OK, so the next day in Rotorua, we had breakfast in town before heading out to Hell's Gate spa and geothermal park. We took a walk around the bubbling pools of mud and the sulphur pools. It was very Jurassic Park-esque! Then we headed into the spa and covered ourselves in mud, before rinsing it out and soaking in the sulphur water! Was so nice and warm and felt thoroughly cleansed afterwards.
We then started our drive north to Auckland. Was quite a boring drive but we did it pretty quickly. Eventually found our campsite, it was very strange being back in a city.
As it was Matt's last night we headed into the city centre, and went to a restaurant called Euro, we did gourmet cuisine! And it was amazing. We had a 3 course dinner with wine for only 40 quid each! Started off with calamari, then had kingfish wrapped in parma ham, followed by Spoons of 2011 - 4 spoons with a different dessert thing on each. Very odd things, but was a really strange collection of textures and flavours which worked really well!
Went out for some more drinks and then got the bus 50 minutes home to our campsite.
On Tuesday morning, we accompanied Matt to the airport, to send him on his way home, via Singapore.
Me and Anna headed into the city for some sightseeing, and decided to head the zoo. It was really cool, and for once quite warm and sunny to nice to walk around outside. We finally got to see some actual Kiwi's which are amazing little fluffy birds! Zoo was really good, and also stuffed full of chickens randomly wandering around as well. Even got to see some Aussie animals - wallabies and emu's etc.
Finished at the zoo and went home. Couldn't be bothered to cook so we headed out to a mall to get some indian food and then off to the cinema to see the new Angels and Demons film. Not bad, some good special effects to it!
Went to bed early that night and managed to get 12 hours sleep! We're so hardcore.
Still up the next morning and sorted out our next few days. Then we headed into town to the Sky Tower, the tallest monument in the Souther Hemisphere. But we got slightly distracted en route and may have stopped by some shops on the way. We booked some tickets for the comedy festival for that evening, and then went up the tower. Truly amazing views over Auckland, especially as it had finally got sunny for the first time that day. There were some really nice yachts in the harbour!
Headed back to change for dinner, and then back out again to find a pub to have some dinner and some drinks. So we had fish and chips and a G&T, how English can you get!
We had tickets to see Simon McKinney, a NZ comedian that evening, so we headed to that. There was only about 30 of us in the audience, but was a really good atmosphere, and fortunately he was funny! So an hour later, we headed to a different venue, the Classic, for the Late and Live show. We were so glad to get tickets to this, as there were 5 comedians performing, including one we had really wanted to see but was sold out for his own show (Jason Cook). Wicked show, and we had front row seats, and the poor boy we were sat next to got aboslutelty rinsed! Some very drunken girls were doing some crap heckling and interrupting loads, and eventually got booed and kicked out by the staff! Still awesome show, the comedians were brilliant.
Unfortunately up early the next day to head up to the Bay of Islands. We stopped en route to hug a Kairi tree, the 2nd biggest trees in the world. We were hugging it in order to ask for good weather and sunshine! We are staying in Paihia for a few days. We arrived and jumped straight on a boat tour of the Bay of Islands, up the the hole in the rock. We saw some dolphins on the way and followed them for a bit. We could have gone swimming with them but they had a baby with them so we weren't allowed. Was a really fun trip with gorgeous views over the islands.
Got back into Paihia and bought some food for the next few days. The went back cooked dinner, and then watched a few films that evening.
Yesterday, we had a bus trip up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of NZ. We got on the bus early and started our way up north, stopping for coffee and cake en route. We started the last bit of the drive up north driving up 90 mile beach. Actually it is only 64 miles but that doesn't sound quite as good! Took ages to drive up it, and we stopped on the way to admire the gorgeous views. On the beach we waded into the water, and did some Pipi picking - little clam like creatures in shells, which you could eat raw. And were surprisingly very yummy!
Then went around the corner off the beach to these massive sand dunes, got some boards out and then proceeded to climb up them! Oh and then slide all the way down them. Was so much fun, and got absolutely covered in sand in about 2 minutes.After that we headed up to Cape Reinga, which is the point where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. We were then on a surprisingly calm day so it wasn't that obvious where they met! This Cape is also the point, in Maori culture, where all the souls depart the Earth for heaven.
Was a really good day, and ended it by looking around a few shops, and had the 'best' fish and chips in NZ in a little place called Marongi. They were definitely good fish and chips.
Today, we got up and walked around to Waitangi, where the Maori's and the Europeans signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. This was when New Zealands became part of the British Empire. There was a huge war canoe there and a big marae, a meeting hut for the tribes of NZ. It was such good weather that we walked along the beach, and then went to go play some minigolf. Turns out that the gold was in this big aventure park, with trapeze swings and bungee runs etc. SO so so much fun but now we're knackered and really quite sore! It's still sunny so we might head out to play some tennis later on.
Anyway, we've only got 2 more days in NZ so we will be making the most of the sunshine!
Thats it, up to date. Hope you are all well.
Love Kylie and Anna xxxx
Sunrise in the Solomons
At Maravaghi resort
Sydney Opera House and Bridge
Friday, 22 May 2009
North Island
So we made it to the North. We decided to power straight on up to Rotorua. Another spectacular drive north, starting with a very windy scary one lane road, which remained so for 30km!!! Oh well, soon found straight 2 laned tarmac and powered on up, stopping for lunch en route.
We stopped at LAke Taupo on the way. There was a gold gimmick/game there, where you have to try and hit golf balls 150m onto a pontoon out in the lake. If you hit it and got a ball in on eof the holes, you can win a prize. Apparently someone does it at least once a week. Needless to say, none of us did! I struggled to even hit the ball!
We carried on up to Rotorua and found a camp site. We headed out to Tourist Info and booked ourselves onto a white water rafting trip and a cultural evening for the following day. It was raining quite hard as we came outside so we sheltered in a pub for a few drinks before going back to the campsite to cook food.
So the next day, Sunday, we got picked up by Raftabout and taken 30 minutes out of Rotorua to the Kaituna river. We got kitted up in wetsuits etc and taught all the necessary bits. We were in a smaller boat than in Queenstown, with 4 paying people and 2 guides in our boat.We were soon on the river, and I was soaking wet in under a minute, as Matt managed to push me out that quickly! Still was a lot warmer than the South Island so I didn't mind too much. We soon hit the rapids, and the special bit about this river was that we went over a 7m waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world! And it was sweet!!!! So much fun, and we all managed to stay in the boat too! We also tried a bit of river surfing, which basically involved the guides putting the front of the boat into the bottom bit of a rapid, which meant a lot of water came onto the front of the boat, absolutely soaking me and Anna at the front until we could barely breathe!!!
So that was awesome fun, and we had to get the photos to prove it!
Next up that day, we went zorbing. This basically involved getting into a big inflatable ball, filled up with warm water, and going downhill in it! So much more fun than we ever though it could be, and we all felt about 5 years old after! Wicked.
Had an afternoon relax before heading to our cultural evening. We arrived and then headed off into the forest. A war canoe arrived up the river with about 8 Maori men on it, all lit up with fire torches and chanting. They all got out and the chief got into the water, and we all then realised that all he was wearing was a cloth around his waist, which only covered his front half!!! He had an amazing Maori tattoo all around the tops of his legs up to his waist.
After that we saw the hangi, the food cooked underground which we were about to eat - chicken, lamd, sweet potatoes etc - so yummy! We also saw a show, which wa set up in an old style Maori village. They did alot of their traditional songs and dancing, and they all performed the Haka,. It was really quite scary and fascinating at the same time. We also went for a walk into the forest to look at ll the glow worms. Was a really good evening and so interesting to learn about the maori culture and language.
Got back to the campervan by 2030 and watched a DVD before going to bed.
OK will finish the rest later, much more to come!
Hope you are all well and looking forward to seeing you soon
Love Kylie x x x x x
We stopped at LAke Taupo on the way. There was a gold gimmick/game there, where you have to try and hit golf balls 150m onto a pontoon out in the lake. If you hit it and got a ball in on eof the holes, you can win a prize. Apparently someone does it at least once a week. Needless to say, none of us did! I struggled to even hit the ball!
We carried on up to Rotorua and found a camp site. We headed out to Tourist Info and booked ourselves onto a white water rafting trip and a cultural evening for the following day. It was raining quite hard as we came outside so we sheltered in a pub for a few drinks before going back to the campsite to cook food.
So the next day, Sunday, we got picked up by Raftabout and taken 30 minutes out of Rotorua to the Kaituna river. We got kitted up in wetsuits etc and taught all the necessary bits. We were in a smaller boat than in Queenstown, with 4 paying people and 2 guides in our boat.We were soon on the river, and I was soaking wet in under a minute, as Matt managed to push me out that quickly! Still was a lot warmer than the South Island so I didn't mind too much. We soon hit the rapids, and the special bit about this river was that we went over a 7m waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world! And it was sweet!!!! So much fun, and we all managed to stay in the boat too! We also tried a bit of river surfing, which basically involved the guides putting the front of the boat into the bottom bit of a rapid, which meant a lot of water came onto the front of the boat, absolutely soaking me and Anna at the front until we could barely breathe!!!
So that was awesome fun, and we had to get the photos to prove it!
Next up that day, we went zorbing. This basically involved getting into a big inflatable ball, filled up with warm water, and going downhill in it! So much more fun than we ever though it could be, and we all felt about 5 years old after! Wicked.
Had an afternoon relax before heading to our cultural evening. We arrived and then headed off into the forest. A war canoe arrived up the river with about 8 Maori men on it, all lit up with fire torches and chanting. They all got out and the chief got into the water, and we all then realised that all he was wearing was a cloth around his waist, which only covered his front half!!! He had an amazing Maori tattoo all around the tops of his legs up to his waist.
After that we saw the hangi, the food cooked underground which we were about to eat - chicken, lamd, sweet potatoes etc - so yummy! We also saw a show, which wa set up in an old style Maori village. They did alot of their traditional songs and dancing, and they all performed the Haka,. It was really quite scary and fascinating at the same time. We also went for a walk into the forest to look at ll the glow worms. Was a really good evening and so interesting to learn about the maori culture and language.
Got back to the campervan by 2030 and watched a DVD before going to bed.
OK will finish the rest later, much more to come!
Hope you are all well and looking forward to seeing you soon
Love Kylie x x x x x
The rest of the South Island
Well, again another crazy week. I left you in Kaikoura with Anna and Matt whale watching.
We left Kaikoura and headed up the Kaikoura coast. It was beautiful, with gorgeous views from the road winding along the coast. We stopped en route to look at some fur seals just sunbathing on the rocks by the sea, they were so funny and only moving when they absolutely had to!
We also stopped to get some crayfish, cooked in a garlic butter. We demolished a whole one in about 5 minutes between us, it was so yummy.
We got to Blenheim in the evening and stopped by thye supermarket for food. They were selling mussels for 3 dollars a kilo, so we bought about 6 kilos worth for dinner! We cooked them in white wine, garlic, parsley and cream, they were so good! Almost couldnt finish them but they were too good not too!
The next day we got up to find it raining quite hard, but cleared by 10. So we hired some bikes and headed out on a wine tour of the area, the Marlborough wine region. We visited about 8/9 wineries in total and stopeed at lunch on the way back. The weather was really sunny but so windy and was quite hard wokr, especially when drunk! Still 10 bottles of bought wine later and we got back to the campa. We cooked dinner then headed to Picton to catch the 2235 ferry to Wellington, on the North Island. The ferry crossing took 3 hours, and would have been amazing views of the Queen Charlotte sound had it not been so dark! Eventually got off at 0130 in the morning and drove for about 40 minutes until we found a queit road to sleep in overnight!
So we made it to the North!!!
xx
We left Kaikoura and headed up the Kaikoura coast. It was beautiful, with gorgeous views from the road winding along the coast. We stopped en route to look at some fur seals just sunbathing on the rocks by the sea, they were so funny and only moving when they absolutely had to!
We also stopped to get some crayfish, cooked in a garlic butter. We demolished a whole one in about 5 minutes between us, it was so yummy.
We got to Blenheim in the evening and stopped by thye supermarket for food. They were selling mussels for 3 dollars a kilo, so we bought about 6 kilos worth for dinner! We cooked them in white wine, garlic, parsley and cream, they were so good! Almost couldnt finish them but they were too good not too!
The next day we got up to find it raining quite hard, but cleared by 10. So we hired some bikes and headed out on a wine tour of the area, the Marlborough wine region. We visited about 8/9 wineries in total and stopeed at lunch on the way back. The weather was really sunny but so windy and was quite hard wokr, especially when drunk! Still 10 bottles of bought wine later and we got back to the campa. We cooked dinner then headed to Picton to catch the 2235 ferry to Wellington, on the North Island. The ferry crossing took 3 hours, and would have been amazing views of the Queen Charlotte sound had it not been so dark! Eventually got off at 0130 in the morning and drove for about 40 minutes until we found a queit road to sleep in overnight!
So we made it to the North!!!
xx
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Queenstown and further!
OK, so haven't had much time to do this recently as we have been crazily busy!
Left off on our first full day in Queenstown. We had just been up the gondola, and then that afternoon we went white water rafting on the Shotover river. We met up at their shop in Queenstown and then got drivne about 40 mins to the place where they start the rafting. They didn't tell us we would be going on one of the dodgiest roads in the whole country though - a one lane, dirt track that wound its way along the side of the mountain, and at one point we even had to swing the front tyre off the edge in order to get around the corner!!!! Turns out it is an old mining road as they did loads of gold mining in the river up until 1992. I think I was scared more by the road then the rafting bit of the trip. Well after 20 nmins of me having my eyes closed and jeered at by Matt and Anna, we made it back to flat land! We got divided into 4 boats and loaded up into them with our paddles. Me and Matt found our way to the front of our boat and soon found ourselves pretty damn wet. There were a range of ra[pids on the river, ranging from grade IV to V and it was awesome. Rapids were really cool and we all got soaked, and amazingly no-one fell out. We even went through this cool long tunnel, and I was the only one steering at the front! Was really good fun, would definitely be something I would do again.
Well, we were very cold and wet by the end of it all and in need of the hot shower and sauna we had waiting for us.
That evening we went for dinner at Ferburger, apparently the best burger place in the world. it was pretty damn good as well, best burgwer I've ever had! We then went to town for a few drinks at World Bar, where we drank cocktails out of teapots.
The next day we decided that we hadn't had quite enough adrenaline and booked oursleves to do the 3rd biggest bungee in the world - the Nevis bungee, that involves a 134m drop over a river flowing through a canyon. The bungee bit is a large room suspended on the 3 steel ropes over the canyon - I think that was maybe more scary than the actual bungee bit!! Still was awesome, we all loved it and we have pictures and videos to prove it all!
Matt turned out to be first up, somethign which he wasn't particularly keen on, but he went for it anyway. Me and Anna had to wait a while longer as we were lighter than a lot of other people there. Still out turns soon came around and we both jumped, and loved it too!
Afterwards,w e had decided to leave Queenstown and we drove down to Te Anau, which is the main town and base for trips going to Milford Sound. Only took a couple of hours to get there and soon were there cooking dinner and relaxing before our next busy day.
We were up at and metting our tour bus at 0745 that would take us over to Milford. The scenery was amazing on the way, with more windy roads and it even started to snow a few times. At Milford, we had decided to do a kayak tour. Milford Sound is a huge Fjord and the scenery is stunning. Gorgeous mountains, waterfalls and just amazing to kayak around. We got kitted up in warm clothes, jackets and a kayak skirt. I was paired up with one of the guides as Matt and Anna were together in a kayak. I though this meant I would get an easy ride, but no, he made me do most of the paddling! It was so much fun being on the water and being able to get up close to the rocks, trees and waterfalls. We even managed to get within 3m of these seals just relaxing on some rocks! We spent about 3-4 hours on the water, and were well and truly knackered at the end, not to mention just a little bit wet!
We got back to Te Anau and just about managed to eat dinner before going to bed, early again!
The next day we undertook one of our longest drives so far. We decided to drive all the way up to the Franz Josef Glacier area, a good 900km at least. I was up first, and would you believe it, it started snowing!! And as we were up so early, the gritters hadn't even been out yet. We had to stop at one point to help a fellow campervan that had become stuck in the snow, and fortunately by that point, the gritters overtook us and paved the way. Fortunately the snow cleared and we got back to Queenstown without any dramas. We stopped there to check the roads we were about to go on were clear and book ed our glacier trup for the next day. Anna took over then and had some more windy roads to contend with, but at least no more snow. We stopped for lunch en route, and then Matt took over, and once again we had some snow! Crazy NZ weather! But as we got through the Haarst pass (amazing scenery) we reached the coastline, and it was glorios sunshine. We passed this awesome beach, where there were loads of rock towers - piles of stones all stacked up in towers. So we made a couple of our own, played on the beach and then carried on. We made it to Franz Josef in about 10-11 hours in the end, which was really good going as we stopped for quite a few scenery points.
Dinner and a few drinks in the pub and then to bed.
Next day we went down to the glacier tour centre and got kitted up for our day ahead. As so many travellers are so ill prepared for the cold weather, we were given boots. wooly socks, gloves, a hat, somw overtrousers and a waterproof coat for the glacier trip. We were also given crampons for our boots so we could grip the ice OK.
The glacier was incredible - at it's lowest it reaches 300m above sea level, extending up to 2000m and is about 15km long! Oh, and it is surrounded by rainforest! It was amazing to climb up. The guides have cut out steps so it is easier to walk up but it was still hard going on the old legs. The ice goes a beautiful blue colour as you climb in around it, just incredible. We were climbing in and around crevasses, crawled through holes in the ice and just generally got cold, wet and tired again! Amazing experience though, with some great views over the valley. We were on the ice about 6 hours in total.
So another busy day, so we had a bit of a lie in the following morning. We were up and moving by 10 and driving to Hamner Springs, which is more towards the east coast of the south Island. It was another long, windy drive up in the mountains again but we managed it quicker than we though. Hamner Springs is famour for 2 things in the area - skiing and its thermal springs. So within half hour of arriving we were soaking in 38 degree pools, relaxing our tired glacier ruined muscles! There were various pools ranging from 35 to 41 degrees, and just what we needed. Was bloody cold to get out of at the end though.
We had no food so ended up getting a thai takeaway and watching the film Juno in bed.
Another early start, on the road by 0730. We wanted to get to Kakoura, about a 2 hour wiggly road drive away which is on the north east coast on the south island. Matt and Anna have gone whale watching, where as I am chilling out in the glorious sunshine by the beach.
Planning to head to Blenheim later on adn get a bit of wine tasting deon, as this is the white sauvignon blanc region of the country. Thinking about heading to the north island soon.
Anyway, as you can probably tell, we're all still having an amazing time, just a shame it is going by so fast!!!
Hope you are all well, and keep the messages coming.
Love Kylie, Anna and Matt x x x
Left off on our first full day in Queenstown. We had just been up the gondola, and then that afternoon we went white water rafting on the Shotover river. We met up at their shop in Queenstown and then got drivne about 40 mins to the place where they start the rafting. They didn't tell us we would be going on one of the dodgiest roads in the whole country though - a one lane, dirt track that wound its way along the side of the mountain, and at one point we even had to swing the front tyre off the edge in order to get around the corner!!!! Turns out it is an old mining road as they did loads of gold mining in the river up until 1992. I think I was scared more by the road then the rafting bit of the trip. Well after 20 nmins of me having my eyes closed and jeered at by Matt and Anna, we made it back to flat land! We got divided into 4 boats and loaded up into them with our paddles. Me and Matt found our way to the front of our boat and soon found ourselves pretty damn wet. There were a range of ra[pids on the river, ranging from grade IV to V and it was awesome. Rapids were really cool and we all got soaked, and amazingly no-one fell out. We even went through this cool long tunnel, and I was the only one steering at the front! Was really good fun, would definitely be something I would do again.
Well, we were very cold and wet by the end of it all and in need of the hot shower and sauna we had waiting for us.
That evening we went for dinner at Ferburger, apparently the best burger place in the world. it was pretty damn good as well, best burgwer I've ever had! We then went to town for a few drinks at World Bar, where we drank cocktails out of teapots.
The next day we decided that we hadn't had quite enough adrenaline and booked oursleves to do the 3rd biggest bungee in the world - the Nevis bungee, that involves a 134m drop over a river flowing through a canyon. The bungee bit is a large room suspended on the 3 steel ropes over the canyon - I think that was maybe more scary than the actual bungee bit!! Still was awesome, we all loved it and we have pictures and videos to prove it all!
Matt turned out to be first up, somethign which he wasn't particularly keen on, but he went for it anyway. Me and Anna had to wait a while longer as we were lighter than a lot of other people there. Still out turns soon came around and we both jumped, and loved it too!
Afterwards,w e had decided to leave Queenstown and we drove down to Te Anau, which is the main town and base for trips going to Milford Sound. Only took a couple of hours to get there and soon were there cooking dinner and relaxing before our next busy day.
We were up at and metting our tour bus at 0745 that would take us over to Milford. The scenery was amazing on the way, with more windy roads and it even started to snow a few times. At Milford, we had decided to do a kayak tour. Milford Sound is a huge Fjord and the scenery is stunning. Gorgeous mountains, waterfalls and just amazing to kayak around. We got kitted up in warm clothes, jackets and a kayak skirt. I was paired up with one of the guides as Matt and Anna were together in a kayak. I though this meant I would get an easy ride, but no, he made me do most of the paddling! It was so much fun being on the water and being able to get up close to the rocks, trees and waterfalls. We even managed to get within 3m of these seals just relaxing on some rocks! We spent about 3-4 hours on the water, and were well and truly knackered at the end, not to mention just a little bit wet!
We got back to Te Anau and just about managed to eat dinner before going to bed, early again!
The next day we undertook one of our longest drives so far. We decided to drive all the way up to the Franz Josef Glacier area, a good 900km at least. I was up first, and would you believe it, it started snowing!! And as we were up so early, the gritters hadn't even been out yet. We had to stop at one point to help a fellow campervan that had become stuck in the snow, and fortunately by that point, the gritters overtook us and paved the way. Fortunately the snow cleared and we got back to Queenstown without any dramas. We stopped there to check the roads we were about to go on were clear and book ed our glacier trup for the next day. Anna took over then and had some more windy roads to contend with, but at least no more snow. We stopped for lunch en route, and then Matt took over, and once again we had some snow! Crazy NZ weather! But as we got through the Haarst pass (amazing scenery) we reached the coastline, and it was glorios sunshine. We passed this awesome beach, where there were loads of rock towers - piles of stones all stacked up in towers. So we made a couple of our own, played on the beach and then carried on. We made it to Franz Josef in about 10-11 hours in the end, which was really good going as we stopped for quite a few scenery points.
Dinner and a few drinks in the pub and then to bed.
Next day we went down to the glacier tour centre and got kitted up for our day ahead. As so many travellers are so ill prepared for the cold weather, we were given boots. wooly socks, gloves, a hat, somw overtrousers and a waterproof coat for the glacier trip. We were also given crampons for our boots so we could grip the ice OK.
The glacier was incredible - at it's lowest it reaches 300m above sea level, extending up to 2000m and is about 15km long! Oh, and it is surrounded by rainforest! It was amazing to climb up. The guides have cut out steps so it is easier to walk up but it was still hard going on the old legs. The ice goes a beautiful blue colour as you climb in around it, just incredible. We were climbing in and around crevasses, crawled through holes in the ice and just generally got cold, wet and tired again! Amazing experience though, with some great views over the valley. We were on the ice about 6 hours in total.
So another busy day, so we had a bit of a lie in the following morning. We were up and moving by 10 and driving to Hamner Springs, which is more towards the east coast of the south Island. It was another long, windy drive up in the mountains again but we managed it quicker than we though. Hamner Springs is famour for 2 things in the area - skiing and its thermal springs. So within half hour of arriving we were soaking in 38 degree pools, relaxing our tired glacier ruined muscles! There were various pools ranging from 35 to 41 degrees, and just what we needed. Was bloody cold to get out of at the end though.
We had no food so ended up getting a thai takeaway and watching the film Juno in bed.
Another early start, on the road by 0730. We wanted to get to Kakoura, about a 2 hour wiggly road drive away which is on the north east coast on the south island. Matt and Anna have gone whale watching, where as I am chilling out in the glorious sunshine by the beach.
Planning to head to Blenheim later on adn get a bit of wine tasting deon, as this is the white sauvignon blanc region of the country. Thinking about heading to the north island soon.
Anyway, as you can probably tell, we're all still having an amazing time, just a shame it is going by so fast!!!
Hope you are all well, and keep the messages coming.
Love Kylie, Anna and Matt x x x
Friday, 8 May 2009
Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown
So we're in New Zealand! It's been such a busy week so far.
Turns out that New Zealand is really, really cold! Flew into Christchurch and it was 5 degrees! We had our first day wondering around Christchurch. It's quite a small city, although is the 2nd biggest in NZ! Very english in nature. We wandered around the cathedral and the botanical gardens, and had an amazing lunch! The food/restaurants here are amazing and we certainly been eating well. We had a few drinks that night before heading back for a chilled night out playing cards.
We got our campervan on the Wednesday - wow it is a beast! There is loads of room for all of us and even a little toilet/shower combo. It is quite easy to drive, and all of us has had a go so far. Matt did the first leg, which was quite easy and involved going straight for 6 hours, the roads are pretty simple here!! So we drove down to Dunedin, stopping for lunch in Timaru on the way.
We were driving to see one of Matt's work colleagues who is from NZ. We met up with them and went to here parents house for dinner - a roast! It was amazing, and we helped celebrate her birthday and ate cake! Here mum likes knitting and so there were all these crazy dolls about the place.
So we left there late in the evening and found our first campsite to stay in. We finally got a chance to unpack and figure out how everything works and settled down to our first night.
The following day I had my first driving experience of 'Steve', the campervan. We managed to find a supermarket and stocked up on lots of food and wine. They have these deals with wine, where if the label has fallen off, they put a plain lable on and sell it really cheaply. So we are getting really posh bottles of sauvignon blanc for about 4 pounds!!
We wanted to go out to the albatross centre, which is the only mainland nesting site for royal albatrosses. It was actually really cool, as these birds are huge!!! Their wing span is about 3m long. Anyway we saw about 3 chicks just sitting on the hill side and a few albatrosses coming into feed them. Was really cool. Unfortunately I was pretty terrified by this point as I had just driven the caravan along the windiest, single lane road in the hills. I suppose there is only one was to conquer your fears.....! The route back was a bit tamer as we followed the coastal route and had amazing views of the sea. We then started our 4/5 hour trip to Queenstown. Fortunately, the road their was pretty straight, even though it started raining. Anna completed the journey to Queenstown and we made it there by about 6.
We cooked our first dinner in the campervan - chilli salmon and scallop sauce with pasta - amazing! Also complimented by a nice bottle of chilled white wine! We then discovered the delights of Queenstown, and found Buffalos, and managed to hit happy hour! Some girls then started dancing on the bar, so the place was pretty lively quite quickly!
Up early on Friday morning as we wanted to book an activity. We had the morning free so we went up the skyline gondola, and the top of the hill gives you amazing views over Queenstown and the surrounding area. Also did a luge up there as well - drtiving these little carts downhill down a windy track!
OK I have run out of time so will update you with the rest of our adventures later. x x x
PS Photos on Facebook! xx
Turns out that New Zealand is really, really cold! Flew into Christchurch and it was 5 degrees! We had our first day wondering around Christchurch. It's quite a small city, although is the 2nd biggest in NZ! Very english in nature. We wandered around the cathedral and the botanical gardens, and had an amazing lunch! The food/restaurants here are amazing and we certainly been eating well. We had a few drinks that night before heading back for a chilled night out playing cards.
We got our campervan on the Wednesday - wow it is a beast! There is loads of room for all of us and even a little toilet/shower combo. It is quite easy to drive, and all of us has had a go so far. Matt did the first leg, which was quite easy and involved going straight for 6 hours, the roads are pretty simple here!! So we drove down to Dunedin, stopping for lunch in Timaru on the way.
We were driving to see one of Matt's work colleagues who is from NZ. We met up with them and went to here parents house for dinner - a roast! It was amazing, and we helped celebrate her birthday and ate cake! Here mum likes knitting and so there were all these crazy dolls about the place.
So we left there late in the evening and found our first campsite to stay in. We finally got a chance to unpack and figure out how everything works and settled down to our first night.
The following day I had my first driving experience of 'Steve', the campervan. We managed to find a supermarket and stocked up on lots of food and wine. They have these deals with wine, where if the label has fallen off, they put a plain lable on and sell it really cheaply. So we are getting really posh bottles of sauvignon blanc for about 4 pounds!!
We wanted to go out to the albatross centre, which is the only mainland nesting site for royal albatrosses. It was actually really cool, as these birds are huge!!! Their wing span is about 3m long. Anyway we saw about 3 chicks just sitting on the hill side and a few albatrosses coming into feed them. Was really cool. Unfortunately I was pretty terrified by this point as I had just driven the caravan along the windiest, single lane road in the hills. I suppose there is only one was to conquer your fears.....! The route back was a bit tamer as we followed the coastal route and had amazing views of the sea. We then started our 4/5 hour trip to Queenstown. Fortunately, the road their was pretty straight, even though it started raining. Anna completed the journey to Queenstown and we made it there by about 6.
We cooked our first dinner in the campervan - chilli salmon and scallop sauce with pasta - amazing! Also complimented by a nice bottle of chilled white wine! We then discovered the delights of Queenstown, and found Buffalos, and managed to hit happy hour! Some girls then started dancing on the bar, so the place was pretty lively quite quickly!
Up early on Friday morning as we wanted to book an activity. We had the morning free so we went up the skyline gondola, and the top of the hill gives you amazing views over Queenstown and the surrounding area. Also did a luge up there as well - drtiving these little carts downhill down a windy track!
OK I have run out of time so will update you with the rest of our adventures later. x x x
PS Photos on Facebook! xx
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Australia!!
So now I have some more time to update this.
We arrived in Brisbane on Thursday afternoon and finally left the smells of the Solomon Islands behind. It was quite strange being back in civilisation again. We headed straight down to the Gold Coast, to Surfers Paradise. So up Friday morning and managed to do some laundry - it was amazing to have clean clothes again. 4 weeks without a washing machine is a long time and it is nice to have cloths not ridden with sweat! It is also quite nice being able to walk somewhere without wiping my forehead of sweat every 20 seconds!
So Surfers is typical Aussie holiday resort, and very tacky etc but completely what we needed after the Solomons. Had our first normal dinner of pizza and some good wine. Friday we got up, and were so excited about the shops, decided we needed to spend some moeny and buy some cloths! Haha as if I need more but I treated myelf to a third, fourth birthday present! I bought a hoodie, which was so much cheaper tha the UK, and it turns out I need it! Sydney is cold!!!!
Anyway, we shopped in the morning, and then did the only thing we really could do, and had a surf lesson! We got driven up the coast a bit to a secluded beach (so not many people could laugh at us!). Our two instructors were awesome, and said they would get us all standing by the end of the lesson. And guess what?!?!?! They did. We all got standing and we even have some mean photos to prove it!! So that was 2 hours of pure fun, and definitely want to give it another go, and improve on my surf poses too!
We went down to Broadbeach in the evening, after some viatnemese food. Food was amazing but it has had its revenge on Matt and me as we haven't been feeling very well all day. Anna, the one who's meant to have the weak stomach, is absolutely fine and just laughing at us! lol.
Anyway so we went out for a few drinks and made it until about midnight before giving up completely!
We were up at 0600 this morning (although I was awake at 5 not feeling very happy) and we got the train back up to Brisbane airport to catch our flights to Sydney. Only an hours flight so we were in Sydney and all hostled up by 1300. I am doing the true backpacker style and sharing an 8 bed female dorm so I don't cramp the couple's style!
Even though we were knackered we went for a wonder around Sydney. I had the map first and got us well and truly lost, but we found a nice little harbour and park. I then handed the map to Anna, and she managed to take us to the Botanical Gardens. Here you can see the most amazing view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It feels so surreal to be here, but I am loving it. Unfortunately it is quite a lot colder down here so the jeans and hoodie has been dug out of the rucksack and the shorts are being hidden away ; ( Oh well, lets hope the tan lasts a while.....
We're having a chilled night tonight due to our long day but plan to hit Sydney in style tomorrow. There;s a food/wine festival on just around the corner tomorrow, so I'm sure we may wonder around there for a while. We have until Monday afternoon before flying to NZ so can see most of the city hopefully.
I really really like Australia, despite the current British weather. I wonder if the British Army wants to send me here instead......!
Anyway I feel I may have rambled enough. I hope this has kept you attached to the screen..... so will write more in NZ!
Lots of love
Kylie xxx
We arrived in Brisbane on Thursday afternoon and finally left the smells of the Solomon Islands behind. It was quite strange being back in civilisation again. We headed straight down to the Gold Coast, to Surfers Paradise. So up Friday morning and managed to do some laundry - it was amazing to have clean clothes again. 4 weeks without a washing machine is a long time and it is nice to have cloths not ridden with sweat! It is also quite nice being able to walk somewhere without wiping my forehead of sweat every 20 seconds!
So Surfers is typical Aussie holiday resort, and very tacky etc but completely what we needed after the Solomons. Had our first normal dinner of pizza and some good wine. Friday we got up, and were so excited about the shops, decided we needed to spend some moeny and buy some cloths! Haha as if I need more but I treated myelf to a third, fourth birthday present! I bought a hoodie, which was so much cheaper tha the UK, and it turns out I need it! Sydney is cold!!!!
Anyway, we shopped in the morning, and then did the only thing we really could do, and had a surf lesson! We got driven up the coast a bit to a secluded beach (so not many people could laugh at us!). Our two instructors were awesome, and said they would get us all standing by the end of the lesson. And guess what?!?!?! They did. We all got standing and we even have some mean photos to prove it!! So that was 2 hours of pure fun, and definitely want to give it another go, and improve on my surf poses too!
We went down to Broadbeach in the evening, after some viatnemese food. Food was amazing but it has had its revenge on Matt and me as we haven't been feeling very well all day. Anna, the one who's meant to have the weak stomach, is absolutely fine and just laughing at us! lol.
Anyway so we went out for a few drinks and made it until about midnight before giving up completely!
We were up at 0600 this morning (although I was awake at 5 not feeling very happy) and we got the train back up to Brisbane airport to catch our flights to Sydney. Only an hours flight so we were in Sydney and all hostled up by 1300. I am doing the true backpacker style and sharing an 8 bed female dorm so I don't cramp the couple's style!
Even though we were knackered we went for a wonder around Sydney. I had the map first and got us well and truly lost, but we found a nice little harbour and park. I then handed the map to Anna, and she managed to take us to the Botanical Gardens. Here you can see the most amazing view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It feels so surreal to be here, but I am loving it. Unfortunately it is quite a lot colder down here so the jeans and hoodie has been dug out of the rucksack and the shorts are being hidden away ; ( Oh well, lets hope the tan lasts a while.....
We're having a chilled night tonight due to our long day but plan to hit Sydney in style tomorrow. There;s a food/wine festival on just around the corner tomorrow, so I'm sure we may wonder around there for a while. We have until Monday afternoon before flying to NZ so can see most of the city hopefully.
I really really like Australia, despite the current British weather. I wonder if the British Army wants to send me here instead......!
Anyway I feel I may have rambled enough. I hope this has kept you attached to the screen..... so will write more in NZ!
Lots of love
Kylie xxx
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
