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Tuesday 13th may
got up and went to the skytower, the lift up has a see through floor which was pretty good then amazing views from the top. got some lunch and decided to get the ferry over to Ragitoto Island which is a dormant volcano off the coast of Auckland. an hours walk uphill they said, took us mountain goats half an hour - go us!! again the views were amazing and so peaceful. everyone was whispering at the top which was wierd, so we whispered too. after a walk round the crater we headed back down and caught the ferry home. had planned to see Precilla Queen of the desert but it wasnt showing till the 27th, then we had planned to go to Snow planet for a disco ski but there was no buses coming back late so in the end we settled for the cinema and a pick and mix. went to see Definatly Maybe which was really good, back to hostel, packed and bed.
Wed 14th
up bright and early, had breakfast and then after waiting for the lift for almost 10 mins decided it was burst open the fire escape door and run down the steps or miss our bus so we took the first option and legged it over to the bus stop.
bus wasnt a coach but a small 20 seatr which was pretty cosy and good as we got to know everyone on first day. had a bunch of 7 lads from exeter uni on it they were pretty loud and so so funny. the driver was cool too but he'd resigned the day before so we didnt think he give a flying poop about us but he was good and even added in extra walks and view stops.
first stop was Mount Eden in Auckland and the views were stunning. then we headed to Coromandel peninsula and across the River Thames, stopping for lunch at a small retail park. bec decided to wear her coffee instead of drinking it and has a lovely blistered stomach as a souvenir.
then off to Whitianga, and a stop at mount Paka to climb the summit. was so pretty at the top. another half an hour and we stopped at Cathedral cove which was where bits of Narnia was filmed apparently. would have been amazing on a sunny hot day but the water was like ice.
dropped the rest of the bus off at the ferry and the bone carving museum and me bec and 3 other girls went for a drive around, and stopped off at a posh new development of riverside houses. all of us eyeing up which one we'd have if we were loaded. the driver was just as bad and apparently he'd been shouted at a few times for being on private proerty with a tourist bus. haha was fun though.
so after we'd claimed our houses, we headed to the On the Beach hostel, then to the supermarket to get stuff for tea and then headed on to bed! very long day on a coach.
Thursday 15th - Got up really early as had to get on the bus to head to Waitomo. we discovered on the bus that we would be spending the night in Waitomo instead of heading onto Rotura like orignally planned as our driver had mucked up and was actually driving on his day off! his muck up his problem to sort out i say, but no he dumped us on Waitomo for the night.
stayed in a caravan park in cabins which were tiny but we had one to ourselves so it wasnt that bad really. was pretty cold in the night too.
anyway stopped off at a really odd Angora rabbit shearing shed. where they breed really hairy rabbits and then shave them off to make scarfs and gloves etc. was good to see but just a really random thing to do- whats wrog with sheep. they lay the rabbit out flat then pulled each leg out and bungy'd it to a wooden frame so it was stretched really big. and then she was spinning it like a pig on a spit while shaving its hair off.
next we had a walk round some caves then came further down the valley to the glow worm caves was good to see. we sat in a tiny little boat in the pitch black going through the caves. my brain must have an overactive imagination switch, continously turned to on cos i kept thinking that if something came out of the water and grabbed us then we'd never be found in the dark and kept thinking of what would be down there swimming about waiting for the next boat of tourists. and since we all had to be silent too or the glow worms would turn off i found myself laughing for no real reason.
anyway glow worms were good, looked just like fairy lights
went to the pub ont he way back and get to know everyone bit better, then went to play on the trampoline and have some tea. went back to the pub since there was bott all else to do.
becky took part in a drinking games and a boat race against the Kiwi Ex bus and ended up almost puking across the table, haha and then she was pretty tipsy and got talking to a canadian but in a really posh accent which i found hilarious.
met Matt and becky who were in fiji with us on the Wana Taki boat in the pub in Waitomo which was weird as the place was so SO small! headed to bed not long after that!
friday 16 - got up and checked out of the cabins, then since the magic bus wasnt coming till 3 we had a long wait.
boarded the bus and made our way to Rotourua. which stunk. its a geyser/hot springs place so the sulpher that comes up form the ground actually makes you want to wretch.
dumped our bags, freshened up we had literally minutes untill we had to be at the Maouri Booking place for a concert. got a bus out to the middle of nowhere to a village and they did a welcome ceremony, then we got to wlak around the village was really good. then we got to see all the men doing the Haka dance and lots of singing and banging sticks and chests, also got a maouri meal included too which was all you can eat - so we did till we were fit to burst.
got the bus back and the driver said he was going to round the evening off nicely and so went round a roundabout 6 times! was pretty funny.
went to the Hot Rocks bar for a few drinks and a bit of a boogie - the music was sooo cheesy, just how i like it!! then headed to bed about midnight.
sat 17 - stopped off at boiling mud pools and a geezer which erupted when we got there. then we stopped some other places along the way but i cant remember where - look at becs blog. arrived in taupo, checked into out YHA dump and had a wander into town and to the supermarket. decided to make tea with chloe and amy so had a massive chicken and veg pasta bake which was yum. then we headed out on a massive magic bus gang night out into taupo was really good but the walk home in the cold wasnt so good my feet had frozen. i was so cold and couldnt see a thing in the dark when i got back that i just got into bed fully clothed.
sunday 18 - spent all morning in bed just because it was so cold outside, had some brunch at about 2pm them decided to not totally waste the day so went for a wlak down to Lake Taupo and the marina and back through town. had leftover tea from the previous night and then we were all sat chatting in the dorm for ages and most of them went out but i was just so cold and tired i didnt bother.
monday 19 - up and on the magic bus once again headed to wellington, had a few stops off in some national park somewhere and a lunch stop somewhere else ( can you tell my fingers are like ic and are incapable of typing naymore)then arrived into wellington about 2 oclock. we headed to the summit oof Mt Victoria then we got dropped at Nomads, another dump of a hostel, for a few days. spent the afternoon doing not a lot then we went into the bar and drank with the lads for a bit. bec went up the cable car with mark, chris and woody but id just got my free 2 glasses of wine so i sat with the other 3 in the warm and played pool.
Tuesday 20 - arose at 7 to see the boys off then went back to bed for an hour or two.
went for a sleepy wander round the city, we were both shattered, 6 late nights and then early starts the next day ends up taking its toll - we're getting to old. i have so many run down diseases - ulcers, spots, sore gums, im grinding my teeth in the night and have a horendously sore throat. need some vitamin c and a good nights sleep. anyway we got some brunch, had a wander round the harbour, got an icecream and then went to the Te Papa Museum which was free, bought some food, some socks and a wooly hat then came back to the hostel.
had some soup watched some tv and bed at 7.
Wed 21 - had a mega 15 hours sleep last night. went to bed at 5 past 7 and thought id read for a bit, i read 3 chapters and was gone. and then managed to have a convo with bec when she came in at 9. dont remember a thing i said. apparently i ordered her to shut the curtains for me ooops hahaha.
so got up had breakfast and we've ran out of stuff to do so we are emailing and uploading pics. considering this is the capital city of NZ theres not a lot to do. we decided to get the cable car up to the botanic gardens and walk back down into the city via a kiddy park. we had a good play on the deathslide and the swings - as you do when your 22 years old and have nothing better to occupy your mind!!
met zoe from otc for tea and a catch up, had a game of pool then called it a night as zoe had work and we were leaving really early next day.
thur 22nd - caught the shuttle to the ferry port and boarded the ferry for the 3 hour journey to south island. it was an ex channel ferry with the Pride of Cherbourg still written on the side. we found some recliny seats and plonked our butts. had a bit sleep and a bit read and a bit food then it was time to find our Magic Bus in Picton.
was really full compared to the north island busses and there was some really posh loudmouthed girls on the back. didnt have many stops was pretty much straight to nelson and to the hostels. stayed at Tasman Bay Hostel which was really nice felt dead homely with the log fires and big sofas. we got free breakfast and we also got free chocolate pudding every night. to be honest it was the swaying factor as all the hostels were much of a muchness really. so we were like - hell yeah choclate cake and ice cream, we're going there regardless of price, was so good too. went for a walk into town and to find a supermarket then came back played monoploly with 2 guys from the bus, had tea then went to bed really early again. most of the time we go to bed just to get warm and then warmness leads to tiredness and tiredness leads to sleep and then next thing you know its morning.
fri 23rd - up again really early had our free breakfast and got the coach to the Abel Tasman National Park. got dropped off at a beach and got a water taxi which was muchos fun -bouncing over the waves, up to the bay where we were to start our hike. saw a penguin which was cool but nobody else saw it so they thought i was making it up grrrr.
got off at Torrent bay and began our walk, there was some really pretty beaches and rainforest- very picturesque. stopped for lunch at apple tree bay and it was freezing so we muched fast and continued. got 6 hours to do the walk and we were at the end point 2 and a half hours early so we went to a hippy wood carving cafe which had the nicest hot cholate ever but everone in there was justa a bit wierd and spaced out.
got the coach back and had a much needed shower, made tea had our choccie pud and again went to bed to get warm.
sat 24th - left nelson amazingly early and drove through some amazing scenery. we also stopped off at the pancake rocks and saw a seal colony which was good.
arrived greymouth about 5pm and found Neptunes our hostel for the night. we had free chocolate, towels, soap and mints on our pillow, free warm muffins and unlimited tea and coffee, free hotwater bottles, and we didnt have to make our own beds which were also not bunks. defo a good hostel!!
showered and changed then headed out to the Railway Hotel - bit of a dive and full of locals but the $6 all you can eat bbq was recommended and actually really good. had a few drinks with some of the others on our Magic bus and then headed home to my warm hot bed ooooh was good.
sun 25th - woke in a huge puddle and freezing during the night, was really confused, checked i hadnt wet myself haha so yeah, hot water bottle wasnt so hot and all its contents were all over my bed. shiverd in silence till it was time to get up, haha then went to tell the office guy what had happened just incase i got charged for a new mattress of something if they thought it was wee.
left greymouth nice and early for Franz Josef had a food stop and a gold mine stop where we did some gold panning. arrived franz at about 12 cheked in, dumped our bags changed and headed to the helicopter flight office and booked ourselves onto a helihike. got fur lined ice boots - v cosy, and a coat then we boarded the helicopter. It was amazing seeing the glacier from that high up, we swooped over it then went round the top. was soooo goood i cant even put into words how amazing the views were. i was buzzing.
landed on the glacier and we all got out and put our crampons on, was freezing but soon got hot once we started moving.
feels so wrong walking on shiny ice, the stuff you'd normally avoid, and trusting the crampons. one of the girls fell through the ice into a little gully type thing and twisted her ankle so she had to be taken back to the heli pad and so we were all stood on the glacier for ages getting colder and colder. got on our way again and we were climbing through crevasses, tunnels and over ice which was totally seethrough and appeared bottomless. all i could think of was the film Ice Age where the beasties come through the ice holes and drag things down.
went through this really tight piece of ice, and we had to go through sideways and shuffle with our feet, i got dead claustraphobic and panicked cos i thought i was stuck, i just had visions of sticking to the ice like when you have ice lollys and your tongue freezes on. anyway i asked the guy in front to hold my hand as we were going through haha and he was like errrrrr yeah ok, was pretty funny.
wasnt even that bad as half way through we just had to lean back against the ice and it was that slippy it just moved you itself just had to keep your feet going as fast as your body.
got the helicopter back down, as the sun set and the pilot did some steep almost face down dives and drop thingys and we were all screaming in the back haha he was loving it. Heli hike has been the best thing we have done so far, i loved every minute and it was definalty worth the huge price but hey you only live once and so what if we can only afford to be living on own brand weetabix for a while.
got some of the hostels free soup for tea and then watched Snatch and Casino Royale then went to bed.
monday 26th - had a lie in today - well till 9, god its sad when you start thinking 9am is a lie in. gone are the days of getting up at 11 or 12. anyway we got up had breakfast and then went for a wander round the town and to find some cheap internet. came back watched Hitch and had some lunch then this afternoon we went on a hike to lake wombat just beside the glacier. was really pretty and we did the whole thing without any water cos we complety forgot so good job neither of us keeled over with dehydration.
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