Goodbye New Zealand, HELLO SYDNEY

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  Sydney, Australia
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

We have been in Australia for two hours and we have already checked into our room and, as this blog implies, found an internet cafe. Travelling from the airport to the hostel seems so much easier in any place that isn't LA. The money in Australia is very nice and colourful, but maybe a little stronger than the New Zealand dollar and so internet and other such necessities are a little more expensive. New Zealand is such a small country, in terms of its population and its towns. They all seem so small and dwarfed in comparison to Sydney. There are an abundance of sky scrapers here littering the sky, which there is a distinct lack of in New Zealand. And consequently Sydney now seems a bit big and scary, but I'm sure I will adjust. I was quite sad to leave New Zealand because it's so beautiful. The landscape is so diverse, from greyish volcanic mars-like scenery, to dense rainforests, gorgeous beaches, sulphur-dyed-yellow land with steaming vents, huge lakes, alpine mountains, the only thing it's really missing is a desert. There is however a ninety mile beach.

There's a lot we want to see in Australia, and a lot to watch out for. (New Zealand has very very very few poisonous things so we must get into the habit of checking our boots.) As soon as we got here we saw swarms of bats, very big bats, flying around over Sydney. Seeing new stuff is cool.

We raced around the south island getting to Christchurch in time. We have been getting buses everyday for the last week, getting up to make 7 /8 o'clock buses, so we shall enjoy a lie in tomorrow. I did however enjoy getting buses around New Zealand as the scenery / environment is constantly entertaining. I get itchy feet staying in the same place to long, so having just a day everywhere was ideal. Franz Josef was one of the coolest places on the south island. A huge glacier with an 8 hour walk up it, unfortunately we didn't have time for this walk (and a distinct lack of energy) but we did walk up to the glacier, and we investigated the cool rocks and the different waterfalls. The landscape is spectacular and very different from the Tongariro crossing (The long walk we did on the north island). Moteuka was also a really cool place, the down had a loverly feel to it. Our accommodation there was actually rated "The worst hostel in New Zealand" by one magazine, a fact that we only learned once we were there. If you are into a fully fitted brand new kitchen with no spiderwebs, this could rate as one of the worst. But the atmosphere and the people were fantastic, and I would definitely recommend it. I would ever say it was one of the best hostels for me. There is free laundry there, and camp sites are only about 3 British pound. We heard about a massive dance party that was happening a couple of days later, but we had to get to Christchurch. I am already excited about coming back to New Zealand.

I shall blog again tomorrow, when I have found my bearings and have eaten a large meal. I hope everyone is safe and well, lots of Love Bernie xxxxxxxxxxx

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