The road goes ever on and on...

It's been a while...
Sorry!

You'd expect New Zealand to have cable internet, super cheap all over the place.
No.
It's expensive, can be just regular dial-up and rarely has USB or CD drives. Kinda irritating so I apologise for the lack of updates but it's hardly my fault... ish.


Last time, I was about to set off to Milford Sound for a boat cruise around the fjord (apparently it's not techinically a sound but they wouldn't change the name as to confuse the tourists). I was looking forward to a lovely day but no, it rained and rained and rained and rained! Not only that, but it was very low cloud so it was nigh on impossible to see any of the apparently amazing mountains or formations on the way to the sound in the Fjordland national park and whilst on the boat. I was lucky enough to see some dolphins and seals but got very wet in the process and was a little disappointed. David had a nice day in Queenstown exploring the city and taking a walk around the peninsular.


From Queenstown we travelled over to Dunedin. Not a huge amount to do, we saw "The Queen" movie, not her royal self. The next morning we climbed up the world's steepest street. A steep climb, but a short one luckily.

Lake Tekapo was our next stop. On the way we stopped at a lovely lake (name escapes me!) but it was a beautiful light blue colour and had views over to Mt Cook (Aoraki). Tekapo was a similar beautiful blue and we went for a quick dip in it. It took me a good twenty minutes to go in past knee level as it was so cold, but worth it in the end. We had a BBQ that night with the bus driver and others from the bus.


Then it was back to Christchurch for the third time! We've often found ourselves at a loss of what to do in these big cities. Neither of us wants to spend lots of money on alcohol and eating out is more expensive (comparatively) than it in the UK, so that's out. Going to the cinema has been our favoured past-time. It's all those nights watching movies at the Phoenix that have influenced us - we need our movie fix! Babel was the choice of movie in Christchurch and our YHA cards came in handy again and made it super cheap for us. Only one night in the garden city, then upwards to Kaikoura.

We'd been here before, but only for a half hour stop on the way up to Nelson. That visit had been blessed with beautiful sunshine, this one wasn't so lucky. Whilst we were in teh supermarket on the first day the heavens decided to open and they did so for both the days we were there. Quite a disapointment, even more so when it was a beautiful morning when we had to leave.


Up to Picton to get the ferry over to Wellington. It's supposed to be the one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world,but guess what? It was foggy and rainy for us. Typique!



On arrival in Wellington we were greeted by Helen, Ian and Betty. (Helen worked with David's mum, Ian being her husband and Betty being their beautiful almost two year old daughter). We stayed with them for a few nights, going into the centre to explore the Te Papa museum and around, and visiting Scorching Bay where we ate at the Chocolate Fish Cafe (apparently Peter Jackson's favourite spot!).

We left our big bags with them for a night and headed up the west coast to a little town called Waverly. Here we were the guests of the Standen family, I'd worked with Rhys at Gwynn Valley over the summer. It was great to see him again and we got treated to wild venison steak. Rhys took us up to his family and on a "little trek" up a hill which left us both red faced! His farm is a wonderful place, so quiet and green and peaceful.

Back to Wellington for a night in the worst hostel, a place called the Cambridge Hotel. It looked a big posh, but then our room's window opened onto to the back alley of a pub. Just our luck it was the beginning of the Rugby 7s and the pub was in full swing well in the early hours. Horrible night sleep and the staff weren't at all helpful.

The bus picked us up early the next morning for a loooooooong drive to Napier. It was a bit of a booze cruise as on the way we stopped at both a brewery and a winery. David sampled the delights on offer at both. The Tui Brewery offered three "handles" (about 450ml) for $2 - bargain! And he got to be snobby at the Mission Estate winery tasting six different wines. Arriving at Napier we got dropped off at the Prison - our home for the night. Nope, we'd not done anything wrong, the place has been closed since the 80s and was recently renovated and opened as a backpackers. Our room was once part of the super intendents quarters, but was in fact used as an escape route by some prisoners. And yes, we did have an "en suite" toilet.

Next stop was Lake Taupo - NZ's biggest lake. It's the same size as Singapore I'm told. I finally got the chance to sky dive, something I've wanted to do for years and I was not disappointed. I jumped from 15,000 ft and was last out of the plane. It was rather scary watching five other pairs (you jump tandem with an experienced jumper) literally jump out of the plane into nothing. My go came and I was dangling over the edge, smiled for the camera, and then was flung out over the other, dropping at 200 kph! Absolutely AWESOME. It's fantastic. The freefall was such a surreal feeling and then when the parachute opened and getting to float over some amazing scenery, it really was one of the best things I've ever done and I cannot wait to do it again, was sorely tempted to do it the next day but cloud stopped that. David says I'm starting to sound like a heroin junkie...

We also took a walk to the Huka Falls, very pretty area and some lovely falling water. They're never as spectacular after Iguazu..

Next stop was a verrrrrrrrry smelly town called Rotorua. It's known for lots of geothermal activity, you can see spouts of steam all around and there's a definite sulphur aroma around town. I took a trip out to see the Hobbiton movie set. It's a lovely farm area near a town called Matamata. The actual set is very much like the film, except some of the hobbit holes were torn down but the party tree is very much there. All the buildings are gone, but there were numerous photo boards for comparison. I got to hug the party tree and hang out in Bag End. It was a lovely trip into Middle Earth.

That evening we went for a Maori Cultural Experience at the Tamaki Village. David volunteered to be chief for our "waka" (in maori that's canoe, but it was just our coach). This meant he had to face a screaming moari warrior head on and accept their peace offering. He did very well, but let the "cheif" thing go to his head a little. Bless. He did get a small wooden head as a gift, which is kinda cool. The actual evening was great and we saw songs, dances and hakas as well as getting to eat REAL FOOD! A lovely dinner cooked traditionally in a pit called a hangi oven.


Next morning we went Zorbing. Such a brilliant idea, however crazy. You are basically in a human sized inflatable hamster ball with a bucket of water thrown in. It's like being a washing machine and was some of the most fun we've had. I couldn't stop screaming with delight and David was in fits of laughter as we got sloshed about. You try to stand up, but it's nigh on impossible.


(Almost finished!)


Mount Maunganui was to be our penultimate NZ stop. A lovely beach town on the East. We spent a gorgeous day on the beach splashing about the in waves, bascially acting like big kids on holidays (which I guess is what we are!).


Sadly, we spent a little too long in the water and not enough time putting on sunscreen (sorry mum!) and are now horribly sunburnt. Ow. Ow. Ow. My back and David's shoulders are hot pink and still hot. We love Aloe Vera!

We are now in Auckland. Tomorrow we head off to Fiji (YAYAYAY!) though the sunburn is tarnishing our enthusiasm a little. Plenty of factor 30+ for us! After that it's a night in Auckland then off to Bangkok and to explore South East Asia.

Our favourite things in NZ have been Zorbing, fishing and the Maori evening. Both of us have been slightly underwhelmed with this country, it's so much like home. That can make it difficult if you're feeling a bit homesick in a place so similar, yet half a world away! Being back with normal people has been interesting, we've both had encounters with what a dear friend of mine labels "trouts". So many people do seem to come here just for the easy ride, and that lack of excitement of something new is what we've been missing. I'm sure Asia will rekindle that for us.

That's not to say we haven't enjoyed NZ. We've met some wonderful people who have welcomed us into their homes and showed us a bit of the real NZ. So thanks to Tony, Paula, Heather, Jim, Helen, Ian, Betty and Rhys and family. Spending time with new friends was one of the real highlights.

After all that writing, I need a week in Fiji to recover...