North Island New Zealand

North Island and onto the USA

Two days of driving. We are heading up to the North Island via ferry and then driving up to Auckland. We have two days to do this because we catch our flight out of New Zealand on Sunday.

Because of this, and the fact that our week in the USA is likely to be very hectic, we will fill this in as and when we get the chance, hopefully before we get back on Sunday the 6th December.

Its funny, but I thought I was completely saturated when it came to New Zealand scenery. There was nothing left for the Islands to show me that would make me go “Wow”

Wrong!!

As per normal we took the scenic route up to Picton and boy was it scenic. Every time we crested a hill/mountain there unfolded another breathtaking view below us.

 We must have stopped at every lookout point and realised we were running the risk of missing the ferry.

This very nearly proved the case when we arrived at the dock and were told the car hire firm had cancelled our tickets. I let Lucy sort that one out and we were soon on the boat. Three pleasant hours later we arrived in Wellington on the North Island.

Like Christchurch, we cant say much about Wellington as we drove straight out of there and headed north. Actually I can say there was a lot of traffic and also a motorway. We knew there had to be more than seven cars in New Zealand.

I have to say there is quite a lot to see on the North Island but it does not quite match the South for beauty, nevertheless it was a pleasant drive over the next two days to Auckland.

Pleasant except for when we came  across what appeared to be the New Zealand version of the Tour de France which took place on the main A1 road near Taupo. I am being conservative when I say out of a population of four million people, three million were taking part.  For the best part of 30km Lucy risked head on crashes as she had to dodge the gaggle of mad road cyclists racing along the road sometimes in groups of 15 to 20. We witnessed one big bike smash (not involving a car I hasten to add) and then another cyclist swerved suddenly in front of Lucy so she had to slam on the brakes. She was completely exhausted after that and I had to take over the driving !

We stayed the night in both Palmeston North and Rotarua, before finally reaching the airport that would see us leave possibly the most wonderful country I have ever visited. (Except for the bloody sand flies.) So it was with heavy hearts that we boarded and waved goodbye.

The flight to LA was over twelve hours and unfortunately there was just enough turbulence throughout the flight to mean that we got no sleep at all.

 
We arrived in LA at 6:35am and caught a connection to San Francisco at 11.00am (already an hour late) . We checked into our hotel on Union Square and literally went straight to bed to catch a couple of hours much needed sleep !

 

Abel Tasman

We went kayaking yesterday. The sea was dead calm on the outward journey and it was a real doddle. While having a snack break in a sheltered cove, we noticed the wind picking up. Don't get me wrong, it was still a lovely day but boy was it hard work crossing the waves on the way back. It was very enjoyable though. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in cafes and shopping around. Well I did while Lucy had a facial. LoL

Last day in Nelson and the weather forecast was very good, so we decided to take a trip out to Abel Tasman National Park. The furthest you can drive to is Kaiteriteri which is about an hour from Nelson and from there you need to take a water taxi to the various coves and beaches.

There is a walk, over 50km, that can be done, but it takes three days and sleeping in tents - something I won't/don't do !

Instead we took a water taxi to Bark Bay and walked 7km to Torrent Bay through the forest. It is so peaceful and calm and the views over the Tasman sea and over the golden sandy beaches are glorious.

We took  some sandwiches and apples and lots of factor 30 sun block and had a fantastic day. After we reached Torrent Bay we had a hour to wait for the water taxi so  we spent the time paddling in the cool clear waters  and generally chilling out.

Back in  Kaiteriteri, we  went for a meal in the local cafe (almost certainly the only cafe there) and had a tasty meal of the local fish.

Tonight we have been packing up again :( Tomorrow we sail from Picton to the North Island for our journey up to Auckland and our flight to Los Angeles on Sunday

This link is to a video taken in Queenstown. It includes skydiving and Nevis swing

Quadaphobia

Lucy and I had different feelings about today’s activities, especially the quad biking. The adrenaline surges through me when doing stuff like this and I loved it but Lucy just thought it was hard work. I can’t criticise her at all though because she stuck with it and rode all the way to the top and back again a total of  14 km. Never once in the journey did her eyes leave the road directly in front of her.

This is the first time either of us has ridden quad bikes and let me tell you its quite hard work. As Lucy pointed out to our guide when we were only two minutes into warming up on the driveway.

“These bikes don’t have power steering!”

Anyway off we plodded up the mountain tracks. It was a lovely day again and the views were, as usual, quite lovely. The guide pulled over a couple of times to point out things like a two thousand year old tree and stuff. ;)

At the top of the hill was a skywire called the flying fox. To see what this really is you need to check out the videos either on their own site (www.happyvalleyadventures.co.nz) or YouTube. Basically it’s a 3.2km powered zip wire that speeds you along at speeds up to 80kmph. I am not sure of the height but the tall trees were at least a couple of hundred feet below us.

I couldn’t really tell for sure as I was hanging onto my camera and the ride frame like I was trying to crush both. Lucy of course loved that part of the day and revelled in my discomfort. Divorce could well be on the cards when we get home.

The ride downhill on the quad bikes was even better. The guide pointed out we should use the brakes. LoL Lucy used the brakes for both of us I think. At the bottom they had a fun test track which was a very rugged circuit in a field of sheep. I proceeded to power my way around it at breakneck speeds while Lucy videoed it for posterity. 

(When we watched it back later in the evening I was really depressed to see that I was actually crawling around the course like a 90 year old granny on a wheeled zimmer frame.)

Eating in tonight and then off to town for a few beers. Need to be up early in the morning as we are out kayaking

Nelson

Its the largest  town we have seen in New Zealand, but best of all its sunny. The motel we are staying in is ace and has a brilliantly comfy bed.

This is South street Nelson. Built in 1840

                                                       Lucy donning her new party hat

We did a bit of exploring today and we have booked some activities for the next few days. Tomorrow will be quad biking and a zip wire thing called skywire which is over 3km long. Day after we are going kayaking on the Tasman Sea and the day after that whale watching in Kaikoura. 

The weather forecast is  sun, sun, sun for the next three to four days so I will have to dig out the sunblock again.

The long and winding road....to Nelson

How we kept ourselves entertained on the long, long journey.....

The full version of this video is on You Tube. See it all when you click HERE

Drought, what drought ?

Yesterday we left Queenstown, with sadness as we had really enjoyed it there and had stayed there four extra days over our originally planned three.

It was a long drive to Franz Josef, so we stopped a few times on the way.

Most enjoyable stop was at Wanaka where we visited the famous Puzzle World.

It tells you something about traffic in New Zealand that in the whole 400km drive to Franz Josef on single carriageway road we didn't need to overtake a single other vehicle. Most of the time there were no other vehicles to see.

It was raining when we got to Franz Josef and this morning when we woke all we could hear was the  incessant rain beating against the motel room roof and windows. It was a sorry sight. 270 days of rain a year here. At 12:30 when we turned up for the half day glacier hike, it was still pouring down.

The tour company supplied all the kit needed including rain coats, hiking boots, hats, gloves, over trousers and crampons for walking on the ice. 

It was only a short drive to the glacier car park, and we set off, a group of about thirty nine, which was further split down into three groups.

Fast, slow and old fogies. We decided to go in the second group because we are not kids anymore but we didn't want them to think we were completely geriatric

Once on the glacier the rain seemed to ease (or maybe we were just getting used to it) and we started to enjoy the experience of walking on a glacier, which was made much easier with the crampons.  When we got back to the town, we went for a dip in the hot pools which was an extremely enjoyable end to the day.

Tomorrow we are heading for Nelson and hopefully sunshine for five days and then we will be crossing over to the North Island

Nevis Arc Swing

We made it folks. The rope didn't snap and the harness didn't work its way loose. Click on the photos to see the full screen image

Den spent the afternoon at the local tattoo shop. When in NZ get some sort of Maori design. Good thing about black is it covers old tattoos. Sorry Jen but you're gone now.

Next stop in New Zealand the Franz Josef Glacier which we will visit on Saturday on half day trip. The drive from Queenstown will take us most of the day.

Bring the men in white suits for me

Rest day today. Us old fogies have to take a breather once in a while.

Went to see 'Social Network' at the cinema. Story of the start of Facebook and the lawsuits that went with it. Very thought provoking. Like to know how close to the truth it is

This is what we are doing tomorrow morning (7:45 pm UK time) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6UfTQ0jXE

We are completely bonkers. It's been nice knowing you all

So where do I start

Indeed! It’s been three days since our last entry. I can’t usually remember what I have had for breakfast so recalling all the adrenalin charged activities we have been doing is going to be a challenge.

I think today is Tuesday. That’s another thing. Being on a long extended holiday means that you no longer have any concept of days of the weeks or dates in general. I just need to remember two dates. On 26^th Nov we catch the ferry from Picton to Wellington and on 28^th Nov we fly to Los Angeles from Auckland. What it is to be an international jet setter!

Anyway back to the activities. On Sunday I gave in and agreed to do something a little more exciting than a massage. We booked ourselves on the Jet Boat on the Shotover river/canyon.

These are jet boats that speed along the treacherous waters of the Shotover at breakneck speeds, with pilots who aim to scare you to death by aiming for the solid rock walls of the canyon as well an engaging in 360 degree turns at some outrageous speed.

It was exhilarating and we have the pictures to prove it. If you look at the pictures we are at the back.

We ventured in the car afterwards to a small town called Arrowtown. Had an ice cream, Enough said….

The evening was spent in the local cinema watching a comedy action thriller called ‘Red’. Worth a look if anyone is thinking of going. Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and various other ‘older’ stars in a damm good yarn.

As we like Queenstown so much, we decided to stay two extra days, mainly to save us having to pack up again. I booked a coach trip to Milford Sound for Monday, which meant getting up at 6:30am L. The coach trip involved a journey of four hours each way, following all the other coaches to Milford Sound. Once there we went on a two hour cruise.

Was it worth it? Anything that involves an eight hour round trip needs to really live up to something and there is an awful lot of hype surrounding Milford Sound. I was a little disappointed, but I am not very good on long journeys by road especially by coach.

In hindsight, it would have been better to drive ourselves and book a cruise when we got there. We got back very late and grabbed a snack in a pub in Queenstown.

Next day (Tuesday) we again had to be up at 6.30am, this time to go on a day hike on the famous Routeburn Track.

To ‘tramp’ along the whole length of the track takes three days, with two nights at various huts along the way staying in shared dorms. No way Jose! Instead we settled on a 20km round trip along the track with a guide. There were four other people on the hike, including a teacher from London.

Unfortunately, for the first 10k it rained solidly, which is sort of expected in rainforest, so by the time we reached the hut at the midway point we were literally soaked to the skin. We managed a bit of lunch and then set off back, thankfully the rain had eased off. We got back to the apartment at 7.00pm Never was a hot, steaming shower so welcome (as well as a washing machine and tumble dryer)

Look like we are going to stay an extra day in Queenstown  and tomorrow is definitely a rest day!

Not quite a free fall, it was very expensive

Why can’t I be into nice and easy things like fishing or bowls or maybe even cycling? Why is it that most of the things I choose to do make me feel sick beforehand? Why do I go on the biggest big dippers wherever I go, where I stand in the queue feeling very ill right up to the moment it crests the first big ascent, and then afterwards get about 40 seconds of feeling very Yaaaahhhhoooooooooooo!

I only went to see how much a tandem skydive would cost this morning and they talked me into jumping at 3:30 this afternoon. That was it, we were on our way for breakfast at the time and I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Here we go again. Nothing to eat or drink all day, walking around with Lucy in my own little bubble. Enough said so onto the jump itself.

Sitting in the  plane as it rose up into the sky I knew I could not chicken out any longer. My mouth was dry and I was looking through the window thinking….

 I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

LoL Am I glad I read “Dune”

15,000 feet and I crawl down and hang out of the plane, what a view (Video will be on YouTube when we get home) 3-2-1 and my buddy pushes us out of the door. To say it is a rush is an understatement. It’s hard to breathe because you are falling so fast and at 16200 feet above sea level there is not a lot of oxygen anyway. There is another guy in my face with a camera on his head signaling me to give the thumbs up and smile. Hell I have lost the ability to breathe in and breathe out my brain can’t work it out, but I smiled, screamed and shouted like I am supposed to do. 65 seconds later the parachute opened and we floated down to the ground. That’s another tick on my bucket list, bungee jumping tomorrow. LoL Nooooooooooooo!

Queenstown

I had an extremely relaxing time while Den was sky diving. I booked a massage and facial in Queenstown!

In the morning we got up very late (this is becoming a habit) and walked down to the town centre. After booking the sky dive, we decided to go on the Skyline Gondola ride up to ‘Bobs Peak’ overlooking Queenstown and the lake.

It was another sunny day and the views were stunning. We dropped into the café and I had a great pasta dish for £8 which was sensational. Den meantime couldn’t eat anything such were his nerves! If we have time we may go back try the luge track at the top which looked like a lot of fun. We also managed a short hike through the forest at the top.

The coolness of the forest was in direct contrast to the hot, muggy weather in the full sun.

                                                        Its a very long way home.

I was very relieved to see Den in one piece when I went to pick him up at the Nzone shop.  We celebrated with a fish and chip meal in the local chippie followed by an ice cream and then we walked the half mile back to the apartment.  This holiday is going so fast. It’s hard to believe that we are almost three weeks into it. I am definitely sleeping better and very relaxed

East meets West (weather)

We were picked up at 21:30hrs and driven up to the most southerly observatory on the planet. At the half way point the driver switched off the lights and continued up the mountain road in complete darkness. He explained that he does this trip several times a week and knows the twisting dangerous road like the back of his hand. That doesn’t stop us from being a little worried (I have written “a little worried” because Lucy has banned me from swearing so I cant put “sh******g in my pants). He had to turn off the lights so it wouldn’t blind the large telescope on top of Mt John.

Once there, we were shown around some of the telescopes and took several pictures of the moon.

Both Lucy and I really enjoyed the tour, with clear skies and millions of stars on view. We were even able to see two other galaxies using our eyes only, something you can’t do in other light polluted skies. I now know how to find the Southern Cross and then work out from it where magnetic south is on the horizon. This will come in very handy for …..well the next two weeks. J. We got back to our B&B after midnight feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and what we had seen.

Next morning we set off on a 300+km drive to Queenstown. On the way, because the weather was clear, we decided to take a detour to Mt Cook which is the highest mountain in New Zealand.

The drive took is some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen. Once there Lucy and I took a thirty minute walk up to Keypoint lookout where we were able to take some pictures of the glaciers which ran past.

Then back on the road for a very pleasant 280km drive to Queenstown. I actually had to overtake twice during the journey, that’s how busy the roads are in NZ.

Once in Queenstown we booked into our apartment and decided to go out for a meal….hang on…Lucy turned on the TV and saw “Aircrash investigation” was on. L While she watched that the sad person, I wrote this blog. Then we went out to have a look around this busy backpacker town. Tonight I fancy an Indian.

Akaroa - Long Harbour

The B&B we stayed in Christchurch was a real home from home with very friendly owners. We shared breakfast with them and watched TV in the evening with them and as Den said it was like staying with your favourite granny and grandad !

On Wednesday, we went to Akaroa a beautiful village on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. It has a sheltered harbour which resembles a large lake. Not being the high tourist season, it was very peaceful and quiet and very relaxing.

We went for a two hour hike round the hills, and then treated ourselves to some of the best fish and chips we’ve had in a small café on the harbour.

We left Christchurch on Friday morning and drove for three hours to Lake Tekapo. This is close to the snow covered mountains.  Depending on the weather we may do some hiking in the area. We are staying in another B&B, but just for one night. From Tekapo we will drive another five hours to Queenstown the adrenalin capital of New Zealand where Den hopes to have some fun.

We have booked a trip out to the Mt John Observatory at 22:45 tonight to go star gazing. This is something we have always had an interest in and we are really looking forward to it. Obviously its best with clear skies, but the observatory has the country’s most powerful telescopes so we are keeping our fingers crossed. This area has the most spectacular night sky in New Zealand

New Zealand, New Zealand

5:30 am the alarm went off L. Dragged ourselves out of bed, and down to the lobby to wait for the shuttle bus. It seemed to stop at every hotel on the way to the airport, but finally got there at 7.00am. Checked in by a very rude Qantas check in agent (Qantas are not a patch on BA in any respect, planes, lounges, airline food and customer service).

We were lucky that our flight was not delayed as there were many cancellations and delays as a result of the previous night’s storm in Sydney.

The flight to Christchurch was short but very bumpy. It didn’t help that they were serving lunch at 9.30am when I was still expecting breakfast. Apparently the meal they serve depends on the time of landing at the destination which in our case was 14:00 because of yet another time shift.

Finally in Christchurch, we were first off the plane, first through customs, although they did inspect our walking boots (for illegal soil?). Sorted out the car rental swiftly and ended up with a Toyota Camry 2.4 Automatic which was the only car where our suitcases would fit in the boot.

Bed & Breakfast : Menteith Country Lodge, was only 30 minutes away. Lovely place, welcoming hosts and the most comfortable bed I have slept in for a long time. We went out to eat but, we were so tired we went straight to bed at 9.00pm

Kangaroos, what Kangaroos?

Sydney in 45 seconds ( link to Den's You Tube video of Sydney)

Two days since we last blogged.  On our last day in Australia we decided to visit Manly Beach. It was a lovely day in Sydney (or was it?…..)  and we started the day with breakfast in a café near the hotel. We caught the free shuttle bus down to Circular Quay and caught the ferry to Manly, passing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Manly has a large sweeping expansive beach, with waves made for surfing. Darn it ! We had left our surfboards back in the hotel room, so there was nothing for it but to go for a walk through the bush.

# I come from a land up over, where men are white .... #

Lots of photos later, we found ourselves at the former school of Artillery, which sadly had nothing going for it, so we walked back down towards Manly. It was at that point we noticed the ominous clouds over Sydney some miles south of us. Thinking the rain would be upon us soon, we found a quiet restaurant and ate a cheap, delicious meal. Now the word cheap and Australia don’t go hand in hand, but they messed up the order and so were falling over themselves to compensate us even though we were so laid back we had hardly noticed.  A free dessert and coffee followed and they charged me half price for my main course. Result !



Abergele Beach......?



The ferry back was uneventful, if a little rocky. Back in Sydney we did the tour of the Ugg Boot shops (too late for orders folks) where even in the tourist shops they are half the price of the UK. Xmas pressies duly purchased (not giving anything away here) we started the long walk back to the hotel.  Den commented about the light show that was obviously taking place, as the dark night sky seemed permanently lit up. It was only later that we realised that this was no light show but thunder and lightening in the Sydney suburbs south of the city.  We got back to the hotel minutes before the heavens opened. It was raining Kangaroos and Koalas. So much so that Sydney International Airport was closed for several hours.

But it's always sunny in Australia.....

Back to the room and some hectic packing as we were due to leave the hotel at 6.00am the next morning…..

P.S We didn’t see a single kangaroo in all the time we were in Australia L

Overall we loved Australia. I liked Queensland most because it was sweltering and humid, Lucy preferred Sydney where humidity was pretty low. They drive on the correct side of the road and they drink lager. To top it off I didn’t have to learn a new languageJ. It is definitely a young person’s country so come on kids, get your arses out here.

See ya Wibs, we’re off back to Sydney.

Thanks a lot to the Wibble (Peter, Roisin and Sam Nangle) family for a lovely weekend at their house in Winmalee. It was such a shame that it rained so much because as Lucy said yesterday, the Blue Mountains really are lovely. We all went out for a meal at a local tavern on Saturday night where the food was good and the beer was even better. Top tip. Next time you see the Foster’s advert where they tell you it’s the beer the Aussies drink, laugh your socks off because I will tell you now, there is more chance of me getting struck by a piece of engine off an Airbus 380 than there is of me getting a Fosters in Aus.

Anyway, we drove back to Sydney after watching the MUFC v Wolves match, (That’s an hour and a half of my life I will never get back. L ) where the sun was shining for the first time since we flew down here. There was a lot going on down at the Harbour where they were trying to get home made planes made in the shapes of baths, bats, beds and …well anything that doesn’t fly and falling 25 feet off a ramp into the water. We walked around the botanical gardens where we saw loads of fruit bats hanging from the trees. 

Also Debbie (my cousin) if you are reading this, do you remember when we took you to Covent Garden market, there was a street entertainer there who did some juggling, and had a bike on the top of a pole? Well it’s a small world because he was doing his show under a bridge in Sydney harbour today. (picture attached)

All in all we had a lovely day and walked all over the city. We contemplated walking over the Harbour Bridge but decided to save that for tomorrow; instead we had an outdoor meal in Hyde Park watching the sun go down.

Crocked Dundee

At the Flug Tug in Botanical Gardens

Hiding in the jungle....in the Botanical Gardens in Sydney

Debbie, do you remember this fella performing at Covent Garden ? Here he is in Sydney