Tongariro, Rotorua and Northward Bound!

Well, after the high of skydiving, my stay in Taupo continued to be fantastic! I was up at 5a.m. last Sunday, to undertake New Zealand's finest one-day hike, the Tongariro Crossing! It was dark when I awoke, and still quite dim, when we boarded the shuttle bus as 6am, due to the clocks going back here in the early hours of that morning. By the time we reached the start of the Crossing, the sun was up, and despite being really quite cold, the weather was glorious and looked very promising for the day. However, I kept it in mind that the weather there is notoriously changeable, so I was well prepared with waterproofs, several layers of clothing, a hat, scarf and gloves!

I set off with two girls from my hostel, but after a few minutes of climbing the first sets of steps on the trail, I got left behind a bit while I removed some layers! By the time I'd reorganised myself, they were about 20 metres ahead of me. that's not a lot I know, but I was out of breath already and the steps were killing my calves, so I just let them carry on ahead without me! I then met up with some people who I'd been skydiving with the day before, so once again I had some company! I reached Mount Doom in good time, (sorry, I really can't remember the real Maori name for this volcano, so you will just have to settle for the Lord of The Rings one!), but it was obvious that it would have been way too challenging for me. Especially as I had to be back for the shuttle bus at 3.30pm and the recommended 20-30 minutes required to make the descent back down again would quite likely have turned into several hours for me. Well, I'm scared of heights and slippy slopes, and apparently, the path down is all loose gravel and very steep!

Anyway, the next section up to the highest point of the crossing was enough for me, and I scaled it like Gollum - i.e. on all fours so I didn't fall over! I was rewarded with an amazing view though, of the Red Crater and Emerald Lakes. I was also confronted with an extremely steep path down again that was all loose gravel. So, I decided to go down on my bum! I was the only person doing this, and after several hundred metres, I decided that it was dusty, slow and I looked like an idiot. I managed to summon the courage to stand up eventually and it wasn't that bad to walk down the gravel after all, you just had to really dig your heels in! Once down, I enjoyed a spot of lunch by the lakes.

Mount Ngauruhoe, Red Crater & THAT path down...

The remainder of the Crossing was mostly downhill and passed through more incredible scenery AND I did the Quintuple! The weather stayed glorious all day long and I completed my 5 out of 5!!! I've been ridiculously lucky in NZ with the weather, I genuinely don't know how I managed it!

On Monday, it was still fine so I had a wander around Taupo and took it a bit easier! On Tuesday, I arrived in Rotorua. I took things a lot easier here, again wandering around town and doing a spot of geocaching. It was quite amusing to be walking around a park and then to come across a pool of bubbling hot mud and steam in the middle of it! On Wednesday night, I went to the Mitai Cultural show and it was really great. We saw a traditional haka and more Maori singing and dancing. Dinner was included, a traditional hangi where food is cooked underground on hot stones. I knew that there would be plenty of food that evening, so I'd tried to eat as little as possible throughout the day. It was still a struggle though to fit in two helpings of lamb, chicken, potatoes, kumara, sweetcorn, rice, salad and garlic bread, plus a thick slice of chocolate log!

Champagne Pools at Wai-O-Tapu

On Thursday, I went to Wai-O-Tapu to see Lady Knox Geyser and the amazing Champagne Pools. The scenery there is very unusual and I've enjoyed all the volcanic landscapes of the North Island, in some respects more than the mountains and lakes of the South. Friday was another lazy day in Rotorua, although I did pack in a fair few miles of walking before the bus arrived at 1.45pm, off to Mount Maunganui. I'd tried to book a hostel there on Tuesday, but due to the Easter weekend, I was only guaranteed Friday night. So, at that point, I had no idea where I would be staying on Saturday. When we arrived, the hostel was still unable to confirm a room for me and could only tell me on Saturday morning - which was useless as by that point, I'd need to be on the bus to Auckland or be homeless! The hostel was very nice and we were given free tea and cakes on arrival. However, we were also then lectured upon being quiet, washing the dishes etc and that if we required bed linen, it was an extra $2 to hire it.

Now, it's true that many backpackers are messy and are obviously away from Mummy for the first time, but after 6 months on the road at the age of 28, I don't appreciate being lectured on how to behave appropriately. I also don't appreciate being charged $28 for a dorm room (which is expensive for NZ) and not even having sheets included! So, that made my decision quite easy - I was glad I only had a bed for one night as I was quite happy to get right out of town the following morning! I did however walk around the mount with Dani and Johanna (Sweden) and I introduced them to geocaching! Even though I only had a few hours in Mount Maunganui, I wasn't going to let that spoil my perfect run of at least one cache per town!

So, yesterday I arrived in Auckland, and I'm really bored! Many things are closed due to Easter, the free city tour won't be running again until after I've left on Monday evening, and I won't have chance to do it next weekend as I will only be back on Friday lunchtime. It's a bit unfortunate that I've got four nights in total here, and nearly five whole days, but I'll be in Northland this week with only two full days to explore Whangarei and Paihia. Oh well, at least I never have to get on a Magic Bus ever again in my life, woohoo! I went to use the free Internet they advertise for their customers at their head office. I didn't realise dial-up still existed! It was slow, the PC was ancient and Facebook was a banned site. I'm not quite sure, therefore, how it was able to provide any useful service to a backpacker whatsoever, but there you go! Hopefully, my next blog entry will be a bit more exciting after I dive in the Poor Knights Islands this Tuesday! I hope it doesn't disappoint as it's one of Jacques Cousteau's top ten dive sites in the world!

Brace Yourselves!

Well, ladies and gents, I have to be honest. I've been doing some cool stuff in NZ, but I'm not feeling it like everyone else is. Yep, I've hit a bit of a rut here... I'm fine, but the high of Oz and Fiji had to end at some point I guess. To be fair, I've been on the road for over half a year and to get this far unscathed is quite an achievement. However, never fear, I'm still having a great time and this is still the best thing I've ever done. I'm only mentioning it really as I haven't got much interesting to say about most of the past week. That's OK, it's just been normal, but you know me and my detail - I didn't want to have to describe it all in depth or I would have fallen asleep, never mind you!

Anyway, basically, I left Kaikoura and headed to Picton. Unfortunately, the Magic Bus driver that day was the *%$^$## who didn't stop long enough at Lake Matheson so he was the last person I wanted to see. I think I might complain about him when I get to Auckland as we were faffing around on the bus for ages before we even left Kaikoura, and I think it was his fault we were short on time on Lake Matheson day. Also, he had told the people on the bus the previous day that he wouldn't be picking us up outside our hostel. This is a selling point of the Magic Bus, but no, we had to walk a bit up the road, not too far admittedly, but I was peeved nonetheless - I was lucky enough to get wind of this change in the hostel, but as I'd not been on the bus that day, I could have technically ended up stranded. They seem to forget that not all of us out here are only spending one night at each stop!

Damn, look, I am complaining again! I've been like this quite a bit this week. Moving on... The hostel in Picton was lovely, I took a free bike out for a spot of geocaching and after only an hour, I decided to return as the gears were very dodgy, as was my road sense and I thought it best to quit while I was behind! The highlight of Monday was the free hot chocolate pudding and ice-cream at 8pm, it was absolutely delicious! On Tuesday, it was overcast and drizzly and so I just read books until it was time to catch the ferry to Wellington. That went smoothly and luckily the rain had stopped by then. Once in Wellington, in my stubbornness, I walked to my hostel instead of paying a few dollars for a local bus. It was a good 20 minutes walk there, and with a heavy bag across my chest, in addition to the backpack of doom (no, I love it really!), I was in excruciating pain by the time I arrived!

On Wednesday, I wandered around Wellington with Laurence (France) and we walked up to the top of Mount Victoria and took the cable car to the Botanical Gardens. the weather had perked up too, so it was good to be out in the fresh air. On Thursday, I spent 3½ hours in Te Papa, which means 'Our Place' in Maori. It is a really impressive museum, although I would like to suggest that the next time they catch a giant squid, they put it straight in formaldehyde rather than studying and dissecting it. Yes, I know it was important to have a good look at it, but as a display, it's all manky and dissolving!

Yesterday, I arrived in Napier, a pretty Art Deco town. Again, I had a really cool hostel, but I was only able to spend one night there - because of the awkward scheduling of the Magic Bus, I couldn't spend a convenient two nights there, only one or three. I think the Magic Bus is the main contributor to my recent loss of form. It's really hard to let it go as well, as every time I get on it, I'm reminded of how I made the wrong decision to buy the ticket! Plus, I have this underlying feeling of guilt, or maybe slight failure, that I don't love NZ as much as everyone else does. It's a great country, beautiful with really friendly people, but I can't get all that excited about it. Shame really, but I'm honestly still glad to be here.

However, read on dear reader, it gets interesting from here on in! When I boarded the bus this morning in Napier, the activity sheets went around and rather than not book anything, I took the plunge and let the driver organise today's activities in Taupo. I did a bit of research in Napier to make sure I'd be getting the best deal and I'd spent a fair bit of last night thinking it over in my sleep. I took the clipboard, signed my name, and ticked the appropriate boxes. Done - well, the weather was glorious this morning and ideal for outdoor pursuits. I then spent the rest of the journey listening to my iPod, my heart beating steadily within my chest. Check-in at Taupo YHA went smoothly, and I had plenty of time to drop off my bags and grab a bit of toast before the shuttle bus came to collect me. Oh yeah, sorry, I haven't told you what activity I booked yet, have I?

SKYDIVING.

Yep, you read that right - S.K.Y.D.I.V.I.N.G. Not scuba, SKY. As in plane, parachute, jump out, don't die!!! I'd been considering it for a long time, and Taupo was always going to be the place I'd do it. So, the day had arrived and the conditions perfect, so rather than hang around today and do it tomorrow, I seized the day and booked straight on! So, we were taken to the airfield, signed our lives away and had a briefing about the photo and DVD packages available. Now I hate to spend money (no, really?) but I decided that this was a biggie, so I bought all the bells and whistles and spent way more than I'd budgeted, whoops!!! I think I'll be spending as much time as possible in Bolivia to recoup! I also decided that if I was going to do it, I might as well do it properly and go for a 15,000 feet drop, not just a piddly 12,000!!! That's a minute of freefall, not just 45 measly seconds!

It was time to jumpsuit up, but somehow I was the only person who couldn't go on the next plane, so that meant I had to wait around longer before take off. As you can imagine, my heart's going quite fast at this point, especially as I'm terrified of heights and I had the time to watch the previous plane load jump out. Well, there was a tiny plane-shaped speck in the sky, SERIOUSLY high up, and minuscule white dot emerged from it... it seemed way longer than a minute before the white dot had a minuscule parachute attached to it! "Yeah, but, it'll be all over so quickly when we do it!" I reassured my fellow jumpees! I met my tandem diver, Andy, who was hilarious and would be operating my HandyCam - a video strapped to his left wrist that would capture the entire jump. We did a little pre-jump interview and then off we walked towards the little yellow plane that would spit us out at 2.85 miles high!!!

I'd been keeping myself as calm as possible the whole time and although I was incredibly nervous, i was also really surprised how calm I was. I mean, i can still remember how scared I'd been as a seven year old in Scotland, stood on a mesh floor above a vat of whisky; how Mrs. Hemmingway spent way too long making me go over the scrambling net at primary school! Andy kept asking me how I was and I could honestly reply that I was fine, given that I was about to jump out of a plane. I just thought to myself that it was too late to turn back, and there was no point in getting too worked up about it as it would all be over soon, plus I knew it would be great fun... it was just the exit that frightened me! Soon, I was buckled, strapped and clipped onto Andy, my hat and goggles in position and the door opened. Don't look out, just go with it, remember to keep your legs in, your head back and smile at the camera. Don't think too much, Andy will jump, you are attached to him, you have no control.

No Turning Back Now!

And then I was out. Freefall, 15,000 feet high, nothing but down! Now, I guess you would like to know how that felt, but I can't really tell you! I remember being on my back, then on my front, then thinking Oh my God, I'm out, this is scary, this is happening, crikey the wind is fast and screaming "AAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!!!" and "WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a lot! I forgot about the fact that I had a personal cameraman with me as well, although I think I looked at him a bit and shook his hand at least twice! It was fast, I remembered to breath normally as the air was thick and my mouth dry. And then it was over, Andy pulled the parachute strap and I had chance to pause and reflect on what had just happened!

So I screamed a bit more, looked into the HandyCam and addressed all my relatives individually to state that I was indeed still alive and then shouted "Space! Next time space!" The parachute ride was great fun too and the scenery was stunning. It has been an amazingly clear day today, which makes 4 out of 4 of the "I hope I get good weather" activities! Andy let me operate the chute a little bit left, and a lot to the right, which meant we did a huge spiral and my stomach spun for the first time. I could see all of the lake and really clearly over to Tongariro National Park. A perfect view! Then Andy told me to get ready to hold my legs up for landing. I thought that was odd, as the ground was still a good way away yet. Nevertheless, in no time at all, I could see blades of grass and thought don't break your legs! It was a smooth landing, although once my feet were on the ground, I found it quite difficult to stand up straight and it must have looked as if I'd been on the sauce for a few hours!

Just in case you needed further proof!

So there you go, I'm a member of the 2.85 mile high club! I spent the next few hours babbling incoherently, more than usual, and feeling damn brilliant! If it was a lot cheaper, I would have been up again, no word of a lie! However, even though it was utterly amazing and worth every cent including all the extras I bought, it's not something I'll be doing too often. Got to watch the pennies if I'm to save enough to get into space! So, I'm still on a complete high several hours later and should probably not go wandering into any tattoo parlours or goodness knows what I would come out with! I got a t-shirt included in my skydiving package, and rather than choose one that was really stylish and subtle, mine is quite bold with "200 km/h HEALTH DEPARTMENT WARNING: SKYDIVING CAUSES SERIOUS LOSS OF REALITY" emblazoned in yellow across the back! Well, there's no point skydiving if random people on the street can't read about it clearly, is there???

So, I'm back down to Earth, but NZ is now rather damn cool! Two weeks to go and I'm determined to make the most of it and leave on a high! I've just been to the supermarket to buy some decent provisions for tomorrow as another challenge awaits - the Tongariro Crossing! It's a big one, allegedly one of the world's Top Ten hikes, over 15km through Mordor and Mount Doom (in Lord of the Rings anyway) and the weather forecast looks good. Fingers crossed and that will be 5 out of 5! I'll be a complete wreck by this time tomorrow no doubt, but no pain, no gain! Plus, I've jumped out of a plane - what can't I do now?

Big Dreams, Box Ticked! Box of Kleenex?

What a week! Good grief! It's still quite quiet here in lazy little NZ, but I've crammed quite a bit in again, and I've had luck on my side, phew! I arrived at Lake Tekapo on Tuesday and the weather was glorious... but my mood was grim. I'm really regretting getting the Magic Bus. It's fine, but I really don't need the 'extras' you get and I wish I'd just gone independently. For example, when I left Dunedin, I didn't fill in any of the activity sheets for Lake Tekapo because I was overnighting in Oamaru first. I don't like having to decide what I'm going to do in a new town, before I've even arrived, so by the time I was collected from Oamaru, the sheets had already been handed around and Tekapo's activities booked. I asked the driver if he could book me into the observatory at Mount John that evening, as the skies were completely clear that day and it looked extremely promising for that night. He said he'd try but there were already 17 people booked in. Fair enough. What he didn't tell me, at 11.30am, was that he'd would only be able to phone at the lunch stop... at 2pm. No surprise that by then it was fully booked! So, my first glimpse of Lake Tekapo wasn't quite the moment I's been hoping for.

Lake Tekapo

I thought I'd ask my hostel, once I arrived, to see if there was space at the observatory, just in case. And there was, at 9pm - all the Magic Bus people were booked in at 10pm, so I don't know why the driver didn't check if there were other tours. Anyway, after another near miss, (as the girl at the hostel said the bus pick up would be at 8.45 and luckily I was there at 8.30, the correct time), I was off up Mount John to the observatory there run by the Universities of Canterbury and Pennsylvania. The sky was perfect, no moon and extremely clear, one of the best 20 nights of the year, our guides Chris and Chris, reckoned! So imagine me, Little Miss Geek, asking questions like "Is Wolf 359 really a star?" "Do Castor and Pollux rotate around each other?" "Why is Orion visible here but I haven't seen Scorpio yet?" I've been a little perturbed that I'd not seen Scorpio since being in the Southern hemisphere, as I thought it was impossible to see it in the North.

Not so apparently, but Chris #1 said Scorpio could be seen here and it would be due to rise that night. Later on, we'd swapped guides and Chris #2 used his amazing laser pointer to show me. Now, first of all, these lasers are genuinely unbelievable (and apparently illegal in several countries) as they shone a clear green beam right up into the sky, so clearly that Chris and Chris were able to pinpoint exact stars. So, it was really easy to see the outline of Scorpio with the aid of the magic green line. And then Emma had her first major moment of the week - the tears came, the words got stuck and everyone there probably thought she was a weirdo, even more so than for the previous half hour! Yes, I saw my starsign for the first time and it was amazing, it really does look like a scorpion and it is in fact the largest constellation. Get in! "I'll be writing about this on my blog!" I cried! That was the highlight of the evening for me, but a very close second was seeing Saturn, complete with its rings, through the main telescope. Indeed, I got choked up again then, it looked just like a glow-in-the-dark shape I used to have stuck on my ceiling as a child. I've seen Saturn's rings, woo hoo!!! Have you?

On Wednesday, I chilled out around the lake with my new pal, Carina (Germany). We met in the dorm the previous evening (when I needed to complain to someone about my intense irritation with the Magic Bus) and poor old Carina was the first person to walk through the door! We did a spot of geocaching and dared to take a dip in the lake that afternoon. Now, that doesn't sound like much of a challenge, but this is a glacial lake and the average water temperature is three degrees centigrade! We did it... twice... but for barely a few minutes each time! Wednesday night was incredibly cloudy, so much so that it was impossible to see any stars, so I felt really grateful I'd asked the hostel to get me on the sky tour that night before!

On Thursday, the sunshine was back, and Carina and I rode horses (for four hours, ouch!) through the beautiful Mackenzie countryside. My horse was called Chief, although I think Mischief would have been more apt! At one point, I'm sure there was a slight rearing of the front legs, but I clung on tight! It was a shame that the terrain was too rough to go faster than a steady walk, but it was hair-raising in some parts as we went up and down many hills, some quite steep, which is rather scary, I can tell you! That pretty much wiped us out for the day, and even sitting around in the hostel's TV room was painful!

On Friday, we headed back to Christchurch. I booked my ferry across to the North Island, found the pesky geocache that had been swamped by a film crew on my last visit, and went out on the town! Christchurch, Friday night, dead as a doornail! Although a guy with a dodgy moustache asked me "Can I check if your boyfriend is here? Husband? Any male at all?" I took that as my cue to leave. So, yesterday, I finally arrived in Kaikoura, home of a huge number of cetaceans and the most reliable spot in NZ to swim with dolphins! Now, Carina and I were still quite tired from the horse riding and late night in CHCH, but we very quietly crept out of the dorm this morning at 4.30am (yes, you read that right!), had breakfast, and were swathed in tight neoprene by 6.30! After the Dolphin Encounters briefing, we were off to the boat and on our way out to sea to spot the little guys. We saw a beautiful sunrise, but I was starting to get worried... there were no dolphins to be seen after what felt like an age in the boat. Until one of the other boats radioed through that they had spotted a large pod and we were on our way to join them. Wow!" said our guide, "There are over 200 dolphins in this pod!" I turned to the left side of the boat and saw them for the first time... and I had been expecting to get a little teary eyed...

"Dolphins!" I exclaimed and began to sob uncontrollably! In fact, I'm getting choked up again just typing this! It was fantastic, although I would like to apologise to Carina for grabbing her and giving her a huge hug. I don't think she was quite expecting that, especially at that hour of the morning! So, my mask was really snotty before I'd even got into the water, which is usually what it is like after an hour of diving!!! Our first swim was extremely hard work; the water was VERY cold and we had no idea how tiring it would be to keep up with the dolphins and make singing noises through our snorkels to attract them. Also, the visibility was very poor, but as several of them swam within a few centimetres of me, there was no mistaking them!

Dusky Dolphin Display

I cannot describe how wonderful these creatures really are, and to swim round and round as a group circle you and look you right in the eye... words fail me! They were extremely fast and we had to move the boat several times to keep up. It seemed like no time at all before we had to hand our gear back in. I was so gutted it was all over, I could have swam with them forever! We did however spend a little time watching them from the boat before heading back to base. And they put on an amazing show for us, jumping, somersaulting, and swimming just inches from the boat! Back at the Dolphins Encounters HQ, I booked myself in to do it all again tomorrow morning! In the end though, I cancelled. It was so good, even though it went so quickly, that I probably would have been disappointed if another trip wasn't as successful. We had good weather and great numbers, and low visibility is quite common here anyway. Besides, it's time to head off to Picton tomorrow and then Wellington on Tuesday. They do have dolphins on the North Island too, though... ;)

Halfway... down South!!!

I forgot to mention in my last post on Friday, that on that day, I'd hit the exact halfway mark of my trip! Six months gone, only six more to go, which means it's all downhill from here! Well, maybe not, but it still feels like I was at Manchester airport yesterday! I'm also the furthest south I've ever been in my life, and the furthest I will ever go... until Antarctica that is! OK, I'll probably not fit that in on this trip, but never say never! It will be the only continent I haven't been to once I return home! That'll be quite a bit of saving as it's supposed to be RIDICULOUSLY expensive to get there, but it will be good practise for when I have to start saving for a flight with Virgin Galactic. You think I'm joking, right? Not a sausage... if I can get into space before I die, I will. Dead serious. Just remember, when I do it, you read it here first!

One last sunset in Queenstown

Anyway, what have I been up to over the weekend? Not a lot really, the laid back pace of NZ continues. I leisurely strolled back to my hostel on Friday evening, by Lake Wakatipu, for one last time. Queenstown is actually really beautiful, especially at the turn of the seasons, and well worth a visit, even if you're not an adrenaline junkie. On Saturday, I went to Dunedin, and by the time I arrived most of the day had gone, so I did my... LAUNDRY! Just before we all got off the Magic Bus, the driver asked if it was anyone's birthday. No-one replied. He seemed disappointed, so I piped up "Well, it's my Auntie's birthday today!" "Really? What's her name?" "Eileen." "Well everyone, let's all whistle Happy Birthday to Auntie Eileen!" I was in stitches! Admittedly, only I joined in (it was a right miserable crew on Saturday, let me tell you).

Yesterday, it was very fitting that, being in the "Edinburgh of the South", the weather was appropriately Scottish too! By that, I mean cold, grey and drizzling! However, off I went at half past nine in the morning on a self-guided city walk, swathed in scarf, woolly hat and gloves. I'll be honest and say that there's not much that interesting to see in Dunedin, the rumours were true, but the Botanical Gardens were well worth a visit. I spent quite a bit of time there, feeding the ducks and looking at all the birds in the aviary. Two even whistled "Singing in the Rain" at me! I also found some conkers... conkers in March!!! How odd.

After heading back to the hostel in the early afternoon, I went online and activated my travel bug for Geocaching. I placed it in a cache in a park in Dunedin, and its mission is to get all the way back to Warrington, via as many countries as possible! I hope it makes it, especially as I got muggled in the process. Let me set the scene: I'm scrabbling around in the undergrowth with a large box. Two women also appear in the bushes, scrabbling around. So, surely we are all equally weird. I let them carry on with it, for all I knew, the could have been fellow cachers! Then one appears just a few metres away, staring at me like I'm a nutter. So, I bit the bullet and said "Hello! What are you looking for?"

"Mushrooms."

Well, that may be slightly more plausible than my response of "Oh, well I'm doing a treasure hunt with GPS!" I hope my explanation satisfied her, as my travel bug isn't likely to make it home if she's reported me to the local bomb squad! Anyway, after all that fresh air, I snuggled up in some blankets in front of the telly all afternoon. I watched The Departed and Walk The Line, the former being an Oscar winner that didn't make me lose the will to live, at last!!! So that was about it for Dunedin. Oh yep, this morning, the Magic Bus stopped at Baldwin Street, the "World's Steepest Street." Indeed it was. I walked all the way up to the top and then back down, and I was extremely grateful that some bright spark has installed a bench and a water fountain at the summit!!

So steep, my camera fell over!

After visiting the Moeraki boulders this morning, I arrived in Oamaru, and I've had another lazy day strolling around looking for geocaches. I found two out of six, which isn't particularly good going, but at least I'm still on target for one in every NZ town I stay in! The weather is glorious again, if a teeny bit nippy, so I'm heading out again now to improve my tally. Then, I'm off to Lake Tekapo tomorrow, the forecast looks good so far, so fingers crossed, it stays sunny, at least until I've taken my photos!!!

From Wanaka to Queenstown

Off again I set on Sunday, this time to Wanaka, a pretty little town on the banks of Lake, erm, Wanaka!!! I'd been a little out of sorts before arriving there... We'd made a stop that morning, on the Magic Bus, at Lake Matheson, "New Zealand's most photographed lake." Unfortunately, the driver was a complete tosspot and only gave us 35 minutes here, and it took 40 minutes to walk to the lake edge and back, to get the all important photo of Mount Cook reflected in the waters. We were also supposed to get breakfast here as well, so I don't quite know who'd thought it was worth including in the itinerary, as we all got back onto the bus, pretty damn peeved. Except one guy, who was mercilessly left behind and luckily managed to chase the bus by hitching a lift!

Anyway, Wanaka was extremely picturesque and small enough to walk around on foot. However, I was finding it hard to settle into a more relaxed pace of travelling but was constantly aware that if I sped along too fast, I'd be up in Auckland with way too much time to kill! So, I just took it easy that evening, and planned to have a day of walking and relaxing on Monday! I did indeed have a nice, long lie-in and then I hit the Internet for a good while, and the kindly chap there in Wanaka Web fixed my memory card, which had picked up a virus that made all my photos disappear! Well, not really, dear reader, it just made any PC "hide" them all, and so I'd not been able to upload them for a while!

I then thought I'd better make the most of the day, seeing as the weather was absolutely glorious, so I headed back towards my hostel for a spot of lunch and to get things together for a hike or something. However, as I was walking past The Flight Centre, I decided to walk in and ask if they could book flights from Santiago to Easter Island!!! "Yes, that should be possible!" came the reply... and to cut a long story short, I booked myself a 3-night trip there in April, courtesy of MasterCard! I had to race back to the Internet cafe to organise accommodation there for my stay, as the travel agent insisted there were only expensive hotels on the island! Once that was done, I raced back to my hostel to get my passport so I could pay full the balance! Easter Island! Yikes, that'll be a Facebook profile picture to top all others! Well, some things that I've really learned the value of on this trip are carpe diem and never say never, plus when in Rome... or in this particular case, when in Santiago...!

Rowing on Lake Wanaka

So, I'd spent most of the day indoors, but I did head off for a lovely stroll along the lakeside to Eely Point and Bremner Bay, which provided yet more beautiful scenery. That evening, back at the hostel, I met Aurelia (Germany) and we arranged to go to Puzzling World the next morning. I was so pleased (not) that when we arrived, so did TWO Kiwi Experience coaches, and out poured a load of flashpackers, wearing too much make-up and too few layers. There were several reasons why I avoided this travel option like the plague, and not of them are repeatable here! Anyway, we spent some time in the Illusion Rooms first, to let the "kids" clear out of the maze! Aurelia and I completed it in 45 minutes, reaching all four towers. It should have been less, but it took me ages to find the exit again!!!

We then chilled out in the cafe for a while, until we got too frustrated with all the puzzles you could play with! We then stopped to take our pictures by the wonky turret in the car park - can you even imagine my ire and disbelief when some IDIOT guy walked into my shot, dropped his kid on the grass and proceeded to change it's nappy! IN MY SHOT! Had I not been so damn stunned, I may have taken the photo anyway, just as a record of the stupidity and ignorance of mankind, but I was so horrified, I vehemently insisted that Aurelia should not depress the shutter! Humph! It was then time for lunch before taking the next leg of my journey to Queenstown!

I actually got to QT ahead of schedule, as I took an overspill minibus there instead of the usual coach, so I missed the pointless stops and got to my hostel 2½ hours early! I dropped off my bags and headed straight to Kiwi Discovery, the travel shop that could organise the next leg of the journey. I had a lot of trouble deciding what activities to do here as the range (and cost) is unbelievable! Well, if you did everything, you'd seriously be out of pocket, so it was hard to choose how to be sparing with the pennies! In the end, I just booked a trip to Milford Sound for Wednesday, as that was the one thing that I knew was a definite must-do!

That evening, I bumped into Sarah and Richard (Ireland) who I'd met in Greymouth and Franz Josef. They were en route to the pub. They are Irish. It was St. Patrick's Day. Can you work out the rest of the evening? Let's just say a great time was had by all and after several glasses of wine and a shot of Sheridan's, there are some dodgy photos of me in a curly green wig on someone's camera! After waking on Wednesday morning with a slightly fuzzy head, my lucky run with the weather seemed to end as we left QT on our way to Milford Sound. The clouds rolled in and the glorious sunshine was well and truly over. It got progressively worse as the rain started, the mist descended and soon, the mountain peaks were shrouded in cloud. Bruce, our optimistic driver, was overjoyed with all the waterfalls that this had caused, spilling over the mountains. Emma, our pessimistic photographer, was despairing at the cloud cover that had caused said waterfalls, and was trying to put on a brave face. As we cleared the Homer Tunnel, not far from Milford, the amazing view of the valley was completely obscured by cloud, and I resigned myself to the white skies that would be on all my photos of the Sound.

And then there was a miracle...

By some miracle, and I swear, you couldn't make this up, as we arrived at Milford Sound, the clouds began to clear, the sun came out and the sky turned deep blue! I could not believe it, I sometimes think there is a little force somewhere looking out for me on this trip, or I'm just extremely fortunate! It was amazing and the Sound was truly stunning! I managed to get lots of great photos and then of course, the drive back to QT was spectacular... I was back in the game! I had great fun telling Sarah and Richard all about it over dinner in a Korean restaurant! Well, I have already introduced them to Geocaching, so why stop there! We met up again yesterday, on their last day in QT, for a Gondola ride to the Skyline Luge, overlooking the town! It was hilarious as we all sped down the tracks, me of course making lots of "vrooming" and "screeching brake" noises! Who needs bungy when you can luge!

Today, I went white-water rafting along the Shotover River. Well, I had to something adventurous before leaving QT! It was great fun, if not damn cold and the scenery was breathtaking! It was quite tame, as at this time of year, the water level is quite low. However, it was good practice for all the cheap rafting you can apparently do in South America! Bring it on! Anyway, I leave QT tomorrow and head to Dunedin, which by all accounts seems to be picturesque but a little boring! Well, I guess anything would, compared to Queenstown, but armed with my camera and my GPS, I'm sure I'll be able to occupy myself for a few days. Hopefully, my luck with the weather will continue, as I'll soon be off to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook after that, and believe me, I've seen the pictures you can get at Tekapo on a good day... so good, they look like they've been drawn on Photoshop!

NEWSFLASH!

I'm going to Easter Island...

EASTER ISLAND!!!!!

Will explain all in my next post!!!

Over the Alps and Beyond...

Off I set yet again on Wednesday morning, the first time in a while I'd had an early start before the sun was up! Autumn is definitely here in New Zealand, and I was rather cold waiting for the shuttle to the train station, despite wearing THREE sweaters! A far cry for my time in Fiji last week, I can tell you! As usual, I was at the pick-up point way ahead of time... good job really, as I had been there for 10 minutes before I realised that I was stood outside the wrong hostel! Luckily I had time to make it round the corner and still be on time! Soon the shuttle arrived, off we went to the train station and I took my seat on the TranzAlpine express. It was a 4½ hour journey, right across the Southern Alps and my goodness, the scenery was breathtaking!

View from the TranzAlpine

The train had two open-air viewing carriages, which provided a great place to take photos of the countryside. It also allowed you to freeze solid whilst doing so, and I was concerned that my fingers would soon no longer be able to operate the shutter button! I soon headed back into the warmth of my carriage and purchased a Devonshire Tea for only £2.50! The scones were even hot, just what I needed! The cream however was rather amusing - I guess it would have been a lot to ask to have real clotted cream, but it was a little pot of squirty cream out of a can! Hilarious! After we passed through Arthur's Pass, the skies cleared and by the time I reached Greymouth, it was a little warmer! However, after I had checked into the YHA, I went straight to a charity shop and bought myself a woolly hat and scarf, all for £1!!! Well, after being extremely cold on the train, I thought it best to be prepared for walking on a glacier!

After a spot of geocaching that afternoon, I returned to the hostel and found Lee and Michelle from Fiji. It was quite a reunion, with lots of hugs, jumping up and down and joyous shouts! We spent the evening chatting, before I hit the hay, with a hot water bottle, kindly loaned to me from reception! I tell you, it is damn cold over here right now, especially in Greymouth and the winds just blast through off the mountains!

On Thursday morning, I was up ready for my first stint on the Magic Bus! Off we set with Colin, our crazy driver, who made us raise our hands in the air every time we went over a level crossing or railway track! We had a few stops en route to Franz Josef at Hokitika, Ross and Pukekura - the latter being home to the notorious Roadkill Cafe, complete with museum about how deer in the area are "managed". I didn't go into the museum, but it seems that it and the cafe have caused some interesting responses from travellers in the past. Not a place for vegetarians!

I had been in a bit of a dilemma that morning on the bus about when to do the glacier hike. The forecast for Thursday was supposed to be very good, so part of me wondered whether or not I should go straight out and do a half-day hike that afternoon. On the other hand, the full day hike is supposed to be more impressive as you get further up the ice and it becomes more blue and there are more cracks to walk through, but as the weather in NZ is so changeable, I was concerned that if I went on Friday instead, the weather would not be as good. In the end, I opted for the full day, and resigned myself to making the most of it, whatever the weather! As it happened, as we arrived in Franz Josef just after lunchtime, it was quite overcast, so at least I hadn't missed out that afternoon.

Imagine my absolute joy yesterday morning, when I left my hostel, to see glorious blue skies overhead! By the time we had checked in at the Glacier Guides HQ, the sun was up and I just knew it was going to be a perfect day on the ice! I'd been coming down with a cold since Christchurch, and I was a snotty, dribbling mess as I put on two pairs of socks, heavy boots, four layers of clothes and my hat, but the sun was out and it was going to be a great day! Once briefed, we took a bus up to the glacier valley, where we were divided into groups: 1 & 2, for those who were feeling energetic, 5 & 6 for those who wanted to take it easy and get lots of photos, and 3 & 4 for those in between!!! I opted for group 6! Well, it's all about the photos you know (and not killing yourself through outdoor pursuits!)

It took about 45 minutes just to walk to the start of the ice along the valley. We then strapped on our crampons - I wasn't even on the ice yet, but was so excited just to be wearing crampons! Wow, crampons!!! Then the fun really began, as we climbed up the first set of steps that had been cut in the ice for us. Over the rocky moraine we climbed before we hit wide expanses of ice. It was great fun and we had a great group, and I was soon chatting away to our guide, Johnno, about truncated spurs and hanging valleys... well, what was the point of going to school if you don't get to show off about it 10 years later???

We passed the area where the half day hike terminates, and it was time to get out the ice picks as the terrain became more challenging from there on! I was glad I'd opted for the full day in the end, as I could see where we were headed and it looked fantastic! The ice became cleaner, bluer and more rugged! we could no longer take a direct route upwards, we had to snake in between cracks and crevasses, and up and down peaks in the ice! At one point, we walked through a crack that was the exact width of my hips, and so I had to go a little sideways! We got soaked, but the sunshine soon dried us off in no time. In fact, we had all peeled off most of our layers by then as the weather was so fine!

Franz Josef Blue Ice

We covered about ten to twelve kilometres over the course of the day, which doesn't sound like much for a full day, but over that terrain, it was an impressive feat! By the time we'd made it back onto the valley floor, the aches and blisters were really kicking in, but on we pressed back to the bus. Back at HQ, I peeled off my soggy socks and boots, very pleased that they weren't mine and I could hand them over to someone else to wash and dry!!! I met up with Lee and Michelle again and told them all about it! They are on the glacier today, so they were pleased that it had been such an amazing experience!

Last night, I had just about enough energy to pack my bag and chat to my roomies, Rosie and Katie. My cold was quite bad at this point, so I had an early night. This morning, I awoke with a cough as well, but no pain, no gain... it won't stop me enjoying my trip! Well, actually, I am going to take it easy today, but I have plenty of time to take NZ at a slower pace! So, I'm in a new hostel just for tonight as it was $2 cheaper than the YHA with free Internet! I've not checked in yet as the dorm isn't ready, so once I've done that and sorted out my bag, I think I'll spend the afternoon in the Glacier Hot Pools spa up the road! Well, when in Rome...

Kia Ora NZ!!!

Here I am in Christchurch, as far south and as far east as I have ever been so far! I think so anyway, I'm not sure if Fiji is slightly more east, but who cares, I'm on the other side of the world! The flight over here was smooth, I got through customs with no problems as I declared my teabags, coconut bracelet and shell necklace... well, I'd heard stories of $200 on the spot fines, so I wasn't taking any risks! I wasn't able to book a hostel online in Fiji as there was a power cut at my hostel and all the Internet connection went down as well, but a simple freephone call from the airport secured a bed for 3 nights at Frienz Backpackers. See, Emma using a telephone again with no problems!

Christchurch is a really pretty city, and it's evident why it's known as the most "English" of all New Zealand towns. I had a little wander around after checking in on Sunday afternoon, and collected a new ream of travel brochures and pamphlets, just like being in Oz all over again! It took weeks before I threw them away, just in case! Anyway, I decided to head out that evening to the cinema as I'd not seen a film for a while and it was slightly cheaper here than in the UK, so I was sold! I saw Slumdog Millionaire and I would highly recommend it! At last, an Oscar winning movie that didn't make me feel as if I'd wasted 2 hours of my life! The cinema was really quaint, it had a small screen and was styled like an old fashioned theatre. There was no popcorn and fizzy drinks, but a cute little shop selling ice creams and cakes and coffee... I'd only been in the country a few hours by this point, but I loved the place already!

Christchurch

Yesterday was plan day and of course, I got myself in a little tizz over the best way to get around the islands. Imagine my annoyance to find that a massive 35% discount offer had ended last Friday on the Magic Bus, one of the contenders!!! Sometimes, it is best not knowing tings like that! Anyway, I could either take this option, which is more convenient as the driver will pick you up and drop off at hostels, book accommodation and trips for you and stop for lots of photo opportunities along the way. There's also a great social aspect to it as you will be travelling with the same people for parts of the route. On the other hand, a Flexi Pass is purchased in blocks of time, and you can go in any direction and back on yourself on national coaches. Of course, you will know by now, dear reader, that I'm perfectly capable of organising my own accommodation and onward travel by myself as I'm an experienced World Traveller now, but I really didn't know which option to select. It did play on my mind quite a bit overnight, but you'll be pleased to hear that I didn't get myself into the same state I did when I was planning my route through Oz. What a difference a couple of months makes!!!

This morning, I was still undecided, but I went into the travel agency as soon as it opened, picked their brains some more and made a decision - the Magic Bus it is!!! To be honest, whichever way I go around NZ, I'm going to have a damn good time and meet more great people, so I'll just head off tomorrow and make the most of it! I'll be taking the TranzAlpine Express to Greymouth, which is supposed to be a very scenic trip. There doesn't appear to be much to see in Greymouth itself, so I think I'll spend just one night there before taking the first leg of the Magic Bus to Franz Josef Glacier where I will do a trip to walk on and through the ice! That all depends on how well I'm feeling though...

...The Rotting Bite disease came back! Just like it developed after Bali, I think I picked it up again in Fiji. It must be in the sea or something, but rather than let it get out of control again, I went to the doctor's today and got some more antibiotics and cream - $115 gone! That's about £45, but that's 2 nights accommodation! I'm also coming down with a bit of a cold I think, so I had to dig out the Lemsip Max Strength from the bottom of my rucksack!!! Oh well, I won't let it spoil my trip, I'll be as right as rain soon, and off to the glacier regardless! I now make the most of every single day and I sometimes chuckle to myself as I walk around, just because I'm so pleased to be on this trip! Which reminds me of a funny thing that happened this afternoon!

Caravans in the Botanical Gardens

I went to the beautiful Botanical Gardens here this afternoon to find a geocache. I needed to drop off a travel bug, and it seemed that this was the largest cache in the area that it would fit into! As I approached the cache site, I could see a lot of muggles (i.e. non-caching folk) so I would have to be discreet in locating the box. Imagine my surprise to find the area around the cache completely inaccessible as there was an Australian TV commercial being filmed right next to it, complete with smoke and rain machines!!! That put the kibosh on that one! So I need to find an alternative cache, or wait until I come back to Christchurch just before heading to the North Island in a few weeks' time! I swear, you couldn't make this stuff up!

Made Fiji!

I'm back from the Coral Coast, and two more days of paradise! On Thursday, I'd planned to catch the 8.30 bus into Nadi, but due to Mr. Wriggle features and the Fan of Doom, I was up early and had had breakfast in time to take the bus an hour earlier. I then had plenty of time to buy some bread (my meals for the next 3 days!) and find the next bus I'd need to catch to take me to The Beachouse. "Who's the driver today?" I enquired, as I didn't know where I would need to disembark, to which I heard the reply "I am, don't worry!" Of course, everyone here is so laid back and all operate on 'Fiji Time', which by this point, my clock was automatically in time with! Off we set over the island, past the green of the hills and the blue of the skies.

By lunchtime, I'd reached The Beachouse and I wasn't disappointed. It was more pricey than the dorms in Nadi, (but still damn cheap!), I could see why people had recommended it to me. The dorms were small but spacious, immaculately clean, set in pretty gardens and but a minute's walk to the beach, where I found a pool and a variety of hammocks to laze in! Once again, my tale gets a little boring here as more swimming and sunbathing occurred! I also repacked my backpack yet again, ready for my flight to New Zealand tomorrow. Well, I've heard a few tales of "$200 fines" at customs, so I just had to double check that all shells and the like weren't stuck in a corner or a pocket somewhere! Seriously, I would suggest anyone with organisation/tidiness issues should live out of a 65 litre bag for a prolonged period of time - it WILL cure you!

Yesterday, I had another easy day, first napping in a hammock by the beach, then paddling in the sea with some more new friends; Adam (US) and Fran & Phoebe (UK). Thanks to Adam for bumping into me with his kayak - yes, I have dived with poisonous sea snakes and sharks, but I still scream out loud when someone creeps up on me! I was hoping to see a kava ceremony at the resort last night, but after waiting for over 90 minutes and still no sign of action, I thought that was taking 'Fiji Time' a little too far, and so I hit the hay!

The beach at The Beachouse

This morning, I took the bus back to Nadi. It was more cramped than the one on Thursday and it wasn't all that enjoyable. However, good practice for South America I guess! I was losing patience, even though I'm incredibly chilled out these days, especially when there was a little lad on there being a kid. By that, I mean he was making goat noises at a speed of about 3 'baaaaaaas' every 4 seconds. I was glad to get off 2 hours later! So, here I am back in hot, humid Nadi, with another hour to kill before I can back to Horizon for one last night. I've got to be up at 4.30 am tomorrow to set off to the airport, so I am hoping that I'm not back in the Wriggle Bunk again!!!

Fiji's been great fun! I'm sorry that maybe my blog entries haven't been quite as interesting as usual, but I'm sure there are a few of you out there who are grateful for shorter posts! I've really enjoyed being on 'holiday' for the first time since leaving the UK. Now, I know you all think I'm on a year long holiday, but believe me, this travelling lark is tiring, challenging, hard work at times! It's been nice to just laze around for a while! I can honestly say, as I get nearer and nearer to the six-month mark (yikes!), that this is genuinely, honestly the best thing I've ever done, and I really don't know how life back in the UK will ever be the same again...

Anyway, next time you hear from me, I will be in New Zealand and thirteen hours ahead! That's due to Daylight Savings, so I'll need to watch out for when the clocks go back sometime this month! Bizarre! Plus, I need to watch out for when the clocks go forward in England too! Weird! So, first stop Christchurch and then I'm hoping to head north to Kaikoura to swim with wild dolphins. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it! ;-)

Island Hopping in The Yasawas!

Well, dear readers, you won't believe it, but for the first time, I've had a little bit of writer's block today! I know, me of the lengthy blog entries!!! This is not to say that I haven't had an amazing time out in the Yasawas, because it has been absolutely bloody brilliant! However, it's been such an easygoing week with a real change of pace from my previous adventures that I genuinely think I'd bore you with my usual detail. I mean, how much could you bear to hear about sunbathing, snorkelling, swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, snorkelling, snorkelling, diving...

To be honest, the thing that has really made the past seven days so memorable are the great people that I've met and I feel they all deserve a special thank you for listening to me chat incessantly for most of the time! Cheers to Michelle & Lee (Canada), Michelle (UK), Adam & Stephanie (Germany), Graham & Al (UK), Karin (Switzerland), Elaine & Marcus (Ireland), Jane (US), Jen, Helen and Ally (UK) and Chris & Karen (UK). It was a blast guys, I hope our paths cross again in the future soon! Anyway, back to the islands! I think the best way to tell you about my week is note form, so here goes:

DAY ONE

Caught Yasawa Flyer and sailed to Coral View Resort on Tavewa Island. After lunch, chatted on beach to new dorm mates. Bought Fijian shell necklace, as everyone else seemed to have one and felt left out! After dinner, played musical statues and card games!

DAY TWO

Up for breakfast at 7.45am, then straight into the sea for snorkelling. Great site, loads of coral, BIG triggerfish and banded sea snake (1m long!). Watched snake surface for air a few metres away. Watched (deadly venomous) snake swim towards me and so beat a hasty retreat. After lunch, more snorkelling at the Blue Lagoon, where the Brooke Shields movie was filmed. Took well needed shower then climbed hill behind resort to watch sunset, benefit of shower negated! Had great fun taking silly photos, descent through "David Bellamy" style vegetation not so easy in the dark!

Me, Michelle, Lee, Adam & Stephanie

DAY THREE

Went SHARK DIVING! Hilarious to see Fijian guy dive overhead with wheelie bin full of food! Saw grey reef and white-tipped sharks, big moray eel and two huge sicklefin lemon sharks! Enquired if lemon sharks are dangerous, apparently not, they are very shy and polite! Damn, not scary enough! Took Yasawa Flyer south to White Sandy Beach on Naviti Island. Lovely little place, nice beach and friendly staff. Watched girls perform their Bula Dance after dinner!

DAY FOUR

In sea snorkelling again after breakfast, another great site, loads of fish. Taught myself how to skin dive. Back at 10am for church!!! Great fun, good practice if I ever visit the Bible Belt! Highly amused by simple hut by the forest with PowerPoint projection of hymns onto the ceiling! More snorkelling before lunch, then turned into a big prune after spending 3 hours in sea chatting to Elaine and Marcus! More dancing after dinner, this time we learned the moves as well!

DAY FIVE

More snorkelling after brekkie, back out at 9am to make coconut bracelet, back in at 10am and gave friends a fish tour! Elaine asked "What's that fish?" I replied, "Well, I don't know ALL the fish!" Back for lunch, informed that Flyer would be several hours late. Oh well, got to spend an extra few hours in paradise! Flyer eventually arrived, but water taxi too heavy to move at low tide, had to get out and push it, then motor fell off as we reached the Flyer! Hilarious, had to be towed to Flyer by another resort's taxi! Met Jane on boat to Waya Lailai, hope to do US Road Trip together one day! Arrived at next resort, great food, watched fire dance in evening.

DAY SIX

Lazy, lazy day on beach, chatting and swimming to all my new friends from the week, who by a great twist of fate were all in the same resort! Made crown of frangipani flowers in the afternoon with Jane, so became known as "Frangipani Girl" to the staff!! Saw poisonous sea snake on the beach, plus more sea, sun and sand, saw sunset and played the "I Can Name All 50 States" game with Jane! Got to 47 and was stuck, as usual!!!

Sea Snake Knows My Initials!!!

DAY SEVEN

Last day on the Yasawas. More swimming and sunbathing, checked out in morning and had pandanus leaf bracelet made in afternoon. Took Flyer back to Nadi, and spent my last few hours yakking to my friends again!!! Bus back to resort easy peasy, checked in again at Horizon Backpackers, this time in dorm with fan only. Met new roomies, chatted some more, went to bed. Fan really noisy, but pointed in opposite direction, so no benefit felt. On top of really wonky bunk bed, guy below must have had worms as he wriggled all night, didn't get much sleep!

So that's about it! It was great, great fun and I'm really loving meeting so many new people, they really did make my week special! Dorms are definitely the way to go and I wish I'd known that when I was in Asia; although I had a great time there, I was quite lonely at times and so I'm not sure if I made the most of my time there! Oh well, just have to go back again! Anyway, I've got 3 more nights on Fiji, so rather than stay in Nadi all the time, I'm off to The Beachouse on the Coral Coast today! Apparently, the first series of ITV's Love Island was filmed there! Anyway, I'll be back on Saturday to tell you all about it before I head off to New Zealand!!!