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Laura's Travels
hey everyone,
just gona attempt to fill in from the first few days in nz onwards! its gonna be a long one folks!
In aukland after the fab sky tower day we headed off to Kelly Tarltons Antarctic Aquarium -in hope of making it this time! We had to make our own way there as shuttle was full again! They have all sorts of sea creatures, sharks, fish, eels, even a penguin collony! it was amazing. We went through a tunnel and saw sharks and all kinds of wierd fish- it was feeding time so we saw a guy in a wet suit drop down near the tunnel and dish out bucket fulls of fish! defo woulnt fancy his job! The penguin bit was accessible on a little ride which took you right around their little home! i loved it- i dont think ive ever been so close to them before- lots of pics for you to see!
After this we went down to the harbour again because there was a food and wine festival on and being scummy backpackers we thought FREE FOOD YER!! so paid $15 and filled our boots on the most delicious cheeses, cold meats, sausages, breads, dips, sushi, breads and all sorts of wonders! we were a little put out we had to pay for wine- but you cant have everything i suppose! ha! It was absolutely glorious sunshining day ans there were tents everywhere, live music on a band stand and dancing etc. We were all in our absolute element until we ate too much and felt a little sick! ha.
I thought spending mums birthday here was very fitting- i had a few drinks for her- and wished she was there too as she'd love it!!
After this we had a drink in one of the bars along the harbour then went back to the hostel. MC and i popped out after this and ended up in a very cool club which MC managed to blag us into without queuing at all. It was dance music with live sax and bongos etc- we danced the night away til the early hours- our day couldnt get any better!
On the sunday (9th April) we just sorted out lots off stuff and booked onto the kiwi experience.
The kiwi experience is much like the fiji experience in terms of the idea- but its much longer and very flexible taking you all over the country, north and south island and is basically an easy way of seeing the country in the time we have! so its 25 days in total and we are packing in a lot! We are pretty much on the go all the time- but better that than missing out great chunks i think!
Our first day on the tour took us further north to the Bay of islands which was a free add-on when booking the tour, where we went on a speed boat ride through the bay and through 'the hole in the rock'. We got very wet and laughed a lot! We had a bbq that evening which was fab. The folowing day we got up at the crack of dawn to go dolphin watching with a possibility of swimming with them. It was fab- we saw a large pod and got real close. Didn't swim with them though unfortunately, as the pod had babies with them.
We headed back to auckland after this and went to the famous ice bar called minus 5 which is literally a bar made fully of ice. Including the cups you drink out of! It was really fun- we got given eskimo outfits and boots etc. you can only stay for 30 mins as its that cold!
Wed 12th April: After a quick overnight stop in auckland we headed off to Mercury Bay. En route we stopped at Cathederal Cove for a 2hour walk down to a beautiful cove with fab rock formations and a breathtaking views. We then headed to the hostel and then did an hour or two bone carving (necklace/pendant) a maori thing. You choose a design then get given a basic shape then sand it down and shape it etc. it was quite good fun. not really loving wearing it though- more of a keep sake to look at really.
Spent the evening getting to know all the people on our tour as will be with them for a while.
Thurs 13th April: Mercury Bay to Rotarua. Left mercury bay and went to Karangahake scenic reserve for a walk taking us through a 1km old railway tunnel- it was pitch black even with a torch! picnic lunch, and into rotarua a sulphur city- it stank! ha.
That evening we went to a maori culture evening- it was fab! We basically saw a show and a replica maori village- singing dancing etc. On entering we were told we couldnt laugh at the tribal welcoming ceremony where half naked guys with beard tatoos and grass skirts dance like idiots and stick out their tounges and roll their eyes! hmm, you can imagine how well i coped wih that! oh dear- i just hid behind my camera!
Fri 14th: Rotarua to Waitomo. We went to the famous Te Puia geothermal reserve where steaming hot geysers and mudpools and huge active volcano things were. It was absolutely spectacular- again- see photos. We had a fantastic guide who told us pretty much the entire NZ history in a brilliant way. i thoroughly enjoyed it- captain cook was a clever guy!
Went to marokupa falls a 36 metre waterfall- beautiful.
chilled out in evening.
Sat 15th April: Waitomo to Taupo: Waitomo was famous for its caving and blackwater rafting (tubing in rubberrings) where you see glow worm caves. We didnt do any activities here- they didnt seem worth their money- so we went on the waitomo walk which was 1 1/2 hour walk through gorgeous countryside. Came a little too close to some cows for my liking and the pink pumas got a little caked in mud! ha! but really had a lovely time! ha.
Off to Taupo- the adventure capital of the north where we were due to do a skydive!!! yikes!!! We arrived later than expected as stopped at another waterfall en route and they said that only 4 out of the 17 could dive that afternoon (it was such good weather too) and guess what... us 4 skipped off first and landed the places! Im not going to lie and say i wasnt petrified- i was. a lot. but i had heard so many people had done it and its the cheapest place ever! equivalent of 50 pounds! can you believe it! ha! Anyway we got into our suits and barely spoke- i kept thinking i was a raving lunatic! Got into the plane and up we went. I was 4th out and i just had to not think basically! he hung me out of the plane with legs out and arms holding onto my harness and he just did a thumbs up and off we fell! Words cannot describe the feeling of free falling through the sky- it was absolutely fantastic, exhilirating, or in the true kiwi talk AWESOME! I freefalled for 45 seconds and covered 7,000 feet out of the total jump height 12,000 feet. We fell at approx 120mph! My god!
On landing, i was sort of overcome- fi was jumping around screaming and i couldnt hear her for a start due to ears not popping and i was sort of on another planet- took me a good minute to snap out of it- at which point i was jumping around too! Loved it!
We were all on such a high- we didnt stop chatting all night. We went out to a club that night and had an absolute ball! such a fab day...again.
Sunday 16th April- Easter Sunday: recovery!
Monday 17th April: Taupo to River Valley, Marie-Claires Birthday. Today we woke up and packed up, said happy birthday to MC and headed off to River Valley which is a lodge in the middle of nowhere in a valley with huge mountains all around! The bus couldnt get down to it so had to walk down a huge hill- not good for the way back! We didnt even have to check-in because its not as if we could do a runner! the nearest town was an hour drive away, ha! Our dorm was rather wierd-just a huge long bunk like a shelf which you all sleep lined up on- MC loved it! River valley is known for its grade 5 white water rafting and a few of the group were doing it the following day. Hannah did the horse trekking. I sat these activities out as not too keen, plus knew it would be a big night as it was mc's bday. It was indeed a big night- had the group meal there which was a roast chicken dinenr- very nice for backpacker standards but not a scratch on home! then drinking and party games commenced into the night. fun fun fun.
Tuesday 18th: River Valley to Wellington. Thank god i didnt do an activity- it was raining cats and dogs! Had a nice sleep in and headed out onto the bus at 1 ish, a little hungover. Arrived in wellington at dinner time in a horrible hostel- the kitchen was so bad we couldnt cook in it- flies everywhere! yuk! just chilled- a little exhausted from mc's bday night!
Wed 19th: went to Te Papa museum in wellington and met a close friend of mcs who has been living and working there for a few months while on his travels- real nice to have someone who knows whats what. The museum was huge! kinda giving you the low down on nz- history old and new. Thety had a huge exhibition on there on The Lord Of The Rings showing costumes etc A lot of the filming was done in NZ so we saw things like Mount Doom etc. Im not a huge fan of the film so didnt pay to see the costumes etc! Anyway, a museum's a museum- got bored in the end (i know im not supposed to say that! at least im honest!) and headed out for an exploration of wellington- which is absolutely lovely! it is a city with the feeling of a town. We walked down the water front and got an icecream. really really nice. Went to an art gallery to see an exhibit- patricia puccini. Very very strange work! Had dinner out since hostel was gross. few drinks. bed.
Thurs 20th: Just had a general wander round again today. maz FINALLY replaced her broken camera! very exciting! met mc's cousin at lunch time who she had met only once before-but nice to catch up when in his area! then went up to the botanical gardens on the cable cart type thing- the views were amazing. Went for a drink back to hostel (we changed to a yha one which was absolutely lovely! wish we'd stayed there from start) cooked spag bol- yum. then headed out to the theatre. Wellington is widely know for its arts and culture. we went to see Death of a Salesman. It was slow to warm up- but the second half was much better. nothing to rave about though! went for drinks.
Fri 21st: wellington to nelson- north island to south island! A very early start to catch ferry today so i wasnt feeling to chirpy til lunch time! caught the 3 hour ferry ride to the south island
...got to hostel where we were supposedly doing a wine tasting evening. It basically entailed a spotty 18 year old opening a bottle and pouring a taste into a glass. When asked for the low down or description of the wine- he gave us the bottle so we could read the label! hmm. The woman who usually does it was ill or something! we tasted 2 whites and a red! great!
Sat 22nd: Nelson wo westport.
We went to the Able Tasman National park in kaiteriteri where we got a water taxi around the bay, saw a seal or two and the "sliced apple" rock. We got off and did a 2 hour walk through the mountains and coves, it was absolutely beautiful however some of the crew got eaten alive by sandflies! worse than mossies! then got back onto the water taxi and headed back. westport is a sleepy town- nothing to report- its basically somewhere to rest the head i think!
Sun 23rd: Westport to Lake Mahanipua
en route to mahanipua, we were told that there would be dress up party that evening- so get thinking on the outfit front. The theme was 'binbags' so we were thinking- sling one over our head kinda thing. We stopped at a supermarket and bought some supplies for lunch etc. Outside we were chatting to others who had bought a whole world full of props including warrior gear, black fairy wings, maids dusters and hats etc etc! crikey- who'd have thought that the mere theme 'binbags' wasnt enough...instead we had to actually go AS something! we thought we had better get involved with the enthusiasm as didnt wana be ones making the least effort! So- we headed to warehouse (uk equivalent is macro) where we searched for inspiration. Bats sprang to mind so we got glitter to jazz it up. sorted.
After this stop we went to punakaiki pancake rocks where there were things called blow holes. pretty cool to watch, however chat about the evening events were rife so it was a feeling of 'roll on the night'.
On arrival at Lake Mahanipua, we were a little shocked to say the least! it was a big old dodgy relic of a pub in the middle of nowhere! we pulled in and i actually thought the driver was pulling our legs! but, no, we were actually staying here. An 80-year old bearded, flat-capped man named Les got on the bus to give us our brief. ha. what a character- we got a lecture on general behaviour, namely drink, drugs, and sex before allowing us on his turf! The rooms etc were actually fine- they were sort of out buildings away from the main pub. The pub itself was without a doubt the quirkiest pub i had ever seen and bar far the best ever. Covering every inch of the walls were polaroid pics of every kiwi experience bus ever to bless its bar! the ceiling was completely covered (i.e every single milimetre) with hats of all descriptions left over the years by people wanting to leave their mark. Have a good look at the pics. The food that evening was cooked by les and our driver smiley and was a wild steak and venison and salad kinda thing. Absolutely yummy! filled our boots then commenced the transformation into costume!
We shared a room with emily and katie, two english girls from our bus. Their outfits were sorted, a nurse and a pirate.Amazing costumes. As soon as we started dressing MC's arms in bat wings, we quickly realised our idea wasnt quite a masterplan! ha... it looked absolutely ridiculous! she couldnt move her arms and genrally looked absolutely stupid- i was pretty much crying with laughter. so...quick change in idea- had to be black and white- so we opted for bad girls inspired by our alcatraz visit. Black and white striped dresses with numbers on the front. perfect. We whipped the outfits together and headed into the bar where the party was in full swing.
The best giggle EVER was had- it was such a good night and everyone made such a huge effort- very impressive. See our group picture and spot me if you can. We all partied hard into the night. perfect! Lots of scandal ready for the sober bus in the morning! love it.
Mon 24th: Lake Mahanipua to Franz Josef. Fi's Birthday!
All woke feeling rather ropey to say the least. Were taken to the Bushmans centre where we saw possums and learnt how hunters used to catch deer by jumpring out of helicopters onto their backs and wrestling them to the floor!
Continued on the bus til we got to Franz Josef where the glacier was- a place we had all been looking forward to as everyone we met said it was amazing. We went and sorted our treks out for the following day. Hannah and I decided to do the helihike which is basically a flight up to a high point of the glacier- unreachable on the full day trek, and a two hour ice walk and back again. MC and Fi did the full day trek starting at the foot of the glacier and walking for 7ish hours. We booked all this and chilled at the hostel. I was going to do a kayak but the weather was rotten and the whole point in doing it is that the mirror image on the lake of the mountains is breathtaking but in the rain- i really cant see how it could be so. So i delayed it to the following day (after helihike) in hope of better weather.
We had our dinner and went for a drink or two for fi's birthday. However it was rather annoying because we were 1. feeling rough still from night before, and 2. had a very physically demanding day and a crack of dawn start the following day! so we put it on hold. Still had a cake though and sung happy birthday in the bar sat next to a huge open fire- lovely!
Tues 25th: franz glacier heli-hike followed by a 3.5 hour kayak trip!
Got up and out by 8 and walked up to the tour office. Fingers crossed the weather would hold for us- the helihike is heavily dependent on the weather for safety reasons. Some people were hanging around franz for days waiting for the weather to change so they could get up the mountain! Also, if we couldnt get on the heli trip we really wanted to try get on the day trek otherwise we wouldn't be able to do anything! So anyway- we were very lucky and we were able to go up! yay. We were given huge jackets and waterproofs and walking boots. we got into the helicopter and up we went. I cannot begin to tell you what the views were like- words just cannot describe what i saw. Even the pictures dont do it justice. The glacier sat wedged between mountains which were suprisingly green! the ice was blue and had jagged razor like edges. The helie driver swooped around close to the ice- i was sat in the front- jaw on the ground at the sight i could see! woweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
We were dropped off in an area i thought didnt look very big- then a few black dots became visible- of course these dots were people! hmm- maybe it WAS bigger than i thought! We were shown how to put on our 'talons' which were metal attachments with teeth so when you walk- you dug into the ice. Very handy!
The guide went first and we all followed (10 in the group ish). He ice-picked steps in the ice for us to follow! It was unbelievable. the ice formations were out of this world- see pics. went through a little cave thing- saw a huge pin like ice boulder and little circular holes in the floor of the ice where you could imagine eskimos fishing! ha.
after approx two hours of hard work walking around the ice, we got back in the 'copter and back down the glacier- I LOVED THE HELI RIDE it was worth the money just for that! wow- what a morning!
...on to the kayaking. Had an hour to eat my pre-made sarnie (economical backpacker trick) and got into a kayak on a lake for a 3 hour kayak trip in the mirror lakes near the glacier. I had my own kayak as i am special- others in the group had 2 to a kayak! We went all around the lake and into little thin passage ways with overgrown trees etc- the mirrow image on the lake from the mountains surrounding us were amazing- like paddling into a mountain! had a really nice time- very relaxing, but really hard on the arm muscles at times!
ALL in all- a bloody fantastic day- and well worth a drink at the end of it! early to bed unsuprisingly- shattered!
Wed 26th April: franz to wanaka. Today was a scenic drive through the other glacier area, Haast River and into wnaka, a ski town. It was a really pretty little town and very ski orientated- strange though as no snow when we were there- but it was just before the season that we were there. our hostel was actually like a hotel- all 4 to a room (very good in backpacker terms) and ensuite...with bath! (unheard of) with t.v (you see where im going here). it was pure luxury! so we rested our aching limbs and had a huge big dinner (8 of us cooked up a feast of chillie) yum yum yum, then had drinks.
Thurs 27th: wanaka to Queenstown. We got up and headed to the nearby attraction, puzzling world. It was a lot of fun- i have a few good pics. Then headed into queenstown via the bungy jumping place where we had a little video session trying to make us all do it. NO THANK YOU! Han and MC ended up signing up for the Nevis bungy jump which is the 3rd highest bungy in the world! my god- they are mental!
checked into hostel etc and had a wander around then headed out for our big bus night out. Everyone in the bus put $3 in a kitty and that evening one persons name would be drawn out of a hat and it would be their 'birthday' for the evening complete with cake and the full bus' money to spend in the bar! wow! We met everyone in one bar where MC got roped into doing a game- the horizontal bungy- basically running across the floor with a bungy rope attached, over to a pint of beer which you had to down! MC didnt win- but she gave it a very good shot and she received a few free drinks for her trouble! soooooooooooo glad it wasnt me!
anyway- on to the next bar- where cocktails are served in tea pots and you pour it into shot glasses! very bizarre! cool though. The name was drawn and guess what...it was ME!!! so- i got a huge cake and loads of free teapots and the whole kittly worth $130! woooooo hoooooo. i bought teapots for the whole bus and we all danced the night away- such a good giggle! LOVED IT. everyone said happy birthday to me all night! ha. drank a lot! oops.
saturday: woke up feeling a little "special" so had to recover slowly. MC and Hannah were doing a bungy! ha- sooooooo glad its not me. hsd s lovely wander around Queenstown with Fi and Emily- shopped, then went up to the top of the mountain by a cable car. Fi was petrified to say the least- it was very funny. She said she was going to walk down! ha! The views at the top were fantastic- see pics. We did a luge at the top, which is a little buggy thing and you go down a track. Such good fun but we look ridiculous! ha. We then got peckish so had a late lunch in the most amazing pizza restaurant in the world- it was AMAZING- we sat by a log fire til we were nearly asleep! the girls came from the bungy to meet us and were buzzing! They had a fantastic time! Said it was the hardest thing they every had to do! i can imagine. They all had dvds and pics too. Then said they were doing another one the following day! double mental- ha. Han however said- tick- done it, pleased- not again thankyou. im with her on that! ha.
...to be continued!
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