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Apologies for the lack of blog entries but the last month has been hectic! For a small place there is so much to do in New Zealand and Charlie and I have made a good effort to get around as much of the country as possible in the time we have.
On arrival in Auckland we stayed with the Sclaters who have a house near the beach in Takapuna, North Shore. From there Charlie, Henry and I went and stayed on their house on an Island called Waiheke where we spend 4 nights at their beach house before heading back to Auckland to start our kiwi experience bus tour. We got up early on the 24th Jan and headed into Auckland where we met the big green bus with driver Damo and a full bus including 2 Danish girls we had met in Fiji. Day one we headed off to Hot Water Beach, Coromandel where I did a half day kayak to Cathedral cove and around Tia Fongonui marine reserve where we saw sting rays and other fish. From Coromandel we headed to Waitomo and the Black water rafting which involved a 5 hour trip into the caves where we pot-holed and floated down the river in a tube with glow worms all around. The next day we headed to Rotorua which is the cultural capital of New Zealand, why? I have no idea, it smells of rotten eggs and there was a homocide the previous night opposite our hostel. As there was not much to do we went out for a nice Italian meal. After Rotorua we headed to Taupo for 2 nights, on arrival we walked half an hour to the hot pools which was a natural spring feeding into a river, the next day we got up at 05:00 and got on a bus heading to Tongoriro national park where we did a 20km walk, the weather was perfect and Charlie and I climbed Mt. Ngaruahoe (Mt. Doom off Lord of the Rings) the ascent was mentally and physically challenging but when we reached the summit the sun was shining and we sat on the thermal heated rocks out of the wind and the view from above the clouds was incredible. After finishing the walk we headed back to Taupo. From Taupo we headed south to a place called River Valley, from here celine, Eleyna and I went on a 3 hour trek through the country in time for the sun-set. The next day the 4 of us went white water rafting on class 5 rapids. After River Valley we headed to the Capital Wellington but arrived late so did not have time to get out into the citry. The next day we got the ferry from Wellington to Picton (North to South island) taking 3 hours. The bus went from Picton down to Kiteriteri which is a small coastal town, we spent the evening on the beach under the stars and Charlie and I were cooked a Thai curry by the girls. Kaiteriteri to Westport where we stayed in a small hostel, it was our turn to cook dinner so we perfected a pasta dish. From Westprt we headed to 'The Poo Pub' via Greymouth where we were instructed to buy fancy dress for that night, from the charity shop I found a very nice purple robe and a combination od silk pyjamas, neck scarf and braces which all came together to provide me with an un-canny Hugh Heffner outfit. Charlie went as a pirate (poor effort) and that night we arrived at this strange place run by a 90 year old man, it was exclusive to Kiwi Experience and we were served a steak dinner and then to the bar where we were joined by Swedish transvestites and all sorts. Feeling fragile the next day we headed to Franz Josef glacier for 2 nights where again there were natural hot pools and the next day Celine and I went on an ice climbing expedition on the glacier, the weather was perfect and it was an incredible experience. Something you dont get the chance to do very often, a definite if you have the chance. From Franz Josef we drove past Mt. Cook and Fox glacier on our way to Wanaka, en route we crossed through the Haast pass which is the most breath taking drive I have ever experienced, the mirror lakes, the mountains. Cruising through with Pink Floyd playing through out the bus was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip. At Wanaka we decided to stay 2 nights and so had to say farewell to our driver Damo. We spent the evening by the lake and that night Walter (our 50 year old Italian friend) cooked us Bruschetta. The next day the 4 of us went to the supermarket and bought food for a picnic, we then walked arund the lake until we came to a nice beach where we spent the day, had our picnic and Charlie and I found a mud pool and cover ourselves head to toe. We spent that evening by the beach with a group of people from the bus. From Wanaka we headed to the anxiously anticipated Queenstown, the town is a playground, there is so much on offer. Adventure sports, nightlife, lake, sports, mountains, hikes. We had a week here which was not long enough. The first night we bought a famous Ferg Burger (the best burger you have ever had in your entire life) from 7am to 3am everyday there is a constant queue leaving the shop. Then we went out in Queenstown with the bus and our driver who bought free drinks from everyone. The group included, Charlie, Myself, 12 Swedish, 2 Danish, Dutch, German, 3 English, 1 Irish. We have both fallen in love with Swedish people, their ethos on life is perfect and they are constantly up for a good time, not good for your wallet though. The next day we headed to the first ever commercial bungy jump where Charlie jumped........naked. He did not get the jump for free but the girls said they would get him the photos (very graphic) and I promised him a ferg burger. Again that night we went out with our Swedish cohort as it was 4 of the Swedish girls last night, Charlie entered us into a 'wet jock' competition which involved a group of intoxicated males in minimal clothing embarassing themselves in front of everybody in the bar, at the beginning there was 8 and in due course people got voted out (all decided on crowd reaction) until there were 3, Charlie, myself, and a bearded man called Beethoven (the reigning champion) Charlie was next to go and into the final I went with this hairy Canadian beast who proceeded to try and kiss me, I tried to escape but the host got me back and in the decider I came out ontop mostly due to the screams of the Swedish guys. My prize was a $200 white water rafting trip. That night we stayed up until 9am when the Swedish girls got onto the bus without any sleep. We slept through most of the day and then that evening we decided to climb Ben Logan which is a mountain which gives great views of Queenstown and the lake, we thought it would be incredible to wake up for the sun rise over the town. We set off (ferg burger in hand) and headed up the mountain, head torches on. After eventually making it up we pitched our tent on a 45 degree angle, freezing cold the 4 of us were tightly packed into a 2 person tent. Over the course of the night we recieved about 2 hours sleep and our tent slid 2 tent lengths down the slope and both sets of poles had snapped. This was fine though as the reasn we had gone up the mountain was to see the incredible sunrise..... this was the cloudiest day of our entire trip, you could not see 5 feet infront of you. The girls headed down and Charlie and I lay in the tent seriously questioning our logic, we trudged back down and after a nap we were ready to go out again as it was the Swedish guys last night, another late night but luckily no competitions were entered, it was very sad to say farewell but we have promised we are going to visit Sweden. The next day Charlie and I played frisbee golf, Charlie was the victor and after a few hours on the beach we headed up to the rugby pitch where there was a super 15 pre-season game between the Highlanders and the Chiefs. The atmosphere was so nice, weather good, it was free ( a word we have come to like a lot) and we enjoyed a competetive close game of rugby before heading off to ferg burger one last time. We headed back to the hostel where we watched Rock'n'rolla and went to bed. Up early again for the 8 hour haul to Christchurch where we spent the night before flying to Auckland the next day. The city was interesting the red zone where the CBD and majority of the collapsed buildings were was quite shocking. On arival at our hostel we were given an earthquake safety building. The next morning I got up at 4 as the hostel had sky tv to watch Man City beat Aston Villa, this is probably the thing I miss the most about England. At Christchurch airport we bumped into one of our friends from Fiji and also had to say goodbye to a Dutch girl we had spent a lot of time with. We spent the night in Auckland and then headed up to the Bay of islands, that afternoon Celine and I did a 16000ft (4.8km) sky dive, the most amazing experience of my life (video on facebook). The next day I went by myself on a dolphin cruise for 4 hours, we got the chance to swim with dolphins twice, first with a group of 4 playful teenagers who were circling me and swimming underneath me, then a group of 12older dolphins cruising along both under and over the water. The next day was our last full day in the Bay of Islands, we went up to 90 mile beach and drove along the beach up to a sand dune where we went sand boarding. We then headed up to Cape Reinga which is the most northern part of New Zealand where the Tasman sea and Pacific Ocean which is a very sacred Maori place. On our final day in the Bay we went to he beach and had to say our very sad farewells to our Danish companions :( but we have promised to keep in touch and see them in the not too distant future. Charlie and I are now in Auckland with the Sclaters again before we fly to Bangkok tomorrow morning. We are both very sad to be leaving New Zealand and have loved every second we have been here, however we are looking forward to relaxing, seeing our friends and spending a lot less money! Sorry for the length and I intend to update it more regularly in the future.
George
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