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Ben & Sara's Trip
Hey everyone hope all is well back home. Figured we'd better update this now as we're moving around a bit in New Zealand and a lot is happening!!
We arrived in New Zealand on Monday morning into Christchurch after a 15 hour flight via Auckland. Monday we lost pretty much because of jet lag etc. and in the afternoon we just wandered around town a bit and had a look around some shops.
Tuesday we headed out early doors for a proper look around. We went on the tram and had a mooch around the art gallery before we headed to the Botanical Gardens. Whilst there we hired a kayak for an hour and went up the River Avon. It was a bit comedy as we were rubbish rowers and just bounced off the banks all the way up and all the way back down!! After that we headed out to the Christchurch Gondola which gave us some amazing views of the Banks Peninsula and of Christchurch. That evening we headed back to the hostel as we were still a bit jet lagged.
Wednesday morning we got a shuttle back to the airport and went to pick up the Campervan. That's probably a bit generous because it is more like a small people carrier with a sofa/bed instead of back seats!! It is really tiny!! We then drove down from Christchurch to Dunedin to see my mate Tricky. On the way we stopped off at the Moeraki Boulders which were a bit bizarre but pretty awesome. Wednesday evening we just chilled up and caught up with Tricky.
Thursday morning I was up at 6.30 and left Sara in bed to go and watch the Champions League Final, bit gutted for Arsenal but Wenger wouldn't have anything to complain about if they'd won!! That morning we headed to Baldwin St the worlds steepest street which was as exciting as it sounds!! On the afternoon we drove out to the Otago Peninsula which was stunning and we had lunch at the National Albatross Centre. Saw a Fur Seal basking by the beach and spent a few hours out there. Thursday was also Tricky's Birthday so we had a meal and went into Dunedin for a few drinks. For the Scottish contingent out there we represented by going to the Robert Burns Bar for a Jazz Night (I'll be impressed if anyone knew that Dunedin was Gaelic for Edinburgh, hence the Robert Burns connection). The bar was also being frequented by Anton Oliver, former All Blacks Captain!!
Friday morning we left Christchurch and drove to Queenstown where we were to spend our first night in the van as Tricky had put us up in Dunedin. The drive took us a bit longer than we expected and it is pretty fair to see that the Van doesn't quite have the same power, speed, handling or comfort as the car we had in the USA!! We were amazed at how quiet Queenstown was in the evening but it might have been because of the Super 14 Semi Finals invlving the Hurricanes!!
We got up early on Saturday as we had a busy day ahead. it started with a trip up to the Gondola on Queenstown Hill and a few runs of the Luge track which was pretty funny, Sara was rubbish!! We then headed out of Queenstown to the Kawarau bridge. This is the original home of Bungy jumping and whilst initially planning just to have a look I ended up doing the 43m jump. For those of you who know how extreme I am this will surprise you and I was bricking it to be honest!! Still I'd have regretted it if i hadn't and it was fantastic to do!! Now we're both thinking of doing another one in Auckland!! This afternoon we drove out to Wanaka and went round Puzzle World which was a really surreal experience!! After arriving in Wanaka we booked ourselves onto a Glacier Walk for tomorrow at Fox's Glacier and the ferry across Cook Straight for Wednesday. We've also come up with a itinerary of sorts which is pretty much a whistle stop tour of all the major places and involves a fair ammount of driving!!
Other than that the wether here is a lot colder than the USA obviously but so far, touch wood, we've been quite lucky. Having said that we'll wake up to thunder and lightening tomorrow no doubt!! The Van is a pretty sold place to be although it adds to the excitement, especially the hassle of going to the loo in the night!!
Take care and we'll write again soon.
Ben and Sara x
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