this time in a non Tolkien Irish/Spanish style.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

If New York is the city that never sleeps then Sydney must come a close second; this city has it all, beaches, museums, parks, coastal walks, beautiful weather, the best bars and restaurants not to mention the myriad of world class sights on offer.

One of the highlights had to be the visit to the Opera house and the flamenco show by Sara Baras that we attended. This building is without doubt a marvel of modern architecture and justifiably is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Surrounded by the views of circular quay, the harbour bridge on one side and the stunning botanical gardens on the other you just end up standing there with your mouth open in awe of this impossibly beautiful setting.

From spectacular Darling Harbour, to buzzing Chinatown to the pounding beat of 24hr parties in Kings cross we explored and explored to our hearts content. So easy to get around too with monorail, subway, trains, buses and ferries all interlinked and running like clockwork. Jeez this sounds like an ad for the Sydney tourist office!

The public ferries gave us the chance to see lots of the coastal areas like the fishing village of Watsons bay and its beautiful walk to the lighthouse and a bit of an eyeful as we passed a nudist beach. Seriously it looked like the guys were all on a beach catwalk walking up and down modeling nothing more than hats!

On the opposite side of the bay the busy seaside town of Manly was in full swing the day we visited as the AFL final (like our all Ireland final) was on and the place was full of the usual celebrations and commiserations. The views of the bay and all the sailboats from North head was memorable.

Salud was delighted to be able to top up her tan on the famous Bondi beach before we head to cooler New Zealand. We were delighted to be able to catch up with our friend Shehara Gomes and her boyfriend Patrick a couple of times and they showed us a great time in their favourite nightspots in the oldest part of Sydney called the rocks and the very cool Oxford St.

We absolutely loved every minute of our time in Sydney.

]]>