Hello one and all! Tonight is our last night of the round the world trip. We had so much fun in LA, mainly shopping...but we also took in the sights of Hollywood and Santa Monica along the way!
NY has also been amazing, again more shopping...parents you should be worrying about now : S We visited all the important places (Saks, Tiffany's, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Abercrombie and Fitch etc.) amd have even done some touristy stuff too! Hehe! We headed up the Empire State Building for a good look around, we also caught the Staton Island Ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty. Lets not forget though the best part of it all...we bought half price Broadway tickets to see...Mary Poppins! AMAZING! Loved it! Only have a small amount of time as I'm headed off to bed now...after I hjave squeezed my posessions into the bags! :S I will see you all soon and you can hear all about the adventures in person!
Thursday 3 April 2008
Saturday 29 March 2008
End of NZ and LA!
The end has finally come for us in NZ. As sad as it is to have to leave we are heading on to the US of A and were also very excited!
So to update you...Tuesday morning we drove to Paihia to catch a boat out for a 3hr cruise of the Bay of Islands. It was really beautiful out there, we saw a pod of dolphins who came right up to the boat, loads of birds and two really cool flying fish, no whales though sadly. We headed out into the Pacific to see the famous Hole in the Rock and managed to cruise right through it, despite our captain telling us that the waves were making it "like a washing machine" needless to say we felt really safe! I did unfortunately get a bit seasick, and was pretty pleased when we made it back from the Pacific and into the shelter of the bay, however, I did manage to refrain from chucking up breakfast! The story of this whole holiday is the people who we keep meeting! There were 2 crewmen on board (Matt and Peter) who were really lovely...and they made friends with us! Matt gave us heaps of information about dolphins, whales, birds and fish and by the end of the trip we were getting free cups of tea! It's not what you know...but who!
After the boat trip (and a walk around Paihia for me to recover) we headed off to Kaihu, which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere! Which in a way was pretty good as that night we were booked in for a Kiwi Night Walk through the forest. However, as soon as we arrived in the forest it started to rain...and then for the next 2 hrs...it didn't stop. We got absolutely soaked and had to use the tumble dryers in the morning to dry our jeans and coats! Needless to say we didn't spot any kiwis that night! We did however see the famous Cave Weta which can jump up to 2 metres! We also saw normal wetas, giant snails, eels, crayfish and lots and lots of kaori trees. The kaori tree is absolutely huuuuuuuuge, and the Waipoa Forest is famous for them. The biggest one in there is called Tane Mahuta, which means Lord of the Forest, and is 1200 years old 13.5m diameter and 51m high. Really really big! We visited him on Wednesday morning before traveling down to Auckland in the afternoon where we spent our final night in the camper! Aaw...or do I mean YAY!?.
Thursday was spent wandering round Auckland and visiting the sights there. We saw Aeota Square and visited Victoria market and walked along the sea front before heading back to our cabin...yes we treated ourselves no more wooden board for us! Although the main reason was so we could unload and repack all our stuff in preparation for leaving on Friday!? Don't be too alarmed, we only have one extra large hold all bag between us...so far! On friday morning we went to the zoo in order to actually see a kiwi as we had missed out on our walk, and we weren't disappointed! They are weird looking things though!? We also saw a Kookaburra, which just about rounded off our Australian wildlife as well. The moment was then upon us to give back the Jucy van. As sad as it was, we just about coped with the loss. I am pleased to inform you that our flight went without a hitch! Hurrah...and due to us crossing the international dateline...we landed at 10:00 Friday morning!
So we relived the 28th March in LA as well as in NZ! Very strange, we spent the day just meandering along Venice beach, where we are staying, and looking in all the tacky shops! We saw muscle beach, and Venice Beach pier so all lots of cool things! Today is Saturday and we have just got back from Hollywood Blvd. We tried to do some star spotting but were not at all successful. We did manage to find the Hollywood sign and the Mann Chinese Theatre...I don't think I've ever taken that many photos of the pavement before?! We have just one more day in LA before flying out Monday morning to NY, not much time here, but it has been lots of fun!
So to update you...Tuesday morning we drove to Paihia to catch a boat out for a 3hr cruise of the Bay of Islands. It was really beautiful out there, we saw a pod of dolphins who came right up to the boat, loads of birds and two really cool flying fish, no whales though sadly. We headed out into the Pacific to see the famous Hole in the Rock and managed to cruise right through it, despite our captain telling us that the waves were making it "like a washing machine" needless to say we felt really safe! I did unfortunately get a bit seasick, and was pretty pleased when we made it back from the Pacific and into the shelter of the bay, however, I did manage to refrain from chucking up breakfast! The story of this whole holiday is the people who we keep meeting! There were 2 crewmen on board (Matt and Peter) who were really lovely...and they made friends with us! Matt gave us heaps of information about dolphins, whales, birds and fish and by the end of the trip we were getting free cups of tea! It's not what you know...but who!
After the boat trip (and a walk around Paihia for me to recover) we headed off to Kaihu, which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere! Which in a way was pretty good as that night we were booked in for a Kiwi Night Walk through the forest. However, as soon as we arrived in the forest it started to rain...and then for the next 2 hrs...it didn't stop. We got absolutely soaked and had to use the tumble dryers in the morning to dry our jeans and coats! Needless to say we didn't spot any kiwis that night! We did however see the famous Cave Weta which can jump up to 2 metres! We also saw normal wetas, giant snails, eels, crayfish and lots and lots of kaori trees. The kaori tree is absolutely huuuuuuuuge, and the Waipoa Forest is famous for them. The biggest one in there is called Tane Mahuta, which means Lord of the Forest, and is 1200 years old 13.5m diameter and 51m high. Really really big! We visited him on Wednesday morning before traveling down to Auckland in the afternoon where we spent our final night in the camper! Aaw...or do I mean YAY!?.
Thursday was spent wandering round Auckland and visiting the sights there. We saw Aeota Square and visited Victoria market and walked along the sea front before heading back to our cabin...yes we treated ourselves no more wooden board for us! Although the main reason was so we could unload and repack all our stuff in preparation for leaving on Friday!? Don't be too alarmed, we only have one extra large hold all bag between us...so far! On friday morning we went to the zoo in order to actually see a kiwi as we had missed out on our walk, and we weren't disappointed! They are weird looking things though!? We also saw a Kookaburra, which just about rounded off our Australian wildlife as well. The moment was then upon us to give back the Jucy van. As sad as it was, we just about coped with the loss. I am pleased to inform you that our flight went without a hitch! Hurrah...and due to us crossing the international dateline...we landed at 10:00 Friday morning!
So we relived the 28th March in LA as well as in NZ! Very strange, we spent the day just meandering along Venice beach, where we are staying, and looking in all the tacky shops! We saw muscle beach, and Venice Beach pier so all lots of cool things! Today is Saturday and we have just got back from Hollywood Blvd. We tried to do some star spotting but were not at all successful. We did manage to find the Hollywood sign and the Mann Chinese Theatre...I don't think I've ever taken that many photos of the pavement before?! We have just one more day in LA before flying out Monday morning to NY, not much time here, but it has been lots of fun!
Sunday 23 March 2008
South Island!
I am soooooo sorry guys! I have been so out of contact with internet for a long time, but I'm here for you now! So last time we spoke I was about to drive the camper van on board the ferry to Wellington (I managed to do that in case you were wondering). A bit of seasickness later we were in the capital city of New Zealand! We stayed in Lower Hutt with a friend of my dad's (Dot), which was so amazing. She was so welcoming, and sleeping in a bed was brilliant too! The Saturday we were there we had a very leisurely morning (thanks to Dot) with a lovely breakfast and relaxing showers! We headed into Wellington to see the sights (and shops), and just really sat around in the evening! On Sunday Dot took us over to Martinborough to visit the famous wine region. 4 wineries later we were (only a little) merry and headed home via Greytown with a visit to a chocolate shop and an ice cream! We had a great dinner (on dad) on Sunday night and had a lovely tour of Lower Hutt up the hills with views of Wellington! Monday was cricket day! So exciting...we only got 2 1/2 hrs of play...but we won and I got so close to Alistair Cook and Kevin Pietersen it's unreal! The rest of St Patrick's Day we whiled away in the botanic gardens and in an Irish pub! Fun! Dot, who has Irish blood cooked us an awesome St Paddy's Day dinner with Kumara potatoes! Yummy! We unfortunately had to leave the loveliness that is Dot's house and head away to Tongariro National Park and the town of Ohakune.
We stopped off at Taihape and the Brown Sugar Cafe (thanks for the tip Dot) and had some fabulous chocolate brownies! The 3 volcanoes in the middle of the North Island (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro) are a sight to see I can tell you! We climbed/drove up one side of Ruapehu when we arrived and drove up the other side the next day. We also did some beautiful walks around the Whakapapa ski area. On the way out of Ohakune we drove along the desert road with views of all 3 volcanoes. Stunning views! We then stopped briefly at Lake Taupo and after meeting some scary waiters in a coffee shop we headed on to Rotarua.
Roterua was so cool! We went up in the skyline (gondola) and then rode the luge all the way down...5 times and back up in the chair lift! So much fun! The beaches just north of Roterua are gorgeous too so we headed up to Mt Monganui and upon our return we headed over to the Polynesian spa...heated by the earth itself due to a thin crust in the area. We also went to the thermal wonderland at Waiutapu. The thin earth crust in the area forms the warm lakes and geysers which occur there in abundance. We say the Lady Knox Geyser erupt at 10:15...forced by a washing powder type substance! Rotarua is famous for it's Maori culture and we went to a Hangi organised in the Tamaki Maori Village. We first watched a concert and then had a meal which had been cooked in the ground (traditional Maori fashion!) So that was pretty jam packed!
We headed up to the Hot Water Beach where there are hot water pools on the coastline. It was manic! As it was Easter Sunday we didn't dig a hole oursleves but watched all the mental people doing it instead! We had a foot spa! Today we have arrived in Kerikeri which is in the Bay of Islands...a quick itinerary for the coming days:
Tues: Bay of Island cruise and drive to the Kaori coast for the Kaori Tree and kiwi spotting night walk.
Wed: Auckland
Thurs: Auckland
Fri: fly to LA!
Probably will update you again in LA! Sorry it was very rushed! See you all soon to update you properly! Only 10 days to go...yikes!
We stopped off at Taihape and the Brown Sugar Cafe (thanks for the tip Dot) and had some fabulous chocolate brownies! The 3 volcanoes in the middle of the North Island (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro) are a sight to see I can tell you! We climbed/drove up one side of Ruapehu when we arrived and drove up the other side the next day. We also did some beautiful walks around the Whakapapa ski area. On the way out of Ohakune we drove along the desert road with views of all 3 volcanoes. Stunning views! We then stopped briefly at Lake Taupo and after meeting some scary waiters in a coffee shop we headed on to Rotarua.
Roterua was so cool! We went up in the skyline (gondola) and then rode the luge all the way down...5 times and back up in the chair lift! So much fun! The beaches just north of Roterua are gorgeous too so we headed up to Mt Monganui and upon our return we headed over to the Polynesian spa...heated by the earth itself due to a thin crust in the area. We also went to the thermal wonderland at Waiutapu. The thin earth crust in the area forms the warm lakes and geysers which occur there in abundance. We say the Lady Knox Geyser erupt at 10:15...forced by a washing powder type substance! Rotarua is famous for it's Maori culture and we went to a Hangi organised in the Tamaki Maori Village. We first watched a concert and then had a meal which had been cooked in the ground (traditional Maori fashion!) So that was pretty jam packed!
We headed up to the Hot Water Beach where there are hot water pools on the coastline. It was manic! As it was Easter Sunday we didn't dig a hole oursleves but watched all the mental people doing it instead! We had a foot spa! Today we have arrived in Kerikeri which is in the Bay of Islands...a quick itinerary for the coming days:
Tues: Bay of Island cruise and drive to the Kaori coast for the Kaori Tree and kiwi spotting night walk.
Wed: Auckland
Thurs: Auckland
Fri: fly to LA!
Probably will update you again in LA! Sorry it was very rushed! See you all soon to update you properly! Only 10 days to go...yikes!
Wednesday 12 March 2008
Nearly ending the South Island!
Ok, I was only joking about getting bored of the blog...is there anyone out there?! (Apart from my drunken brother!?)
Queenstown was really good, we had the perfect day for the Shotover Jet boat lovely and sunny and clear blue skies! Just in case you didn't know the Shotover Jet is a speed boat with the engine of a jet plane attached, and the Shotover River runs through a stunning (but narrow) canyon! Somehow we managed to get ourselves to the front of the queue and were in the only 2 seats in the front row! Jammy! Our "pilot" was James, and he was in all honesty...a maniac! It was pretty frightening, what with him driving at rocks etc. but so so good! When we headed in to look at our photos it turns out that there is a camera on the front of the boat pretty much filming only me and Amy because we were in the front row!? Hideous...but it's pretty funny to watch...fortunately for you guys we bought the video so you can all watch it over and over and over again! :D We also went out to bungy bridge, where they throw people off on bungy cords! Needless to say we didn't have a go but opted to head to the winery and cheesery instead! :D Good times! Although I wouldn't rule it out for the future...looked like it might be fun!
After Queenstown we drove up the coast and passed a dodgey 80's style sign informing us it was "Glacier Country". Luckily for us we were looking for some glaciers so it turned out alright! We were staying in Franz Joseph Glacier for 2 nights and went to bed anticipating an exciting day ahead of us! A very early start on Monday saw us headed off (around some very dodgey roads) bound for Fox Glacier. We arrived and checked in for our 9:30 start and met our guide, Anne, form Norway! She was hilarious...very cheery and kept on telling us jokes! So we put on our boots and slapped on the suncream and glasses and headed off on an hours hike...through the temperate rainforests! Hmmm....not what we were expecting! However, after this hike we strapped on our crampons and headed out onto the ice! It was such a fabulous experience....we went into ice caves, saw cravasses with no bottom and sat down for lunch on the top of the glacier! Such a unique experience, which comes highly recommended by me!
We were so so tired the next day though! Amy was finding it hard to walk and I was suffering with sore shoulders...but neither of us were complaining...it was so worth it! Fortunately the drive up the coas to Greymouth was a short one, relatively speaking! It pretty much rained all day and so, after exploring the (small) towns of Hokitika and Greymouth we sat in and did some knitting! This morning...Wednesday 12th...we headed on a long drive further up the coast and inland a bit...technical...to Pohara (in Abel Tasman National Park) Unfortunately to get there you have to go over the historically feared Takaka Hill (according to the Rough Guide to NZ)! I didn't know this until after we did it fortunately! It is a 750m hill which winds all the way up one side and all the way down the other! Hilariously, we have to do it again tomorrow to get out to Nelson!
Typically the day we have to drive for 6 hours is the sunniest, warmest day we've had so far! We got here and sat on the beach for a while until it was too cold and then we had dinner. We catch the ferry to the North Island on Friday, so we only have Nelso tomorrow before we head over to Wellington...all going so fast! I know I keep saying that but it really is! Anyway...hope you're all well...speak soon!
Queenstown was really good, we had the perfect day for the Shotover Jet boat lovely and sunny and clear blue skies! Just in case you didn't know the Shotover Jet is a speed boat with the engine of a jet plane attached, and the Shotover River runs through a stunning (but narrow) canyon! Somehow we managed to get ourselves to the front of the queue and were in the only 2 seats in the front row! Jammy! Our "pilot" was James, and he was in all honesty...a maniac! It was pretty frightening, what with him driving at rocks etc. but so so good! When we headed in to look at our photos it turns out that there is a camera on the front of the boat pretty much filming only me and Amy because we were in the front row!? Hideous...but it's pretty funny to watch...fortunately for you guys we bought the video so you can all watch it over and over and over again! :D We also went out to bungy bridge, where they throw people off on bungy cords! Needless to say we didn't have a go but opted to head to the winery and cheesery instead! :D Good times! Although I wouldn't rule it out for the future...looked like it might be fun!
After Queenstown we drove up the coast and passed a dodgey 80's style sign informing us it was "Glacier Country". Luckily for us we were looking for some glaciers so it turned out alright! We were staying in Franz Joseph Glacier for 2 nights and went to bed anticipating an exciting day ahead of us! A very early start on Monday saw us headed off (around some very dodgey roads) bound for Fox Glacier. We arrived and checked in for our 9:30 start and met our guide, Anne, form Norway! She was hilarious...very cheery and kept on telling us jokes! So we put on our boots and slapped on the suncream and glasses and headed off on an hours hike...through the temperate rainforests! Hmmm....not what we were expecting! However, after this hike we strapped on our crampons and headed out onto the ice! It was such a fabulous experience....we went into ice caves, saw cravasses with no bottom and sat down for lunch on the top of the glacier! Such a unique experience, which comes highly recommended by me!
We were so so tired the next day though! Amy was finding it hard to walk and I was suffering with sore shoulders...but neither of us were complaining...it was so worth it! Fortunately the drive up the coas to Greymouth was a short one, relatively speaking! It pretty much rained all day and so, after exploring the (small) towns of Hokitika and Greymouth we sat in and did some knitting! This morning...Wednesday 12th...we headed on a long drive further up the coast and inland a bit...technical...to Pohara (in Abel Tasman National Park) Unfortunately to get there you have to go over the historically feared Takaka Hill (according to the Rough Guide to NZ)! I didn't know this until after we did it fortunately! It is a 750m hill which winds all the way up one side and all the way down the other! Hilariously, we have to do it again tomorrow to get out to Nelson!
Typically the day we have to drive for 6 hours is the sunniest, warmest day we've had so far! We got here and sat on the beach for a while until it was too cold and then we had dinner. We catch the ferry to the North Island on Friday, so we only have Nelso tomorrow before we head over to Wellington...all going so fast! I know I keep saying that but it really is! Anyway...hope you're all well...speak soon!
Thursday 6 March 2008
Let me fill you in on NZ...
So apart from all the hideousness (see posts below) we are really enjoying NZ! You will all be pleased to hear that I am loving driving around in the Jucy Crib (our campervan) and have already done over 1000km. It's really easy to get around...and although a little cramped the facilities at the sites are so good that we don't really spend too much time there! So I would reccomend doing it to you all! Here is a brief summary of what we have been up to:
Christchurch (just to make things even better) was really rainy! We went up in the famous gondolas to see the city from above...but the hills wer cloudy so all we saw was some white-ness! Well worth the $15! We also bought some Merino wool in the wool centre and some needles in the Family Store (Salvation Army charity shop) and are knitting ourselves some merino wool scarves! So cool! We bought a ticket to the old tram and saw the sights of the city on that...we also visited the Chinese Lantern Festival that was on and visited a really cool art gallery which was free and dry...it was still raining! It finally did stop raining and turned into a beautiful day...so we left Christchurch and headed to Fairlie (nr Lake Tekapo)...
...surprise surprise...it was raining in Fairlie! We headed over to Lake Tekapo to see the beauty of the Southern Alps (and also Mt Cook). It was stunning...the Lake was a beautiful aqumarine colour, like nothing I've ever seen before! However, true to form, it was raining so we only saw the bottom of the mountains! Still very beautiful though, and very hilly! Fairlie was a very small little town and we met lots of lovely travellers all full of hints and tips about where to go in NZ and also Asia! : D Pretty good time, but only a stopover...next stop Dunedin.
A 5hr drive put us in Dunedin (after a brief stop at Omerama). We enjoyed the drive quite alot as the views were superb! Truely awesome! Dunedin is a student town, and is probably the hilliest town I have ever seen! The reason for stoppign there? A chocolate factory and a brewery!We did a tour of both...obviously! The Cabury World was fabulous...the lady was so enthusiastic and naturally with our super brains we managed to get lots of free chocolate by answering the questions right! Lots of fun to be had right there! The brewery tour was also really good (goes without saying). The brewery only brews 4 days a week and is operated by 3 men...all very interesting, but far more interesting was the 1/2 hr beer tasting afterwards! You got to pour your own drinks from the pumps and taste 6 different types of beer! Needless to say much fun was had by all concerned! Also at Dunedin we cooked for the first time...amzing beef patties in tiger bread! Mmmmmmmm!
After some fairly nice weather in Dunedin we left on a nasty rainy Wednesday 5 March to go to Te Anau (pronounced Tay Ah Now). Was a pretty long way there too...also 5 hours...but we were spurred on by the call of the Te Anau Gloworm Caves that evening! Fortunately the weather in Te Anau was better than in Dunedin and we headed over to Lake Manapouri (the gateway to Doubtful Sound) and sat by the calm water for a very relaxing coupel of hours. After heading back into Te Anau we had some yummy dinner (cooked in the brand new facilities, right next to our convieniently placed camper) and changed before heading to the warf to catch the boat to the gloworm caves. The half and hour cruise takes you over to the caves and then you walk through them with a guide (ours was Japanese and was very humerous!) At the end of the tour you go in a boat to see the gloworms...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Lit up like a night sky in there! Stunning!
Te Anau is also the gateway to Milford Sound and the follwing day we got up early and drove 2 1/2 hours down the only road in and out of Milford. It was easy...until about an hour in when you have to drive up a mountain...down a mountain...around a mountain...even through a mountain! The most beautiful road I have ever driven on...so many photo opportunities (unfortunately I can't upload any atm) and we stopped for them all! Once we got there we had an hour and a half cruise out on the Sound and right next to a waterfall! It was very wet and windy...but gorgeous! We also met an older English couple who were very impressed with my "bravery" of driving the camper! Very amusing!
The 2 1/2 hour journey back down the same road was not so fun! Having done it only 2 hrs earlier it did seem to drag on...however the beauty of the scenery pulled us through! We met a couple in the kitchen that night who have a daughter int he year above us who went to Canterbury Christ Church Uni...she lived just down the road from Neil and Dunstan number 11 if you know her maybe Dunst? Amy I think she was called...let me know! Anyway...they were lovely and had lots of tips for us, he was a vicar on sabattical and very very funny. We however had to tear ourselves away from them to go to the cinema to see a local film called Ata Whenua (pronounced Fen-ooh-a). It was filmed by a guy who does helicoptor tours over the Sounds and was views of Fjiordland set to music...the quickest half an hour of my life! Such an amazing film, and can only be seen in Te Anau...so well worth it! The chairs were massive and comfy...and we had hot chocolate! VIP treatment! FAB!
So now we are in Queenstown! It is Friday 7th March and I can't believe how fast the time is going! We have booked the shotover jet for tomorrow (so you can tell James John I took his advice Dad!) We also booked our glacier hike and our accomodation in Franz Joseph (unfortunately mangaed to book it for next week...not this week...fortunately though we noticed and manged to sort it out, or else it would have been Melbourne all over again! Hehe! Hope you are all well, loving getting your comments/Facebook posts/e-mails/texts...keep me updated! Hope you arn't bored by this now! Hehe! x
Christchurch (just to make things even better) was really rainy! We went up in the famous gondolas to see the city from above...but the hills wer cloudy so all we saw was some white-ness! Well worth the $15! We also bought some Merino wool in the wool centre and some needles in the Family Store (Salvation Army charity shop) and are knitting ourselves some merino wool scarves! So cool! We bought a ticket to the old tram and saw the sights of the city on that...we also visited the Chinese Lantern Festival that was on and visited a really cool art gallery which was free and dry...it was still raining! It finally did stop raining and turned into a beautiful day...so we left Christchurch and headed to Fairlie (nr Lake Tekapo)...
...surprise surprise...it was raining in Fairlie! We headed over to Lake Tekapo to see the beauty of the Southern Alps (and also Mt Cook). It was stunning...the Lake was a beautiful aqumarine colour, like nothing I've ever seen before! However, true to form, it was raining so we only saw the bottom of the mountains! Still very beautiful though, and very hilly! Fairlie was a very small little town and we met lots of lovely travellers all full of hints and tips about where to go in NZ and also Asia! : D Pretty good time, but only a stopover...next stop Dunedin.
A 5hr drive put us in Dunedin (after a brief stop at Omerama). We enjoyed the drive quite alot as the views were superb! Truely awesome! Dunedin is a student town, and is probably the hilliest town I have ever seen! The reason for stoppign there? A chocolate factory and a brewery!We did a tour of both...obviously! The Cabury World was fabulous...the lady was so enthusiastic and naturally with our super brains we managed to get lots of free chocolate by answering the questions right! Lots of fun to be had right there! The brewery tour was also really good (goes without saying). The brewery only brews 4 days a week and is operated by 3 men...all very interesting, but far more interesting was the 1/2 hr beer tasting afterwards! You got to pour your own drinks from the pumps and taste 6 different types of beer! Needless to say much fun was had by all concerned! Also at Dunedin we cooked for the first time...amzing beef patties in tiger bread! Mmmmmmmm!
After some fairly nice weather in Dunedin we left on a nasty rainy Wednesday 5 March to go to Te Anau (pronounced Tay Ah Now). Was a pretty long way there too...also 5 hours...but we were spurred on by the call of the Te Anau Gloworm Caves that evening! Fortunately the weather in Te Anau was better than in Dunedin and we headed over to Lake Manapouri (the gateway to Doubtful Sound) and sat by the calm water for a very relaxing coupel of hours. After heading back into Te Anau we had some yummy dinner (cooked in the brand new facilities, right next to our convieniently placed camper) and changed before heading to the warf to catch the boat to the gloworm caves. The half and hour cruise takes you over to the caves and then you walk through them with a guide (ours was Japanese and was very humerous!) At the end of the tour you go in a boat to see the gloworms...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Lit up like a night sky in there! Stunning!
Te Anau is also the gateway to Milford Sound and the follwing day we got up early and drove 2 1/2 hours down the only road in and out of Milford. It was easy...until about an hour in when you have to drive up a mountain...down a mountain...around a mountain...even through a mountain! The most beautiful road I have ever driven on...so many photo opportunities (unfortunately I can't upload any atm) and we stopped for them all! Once we got there we had an hour and a half cruise out on the Sound and right next to a waterfall! It was very wet and windy...but gorgeous! We also met an older English couple who were very impressed with my "bravery" of driving the camper! Very amusing!
The 2 1/2 hour journey back down the same road was not so fun! Having done it only 2 hrs earlier it did seem to drag on...however the beauty of the scenery pulled us through! We met a couple in the kitchen that night who have a daughter int he year above us who went to Canterbury Christ Church Uni...she lived just down the road from Neil and Dunstan number 11 if you know her maybe Dunst? Amy I think she was called...let me know! Anyway...they were lovely and had lots of tips for us, he was a vicar on sabattical and very very funny. We however had to tear ourselves away from them to go to the cinema to see a local film called Ata Whenua (pronounced Fen-ooh-a). It was filmed by a guy who does helicoptor tours over the Sounds and was views of Fjiordland set to music...the quickest half an hour of my life! Such an amazing film, and can only be seen in Te Anau...so well worth it! The chairs were massive and comfy...and we had hot chocolate! VIP treatment! FAB!
So now we are in Queenstown! It is Friday 7th March and I can't believe how fast the time is going! We have booked the shotover jet for tomorrow (so you can tell James John I took his advice Dad!) We also booked our glacier hike and our accomodation in Franz Joseph (unfortunately mangaed to book it for next week...not this week...fortunately though we noticed and manged to sort it out, or else it would have been Melbourne all over again! Hehe! Hope you are all well, loving getting your comments/Facebook posts/e-mails/texts...keep me updated! Hope you arn't bored by this now! Hehe! x
Bad bad Jet Star and Jucy
So we woke at 4:00 to get a taxi to the airport...unfortunately when we arrived at the airport our 8:40am flight was showing 11:40am and our check in was late opening. After getting into the airport they gave us $8 each for breakfast and so we sat...and sat...and sat...our flight was actually delayed for 4 and a half hours and took off at 1:00pm. After landing and getting through customs etc. we called to pick up our campervan and were told the Jucy at Christchurch was shut and we wouldn't be able to pick it up until the next day! So after finding emergency accomodation we went and had a curry and a beer and the campsite gave us a free spa...so we were feeling a bit better!
We headed out on 29th to pick up the van...but not until 12:00 because they gave our van away the day before! Upon arrival we were told that our vans tyres were bald and would need changing! So we waited some more...and when we finally did get our van it was mid afternoon...and so 1 1/2 of our 3 days in Christchurch were gone! Bad bad Jet Star and Jucy!
We headed out on 29th to pick up the van...but not until 12:00 because they gave our van away the day before! Upon arrival we were told that our vans tyres were bald and would need changing! So we waited some more...and when we finally did get our van it was mid afternoon...and so 1 1/2 of our 3 days in Christchurch were gone! Bad bad Jet Star and Jucy!
End of Oz
So our last couple of days in Melbourne were pretty chilled out. We headed out to the Casino on Tuesday and spent lots of money! Bad bad Casino! We also visited our local "The Pump House" and met a couple of the locals (not bad looking either) who let us crash their birthday celebrations! They were also advising us on things to do with our last day, not that they were much help...but hey ho!
27th Feb was our last day as we flew early early on the 28th so we headed out to the Melbourne Museum to see the indoor living forest and then caught the FREE tourist shuttle into town. It was pretty good and took 45mins to show us the back bits we hadn't already seen. We did a long walk around the botanical gardens and then headed home to get changed before heading out to the (much talked about) Queen Victoria Night Bazarre. It's held once a week from Nov-Feb so it was the last one of the year and they really go out with a bang! It was amazing...there were foods from all around the world and also shops and live music! Unfortunately we had to leave early because we had to get up at 04:00am! : O
27th Feb was our last day as we flew early early on the 28th so we headed out to the Melbourne Museum to see the indoor living forest and then caught the FREE tourist shuttle into town. It was pretty good and took 45mins to show us the back bits we hadn't already seen. We did a long walk around the botanical gardens and then headed home to get changed before heading out to the (much talked about) Queen Victoria Night Bazarre. It's held once a week from Nov-Feb so it was the last one of the year and they really go out with a bang! It was amazing...there were foods from all around the world and also shops and live music! Unfortunately we had to leave early because we had to get up at 04:00am! : O
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