Kiwi Experience - North Island (part 2)

Day 164: Back to Welington

Today was pretty much a day of travelling. We left Kaikoura at 9.30 and then had a quick stop along the peninsula to have a look at the seal colony that lives there and then, bar a quick toilet stop, we drove to Picton. 

Seals

We had to wait around for an hour before we could board the ferry and then had a 3 hour crossing to Wellington in the North Island. The plus side of being at the terminal so early was that we were some of the first on to the ferry and as we got seats right at the front by the massive window. Spent the whole journey reading and looking out of the window. When we got to the port we had to wait for ages for the boat in there already to leave and once we'd docked the gangway wouldn't link up properly with the ferry so we had to wait (again) until all the cars had been unloaded and then leave through the cr area. We then had to re board a kiwi experience bus for the short drive to the hostel. We didn't arrive at the hostel until 6.30; 9 hours after we'd originally set off!    

We went out for a few drinks in the evening. Had a lot of evening recently that have involved staying in and reading or watching tv so it was good to get out for a change. 

Day 165: Wellington

I got up in the morning and took the bus to the Weta Caves. This is an area that was set up by Weta Studios, the people behind the special effects and props for Lord of the Rings, Narnia, District 9 and many more films. 

The tour started with a half an hour long video showing how the company was founded, how their involvement with Peter Jackson was started and the sorts of things they do. 

Next we were taken around a room to look and how the props are designed and made. Apparently there are just warehouses and warehouses full of props, designs and lots of things that were never even used. It was a really cool tour. So interesting! I knew a lot of work went into all this stuff behind the scenes in movies but when you see a design for a gun labelled as '#654' you realise just how much work!

With a troll

I got the bus back into the city and went for a walk along Oriental Parade around to the end of the bay. I think I must have been there at the Same time as the entire of Wellington was going for a run hour over their lunch break. It seemed like the entire of Wellington was out in force running around the bay by the waterfront and all of then in the opposite direction to where I was walking!

I had lunch and then climbed up to the top of the lookout at Mount Vic. It was an absolutely stunning 360degree view of the city and the weather was perfect. Wellington wasn't windy for a change. I found a nice spot in the sunshine on the grass to lie and sunbath whilst listening to everyone on the lookout pointing out all the interesting places to their friends. So many people of the people there were British Expats and where showing their UK friends who'd come to visit the sights of the city. 

The views over Wellington

I stayed up there for about 2&1/2 hours until the breeze picked up a bit. I got back to the hostel and showered and then went to the Summer market with the Danish girl in my room. I think we were both expecting a big market from what we'd read about it and were pretty disappointed that it was only about 5 stalls and then 5 food stalls. We had a really nice Chinese noodles and watched the rock and roll dance lesson that was going on and then listened to the rock and roll band that came on afterwards. There was a guy in his 70s or 80s who had some amazing moves! 

We then walked to the San Fran Bath House on the trendy Cuba Street to watch Heat 3 of the Wellington Raw Comedy search. Luckily most of the acts where really good! There was one poor guy who just seemed so awkward to be doing it on stage and kept having to look at his hand to where he'd written the jokes he was using. And there was a women who I'm sure was really funny (everyone else in the bar was laughing) but they were all NZ political jokes so completely lost on us! 

Comedy club

Day 166: Taupo

Had a long drive today. We were doing in one go what we did in two journeys on the way South. We stopped in Bulls again to get coffee and we pulled over to take some photos of the volcanoes and to stretch our legs but other than that we pretty much drove straight from Wellington through to Taupo. 

Mount Doom

We got to Taupo and I went back to my favourite spot... The free hot springs! One of the girls off the bus hadn't been before and I was more than happy to show her the way and soak my muscles for an hour and then dry off in the sunshine for another two hours!

The free spa 

When we got back in the evening I had the chilli that the hostel was making as it was really cheap, I didn't have to cook and it turned out to be really tasty! We spent the evening playing card games and then Jumbling Towers (New Zealand seems to have renamed Jenga!) for over an hour. We were getting pretty good and had some elaborate constructions that I'm not too sure how they didn't fall over. 

Serious tower building going on

And then I heard an unforgettable laugh! It was Steph, one of the girls I'd meet on the trip from Bangkok to Singapore and there she was cooking dinner in the same hostel as me. I didn't even know she was in New Zealand, let alone the same town and let alone the same hostel! We spent the next 4 hours catching up which was absolutely lovely. 

Day 167: Auckland

We left Taupo and headed north back towards Auckland. We stopped in Roturua just to pick a few people up and then stopped at some mud pools to stretch our legs and have a look at the bubbling mud. The volcanic activity today must have been big today as it was really spewing out mud high into the air. We stopped here on the way down (all those weeks ago) and then there were only a few little bubbles. 

Our next stop was at Matamata for lunch.  It's a pretty unremarkable town except that it's the closest town to the field Peter Jackson used to build Hobbiton and it milks that connection for all it's worth! The information centre is Bag End, all the shops have middle earth names and there's a welcome to Hobbiton sign, rather than Matamata! 

The Information centre

Hobbiton!

We carried on driving up the motorway to Auvkland, which is the only city (except Singapore) to touch both the east and west coast of a country. Pretty cool fact! When we got right into the city centre we could get down Queens Street and outside the hostel as there was some protest going on so our driver had to squeeze the bus down a narrow side street. 

After checking in I wandered up to Albert Park with the Irish people I went out in Wellington with and enjoyed the sunshine. We walked back to the hostel, had dinner and then went to Eden Park to watch the Auckland Blues play the Dunedin Highlanders. The first half was really good but the second half was much slower as it was stop start stop start the whole time. 

Supporting Auckland 

Waving around my free flag

Day 168: Paihia, Bay of Islands

We had a super early pickup this morning. I could still see all the stars whilst I was waiting at the bus stop, it was that early! For a lot of people, Paihia is thee first destination so the bus stop was a lot more chatty than usual!

We drove pretty much straight up north to Paihia after leaving Auckland arriving at Paihia in time for lunch. After eating lunch, we walked down to the wharf and sat on a sun lounger whilst we waited for our boat check in. By the wharf area there was a free piano people could play and so we sat listening to this old guy play who had brought his own sheet music with him! 

I then took a boat trip out into the Bay to see the other islands, the hole in the rock and hopefully some dolphins. I'd just booked a boat and when we got to te wharf it turned out that that was the boat trip I'd been on with my parents 4 years ago but it had been too choppy to go through the hole. Luckily the weather was amazing and the sea was so calm. Pretty much as soon as we got out we saw a pod of dolphins jumping and playing in the waves. They were so inquisitive coming right up to the boat. It was so cool having a mum and her calf right at our feet. It was such a shame to leave them when they moved into a shallower area that the boat couldn't go into. 

Mummy and baby dolphin right at my feet 

We then carried on our journey through to the hole on the rock. As it was so calm we were able to go through it. Maori used to go through it before battles and if you were dripped on then you'd have good luck. 

The hole in the rock - our boat fitted through that gap!

After coming out the other side we were sailed to one of the islands and we were dropped off and allowed to wander around. It was a very small island so we jut walked up to the top of the hill to get a good overview of the islands. 

On the way back we got off the boat in Russell, a quaint little town that takes about a minute to walk the length of. Russell is now known as romantic Russell but originally it was known as the hell hole of the pacific. It was a whaling station that had a bad reputation and missionaries were sent out to try and sort it but they were shocked when then got there so decided to settle across the bay. They asked a local Mario 'Pai (good) here?' and the word here got corrupted giving Paihia it's name.

Spent the evening hanging out at Pipi Patch bar attached to the hostel with my new friends. 

Day 169: Cape Reianga trip

I was up so early this morning that I could see the stars whilst I was eating my breakfast. Why do buses have to be here so early! We then had the craziest bus pick up schedule. It drove to 10m next door and then to the hotel next door to that to pick people up. Why they didn't just pick one hostel and get us to all meet there I don't know. They length of the road would have taken me a minute to walk, it would not have been a pain to meet at one. 

Our first stop was at Manginangina walkway, a board walk through the ancient Kauri trees built for the Queen when she visited. The Queen only decided to walk 15 or so steps along the walk before going home so missed out on all the massive trees. 

We then drove up to Cape Reinga. This is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman sea and in Maori legend is the place spirit go before the pass into the after life. It wa pretty call walking out the the lighthouse and seeing the waves crashing in from two completely different angles. 

The rough area is where the two seas meet

We sat on a lovely beach for lunch and I went for a post lunch paddle. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope in September when Monday lunchtimes will be spent in the canteen for lunch rather than on a beach! 

Can't beat it really

We then took off, driving down a stream in our off road coach to Te Paki sanddunes where we got the sand boards out of the boot and sand boarded down the dunes. It was so much fun, especially as at the bottom you skimmed across the surface of the stream. I was about to go up for a forth go when one of the boys came down and stacked it at the end and ended up completely soaked. Decided at that point to quit whilst I was ahead, well dry!  We then drove along 90 mile beach which is slightly misnamed as it's more like 90kms  but what do units matter anyway! 

Sand boarding across the stream

We stopped at a wood carving place whilst all the sand was washed off the outside of the bus and the inside was hoovered. There was an inside staircase there carved from a giant kauri tree trunk that's over 6000 years old and was pulled from a swamp. It was stunning. 

We then stopped at Manganui for a fish and chips dinner which is meant to be the best fish and chips in the world. The chips were okay but the fish was pretty spectacular. I think sitting somewhere where you can see the sea and where the fish was caught is pretty special. 

Mmmmmm

Once we got back I went to the beach (because I obviously hadn't had enough sunshine today) but there was a bit if a sea breeze and it was getting dark so I came back, had a shower and then spent my evening, the last one as part of the kiwi bus, at the Pipi patch bar!

Day 170: Paihia and back to Golf Harbour 

My body is so used to the early starts now that even when I have a lie in I can't enjoy it! Rather than just lying there I decided to get up and go and watch the sunrise. Unfortunately there was a little bit of sea mist over the bay. I went back to the hostel and had breakfast, checked out and then walked into town and foud a coffee shop which was open so early and that had tables outside in the sunshine and enjoyed sitting there being slowly warmed. 

I then walked up the the Waitangi tReaty grounds, where the first New Zealand 'treaty' outlining the relationship between the Maori and the British. This is a poor description so Wikipedia it. I took a guided tour around the ground from a direct descendant of two of the chiefs that signed the originally treaty which was pretty cool. I saw the worlds largest waka (canoe) built for the 100th anniversary of the signing on the 6th February 1940. It's absolutely massive and took over 2 years to be built. I then watched a cultural performance which was pretty cool and their singing was so beautiful. 

Huge Waka. Takes 80 people to paddle it! 

After watching a video on how the treaty came to be I slowly meandered my way along the beach back to the hostel for lunch. We were then picked up for my last Kiwi Experience bus back to Auckland. We stopped at Whangarei falls (my last Kiwi Ex walk) to have a look at the stunning waterfall and as we pulled into Auckland and saw the skyline coming into view I couldn't believe  my Kiwi Experience was coming to an end. As I saw Uncle M who came to pick me up it felt like no time at all had passed since I'd left rather than over 5 weeks of travelling around this beautiful country. But it was nice to come back to see the kids again. 

Day 171: Relaxed day

I had a completely relaxed morning. It was so lovely just doing nothing. I probably should have been productive and transferred my photos to my hard drive or started on my dive course work but I didn't. I just sat on a sun lounger and snoozed! 

Keeping me company whilst I relaxed

When Helen came home we took the kids and the dogs on a walk along the beach and then to the kids swimming lesson. 

When we came home I cooked spaghetti bolangase for dinner for the adults whilst they put the kids to bed and then we sat and watched some TV before bed. 

Day 172: Thursday 

I took the kids to kindy and until I needed to pick them up I did the productive stuff I should have done yesterday like my online scuba diving work and put all my photos (over 2000 of them) onto my hard drive. 

I picked the kids up and it was raining! What is this rain thing! Luckily about an hour after we got in it stopped raining and so I was able to take the kids to the beach for the afternoon and build massive sandcastles and jump in the waves. 

The kids are now into Dora the explorer, a development from when I left, and so know I now the songs. I think they'll be in my head all evening!

Helen and I took the dogs for a walk along the beach, had some dinner, watched some tv and then bed!

Day 173:

Again I did some more scuba work whilst the kids were at kindy until I picked them up at midday. It was such a lovely day and so took the kids down to the beach for more wave jumping/getting Rebecca completely soaked and for more massive sandcastle and stick garden building. When we got too hot at the beach we moved into the shade of the swing park. I perfected my technique at alternating swings so I could push them both, Chloe then tried to push me on the swings and then we made imaginary dinner out of the bark before tidying up all the branches in the park into a neat pile. 

In the evening we picked Uncle M up from the ferry (or fairy as the kids say) and then for dinner we went to the Japanese restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately laughing and family time apparently "ruined someone's dining experience". They same lady who walked in, wanted the ingredients for every single dish in detail, complained multiple times about the service and huffed off at the end of her meal. I felt so sorry for the poor waitress. She came up to us to apologising (the family are regulars) and felt so bad. I felt so bad for her and the stress she was out under! 

Day 174: Neighbourhood party

In the morning we skyped the family at home which was lovely before heading into town to do the weekly food shopping. 

We got back and headed across the road to an 80th birthday party for one of the neighbours. It was such a lovely afternoon. We arrived around 1 and had a catered roast lunch and we stayed until 7.30! It was so nice chatting the the girls from the street. They all made me feel so welcome and part of the community. The kids we so happy just running around the garden and by the time we came home it was bedtime for the kids and lie on the sofa because we'd eaten so much nice food for everyone else. 

Kiwi Experience - Queenstown to Kaikoura

Day 158: Queenstown to Twizel and up to Mount Cook 

I was up early to catch the intercity bus (the nz version of a national express bus) to Twizel as the Kiwi Experience bus would have arrive after the shuttle bus had already left. I did my shopping for mount cook in the supermarket and then sat at the bus stop with a book. It's surprising how quickly time passes when you're engrossed in a good book. 

On the way up, since it was just me in the coach, the driver stopped a couple of times to let me get some photos of the mountain. 

Once we'd got to Mount Cook village he gave me a quick tour around and then dropped me at the hostel. I had some lunch and then went off and did two walks in the afternoon. The first one I did was called the governors bush walk and it went up the hill to the side of the village through the forest and then down to a small stream, although I'm sure when the snow is melting it is a raging torent. 

The second walk I did was a longer walk to Kea Point which overlooks a small lake and has views to the Mount Cook behind. As you can see from the photo I was pretty sweaty by the time I got to the end as it was very warm! I got chatting to this lovely French girl and we chatted all the way back to the village. I really like meeting people and finding out about their life. And it definitely made the walk back seem much shorter than it was. 

Kea Point walk 

I had dinner at the hostel but didn't fancy sitting there the whole evening. I wanted to watch the sunset but it was too cloudy so instead I walked up to the Old Mountaineers cafe for a New Zealand style apple crumble and a pot of tea. I stayed there with my book until I was closing time. 

I rang grandad whilst I was there and a woman came up to me really concerned I was crying. Instead my shoulders were just shaking from laughing down the phone with grandad! 

Tea!

Luckily I'd brought my head torch with me to the cafe as it turns out a village inside a national park doesn't have any street lights! 

Day 159: Mount Cook and then to Lake Tekapo

I woke up early to try and see the sunrise and the colours change across Mount Cook but the cloud from last night hadn't moved yet. 

My first stop today was at the DoC centre to check out the forecasted weather conditions and to read the Maori story behind Mount Cook or Aoraki as it is known as traditionally. Aoraki and his brothers came down from the sky to meet the earth mother but when they tried to go home the spell didn't work and they and their waka (boat) over the years turned to stone. Aoraki and his brothers became the mountains and their waka became the South Island. 

Today I walked the Hooker Valley track. I was so glad I had my waterproof this morning to act as a wind breaker as the sun wasn't out and there was a chilly wind blowing. Part of the track was being maintained and rather than closing it so the work could be down like would properly happen at home, you just waited for one of the workmen to call you over and then you stepped around the digger!  

When I arrive at the end I was shocked to see icebergs! Had I thought about it it makes sense for their to be icebergs floating in the terminal lake of a glacier but I hadn't though about it and so I was pleased. 

Mini iceberg

There was still no sign of the mountains and so I decided to just sit and wait. I had nothing to get back for apart from lunch and I had enough snacks with me to keep me going so I waited to see if the cloud burnt up. 

After an hour of waiting I was given my first tantalising glimpses of the mountain and another half an hour later the clouds had completely burnt up and my patience was rewarded with a stunning view. I didn't think it was possible but I feel in love with that mountain! I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was such a handsome mountain (sorry will!). 

Clouds clearing

I walked back along the path back to the hostel. I am actually so glad it was cloudy this morning as having the mountain revealed as the clouds cleared was far more special than being able to see it for most of the walk and so it not being as special when you get there. 

I had a late lunch back at the hostel and a shower before catching the shuttle bus to Lake Tekapo. I thought I was special yesterday when he stopped to let me take photos but apparently he does that do everyone! The lake was so calm as we drove past, the reflections of the mountains in it were beautiful. 

Reflections in the lake

Lake Tekapo was pretty nice but the hostel I stayed in had the smallest dorm room and kitchen I've ever seen. The dorm room fitted in two bunk beds but that was it, there was no where to put your bags, and in the kitchen you were constantly bumping into people as you tried to cook. 

Lake Tekapo is famed for its beautiful skies so obviously I went outside for a look for a while. 

Day 160: To Christchurch

We left Lake Tekapo and stopped in a small town called Geraldine on the way to Christchurch. There was a church fete going on so I wondered around that and had a delicious bacon sandwich and bought myself some organic local honey yoghurt to have for breakfast tomorrow. 

I checked in to the yha and had lunch before going through a walk of the CBD, well what's left of it. After the earthquake nearly 70% of the buildings either collapsed or have been knocked down as they are no longer safe. One of the most poignant reminder of the earthquake was the old cathedral. It's still in its crumbled state whilst it's future is being discussed. I then walked to Latimer Square where a monument to the old cathedral spire has been erected. I also saw my first egg. These eggs are about a meter high on a platform and are painted. They are all over the city. Christchurch is full of artwork like this. Guess they are trying to brighten the place up and give it a more upbeat feel. 

Next I went to the new cardboard cathedral. It's an absolutely stunning building. It's a surprisingly big space and Is so light. Next door was the 184 chairs to commemorate all those who lost their lives. 

Inside the cardboard cathedral

I then headed to the physics rooms. Turns out it's a modern art exhibition which I didn't understand! 

I then wandered around the re:start mall looking in all the shops. The mall is made out of brightly coloured painted old shipping containers. Amongst this is the quake experience, an exhibition showing photos and videos shaing people people's experiences of the earthquake and the future Christchurch. They have really used what has happened to plan an amazing new city centre. I can't imagine what people went through in the quakes, even having listened to people stories you can't get your head around what these people went through. 

Re:start mall. 

Once I'd finished in the city centre I went back to the hostel to do my washing (super fun I know) and had dinner. I got chatting to one of the girls in my dorm and got chatting to her and managed to persuade her to come to the local pub with me to watch the rugby. Was a nice night. 

Got back and spoke to Will for his birthday before bed. 

Day 161: Christchurch

In the morning I got up and took the penguin shuttle to the International Antarctic Centre. Luckily someone had told me of a website you could book this through which made the ticket half price! 

First I went into the snow storm room with a jacket on and rubber shoes over my flip flops. The room was at -8C and once the 'blizzard' started the wind got up to 45km/h and with the wind chill factor the temperature plummeted to -18C. Pretty cold! 

Ready to make a getaway 

Next I went outside for a ride on a hagglund, a Swidish all terrain vehicle that they used in the Antarctic. It can go up 45degree hills (which we did), cross 1.9m cravases (we crossed a 1.4m gap) and is an aquatic vehicle (so we swam threw a 3m deep pond). Pretty good fun! 

Hagglund rid. 

I went back in side and watched the little lie penguins being fed. That bred isn't native to Antarctica but all the birds there are rescue birds who have a disability and so cannot be released into the wild. Some are blind, some have paralysed limbs and one is afraid of the water! 

Penguin

Next I watch the 4D movie about an Antarctic voyage and then had a look around the rest of the centre. Whilst waiting for the shuttle bus back I had a very delicious (food mention alert) warm cheese scone. I'm going to need to start making those when I'm at home. 

I had my lunch back at the hostel and then had a very brief look in the Canterbury museum. I think I maybe all museumed out for a while as I couldn't bring myself to walk around all the exhibitions. Instead I wandered through the different areas of the botanic gardens. Unfortunately the conservatories were closed (earthquake damage) but the rose gardens were really pretty and it was nice walking along the banks of the River Avon. I can totally see why Christchurch is the garden city and with all the oak trees that have been planted an the conkers on the floor I can see why it's call the most English city outside of England. Looking at the river and the ducks I could easily have been walking through Crane Park. 

England or New Zealand? 

After getting a bit too cold from the breeze that had picked up to stay in the park and continue reading my book I went to the supermarket. Back at the hostel I then made an epic chilli con carni! So proud of it. And I'd bought a treacle sponge pudding to microwave which finished off my dinner amazingly. Just thought if add this in in case you were wondering (dad) about my food! 

I watched an old film on TV before going to bed. 

Day 162: Transalpine Railway

My morning didn't start too well as the railway shuttle service forgot to pick me up. Twice! I'd been standing outside the hostel for 50 minutes when the bus turned up. And I still got to the train station 20 minutes early for the train! So even if they had picked me up on time I still would have been hanging around for a long time somewhere. 

I got on the transalpine railway and of all the people I could have had sitting next to me I had a girl who was starting her kiwi experience trip today! I tried to give her lots of good advice about things to do down the west coast. 

The train journey was 230km each way through stunning scenery and there was an audio commentary to listen to on the headsets whilst we went along so you knew what you were looking at. One of the tunnels at Arthur's pass was closed for safety reasons so we all piled off the train, onto coaches and drove around the tunnel and the train met us on the other side. 

Getting back on the train at Arthur's pass

View out of the window. 

I had 45 minutes in Greymouth so I went for a walk around the town and along by the waterfront since I didn't get to see the waterfront last time I was here. 

On the train back my seat was on the other side of the train so I got to see a differen view on the way back. 

It was a preety long day, especially as there was lots of track work on route so we arrived back an hour later than planned so I'm so glad I had left over chilli from last night as I was feeling too tired to cook. All that sitting on a train really takes it out of you. I sat watching the tv on the sofas chilling out and then spoke to mum, dad and C on Skype. I totally did a great job of reassuring mum I'm being safe after she watched the video of the canyon swing. And the fact I was wearing my cardigan inside out (which she noticed) obviously helped me convey the whole responsible thing! 

 

Day 163: Kaikoura

After battling through the traffic and roadworks, with a bus that clearly wasn't a fan of most of the gears it had, we left Christchurch and off up the coast through the rain to Kaikoura. 

As we drove along the Paciffic coast we saw dusky dolphins jumping and splashing out in the distance which was really cool. All the jumping and tail splashing is part of their hunting routine so that was pretty cool to watch. 

We had a very rushed check in before heading down to the whale watching place. The sky was blue and the sea was still. It was definitely the calm before the storm! 

We got on the boat and the narator was so funny and informative. She asked us to put our seat belts on and everyone was scrammbling around looking for theirs. Turns out this was her 'English test' to see how many people were listening and understood her! 

The boat was pretty fast and we raced along, stopped so we could stand outside whilst the captain put the hydrophone in the watch to see of he could detect the sound of the whale and then we raced off in the direction I f the whale and then stopped and relegated it again. 

Listening to the whales 

Our spotter caught sight of a spout of water coming out of the whale's blowhole but the weather was getting worse and the swell was increasing so the captain pulled the plug and we went back without seeing him. So seeing a whale, and especially it's tail, is still on my bucket list. The company was pretty good about the whole situation and gave us an 80% refund which was pretty nice of them. 

Luckily the rain didn't start until we were back on 'dry' land and we ended up hiding out in the supermarket whilst the hail fell and fell and fell. That stopped but we still then had to walk back in the rain. Turns out flip flops, a hill and rain do not combine very well. Had to walk barefoot for most of it! Basically looked liked of had a shower fully clothed when I got back so I had a proper shower to warm myself up and then sat infront of the fire whilst eating dinner. 

The hostel was basically another house in the owners garden and upstairs there was an amazing room with one wall a glass door out to the balcony with sea views. If that was my house I'd be very happy. The room was full of sofas and there was a hard drive full of movies an TV programs so most of the bus found themselves a comfy spot and we had a movie marathon night. 

Kiwi experience - Queenstown

Day 155: Canyon Swing & St. Patrick's Day

I got my hair cut in the morning and even once it was cut I couldn't believe how long it is. It's been curly all the time so I hadn't noticed how much it had grown! Back at the hostel I met up with Victoria once she finally recognised me. She was so used to seeing my hair curly she walked back and forth past me! 

We went for a 2 hour walk along the lake front track which was mainly really nice apart from the 10 minutes where it decided to start raining. Luckily both of us had brought waterproofs (always prepared) so it was fine. 

We came back to the hostel for lunch and mooched around for a bit until it was time to check ourselves in for the canyon swing. We were bused out the 40 minutes to the canyon. I wasn't nervous at all on the journey. It was only once we pulled up in the carpark my brain realised what I was doing and I was nervous. Jumping out of plane was nothing compared to what I was about to do. 

After checking in we walked across this wobbly suspension bridge to the platform where we were fitted into our harness. If you've seen the video you'll have seen that my hands are clenched in a tight fist the whole build up. We were attached to the swing and had to let our legs hang over the edge. Victoria and I were holding on to each other hands so tightly and then onto the harness. The guy made us put our arms out to the side and then held us there for what felt like forever. And then he pressed the button. And we were gone. Just like that. Hurtling towards the earth. We both instantly pulled our arms back in and gripped onto the harness. I screamed and I screamed and I screamed. I screamed as we fell, I screamed as we were shot up the other side and I screamed as we swang back! Victoria was laughing so hard at me and as I got used to it I started laughing too, albeit slightly hysterically! And my whole body was physically shaking from all the adrenalin running through me. As we were pulled back up I kept looking down to see how high up we were and then looking up seeing how far we still had to be pulled in. As we reached the platform we were clamped into a bar to pull us back to the platform. Which made us swing and therefore made me scream. Most people scream a little bit but the guy was pretty impressed with my ability to scream continuously for so long! 

Canyon swing

Still shaking, we walked back to the office to buy our photos and were then bused back into Queenstown. Neither of us fancied cooking so we hit Dominos and shared a $5 pizza and then, since we'd earnt it, went to cookie time for happy hour. 2 for 1 warm cookies. What an amazing idea. 

Today was St Patrick's day so we went on a rather disorganised bar crawl around the town which was still pretty funny. Luckily I'd won a kiwi experience top so I had something green to wear and the girls in my room had bought face paint so they painted the Irish flag onto my check. 

Ready to party 

We got to go to the ice bar which was really cool...ice cold in fact! The glass was ice and obviously it slipped instantly out of my hands soaking my gloves! Even with the thick coat they gave you I was in I was still freezing cold! All in all though a good night. 

Freezing in the ice bar

Day 156: shot over jet and stargazing

I woke up at 7 so ran to the kitchen, grabbed 2 slices of bread from the breakfast bar and then went back to bed. That way, when I actually wanted to get up and breakfast was closed I had toast to go with my eggs. So sensible. 

I spent the morning at that lake doing a bit of life organising... Calling up activities I needed to book and accommodation until lunch. 

After lunch I went through town and checked in for my shot over jet boat. We were bused out and given a fetching fully length wrap around waterproof to put on and a life jacket before we got into the boat. 

These boats go fast! It took us only a few mintues to fly down the river, skim past the canyon walls doing 360degree turns as we went. It was so much fun! Luckily I was in the middle of the boat so didn't get too wet! 

Photo of their broucher since you obviously weren't allowed cameras. 

I'd been given a voucher one of the girls got for a free t-shirt there so tried to use it and nearly caused a diplomatic disaster. They kept demanding to know where if got it! Seriously if you don't want to honour it then don't give out vouchers. In the end, since I'd booked through kiwi experience I'd already got a discount so couldn't have one! Couldn't they have just said that first! 

We were bused back into town and I joined Victoria at the lake for a bit of sunbathing until it was time for the free dinner at the hostel. It was a small portion of veggie curry but luckily her friend had got one but wasn't going to eat it so we shared his to make it into a meal rather than a small snack. 

I got the gondola up to the top of the hill above Queenstown and watched the light change colour on the remarkables as the sun set below the mountain behind me. I then waited around in their coffee shop reading until 9pm when it was time for stargazing. 

The stargazing was amazing! We were given these really expensive Canadian Goose down jackets to wear and taken to a dark spot to look through the telescope. I saw through the telescope the Moon, Jupiter and it 4 Galilean moons, the Orion Nebula, the jewel box cluster and the closest star to earth! Wow! I've never looked through a powerful telescope before. I know I did physics so I should have but I haven't. It was truly magical!

Looking through the telescope 

The moon taken through the telescope

I got back and watched Hot fuzz and then went to bed. 

Day 157: Ben Lomond walk and last night in Queenstown

Victoria and I were up early and set off to walk up to Bob's peak. Turns out the name is more of a general name for the area and so we decided to walk to the saddle of the Ben Lomond walk, about 800m above Queenstown. 

We walked for about an hour vertically up through the walking tracks of the Queenstown mountain bike park to the gondola where star gazing was yesterday. We'd obviously taken a wrong turn somewhere as we were not expecting to come out there but since we were there we decided to have a luge ride. Basically after being chairlifted up you ride back down the hill on a sled with a handle to steer and to control the braking. I'm not explaining this that well but it was pretty good fun especially as I over took Victoria on the last bend to win!

 Chair lift up to the luge

We then continued from there on our vertical walk up to the saddle. The views were amazing from there but boy was it sweaty work. My top was so drenched I had to wrap it in a plastic bag and walk down in my bears top as the sweat was making me so cold. Really attractive I know!

From the saddle looking back down towards Queenstown

We had our lunch before walking back down the hill. It took us 3 hours to walk up but only just over an hour to get back down again! That's how steep it was. 

We got back to our hostel and both had a well needed shower before hitting one of the many tea shops in books and we just sat with our pots of tea refilling them with hot water for nearly 2 hours chilling out and reading our books. 

I had the free dinner again at the hostel and was luckily only third in line as the queue stretched all the way around the kitchen and out down the corridor. I'd eaten and washed up and by the looks of it the queue was still just as long. It definitely was a small dinner, half a sausage and a few peas, so I went to one of the bars, the find, to meet Victoria. They do $2 tacos on a Wednesday so after two of them (they were also tiny) I finally felt satisfied! 

After packing my bags so I was pretty much ready to go we headed to the find (again) for their happy hour tea pot cocktails. I think tea pot was the theme for today! 

With our teapots

We then moved on to a bar called buffalo which played music you could dance too rather than trying to be too cool. I mean it played cotton eyed joe and the lion king. How cool is that! They were giving away lots of prizes and I managed to win the dance competition. I think years of dancing like a crazy lady at pop finally paid off. Unfortunately you had to use the voucher in Queenstown and since I was leaving I became Victoria and gave my dance buddy the prize.  

I think I may have danced a bit too much as I woke up in the night with the most painful leg cramp! 

Kiwi Experience - Bottom Bus

Day 148: Dunedin

We had a late pick up today (10.30) so after checking out of the hostel we sat on the bench outside as we waited for the bottom bus to pick us up and take us off to Dunedin. 

Our first stop was overlooking the Clyde dam and then we drove down the hill to Clyde for a lunch stop. It was a pretty quiet town that had just us and a group of bikers there for lunch. 

Clyde dam

On our way into Dunedin we stopped at a view point to get a view out over the city. It looks just like how I imagine Edinburugh looks. I guess that's why they named it the Galiec for Edinburugh! Unlike most of the houses in NZ, the houses in Dunedin look like they belong at home! We then visited Balwin Street, officially the steepest street in the world and we walked up it! We were so out of breath when we got to the top and were so thankful for then water fountain they'd placed at the top. Looking back down the street part of it disappears from view it's that steep!

World's steepest street

We tried to visit the Cadbury chocolate factory once we'd checked in but it and the cafe had shut at 4... 40 minutes before we got there so we had to make do with cadburys from the supermarket instead! 

For dinner we cooked this amazing sausage pasta bake (yes I'm talking about food :p) before we went to the Speights brewery for the brewery tour. We had an hour tour around the old and new factory which was really interesting seeing how it's brewed and then we were shown how to pull a pint properly and then given half an hour, whilst they played their entire back collection of 'Southern Man' advertising campaign, to pull as many drinks as we liked for ourselves from the taps. There was 6 different drinks to try but after trying the gold medal ale I stuck to the cider. 

Speights brewery

Poring a pint

Day 149: The Catlins and Invercargill

Today we went through the Catlins to Invercargill. The Catlins is an area of amazing wildlife and not on the typical backpacker route but absolutely stunning. 

Our first stop was at Nugget Bay and we did a lovely walk out to an old lighthouse and on the rocks below us we could see seals chilling out on the rocks and the pups were playing in a little kiddie pool. Well, obviously not exactly a kiddie pool, but it was a small little pool of top of the rocks, filled by sea water but they weren't going to get washed away or smashed to pieces against the rocks. I guess that's why they were there. 

View to the lighthouse 

The sheep around hill clearly don't see too many cars as everywhere we drove we caused a stampede of sheep to flee in the other direction. 

Our next stop was Cannibal bay for a walk along the beach. It's amazing on that beach. The sea lions come onto the beach to sleep and so you can walk all around them. We saw one emerging from the sea true Daniel Craig James Bond style! I'm pretty sure they know everyone is photographing them so deliberately pose for the cameras! 

Sea lion

We ate our lunch in a small town called Owaka which had a teapot garden. It was like the shell house in Southbourne (mum, dad and C you'll understand this) except rather than a collection of shells from around the world it was a collection of teapots! Next door was a collection of dolls but there was creaky music playing and we couldn't bring ourselves to go in there! 

Tea pot gardens

We drove around to Florence hill lookout point to get a nice view of the coast line and to hopefully see a blowhole but the swell wasn't big enough for that. We then drove to McLean Falls and went for a walk up to the waterfall. The last bit involved climbing up on the rock where the side streams of the waterfall ran and I found out my trainers are definitely not waterproof! Had a nice damp sock! 

Lookout point 

Waterfall

We drove further in the Catlins to Curio Bay and Porpoise bay. The cafe there had no hokey pokey ice cream left! Did they not realise that I was coming and order it in especially for me. Not sure what in going to do once I'm home and I can't have hokey pokey daily (fingers crossed it's appeared in shops since I've been away!). This area is famous for the hector dolphins (the worlds smallest dolphins) who play in this bay at high tide but unfortunately the tide was pretty low and we didn't get to see any. We did however see a yellow eyed penguin (the rarest species of penguin in the world) on the beach waiting for his mate to come home. Consodering the beach was massive, there is only a small section you're allowed to walk on to and there are only 8 pairs of penguins there seeing one up so close to us was pretty special. 

Lone penguin

We arrived into Invercargill pretty late in the evening so we just visited the supermarket to get dinner and for me to get supplies for Stewart Island before cooking dinner together one last time and then visiting the pub next door to reminisce about the times we've spent together as I was off to Stewart Island the next day so leaving the girls. We'd only know each other for about 16 days but that's the longest I've spent with people I've met and I knew I was going to miss them once they'd gone! 

Day 150: To Stewart Island

In the morning I said goodbye to the girls which was pretty sad as I was off to Stewart Island and they were going to Milford Sounds. Last time we sai bye as we weren't travelling together we knew we'd be meeting up again in Queenstown. Now if we meet up again we'll be in England somewhere which is pretty sad. 

 

I got picked up from the hostel after breakfast and transferred to Bluff to the ferry terminal. We were early getting there so the driver took us to see the start of highway 1 which stretches all the way from here up to the most northery point on North Island (with a little break for the ferry transfer). 

The ferry crossing was so smooth which as good considering all the horror stories I'd heard about when the weather was choppy and people throwing up all the time. Got to see some beautiful sea birds out of the window skimming their wings in the water. 

Arrived at Stewart Island and it seems like such a lovely place (I'm assuming te fact there isn't a cloud in the sky is helping). The hostel I'm staying in for the firs two nights feels more like a B&B or a family home which is lovely. Was trying to book 2 trips whilst I'm here so I used their phone to ring up and then one of them called back the hostel as he forgot to give me some information so I had the girl who worked there walking up to me saying the phones for you! Doesn't soud that funny now I'm writing it down but it was!

Got chatting to one of the guys at the hostel and we went on a lovely short coastal walk through a little bit of forest and around past all these secluded bays. 

We got back to the hostel and I just wanted to chill out for a bit so sat on their sofas and watched Anckorman. According to the guy who worked there that film had been on every day for the last week! He really needs to move it out of eye sight if he doesn't want to watch it again! 

The kias come down into the garden every evening to be fed sunflower seeds. 

Feeding a Kia 

In the evening I went out on a boat tour to try and spot Kiwis. We set out just before the sunset and so had this amazing boat ride out to the wharf with the sun setting behind the Island and blue penguin heads (the smallest penguins in the world) popping up around the boat before they disappeared below the surface again. 

Sun set over Stewart Island 

It was getting dark when we moored up and the skipper and the guide explained to us what we were doing and a couple of safety things for us (watch the long hanging branches) and for the kiwis (don't shine your torches in their eyes). We walked across through a track across the bush to Ocean beach. Once we were on the beach we turned our torches off and the guide used just his torch on a low brightness to scan the beach for kiwis. 

 

We got so lucky. Pretty much immediately we saw a juvenile female eating the bugs that feed on the rotting kelp on the beach. It was such a cool experience to see one in the wild. Especially as 95% of New Zealanders haven't!  Further down the beach we saw a mated pair (the junevile is one I their kids) feeding together. The guide said he never sees two kiwis in the same torch beam as usually they feed solitary so it was pretty special to see that and she (I know it was a female from the beak curvature!) kept putting her beak on his back. It was so cute. It was such a perfect night for kiwi watching. The moon lit up the beach and the stars looks incredible. 

On the walk back to the boat we saw a juvenile male on the path infront of us before he darted off into a bus, a possum with its scary red eyes watching us from a tree and an owl! On the boat we were given hot chocolate and biscuits to warm up and then taken back to half moon bay. 

Day 151: Stewart Island

Today we (my new German friend and I) took a ferry across in the morning to Ulva Island. Ulva Island is a predator free bird sanctuary and so full of all different types of birds, some only found on Stewart Island. You can do all the walking paths in an hour and a half but then you'd never see anything so we took it really slowly and it was amazing how many birds appear when you just stand still an silent for a few minutes. An inquisitive Stewart Island robin came right up to us and was pecking away at my shoes and then tried to fly away with firstly my shoelaces and then a piece of cotton hanging off my socks. When he decided to peck my leg I had to shake him off.

Ulva Island ferry ticket

My little friend

The ferrys are rather irregular but it was such a nice day we decided to spend the day reading on this one beach. Well that was the plan. When there was only 15 minutes until the ferry and we were half an hour away it started to rain! Awesome...

We walked back through the forest to one of the other beaches and luckily it was only spitting so I sat in my waterproof sheltered by a bush and did what I intended to do in sunshine and read! When we got too cold to sit there any more we walked to the lookout point over the ferry point so we could wander down when we saw it come in. Luckily the sun came out so we were able to warm up whilst we waited. We saw the little blue ferry come in but by the time we'd got down to the wharf it was full! After all that waiting we had to wait again for it to come back and pick up those it couldn't fit on first time around. This was actually a blessing in disguise as on the journey back over a Mollymork (a small albatross) came over and showed off her wings to us as she checked out whether we were a fishing boat and whether she was likely to get a scraps off us. 

In the evening I didn't fancy cooking and since Stewart Island is renounded for it's seafood so I went down to the pub, the heart of this community, to have some locally caught blue cod and chips and then some chocolate mud cake. It was pretty fun chatting to the locals who one of the girls I met in the hostel had been out fishing with today. They really know how to wind people up. I said I was from London and they were like 'never heard of it', 'is it big' and 'is it near Scotland?'. I actually tried to explain where in the UK London was before I realised they were winding me up! 

Day 152: Stewart Island

Didn't fancy an early start today so I had a bit of a lie in and read my book in bed for a while which was lovely. I had to swap hostels this morning but that only involved walking through the gap in the hedge at the edge of the garden. And it wasn't that much of a chain as the daughter ran the one I was originally in and her mum ran the one I moved to! I think the guy sitting outside on his balcony got a bit of a shock though seeing a girl loaded up with backpacks and a cooler bag emerging from the hedge! 

I spent the morning on beach reading my book and then went back to the hostel for lunch. 

I set out for a short 3 hour return walk out to horseshoe point but ended up bumping to a couple of people from the hostel and agreeing to go with them to Maori Beach which, it turns out, is a looonnnngggg walk away. Think we must have walked for 6- 7 hours at a pretty good pace. No dawdling from us! 

At horse shoe point we got a great view into the bay and out to see we saw dolphins swimming past a fishing boat below us. 

The walk the whole way to Maori beach was up and down and up and down and up and down into all the little bays along the way which meant all the bits I enjoyed on the way there were painful and all the bits that were painful were now enjoyable! My legs ached a lot and it took a few mental battles with myself to get up some of those hills but I was so proud with myself once we got back. Maori beach was lovely and it did have a long drop toilet and drinking water, which I was super thankful for, but I'm not 100% the pain justified it! 

Finally at Maori Beach

Surprisingly after a shower and some food I felt alright enough to go out kiwi spotting with a few people from the hostel. We spent an hour wandering around on the fields the locals say they are often spotted. We were pretty sure we'd heard a female call and what sounded like claws scrapping at the leaves on the floor to get to the bugs but we never saw anything so we gave up and walked back to the hostel where we bumped into a local guy who pointed one out in the bush to us. After all that searching there was one a minutes walk from the hostel! 

Day 153: Stewart Island and back to Invercargill

(Oops, I forgot to finish this the first time I published this)

I went out Kayaking in the morning. We paddled out hugging the coastline as our guide Phil pointed out sea horses, sea urchins, sea cucumber and a small shark. He pulled out a star fish to touch which was really strange as all the tentacles wriggled as I held it! 

We pulled up on a beach and walked up to get a view out towards native island before paddling out to native island. Phil pulled seaweed and kelp out of the sea to try. Don't think I'll be eating that again. It may be full of nutrients but it tasted so rubbery! 

We had tea and cakes on one of the beaches as a ream made by Phil's wife who is a gourmet chef so obviously the cakes were amazing! 

We paddled around the rest on the Island and saw blue & yellow eyed penguins on our way home. My partner was an older guy and I guess he must have been getting tired on the way home so was just rearing his paddle on his lap. Which I wouldn't have minded except that it was dragging in the sea acting as a break! And at one point he started paddling backwards for some reason so I ended up doing twice as much work! 

Kayaking

Wriggly starfish

I went to the Bunkhouse theatre to watch a really cute film, told from the point of view of the dog, about the Island history and some of its stories. 

I got the ferry back to Bluff which was slightly choppier than the way to Stewart Island but still not as rough as people said it can be and then was transferred back to Invercargill. It was a strange feeling being back there without the girls. Made myself some dinner and then watched a movie in the TV room whilst catching up on my diary. I thought I'd have lots of time to do it on the Island but ended up so engrossed in my book I didn't actually write anything in it! 

Day 154: Milford Sounds

We left Invercargill and were taken to the lovely looking town of Te Anau for a quick stop before continuing along into the national park. We started off at this plain (who's name I know can't remember) that's 2km wide at its widest point and the mountain that surround it are 2km high at their highest point. I think that was pretty well planned! 

Our next stop was at the mirror pools which are extra reflective because of the oil that's excreted by the trees that surrounds it. 

Mirror pools

We carried on driving through the national park to Homer tunnel. A tunnel cut straight through the mountain that's only wide enough for cars to go in one direction and it isn't lined so you can see the rock around you. Feels like you're in a mining tunnel that's being explored rather than a massively popular tourist route. When you come out the other side it's hairpin bends all the way down to the valley floor. So glad we had an experienced driver and we could just admire the scenery. Some of the campervans going along looked pretty dangerous. 

We had a two hour boat cruise through Milford sound, which is actually a fjord technically not a sound. But whatever it should be called it's stunning. New Zealand definitely knows how to do beautiful scenery. 

We were given our packed lunches to eat as we cruised long the fjord, out to sea and then back along the other side of the fjord to the ferry terminal. 

It rained slightly on our way back but that didn't make Stirljng falls any less beautiful! 

Milford Sound

Stirling falls

On the bus back to Queenstown pretty much everyone was asleep as we drove through venison country. In used to see deer roaming free in Bushey or Richmond park. It was strange seeing them in pens like sheep! 

I had a totally cool evening sitting in the movie room and running out every 45 minutes to swap my laundry into the drier and then to hang it up in my room as it was warm but not totally dry. I got pretty creative with my hanging using a belt for my underwear and hand my t shirts tucked into the bars above my head! Clearly getting good at backpacking!

I had a catch up with Victoria, one of the girls from my bus, just in her room until the other people wanted to go to bed so I went back into my room for bed!