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Hello to you all from New York New York, as I begin the final leg of my 6 month tour- I arrived in New York last night from Vancouver and I begin my 6 week Grand Trek around America on Wednesday. I apologise that its been over 2 weeks since my last blog so will get right into it (I was going to send this a few days ago but the computers I have been using haven't had the right stuff on them)-
After I wrote my last blog on Friday 25th May I met up with Anaick and two of her friends. We walked around a bit then had a Starbucks in Cathedral Square before I had to finally say goodbye to her after knowing her over 3 months since the Oz Experience bus out of Sydney. I got on a cheap 5 dollar shuttle to the airport and checked into the boring Christchurch Airport then boarded on time to fly out at 16.30; I spoke to a nice old American couple the whole flight about my travels and the US. Upon landing I collected my bags then waited around for Brianna to pick me up in her car and we went back to her house for a nice relaxing evening.
The day after was spent chilling for the whole morning and going to Auckland's biggest shopping centre to look around and buy some food and other things. That evening we had a nice roast cooked by her mum and watched the really funny Talladega Nights staring Will Farrell before going to bed.
On Sunday we woke up late and spent ages wondering what to do for the day eventually deciding on Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic and Underwater World near Mission Bay near central Auckland. I drove the half an hour there in her speedy MX-6 down the motorway, arriving about 4pm and paying the expensive entrance fee. Inside we looked around a replica of Scott's Antarctic Hut then saw some giant long and short tailed stingrays as well as an actual specimen of a giant squid before going inside the main aquarium bit which is basically walking through an archway with the fish swimming around and above you behind really thick glass. You could see many different kinds of fish and sharks as well as some awesome gliding giant turtles. We then looked in some separate tanks containing different marine animals including Lionfish, piranha, tiny squid, giant crayfish, eels and finally the dreaded and lethal rock fish (so glad I never came across one of them on the Great Barrier Reef). Afterwards we went on the snow tractor for a few minutes (only people on it as near closing) around the penguins which looked really cool and almost like they were statues as they hardly ever moved but when they did it was the cool waddling and sliding you see on documentary films. Back at Bri's (saw a big accident on the way back involving a lorry and half a car) I cooked spaghetti Bolognese which we both found very tasty then watched Pirates of the Carribean 2 as Bri hadn't seen it.
In the morning we relaxed for a while then had to go into the city centre as Bri had a job interview so I parked the car and walked down to the main street to buy some jeans (others had worn through) and some tasty, cheap and unhealthy lunch before sitting in the car listening to cds. Back at her house we watched the sick Saw 2 then went out and got some dvd's for the campervan trip as well as tasty pizza then watched the even more disturbing Saw 3 so was surprised to go to sleep without having some sort of horrible dream.
On Tuesday we woke up and drove to the airport to pick up the Ezy Rental Campervan we would have for about 5 days then loaded it up with food, cd's, dvd's and everything else we would need. Brianna then went for another interview so I took the time to put my photos onto blank cd's so that they could be sent home. After having a nice steak and potato lunch we left about 2pm for the long drive down to New Plymouth. I drove the 3 litre automatic campervan (quite nice and fast but nothing compared to the one me and Simon rented a few weeks before) south past the industrial town of Hamilton and towards New Plymouth stopping for a couple of breaks on the way to stretch the legs and get some food. About 10km outside of the city we began to look for places to park up but could find nothing for ages so Bri got a Subway and asked the women there who directed us to a nice park near the beach so stopped there for the evening. I ate a nice cold pizza I had bought the night before then we watched the funny film My Super Ex Girlfriend before chilling and going to sleep about 1am.
We woke up to the sound of fisherman loading their boats into the water nearby then found a bathroom in the park that we didn't know was there before driving into the quite boring city and leaving after quickly looking at the waterfront where you could see a couple of oil rigs in the Tasman Sea. I drove East around Mt Edgmont which is a massive mountain that should dominate the skyline and look like Mt Fuji but unfortunately it was covered in cloud; I got cheap diesel on the way and left my fuel cap behind but luckily some guy shouted and we were all good (silly me). At the town of Stratford I decided to drive up into the National Park to see if we could see anything more of the mountain but it wasn't to be and I came straight back down the fast narrow roads. Bri wasn't feeling too good so went to the chemist and got some much needed food from the local chippy which seemed to do the job eventually. Upon leaving Stratford we drove for a couple of hours down The Forgotten World Highway towards Tamorouni and turned out to be the road from hell simply because it was windy slow corners for nearly the whole way up and down hills through nothing bar farmland (forgotten world alright). We stopped in Tamorouni for a few minutes as I needed to get out the car for a bit (Bri can't drive it as she isn't 21) then drove towards Turangi, getting fantastic views of Tongariro National Park above fog and Lake Taupo as the sun was setting, on the way. We arrived in Taupo at 6.30pm and spoke to the guys at the adventure centre who pointed out where the holiday parks were so we drove to a few and settled on the one that was slightly out of town but was just off the road to Napier which we would be driving on the day after. We paid and parked up then I put pasta on and reheated some mince while Bri was in the shower. Unfortunately just after I had put the food on the plate and gave it to Bri the middle part of the bed collapsed and trying to stop myself I put my hand on her plate which spilled it all over the place. I put the bed back into place and cleared up getting quite stressed in the process but we saved most of the food and after putting it in the microwave it was all good and we had a nice meal in the end. The DVD player was set up (they provide you with a portable one with screen) and we tried watching Blood Diamond but it mucked up and we ended up watching the funny film Ice Age 2 as it had been quite a stressful day.
On Thursday we woke up, made crumpets and tidied up the campervan and used the parks kitchen to do the washing up then left about 11am. I drove South East on the really straight and fast route 5 to Napier past acres and acres of deforested land doing about 140kmh most of the way until it got windy and we were stuck behind cars; was a perfect sunny day. We got into Napier around half one, parked up next to the beach promenade and sat in a nice, new Irish Pub for a drink and some food; I had tasty beef nachos and Bri had massive bangers and mash which I ended up finishing. We walked around the city for a while down the pretty streets and strolled onto the main beach then we left to go North to Gisborne at 3pm; the drive was quite long and tiring but had some good views along the way before it got dark. We arrived in New Zealand's main surf town in the evening, drove through the main street and tried looking for a holiday park but the ont nearby had just shut and Bri didn't think it was a good idea sneaking in as the toilets and things needed a code to get in them. I ended up agreeing and she phoned the other one across town which was open so drove there, paid the really nice guy in the office and parked next to the really modern kitchen and bathroom facilities. She cooked us steak and vegetables (as well as macaroni cheese for me as I obviously have a bigger appetite) in the kitchen to avoid the mess of the night before then we lay in the campervan for a while and watched the end of Ice Age 2 (had fallen asleep with it on night before) and the thriller Two for the Money with Al Pacino which we thought was very good despite some reviews saying it wasn't too good.
We woke up early on Friday at about 9am as I had set an alarm for once (how clever of me), got changed and showered then stroked a really cool but fat spaniel that sat outside. Before leaving Gisborne to head around the East Coast we got food and fuel as the guy from the campsite said everything was far more expensive around there and in limited numbers. It was sunny again so stopped off to look at the main surf beach before driving an hour driving around the coast to Tologa Bay to see the southern hemisphere's longest wharf (600 yards), which we walked up, and the area where Captain Cook had first sailed into in 1769; the bay was the first bit of either New Zealand or Australia that he ever saw so was pleased I saw it also as it was really beautiful. At 2pm we arrived in the village of Te Aroha (expected it to be a bit bigger as was on distance markers) to commence the 21km drive towards the East Cape along a very narrow, mainly gravel road that hugged the coast. At the end of it you could see the lighthouse and the furthest bit of land East of any country in the world so was therefore one of the first places to see the sun (besides a few Pacific Islands). The lighthouse was on top of a big hill and as we were pushed for time avoided walking up it and just drove back to Te Aroha seeing the spectacular rugged coast on the way. We drove West along the main road to Opitiki, seeing the sunset and New Zealand's most active Volcano, White Island, along the way. The town wasn't that big so I decided to drive a further hour to Whakatane to mean less driving the day after. In Whakatane we got some really delicious fish and chips and ate them in the back of the van then drove around for ages as usual looking for somewhere to park. It was the last night of the campervan so we grit our teeth and just paid to stay in another holiday park outside the centre. That evening Bri set everything up in the campervan when I was having a shower much to my surprise as she did it so quickly. We just relaxed for ages, eventually putting Blood Diamond on as the DVD player was working better then chatted for a couple of hours going to bed around 2am.
On Saturday we left the park before 10am to drive on highway 2 towards Tauranga then carried on to Auckland in the rain along road I had been down before on the Kiwi Experience (Bri also recognized some of the journey as she had been down it recently); we got some more healthy chips on the way.haha. We got to Bri's house at about 2pm, unloaded the campervan then drove to the Ezy rentals place at 4 to drop it off and have it 'inspected' but all was good and we were only there about 15 minutes. Later on I drove her mum's Mitsubishi (Bri needed a warrant on her car so couldn't drive it) to the Manakau Velodrome to watch a burnout competition involving all kinds of cars but most seemed to be Nissan Skylines or Sylvia's; basically anyone can enter and you just go out onto the tarmac surface and try to make as much smoke as possible by spinning your tyres and controlling your car at the same time by doing some spins and skids. The best cars were an old school Ford Cortina that blew its tyres as well as its engine and a brand new Holden V8 SS Ute with the driver going all out despite how nice and expensive it was (look at the pictures). Afterwards we drove back and forth along the same road to order and pick up my pizza from Domino's and Bri's pizza from Hell's pizza and I ended up getting a free second pizza because someone hadn't picked it up. Awesome! We ate then drove the short distance to the cinema to watch the really good but ridiculously long Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (had to wake Bri up at one point but after that she stayed awake) that didn't finish till about 1.20am (was over 3 hours long plus the adverts as well) so we both went straight to sleep back at the house.
Last Sunday (not too far to go now) we got up and tried sorting some things out but they didn't go to plan- Bri tried getting her car warrant but they found another fault that should have been fixed and I tried doing my last cd but the computer wouldn't work to plan. After de-stressing we drove down to Mission Bay, as it was another lovely day, and got a frappocino from Starbucks and ice cream from the awesome Movenpick and just sat in the sun for a while. That afternoon we went to the pool about 15 min away (was where Bri's gym is) and relaxed in the hot spa, cold pool and really hot sauna which I enjoyed a lot (mucked about in the pool abit). We both got ready at her house (I packed my bag as well as I take a shorter time) and changed into nice clothes, with Bri wearing a stunning dress and me putting my shirt on that I hadn't worn in about 3 months, as we were going out for dinner for my last night. I drove us down to Mission Bay yet again (nicest part of the Auckland area by a mile), parked up and looked around the many restaurants before picking a really nice one that I liked the name of- Capri (is the name of a beautiful island in Italy I went to about 5 years ago). We went inside the nice, cosy and not too busy place and ordered drinks and garlic bread then spent a while deciding on what food we wanted (waiting for me to choose as usual). For starter I had oysters and bruchetta and Bri had Prawns on rice then for main course we both had steak and potatoes- was really really good. We chatted for ages then had a hot chocolate each (dessert were a little pricey) and drove around for a while to a nice lookout over Auckland before going back to her's to sleep.
I woke up on Monday knowing it was my last day in New Zealand and therefore with Brianna so wasn't the happiest person. After finally getting up we spent a few hours just relaxing around the house and watching TV (got my cd done as well) then at about 3pm I finished off packing before driving her car down to the cinema to get some funny photos and onto Auckland Airport at Manakau (a suburb south of Auckland). We managed to park right next to the International Terminal so went inside and joined the queue to check in then had to go in another queue to pay a 25 dollar departure tax that I didn't realize was necessary. We got the escalator upstairs to where security was then spent a while saying goodbye to Brianna until I had pushed the time to the limit and had to leave otherwise would miss the plane. I went through security and onto the gate where I only had to wait ten minutes until everyone boarded the 747 flight to Los Angeles which turned out to be 100 short of capacity and managed to have 4 middle seats to myself! Sweet. The plane took off half an hour late at 18.30 and once it levelled out I got myself a couple of beers and sat down across two seats watching the really good film Shooter with Mark Whalberg then had dinner and watched the comedy Wild Hogs with John Travolta. It was getting late so I moved everything off the 4 seats and went to sleep lying flat (may as well be in first class) for about 4 hours, waking up with only 2 and a half hours left of the 11 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. Straight away breakfast was served and I spent the rest of the trip just sitting there waiting for the plane to land as my damn ipod froze again just after take off so had no use of it the whole trip. The plane landed in overcast, boring looking Los Angeles at 10.45am on the 4th June (I left Auckland at 6.30pm the same day so the time difference was ridiculous) and because we had been put on a gate miles from anything we had to get a bus to arrivals. As I expected US border security took an absolute age and so did waiting for my bad so was getting worried I might miss the connecting flight to Vancouver in little over an hour. Luckily through the doors I checked my bag in with the staff (no queues), walked the ten minutes to the other terminal, went through more security and was in the Alaska Airlines gate with a full half an hour to spare till we boarded (stressing for nothing as usual). I was sat near the front next to the window so after the plane left on time I got some great views of desert and mountains as well as other jets zooming past. The plane landed at 15.40 (same time zone as LA) into the huge, very modern Vancouver Airport (could see the city fro the air) and I breezed through Canadian Border control. I got some Canadian Dollars out then got the Aiporter shuttle Downtown but as mine was one of the last stops it took forever. I checked into the nice but expensive Vancouver Central hostel and chilled out for a couple of hours on my bed before having a shower and going down stairs to do a pub crawl (was on my own and was in much need of a drink so thought it was a good idea). A guy called Dan took me and about 10 others to the pub next door where we sat down for a while with beer chatting (was about 3 guys) and I got on well with an Australian guy from Perth called Brad. We went to a couple more pubs then me, Brad, an Irish guy and two girls decided to go on our own to another pub nearby for some cheap jugs and some pool (I won all 3 games) for a couple of hours till it closed. Some of them were hungry so got pizza while having to turn away countless homeless people for money and food then at 3am went to the hostel and to bed a short while later.
The time difference affected me more than I thought so I didn't actually wake up till 1.30pm on Tuesday and I still felt a bit tired (had effectively had a 40 hour Monday). I got ready then hit the streets of Vancouver, first of all walking up the main Granville Street to the Sky Train (basically a mono rail service) and getting off it two stops to the East at the train and bus station; there I bought a return bus ticket to the ski town of Whistler on the Thursday. Back on the Sky Train I went one station west and got off to walk around Chinatown but it didn't appeal to me too much so left not long after (managed to look at some really nice gardens first though). I walked to where the city first started, Gastown, but unfortunately walked up a very rough couple of streets that made me quite nervous due to the amount of weirdos and homeless people there were. In Gastown I looked at a statue of the guy who built the first saloon in the city then wandered around the very picturesque streets, past the worlds first steam clock (slightly nicer than Jersey's waste of money one) and up to the waterfront where I got a not so tasty hotdog and walked under 5 massive white sails which dominate the area to get some good views across the water of Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge. I walked up Howe Street to the huge impressive public library and park (had the Olympic countdown clock there as Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics), bought a meatball sub from subway then back at the hostel I spent a while writing in my journal. Late on I bought a small pizza next door and was in bed about 1am.
For the second day in a row I woke up at 1.30pm and hoped that would be it in terms of adjusting to the new time zone (was 19 hours behind New Zealand). Again I started off by going to the bus station, so that I could purchase a ticket to go to the American city of Seattle on Friday. After I got the train to the centre so that I could walk down to Granville Island (had a market there) but unbeknown to me you couldn't actually get down off the main bridge I was walking along to get to it so just gave up and headed back to the hostel although it wasn't completely wasted as there were some good views of the city and mountains for the bridge. I was determined to finally up date my journal so sat in the kitchen for about 4 hours until 8pm doing it before walking to the supermarket (an Aussie in my room told me where it was) to get some cheap food for the next couple of days. I went on the net for an hour or so and was in bed about 11am as I had an early start the next day.
I woke up at the much earlier time of 6.45am on Thursday and got to the bus station an hour later to wait for the 8.15am Canada Greyhound bus to Whistler which left on time. The journey began drab as it was cloudy over the mountains so I just sat and listened to my ipod as we drove along the coast getting some good views of the calm sea and islands along the way. We entered the mountains and arrived in the fairy tale style town of Whistler at about 11am. I went straight into the visitor centre to get a map and some brochures then walked through part of the village and across a car park to the main walking trail down to Lost Lake not too far away (about 1km) to begin walking 'the loop'. The lake was quite small so ended up carrying on walking along some over trails for a while, getting some good views of the valley and Green Lake as well as seeing the awesome looking mountain bike trails that cris-crossed everywhere (would have been great if I had a bike and didn't want to fork out to hire one). I completed the loop and sat next to the beach at one end of it having my sandwiches. After I walked up to the Upper Village to view the Blackcomb mountain and very green looking ski runs (only snow higher up). I paid 20 bucks and went up the mountain on the main ski lift looking out for bears in the process as they are about the area. Half way up the mountain I got onto another ski lift into the low cloud that was covering the mountains and eventually more and more snow came into view until everything was very white and I was very cold (only had a t shirt and thin waterproof on in typical Antony style). At the top I picked up some snow and watched some snowboarders come down the mountain (a bus took them up further but it had just stopped for the day). On the way back to the village I got some amazing views of the valley and the other mountains. I got on the Greyhound bus back to Vancouver about 4.30pm, once I had had a look around the village itself, arriving back about 7 and spending the evening chilling and writing in my journal.
The day after I woke up at the very early time of 5am so that I could walk to the bus station for 5-45. Once there I waited half an hour (could of got up later) to finally board along with only 5 other people to the Big US city of Seattle. An hour and a half later we crossed the border and had to get out the coach to go through US customs which was typically tedious and boring. The bus arrive in Seattle half an hour late at 10-45 as we picked up loads of yanks on the way down south at various towns. I walked straight over to Seattle Centre and the world famous Space Needle, bought my ticket and waited inline to get on one of the lifts up to the observatory about 500ft above the ground. Once up there I soaked in the sunshine and walked around taking photos of the great views of downtown, the bay and the suburbs then as I was pushed for time I got the lift back down and jumped on the monorail into the centre of the city. I looked around a bit then when I had got my bearings I headed South down 4th Avenue past many tall buildings, including the tallest one in the city, as well as the really cool all glass public library. I arrived in the historic Pioneer Square soon after and bought my Underground Tour ticket for 2pm as the 1pm had sold out just in front of me (damn it). I had an hour so had a nice pint and cheap fish and chips inside then went up the street to Seattle's First skyscraper, the Smith Tower, which looks like a smaller version of the Woolworth Building in New York City. I went up to the 35th floor on an old fashioned lift that was still person operated and looked at the awesome views of the nearby skyscrapers, the waterfront and the mountains then came back down and sat outside waiting for the tout to begin. I went inside the main room along with about 140 other people (obviously very popular and they must make a load of money as its 14 dollars a person) and listened to a 20 minute introduction about how the city was founded not so long ago in the 1860's and how the tour began through a man who wanted to let everyone know the real history of the city and not the school text book stuff. We split into 3 groups and went underground below the sidewalks to hear how the city now was built over the old one that was burnt down by fire in 1889 and how the new roads were above the first floor of many of the buildings- is why there is so much space down there. For about an hour we listened to fascinating stories on the early life of the city and went down 3 more underground bits with the tour finishing in the shop which had loads of old photos of the city so found them really interesting. Afterwards I walked down to the waterfront and along it for a few blocks past the many shops and restaurants and ferries then sat down for a few minutes looking out into the really pretty bay. The next stop was Pikes Place Market which involved a walk up loads of stairs (not good in the heat when your in jeans) to the main street level where there was loads of stalls and people everywhere. I had a look around for a while and found the World's first Starbucks so went inside, bought a souvenir and got myself a large Mocha Frappocino with Light Ice and Cream- so so good. I walked back up to the centre and had time to spare (had rushed around as usual) so sat down people watching for about twenty minutes before wandering back to the greyhound Bus Station and jumping on the bus about half an hour after. The bus was fairly full but by the time we reached the border there was only 6 of us again; I managed to get about an hour sleep but couldn't get comfortable even though I had the back 3 seats to myself listening to my ipod. The Canadian border control was so much simpler and less intimidating than the US one just like at the airport so wasn't surprised at all. We arrived back in Vancouver half an hour early at 10pm where I got the sky train to the main street and walked to the hostel past all the queues for the clubs as it was Friday night. I chilled and bought myself a pizza slice before going to bed about 1am.
Saturday was spent doing reasonably little because I was tired from the previous two days. I woke up around 1pm and spent the whole afternoon typing most of this out on the computers next door as they are a lot quicker and easier to use. In the evening I had a couple of drinks with the guys from my room (had been the same people since I got here) and got a really good small pizza from next door before listening to my ipod and going to bed but couldn't get to sleep too easily.
On my last day in Vancouver I got up at midday so had now missed every single opportunity I had to have my free breakfast which is only served between 8 and 9am. I left the hostel soon after and walked all the way to the city's biggest park- Stanley Park. Here I walked around for a couple of hours along the nice seawall surrounding it looking at the many boats, mountains and bay and onto the big Lions Gate Bridge which connects the city with the north. I carried on walking around to the lighthouse on the eastern end where I got some great views of the city centre and waterfront (two cruise ships were there as well) and decided to check out the aquarium. Luckily, as it was gone 4pm, it was half price so went straight in to see the really cute and adorable sea otters (pictures didn't work of them so sorry for that guys) then the main attraction- the awesome white beluga whales. The whales just swam around their really big tank coming up for air every now and again and lifting their tails in the air; was a magestic site. Before I left I took a lot at the whales from under the water and checked out the sharks and massive Amazonian freshwater fish. It took about 45 minutes to walk to the hostel on the really warm sunny day (unusual for Vancouver) and I just collapsed on my bed because I must of walked a good 10km around the park as it really is that big (not far off Central Park size). I did my washing and packed my bag then went on the internet for a while and bought yet another pizza (love this city as there are pizza places everywhere) before going to bed at 11.30am.
Yesterday was a very long and stressful day that began at the ungodly time of 4am. I quietly had a shower and got changed then caught a taxi through the spookily quiet streets to the airport even though it was still a little bit light (city can't get very dark for long). At departures I joined the Alaska Airlines Queue and checked in then walked through to 'United States' to go through US Customs (obviously do it because so close to the US and too much hassle to do it once in the country) and dropped my bag off (strange system) before going through security and jumping aboard my flight to LA which arrived on time at 9am. I walked to the other terminal (bag got checked in to New York), went through security and bought myself a tasty but ridiculously unhealthy burger king meal, as had missed breakfast, then waited for my plane which I was on stanby for because someone had mucked up my flights and was put on a later one. Luckily I got on the right one and we left LA at 12.30pm for the 5 hours flight to JFK. The plane ride was bumpy for the first hour or two going over the rocky mountains then it leveled out and you could see the ground below and I watched a good film called the Astronaut Farmer. As we descended into the airport I caught a glimpse of Manhatten with the sunset behin so was very pleased. Once we landed and I had got my bag I caught 2 trains to get to Penn Station right in the centre then another one to 103rd street station to get a cab ride to my hostel a few blocks down (hard and hot work doing all that). I put my stuff in the crappy small hostel, bought some food and went to bed.
This morning I went on the computers and am going into the city in about half an hour to good old Times Square then eventually will take a cab across the water to New Jersey to my departure hotel to start my Grand Trek in the morning. Yipeee.
Well that's me done on the very very long blog so hope you have the patience to read it.
There are limited places for the internet for the next 6 weeks so don't expect as much detail as usual in my blogs but I will endeavour to do them once a week or so. Photos might be a little hard but we shall see.
Bye for now
Antony
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