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18th july
Melbourne to Christchurch
a very early start for last minute packing for our flight to new zealand. panic stations! our flight was delayed due to foggy weather in christchurch so so were hanging around the airport for a few hrs before flying. we got a transfer shuttle from the airport to base hostel in christchurch, it is based right in city centre in cathedral square which was a great location. the hostel was ok, an old building. that evening we ate indian at the restaurant next door (they do special offers for base guests!) and then we watched the all blacks vs oz rugby match in the hostel bar!
19th july
Christchurch
had a late start as didnt set an alarm. we went for brunch at the cathedral cafe opposite the hostel which was nice, then we got the bus to go to the antarctic centre, nr the airport. had a good day there.... rode on a hagglund snow vehicle, learnt about the weather conditions/history/natural habitat of the antarctic and about expeditions there, and also about the little blue penguins which were so cute! we saw them being fed and dan actually paid extra to go have a close up encounter with them. then we went in the blizzard room there, where the wind chill goes down to -18 which was freeeeezing. very cool though, and made me think about my brother who is in the faulklands at the moment and facing winds up to -30's chill factor!! bhrrrrrrrrrr!! that night i decided enough was enough and i needed a sunday roast, and being a sunday.. perfect! we went to an irish pub called The Bog, had a roast beef dinner and it was special let me tell you!! first in 2months!! was a nice little pub, had a live duet on which were good.
20th july
Christchurch to Franz Josef
today was our first day on our stray bus tour. it started in a place called Greymouth, so we hadto get an early connecting bus there to join the next bus. the first bus was old and smelt of fumes the whole way there which was horrible. but the views of the snow capped mountains etc on the journey were amazing! little did we know the first of many many mountains!! we arrived in Greymouth in time for lunch before joining the next bus. we got on the stray bus, which was like a 50 seater coach, and it was wierd at first as everybody seemed to know each other, but we soon got introduced to a few people, and the bus driver Metro was cool.the journey to Franz Josef was pretty uneventful, we got there late afternoon and booked up our glacier hike for the next day. then settled into the hostel, called the Rainforest retreat... nice place!
21st july
Franz Josef, glacier hike
today was our half day glacier hike tour! we woke up to lots and lots of rain! great start to the day. we met at the glacier centre to get kitted up with our gear and walking boots/cramp on spikes etc and then got a bus to the start of the trekk. we hadto walk a good 45mins over the rocky foot of the glacier which was a hike in itself.. then we finally got to climb the ice! was a great experience, the ice was white/blue and so pretty. though we did experience a dreadful array of weathers... rain, hail, and gail-force winds!! which was a little scary at the top! the weather was not on our side! we got to climb through an ice tunnel, and walk thorugh a huge crack in the ice too, a few slippery moments and an asthma attack later... and back to dry ground lol. really glad we did it, but also really glad we chose the half day instead of the full day tour, dont think i would have made it back! the free hot chocolate back at the centre helped us all to defrost a bit when we were getting changed! we had dinner at the hostel bar that night and then stayed there for drink time and to get to know our bus mates a bit better. had a wicked night! they held a rock,paper scissors tournament to win the Nevis Arc Swing in Queenstown, and i won! yay! started with 32 people and windled down to me! i was getting lots of cheers and chants for my name, which i hadto give a code in for... Captain Planet! (dont ask) before the final we got a free jagerbomb and i was shaking as i drank it.... so nervous! but anyway i came up with the goods and won that! (along with $20 drinks and a bar crawl voucher for Queenstown too) all in all a good night!! :)
22nd july
Franz Josef to Makarora
an early start on the bus to our overnight stop at makarora. had a couple of scenery stops along the way...a pretty waterfall and then the blue pools/makarora bridge. was pretty there and there ended up being a bit of a snowball fight. the place we were staying was ok, hut-like buildings which we shared a 10 bed with some of the guys on the bus. that night we made the most of the bar as there was literally nowhere else to go around! we had to use torches from the hut down to the bar nr reception etc lol. Metro/the place put on a karaoke night for us which was fun! lots of happy hour drinks and a few sing songs! everyone just let their hair down and went for it!!! had a good night but i started to feel the oncoming on some kind of illness....
23rd july
Queenstown
hungover and definately onset of illness that day!!! :( felt like death the whole journey into queenstown! some of the others stopped off at puzzling world but me and caz went to get food to see if it would help, it didnt! on the way we also stopped off at the 45th parallel and then at the kawarau bridge AJ Hackett centre to book our bungy things. watching the vids of footage made me feel a little queezy!!! the others went for bye bye drinks with Metro that evening but i got an early ngiht and snuggled up in bed!
24th july
Bungy Day
woke up feeling like death, had no sleep and couldnt breathe! nice! i was still determinded to do the bungy though so got myself ready for the bus pick up! me and anna were on the bus before caz and dan.. as we were doing the bungy as well as the swing. the drive up the mountain to the centre was pretty scary! i was feeling rough and hadnt eaten for over 24 hrs which also didnt help! we got wieghed and fitted into the safety equipment and then hadto get the gondola over to the highwire bungy... only 134m above the canyon/river below!!! i was about 6 to jump and when i got strapped up i started to get very nervous. they dont give you any time to prepare yourself which freaked me out, as soon as i waddled to the edge and took one look down the guy counted 3,2,1 ... and i said NO im not ready! lol, i was gutted coz so determined to go first time! oh well.. then i started to freak out a bit and said i couldnt do it! the guy chatted into my ear calmly for about 30 secs (cant remember what he said) and then he counted again and i went! cant explain the feeling, its all over so quickly, but its so ace! as soon as i had done i wanted to go again! that jump is the 3rd highest in the world and i cant believe i did it still! (with what turned out to be a chest infection)! next was the arc swing, which is 120m above ground, i did that as tandem with a girl from our bus and we did it backwards... was really good! though nowhere near as scary as the jump! i had no intention of getting the pics/dvd before i did it, but afterwards i just needed the evidence! cant wait to show home the dvd! (it wont upload to fbook properly) when we got back that evening we all shared dvd viewings on the laptop which was cool, and then another early night in my pjs for me again.
25th july
Skydive day
woke up feeling the worst i had felt yet, another night of no sleeep and difficulty breathing! instead of going exploring with the girls i got up and went to the doctors (sightseeing would have been way cheaper!). i have a chest infection.. i came away with steroids and antibiotics!! we all met at centre for the skydive and after reading the precautions i cried as didnt think i would be able to do it! but after chatting with the lady i decided i could go for it as she said i just needed to be able to breathe through my nose for the 65 secs freefall! so i went for it! 15,000 ft skydive!!! i wasnt at all nervous about falling out of a plane after the bungy, as you dont have to do anything..the guy thorws you out! lol. i was more nervous about the plane ride up there to start with..which was actually ok. that feeling when u r on the edge of the plane is so wierd, its so cold up there and you hardly have time to take in whats about to happen, before you know it ur in the sky! loking down over the spectacular view! the 65 sec freefall (about 10,000 ft i think) doesnt feel like your falling at all, it feels like your flying! its unbelieveable! and i didnt wven have time to think about whether or not i was breathing! then when the parachute popped open everything went into slow motion and i had 5 mins floating down to take in the scenery and enjoy it! it was def a really good place to do a skydive, and i was so happy that i didnt drop out at the last minute! that day was one of the guys bdays on the bus tour.. i was supposed to be getting an early night again and was all tucked up in bed when they were drinking in our room.... when i decided last minute to go for it and go out instead, i didnt want to stay in on my own! so i got ready and met everyone out! so glad i did coz was a wicked night! though im not too sure my body agreed the next day with all those tablets i had in my system. oh well, only doing this all once! :)
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