31/1/2012
I'm now sitting on the ferry just leaving Picton heading back to Wellington, we have three hours so thought this would be a good time to at least write an update and post it next time I get internet access.
My last update was at the very start of the South Island and now we have just finished and am making my way back up to Auckland via Wellington, Taupo (for an 8th night!) and finally the Bay of Islands. In Kaiteriteri we met a group of people who were travelling all the way down to Queenstown so we had a great group to travel with on the bus which was lovely. On our last day in Kaiteriteri we did a 24km hike through the Abel Tasman National Park. We had 7 hours to do the walk, but the signpost suggested it took 4 hours each way and we wanted time for lunch on the beach so we walked pretty quickly and made it to the lunch spot in 2 1/2 hours. That meant we could take our time over lunch and had an hour sitting on the beach in the sun before making our way back up a pretty big hill and back through the national park back to the start where the bus would pick us up. The walk was really good with amazing scenery and the weather was lovely which was a bonus! That evening we had a few drinks and met more people getting on the bus with us the following day before the barman came out and gave us chips and ketchup to shut us up and get us to go to bed.
The next stop was Westport, where it rained and we didn't end up doing a lot but this meant we had that evening to plan our outfits for the Poo Pub in Lake Mahinipuha the next day...there were 6 of us and our driver did not give us a theme so we decided to do something as a group - the initial ideas we came up with were Ninjas/Pirates/Where's Wally. The next day was the drive to the Poo Pub (famous Kiwi Experience stop with Les the 87 year old owner), we stopped along the way at 'The Warehouse'and a $2 store to buy our outfits. We had to be pretty speedy with the fancy dress purchases due to the bus breaking down for 2 hours on the way and having to be towed away and a replacement brought in! We settled on Where's Wally and bought stripey tops, hats (grey and white that needed to be painted red), red paint and pipe cleaners for our hair. We checked into the Poo Pub and started on the hat painting before dinner and then got the rest of our outfits ready afterwards, using a hair dryer to finsh the hats off. The Poo Pub was a LOT of fun and everyone made a real effort with the fancy dress. The next morning we had to check out at 9:15am (not ideal with a hangover!!), so we went for a walk around the Lake whilst waiting for our newly fixed bus to be returned. From the Poo Pub we headed onto Franz Josef, stopping along the way to see a seal colony and Pancake Rocks. We arrived in Franz Josef at around 4pm and signed up to do the full day glacier hike the next day. The following morning we were at the Franz Josef Glacier Guides office at 8:45am to get kitted up with waterproof trousers, socks, boots, cramp ons, jackets, gloves and hats. All of this filled our day bags up and we had to carry the cramp ons in a bumbag around our waists. We set off in the bus 10 mins down the road to the valley where we had to walk 1.2km to reach the base of the glacier. We had to hike over a rock covered ice mound before putting on the cramp ons and getting onto the glacier. We had several steps down to the grey, dust covered ice before starting to walk through crevasses and make our way through and over the glacier. We went through a blue cave (amazing!) and kept going for around an hour before putting on our waterproof trousers and jackets ready to make our way through pretty tight gaps and crevasses into the whiter/blue ice. We made it up to the first ice fall by 3:20pm and then had to make the journey back down off the glacier, along the 1.2km valley and back onto the minibus. By the end of it all everyone was really tired, had blisters and very sore feet from the huge boots that we had to wear. The cramp ons were great fun and really worked well on the ice and the whole day was a brilliant experience! On the way back down the glacier we heard several really loud bangs as ice collapsed, it was quite scary to hear how loud it was and we later found out that Franz Josef Glacier Guides do not know how much longer that can continue with the hikes due to the speedy retreat of the glacier (3 metres in November 2011 alone!!).
The next day it was up bright and early and ready to leave at 7:30am for the drive to Wanaka. We stopped on the way for a short walk to Lake Matheson, a black lake that reflects really well, and then had a short lunch stop before arriving in Wanaka at 3pm. We had a walk around town before booking cinema tickets to see the latest Mission Impossible movie. The cinema is a bit of a tourist attraction in Wanaka due to the sofas, Morris Minor and amazing cookies that they have. The next day was onto Queenstown and the party centre in NZ!
The drive to Queenstown was really beautiful with amazing scenery and it was only when we stopped at AJ Hackett Bungy that it dawned on me that I was acutally going to do the Nevis...at AJ Hackett we paid and so this was the point of no return!!! We signed up for the 9:10am jump the following morning with 6 other people that were on our bus. After paying, we got back on the bus to check into our hostel in Queenstown (Nomads - free breakfast and dinner!). That evening was a quiet one due to the impending bungy the next day but we had a few drinks in World Bar after a Pizza evening with the Kiwi Bus then it was off to bed by 12ish. The next morning I was a complete bundle of nerves (absolutely PETRIFIED). We walked up to the pickup point and got weighed and checked in for the jump, after that a bus collected us and took us on the 45min journey to the cable car suspended between the canyon. Looking back, the ride up to the canyon was probably just as scary as the bungy - with a big drop and steep path! Once at the canyon we got harnessed up and re-weighed before getting clipped into a mini cable car across to the one we were about to jump out of. This point was probably the scariest and I was almost in tears as we reached the bigger cable car - I really didn't think I'd be able to get myself off the ledge (they are not allowed to push you due to safety beause you have to fall head first) and there is no refund. At this point I thought that a bungy jump was the worst possible idea I'd ever had, given that after a Canyon Swing in South Africa a few years ago I'd always sworn I would never, ever do one! I had to watch around 4/5 other people jump beforehand and then it way my turn to sit in the chair and get my feet tied together and attached to the bungy rope. At this point they don't give you much time to think about anything, they run through pulling the chord tucked into your leg wraps after the second bounce (this puts you in sitting position to be brought back up to the cable car) and then its up to the ledge, 3...2...1...BUNGY. And I made it with no hesitation. Woooooooooooo!!! As I fell I was so relieved to have made it off the platform and from then on I LOVED every minute of it. I think in terms of adrenaline it's the best thing I've ever done! I managed to pull the chord on the second bounce (after 5 desperate tugs) to release my feet and end up sitting in the harness and after that you get winched back up whilst you look around, it was AWESOME! Both Carolien and I had such a buzz for the rest of the day and that evening we had a pretty big night out, making the most of the tepots in World Bar (6 shots in a teapot = deadly!). The next morning we had a lie in before heading to Fergburger for amazing burgers (I had Bombay Chicken) as hangover cures. The next morning Nicola, Helena and Ellie (3 of the girls we had travelled from Kaiteriteri with) left along with Lisa, Fanny and Annika (the Swedish girls that we orginially met back in the North Island and spent New Year with) so I said goodbye to them before skyping home and spending the day wandering around Queenstown. The next day was our last full day in Queenstown so we spent it on the beach attempting to top up our tans before Jess and I went luging - basically a go-kart downhill, lots of fun! We had 6 luge rides each so after 3 we had a bit of a break with a beer before continuing the final 3 and then getting the gondola back down into Queenstown. Seeing as it was out last 'proper' night in Queenstown we had to go out for drinks (or several) and ended up very drunk, not ideal when we had to hop on the Bottom Bus to Dunedin the next day.
The next morning the bus was 45 mins late but we finally got on and made our way to Dunedin. We had a couple of stops along the way; Clyde for lunch, we saw NZ's largest concrete structure - a dam, and climbed the worlds steepest street (very steep!!). In Dunedin we went on a tour around Speights Brewery which was pretty interesting and at the end we had 1/2 an hour to taste as much beer and cider as we liked - Summit was my favourite. It was early to bed that evening, given the horrendous hangovers from the previous night, before heading to Invercargill the following day. We stopped along the way for coffee and a cliff top walk where we saw NZ Fur Seals at Nugget Point. After that we went for a beach walk where Dom, our Bottom Bus driver, made some balls out of seaweed and took us to see sea lions on the beach. We managed to get really close to the sea lions until one young sea lion decided it was time to get us to back away by barking and chasing us a little way along the beach - sea lions can run at up to 25kmh and weight a lot...definitely not something you want running at you! After a lunch stop it started to rain but we managed to fit in one quick walk in the rainforest before it really poured it down. We arrived in Invercargill at around 7:30pm ish and from what I saw it didn't look like a particularly nice place - I guess the torrential rain didn't help.
We were booked on a Milford Sound tour the next morning and luckily the rain had stopped. It was a long day (12 hours in total) with lots of driving but amazing scenery. We spent a couple of hours on a boat cruising around Milford Sound before stopping off a the Underwater Discovery Centre where we got to walk down 10 metres under the water in a 'viewing room'. Milford Sound was really spectacular and so pretty due to snow settling on the top of the moutains from the horrendous weather the previous day. We got to take lots of photos and the boat got up very close to a couple of waterfalls. That evening it was back to Queenstown for a night before the 11 hour drive up to Kaikoura the following day. Two full days of driving was pretty full on!
Kaikoura was a really lovely, tiny town on the coast. Carolien and I signed up for Whale watching the following day for our last full day together - she then headed back down to Christchurch ready to fly back to the Netherlands. The evening that we arrived in Kaikoura we popped to the supermarket and bought bread, olives and humous for dinner along with some beers and sat on the beach until the sun set and the sand flies came out! The next day was the whale watching which was fab, we only got to see one Sperm Whale but also saw loads of Dolphins (Dusky & Common). The sea was really choppy due to strong winds and several people got sea sick which wasn't so good to listen to but either way it was great and it was increadible to see a HUGE whale right up close! That afternoon, the weather turned rubbish again and so we went back to the hostel before heading out for our first restaurant meal in New Zealand for our last night together :(. The next day at 7:15am Carolien left and I was on my own again. I went for a walk along the beach before sitting and sunbathing for a few hours. As I headed back to the hostel I met other people from the Kiwi bus and am now travelling with several of them up to the north island which is nice.
Tonight we are back in Wellington...guess it might be another big night seeing as that seems to be unavoidable in this city. I now only have 1 week left before I fly out to Australia - very sad as I LOVE New Zealand and am not ready to go leave yet! After tonight I still have a night in Taupo (yet again), a night back in Auckland, three nights in the Bay of Islands and then one final night in Auckland before my flight out on the 7th Feb.
4/2/2012
The night out in Wellington was a pretty big one (to no suprise!), it ended with random games in the bar...when you put your name down you did not know the games you were signing up for but it was all good fun! The next morning we had to be up and ready to be back on the bus at 9:00am for the drive to Taupo. Taupo is really starting to feel familiar (8 nights there now!) and it was nice to be back. We arrived at around 3ish and went out for a wander around town before heading down to Mulligans for dinner and more drinks...again another pretty heavy night but making the most of the last few days in New Zealand! Our Kiwi driver, Guy, has certain rules on the bus and you cannot say 'Mine', 'Beer', 'Time', 'Flipflops' or 'Thongs'. If you do say any of the words the punishment is 10 sit ups or press ups...turns out I'm pretty useless and did a lot of sit ups in the bar that evening!! The following day we had the final drive to Auckland, arriving at around 4ish after heading to the Kiwi Experience office to book any further buses. I was due to head up to the Bay of Islands again for my final few days but couldn't get on a bus for the following day, instead managed to book one for the 4th Feb. Turns out that worked pretty well becuase I met some girls in my hostel and we all went out for yet more drinks...the following day was spent doing absolutely nothing which was really, really nice!!
Today I was meant to be on a bus up to the Bay of Islands at 7:00am but after waking up and realising that I had tonsilitis, I decided to head back to bed and stay in Auckland until my flight out on the 7th to Sydney. I spent Christmas up in the Bay of Islands and having tonsilitis there would definitely not beat the previous visit! But now its only a few days before I leave NZ and I don't want to leave - I LOVE it here and would quite happily do the whole thing all over again!! I'm sure Australia will be good fun though and my next update will be from there...! Time is going way to quickly!!
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