THe land of the long white cloud - New Zealand
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2008
1
30
40
Trip End
May 15, 2009
Auckland,
North Island,
New Zealand
Sunday, October 19, 2008
North Island
Sun 19th Oct - Auckland
Arrived after a very nice 3 hr flight. Sat next to a talkative Kiwi named Glenn but it sounded like Glynn (they pronounce their e's as i's). He filled me in on what to expect in NZ. The aircrew on board were all nice and friendly, liking these kiwis already even if they do take the piss. I only asked for a white wine, apparently over here you need to know what sort, I got the answer of "you pommes don't know much about wine eh!!) and then it was very ENGLISH of me to ask for tea instead of coffee!!
Jo met me at the airport and took me straight to the bar that Camiile works in some eveings. We had a bot of a feed and some wine (again they offer you about 10 diff sorts of white wine, I need to work on my wine knowledge) and it cost about $40 (15 quid so pretty cheap considering I had 3 glasses of wine).
We got back to Jo and I was introduced to her mum, Rosemary, spritely 70 yr old, dogs Gracie and Walter and the three cats, Bella, Jasper and deaf old Katy.
Mon 20th Oct
Jo gave me a lift into downtown Auckland where she works. I made my way up to the Magic Bus office. I decided to do a tour of the islands by bus and this one was recommended to me by two sets of people. I booked to start my tour on the Weds. Afterwards I took the ferry across to Waiheke island (40 mins away). THe weather was just right nice and sunny. The view from the ferry of Auckland was pretty good and you can see the Sky Tower and the harbour bridge (pretty much the same as the Sydney one). Once on the island which only has a pop of 8000 people I hoped on a little bus tour. It took us all around the island which is all pretty much vineyards, if I had had more time I would have done a wine tour.
We went out for a drink with Camille on the eveing, more wine and I think I'm getting better at ordering it.
Tues 21 Oct
Jo went off early this morning to the gym (6am!) I was going to go but I woke up with such a bad head so had a lie in. Once I managed to get up I went into the city on the train, its about a 30 min journey. Had a bit of a walk around a bought myself a rain/wind proof jacket as its still pretty chilly here and the warmest thing i have is a hoody!
Weds 22Oct - On the Magic Bus
Had to catch the bus in the city at 7.30am (first of many early starts). Today we made our way down to Rotorua. We stopped off at Mt Eden to catch the view of Auckland which is known as the city of sails as 3 out of 4 people own a boat. We then headed to Waitomo to see some caves. THe caves were pretty much like caves I've seen before but then we went on a little boats through them and saw glow worms...these were pretty cool as there were thousands of them lighting up the cave ceiling. Some people went tubing in another part of the cave but I didn't fancy getting wet on the first day.
We got into Rotorua about 5.30pm. Rotorua is a geothermal area which means the earth's crust is very thin and there are pools of hot water around, steam coming from the ground and bubbling pools of mud. It is of great importance to the Maori's because many came to live here in the winter as it was too cold in other parts of the north island. It also SMELLS a lot. A real eggy sulphur smell, apparently you get used to it!
In the evening we went along to a Maori Cultural Show. We were greeted in the Maori way (Haka etc) and then walked round a what would have been a typical maori village back in the day. We were then treated to a Hangi meal which is mneat and veg cooked over hot rocks all day. It was delish and was all you can eat so all the backpackers made use of that.
Back at the hostel it was straight to bed for me as I didn't know anyone else there. Hostelling felt really strange to me and something I would have to get used to. Sharing a room with complete strangers was an experience in the beginning.
Thurs 23 Oct - Taupo
Earlish start to the day. On the way we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu a geothermal area and watched Lady Knox's geyser go off. The water from this geyser is about 300 degrees so no putting your hand in! We had the chance to go round the rest of the park which has hot pools and vivid mud pools but I was too lazy amd it was raining. I don;t walk around in the rain. I got talking to 3 irish girls off the bus, 2 of them had been working over here in Christchurch since may and the other was a friend from home visitng them.
We stopped off at Huka Falls whcih throws over 200,000 litres of water each second. A couple of people went jet boating on it whilst the rest of us watch Audrey (irish girl) do this big rope swing thing which was similar to a bungy. Our bus driver, Dave, did it too.
We got to Taupo around 3ish. Taupo lake is bigger than Singapore and is about 160 kms (100 miles) around and is the largest lake in NZ. Jo is riding around it at the end of Nov for charity, oh and its really hilly around here too!
Didn't do much here other than go to the supermarket for some food as I will be cooking for myself most days in the hostel. Got talking to a scottish pair, Lorna and Paul, from the bus which was cool. Got to know a few others too as we all went to the pub for a drink.
I shared a room with the irish girls which was cool.
Fri 24 Oct - Taupo to Wellington (capital)
It was quite a drive to Wellington and we got in about 4ish, so we didn't really get a chance to do much. Staying in the heart of the city in a 6 bed dorm at least I wasn't on my own. Elizabeth a german girl off the bus was in my room. We decided to walk to the museum, Te Papa, which was free to get in always good when you're travelling. It is a very modern museum with loads to see, Maori stuff, nature, art and earthquake stuff. Wellington has experience a number of earthquakes over the years and they are wiaing for the next one to hit. They have gone past the date by about 100yrs so far so it could hit anytime.
El;izabeth and I hit the bar next door to get some cheap foos, shepherds pie yumyum and two for one drinks..always good. Met up with Paul and Lorna and ended up staying on the bar till midnight a little worse for wear.
Sat 24th Oct - Wellington - Picton (sth island) - Nelson
This is where you catch the ferry to the south island. We made our own way there courtesy of the shuttle bus from the hostel. The ferry terminal is like an airport, you check your bags in and everything, very impressive. I thought we would have to cart out backpacks around with us for the whole of the three hour crossing.
We (Paul, Lorna and Danny (english lad)) made ourselves comfy in the ferry's cafe area. We ventured onto the deck every now and again to see what was about but it was pretty cold and windy up there. It was good to see land after three hours.
The bus met us the otherside in Picton. So it was a new bus driver for us, Cam. He was a pretty cool chap. We were then on our way down the west coast of the south island to Nelson. The west coast is not very populated as it is cold and rains quite a lot.
We made it into Nelson in time for Elizabeth, Paul and Lorna to skydive. No way I was doing it!!. They got back absolutely full of it. They said it was a really awesome experience. Not sure Lorna would do it again but Paul definitely would. We were supposed to meet Danny for a drink but they didn't get back from skydiving til late so we stood him up ...sorry mate. Paul and I had a bit of a wander around later but it seemed a pretty small place with a few bars which seemed to be real quiet. We got back to find Lorna had a made a new friend, Paula (another Irish) who was going to be on the bus in the morning..cool the more the merrier.
Sunday 26th October - Nelson to Greymouth
Headed down to the very small town of Greymouth. To get there we drove through one of the more remote, rugged and most sparsely populated parts of the country. We went through the Paparoa National Park and visited the famous Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. Cam found out on the way that Greymouth's main street was closed for there annual motobike street race. We got there early so we could watch some of the racing. We checked into our Hostel, Neptunes, which is run by an ex magicbus driver, Steve. When we got there he wasn't around, he was watching the racing. When he did materialise he was half cut. Always a good start. The hostel was pretty cool though, single beds, no bunks!! and it was practically empty.
Paul, Paula, Danny and I went off to do a tour of the local brewery, Monteiths and left Lorna behind, she doesn't like beer. She went for a run instead. The tour itself was pretty boring until we got into the bar. We were like a bunch of highly excitable kids at the prospect of having a 'piss up in a brewery'!! We got to tast all the beers they brew, some nicer than other, and then a chance to pour several of our own. Danny and I were useless, too much head LOL. After we stopped laughing so much it was off to the local pub for a BBQ. Well as many sausages in bread you can eat and a free pint. As the racing had been on the pub was pretty full with bikers and colourful locals, they are like the hillbillies you get in the US. All very funny.
Mon 27th Oct - Greymouth - Franz Josef
Cam and Steve looked a little worse for wear from the previous night. What a night my stomach hurt from laughing so much. On our way to Franz Josef (Glacier county) we stopped off in Ross an old goldmining town. There is still gold beneath the town and they have been offered money several times to move the town so the seam can be tapped but have so far refused. Apparently it is about $700 mill dollars worth below them. Paul, Paula and Danny tried there hand at gold panning. We headed further south throughthe Westland National Park, an area containing numerous scenic lakes, dense forests, many of the Southern Alps highest peaks and two amazing accessible glaciers.
I was just going to do a half day glacier hike as it was the cheapest and i was only staying the one night. However, Cam said that it really wasn't worth the money and that we'd be diappointed in it if we did it. He said the Heli-Hike was much better and pretty amazing. He's pretty much done all the activities that are on offer on the South Island so Paul and I took him up on his recommendation. It was $360 NZ which is about 120 quid so not cheap but sounded well worth it. UNfortunately by the time we got into FJosef the weather wasn't great and the chance of us going up was unlikely but we should go to the office anyway. Paula and Lorna went for a wander as they were staying a couple of extra nights to do ice climbing and full day treks and Danny went off Quad biking.
Paul and I reached the office and we were in luck they were going to go up after all and it was going to be a small group of 6 instead of 22! We got ready in some boots and jackets they supplied us with and then it was into the helicopter. What an awesome sight seeing the moutnains and glacier from a helicopter. We landed on the glacier and were met by our guide, Troy. Mr Interpid himself adventure skier extrodinair and tramper (walking for days in the bush etc). Well we went through a little bit of training, how to use an ice axe and how to put the crampons (ice spikes) onto our boots. The glacier is so impressive, it is very blue in places and moves up to 7 metres a day. We could hear it creaking and parts of it falling, it sounded like thunder. It was all so dazzling as it was sunny and clear blue skies all the way. The hiked around the glacier for just under 3 hours, some of the bits were quite challenging but great fun, trying to avoid the big puddles of fairly deep water only covered by a thin layer of ice. Finally we had to get back in the helicopter and back down to earth.
We went around to Danny's hostel for the evening. All of Danny's accom was pre-booked so he had to stay in YHAs whereas the rest of us could pick and choose where we wanted to stay. The YHA was great, they had a big warm fire which we sat in front of all night playing cards and eating crisps and dips. We also met Tom who Danny had met previously in Nelson.
Tues - Fri 28th - 31st Oct - Queenstown
Early start as its quite a trek to Quenstwon. We headed inland way from the west coast via Haast and Makarora, the scenery changed from dense forest to vast plateaus as we entered the Central Otago region. We made a quick stopin Wanaka which apparently is like Queenstown but smaller and more chilled out. Loads of adventure stuff to do here and a really nice lake, we wished we had stayed here a night. We then stopped off at the Hackett Bungy, Kawarau bridge, 42 metres over the Kawarau river. We had a couple of irish lads we didn't know do it. Not my cup of tea. Paul and Lorna explained to me that you can detach your retinas by bungying and are more at risk if you are short sighted, which i am. They should know as they are opticians!! Thats my excuse and I am sticking to it!! We then headed into Queentown, adventure capital of NZ.
Paul and I were staying 4 nights so we could meet back up with Lorna but Danny could only stay for 2. I stayed with Charis who I met at the wildlife centre in Thailand last year. Lucky me no more dorms for a few days.
Charis met me off the bus and we headed back to hers to meet the animals, Chihuaha Sniff and two cats and her flatmate Adrian. Charis' boyfriend, Wlat, was in Auckland with work. We spent the evening drinking wine and catching up.
Wednesday - Paul, Danny and I went on a trip to Milford Sound. This trip took us alongside lakes Wakatipu and Te Anau and through Fiordland National Park, whilst passing incredible scenery. We left a very sunny Queenstown to hit rain and then snow. To get to Milford you have to go through a long tunnel we stopped just by that to take pictures of some native birds, Keas. These are Alpine parrots. I would never have imagined I would be taking pics of parrots in the snow. These birds are very inquisitive and like to ripped things apart, a bit like the monkeys at Longleat. They like to sit on cars and pull bits off. It was cool to be out in the snow. We were also in a pretty high risk avalanche zone but as it was almost summer the risk was minimal. Through the otherside of the tunnel it was raining...bit like being at home. The roads around here are so windey going up and down throught the mountains. We finally got down into Milford to hop on a boat. We met Tom (from FJ) here so he joined our merry little band. Milford sound is supposed to be stunning, you see waterfalls, dolphins, seals and penguins. Well it was windy and very wet and cold. We saw waterfalls thought the rain and a couple of seals and one solitary penguin, a pretty diappointing boat ride. We finally got back to Queenstown about 8pm and it was time to say goodbye to Danny as he was leaving in the morning to head north.
Met Charis for dinner along with some of her work colleagues. We went to a very nice italian restaurant where I treated myself to a 3 hour cooked steak of local beef. It was cooked perfectly and was helped down by a couple of cheeky glasses of wine.
Thursday
I walked in from Charis' which took me about 40 mins to meet Paul for lunch. We went to Fergburger for a famous burger. Probably the best burger I have ever tasted and for less than 4 quid. Proper home made pattie which you could taste..mmm mmmm. We then headed up to the skyline where you take a gondala (sm cable car) up to the top of a mountain. The ride up was pretty spectacular and the views were magnificent of Queenstown and the lake. We then went luging, little carts you sit in and go down a course. Great fun for all big kids, we could have done it all day. My driving skills were pretty good, i didn't crash once!!
Friday
Spent the morninf updatinf facebook with my pics. Charis managed to finish work early and we took sniff for a walk up Mt Crichton. THe walk was 2 hours in all and was pretty steep in places. I was ashamed at how out of shape I was. Really determined now to hit the gym when I hit Buenos Aires for those 10 weeks. We rewarded our efforts by having a couple of pints of the micro brewed beers of Dux Lux. Their Uncle Tom, alcoholic ginger beer is very moorish.
Sat 1 Nov - Queenstown to Dunedin
I managed to get picked up by Charis' to save going into QT and then back out again. Hadf a dreadful feeling that I would be forgotten. Pick up time was the same time as when the buses to Milford went past and all the buses look the same. I didn't need to worry as they remembered me. We had a new bus driver, Duncan, a chap full of the joys of spring not!!We drove through Central Otago to the Dunedin, Edinburgh of the south. It is primarily a university town. To be pretty honest for a saturday it was really quiet and didn't have a lot going on. Paul and I found a supermarket and Lorna and I took some pics of a couple of churches, the railway station and the town hall! Not s lot to do. We did have a look around the art gallery where I was told off for taking a pic of an exhibit and then had my water confiscated. That's about as exciting as it got. Not sure why they stop here really.
Sun 2 Nov - Dunedin - Lake Tekapo
We started the day by walking up the steepest street in the world and it's pretty steep. We then drove to the Moeraki Boulders. These huge great rocks are scattered across the beach and are renowned for their unique spherical shape. We had fun trying to climb them for pics. We then stopped off to buy provisions for a bus bbq, which duncan looked ecstatic about. We arrived at Lake Tekapo mid afternnon. We took the couple of miles walk to this little quaint church which overlooks the lake. Normally you can go in and see the lake through a pretty cool church window but it was locked when we got there.
We got the BBQ started as there was no sign of Duncan who turned up 40 mins late! It was good to meet the people off the bus as more people got on at QT as some people stayed longer. Met a couple of english women, Julie and Abi.
Mon 3rd Nov - Tekapo - Christchurch
We drove around the foothills of the Southern Alps. They still have snow on the top. I always smile when I see mountains with snow on top I think its pretty neat. We got into Christchurch about lunchtime so plenty of time to explore. Lorna and I walked into town and left Paul to have a nap (he didn't sllep the night before but neither did we because of it!! bless). We bumped into Julie and Abi and explored with them. Went round the church, St Pauls, that the third st Pauls I been in since leaing home, can they not be more original. Took a walk around the art gallery, much better than Dunedins!! and walked through the parks. Lorna, Julie and I decided to just chill out in the park in the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon.
It was a sad night as I was leaving Lorna and Paul in Christchurch. They were due to fly to Oz the following day. I've had heaps of fun with them and would miss them loads.
Tues 4th Nov - Christchurch - Kaikoura
Got on the bus and saw Abi so we sat togther to Kaikoura. I decided to stay in the YHA with Abi as I didn't know anyone else. We stopped on the way to Kaikoura at a seal colony. They were just lazing around on the rocks and in the carpark! This is the place to get your fix of marine wildlife. Abi and I went off whale watching. No-one told us it was a 2 mile walk from the hostel! We panicked our way there thinking we were going to miss our boat only to find that it didn't sail for another half and hour anyway. This is whale and dolphin territory so we were very excited. We spotted our first sperm whale within 15 mins of leaving shore. What a sight to see a whale dive with its tail up in the air. We also saw lots of different types of Albatrosses which I was happy about. THey are absolutely huge. We went looking for another whale as there are usually 5 resident male sperm whales. We didn;t have much luck so we headed back to where our first whale dived and ther he was again on the surface...magnificant. We saw 4 dusky dolphins too and a colony of fur seals but that was it. We went for a late lunch of .....you guessed it fish and chips with some other people from our bus who were on the boat.
Weds 5th Nov - Kaikoura - Picton - Wellington
Well cheery Duncan was late picking us up! We headed north and inland today to Picton through the wine country of Marlborough and Blenheim before getting to Picton. I got to meet Simon who Abi had met on a previous leg of the journey. The ferry crossing was pretty uneventful other than watching the results of the US election come in.
We had to get our own way from the ferry to the hostel which wasn't too great. Thank god for helpful bus drivers that's all I can say. We finally found our way to the YHA. Well I stayed here as Danny and Abi said it waqs like a hotel well my room wasn't. 6 bed dorm with 4 guys..mm nice :0( at leasy I wasn;t the only girl, Doris from the bus was in there. The guys actually turned out to be pretty cool. Abi and I had arranged to meet Simon for a drink on the wharf as it was firework night. It was a bloddy freezing night when you are not packed for the cold. We met Simon and a busy pub on the wharf and he bought along Jack who he had met in Kaikoura. We had a few pints and watched the fireworks. The display was very impressive but we soon headed back afterwards out of the cold.
Thurs 6th Nov Wellington - Napier
Napier is an art deco city (small) which was flattened by an earthquake in the 1930s. We arrived around 3ish. Abi and I were keen to go to a winery and the bus driver, youngjoeyoung, told us that we could hire some bikes to get to them. Well he was wrong but the women at our hostel was really helpful. So we ended up getting on a bus and then had to walk for half an hour to get there to taste and be back gfor the bus at 4.50pm a bit of a tall order. We managed to get to the first winery about 4.15pm and down four titchy wine tasters. The wine was nice so we treated ourselves to a cheeky bottle to have with our dinner. We really wanted to go to the next one but we were really short of time. Luckily for us a realy kind taxi driver gave us a lift there for free it was real close and he was originally from Blackburn so felt a little affiliation with us. This place was just really a shop for the vineyard but the staff there were really nice and gave us 6 wines to try rather than the obligatory 4. We ended up however missing our bus. Robin who served us saw us waiting and gave us a lift back to napier which was the opposite direction as she didnīt want a couple of girls waiting on their own. Girls...LOL So I think that ther was some good karma coming back to us there.
Friday 7th Nov Napier-Taupo
Decided to stay a night in Taupo as I really wanted to skydive and this is the cheapest place and one of the best places. I left Abi on the bus to go to Mt Maunganui. Jack, Liz and I were the only ones to stay in Taupo. The weather wasnīt great so it looked like I wouldnīt be able to jump. However once the rain had stopped I went to venture out for a bit of a walk when I spotted the skydiving companyīs car outside the hostel....they were going to jump so off I went. We picked up another three brits who were driving aroung NZ together on the way. I wasnīt sure I was doing the right thing but when in NZ you have to do these things. We decided to do the 15000ft jump instead of the 12000 it was dearer but it is the highest youcan jump commercially and gives you 60 seconds of free fall. Was real nervous going up in the plan but my tandem partner was a cool and hot brazilian named jonathan and he tried to make me feel less nervous. We were strapped together really tight..havenīt been that close to a guy for sometime LOL. Well it came to my turn ( I was second!!) and by this point you donīt have a choice about jumping because you are no longer in control of your body you partner is....so we are sat on the edge of the plane and Iīm thinking shiiiiiitttttt!!!! and then we are out, well tumbling out!! The free fall was an amazing experience Iīm not sure I will ever feel that buzz again in my life. You canīt breathe very well which is a little scary but is overshadowed by a real sense of euphoria. Then he pops the shute and shoot up in the air. We got a great view of the lake and as the weather was really clear we saw the eastern and western side of the island. We then landed on our feet no less....i thought I would land on my arse..we all know what my co-ordination is like!! I had definitely earned a few pints that night!! So Jack and I went to the pub to celebrate me surviving the jump. (photos on facebook)
8-10 November - Rotorua
Liz, Jack and I came here on the way to Mount Maunganui. We had to stay 2 nights to coincide with the bus schedule. I ended up staying an extra day.
The people who run the hostel we stayed at were really friendly and helpful. The gave us loads of info on things to do whilst in Rotorua and seem to really enjoy having people to stay with them rather than seeing them as paying guests. Liz and I just mentioned betweenh us about wanting another tattoo and Chris (hodtel guy) told us about a Maori guy who designed personal ones and did we want to go and see him. So off we went to meet Jason. His wife asked some questions and took some notes and said he would be round that evening with them. Well he came that night with mine which took him pretty much all afternoon to do and it was amazing (see pics on facebook) So I agreed with him to get it done on Monday.
On the Sunday I went white water rafting down a river with Grade V rapids (highest you can commercially raft). The guides were all pretty cool...a bunch of dudessssssss. The group rafting were 18 french language students and me....oh what joy!!! There were six of us in our raft and it was guided by Wade who was real nice. I was really worried about smacking his head with my paddle but I managed not to do this even though the girl sat behind me didnīt manage to not smack me!! The rapids were cool but I suppose nothing could compare to my skydive.
Monday I said goodbye to Jack and Liz who were off to Mt Munganui. I would meet Jack there on Tuesday afternoon. Liz had her tattoo done on the Sunday evening but had to have it coloured in on Monday morning and then it was my turn. You can see the pics on facebook......yes it bloody hurt.....never again!!
That evening Paula who I travelled with for a bit the previous week was joined me in Rotorua on her way back down the south of the north island. It was so good to see her again as I didnīt get a chance to say goodbye in Queenstown.
Tuesday - Paula and I just wandered around the parks and thermal areas before I headed off to Mt Maunganui.
The drive to Mt Maunganui was only about 2 hours and there were only 2 of us on the bus..oh and the driver.
We got to the Mt quite early so it gave me a chance to meet up with Jack and we took a walk around the bottom of the mount which was really pretty. The weather was really good and the beach is pretty nice. We went to an irish pub that night as they had an open jam session on. The music was pretty good and they had good cider, four pints was probably not the right amount to drink though as I had a bad head. I stayed 2 nights here and spent the next day at the beach. It wasnīt too hot....got njice and brown again!! Jack was staying a few more nights so on Thursday I left him there and headed back to Auckland to see Jo.
Friday - 14th November Auckland - Paihia
Jo, me and her friend Kylie went off to Paihia (Bay of islands) for the weekend. This is further north than Auckland. We hoped that the weather would be really good so we could take a boat trip and swim with the dolphins but the weather wasnīt good on the Saturday so we took the ferry to Russell which was NZīs original capital city. It was really small but quite cute. We cooked ourselves a great meal and washed it down with a couple of bottles before heading to a local bar for a a few more drinks. Another bad head in the morning. Sunday we headed off as I was leaving to go to Santiago, Chile, that evening. We stopped on the way to visit an old family friend of Joīs who lost her sun in February. She was so welcoming and friendly that it was a shame we couldnt stay for lunch.
