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I'm back again- just had a look at the last blog I wrote and my spelling is terrible (sorry Aunty Anne) is just hard to type so much when the money runs out so fast! I miss my laptop- so if someone could fly out to visit us for a bit and bring the laptop I would really appreciate it- i'll get you a beer :-)
Leaving Wellington on the 18th Feb was a very early start to catch the ferry. After being told NOT to be late there was no room on the first bus so we had to wait 30mins for the next one!We did have a laugh at the lads eating popcorn and still drinking G&T! Nice! We jumped straight off the bus in the queue to check our bags in when this grumpy old NZ man with a hat with 100 badges on said to Bobski 'Yea thats right push in bla bla bla' and again to my amazement Bobski said 'O just get lost its early and I cant be bothered with you mate' in the strongest Hull accent ever ha ha!! Then I started on the 'there are people dying in the world and your worried about us pushing in' it was not a good start to say the least!! Funny though! We boarded the Pride of Cherbourgh (or whatever it was- it was painted over so hard to see) and it was just like being back at work- of course I was checking out the conference facilities on board ha ha! I had a nice power nap meanwhile b***** lugs bobski was outside and saw 25 or so dolphins swimming around the boat- lucky thing! We waited a while for the bus to turn up before we made our way to Nelson. It was really raining today which was strangely a nice break from the sun but hopefully it wont last long! We arrived at Fern Lodge in Nelson and we had our first dorm room experience- it wasnt as bad as we thought and we got a nice kitchen and bathroom shared between 10 of us which was cool. After a quick shower we went beer tasting in the hostel, they had some yummy beer! The Issacs cider was particularly lovely he he! If you spilt it once you had to suck it off the table and if you split it a second time you had to mop it up with an old bar towel and drink it from that- yak! We had some pasta (AGAIN) for tea and went out for some drinks with the Yorkshire girls and Scottish Julie that we met at the hostel which was fun!We stayed in Nelson for an extra day and we didnt wake up until 11am- we must have needed it!!Getting off the bus meant we lost Bex the driver and the 'party bus' but that was ok. We went to find the Centre of New Zealand today and 30 mins after walking up a VERY steep mountain we found it- knackered!!Blue waters surrounding Nelson on one side and green mountains on the other- the actual centre was marked by a tiny gold screw in the ground. We just wandered around Nelson for the rest of the day which was lovely- and it was hot again!!
On the 20th we left Nelson with our new bus driver Scotty (Nancy) and headed for Westport. We drove to the stunning Lake Rotoiti- this country really makes your heart pound every day! Its part of the Nelson Lakes National Park and we did a short walk called the Honey Dew walk then we sat on the grass and had a picnic with the ducks and dreaded sand flies! It was funny when one of the ducks took a crisp and dip from Caz and she shouted 'hahahaha thats Duke pate you idiot'! We travelled through desserted towns (due to the amount of earthquakes) for the rest of day. There really is more to NZ than you think- earthquakes, caves, gold mining, weird weather, masses of rainforest, snow caped mountains and lots lots more! We drove down the Buller Gorge before coming to Buller Adventure tours. Phil went on a 2 hour quad bike trek and absolutely loved it (we also realised later on that they hadnt charged us for it!!! Bonus). He was the only one in the group and got to do some brilliant things! I in the meantime went on a 3 hour horse trek along the river. I had a horse called Max who was only 6 years old and gorgeous! We walked for a while and he kept falling over everything which was a bit annoying but the scenery made up for it!! We then had a little trot and before I knew it I was cantering along the river in the sand and bouncing everywhere!! I loved it although I screamed the whole time! Lastly we went into the river to the point where the horses were swimming and I was wet through! Amazing! Really enjoyed it!! We spent the night recovering at Bazils hostel and watching American Idol with the crazy receptionist! Good times- sweet as (kiwi saying!)
The next day we went from Westport to Lake Mahinapua. We drove a short distance to Cape Foulwind and did an hours walk (never walked so much in my life!!) to see the Seal Colonies. This is also the shortest point from NZ to OZ- we couldnt see any kangaroos though ;-) Because it was such a nice day our driver let us do a couple of walks so we also did the Truman track and went to see the famous pancake rocks and blowholes which were cool. This night we stayed in VERY basic accommodation aka 'The Poo Pub'. Its a party night for the whole bus which is meant to make up for it!!! We had to go in fancy dress something beginning with 'P' which is easier said than done when your backpacking!Before we pulled up at the Poo pub Scotty told us all about the owner- 84 YEAR OLD LES who lives for backpackers!!!!! He also told us what speech he would do when he got on the bus and it was dead right! He even told us that every time he does the speech he forgets it so he gets his notes out- hes only been doing it 20 odd years!! It was hilarious! We sounded the horn when we pulled up and he didnt come out for ages- Scotty was saying 'Awww please dont be dead Les' ha ha ha!!We all tucked into a steak BBQ cooked by our driver before getting ready to go out! Now I went in my PJ's and Bobski went as a puff and all I can say is WAIT FOR THE PICTURES- you will be shocked!!! But they explain it all! We had prostitutes, puppets, puzzle, pussycat, punk, pregnant- all sorts really. It was a great night- even with the grotty old beds! I also bought a locally carved gemstone necklace which I love!
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