Haven't updated in a few days becasue I've been pretty busy. On friday I went to Milford Sound. This is a really, really long day trip. It takes about 4.5 hours to drive to Milford. On the way I found out that it's actually a Fiord, rather than a Sound. Something to do with the way it was formed from the glaciers. It looks like a river estuary surrounded by massive mountains with a lot of waterfalls.
The drive there was almost as stunning as the ferry ride around the sound. We had to travel up over mountains then down into deep valleys. There was only one road and it was just trees and rocks and mountains everywhere else. It was very wet and raining most of the time so sometimes the views were not especially fantastic, but apparently wet weather makes the trip better because it makes the waterfalls bigger. They were pretty impressive. We stopped for a photo op just before a massive tunnel and the waterfalls were huge. They weren't huge gushing waterfalls, but were several rivers of water pouring down towering cliffs. There was even a mini glacier at the bottom. The tunnel that we had to drive through was kind of weird. It was 1.2km long and the signals at either end only changed once every 15 minutes. The tunnel was literally a big hole in the rock that was barely tall enough for the coach. The valley on the other side looked like something from a movie set. It was all shrouded in fog and cloud with really dense jungle everywhere. There were more waterfalls pouring off the mountains and I kind of expected to see some dinosaurs wandering round.
The trip on the ferry was lovely. They provided a buffet and we travelled up and down the sound in about 2 hours. There were more, bigger, waterfalls, seals and seriously huge mountains on either side. When we got out a bit closer to the open ocean the ferry was swaying around quite a lot and I demonstrated my inability as a seaman once again by having no balance and nearly falling over a lot. On the way back to the ferry port we stopped at an underwater observatory. This was not exactly life shatteringly brilliant. You went down several flights of stairs and could look out into the depths of the Sound. There were some fish and some corals. It was pretty.
The journey back to Queenstown was long. It was made longer by the fact that about an hour in something in the engine 'blew' and we had to pull over and the driver told us to get our stuff together because we may have had to get off the bus very quickly. This was slightly more worrying than normal as he had told us a story earlier about a bus which had started smoking and then just as the driver had got everyone off it burst into flames and rolled down a hill... Thankfully this didn't happen and he managed to patch it up with ducktape and then get it fixed in the next town. We arrived back in Queenstown about 9pm. That night was a quiet one, we just sat around chatting in the room and had an early night.
I had a lie in yesterday! Didn't get up until 10.30. I then went for museli and a hot chocolate in my favourite chocolate/coffee shop. I also had time for a quick walk round a really lovely little market in the square by the lake before heading to hostel for my pick up for my wine tour.
The wine tour was really good. We got taken to 4 wineries. The first one was the Gibbston Valley winery. We tried 3 wines here and also had lunch and a couple of free glasses of wine. I was going to save money and not have lunch but I'm so glad I did because the selection platter thing I had was amazing. Fresh tomato soup, fresh bread, local cheese, fresh houmous and grapes. Amazing. There was also a little cheese factory next door as well that we went into to try some cheese. It was really, really good. The second winery was the Waitiri Creek winery. The tasting took place in their little restaurant in a small church that they had resuced from being demolished and transported to the valley. Kind of random, but quite pretty. We tried 5 wines here. The third winery was the Peregrine winery. This was in a very bizarre shaped building that is very hard to describe. It was a very new age art style with a sticking up sloping roof. It looked like it should be an art gallery. We tried another 5 wines here. The final winery was the Amisfield winery. There was a really posh restaurant there that I would have loved to go to. You have to make reservations sereval days in advance but the food wasn't actually that expensive. We had our final 4 wine here. I could still tell the difference. Just. Over the day we tried 4 main types of wine. The Pinot Noir, which is the main wine in the region and I wasn't a big fan of, the Pinot Gris, which was pretty good, some Roses which are made from the Pinot Noir grape and are also pretty good and some dry Rieslings, which were my favourite, especially the last one from the Amisfield winery. I wasn't sobre when I got back to hostel, but not completely smashed.
Everyone ate dinner in the hostel bar which was nice as it was the last night together for several of us. After that we got ready for a night out. It was a UV party in the bar downstairs. Some of the girls had some paints left from the full moon party so there was a lot of decorating going on. It was an ok night, not amazing, for several reasons. Firstly, New Zealand has stupid laws over easter where most bars aren't allowed to be open in Easter Sunday so they close at 12am. For the hostel this meant that people staying could drink at the bar but people who weren't had to leave. So at 11.30pm they kicked us all out and an then let us back in at 12. It was very annoying. Also, the bar decided to show the Man U v. Chelsea game on all of the tv's so every was just sitting round watching that. So, an alright night, but not one of the best. I guess it's probably a good thing as I had to get up at 7.30 this morning to get my bus.
The bus ride from Queenstown to Christchurch takes 8 hours. It was a long day travelling. We got here just after 4pm and checked into my hostel. It's strange not being with a massive group of friends. We had been together for nearly 3 weeks. It's hard to get the measure of Christchurch as a city because it's Easter Sunday and everything is shut. I'm assuming that everything will be tomorrow as well because it's Easter Monday so I've booked onto a Lord of the Rings tour :)
Time to go and find some dinner
xx
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Thursday, 1 April 2010
I had a Fergburger and drank cocktails from teapots
Compulsory things you have to do in Queenstown that don't involve extreme sports:
1. Drink cocktails at World bar from teapots
2. Have at least one Fergburger
In Thailand they have buckets. In New Zealand they have teapots. Last night was a big night out. We all got very drunk. We started out at the hostel bar and then moved on to the World bar where the main drinks people have are various varieties of cocktails served in teapots. I just about managed to climb into my bunk at about 4am this morning.
Despite my late/early night I was up at 10.30. Thankfully I only had a mild hangover and this was soon cured by a quick wander round town, a spinach and feta roll and then a trek up to one of the big hills over looking the town. At times the walk seemed like I'd stepped into a Brother's Grimm fairy tale. The pine woods were so thick that it was dark and they were creaking and groaning. I was almost expecting a big bad wolf to jump out and eat me. A secondary reason for my walk was that I have found my perfect cafe. It is a cafe/chocolate shop. They make all of their own hot chocolate and chocolates. After my walk which took a couple of hours I had a nice big hot chocolate with ginger in and a caramel chocolate coated in dark chocolate. It was amazing.
When I got back to the hostel I ended up going straight out again. I went luging again with the guys. It was ace, exactly like mario kart again. For dinner I had a Fergburger. This is an institution in Queenstown and has a well deserved reputation. It was the nicest burger I have ever had. New Zealand beef with melted blue cheese. They have a massive menu and I want to try them all! I'd better go for more long walks.
I think tonight is going to be a fairly quiet one. I'm pretty knackered and I think most other people are as well. I have to be up early tomorrow to go on a trip to Milford Sound as well so I could do with an early (ish) night.
xx
1. Drink cocktails at World bar from teapots
2. Have at least one Fergburger
In Thailand they have buckets. In New Zealand they have teapots. Last night was a big night out. We all got very drunk. We started out at the hostel bar and then moved on to the World bar where the main drinks people have are various varieties of cocktails served in teapots. I just about managed to climb into my bunk at about 4am this morning.
Despite my late/early night I was up at 10.30. Thankfully I only had a mild hangover and this was soon cured by a quick wander round town, a spinach and feta roll and then a trek up to one of the big hills over looking the town. At times the walk seemed like I'd stepped into a Brother's Grimm fairy tale. The pine woods were so thick that it was dark and they were creaking and groaning. I was almost expecting a big bad wolf to jump out and eat me. A secondary reason for my walk was that I have found my perfect cafe. It is a cafe/chocolate shop. They make all of their own hot chocolate and chocolates. After my walk which took a couple of hours I had a nice big hot chocolate with ginger in and a caramel chocolate coated in dark chocolate. It was amazing.
When I got back to the hostel I ended up going straight out again. I went luging again with the guys. It was ace, exactly like mario kart again. For dinner I had a Fergburger. This is an institution in Queenstown and has a well deserved reputation. It was the nicest burger I have ever had. New Zealand beef with melted blue cheese. They have a massive menu and I want to try them all! I'd better go for more long walks.
I think tonight is going to be a fairly quiet one. I'm pretty knackered and I think most other people are as well. I have to be up early tomorrow to go on a trip to Milford Sound as well so I could do with an early (ish) night.
xx
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
I went to a bar dressed in a sheet
Last night we had a toga party. Toga's might seem like very simple things to put on, but in actual fact they are very difficult. Thankfully one of the girls, Vicky, had a hidden talent of dressing people in sheets and she ended up dressing everyone whilst looking a little bit like a Greek goddess herself. It was a very funny, very bizarre night. Being in a bar, dressed in a sheet, and also playing twister. I was still detoxing after the poo pub and preparing myself for tonight so I didn't drink anything.
This morning we stopped at a bizarre place called Puzzling World. It has a building full of optical illusions (I got really freaked out by a room where there were lots of portraits that looked like they were followng you as you moved) and big maze. Apparently it was the first commercial maze in the world. The novelty of being lost in a maze at 10am wore off pretty quickly.
We have arrived in Queenstown. It is a party town. It's going to be awesome. The town itself seems very nice. It's very much in the style of a ski resort (it is a ski resort in the winter) and has lots of shops and bars and restaurants. There is also a fudge shop! Which is amazing, I've already brought myself a block of triple chocolate fudge. It's ok though because me and one of the guys went for a walk which we thought wouldn't be too hard but ended up being up a very twisty, steep path to the top of a mountain and took about an hour! There was really nice views of the lake by the town though, so it was worth it.
Tonight there is a big night planned for the whole bus. It will be the first night out I've had somewhere where there will be more people than the people on the kiwi bus! Hopefully should be a good night :)
xx
This morning we stopped at a bizarre place called Puzzling World. It has a building full of optical illusions (I got really freaked out by a room where there were lots of portraits that looked like they were followng you as you moved) and big maze. Apparently it was the first commercial maze in the world. The novelty of being lost in a maze at 10am wore off pretty quickly.
We have arrived in Queenstown. It is a party town. It's going to be awesome. The town itself seems very nice. It's very much in the style of a ski resort (it is a ski resort in the winter) and has lots of shops and bars and restaurants. There is also a fudge shop! Which is amazing, I've already brought myself a block of triple chocolate fudge. It's ok though because me and one of the guys went for a walk which we thought wouldn't be too hard but ended up being up a very twisty, steep path to the top of a mountain and took about an hour! There was really nice views of the lake by the town though, so it was worth it.
Tonight there is a big night planned for the whole bus. It will be the first night out I've had somewhere where there will be more people than the people on the kiwi bus! Hopefully should be a good night :)
xx
Monday, 29 March 2010
I went walking on a glacier
Yesterday was a very active day. Nearly everyone on the kiwi bus was doing a full day trek on the Franz Joseph glacier, myself included. We went to get kitted up about 9am. They gave us big black walking boots, waterproof trousers, raincoats, hats and mittens and crampons (metal spikes to grip on the ice).
The glacier was a short drive and walk away. Being on the ice was a very strange experience. Every part of my body was expecting me to slip when I put my feet down but the crampons give you some serious grip. It still took an hour or so of walking and climbing to get used to them though. We had a full day walking and clambering around the glacier. At one point we went a little way down an ice cave. It was like the walls were glass. The ice in most places was blue. Apparently it's something to do with light relecting off the ice. It looks incredible. The ice was dirtier than I thought though. There was quite a lot of dirt that had fallen off the mountains around and been carried down the glacier as it moves. I think the film Ice Age has warped my opinion of what glaciers look like! Even though some of the glacier actually looked like that. One of the slightly unexpected activities of the day was sliding and clambering through crevasses. The easiest way to get through these really tiny paces (sometimes less than half a foot wide!) was to slide down them and use your elbows and forearms to wedge yourself along. Sometimes to had to climb up big steps and it was very easy to fall over or get stuck. It sounds horrible but was actually very fun. The guides were all very overly excited as we got to go along a new pathway that they had just finished cutting in the ice. Because it was new and I was in the first group this meant there was a lot of waiting around whilst they made sure that the steps that had been cut were safe and they had to put in ropes by some walls so we could climb up. I actually had to climb up sheer walls of ice at a few points. Sometimes I had to have one foot on either wall and basically walk up!
Most of the time it wasn't as cold as I expected. When we were moving it was fine. But when we were stuck in the crevasses waiting for the guide to clear the path and there was water pouring down the walls on to my head it was very, very cold. I warmed up as soon as we started moving though. Thankfully it didn't rain whilst we were on the glacier but it started as we were walking back, it would have been so miserable if it had rained when we were cold.
When we got back we all went to some Hot Pools and relaxed in pools of about 36, 38 and 40 degrees. It was so so nice. Afterwards a load of us went out for a curry. This was also very, very nice. Not many people managed to stay up to go to the bar. I went for a quick chat and to watch one of the guys from the bus win a rafting trip by playing a variation of rock, paper, scissors called Ninja, cowboy, bear. The players had to do whole actions for each thing and it was quite funny.
This morning we were up really early, 6.40am! We all stumbled to the bus in the rain and mostly fell asleep. Because the weather was so bad today we didn't really stop to see anything. We arrived into Lake Wanaka at about 2.30. It's a nice little town which seems busier than most of the other places we have been. It has loads of shops full of skate, ski and snowboarding clothes and equipment as this is a ski resort in the winter ski season. It seems quite nice, I wish I had more time to spend here and do some walking and explore round the lake.
Tomorrow we leave for Queenstown. I'm still debating whether I should do a canyon swing.
xx
The glacier was a short drive and walk away. Being on the ice was a very strange experience. Every part of my body was expecting me to slip when I put my feet down but the crampons give you some serious grip. It still took an hour or so of walking and climbing to get used to them though. We had a full day walking and clambering around the glacier. At one point we went a little way down an ice cave. It was like the walls were glass. The ice in most places was blue. Apparently it's something to do with light relecting off the ice. It looks incredible. The ice was dirtier than I thought though. There was quite a lot of dirt that had fallen off the mountains around and been carried down the glacier as it moves. I think the film Ice Age has warped my opinion of what glaciers look like! Even though some of the glacier actually looked like that. One of the slightly unexpected activities of the day was sliding and clambering through crevasses. The easiest way to get through these really tiny paces (sometimes less than half a foot wide!) was to slide down them and use your elbows and forearms to wedge yourself along. Sometimes to had to climb up big steps and it was very easy to fall over or get stuck. It sounds horrible but was actually very fun. The guides were all very overly excited as we got to go along a new pathway that they had just finished cutting in the ice. Because it was new and I was in the first group this meant there was a lot of waiting around whilst they made sure that the steps that had been cut were safe and they had to put in ropes by some walls so we could climb up. I actually had to climb up sheer walls of ice at a few points. Sometimes I had to have one foot on either wall and basically walk up!
Most of the time it wasn't as cold as I expected. When we were moving it was fine. But when we were stuck in the crevasses waiting for the guide to clear the path and there was water pouring down the walls on to my head it was very, very cold. I warmed up as soon as we started moving though. Thankfully it didn't rain whilst we were on the glacier but it started as we were walking back, it would have been so miserable if it had rained when we were cold.
When we got back we all went to some Hot Pools and relaxed in pools of about 36, 38 and 40 degrees. It was so so nice. Afterwards a load of us went out for a curry. This was also very, very nice. Not many people managed to stay up to go to the bar. I went for a quick chat and to watch one of the guys from the bus win a rafting trip by playing a variation of rock, paper, scissors called Ninja, cowboy, bear. The players had to do whole actions for each thing and it was quite funny.
This morning we were up really early, 6.40am! We all stumbled to the bus in the rain and mostly fell asleep. Because the weather was so bad today we didn't really stop to see anything. We arrived into Lake Wanaka at about 2.30. It's a nice little town which seems busier than most of the other places we have been. It has loads of shops full of skate, ski and snowboarding clothes and equipment as this is a ski resort in the winter ski season. It seems quite nice, I wish I had more time to spend here and do some walking and explore round the lake.
Tomorrow we leave for Queenstown. I'm still debating whether I should do a canyon swing.
xx
Sunday, 28 March 2010
I got embarrassingly drunk, lost a flip flop, and jumped out of a plane
The internet access in for the past few days has been a bit patchy. There hasn't been many computers and it's been expensive. We have arrived at Franz Joseph today and this hostel is the first place to have lots of computers with internet since Wellington.
So, to catch up on the last few days.
On the full day I had in Wellington I went to the museum for a few hours. It was really interesting. They had a massive preserved giant squid and a huge whale skeleton. There was also stuff on earthquakes and volcanoes and large exhibits about Maori history. After I'd looked around everywhere I went for a wander around the city and to look at the shops. I brought a bag :) I ended up having lunch in a really quirky little cafe. It was really small and the walls had been painted very randomly. And there was a pinball machine. Spinach and feta muffins are my new favourite thing. It absolutely threw it down with rain so I had to shelter there for a while. Once to the rain eased off I headed back to the hostel. The weather cleared up quite nicely so I managed to make it up the mountain for a look over the city. It was a nice walk, but very very steep. The roads leading up to the path wouldn't have looked out of place in San Fransico. During the walk I got to go through a lord of the rings film site. It's the bit from the first film where the hobbits are hiding from the black riders and Frodo says 'get off the road'. It wasn't that exciting but the woods were a bit eerie. They have twisty pine trees everywhere and the pine cones looked like odd growths on the branches.
That evening we made a massive meal for everyone in the group who hadn't left. Cooking spaghetti bolognaise for 17 people is quite an undertaking! It was really nice to have a meal with everyone. About 11 of us went to the cinema after dinner to see Alice in Wonderland.
We left Wellington bright and early the next day to get the ferry to the South Island. Pretty much everyone just slept on the ferry. We joined a new bus when we landed with a new driver. Although we had lost quite a few of our little group in Wellington there was still quite a lot of us. On the way to Nelson we stopped off at river where some people swam and there was a little walk up to a suspended bridge. Once we arrived in Nelson I went for a walk with a couple of people to what is called the centre of New Zealand. It's at the top of a really big hill, of course. Apparently it's not actually the centre of New Zealand but I guess it's close enough, and the views over the bay were lovely.
That evening was quite chilled out. A lot of us ate at at the pub attached to the hostel and then we had a few drinks and got to know some of the new guys from the bus. There are two guys who went to Leeds Uni and graduated last year as well! I don't think we have any mutual friends though.
The next day we were up nice and early again and on the road to Westport. On the way there we stopped at a massive lake and most of us jumped in off the jetty. It was very, very cold and I only did it once. In Westport I went for a walk round the town, this consisted of one main street, and then to the beach and along the beach for a while. Westport is a very sleepy town. We went out for a few drinks at one of the local bars but there wasn't much happening so we had a fairly early night.
Yesterday we travelled to Lake Mahinapua and to whats called the poo pub. On the way we stopped for a quick walk to see a seal colony. The weather was horrible in the monrning, it was drizzling and foggy. The walk would have been fantastic in the sun but the rocks and beaches were still pretty amazing in the rain. We also stopped at whats called the pancake rocks. This is because the way they have eroded looks like there are lots of flat rocks piled up on each other. We also had a quick stop in a town called Greymouth to buy fancy dress outfits for the evening.
Ok, the poo pub. This was a very bizarre place. Everyday a Kiwi bus goes there for a fancy dress party. It is owned and run by an 85 year old man called Les and everyone gets very, very drunk. Our fancy dress theme involved picking a letter out of a hat and going as something beinging with that letter. I got D, so I went as a Dalmation. I brough a white top and some long white socks and drew spots on with a marker pen. I also drew black spots all over me with an eyeliner pencil. We had a massive bbq for dinner, with big steaks, potaotes, pasta salad, coleslaw, venison stew and veg. It was awesome. It was good that there was so much food because I drank a lot of wine. A lot. I was very, very drunk. It was ok though because everyone was. It was hilarious. Apparently I struggled quite a lot getting into my bunk. I also lost one of my flip flops, which is very annoying as I now have to buy another pair when I get to Queenstown.
This morning pretty much everyone felt very rough. I felt a bit more human after we stopped at this totally random place called the Bushman's cafe and had a couple of little bacon, mushroom and cheese pies. It had a little museum thing which had the history of deer hunting in New Zealand and also had live possums. Very weird.
Anyway. Toady we arrived in Franz Jospeh. Home of the Franz Jospeh glacier. I'm going hiking on the glacier tomorrow. But today I did a sky dive! It was fantastically terrifying! The weather was fantastic, there wasn't much cloud and you could see for miles. I did it over the fox glacier which is about 20 minutes drive from here. I wasn't scared until it was my turn to get out of the plane. It was a tiny little plane which only two of us could go up in at a time so there was 5 of us crammed into the tiny cockpit (me, Libby, the two guys we were firmly strapped to and the pilot). It was so scary to be hanging out of the plane at 12,000 feet and the first few seconds of the free fall were pretty terrifying. But it was amazing, like the best roller coaster in the world. I spent the whole time either screaming, laughing or giggling. I loved it!!
This evening is going to be pretty chilled out for me. The hostel we are in is very nice and I had a massive bowl of spinach and mushroom pasta for dinner. Perfect hangover cure.
So, to catch up on the last few days.
On the full day I had in Wellington I went to the museum for a few hours. It was really interesting. They had a massive preserved giant squid and a huge whale skeleton. There was also stuff on earthquakes and volcanoes and large exhibits about Maori history. After I'd looked around everywhere I went for a wander around the city and to look at the shops. I brought a bag :) I ended up having lunch in a really quirky little cafe. It was really small and the walls had been painted very randomly. And there was a pinball machine. Spinach and feta muffins are my new favourite thing. It absolutely threw it down with rain so I had to shelter there for a while. Once to the rain eased off I headed back to the hostel. The weather cleared up quite nicely so I managed to make it up the mountain for a look over the city. It was a nice walk, but very very steep. The roads leading up to the path wouldn't have looked out of place in San Fransico. During the walk I got to go through a lord of the rings film site. It's the bit from the first film where the hobbits are hiding from the black riders and Frodo says 'get off the road'. It wasn't that exciting but the woods were a bit eerie. They have twisty pine trees everywhere and the pine cones looked like odd growths on the branches.
That evening we made a massive meal for everyone in the group who hadn't left. Cooking spaghetti bolognaise for 17 people is quite an undertaking! It was really nice to have a meal with everyone. About 11 of us went to the cinema after dinner to see Alice in Wonderland.
We left Wellington bright and early the next day to get the ferry to the South Island. Pretty much everyone just slept on the ferry. We joined a new bus when we landed with a new driver. Although we had lost quite a few of our little group in Wellington there was still quite a lot of us. On the way to Nelson we stopped off at river where some people swam and there was a little walk up to a suspended bridge. Once we arrived in Nelson I went for a walk with a couple of people to what is called the centre of New Zealand. It's at the top of a really big hill, of course. Apparently it's not actually the centre of New Zealand but I guess it's close enough, and the views over the bay were lovely.
That evening was quite chilled out. A lot of us ate at at the pub attached to the hostel and then we had a few drinks and got to know some of the new guys from the bus. There are two guys who went to Leeds Uni and graduated last year as well! I don't think we have any mutual friends though.
The next day we were up nice and early again and on the road to Westport. On the way there we stopped at a massive lake and most of us jumped in off the jetty. It was very, very cold and I only did it once. In Westport I went for a walk round the town, this consisted of one main street, and then to the beach and along the beach for a while. Westport is a very sleepy town. We went out for a few drinks at one of the local bars but there wasn't much happening so we had a fairly early night.
Yesterday we travelled to Lake Mahinapua and to whats called the poo pub. On the way we stopped for a quick walk to see a seal colony. The weather was horrible in the monrning, it was drizzling and foggy. The walk would have been fantastic in the sun but the rocks and beaches were still pretty amazing in the rain. We also stopped at whats called the pancake rocks. This is because the way they have eroded looks like there are lots of flat rocks piled up on each other. We also had a quick stop in a town called Greymouth to buy fancy dress outfits for the evening.
Ok, the poo pub. This was a very bizarre place. Everyday a Kiwi bus goes there for a fancy dress party. It is owned and run by an 85 year old man called Les and everyone gets very, very drunk. Our fancy dress theme involved picking a letter out of a hat and going as something beinging with that letter. I got D, so I went as a Dalmation. I brough a white top and some long white socks and drew spots on with a marker pen. I also drew black spots all over me with an eyeliner pencil. We had a massive bbq for dinner, with big steaks, potaotes, pasta salad, coleslaw, venison stew and veg. It was awesome. It was good that there was so much food because I drank a lot of wine. A lot. I was very, very drunk. It was ok though because everyone was. It was hilarious. Apparently I struggled quite a lot getting into my bunk. I also lost one of my flip flops, which is very annoying as I now have to buy another pair when I get to Queenstown.
This morning pretty much everyone felt very rough. I felt a bit more human after we stopped at this totally random place called the Bushman's cafe and had a couple of little bacon, mushroom and cheese pies. It had a little museum thing which had the history of deer hunting in New Zealand and also had live possums. Very weird.
Anyway. Toady we arrived in Franz Jospeh. Home of the Franz Jospeh glacier. I'm going hiking on the glacier tomorrow. But today I did a sky dive! It was fantastically terrifying! The weather was fantastic, there wasn't much cloud and you could see for miles. I did it over the fox glacier which is about 20 minutes drive from here. I wasn't scared until it was my turn to get out of the plane. It was a tiny little plane which only two of us could go up in at a time so there was 5 of us crammed into the tiny cockpit (me, Libby, the two guys we were firmly strapped to and the pilot). It was so scary to be hanging out of the plane at 12,000 feet and the first few seconds of the free fall were pretty terrifying. But it was amazing, like the best roller coaster in the world. I spent the whole time either screaming, laughing or giggling. I loved it!!
This evening is going to be pretty chilled out for me. The hostel we are in is very nice and I had a massive bowl of spinach and mushroom pasta for dinner. Perfect hangover cure.
Monday, 22 March 2010
I arrived in Wellington
I didn't do much yesterday. We travelled from Taupo to River Valley and it rained a lot of the way so although we had an option to go and see a waterfall, only a few crazy guys and the driver decided to go and jump off it in the cold and wet. I was pretty knackered from the walk and staying out the night before.
When we got to River Valley, which is just a rafting lodge in the middle of no-where, we just chilled out. I fell asleep on the couch. After dinner, everything descended into drinking games. It was hilarious. We had everyone playing, about 30 of us, and some of the games included rules about not using names, swapping clothes and flicking the person next to you on the head if you wanted to have a drink. I didn't manage to stay up too late as I was so exhausted.
Our beds were massive dorms with giant bunk beds. Enough for 10 on the bottom 10 on the top I think. It was like a massive sleep over. It took quite a while to fall asleep with everyone all together but I slept fairly well once I'd actually faleen asleep.
Yesterday the river was too low for rafting so we left the lodge early for our long trip down to Wellington (New Zealand's capital city). It took 5 hours. We stopped for lunch is a rather bizarre place called Bulls.
I really like Wellington (well not so much not because it's raining) but when we arrived yesterday it was sunny and looked lovely. There are loads of bars and restaurants and cafes. There are also some amazing looking shops. It seems really quirky and there are buildings painted random colours.
Last night quite a few of us went out for a curry, there are several people leaving the bus today, either to get the next bus down to the south island or to go to other places. After dinner we went to the hostel bar and played Bingo, which was ace. We ended up in a kareoke bar for some reason, there was only our group, but as there was about 25 of us that wasn't too bad.
Today I am going to look round the National Museum and then go to look round the shops and for coffee (there are lots of speciality coffee shops here). If there weather gets better then I'll walk up this massive hill to look out over the city but at the moment it's throwing it down with rain and incredibly windy. Lovely.
xx
When we got to River Valley, which is just a rafting lodge in the middle of no-where, we just chilled out. I fell asleep on the couch. After dinner, everything descended into drinking games. It was hilarious. We had everyone playing, about 30 of us, and some of the games included rules about not using names, swapping clothes and flicking the person next to you on the head if you wanted to have a drink. I didn't manage to stay up too late as I was so exhausted.
Our beds were massive dorms with giant bunk beds. Enough for 10 on the bottom 10 on the top I think. It was like a massive sleep over. It took quite a while to fall asleep with everyone all together but I slept fairly well once I'd actually faleen asleep.
Yesterday the river was too low for rafting so we left the lodge early for our long trip down to Wellington (New Zealand's capital city). It took 5 hours. We stopped for lunch is a rather bizarre place called Bulls.
I really like Wellington (well not so much not because it's raining) but when we arrived yesterday it was sunny and looked lovely. There are loads of bars and restaurants and cafes. There are also some amazing looking shops. It seems really quirky and there are buildings painted random colours.
Last night quite a few of us went out for a curry, there are several people leaving the bus today, either to get the next bus down to the south island or to go to other places. After dinner we went to the hostel bar and played Bingo, which was ace. We ended up in a kareoke bar for some reason, there was only our group, but as there was about 25 of us that wasn't too bad.
Today I am going to look round the National Museum and then go to look round the shops and for coffee (there are lots of speciality coffee shops here). If there weather gets better then I'll walk up this massive hill to look out over the city but at the moment it's throwing it down with rain and incredibly windy. Lovely.
xx
Saturday, 20 March 2010
I walked through Mordor and across Mt. Doom!
Today was far too amazing for me to run out of time to tell you about it. We didn't really do a whole lot yesterday so it's no big ddeal if I leave it until later.
This morning I got up at 5.30am and then about 20 people from the group went to do the Tongariro Crossing. This is a 18km hike (the one I did was 3km more though because we walked up to the summit of Mt. Tongariro) that crosses the plains that were used as Mordor in Lord of the Rings and partly up the Mt. Ngauruhoe (the mountain used for Mt. Doom). I made sure I had time to grab a coffee before we left just to make sure I was awake enough, although I've not had trouble getting up early at all this holiday. We were picked up by a bus and taken to the start of the walk. Although we all started out walking kind of together we ended up all splitting up because we all have different fitness levels. I pretty much stayed in the lead group until we split off to go up to the summit which was an optional extra. We had no guide but everything was very clearly marked.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect today. We had clear blue skies all day, only a few banks of clouds on the horizon. I had to make sure I was covered in sun cream. I've still burnt a little I think, but not much. The landscape was simply increadible. It actually looks as barren as it does in the film. There is next to no vegetation, and no wildlife. It's all just rock and more rock. I think there isn't much vegetation as the volcaneos are still active and there is a lot of sulphur. There is even smoke coming out of the rocks in places! It is possible to follow a horrendously steep looking track up to the summit of Mt. Doom and walk around the crater, but it takes an extra 2 hours and is quite dangerous because the rocks are quite sharp, I don't think I would do it unless I had proper walking boots (something to do on my next trip here). The views from the summit of Mt. Tongariro were still amazing. You could see for miles. On a clear day you can see from coast to coast. We caught up the rest of teh group just as they were finishing lunch. As they walked off (slowly) we had lunch next to 3 lakes called the emerald pools. They were a dazzling bluey green and just looked incredible. After ham and cheese sandwiches and a bit of a break we were off again, trying to catch up to the group ahead. This was on the way down so the incline wasn't a problem. On the way up it was very steep in places but not too hard, the wind was the only issue, it was so fierce!
We caught the group up again at a water and toilet station on the other of the mountain. One of the guys in the group I was walking in (there was me, Tom (an American), Simon (Belgian), Stephan (German) and Anil (he's from Glasgow!!!)) was a bit sick when we stopped so we fell behind a bit. As of then it all got a bit competitive. There was 6km to go, all down hill, and we walked and jogged down. I think we made it in about 45 minutes. When we caught up to the group we ended up pretty much sprinting, it was hilarious. We made it back just ahead of most people so we were very pleased with ourselves. The whole walk, with a trip to the summit, and 2 half an hour breaks took 6 and a half hours. We were all really glad of the jog at the end because I think we are all a little bit mental. I loved every second of it!
Tonight we are going out for dinner and then for a big night out although everyones feet hurt alot so there might not be that much dancing!
Just quickly, yesterday was a very chilled out day. I had a lie in because I did the tubing the afternoon before and then we got the bus and drove to Taupo. We stopped off at Huka Falls which is this awesome stretch of rapids and a waterfall. The water was so blue!
At Taupo, we went down to the big lake here and sunbathed for a bit. After that I went to the supermarket for supplies for today. In the evening I went for dinner with quite a few of the group and then we went to the pub. We were all up for a big night but were (mostly) very well behaved and didn't drink. We just danced a lot and then got to bed for midnight.
Eek, times about to run out!!!!
xx
This morning I got up at 5.30am and then about 20 people from the group went to do the Tongariro Crossing. This is a 18km hike (the one I did was 3km more though because we walked up to the summit of Mt. Tongariro) that crosses the plains that were used as Mordor in Lord of the Rings and partly up the Mt. Ngauruhoe (the mountain used for Mt. Doom). I made sure I had time to grab a coffee before we left just to make sure I was awake enough, although I've not had trouble getting up early at all this holiday. We were picked up by a bus and taken to the start of the walk. Although we all started out walking kind of together we ended up all splitting up because we all have different fitness levels. I pretty much stayed in the lead group until we split off to go up to the summit which was an optional extra. We had no guide but everything was very clearly marked.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect today. We had clear blue skies all day, only a few banks of clouds on the horizon. I had to make sure I was covered in sun cream. I've still burnt a little I think, but not much. The landscape was simply increadible. It actually looks as barren as it does in the film. There is next to no vegetation, and no wildlife. It's all just rock and more rock. I think there isn't much vegetation as the volcaneos are still active and there is a lot of sulphur. There is even smoke coming out of the rocks in places! It is possible to follow a horrendously steep looking track up to the summit of Mt. Doom and walk around the crater, but it takes an extra 2 hours and is quite dangerous because the rocks are quite sharp, I don't think I would do it unless I had proper walking boots (something to do on my next trip here). The views from the summit of Mt. Tongariro were still amazing. You could see for miles. On a clear day you can see from coast to coast. We caught up the rest of teh group just as they were finishing lunch. As they walked off (slowly) we had lunch next to 3 lakes called the emerald pools. They were a dazzling bluey green and just looked incredible. After ham and cheese sandwiches and a bit of a break we were off again, trying to catch up to the group ahead. This was on the way down so the incline wasn't a problem. On the way up it was very steep in places but not too hard, the wind was the only issue, it was so fierce!
We caught the group up again at a water and toilet station on the other of the mountain. One of the guys in the group I was walking in (there was me, Tom (an American), Simon (Belgian), Stephan (German) and Anil (he's from Glasgow!!!)) was a bit sick when we stopped so we fell behind a bit. As of then it all got a bit competitive. There was 6km to go, all down hill, and we walked and jogged down. I think we made it in about 45 minutes. When we caught up to the group we ended up pretty much sprinting, it was hilarious. We made it back just ahead of most people so we were very pleased with ourselves. The whole walk, with a trip to the summit, and 2 half an hour breaks took 6 and a half hours. We were all really glad of the jog at the end because I think we are all a little bit mental. I loved every second of it!
Tonight we are going out for dinner and then for a big night out although everyones feet hurt alot so there might not be that much dancing!
Just quickly, yesterday was a very chilled out day. I had a lie in because I did the tubing the afternoon before and then we got the bus and drove to Taupo. We stopped off at Huka Falls which is this awesome stretch of rapids and a waterfall. The water was so blue!
At Taupo, we went down to the big lake here and sunbathed for a bit. After that I went to the supermarket for supplies for today. In the evening I went for dinner with quite a few of the group and then we went to the pub. We were all up for a big night but were (mostly) very well behaved and didn't drink. We just danced a lot and then got to bed for midnight.
Eek, times about to run out!!!!
xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)