Jan 2007

We arrived in Sydney early evening, it was cloudy so couldn't see much out of the window on the flight. The weather didn't make Sydney look to good, wasn't sure what to make of it really, it was far bigger than I expected. We got to the hostel, was a bit seedy, but good enough and after looking at other hostels on the way around Sydney I think we were actually quite lucky! The hostel was quite a walk from the centre, as soon as we got there we took a walk through the city and down to Sydney Harbour, Harbour Bridge and Opera house. The views were quite amazing and definitely better as it got dark. After having a wonder it was quite late by the time we got back to the hostel.
We spent the following day sorting ourselves out, working out what to do about transport around OZ. We also went for a look around Darling Harbour and walked up onto Harbour Bridge. In the evening we got the tube down to Kings Cross and met Dave Lindsell, really good to see him. We made the mistake of going out in flipflips, they won't let you in any bars and in Oz they are big on ID and Ian didn't have any so the eveing was a bit of a struggle. We managed to worm our way into one bar so just stayed there. Danielle and Lucy came out, it was really great to see them. I think Dave was a little taken back by the whole crazy girls thing, but i think he enjoyed it! Ian and I got the last train back to our hostel, was quite merry after my drinks! (Thank you very much Dave).
Friday was Australia Day, which was awsome and definitely made me like Sydney much more. The sun was shining and there was so much going on all day. We met Dave down at Circular Quay where there were bands playing,then went for a walk around to the Opera house, stopping to have a rather expensive drink on the way! We then made our way down to Hyde Park to meet Danielle and Lucy, on the way we had lovely ice creams and there were loads of vintage cars on show for Australia day. They were fantastic! We then relaxed in Hyde Park, listened to the bands and got Australia flags to join in the celebrations! Dave then left and Ian and I went for a chinese in China Town, it was so busy, was really cool just to sit there and watch the world go by. We raced back to the hostel and got changed so we could make it down to Darling Harbour to see the fireworks. We got there just in time, battled through the crouds to find Dave and then watched the show and fireworks. It was spectacular, really fantastic! ( Mum, you'd have loved it) We then met up with Danielle and Lucy and said goodbye, until we get back there on 11th Feb.
Ian and I hired a car, we had to get to the other side of the city to pick it up, we struggled with our bags and my my I was sweating when I finally got there! We got the car, a little rusty coloured Yaris and drove to Canberra. We had a few hours there, went around the new parliament buildings and looked at the old and then went and looked around the botanical gardens. Got a bit scared as it said beware of the snakes all around! There were heaps of lizzards, but I quite like lizzards! From Canberra we were going to drive down to Lakes Entrance on the South Coast and stay there for the night, but the plans went a bit wrong! We realise after passing Cooma that we must have taken a wrong turning! Over 60km out the way, so we had to drive all the way back...but we did get to go to the Snowy mountains region! We saw loads of kangaroos, in fact we saw about 50 kangaroos and only 2 cars over 90kms! We drove and it got to about 9pm, realised that no petrol stations stay open in Oz! By this time it was quite dark and when I was driving a kangaroo jumped at the car, I hit it, but there was no dent so all's good!! We realised that we weren't going to make it to Lakes Entrance on the petrol, it was pretty touch and go, but we drove until the petrol almost ran out and then slept in the car in a small town called Orbost. Not the best nights sleep I've had, but I have to say the back seat of the Yaris wasn't that bad! Ian was in the passenger seat, I woke up with sore knees as they'd had to stay very bend all night! But, we were off by 8am this morning when the petrol station opened. Not sure what would have happened if it didn't open on a sunday!! We got on our way and travelled about 2 and a half hours to Wilson's Promontory National Park. We walked to a few beached and went for a walk over tidal river, but got cut off as the water was too high. It was so windy down there and not good weather, it started to rain so we didn't walk too far. I have to say the weather really does make a difference, the national park would have be fantastic had the weather been nice and we weren't getting sand whipped into the back of our legs on the beach. We made our way to Melbourne, got here earlier today. It's busy because of the tennis being on, but so far I'm impressed with what I've seen and I'm going to Ramsey Street tomorrow... I can't wait!!!

We left Queenstown early in the morning and then set off for the long drive to Christchurch. We left at 8am and arrived about 5pm, I got a bit fed up with sitting on the bus! On the way we stopped at Lake Pukaki where if the weather was good we would have been able to see Mt Cook, but as it happens the weather wasn't great as usual. We made a lunch stop at Lake Tekapo and Ian and I wondered down to the lake to eat our picnic lunch, only to realise that we had left it in the fridge at the last hostel...gutted! So, we went off and bought a sandwich, well a panini, only for them to say they didn't have a panini warmer. So, they warmed it in the micro. We started to eat the panini only to realise that the chicken inside was raw....gross, not having any of that, so they went back. We then went down the road to a bakery, where I had the best sandwich ever ( bet that made you smile, a happy ending!) So, we got back on the bus, one more stop and then straight through to Christchurch. We got there, walked miles to the supermarket, had our dinner and then spent the evening doing a jigsaw puzzle! How sad, and we stayed up until it was finished...obviously well worth it to see that it was destroyed the next day!!
While we were in Christchurch it was the World Buskers Festival, so all around the city people were doing different acts and performances. We managed to see quite a few and also went to the theatre twice to see two different performances....can only say we were quite glad we only paid $5 each time!...but it was something to do and something different. Over the couple of days we went around the city on the tram, went to the botanical gardens where I went crazy taking photos of flowers, took the gondola to see the city from above, went to the art museum and had a look arounf the shops. We managed to do quite a lot really. I liked Christchurch, it's really clean and has a really safe and pleasant atmosphere.
We left Christchurch on Wednesday and made our way to the airport, Ian and I on different flights 20mins apart. I was gutted as Ian got food on his flight and I was left to starve! We had no NZ $ left!!

Well, here goes...the last week!\
Our first night in Queenstown Ian and I went out for a few drinks...didn't get in too late, but maybe had a few too many vino's! I struggled to sleep as there was 8 of us in the room, it was hot and people were snoring! We had a quiet morning and then went for lunch, had a wonder around the town and looked in the shops...I held back though! In the afternoon we went to watch the national Rugby 7's, all the teams from around New Zealand were playing in the national tournament. Auckland won the final on Sunday which Ian went to watch. To be honest I wasn't feeling well at the weekend. We all went out, Ian, myself and the Christmas crew...kind of my birthday night out, but I ended up going back to the hostel as I didn't feel too good. The rest of the room came rolling in at 3am, Lynsey particularly funny, a few too many! Anyway, it didn't matter as I couldn't sleep anyway and I was awake until about 5am as Queenstown is a noisy place! We decided not to stay back in Discovery lodge when we returned. Sunday was a cloudy, rainy day and again I wasn't feeling too well. Ian and I had a looka round the shops and he bought me a volcom hat and a belt for my birthday. We were going to go up the gondola to take the view of Queenstown, but the weather wasn't very good, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything. I had a lay down for a couple of hours while Ian went out to watch the rugby finals. We went for food and then generally chilled in the room with the others, our last night with them.
I got up early, couldn't wait to turn 25!! Went down to info and track as we'd booked a sky dive, 7am and they told us it was too cloudy and to go back at 9am. So, we went back to the hostel and I opened my presents that Ian had brought over from Mum, Dad and Helen and of course I had my hat and my belt. That lasted all of a couple of mins, said 'goodbye' to Emma and Lynsey and went back to sleep for an hour. Woke up at 9am to beautiful sunshine...this time, too windy to skydive. 'Come back at 4:30pm'. So, we decided with the lovely sunny day to go up the gondola. We went up and the views were totally amazing. and the helicptor was doing flights, we got really close to it. We had a look at the views and then we went on the luge. Kind of like go-carts, but without an engine and on a downhill fast track. You had to go up further on a chair lift to get to the top of the track. Wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, but it was quality..Ian always seemed to beat me to the bottom though! After we'd had our racing we went back down into Queenstown, had a bite to eat and then went to play mini golf. Can't believe I played mini golf and went luging on my 25th birthday, should have been my 10th!! We spent the afternoon sitting in a beer garden having a drink, it was so nice! We went back to info and track for the skydive, still too windy....just not meant to be!! We relaxed by the lake for a little while and then went back to get changed and we went out for a thai meal (my favourite) and then for a few drinks. I was really tired though (I'm getting old) so we weren't out late!
Tuesday morning we were up early and on the road again to Dunedin on 'The Bottom bus' to do the far south of the south island. We stopped in a place called 'Cromwell' where a 15min stop turned into me buying a pair of shorts...bargain though! Then we stopped at a lovely ice cream stop and I had orange choc chip ice cream, very nice! We arrived in Dunedin and then visited the steepest street in the world. Didn't look nice, but the climb to the top had to be done! Have to say, I'd hate to live on that street as it was full of tourists like me! It was pretty fun trekking up to the top. Our driver than gave us a little orientation around the city, seemed really nice actually, would have been nice if we could have stayed a little longer but we're a little restricted on time now. We got dropped at our hostel which was really nice, went for a wonder, to the old train station (the most photographed building in NZ). Had a relaxed night as we had a tv!
Wednesday we were up pretty early, heading to Invercargill. It was a really long day as we made heaps of stops along the way. We went to Nugget point, saw a few seals down on the beach and an old light house. We got a little wet as it started to rain so we all clambered back into the bus. After here we drove to Surat Bay where we walked down to a gorgeous beach and saw great big sea lions laying on the beach. We got pretty close, but not too close as they can charge if the get angry. They were pretty amazing. I also found some random sea stuff and you know how much I like my photos, it looked pretty interesting! Not really sure what it was. After stopped for lunch we headed for Curio Bay where we were supposed to see some dolphins, but they weren't out to play. We went on a walk around the bay, I tried out the black and white on my camera. Quite like the photo, although, think the colour one might be better. We walked around onto another beach where we saw a few penguins, one of them was injured and he couldn't waddle anywhere. But apparently if a human helps them and puts them back into the wild, no other penguins will ever go near it again because of the scent. So the park ranger was leaving him for a while. We left there and headed for Invercargill where we spent the evening doing our washing and playing chess ( I bet you never thought travelling could be so fun!...these things have to be done!)
We left Invercargill and went to Riverton. We went to a shell shop and made our own shell necklaces...even Ian made one, I really enjoyed it and the man called me a 'perfectionist'...that's me! I now have 3 extra shell necklaces, 2 handmade by myself! We also went to the supermarket in Riverton, as we were walking in I could see my name above the door, as I walked a little further Ian's name was there too! 'Riverton supermarket, localled owned by Ian and Faye', had to get a photo of that one!! Very amusing, and strange! From Riverton we went for lunch and then onto the Cliden Suspension Bridge, the oldest in New Zealand and then at Lake Manapouri before arriving in Te Anau for the night. We had dinner and went out for a few drinks, caught the lake at sunset, it was stunning!
We left Te Anau this morning for a bit of a disappointing day at Milford sound. The weather was rubbish, just rained and the cloud was really low and misty so we couldn't see very far or get very good photos. It was such a long drive aswell. We stopped at a few places on the way, mountain range from the second Lord of the Rings and Mirror lake. The things that made my day were the dolphins, we were really lucky to get about 20 dolphins around the boat. They were jumping about, but it was very hard to catch them on camera! We also went to an under water observatory which was pretty cool, I got some great picture of the fish and all the coral under the sea.
After the long drive, we arrived back in Queenstown about 7pm. Staying in a different hostel, hopefully I'll manage to get more sleep this time. 6th time lucky on doing a sky dive tomorrow...but maybe it isn't meant to be! Just going to chill, head to Christchurch on Sunday and then to Australia on Weds 24th.

We got up for our glacier hike, spent about 45 minutes walking through the rainforest to and from the glacier and had about 4 hours trekking through the Franz Josef Glacier. It was awesome! We got given all the special clothing and equipment and the talands that strapped to our boots so that we could hold a grip on the ice. We walked for about 2 hours and then stopped to have our picnic on the ice, we got cold bottoms!! The environment was so cool, and we had to go through some pretty small ice allys. We were so lucky with the weather as it rained the day before and the day after in Franz Josef and being on the west coast of New Zealand it tends to rain a lot. The ice was amazing,it was over 150 metres thick. I just can't believe it doesn't all melt, especially on sunny days like the day we went! The photos don't show the expanse of it, it's 15km from front to back.
By the time we came off the ice I was gradually getting in more pain as we'd been stepping up and down on the ice. I think we picked the best trip for me! I really enjoyed it. When we came off the ice, we had a shower and then had a few drinks over happy 2 hours in the bar!

We left Franz Josef and made our way to Wanaka, quite a long drive and Scotty got a bit lost and forgot to stop at one of the places along the way, meaning we missed our lunch stop...nevermind, it's only his first trip bless him! We did stop at Lake Matheson which was beautiful, the picture of the lake is below and we had a rather expensive cup of tea and we had to make half of it ourself!!

We arrived in Wanaka late afternoon, and just generally chilled. Got a tv in our room, so it was an excuse to stay in and not spend money! We also took to eating super noodles, like all travellers must do! Again in Wanaka we put our names down to do a sky dive, but this time the plane is was having it's service, so it's obviously not meant to be! We decided to spend the second day there looking around the lake...as that's what's there! So we went on a 4 hour walk...gee I am getting fit! The weather was good apart from the 5 minute rain shower. After our walk we had a nice cold drink, went to the supermarket (again!) and then had tea and sat out on the bench in the evening sun. Had another chilled night watching more movies!
We left Wanaka this morning and made our way to Queenstown, stopped at puzzle world on the way, that was pretty cool and at a small place called Arrowtown. We also watched several people lauch themself off a bridge at the original bungy site, I chose not to do it again!! We arrived in Queenstown a couple of hours ago, met up with the girls that I spent Christmas and New Year which is cool, hopefully spend a day or so with them before they move on again. Queenstown already seems pretty cool from what I've seen, can already see my bank account decreasing quite heavily!! Queenstown for my birthday, update to come soon!

Well, we left Nelson and stopped at Nelson lakes on the way and had a short walk around there. Very beautiful views.
After the lakes we went onto Westport, I can safely say that Westport has less in it than Long Buckby! A lot less in fact and there was nothing to do. So we just spent the evening chilling. Ian went on a jet boat earlier in the day, but I'd previously done that in the bay of islands so I thought I'd save my pennies.
On the 7th we moved onto Lake Mahinapua, we passe through Greymouth on the way. We all had to write down a character or super star and they all got put in a hat and we had to dress up in the evening. I got Minnie Mouse and Ian got Bob the builder! So, we went around the 2 shops that were open in Greymouth for dressing up clothes. We went to the Warehouse (the advert says, where everyone gets a bargain!) Oh yes, I was there and I managed to find a few bargains! I created some ears out of a plastic folder, and that's all I could find! We carried on to Lake Mahinapua, now I thought Westport was quiet...this place really did take the biscuit! Nothing in sight for miles, now i know why we needed to dress up and have fun. We arrived and is was probably the worst accommodation so far, but the beach was one side and the lake the other side of the road, so it was pretty cool. We also got a massive dinner, steak, potatoes, salad and our bed for 10quid, so we did quite well.

The bus driver i have been with over the past few days has been a really laugh. He picked up a couple of random hitch hikers and made them sing to us as their fee to their destination. He nearly rolled the bus trying to make a 90 degree turn on a single lane track with a drop either side of it, he forgot his own luggage, has had luggage fall out of the lockers at the bottom of the bus 3 times! Very funny though and it is only his first trip as a driver, he's a really nice guy. On the way to Franz Josef we stopped at a random cafe and saw deer!
We left this morning and went to a few random places on the way to Franz Josef. The weather has been rubbish though, we should have got off the bus to do a few walks, but nobody fancied it because of the rain. Now in Franz Josef staying at the Rainforest retreat, it's like a big rainforest village, really cool. Heaps of people staying here though, so can't see me getting too much sleep! Tomorrow we are heading out for a 6hour hike up the Franz Josef Glacier, really looking forward to it. Shouldn't be too bad, some of the walk is rainforest until we reach the glacier edge. We wanted to do a sky dive here but the weather isn't good enough, too cloudy and rainy. It would have been such fabulous views as well. Nevermind, I'm sure Mum and Dad will be glad I'm not doing it!

Well, we finally left Wellington bright and early after waiting in the cold for nearly an hour for the kiwi bus. We went down to the ferry port. My my, I've never seen so many people! The ferry was absolutely packed and we chose the best seats...on the floor in the walk way watching people falling over and looking very green. It wasn't the best journey across the sea, we were freezing cold and the sea was very choppy, I wasn't feeling too great myself. Three hours later we arrived in Picton, the ferry port of the south island and battled through hundreds of people to get our bags off the luggage belt. It was crazy! We got our bags and headed for the kiwi bus. On the way to Nelson our stop for the night we stopped at 'The Village' where we got to do some wine tasting, my favourite was the Pino Grigio! I then had a little snooze on the way to Nelson. Ian and I got stuck here as we didn't book the bus soon enough so had to stay 4 nights, which wasn't really a problem and we've managed to fill them. Anyway, Ian got lucky and shared a room with me and 5 other girls!...the girls I spent Christmas with, he thought Christmas had come again! We spent 2 days chilling out, looking around Nelson. We went to the Cathedral, which wasn't at all impressive, had a picnic in the park and went to the jewellery shop where the 'RING' from the Lord of the rings was made. We've also enjoyed lots of Jazz music as it's Jazzfest this week in Nelson.
Today has been by far the best despite getting up at 6:30am. We got up early and headed north on the bus to Kaiteriteri the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park. When we got there, we had the best breakfast ever...all I can say is I'm glad we shared it! We then got on our water taxi. It took us to the national park, to see seals, they were pretty funny, showing off! We had a good ride around the sea and it was even better as the weather was the best today that I've seen in New Zealand. We then got dropped off at Bark Bay and we walked for a couple of hours to Torrent Bay in the National Park. The walk was beautiful, the most amazing views. I felt the need to hide behind the trees, made the walk fun anyway!! After our walk we sat on the beach for a while and then got our taxi back. When we got back to Nelson we treated oursleves to Fish n Chips!...yes, your right, I'm getting fat!! i will stop eating...soon! Since, we've been in the bar listening to more live jazz, best band out of the three that we've seen. In the morning we move onto Westport.....