New Zealand

Friday the 12th of March

Well we have arrived in New Zealand safe and sound after a 13 hour flight from Santiago which was suprisingly ok. We were welcomed in the airport with a free cup of tea and a free boot clean which was rather nifty. I think the boot clean was not really meant for my advantage but rather for foot and mouth and other nasties. I did ask the guy to clean my trainers too but he wasn't having any of it. We did however have to declare all sorts of natural products that we had in our bags as being caught even with an apple can supposedly land you with a 200 dollar fine. It is well strict!

The first thing we noticed as we arrived in this new land was the friendlyness of the people. They really are very helpful, hospitable and generous. The second thing we noticed was that this county was so much more expensive than South America and it is going to take some getting used to. For instance we have just come from our own cabin in Chile with our own kitchen and privacy and now we share a kitchen with about a million other people and also a bathroom. It really will take some getting used to. The third thing I noticed was that society here seems so ordered and civilized. For instance there are a million rules and regulations to guide people around in their regular business. Riding a bike without a helmet can land you with a 50 dollar fine. Back in our hotel there are about a million rules to go by and well today in the shower I decided to rebel and stay in for longer than the stipulated 5 minutes. Boy I can see why all the Kiwis flee for a bit of independence to Sydney and London etc etc.
Lou

Friday the 12th of March

Well Lou has already told you that we have arrived safe and sound, now I will just fill you in with what we have been doing.

We arrived into Auckland, which although is twice the size of London has only one ninth of the population. It was quite nice as unlike London you could walk around without dopey tourists getting in your way. Obviously the locals would probably disagree as I was wondering around and being dopey and getting in their way! After a couple of days in Auckland we decided to head up to the north of the country, to the Bay Of Islands, where we are currently.

The Bay Of Islands was named by Cook, I am guessing because it is a bay with loads of islands? It seems that everywhere in New Zealand has adventure sports and here is certainly no exception. The list is endless with paragliding, snorkling, jet sking, parachuting...... and so on. Yesterday we shuned the adventure sports and instead headed for a tramp (no not a homeless bearded chap, it is New Zealand slang for a hike) into the mangrove forests, we were hoping to spot a Kiwi bird but I think my heavy footedness runined any chances of that. Today we got a bit more daring and rented a couple of kayaks. We then headed off around the islands to explore, at one point I decided to jump in for a swim which was probably not the best idea. Mainly as with the waves I then spent the next 20 minutes swimming after my kayak. Tomorrow should be the best day so far as we are off to swim with the dolphins, however I will have to fill you in on that another time as my money for the internet is about to run out.

Tuesday the 16th of March

Oh how the mighty have fallen. In 3 months we have plumated from 4 star luxury to staying in a caravan. When I say caravan I do not want you picturing a nice big thing with its own bathroom, I want you to instead imagine a garden shed on wheels with nothing but a bed and not enough head room for me to stand up in. It is definately fair to say that after the relative luxury that our budget afforded us in South America, New Zealand has brought us back to to earth with a bump. Hotels with on suite bathrooms, tv's, towels and space are all a thing of the past and we have entered the backpackers zone. In all honesty it is not really that bad and the rooms are all clean, it just takes some getting used to having to share the bathroom with 50 other people.

Well on Saturday we headed off around the Bay Of Islands to swim with the dolphins as planned. I think somebody forgot to tell the dolphins however, as after a whole days sailing we did not even see one never mind swim with any. Although the dolphins were not playing ball we still had a lovely day cruising around the islands. At lunch we dropped anchor off one of the islands and then jumped overboard to do a bit of snorkling before heading back onboard for a nice BBQ lunch. Then it was time to head back to the mainland, on the way back I decided to try my hand at fishing. I am pleased to say that I did manage to hook something, I am not so pleased to say it was my own hand.

On Sunday we left Piahia and travelled back down to Auckland before then heading onto Rotorua. Rotorua is roughly in the middle of the North Island and is said to have more tourists than anywhere else in New Zealand. It is famed for it's hot springs and gysers, which produce vast quantities of smoke and look quite good. The down side is the fact that they have quite high sulphur contents which means that half of Rotorua stinks of rotten eggs. Again like everywhere in New Zealand the list of activities is mind bogling. Yesterday we decided to walk out to Agro Park which has bungy jumping and various other hair raising activities. We decided to have a go at zorbing which is climbing inside a giant inflatable ball with a couple of gallons of water inside and then rolling down a big hill (see below.) It was quite a giggle but at $40 it was a bit expensive.

I think the plan is to spend St Patricks day here and then travel down to Wellington the following day. I am not sure if travelling the day after St Patricks day is going to happen or will my hangover have other ideas?

Friday the 19th of March

Belated Patrick’s Day or Happy St Patrick’s day to those still celebrating! We had a good day and started with a game of golf, well Ruairi did any how, I was just the caddy but it was ok. Then we went to the Rotorua museum which was the old bath house. You see Rotorua is located in a geo-thermal area. In the past the naturally heated water was used to cure many disorders and diseases, and people still swear by it now. It was quite interesting to see the old pipes under the ground and see the lists of diseases the hot mineral water and mud was said to cure from alcoholism to arthritis.

Well after our cultural day we headed to the pubs and got a bit drunk. Even though were in New Zealand the pub atmosphere could easily have been Kilburn down at McGovern’s. There was an Irish band on and I eventually started Irish dancing. I impressed the band who actually thought I could really Irish dance and they changed the song they were going to play to a jig and the stage cleared for moi! It was so funny and even though I could not Irish dance to save my life and dressed in my hiking boots I managed to fool the band and audience alike. Many congratulated me, I was well chuffed with my 'elf!! See ya, Lou x

Wednesday the 24th of March

Kia ora everybody, that’s hello is Maori just incase you were wondering. Well it has been about a week since my last entry so I have a fair bit you fill you in on. We left Rotorua, on Thursday as planned and traveled down to the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. Although it is the capital its population is a mere 200,000, which means that there is not that much hustle and bustle which is great. We decided to only spend a couple of days in Wellington as we have been told that the south island is nicer, so on Saturday we jumped on the ferry and headed south.

The ferry docked at a small town called Picton and it seemed that everybody else off the ferry either jumped straight onto a connecting bus or drove straight off. As Lou and I had not booked a bus we were forced to stay the night in Picton, this ended up being a blessing in disguise and Picton was lovely, so much so we stayed there for two nights in the end. Lou liked it so much that she thinks it has been her favorite place so far in New Zealand. After a couple of relaxed days in Picton we traveled down the east coast of the south island to a place called Kaikoura.

Kaikoura is famous for its whale watching so yesterday we went on a whale tour. After the last trip to see dolphins in the Bay Of Islands and the fact that on that trip we did not see a thing, I was not really expecting much. My expectations were further lowered by the people who ran the tour saying that there was only one whale spotted and he was heading out to sea. The company offered 80% of your money back if you failed to see whales so Lou and I thought at the worst it will at least be a nice trip on a boat.

Unfortunately we were wrong about the nice boat trip, as this trip was anything but nice and bouncing over giant waves at 25 knots is conducive to becoming reacquainted with your breakfast. Although the mild nausea was soon forgotten as the spotter airplane told us that they had spotted a whale. After a brief search by the captain, in which he used a speaker in the water to listen for the whale, the boat stopped and we were told that the sperm whale was directly below us. As sperm whales can stay under water at great depths for over two hours the fact that we were over him still did not mean we would get to see him. So there we were standing on the deck twiddling our thumbs when suddenly this giant of a creature bobbed up to the surface. What a magnificent sight it was, blowing water through his blow hole and occasionally lifting his head up to get a better look at us. Then just as suddenly has he had arrived and with a flick of his giant tail, he was gone. At that point everybody was quite excited and I think that the general consensus was that we had spotted our one whale and that was it. The whales on the other hand had different ideas and within half an hour we had another two visits from another two whales. Both arriving and disappearing as suddenly as the first. Well when the captain said that time was up and we were heading back I don’t think anybody could have any complaints as three sperm whales surpassed most of our expectations. So we all sat back and got ready for the choppy ride back although this time we did not even get a chance to feel sea sick as suddenly flying out of the water and flipping in the air was a group of dusky dolphins. We were then accompanied along by about twenty dolphins zooming along in front of the boat and occasionally leaping out of the water. By the time I reached shore I could truly say that the trip was some of the best money I had spent on the whole journey so far!

Well today we left Kaikoura and are currently in Christchurch but don’t worry I will bore you with Christchurch another time as after labouring through all of this I am sure you want to stop reading and even if you don’t, I want to stop writing as I am going boss-eyed staring at the screen.

Sunday the 28th of March

I now know why the west coast of the south island is under-populated, with the largest town having a population of only 13,000, the weather is rubbish. But in it's defense the landscape is fantastic, if you can see it through the clouds.

Well we spent a couple of days in Christchurch, which was an unremarkable two days in an unremarkable city. But then we jumped onto a bus to cross the southern Andes and onto some of the most amazing scenery we have seen so far. We travelled through Greymouth (the largest town) and then headed down to Franz Josef. Franz Josef is a tiny little town on the edge of a glacier with the same name. The night we arrived it was pouring down so we decided to get an early night so as to be fresh to climb up the glacier the following day. After a noisey night (rain on an iron roof!) we awoke to yet more rain and promptly went straight back to bed. On re-awakeing at 11.00am the rain had passed and blue skies were abound so Lou and I packed our bags and headed off for the glacier. Thirty minutes outside of town, yep you guesssed it, the heavens opended again. However Lou and I being seasoned travelers were prepared, so we doned the waterproofs and remained on course for the galcier. We then spent the next three hours hiking up a mountain, which involved three rope bridges and crossing twelve streams, before finally reaching the glacier. But boy was it worth it, as lumps of ice go, this was a good one. However after about ten minutes the cold started setting in and with every finger that I lost feeling in, the view become slightly less impressive, so Lou and I decided to start on the three hour hike back. What a hike it was! We had hail stones, lighting, thunder, a twisted ankle (mine) and a very wet walk home. Surfice to say when we finally arrived back at the hostel we were both soaked through, so much for water proofs, and very tired but all in all it was definately worth it.

Well today we moved on from Franz and headed 23km down the coast to Fox Glacier, yep it is a glacier and nope I don't know if that is what the mints are named after. With stiff legs and soar knees but with clear skys and sun, we decided today to walk out to Lake Matheson, with views of Mount Cook.

After all of this walking I have had enough, so tomorrow I have decided to jump out of an airplane instead. Please do not worry Tom and Louise, your daughter is the brains of the outfit and shall be watching me from the ground. So at 8.45am tomorrow I will be falling from 15,000 feet at a speed of 120mph. If this is my last entry then please if your ever in New Zealand head down to Fox Glacier and the Ruairi shaped hole to pay your respects. Now I am off as Lou and I have Gloworm caves to visit.

Wednesday the 31st of March

Well to those of you who like me, you will all be relieved and happy that I have survived jumping from a plane. For those of you who don’t like me, unlucky!

I can honestly say hand on heart that skydiving was one of the greatest things I have ever done. After the terrible rain and hail a couple of days before, I awoke on the morning of the jump to perfectly clear blue skies and headed over to the airport. We took off at 8.15am and headed up and over Mount Cook and the glacier, which in it’s self was amazing, skimming over the snow capped mountains in a tiny plane. Then we looped around and headed back whilst climbing to an altitude of 12,000 feet, then it was time to jump. This was the only time that I was nervous during the whole jump, the reason I was so nervous was due to the fact that before jumping I had to swing out of the plane and drop down. You are then meant to hang there (attached to the instructor) until he gets into position and then you jump. Now the reason I was nervous was I was twice the size of the instructor and I was fairly sure that when I swung myself out of the plane I would drag him out with me and we would both fall out against the wheels or wing supports. Thank god this did not happen and there I hung with my whole body dangling out of a plane 12,000 feet above the ground and then whoosh we were off. The first 10 seconds are the best as you tumble around in the air watching the airplane getting smaller and the ground and sky changing places. Then you get into the correct position and start your freefall. I can’t really explain what falling through the air at 125mph feels like, suffice to say it was one the strangest sensations I have ever experienced. After about 45 seconds of freefall the shot opens and you lose all feeling in your genitals! Before you starting thinking, god he really must have enjoyed it, this is due to the harness attached around your crotch rather than any other sensation. From there it is a gentle parachute ride down to the ground. It was such fun that I will definitely do it again on this trip.

Well after the skydiving we decided to take a walk up to the Fox Glacier, although much the same as Franz Josef the weather was considerably better and we were able to get a lot closer. After such a fun packed day I thought the only fitting end would be to go to the pub so I could bore Lou senseless by talking about the skydive for 3 hours.

We left Fox Glacier yesterday and headed down to Wanaka where we are now, which is very nice but due to the fact the cash machines don’t work we are slightly limited in what we can do. Tomorrow we are off to Queenstown, which should be great as I plan on doing to the biggest bungy jump in NZ. Anyway really must go now as I really don’t have the money to stay on here, that is also the reason for lack of photos, but I will get them sorted once we get to a working cash machine.

Monday the 5th April

Just a quick entry to say our time is nearly spent in New Zealand and we are off today to Austrailia or Sydney to be more precise. I found one month not really long enough to explore all of what New Zealand had to offer, as the landscapes are so varied. However on the other hand I am glad to be going to pastures new and see what all the fuss about Oz is about.

Our last few days in New Zealand was spent in Queenstown, home of adventure sports and the first bungy apparently. Speaking of bungys I will let Ruairi tell you about that although I do have a bit to offer as I went along as a spectator, and boy was the bus ride alone enough to scare me! Let alone the performance of having to get into a harness just to go along into the pod suspended between two mountains over a river, that was designed especially for the ridiculously high jump. Now you may realise just why I did not jump, as although the place had a 100% safety record, I still did not want to feel like I was falling to my death. Queenstown is a top destination in NZ but we didn't really do much. You see I really wanted to go parasailing, where your strapped to the back of a speed boat with a parachute to glide you along, but unfortunately due to the weather being windy and subsequently the lake choppy we were not allowed to go. Shame oh well hopefully in Oz there will be opportunity. The rest of the time we dodged the rain and went to the cinema and walked in many circles around the town centre, you see Queenstown is a fairly small place, like most towns in New Zealand, with a population of 7.5 people and 7000 sheep, on average!

I am looking forward to seeing both family and friends in Sydney and also hopefully slowing the pace of traveling down as it really feels like we are constantly on the go at the moment. Well until then see ya, x L

Monday the 5th of April

Well Lou has done a fine jump of already filling you in which is great as now I don’t have to type much, YIPPEE! I will just say that surprisingly the bungy jump was a bit scarier than the skydiving. Why this was the case I am not sure as jumping from 12,000 feet should definitely be worse then jumping from 400. Although having said that the skydiving is considerably more fun and exciting.

Well in about 4 hours we will be in Sydney so I have things to do like eat and eat and I will probably grab something to eat. Australia here we come…..