On the road again - Queenstown

Okay, so now I'm back on my travels, and I left Wanaka for my first stop in Queenstown. It was a nice bus ride, and the driver, Lisa, was a real hoot. She first split the bus into two teams and gave us a list of 10 things to bring to the front of the bus, with the first group getting a prize. The list included a phone, an iPod and a Loenly planet guide, as well as boxer shorts/ bra. We then had an individual mini quiz, and I won a drink. We arrived at the Kawarau Bridge after a fashion, and I stood and cringed as some of my fellow Magic passengers took a jump. I also saw a couple jumping tandem whilst both nude. Shortly after that, we arrived into Q'town, and to my surprise the first two people I met in the reception were Jason and Shane-o from Wanaka. I made plans to meet them in the bar, and quickly took my stuff up to the room. Before the night out I needed sustenance, so I decided to takle the legendary Fergburger, which was described as "A very big burger. Unless of course you're from America, because then it's normal size". I decided to have a 'Big Al' and I was so stuffed that I didn't manage to finish my chips. Feeling full, I traipsed back to the bar to meet up with Jason and Shane-o. Many fun and exciting pursuits then ensued, aided (of course) by liberal amounts of alcohol. These included the pub quiz (which we didn't win) and the horizontal bungy. I was paired up with Shana, a girl from London. Before our turn, a very drunk Shane-o took his turn, and he decided to do it stark bollock naked! He managed to stagger far enough to eventually grab the drink before returning it to his partner to skull (well, half ended up on the floor). When it came to our turn I decided to do the running and let Shana drink. I ran and just grabbed the drink bfore I was pinged back. I managed to fall most of the way back to my partner, and we set a very reasonable time of 35 seconds which put us in the lead, with one more pair to go. I watched then next pair, praying for them to fail but sadly they managed 32 seconds. This was actually a blessing in disguise though, as the prize turned out to be a free canyon swing (height + rope + falling = not my cup of tea). I partied for a while longer before managing to stagger back to bed. I awoke the next morning feeling reasonably rough but bearable, only to find that my backpack (which happened to contain my passport, eftpos card, tickets etc.). I tore the room apart, becoming very agitated, before deciding to go down to reception to call somebody. I opened the door to find that the guys who were on the Kiwi bus (and had already left) had lleft it sitting in the hallway outside the door. I was furious, but relieved, and headed into town to get the minibus for my next adventure, jet boating in the skipper's canyon. The bus journey took about an hour to the canyon, but the scenery made it so worthwhile. The driver was alsio very knowledgeable about the gold mining history of the area. We arrived in the canyon and took a half hour jet boat ride, with numerous 360 spins as well as photo ops. Back on dry land and feeling considerably less rough, we were taken to the site of the old pipeline bungy (which we had seen from the canyon). I decided to stay on the cenyon's edge whilst the other walked out onto the bridge, and the bungy's hut (which closed in 2004) looked as if the guys had gone home for lunch. There were even signs up advertising prices. We then took the winding gravel road back out of the canyon, to civilization. Once back in Queenstown I decided to head out to the gondola and Luge (just like the one in Sentosa but with better views). It was so much fun and a great way to round off the afternoon. I grabbed a lovely, healthy and filling (not) meal from McDonald's before catching a bus out to the suburb of Frankton, which has a Warehouse (I needed some new jeans). After that I made my way back into town for a quiet night in the TV lounge, before an early night to be up for the bus the next day.

The Wanaka Diaries

By that Thursday, I did have some work lined up. It was only for one day, but I decided that it would do until I could get something more permanent. I was going to spend the next day working in a vineyard. Of course to get the minibus I had to get up quite early. It was a shame that I was to spend that night working for accommodation in the house bar downstairs. I didn’t get to bed until after 2am, and so I was pretty tired the next morning as I dragged myself out of bed reluctantly and headed for a shower to try and wake up a bit. I arrived outside the job agency only to be told that somehow I wasn’t on the list for the minibus. I waited in case someone else didn’t turn up, and luckily there was room for me. It took about 2 hours to get to the orchard, so by the time we got there we were ready to go and so fired up for a day of hard labour. Yeah, right! The job was mind numbing, and the vineyard’s American owner was a right pain in the a**.  (No offence meant to Americans).  He was constantly breathing down all our necks, and we were aching by the time we got to the hut for lunch. By the end of the day I was glad that it was only a one day job, or else I would have considered quitting. 

The following day I didn’t do much until that night, when I was back toiling in the bar again. Don’t get any glamorous ideas of me being behind the bar pouring drinks though, as I was a glassie. That means it was my job to run around all night collecting glasses and putting them in the dishwasher, ensuring there were enough glasses behind the bar and cleaning up broken glasses and any other mess (yes, that does include sick!). I also had to do some security work, which involved standing at the door to the deck and stopping people taking their drinks outside. This was as easy as trying to explain the rules of chess to a dog. It just didn’t work. It was amazing how many people can’t understand a simple request just because they’ve had a few drinks.

 By the middle of the following week I had an interview for a job at New World, the local (and only) Supermarket. Not that the interview process was overly gruelling. The only question I was asked was “when can you start?” I was to go in on that Friday to get my uniform sorted out as well as my pay details and to put my fingerprint in the clock-in system. I was working late on Thursday night (again) in the bar, and I sort of slept in because my phone (and alarm clock) ran out of batteries in the night. Luckily Adrienne was pretty understanding when, although I’d said morning I turned up at 1pm looking like I’d just got out of bed (I had). We got all my details sorted out, and I was told to turn up ready for work at 9am the following morning. I made sure my phone was fully charged that night before I went to bed. The next morning I turned up on time and met the rest of the team. There was the manager Merv, his wife Bev, Trevor, Brent and Phillip, who was another new guy.  The job was simple enough. Pretty much I had to ensure that the fruit and veg bins were kept looking full and that the stock was rotated. It was even simpler than that, as each day I would only have to work on one side of the shop each day, either fruit or veg. By about midday the side was pretty full, and it was simply a task of keeping everything topped up and trying to look busy.  

By the middle of the third week, however, I really needed a break. Not from the supermarket, but from the bar. I was fed up of being down there, and I didn’t really like the manager, Amy, at all. She treated the WFA staff like shit, and she would say one thing and then do something completely different. I decided to talk to the housekeeping manager, Cecile, about possibly doing housekeeping for accommodation. The problem was that Amy was reluctant to give me up, because not only she would need to have the security staff work more rather than using me and saving money. Not that my job was ever meant to include security work. It wasn’t until the middle of the following week that Amy called me down to the bar to tell me that she had decided to move me to housekeeping, starting the following week. She said it as if it was her Idea in the first place. I decided just to hold my tongue and be thankful that I was getting out of there.

On my last night in the bar, I was working with the other security guard, Jason, and it was dead. We spent most of the night chatting and Jason told me that he might be able to get me some occasional security work at Shooters, one of the other bars in town. I said that would be great, and he told me he needed someone for the following Friday and Saturday. I said I would do it, and decided to talk to Cecile in at the morning about sorting the housekeeping roster out. The rest of that night was quite a doss and at the end Tom, the assistant manager, gave me a couple of shots, both of which were quite strong, especially the Chartreuse and Sambuca.

The work set for me in housekeeping seemed simple enough. Because I was working during the day every day except Thursday and Friday, and I was due to be working at night that Saturday and Sunday, I was to clean the kitchen from Monday to Friday, and make up rooms on Thursday and Friday, with Saturday and Sunday off. I started on the Saturday of the week before. I had worked 10 hours in the supermarket that day, after which I went up to the home of Cindy, one the assistant  Housekeeping Manager, who had invited all  of us up  to her house for a party, just for  the fun of it. Cindy was Malaysian, and she was lovely. She always had a smile, and could cheer you up no matter what. I had to leave early, of course, because I had to go and close up that kitchen and clean up. I got back late, about 11pm, and had to start straightaway as the kitchen was supposed to close at 10pm. I collected supplies and a list of things to do from the housekeeping room. I got into the kitchen and the first thing I noticed was a huge mound of unwashed dishes, and no-one there to clean them but me. About an hour later, when I had finished cleaning them, I was about ready for bed, but I still had the rest of the kitchen to clean. At 2.30am, when I had finished, I was exhausted, and by the following Tuesday I had decided to move out and find a flat or house-share.

I started my search the following day during my first break, by looking in the messenger, which was full of classifieds. I circled a few that seemed interesting, and arranged to go and see a couple that evening. The first place I went to was nice enough, but it was up the hill and so a bit out of the way I decided to leave it as a maybe. The next one was next door to Cindy’s house, but it was poky, there was neither phone nor internet, and I would have been there on my own most of the time. Plus it was still a bit out of the way.  The final place I saw that night was right next to the base of Mount Iron, but it was an annexe to a family home, and it was just a room, using the family kitchen in the main house. I decided that this would be a definite no, so I went home and contrived to look at more the next day.

The next day I got up early to do housekeeping. I had to make beds, and it was easy. I was paired up with Elianna, who was an Israeli American, and we took shortcuts as much as we could, like only changing the undersheets if they looked like they had been slept on, or were dirty. I also had to hoover, and I did that as quickly as possible to get it over with. After we finished, I headed straight out to look at the New World noticeboard, and I called a number and found myself talking to Kelly, the Beer and Wine manager. She said that she had a room, and I told her that I was going to look at some others that day and I’d get in touch with her if I hadn’t found something and wanted to have a look at her place. I walked up to another place on the hill, which was about a half hour’s walk, and met Stan, who was wanting someone to share his house with. He had two lovely dogs and a young daughter who came to visit every other week. The house was nice, but there was no internet or phone, and it was out of the way. I put it on the shortlist and headed back towards town, wondering. I walked back into town and decided to go and get myself a beer.  I headed for HQ, so I could check whether I would be working that week. Fish was on, and we got talking. She told me that she was going to be moving out of her room at a house-share just up the road, and they were looking for someone to move in. She gave me the number of her housemate, Torsten, and said that I could go and have a look later that day.  It took me a while to find the place, as I was still quite unsure of the geography of Wanaka, but I eventually got there. I met Max, the other housemate, and had a look at the place. The room was large, with a double bed, but the kitchen and bathroom were a little dated and possibly in need of a ‘spring clean’.  On the good side, tough, there was internet and a phone, with cheap international rates. There was also a TV, but it wasn’t connected as there had been Sky but Fish was taking it with her, but there was a DVD player and loads of DVDs. Headed back to the hostel, with a difficult choice to make, as it had boiled down to the last two places I had seen. I had to make a choice between the convenience of the house in town, and the desirability of the house on the hill, with the two cute dogs. I decided to consult with my Aunts, so I called them, and later that evening I called my parents as well. The following morning I had come to a decision, and called Torsten to tell him that I would take the flat. My decision had been influenced by the location, as I didn’t want to go too far to work each day, and also the internet access, as using the internet café in the hostel was costing me a fortune.  Torsten and I agreed that I would move in on Monday, and that he would bring his car down to help me with my stuff.

 That night, I was relaxing in the TV room after my second day off, and waiting for 10pm so that I could clean the kitchen, when my phone went off. It was Jason, wondering where I was, because I was meant to be at work at the bar. I got changed quickly and grabbed the housekeeping keys on my way out. I arrived at the bar about two minutes later and explained to Jason that I had got the days mixed up, and I had thought I was working on Saturday and Sunday. The work was pretty easy, anyhow. All I had to do was stand out the front and check IDs, and I spent most of the time chatting to the locals who were out there smoking. It was 2.30am by the time we got finished and cleaned up, so by the time I’d cleaned up the kitchen that night it was after 4am, and I had to get up at 8 for work. It took me several coffees and cans of energy drink to get through that day, and the following evening when I was back at the bar I was trying my hardest not to fall asleep where I stood. I was glad that I wasn’t cleaning the kitchen that night, because I wouldn’t have managed it. I got to bed as soon as I got finished at the bar, but I was still pretty tired the next morning. I got myself through Sunday with the help of an unhealthy amount of caffeine, and on Sunday evening I got most of my stuff packed up and ready to go, and I got hold of the keys to the housekeeping room under the pretext of changing the bedding and getting stuff ready for the next day, but I also used it as an opportunity to acquire some bedding for my new place. I also got some towels and some soaps, as well as a really handy washing bag. I hid this all at the bottom of a bin bag I had also acquired for the move, and I got my stuff all ready to go for the next day. The following evening I got moved into my new room and got my stuff arranged into a pile in the corner of the room, and my food packed away in the fridge and my food cupboard.

Two weeks later, I really felt at home in Wanaka, and I had worked out how much money I needed to earn, and that I wouldn’t be leaving Wanaka until sometime in April, and I decided to get my return travel organised.   This time I decided to be more organized, and actually budget for activities as well as food and accommodation. I also had to book my return flights, and I changed my plans slightly to allow for a repeat stop in Sydney. It took me a week to book all of the hostels, and to get the flights organised with BA, because there was a disagreement between offices. The UK office told me that there would be a difference in taxes, but no change fee, whilst the NZ office thought I would have to pay to change the flight. I also had to call Magic and get my buses changed.

For the following few weeks I worked hard at New World, and I decided to try and lose some of the weight I had gained on my travels. I increased the amount of Fruit and Veg I was eating until it made up about half of my weekly shop, and barely ate any meat as I couldn’t really afford it. I also tried to cut out some of the snacks I was eating and made sure I packed a nice healthy lunch (see, I’m quite good at diet tips too, maybe I should write a book called ‘The Flying Scotsman Diet’). The only problem I had was that between the produce department and the break room, there was a chiller cabinet filled with reduced to clear cakes and other treats, and it was really hard to resist them, especially the carrot cake. I also had trouble steering clear of the biscuit aisle. Saying that, it did work, and I lost a stone in about 4 weeks (no, I don’t do metric).  The only thing which wasn’t working out too well was the swimming, as it was getting a bit too cold in the evenings, and the days were getting shorter. It was quite strange, because during the day it would be really nice and sunny, almost sunbathing weather, and then at night it would get so cold you would be shivering. I had to put an extra blanket on my bed as well. I also joined the library and got through about 3 books a week. (I know this all seems a bit pedestrian, but I was here for three months).

The view from the end of my street!

Suzanne, Chiquie and Jackie

One of the things I did do was visit puzzling world with a few of the guys from the hostel. It was quite interesting, with a hall full of holograms, a room which was angled so that if you stood at one end you would seem very tall, and at the other very short. Of course I am so tall that I just looked normal at the short end, and a very difficult maze in which you had to get to each of the coloured towers in order. We made it a race, and I finished second. It was such a hot day that we were all exhausted after that, and we headed back into town. I also went disc golfing, which was quite unusual because it was in a forest and the targets were marked on trees. I loved little Wanaka, especially the view every morning on the way to work, with the mountains and the lake which looked (only the tiniest bit) clichéd. I also liked all the people I met, especially Cindy, who always cheered me up, and Nathan and Jason who were typical kiwi blokes and always up for a beer. I remember the morning (more like afternoon) after one particularly unmemorable bender, I met up with Jason down at HQ, and we had a bit of a session drinking beers on the terrace. I also remember one night getting quite drunk and partaking of some karaoke. I seemed to get better as the night wore on, and on the way home I swear that I met a guy with a live possum on his head. Some of the girls on the checkout were also a good laugh, including Jackie and Elise. During my last Week in Wanaka, I took a hike up Mount Iron and the views were amazing. I could see all of Wanaka, and right across to Arrowtown. It took me about 3 hours round trip, but it was worth it. I know that this isn’t a blow by blow account  of Wanaka, but why would you want that? It would be boring! So I think I’ll wrap this up for now and maybe touch it up if some more comes to me. 

Me and Cindy

Day 19 - Wanaka - Job Hunting and Cinema

On day 19 I dragged myself out of bed early to canvass the neighborhood looking for a job. By lunchtime I had  Work For Accommodation (WFA) at Mint bar. I had also joined the job agency and been around town applying to other jobs. As well as this I applied for jobs online. Because I got WFA I decided to spend at least 2 weeks in Wanaka to earn enough money to get home. That night I went to the cinema as a last treat and to celebrate getting work for accommodation. Cinema Paradiso is not what you would expect from a cinema, with airline seats, lazy boy recliners, sofas, beanbags and even an old Morris Minor provided as seating for the movie. I got comfy in one of the few rows of old cinema seats, and watched Avatar. It's a really good movie, and it's a shame that I didn't get the chance to see it in 3D. I highly recommend it. Now that I'm staying here for a while, I'm dispensing with the day-by-day account, and I'm gonna blog the first week, followed by highlights. Believe me, it's better that way.

Day 18 - Franz Josef to Wanaka - Money Troubles

On day 18 I was as stiff as I had been after I crossed the Tongariro, and it didn't help that there were 2 Magic buses, and a lot of confusion as to where each person's luggage would go. Noirin, Annette and I decided that we should get on the second bus, because the driver was completely filling up the first bus before sending people back, and we would probably get more space on the second bus. I was right, but the seats were really uncomfortable bench seats. I managed to finally position myself so I wasn't in too much pain, and we were off. We passed through Fox Glacier early in the day and stopped to pick up some folks at the YHA. The first proper stop was Lake Matheson, also known as 'mirror lake', and it was the place of a thousand postcards, since everywhere you go in New Zealand there will be a postcard with this lake on it. When I got to the lookout, it was easy to see why. It was truly breathtaking, with the mountains being reflected perfectly in the still lake surface. You should see the photos I took. We then continued on our way and we went for a while until we reached a small cafe. Obviously it wasn't expecting such a large group, and the queues for food were ridiculous. I was starving, and thankfully I noticed a small shop next door, so I got a snack lunch of crackers and fruit chutney. It was really nice, too. After everyone had been fed and herded back onto the buses we were on the way again, and the next port of call was a lookout over the sea. It was a really nice view, and we had time to take some pictures and visit the ubiquitous long drop toilets before heading on our way, next stop Wanaka. It was at this stage in the trip that the activity sheet came round for Queenstown, and I decided to check my bank balance by text before signing up for anything. Shortly afterward I discovered just how bad things were in the land of bank. I had a grand total of just over $300 in my bank. Not good. I had to decide between going straight to Queenstown or trying to find a job in Wanaka. I decided that my money would probably go further in Wanaka, and I decided to stop here. I checked into the YHA, and went out to look for work, not that there was much that present day. I had a very cheap (and bad tasting) meal of tuna and rice, and went to bed feeling very worried and miserable. 

Day 17 - Franz Josef - One Big Ice Cube

Day 17 dawned bright and early, and the weather couldn't have been more different to the previous day. It was a fresh, crisp morning and the sun was getting ready to shine. I met up with Noirin and Anette and we walked down to the Glacier guides hut to get kitted up for our glacier hike. Yet again I was a bit worried about their boot sizes, but I was amazed when they told me they had up to size 25! (And i'm only a measly size 14!). We were provided with a waterproof jacket and trousers, hat and gloves, boots, crampons and socks. We even got a bum-bag to keep the crampons in. After we were all ready to ge we climbed aboard the bus and were shipped out to the glacier. We got off at the start of the public trail to the glacier, and we were told that we had a bit of a walk before we even saw the glacier. We walked for a while before we were split into groups. I was in group 4 with Annette and Noirin and a bunch of people, most of whom were with the Magic bus. This meant we were in the medium fitness group. We walked further until we reached the barrier which said 'no admittance past this point without a guide'. Our guide held the barrier down whist we hopped over it. We were now right at the terminal face of the glacier, an it was time to put our crampons on. We were also told that once we started to move closer, we weren't to stop until we reached the way up onto the glacier, a roughly hewn set of ice-stairs, with a guide rope. These were quite a challenge, especially as the steps were near vertical and we were only just getting used to the crampons. We then regrouped and our guide, Tay, told us where we were going. It looked so far off from where we were. we were also told that we would follow a pre-cut path for the first part up until lunch, and then it was down to the guide to cut it for us. We took a long time to get to the ice-axe bin, and there everyone was given a pick-axe. The first thing she told us as soon as we got them was, 'these are walking sticks and supports, this isn't touching the void'. Suddenly my ideas of scrambling up cliffs using the axe for support were dashed,. It was still a really great experience, though, as there we were on a giant slab of ice full of cracks, fissures and caves. There was one crevasse which we had to fit through, and I was worried because I thought i'd get stuck, and I nearly did. It's really amazing that the formations of ice actually looked so much like waves. Sadly I decided not to take a camera because I didn't want to risk getting water in it, but Noirin and Annette did, so there are pictures. After the hike and out return to the bus, I felt so stiff, but I didn't worry because we agreed to go to the hot pools up the road. It was heaven. We were in there until it closed, and then we headed back to our relevant hostels for bed before the next days travels towards Wanaka.

Day 16 - Greymouth to Franz Josef - Rain, Pounamu and a Horror Movie

The trip from Greymouth to Franz Josef was pretty uneventful, really. Apart from the weather, which was awful. The rain never stopped. We had a stop on the way at the Greenstone (also known locally as Pounamu, and is actually nephrite jade) factory at Hokitika, which also had the last big supermarket before Greymouth. We decided to go shopping first, and buy stuff for a shared meal. We got a bit damp on the way, but we got back in time to have a look around the factory shop. I bought myself a Greenstone pendant, and I got an (almost) matching one for my girlfriend, Alannah (nearly  months on, and I still haven't sent her it). The rain got even heavier as we got closer to Frans Josef, and we were told that the half day hikes for that day were cancelled. I didn't worry, because I was taking the full day hike the following day. The roads on the way were actually partly flooded, and we got concerned for our luggage in the compartment below us. We arrived in Franz Josef with our luggage completely dry, an I got settled into my backpackers, which was across the road from Noirin and Annette. We had some spag bol together at my hostel before setting out to have a look at the i-site, which also had an informational video about the glacier. it was quite informative. We then headed back to my hostel were a few of us sat round and watched 'The Darkness', which was an incredibly unrewarding horror movie. It didn't even have a good ending. After that, we decided to call it a night and get ourselves rested for the glacier hike the next day.

Day 15 - Nelson to Greymouth - Meals, Seals and a Piss-up in a Brewery

Greymouth was one of the places on my journey I was least looking forward to. I had been there previously a few years back, and thankfully I was only there for a few hours, because the only way I can describe it is Grey. On the bus that morning I met Noirin and Anette, two primary school teacher from Ireland (don't ask me which part). We got chatting and decided to stroll around the Nelson market (our fist stop) together. I bought nothing more than some licorice (it was good stuff, too). Back on the bus and we chilled out and chatted on the way to Westport, where we stopped at the seal colony. I was a nice spot, with some long drop toilets (I was used to them by that stage) and seals weren't the only wildlife. I also manged to get some shot of wekas, which resemble almost a brown hen, but thy have a funny shaped beak. After some long distance shots of seals, we moved on and stopped at another place further down, with a walk through forest to a hidden cove. He walked down and enjoyed the view before we noticed a lone seal on the beach. It was quite cute, but we didn't get too close. The next stop on the trip was Punakaikai, home to the pancake rocks. These strange geological features made for some nice photos. I also got an ice-cream. A short while after, and with the ice-cream long gone, we arrived at our destination, Greymouth. It was still as grey as I remembered, and the weather, which had been good most of the day, changed. We had all booked the Montieth's brewery tour, and I got dropped off at my hostel and got changed before the bus arrived. The tour also included dinner. We arrived at the brewery and were given ample time to enjoy the delights of the gift shop before the rest of the group arrived. We the took a short tour, where most of us learned very little, and went on to the brewery bar for the tasting (you didn't honestly think we actually wanted to know how beer's made, did you?). We sampled about 8 or 9 beers and a cider before being allowed to pour a pint of our choosing. After that,we were all a bit tipsy (we hadn't eaten yet), and my camera has a few candid shots of our antics with a mounted moose's head. After that, the minibus that took us to the brewery returned and shipped us off to the Railway inn, for a lovely barbecue style dinner. The steak was to die for. We also had some quite cheap jugs of beer, which stayed quite cheap until 12pm, when the bar obviously decided to try and slow us down. We weren't having any of it, because we'd been told before that they were cheap all night, and eventually we decided not to put up with the manageress' bad attitude, and we left en masse. It was raining when we left, of course, but we made it home safely, with me and Anette trying in vain to have a conversation in German, for some strange reason. After arriving at the YHA, I headed straight for bed.

Day 14 - Wellington to Nelson - Turbulence

It was an early start the next morning, as I had a plane to catch. My day started off not too bad, apart from the minor inconvenience of a broken lift. I made it downstairs and decided to complain to the receptionist about the broken bed. The receptionist seemed annoyingly un-apologetic. In fact, I think his exact words were "Oh, yeah, that one." I decided not to push the issue, as it would be as successful a dentistry for a rooster. I took a bus out to the airport for the first stage of the day's travel, a flight in a small plane across the Marlborough sounds. And when I say small, I mean small. There were only 9 seats, and one of those was next to the pilot. There was also turbulence on the 20 min flight. This was the type of turbulence that wouldn't even bother a normal sized plane, but in something so small it made things quite interesting. I wasn't overly concerned though, as I was too busy taking photos of the astonishing scenery unfolding below me. We arrived at the airport shaken, but not stirred (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist), and on our final approach we had to abort landing and go-around for another shot. Why, I hear you ask?. Engine trouble, ATC problem, another aircraft on the runway? No, the guy in the tractor cutting the grass was a bit too close to the runway. That wouldn't happen at Heathrow, would it? We pulled up at the terminal (a house), and the minibus arrived to take me to the ferry terminal, so I could get the Magic bus. To give you an idea of just how small the plane was, the minibus was probably slightly bigger. I arrived at the ferry terminal and found that I had a slight wait for the Magic bus, so I got a comfy spot and read some of my book. The bus to Nelson was uneventful, and we didn't stop anywhere on what was a short trip. I got dropped off at the YHA, only to find that by some mistake (I don't know whose), they had me booked for a different date. They also had no vacancies. Thankfully, another backpacker's, Paradiso, did and so I caught a cab over there. They also had a swimming pool and a hot spa, and they were cheaper than YHA. Result. I took a swim and then decided that I couldn't be bothered cooking, and I went out to find some food. I eventually stumbled upon a bar with a fish and hip shop next door. I ordered my food and headed to the bar, to find that they did big bottles of take-away beer. I got myself a bottle of cider and took my fish and chips back to the hostel with me. Now that was a good feed. After my feed I settled down for the night, went on the internet, watched some TV and got lightly sozzled on the cider before I went to bed for the night.

Day 13 - Taupo to Wellington - Lasagna, a Broken Bed and a Whole Lot of Bull.

On day 13 I awoke feeling very stiff. So stiff that it was incredibly painful to carry my heavy bag downstairs to the bus, and the seats weren't overly comfortable. The long trip from Taupo to Wellington was not very eventful. As we left Taupo our driver, Rangi, who was incidentally my first Magic driver, decided not to stop for pics of the mountains. This was because the weather was awful. We instead decided to make up time and try to get to Wellington earlier. On the way to Wellington we passed through a small town named Bulls, and some of the shop names were un-bull-ievable. The Doctor's surgery was live-a-bull, the pub was soci-a-bull, the $2 shop was afford-a-bull, the op shop was trash and treasure -a-bull, the breakdown service was tow-a-bull, the estate agent was relocate-a-bull, Mc Donald's was Mc Value-a-bull, Subway was submerge-a-bull, the school was education-a-bull, the recycling bins were response-a-bull and last, but not least, the public toilet was relieve-a-bull. And that's just the short list. Upon our early arrival in Wellington, the first stop was the top of mount Victoria which gave 360 degree views of Wellington and the Hutt valley. After a short stop (it was freezing up there), we all scramble back aboard the bus to go to our hostels. I was staying at the Nomad's capital, and I was pleased to find out that there would be a free meal of lasagna provided. That was only a first impression, and lasted as long as it took me to get to my room. For some reason, although I was only staying one night, I was put in the long termer's room, and I had a top bunk, the last one left. It was also broken, and sloping precariously. I decided to deal with it later, and went down for a short walk about town. I returned after a stroll down Cuba street and decided to go and ask about the free meal. The receptionist was very reluctant to give out a free meal voucher, and I still haven't got my free drink voucher. I proceeded to the 'house' bar (actually next door) and I decided to pay a little extra for the larger portion. After a snack of  poorly cooked lasagna (I dread to think how small the regular portion was), I purchased some chips to actually fill me up. I got them, half an hour later. After eating these chips and willing myself not to complain, I took my leave and went for a walk along the harbor front. Because it would be an early start for me then next morning, I decided to urn in early, and I went upstairs. I tried to climb into bed, and the bed decided to lean even more violently. I decided that I wouldn't risk the bed collapsing (and crushing the poor bugger underneath), and so I took the mattress off and slept on the floor. The floor was surprisingly comfy.

Day 12 - The Tongariro Crossing

I had an early start on day 12, and so I suffered for the previous night's antics at the Poker table. After a quick brekkie I got my stuff together and headed out to wait on the bus. When it arrived I was disconcerted to find none of the others on it, but I just assumed that they were on another bus. Despite trying my best not to, I fell back asleep on the bus and I awoke when we stopped at a hire store, where people were given the opportunity to hire walking poles or boots. I decided to stick with my comfy trainers and then we headed out towards the track. I felt much better for the sleep and I got ready to set off as soon as we arrived. I assumed that the other guys were probably ahead and resigned myself to doing the trail alone. Lucky I had brought my I-pod. After 20 mins of walking I reached the Mangatepopo hut and stopped to use the toilet. i also grabbed a quick snack before heading on my way. I reached the path and ended up behind a familiar looking group. Believe it or not, I had found the other Guys, Ingmar, Anouk, Paddy and Emma. We headed on and found the path to Soda Springs to be quite easy. We stopped there for a short while before heading on to tackle the Devil's steps. I kid you not, they were EVIL. They seemed to go on forever, and each new flight of steps up the mountain made your thighs burn even more. By the end, I was about ready to turn and head back, if it wasn't for the fact that I'd have to go down the steps. I pushed myself, and found that we were in a large, flat crater. It was so amazing to find this strange plateau on the mountain, almost an acre of completely flat, desolate landscape. Apart from the steady stream of walkers, of course. We reached another climb, which was tough, and then stopped at the high point for a break. We decided to push on slightly further before stopping to have lunch. We stopped for lunch on a rocky area next to the red crater, and the views of the route ahead and the green and blue lakes was amazing. Paddy was slightly concerned, however, because we were on top of a volcano and there was steam. I explained to him that it was normal, but he didn't seem convinced, and so I told him that the ground was also hot. After that we decided to head off and we set off down a slope which seemed to me to be like a vertical cliff. Paddy helped to talk me down slowly, and we leaned into the slope and sort of jumped down, allowing the gravel to slow our descent. We reached the bottom in one piece (thankfully) and set off along the track toward the blue lake. Just before the blue lake there was a small climb, which seemed like no problem until I got a touch of extremely painful cramp in my knee. I stumbled the rest of the way to the lake, and then stopped and sat for awhile. I seemed ok after a rest, and I continued on towards the Kaitiahe hut. The path was quite cruel, because although the hut wasn't far away, the path kept zig-zagging and it took a good hour or two to reach. When I arrived I caught up with Paddy and Emma, and joined the very long line for the toilet. By the time I had finished, Ingmar and Anouk had arrived. I waited for them and we stopped for food. Emma and Paddy went on ahead and I set off later with Ingmar and Anouk. We walked down a still winding track and after we passed a sign showing that we were at the last of the 16.9 kilometers, we descended into what was almost rain forest. I went on ahead of the girls, and the last k seemed endless, walking through this dense forest. After what seemed like hours I finally arrived, exhausted, at the bus pick-up point. Ingmar and Anouk arrived about 10 mins later. The buses arrived after about half an hour and I got put onto the same bus as the guys, because the other bus had to wait for some stragglers. When I arrived back at the hostel the first thing I did was book the bus to the hot spa. It was gorgeous for my aching muscles, and the hour or so I spent there did me the world of good. I had no trouble sleeping that night.

Day 11 - Rotorua to Taupo - Wetas, a Waterfall and Rubber Ring.

The trip from Rotorua was one which I had been looking forward to because, I was going to the Waitomo Glowworm caves. After leaving Rotorua, our first stop was the Arapune Dam, which provided a lovely photo opportunity. Then, on the way to Waitomo, the activities list came round. I had just planned to visit the caves, but the driver, Greg, told us that afterwards we would have to wait for an hour and a half for the other, who would be doing other activities. That's when something else on the list caught my eye. Black water rafting. I had a debate with myself for a while before coming to the conclusion that i would probably never get another chance to do this, and I just went for it. We arrived into Waitomo and my debit card screamed as it had yet another $100 forcefully removed. We then headed to the hut to get our wetsuits and boots and (shock, horror). They actually had some that fit me. We got changed and put on our helmets before all struggling in our tight wetsuits to get into the minibuses. We all then held on for dear life as the minibuses thundered along the dirt tracks to the caves. On leaving the minibuses we had to walk across a farmers field to get to the cave mouth. If cows could talk I dread to think what they would have said about this strange looking force of aliens trudging across their field as if they had just messed in their pants. We posed for a group shot before being given our 'rafts', which turned out to be inner tubes from either a tractor or a lorry. We descended into the cave itself. We were given a safety briefing at the mouth of the cave, where we were warned about one thing. Cave Wetas (an insect resembling a large cricket). We were told that these lived in some parts of the cave and we would have to turn off our head torches at this point, or else they might swarm and be drawn to our torches, at which point they may land on the face of the person with the torch. I didn't need to be told twice. We were also told about the waterfall, which we would have to jump off backwards. I decided not to even try to think about that until we got there. We then headed off down the cave. We saw our fist glowworms before we reached the water, and we turned off our torches to see their magnificent glow. We tramped down util we reached water, and then we put on our inner tubes. As we wandered through the waters of the caves, we were told to grab the shoulder of the person in front with one hand and the wall with the other. We were then told to turn off our torches. We were in Weta territory. Further along the cave, and with our torches back on, we reached the waterfall. We were told to stand on the edge, hold the rubber ring onto our backsides and fall back. I got to the ledge an froze. The guide just pushed me off. I felt like a right tit when I reached the bottom with a splash only to discover that the waterfall was only 1 meter high! We were then organised into groups, and sat into our rings. The person in front had to grab the feet of the person behind and they had to grab the feet of the person behind them, and so on. I was th the back, and so I didn't have to grab anyone's feet. We then put our torches off again and started to float though the cave. it was amazing, an looking up is seemed as if we were viewing a night sky covered in galaxies of glowworm stars. I was glad that I had decided to tick the Black Water Rafting box. After a good twenty minutes of this floating we reached the last obstacle, the slide. That was fun. After trudging a few more meters down the caves we found the steps, and the exit. We took the minibus back to the hut and it was now even more fun (and dangerous) because our wetsuits were sliding all over the bench seating. We got showered and changed an headed back to the office to look at the pictures of ourselves and not buy them (well, they were too expensive) before getting back on the bus to Taupo. We stopped again on the way at Huka Falls, and I got some more pics. Finally we dropped off the skydivers before getting to our hostels. I walked up to pak 'n' save to get some shopping and then I got back to the hostel and made copious amounts of lunch and snacks for the next day. After that I had planned to go to the hot pools and soak before an early night, but that all changed when I saw the signs advertising a free poker tournament. I joined, and discovered that to be able to re-buy or to have a shot at the wildcard draw you had to buy drinks. Well, why not, I thought,a and I thoroughly enjoyed myself right before I got knocked out. I re-bought, and I got knocked out again. Low and behold, I then won the wildcard draw and ended up on the final table. I got knocked out again, finally, placing ninth, and I stayed to see who won before heading off to bed. So much for an early night.

Day 10 - Rotorua - Wasted Plans, A Pool and a Trip to the Cinema

I had planned to go for a walk on day 10. I was gonna explore some of the natural geothermal areas in Rotorua. The weather changed that, though. It was raining when I got up to go for a walk, and so I decided to go and find something else to do. First, I researched some more on the Tongariro Crossing at the I-site. Then I took a stroll through the town where I came upon an indoor shooting range. I took a few shots with an air rifle, and, upon hitting nothing, gave up. I then ambled about town until I came upon the cinema. Oh, well. Why not catch a movie? I watched Sherlock Holmes and I quite enjoyed it. I then headed back to the hostel and took a swim in the pool, as it had stopped raining. I the went back to the room, where I got chatting to one of the other guests, and we talked about our travels for quite a while. It's just a shame that I can't remember the guy's name. After that, It was yet another early night for me.

Day 9 - Auckland to Rotorua - Friends, Hobbits and a Walk in the Woods

On the day of the bus to Rotorua I waited outside the base hostel I was staying at, and waited for the bus. The bus didn't come at the proposed time, so I waited some more. After a little while longer, I got a bit worried, and I decided to wait a short while longer. Luckily, the bus did turn up. The driver, Murray, told me that I was supposed to be at the Magic office, and I told him that I was told to be at the hostel. He told me not to worry, since he had come to check and it was all good, so I got on the bus. When I got on to the bus, I started talking to Emma, a doctor from Guernsey who was living in Ireland, and had been on the bus the day before. She was travelling with her roommate, Paddy. I also got talking to Ingmar and Anouk, two Dutch girls who had also been on the bus from Paihia the previous day. Our first stop of the day was at the top of Mount Eden, where you can get 360 degree views of Auckland City. It was from here that Ingmar made a couple of calls and got accommodation for herself, Anouk, Paddy and Emma. We then headed down and out of the city towards the town of Thames, our first stop of the day. We Stopped for a break here, and The five of us visited to grocery store and decided to get some meat and veges and have a barbecue that evening at their hostel. We also discussed the possibility of doing the Tongariro crossing together. The next stop was Paeroa (again), and it was here that I met Pugsy Jr Jr, Emma's mascot who has pictures taken everywhere. She has more at home who are bigger, and these are called Pugsy and Pugsy Jr. I took the initiative and decided to bring out Edwin, a small teddy bear that my mum had given me, and so Edwin T Bear got the first of a few photos taken. The next stop of the day was Matamata, also known as Hobbiton. Here we got some more pictures of Edwin and Pugsy, and some of me in my kilt. We arrived into Rotorua shortly after 3pm and headed first to Tamaki heritage village for those who were going to the cultural show that evening to pick up their tickets. We then headed to Whakarewarewa Maori Village (pronounced Phuka rewa rewa). We dropped off all those that were visiting, which included Emma, Paddy, Ingmar and Anouk, and the rest of us headed off to the redwood forest. I decided to draw some inspiration from a certain nursery rhyme, and i took many photos of 'Edwin's Forest Adventure'. After that, we headed back to Whakarewarewa to pick up the rest of the guys before hostel drop-off. I got dropped off last, and I checked in and got my stuff together before I headed off to the barbecue at the other guys' hostel. We had sausages, steaks and salad and it was gorgeous, and really filling. After I had bid them goodnight, I headed down to an Internet cafe for a while, before going back to the hostel for an early night.

Day 8 - Paihia to Auckland - Dolphins, Detours and a Distinct Lack of Food.

The bus which turned up to take me back to Auckland was a surprise. It was a small minibus towing a trailer. The 1st stop of the trip was in the small town of Rawene which was completely dead. It was meant to be a breakfast stop. We didn't stay too long before we headed onto somewhere with food. The next stop was the joint towns of Opotiki and Opononi, where there was still no place to get food. We passed straight through and headed just out of town to a cafe just up the hill, where the views were brilliant. After breakfast, we headed back into Opononi. We stopped at the i-site where there was a small museum with a section dedicated to Opo the dolphin. A little while after we had left Opononi we visited ancient Waipoua forest, home of Tane Mahuta, a 51.2m high giant kauri tree believed to be between 1250 and 2500 years old. According to Maori mythology Tāne is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. Tāne was the child that tore his parent’s parental embrace and once done set about clothing his mother in the forest we have today. All living creatures of the forest are regarded as Tāne’s children. The pictures were pretty amazing. Next stop was the Kauri Museum at Matakohe. This was a very interesting museum, which told the story of the Kauri logging industry before the harvesting of wood from living Kauri was banned. it also had a really good gift shop with very reasonable prices. I got a Kauri egg identical to those in the Ancient Kauri Kingdom for only $5. It was 35000 years old and made from a piece of swamp Kauri. I also go a piece of ancient Kauri gum (hardened sap, not for chewing). We then got underway back to the Big Little City, and Bex, our deriver , told us that there were going to be huge tailbacks on SH1. Instead, we took a detour along SH16, which passed through Kaukapakapa, an area of outstanding scenery. We even took a little rest stop at a lookout with a couple of long drop toilets. We arrived back in Auckland only slightly behind schedule, and I got dropped at my hostel, where I checked in and got myself some food. After that, I went down to the Globe Bar to get a drink (I still had some free drink vouchers from the previous stay) and I watched the killer pool competition, which was played on two table side by side, with one person to a table. The first person to clear their table won, and the black got potted last. It was quite good. After I had run out of free drinks I headed back upstairs to bed. 

Day 7 - The Morning After

When I woke up on new Years Day, i definitely felt a bit rough. The sunlight was blinding, my mouth felt like sandpaper, and I had the grand union railroad's entire construction team working in my head. I staggered off to the toilet and then headed to the kitchen for a drink. I then found that sometime the previous evening I had misplaced my glasses, and remembered handing them to 'Jesus'. I decided to have a shower (I stunk) before heading back to the house of the party to find my glasses. I went over there and I searched everywhere I could remember going before admitting defeat and leaving the guy my phone number to get in touch if he found them. I then headed back to the hostel and decided to go to relax on the beach for a while. I took a short swim, but I still didn't feel quite right so I decided to head to the hostel's pool and hot spa, instead. I relaxed for at least an hour before I got a gall from the guy to tell me that he had found a pair of glasses. I headed over straight away, and there they were. Jesus must have put them on the edge of the guy's decking, out of the way. I headed back to the hostel and crashed in the TV lounge for a while, swam in the pool some more and just lazed about for the rest of the day, before getting my packing done for the next day. I went to bed quite early, to hopefully feel better the next day.

Day 6 - New Years' Eve

New Years' Eve dawned bright and early, and the weather was wonderful. I, however, did not, and I wasn't out of bed until at least lunchtime. I had a pretty lazy day, saving my energy for the night to come. I got invited to a house party at the house of one of the guys at the hostel's uncle, who had a big house on the waterfront. I headed to the liquor store (at the end of the street) and picked up a 6-pack of beers and a 6-pack of vodka and mixer drinks, and some chips (crisps). I had a pretty lazy afternoon and when the party started at the bar, a few of us went in for a couple of drinks until the rest (girls) were ready. I had my kilt on, of course. When we were all pretty much ready, one of the bouncers at the bar came over and told us to get moving, because the police were coming to inspect, and anyone with alcohol on the hostel premises who weren't in the bar could have it confiscated. We all assembled in a mad dash over to the house and the party began in earnest. A group of us all sat round playing drinking games, and we started off with categories, where someone says a category and the rest have to give an example. When someone says what the person who gave the category was thinking, the categorizer would say it was between that person and someone else. Everyone else would then bet on who they thought was right, and the correct person would be revealed. The people who bet wrong would then drink. the other game was just plain ridiculous. Everyone would put imaginary goggle on using their hands, and they would be passed using hand gestures and sound effects, and everyone who messes up would have to drink. It all got pretty messy the more drunk everyone got. We then just sat and talked about rubbish for the rest of the time, until the fireworks started going off. A huge crowd of us then stood at the edge of the property, next to the pavement, and shouted happy new year to anyone who passed. A few of us then erupted into a raucous chorus of Auld Lang Syne. Two of the kiwi guys also erupted into their national anthem. After that I was feeling pretty rough, and I decided to go for a lay down on the back of the guy's ute (pick-up truck). I ended up face down, vomiting over the side, and this was the position I was in when some random woman, whose face I didn't ever see (i was a bit preoccupied), jumped up on the ute and started rubbing my back. She then started yelling to her friend 'Vicky, look, I'm being Jesus!' She kept shouting. 'Here, Vicky, this guy's got a kilt on! And (she lifts up kilt) very shiny boxers." It was shortly after she left that I blacked out for about an hour, and woke up still on the ute. I then managed (miraculously0 to make it back to the hostel, and to bed.

Day 5 - Cape Reinga - Scotch Mist

The day of the Cape Reinga day trip dawned, and the weather seemed to be a good metaphor of how i was feeling after the previous night. It was grey and drizzly with fog. The first place we visited was a huge great big Kauri Tree in a natural Kauri forest. This was somewhere that the queen had visited, and they had built a wooden walkway especially for her visit. We took a short walk through the forest before heading back to the bus. The next stop was the town of Taipa, which is believed to be the first Maori landing point. We stopped there to pick up some lunch from the bakery, and to use the toilets, which were bogging! The doors didn't lock properly, they stunk and they were outside.We then headed straight onwards to Cape Reinga, which is believed to be the departure point for souls as they leave New Zealand and head towards the ancient lands of Hawaiki. When we arrived, we found that the fog had closed in completely, and we could only just se the lighthouse. We couldn't see the meeting of the sea, or the ancient tree form whose branches the souls apparently leap. I took a quick picture in my kilt, but was pretty disappointed with the lack of view. We clambered back aboard the bus, a bit downhearted, and our driver, Dice, told us not to worry, because the sand boarding would be fast and fun. To get to the Te Paki giant sand dunes we had to pass through the Te Paki stream, which was quite a bumpy ride. We stopped the bus right in the middle of the stream, on a sand bank, and we disembarked to try our hand at sand boarding. First we had some safety instructions, and we were warned not to dig our feet in if the sand was too hard packed by the rain, but it turned out to be quite soft, which made it easier to go slower, and harder to get up the sand dune. It was awful climbing up, as every few steps forward brought another step or two of sliding back. We reached the top and proceeded to throw ourselves down the dune on body boards. it was great, fast fun. On my first turn i lost grip of the board and stopped at the bottom of the slope by means of my face. It didn't help that I had been trying not to hit the idiot who was standing in my way. I got up, unscathed but with a faceful of sand, and headed back up the dune to try again. The next time I managed to hold on, and I made it all the way into the stream. Great success. That was me for sand boarding, however, as I couldn't quite summon the energy to try to get back up the dune again. After everyone had given up on the sand boarding, we got back on the bus and headed to the beach itself. We arrived and took a short drive along before stopping again for a photo op. A few of us (myself included) decided to go for a swim, and we took of into the Tasman Sea and jumped waves for a few minutwes. The water was cool and refreshing, and the waves were a great height for jumping. A short while later we were really motoring along the beach when the bus driver pointed out an arch of rock jutting out in the Tasman. 'See that', he announced, 'that's the real hole in the rock. At low tide, I can drive you through it. The one at Cape Brett is just a fiberglass copy, so the boats don't get scratched.' I should now explain to you that it is typical kiwi humor to make fun of tourists by telling them any old rubbish to see how much they believe. He also told us why Ninety Mile Beach, which is not 90 miles long, is called Ninety Mile Beach. There are two stories. The first is that the Aussies have an 80-mile beach. The second is that a ranch owner at Cape Reinga used to drive his bullocks to market down the length of the beach. he knew that the bullocks could travel 30 miles a day, and it took 3 days to cover the beach, so 90 mile beach. He forgot that bullocks walk slower on sand. I don't know which, if either, is true, so believe what you want. We kept on going down the beach, and eventually we pulled alongside one of the other companies' buses. We started to pull ahead, and they started to pull back, and we ended up drag racing. It was a bit futile, since both buses were the same model and engine capacity, but our driver used dirty tactics, and turned the air-con off to get 2 extra horsepower. We pulled ahead, and won the race. After we had left the beach we drove onward for another 20 minutes or so before reaching the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, a large gift shop which sells many different objects made from ancient kauri trees which have been found perfectly preserved in a swamp with the oldest workable timber ever found. I took a look around and found the prices to be extortionate, and although i was tempted to buy an egg made from the wood for $15, i decided not to bother. The last stop on the way home was at the Mangonui fish shop, which is supposedly world famous. Well, I don't know about world famous, but at $7 for a fish supper, it was certainly cheap. We spent about half an hour there before we headed back to Paihia. On my return I decided to try to get some accommodation for new years and stay in Paihia, and i found a bed for the night of the 1st in the YHA, so all I would have to do is pull an all-nighter over new years eve, something which I felt was doable. I then headed back to the base to phone Auckland and tell them the good news, when the receptionist at base told me that there was plenty of room there for all of the New Year period, because the last Kiwi bus had arrived with 27 less people than they had saved beds for. Result! I headed back to the YHA and quickly cancelled my booking. I then headed to the hostel pool for a little while. after this I decided that I needed to get some shopping, and I was going to walk along the bay to the Woolworth supermarket (no relation to the defunct British store) which was down by Waitangi, but I saw the bus going towards the treaty grounds for the night show. I decided to try to blag a lift, and it worked! The driver dropped me off right on  the end of the supermarket's street. I managed to get quite a few good deals, such as 2 packs of sausages for $6, and a whole 700g block of un-iced Christmas cake for $2! I then took the walk back to the hostel and , felling shattered from the long day and the long walk, I had an early night.

Day 4 - Ladies' Night

When I woke up on day 4, still on the boat, the first thing I did was go for a swim before breakfast. It still wasn't cold, but it really woke me up. Breakfast was a bowl of the traditional kiwi dish - porridge (okay, so it's Scottish, but it was still good). Shortly after, we anchored in another bay and we went snorkeling, to collect urchins with which to make the traditional Japanese sushi dish, uni (oo-knee). We then moved to another bay, near Robertson island, and we took a trip over to the beach, a few of us (including myself) kayaked over, and the rest took the tender across. We had a good few hours on the beach, and took a walk to the crest of one of the island hills and we got 360° views of the bay of islands. We then headed back towards Paihia, and I played pool on the boat with the American couple's two sons. It was great fun, because every time you got a shot lined up, the balls moved about the table from the rocking of the boat. Shortly before we were due to arrive in Paihia, we were called to the back of the boat to try some uni. This is prepared by sticking a knife straight into a live sea urchin, splitting it in two and scooping out the innards. The egg sacks are then collected and these are uni. it's actually not as gross as it sounds, and it don't taste too bad, either. It's slightly salty and creamy. Shortly after that, we arrived back in Paihia and we were dropped off on the wharf by the tender. I headed off to the base hostel to check in and pick up my bags. as soon as I was moved in, I jumped in what is claimed to be the smallest hostel pool in the world, certainly in New Zealand. Saying that, there was still room to swim. I had the hostel's barbecue for tea, because i couldn't be bothered cooking. I found out that it was going to be the hostel's ladies' night, and all the men had to dress as women. I thought 'why not?', and I decided to wear my kilt as a skirt, with my pink shirt tied to make a crop top. I stuffed it with my kilt socks, but I could have done with bigger boobs. When I arrived in the bar, I found out that there a was a 'Miss Pipi Patch' competition, with the prize being a free sky dive. I decided to go for it, and if I won, I would actually give skydiving a go. Thankfully, I didn't win, I got beaten by another guy in a dress. I got knocked out in the first round, limbo dancing. I was glad I didn't get to the final, as there were two blokes left, and it was a snog off between them. after the competition had finished, I headed to bed, to get a good night's sleep before the Cape Reinga day trip the next day. 

Day 3 - Auckland to Pahia - The boat that rocked

On day 3 I luckily woke up before my recently acquired alarm clock. especially lucky because I had discovered that it had somehow gone from being on time to 15 minutes late in the space of one night. I headed downstairs, checked out, had some toast and quickly packed an overnight bag. I then went down to wait for the bus to Paihia. The bus arrived shortly after, and we headed for our first stop of the day, the 'Top of the Dome' cafe. This was a quaint little diner, situated upon a hilltop and with a small selection of puzzles to keep customers occupied. We waited for a while, as Scoobs, the driver, had to head back the the last town we had passed to pick up some more folk. We then headed further north, stopping shortly in Whangarei. We got into Paihia for lunchtime, and so I had some time to kill before I was due to embark on a cruise on board the Rock boat cruise. I popped over to base Pipi Patch, which was to be my accomodation for the following night, and I made use of their luggage storage room to get rid of the heaviest of my bags. I then spent $10 on a ferry ticket across to Russell, which is often misquoted as being the 'first capital of New Zealand' (i.e. under British rule). It is not, in fact, that honour going to a small town outside of Russell known as Okiato, which was capital until 1841 and was called Russell until 1841, until the name was transferred to Kororareka, modern day Russell. However, as a favored stopping point for some long distance sailors, Russell did become known as the 'hellhole of the pacific', a name which no longer applies, and today it is known as 'Romantic Russell'. I didn't really find much to interest myself in Russell, although I did find it to be very similar to Devonport. I had some fish and chips, which weren't really anything to blog about, and I took the ferry back over to Paihia. I wandered about the town center for a while, and eventually it was time to board the tender for 'the Rock'. Well, it wasn't actually their tender, whose engine was having a break for Christmas, but a scuba diving company'y rib, onto which 19 people were crammed, all of us leaning over the side and holding on for dear life. We reached 'the Rock' and were helped aboard by John, the captain. Whilst the rest of the guests were collected, we met the rest of the crew, Mink, Ben, Olten and Lizzy. We were then shown to our rooms before assembling back downstairs for the shooting competition. This was a 'duck shoot', the target being Matilda, the plastic Aussie duck who was riding in the boat's wake. I hit her on the first go, and got through to the second round. I then shot her again, and won a free drink. When we arrived at our anchoring point shortly after, we got ready for a spot of fishing. it took a while for the fish to start to bite, but then we were catching Snapper thick and fast, and sadly all too small, so they had to be thrown back. We then had a barbecue which was gorgeous, with a huge range of salads with steak and sausages. I sat with a nice American family who I had gotten talking to, and we got put into a group together for the night kayaking. Happily, it also happened to be the first group going out, and at about 9pm, when it was pitch black, we all got our life jackets on and mounted out Kayaks. Although I didn't see the famed luminescence, the view of the constellations out there was breathtaking. You could see everything so clearly, even the great Magellanic cloud was visible. After we had finished kayaking, and the other groups started to go out, a few of us jumped in for a swim. I was surprised at the temperature of the water, which wasn't exactly warm, but didn't feel cold either. It was so relaxing, and after that, I got a great night's sleep.

Day 2 - Mt Mangonui to Auckland - L&P and Shopping

On the way to Auckland on day 2 we passed through some interesting places, one of them being almost a pilgrimage for a lover of L&P such as myself. The first stop, however was a small gold mining town which had a huge open cast gold mine just outside. It was so deep that you can't see the bottom when you'r standing on the rim of the pit. we spent a short time there before heading onwards to Paeroa, which is the birthplace of the world famous (in New Zealand) soft drink, Lemon and Paeroa, more commonly known as L&P. I love the drink, which is like lemonade, but it has just something which makes it taste superb. The whole town is covered with the L&P brand, it's even on the 'welcome to Paeroa' sign and, pride of place in the village square is a giant L&P bottle. I posed for a photo (in my kilt, of course), before we moved on to the cafe, affectionately known as the L&P cafe, featuring another (not quite as big) giant L&P bottle, and selling such delicacies as L&P milkshake and L&P icecream (I didn't try these, settling for just L&P instead). We then climbed back aboard the bus for the trip to Auckland, I was sitting up front, next to the driver, Rangi, who kept tossing me Turkish Delight sweets from his pack of Cadbury favourites, which pacific Coast had given him. I was too polite to tell him that they weren't exactly my favourite, and ate them anyway. We arrived in Auckland about midday, and we got deposited at our various hostels. I was staying at base ACB again. After dumping my bags, i decided to go shopping for a rash top, for swimming. I found very little success in the CBD, with masot of the shops' stock peing either prohibitively expensive, or prohibitively small. In the warehouse, however, I did find a top, which was too small, but I was informed that the warehouse in parnell had one. I took a bus over, and I was really tempted by the top, which was on sale, but it was just that little bit too small. I then decided to go shopping, and found that there was a New world in Newmarket, and so I hopped on another bus to there. I got off at the Victoria park market on the way, and took a look around before deciding that I could have easily blown my entire budget there on one item, and I left shortly after. I popped into New World and picked up the essentials for a good dinner before heading back to the hostel to eat. After tea i decided that, having placed my watch somewhere in my bag in mount mangonui, andf that it wasn't going to appear for some time to come, that I would go out and try to find a cheap watch. i scoured all of the souvenir shops to no avail, before deciding to have a look in the warehouse. i found a very cheap watch for $15, and used one of my christmas presents to pay for it, a gift card (thank you Amy(or is it Amie or Ami)). I then headed back to the hostel to chill for a while longer before heading to boed, only to find that my phone (which doubles as my alarm clock) was out of batteries. I ran down to reception to be told that I could get an alarm clock from the shop donstairs. I bouth one for $4, and I really should have spent more, because it managed to lose 15 minutes in the course of the night, and I nearly didn't get up in time the next morning.

Day 1 - Napier to Mt. Mangonui - Changed plans and new friends.

Day one of my big trip, which also happened to be boxing day, was hectic. I was also the day my Aunt and Uncle were going off to Oz for a month with my cousin Aaron. We had to get the christmas decorations away, pack lunch and get all our bags together ready to go in an hour, befor my other Aunt turned up to take them to the Airport, and me to the bus stop. we got the the airport early, and I waved my aunt and uncle off before we turned and headed off to the bus stop. The bus didn't take long to arrive, and I said goodbye to my Aunt and cousin before embarking. I headed to the back of the bus, where I got talking to a couple of guys, named Al and Jo. The first stop of the day was a lookout over a bautiful watefall in the valley below. We then headed over to Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. Although I had been there before, there wasn't much elso to do there, so I decided to head in. It was onlt $25, anyway. I walked round with al and Jo, and we saw some really great geothermal features, such as the champagne pools, which were red, devil's hole, which was bright lime green, and the blue lake, which was (can't you guess) bright blue. After Wai-O-Tapu we headed into Taupo and Rotorua for a quick stop to pick up and drop off passengers, before heading out to the Zorb site. I had been zorbing before, and although no-one else wanted to go, Rangi, the driver had to drop us off there so that he could go and fill up the bus with diesel. al, Jo and myself decided not to go zorbing, and we jumped into the neighbouring field and played a game of hacky sack, which is surprisingly more difficult than you would expect. When the bus returned, we all embarked agin to head towards Tauranga and mt Mangonui. i was supposed to be staying in Tauranga, and I would hve been if Rangi hadn't told us all how great Mt Mangonui was at this time of year. I manged to cancel my reservation at YHA Tauranga without penalty, and I manged to get a room at the Pacific Coast Backpackers in the mount. When we arrived, Jo had to go to another hostel, and we all agreed to meet up to go to the beach to bodysurf. It was great fun, and the sea was brilliant for it, with the occasional huge waves coming over to wipe us out. after a good few hours of swimming we all headed back to our hostels, and Al and I agreed to go halves on dinner, so we headed up to the supermarket. We had Sausages with chicken and tomato pasta. We then just chilled around the hostel, and I watched Armageddon in the TV lounge before heading to bed for an early start the next morning.

The Overlander - 12 hours of non-stop scenery

Another escape from Napier was my trip to Wellington To Auckland by train. I managed to get a bargain ticket (only $49). First I took the Inter City coach from Napier to Wellington. This was my first foray into Coach travel in NZ, and the coaches were spacious and comfortable (I will not judge too much on legroom, as I am an exception). The coach trip to Wellington took 6 hours, but there were plenty of breaks to use the toilet and a food stop at Palmerston North. I got into wellington at the Train station (The coach bay is next to platform 9), and went off to find out where my hostel was. It turned out to be in Courtenay place, more than walking distance form the station, and so I caught a bus. The hostel, base Wellington turned out to be clean and not too cramped, with a good bar down in the basement (actually called, *sigh* basement bar). This was my first foray into the base chain of hostels, and it was a good impression. I had a few days in Wellington, and on the first day I visited Te Papa, the big museum which stands out as one of the greatest exhibition of NZ and Maori culture. I spent the whole day there, and could have happily spent longer. There were so many attractions, including a 4-D cinema, where the chairs were on Hydraulics, and an interactive floor map of New Zealand, where you could step on an area and be rewarded with pictures and stories from that area, which flashed up on the wall. I even dined in the cafe, where the fish and chips were gorgeous, definitely the best I've had in New Zealand so far. The batter was melt-in-the mouth and the chips, although obviously of the frozen variety, were cooked to perfection. On return to my hostel in the evening I went down to the bar and had a few drinks. I made friends with a couple of girls who were travelling round NZ in a 'van. we arranged to meet up the next night (Guy Fawkes' night) and go to the botanical gardens before the fireworks. The following day we walked right through town and up the hill to the gardens, which were quite pretty, if a little uninteresting, and then we headed up the hill to find a good view. We didn't quite make it to the summit, but we did find a giant ear trumpet (well, that's what it looked like), and a children's play area with a small flying fox (well, it was quite fun). We headed back down the hill and found a quaint little Chinese restaurant. Where we had lunch. We then split and agreed to meet up later back at their van for the fireworks. That evening, we went out onto the harbor front and watched a jet-ski race, followed by some powerboats (one tipped, but everyone was ok). Later, when the sun went down, there was a fireworks spectacular, orchestrated between two barges in the harbor. After that, we headed back to their van for a couple of drinks, and we were sitting down when a policeman came knocking on the window. "Is this the party bus?" he enquired. One of the girls actually invited him in, but he refused. Later, when we were finishing off the dregs of our alcohol, another policeman cam knocking and told us it was a liquor ban area and that we weren't supposed to be drinking. We showed him that we were pretty much finished, and he told us that he wouldn't do anything this time, but if another policeman came knocking, he might not be so lenient. This time one of the girls asked is she could borrow his hat for a photo, but the policeman refused, claiming 'hygiene reasons'. After that, we finished off the last of our drink and I headed back to my hostel, off to bed before the train the next day. The following morning, I got up at 5am for the train, and I was witing at the bus stop at 6am. There was also an older American couple waiting, who ere also getting on the train. We waited for 15mins, and there was still no sign of the bus, and then a taxi pulled up. we agreed to share it, and split the bill. However, when we got to the other side, they refused to take a cent from me, telling me that they would have had to pay the same anyway. We checked our bags in for the train, and were assigned our seats. They were in coach A, and I was in coach P. Oh, well, I told them, it was nice meeting you. We headed to the train, and discovered (to my surprise) that there were only 4 coaches, named, in order, coach A, coach P, coach B and coach C. (Later examination showed that the sign on P was just a B with the bottom part covered. i reached my seat and found that I was in a seat with a lack of legroom, and so I headed to see the guard. after some hustle and bustle, I was finally seated in coach A, which was definitely the place to be, with a Lounge at the back and a huge plate glass window that let you look right along the track behind you. it was amaszing, and the views were immense. I got some great shots of mount Ruapehu, and Tongariro. Although the trip was 12 hours loong, it was really worthwhile, and we saw views that you just wouldn't see by road. We also traversed the Rumeru spiral, whis wound its way right around the mountainside. Also, at the start of the journey that guard told us over the tannoy to take 'only 20 mins each in the lounge', but no-one seemed to want to come to the lounge, so a small group of us spent several hours there, and I had pretty much moved in there by the end of the journey. When we arrived in Auckland I was tired and hungry after such a lonmg journey, and I headed to my hostel,base ACB, which was entirely contained in a tower block, with reception on floor 3. I took my room on floor 6 and dumped my stuff, before heading out for food. I had an early night that night, because I was just so exhausted after all that sitting around all day. The next day I got up early and had a chat to Krystal, the gir who worked at the travel desk.She told me that I could get a magic buss north island discovery pass for $450, and get the south island pass, woth $600, for $1. That sounded like a good deal, and I considered it as I took a trip out to mount rangitoto. To get there I had to take a ferry from the harbour to rangitoto island, a volcanic island in the mouth of auckland harbour. I then took the tour around the island, on a tractor-trailor. It was a good ride, and i got some great pics, especially from the top of the mountain, which is a dormant volcano which erupted and appeared from the sea floor several hundred years ago. It was also used as a long distance early warning watchtower during the second world war, when there was a threat of invasion from Japan. On my return to the hostel that evening I had made up my mind, and I bought a magic bus pass, which I bough several add-ons for, such as the total Northland, covering from Aucland up to Pahia and Cape Reinga and back. I also bought the Milford and Catlins Combo, covering the very south of he south Island, and including a day trip to the milford sound. As well as this, I bought base jumping vouchers, which is a deal with the Bbase group of hostels, giving 11 nights accomodation for the price of 10, and free drink vouchers every night. It's a really good deal. I was then all set for my big trip around New Zealand, which is the focus of the rest of this blog. The following day I took the trip back on the bus to Napier from Auckland, a 7 hour journey which passed through some nice scenery, but nothing so epic. I arrived back to Napier that afternoon, and the planning began for the big trip.

Napier - Art Deco, Orchards and a Distinct Lack of Nightlife

I'm gonna tell it like it is for this one. Napier is a nice little city, and the people are pleasant enough, but it is just a bit dull. The Art Deco can keep you amused for the first few days, and there' always a trip to the cinema, but other than that there's not much doing. When i stayed with my Auntie Julie in Greenmeadows, the only night we really went out anywhere was to the Napier RSA (Think British Legion), where she went line dancing and Uncle Tommy and I played Snooker (It's amazing how much bigger a snooker table is compared to a pool table). The lack of jobs was quite frustrating, too. I spent a good two months doing what I could to get a job, and got nothing. I trawled the streets putting out CVs, and applied to anything and everything advertised. I eventually did managed to find one, but only because My Other Aunt, Auntie Lisa had a friend, Judith, who played tennis with the wife of the owner of an orchard, where I got thinning work. I worked there for a whole month, and it was mind numbing. There were only a few points of excitement, like when one of the German guys, Florian, found the dismembered head of a rabbit, when I found a chick still in its nest and, of course, when I fell out of a tree. I was working up one of the larger trees when I happened. I was reaching round a large branch to thin a higher branch when my ladder gave way, sending me the other way, and taking the branch with me as I fell. Luckily I didn't break anything, and I managed to continue after a short break to recover and have a cup of tea. One thing I didn't enjoy about the orchards was the way pay was worked. Instead of a definite hourly rate, you got payed by tree, which sometimes made it almost impossible to get a good wage, and sometimes worked out great. The people I met in the orchard were nice, though. There were Tom and Catie from the UK, Florian, Stefanie, Anna, Kathryn, George and Peter from Germany, Terry and a couple of girls whose names I can't recall from NZ, Julian, Benoit and Trevor from France, Marie and Sebastien from French Canada, and a few Czech guys, as well as the Managers, Tony and Neville and the Owner, Phil. Another few exciting events from Napier so far were the Christmas concert in the Park, which was okay, with good songs and not too much churchliness (there was only about and hour of the happy-clappies at the end), and the fireworks were quite spectacular. There was also the escape to Waipatiki. this was about my second full week of work when my Uncle Nigel bought a trailer tent. we decided to take it out to Waipatiki beach, an hour or so's drive from Napier, and spend the weekend. the weather had something to say about this, though and the whole week in the lead up was awful (there was one day where I was told not to go into work at all). On the Friday the weather was still a bit worrying, as it was overcast in Napier and threatening drizzle. Thankfully, we persisted and we managed to get the trailer tent up before the heavens opened too much. We were glad we did when the following morning the weather was spectacular. We took a long walk around the coast, and my cousin and I kayaked up the river. On the Sunday we even went jumping waves on the beach. There was another escape I made earlier from Napier, when I was still job searching, but that's for the next blog. Christmas was also different in New Zealand. Christmas day was bright, sunny and wonderful. As opposed to a traditional Christmas dinner we had a Christmas Brunch, with Barbecued Sausages, Eggs, bacon, waffles, cheesecake and several thousand calories each. Gorgeous. On Christmas eve we even had a bonfire on the beach and toasted marshmallows.

New Zealand - The first few footprints

Okay, so here's how this is gonna go. First, I'm gonna get my first couple of follies in NZ outta the way first! Fist there was the few days i spent in Auckland when I first arrived in NZ. I stayed in a little guest house slightly out of the CBD, called Freeman's lodge. The bed was comfy, and the breakfast wasn't bad, so no complaints here, although it was a bit of a walk from the CBD. on my first night, I walked up to Kerangahape Road (K Road) to get some food and i picked up some fish and chips. It was only when I sat donw to eat on a bench that I noticed all the rainbow flags. I had unwittingly entered the gay district. Oh, well, no harm in that, could be worse. I quickly finished my fish and chips and headed back to the hostel. On the way, I tripped on the edge of one of the pavements and took a flying leap right onto my arm. I scraped the skin off one elbow and cut the other hand. It could have been worse. I landed about a foot from a broken glass bottle. I stumbled back to the guest house (I banged my knee too!), and patched myself up with my trusty first aid kit. The following day I walked into centraql Auckland and headed first to the Sky Tower. I took the lift to the top and the views were spectacular. I also visited the little cafe downstairs, which does a nice bit of cake. My next stop was the harbour, where I took a tour right around. it was a great trip, and the captain was so knowledgeable. On my return I visited Minus5, officially the coolest bar in New Zealand (it'a actually -5C). The downside was that I cost $25 to get in and have one cocktail, but it was a good cocktail.
affter that, I decided to head back to the hostel, for a well earned rest. The following day I headed first on a ferry over to Devonport. This is a sleepy little town, but it's quite cute in the way it sits so close to the CBD of Auckland. I walked up to North Head, the site of the Gun batteries used to defend Auckland Harbour during the wars (though there was never a shot fired in anger). The tour was quite informative, although some of the underground passageways were a little bit spooky. I looked for a chip shop on the seafront before I caught a fery back, and the only place I found was in the ferry terminal itself. It was run by an Arab family, and the fish and chip come highly recommended, as do the reasonable prices. Once fed, and back in the CBD, I caught a bus out to Kelly Tarlton's underwater world. This was a bit disappointing, to say the least. There really wasn't that much to see for the steep entry price, and the only highlight for me was the ride through penguin enclosure (although the car was a little cramped). I wouldn't recommend this, as there are plenty of places much more worthy of your money. After another full day of exploring. I headed back to the hostel, passing a kebab shop on the way (the kebab wasn't that good, nor were the chips, but I was hungry). That was it for Auckland for now, as the next day I caught a plane to Napier, home of my Aunts and the Art Deco Capital of New Zealand.