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South America to New Zealand
We have finally arrived in the beautiful country which is New Zealand. However Not without a couple of minor dramas along the way!
We left Peru for our first flight of 3, this one went smoothly arriving in Bogota , Columbia for our next connecting flight to Chile. This one was not so much fun as Julia’s stomach bug spun into life resulting in the entire 5hour flight with Julia hugging the aircrafts toilet.
Once landed in Santiago, Chile myself and a rather green looking Julia booked into the airports Holiday Inn hotel giving Julia 11 hours until our final flight to New Zealand to recuperate.
So 3hours before check in we made our way to the airport (Julia still green) to be met by a Lan airways rep telling us the plane was stuck in Easter Island and we will not be flying till the next day, so whisked off to town for a further overnight stay.
Eventually we arrived in New Zealand and after a doctor’s visit to clear up a parasite in Julia’s system which took a total of 15 antibiotic pills taken over3 days to destroy it I can safely say all is well again.
Arriving in New Zealand’s most populated city of Auckland was just what we needed soaking up such luxuries as fine food , tap water we can drink and flushing toilets , a bit different from South America .
Over our 3days here in Auckland we embarked on a harbour cruise which offered fantastic sights of the bridge, the harbour, surrounding islands, lovely beaches and Mission bay it was from here we decided to walk back to our hostel based in the city, unaware it was 10km away it took some time and needless to say our legs were somewhat heavy the following morning!
We also caught up with an old friend of mine who I (Mark) worked with back home called Sam. Sam took us out for the afternoon to explore a bit further out of the city.
We visited Goat Island marine reserve where we were fortunate to see a large leopard seal lazing on the beach. Unfortunately it was lazing for a reason, it was unwell and I since believe it has now made a final journey to seal heaven!
From Auckland we picked up our stunning Mazda familia rental car and headed south of the north island to our next stopover the town of Waitomo.
Waitomo is home of the famous glow worm caves its here we participated in our first activity of black water rafting. Donned in wetsuits, welly boots , hard hats and head torches and armed with an inflated rubber ring we ventured 65metres underground jumping through the cave falls and floating downstream lit mainly by the light from the glow worms which line the caves roof . This was cold but so much fun!
Once dried off we took the short drive to the Waitomo angoran rabbit farm , a farm of over 300 rabbits the size of small dogs which are bred for the thick fur which they shear and expensive socks , hats and jumpers are made from and sold worldwide .
One surprise to us is how expensive New Zealand is compared to when we last visited it, and with further activities planned we decided to fork out for our new accommodation, a two man tent to occasionally camp when we can brave the cold.
After Waitomo we decided to pack up camp and continued our journey south with a long days drive, however there is nothing like a leisurely break at the Mokai gravity canyon for a quick adrenaline rush to wake you up. We decided on an 80metre tandem bungee swing, this was freefalling 50metres from a bridge positioned in a canyon then into a swing action for the remaining 30metres.
I have done 3 normal bungee jumps before but found this far scarier than all 3, we both loved it! From here we drove on to paraparaumu to Barnacles YHA where due to the cold we could not camp so we rested here inside for the night.
Early rise for the short drive to windy Wellington to pitch our tent at Rowena’s lodge, only 500metres from the city centre. Ideally located we walked round the city taking a trip up the traditional cable car before strolling through the beautiful botanic gardens for the afternoon.
Following a cold nights camp we have taken the 3hour interislander ferry from the north island to the south island, once in the south island we drove down to Kaikoura .
Kaikoura on a sunny clear day is one of the most beautiful locations I have been too , surrounded by snow capped mountains and with the sea teaming with marine life such as dolphins , seals , shark and whales it was here we decided to book a whale watch tour .
7.45 am the boat sailed out on the rough seas but with the sun brightly shining we were lucky enough to drift through the Pacific Ocean along side the sperm whale which surface for approx 15minutes a time. It was great to be within a few metres of a whale and is something we both enjoyed and I am sure we will never forget.
I hope you enjoyed this update, we will update again in a week or so.
Love Mark and Julia xxxxx
(PS the photos are not uploading very well here, so you may have to wait a while!)
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