Tom having his handcuff cut off, You can tell he was drunk because he let me do it! IDIOT!!1
From another angle
Close up of Toms face
Close up of me face, lush i know
Thursday, 13 August 2009
The photos of Tom and I after getting beaten up
Tom and I the morning after..
Tom having his handcuff cut off, You can tell he was drunk because he let me do it! IDIOT!!1
From another angle
Close up of Toms face
Close up of me face, lush i know
Tom having his handcuff cut off, You can tell he was drunk because he let me do it! IDIOT!!1
From another angle
Close up of Toms face
Close up of me face, lush i know
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Chang Mai
The first few days in Chang Mai we spent chilling out, reading and playing in the pool. We'd all decide that we'd do a jungle trek which would take three days and two nights so we booked onto that and the first day of the trek would be on the 07/08/09.
We got picked up from the hotel at about 9:20 and meet our guide whose name was Bon. We drove towards the jungle and stopped on the way to check in with the tourist police and stopped to get some food and water for when we stopped overnight. The first day we walked through loads of paddyfeilds and through some jungle but nothing too hard or too heavy. We arrived at the Karen tribe village where the locals meet us and tried to get us to buy some of the handcrafted jewellery, needless to say I didn't buy any but the others bought some bits ans bobs. By the time tea came we where all starving and where a little worried whether the portions would satisfy our hunger. We needn't have worried, Bon had organised starters main and even desert which we had with a few beers. The accommodation was very basic being in the jungle an all. A few mattresses on the floor and all covered by mosquito nets which made a massive difference because i would imagine we would have been eaten alive it we didn't have them.
The next day we awoke at about 8 to the sound of the tribes livestock, cows bells ringing, roosters crowing and dogs howling. Not the nicest way to wake up. We all gathered around the table and had our breakfast which was boiled eggs with toast and plenty of toast and jam. We set off for our longest days trekking which would be about 5 hours. The first half all uphill until lunch when we would descend down to the waterfall camp where we would spend our second night. The walk was really Nice and when we to to the top of the hill we saw an amazing view over the valleys and jungle. We stopped at another village of a different tribe where Bon cooked us lunch which was noodles and again we had plenty to eat before leaving. The tribe people again came and tried to sell us lots of hand made stuff but this time everyone was a little smarter and didn't buy anything.
The walk after lunch was really nice and every so often Bon would top and show us some wildlife or plant that moved when you touched it. We saw a few big yellow spiders as well as plenty of termite mounds.
Before we arrives at waterfall camp we could hear the water fall, the day was really hot and we'd all set our hearts on having a swim as soon as we got there. The camp was really nice, right next to the stream and about a minutes walk from the waterfall. We threw our bags into the huts and changed. Bon showed us where the pool was deepest and showed us where we could jump in from. The highest one on showed us was about 4 feet above the water. After he left Ben started to make us new ones and by the time we left Ben and Chris had found at least 7 other places to jump in, the highest was about 15 feet above the water. I puppied out after the 3 lowest.
We tried a spot of fishing which was a good laugh even though we where only using bamboo rods. That evening we had a few beers and played cards while Bon explained all about Thai culture which was really nice because we all had a few questions about the culture. We all got into bed early ready for the last day of the trek which would be the most interesting.
Bon had cooked us another great breakfast which was scrambled eggs and toast, we headed out of camp at about 9:30 and climb up the hill to where we would stop to see our first piece of wildlife for the day, a tarantula. Bon got a stick and started to tap it outside the hole, next thing the spider came out and reared on his hind legs started to bite at the stick making a snarling noise, we all took a few photos before leaving him be. We got out of the jungle and jumped into the back of a pick up truck which took us to where the elephant trekking would start. Chris, Frenchie 1 and I all got on the elephant and headed into the jungle, we all took it in turns to ride on the next and feed him bananas. We walked through water which was really fun, the elephant was really well behaved, sometimes if you didn't feed him a banana he would give you whiff of his breath which was less than fresh. The elephant trek finished and we all stopped for some pad thai for lunch and the went down to the river where we would bamboo raft for an hour before meeting Bon at the bottom and returning back to Chang Mai.
The rafting was really fun, the guides didn't expect us to be racing each other or jumping of to flip the other teams boat over. At one point Ben was guiding us down the river and we crashed straight into a rock which was hilarious because we all went flying into the water. The rapids where also really fun and we all ended up in the drink a few times. When we all arrived back at shore Bon checked to see if we all enjoyed ourselves and then we headed back to our hotel.
Everyone had a great time and we even made a pair of french mates.
Since being back in Chang Mai we've been rather active. Yesterday we went to the Tiger Kingdom where we all spent 15 mins petting tigers and having photos taken with them. At first i was really scared because we heard that they had only been open 2 years and three people had been mauled by the adults so that was out of the question for me. I decide to go into the pen with the medium sized tigers, all between 6 months and a year. It was an amazing experience and i would recommend anyone do it if you have a chance.
The same day we also visited a temple on top of a mountain which offered a great view of chang mai. The only problem was the other tuk tuk had a flat tire about half was there so we had to cram 6 people in our tuk tuk which was a great laugh but rather uncomfortable.
Next stop Loas to Vang Vien to go tubing.
At this point i was very very scared!
Frenchie, Chris and I on our home boy Nelly.
We got picked up from the hotel at about 9:20 and meet our guide whose name was Bon. We drove towards the jungle and stopped on the way to check in with the tourist police and stopped to get some food and water for when we stopped overnight. The first day we walked through loads of paddyfeilds and through some jungle but nothing too hard or too heavy. We arrived at the Karen tribe village where the locals meet us and tried to get us to buy some of the handcrafted jewellery, needless to say I didn't buy any but the others bought some bits ans bobs. By the time tea came we where all starving and where a little worried whether the portions would satisfy our hunger. We needn't have worried, Bon had organised starters main and even desert which we had with a few beers. The accommodation was very basic being in the jungle an all. A few mattresses on the floor and all covered by mosquito nets which made a massive difference because i would imagine we would have been eaten alive it we didn't have them.
The next day we awoke at about 8 to the sound of the tribes livestock, cows bells ringing, roosters crowing and dogs howling. Not the nicest way to wake up. We all gathered around the table and had our breakfast which was boiled eggs with toast and plenty of toast and jam. We set off for our longest days trekking which would be about 5 hours. The first half all uphill until lunch when we would descend down to the waterfall camp where we would spend our second night. The walk was really Nice and when we to to the top of the hill we saw an amazing view over the valleys and jungle. We stopped at another village of a different tribe where Bon cooked us lunch which was noodles and again we had plenty to eat before leaving. The tribe people again came and tried to sell us lots of hand made stuff but this time everyone was a little smarter and didn't buy anything.
The walk after lunch was really nice and every so often Bon would top and show us some wildlife or plant that moved when you touched it. We saw a few big yellow spiders as well as plenty of termite mounds.
Before we arrives at waterfall camp we could hear the water fall, the day was really hot and we'd all set our hearts on having a swim as soon as we got there. The camp was really nice, right next to the stream and about a minutes walk from the waterfall. We threw our bags into the huts and changed. Bon showed us where the pool was deepest and showed us where we could jump in from. The highest one on showed us was about 4 feet above the water. After he left Ben started to make us new ones and by the time we left Ben and Chris had found at least 7 other places to jump in, the highest was about 15 feet above the water. I puppied out after the 3 lowest.
We tried a spot of fishing which was a good laugh even though we where only using bamboo rods. That evening we had a few beers and played cards while Bon explained all about Thai culture which was really nice because we all had a few questions about the culture. We all got into bed early ready for the last day of the trek which would be the most interesting.
Bon had cooked us another great breakfast which was scrambled eggs and toast, we headed out of camp at about 9:30 and climb up the hill to where we would stop to see our first piece of wildlife for the day, a tarantula. Bon got a stick and started to tap it outside the hole, next thing the spider came out and reared on his hind legs started to bite at the stick making a snarling noise, we all took a few photos before leaving him be. We got out of the jungle and jumped into the back of a pick up truck which took us to where the elephant trekking would start. Chris, Frenchie 1 and I all got on the elephant and headed into the jungle, we all took it in turns to ride on the next and feed him bananas. We walked through water which was really fun, the elephant was really well behaved, sometimes if you didn't feed him a banana he would give you whiff of his breath which was less than fresh. The elephant trek finished and we all stopped for some pad thai for lunch and the went down to the river where we would bamboo raft for an hour before meeting Bon at the bottom and returning back to Chang Mai.
The rafting was really fun, the guides didn't expect us to be racing each other or jumping of to flip the other teams boat over. At one point Ben was guiding us down the river and we crashed straight into a rock which was hilarious because we all went flying into the water. The rapids where also really fun and we all ended up in the drink a few times. When we all arrived back at shore Bon checked to see if we all enjoyed ourselves and then we headed back to our hotel.
Everyone had a great time and we even made a pair of french mates.
Since being back in Chang Mai we've been rather active. Yesterday we went to the Tiger Kingdom where we all spent 15 mins petting tigers and having photos taken with them. At first i was really scared because we heard that they had only been open 2 years and three people had been mauled by the adults so that was out of the question for me. I decide to go into the pen with the medium sized tigers, all between 6 months and a year. It was an amazing experience and i would recommend anyone do it if you have a chance.
The same day we also visited a temple on top of a mountain which offered a great view of chang mai. The only problem was the other tuk tuk had a flat tire about half was there so we had to cram 6 people in our tuk tuk which was a great laugh but rather uncomfortable.
Next stop Loas to Vang Vien to go tubing.
At this point i was very very scared!
Frenchie, Chris and I on our home boy Nelly.
Time for some real travelling
Tom and I left Phi Phi and headed back to Krabi where we would split up for a few days. Tom would be going back to Koh Samui to see his parents and I would be meeting Rebecca and co in Phuket before heading towards Chang Mai. The day Tom and I parted company I headed down to Malayasia to spend about 20 minutes there before coming back to Krabi. The purpose for my visit was to do a visa run which cost about 20 quid. A man basically drives you to the border and waits for you to return before driving you back to your hotel. The whole process takes about 12 hours but is definitely worth it as you get another 15 days on your visa. I got back to my hotel at about 8pm and went out for a bit top eat before going to bed.
The next day i had to be up at 5:50 to get a bus to Phuket to meet Rebecca. I had to get the public transport bus which was dirt cheap. I arrived in Phuket town at about 11:30 and got a tuk tuk to Rebecca's hotel. We all went for breakfast before booking tickets to Bangkok where we would continue our journey to Chang Mai on the night train. The bus would take about 18 hours but because it was a night bus the chairs went practically flat so you could get some shut eye.
We arrived in Bangkok at about 5am and found a hotel that would let the 5 of us stay in a double room for a few hours as we intended on heading north the same day. Rebecca, Jess, Fray and Ben all squeezed on the double bed and i took the floor. I couldn't sleep so i got up to go to the toilet i managed to lock myself out of the room. I didn't want to wake any of them up so i ended up going downstairs for a beer at about 7am. I stayed down there drinking beer until about 9am when i plucked up the courage (because i was steaming drunk) to try and wake Rebecca up. She opened the door and i got changed and had a shower and went out for some breakfast which by that time i really needed to wake me up.
We booked the train on the way back from breakfast which would also take about 14 hours.
The train is called the sleeper train and you can buy a ticket which means you have a bed. We all got really drunk on the train and made a few new mates. Chris who has been travelling with us for about a week and we expect another week with him at least. Franko and Paul are staying in Chang Mai and we meet them for drinks every now and then.
Over the last 4 days of travelling mentioned above I had been in transit for something like 50 hours. Happy days.
The next day i had to be up at 5:50 to get a bus to Phuket to meet Rebecca. I had to get the public transport bus which was dirt cheap. I arrived in Phuket town at about 11:30 and got a tuk tuk to Rebecca's hotel. We all went for breakfast before booking tickets to Bangkok where we would continue our journey to Chang Mai on the night train. The bus would take about 18 hours but because it was a night bus the chairs went practically flat so you could get some shut eye.
We arrived in Bangkok at about 5am and found a hotel that would let the 5 of us stay in a double room for a few hours as we intended on heading north the same day. Rebecca, Jess, Fray and Ben all squeezed on the double bed and i took the floor. I couldn't sleep so i got up to go to the toilet i managed to lock myself out of the room. I didn't want to wake any of them up so i ended up going downstairs for a beer at about 7am. I stayed down there drinking beer until about 9am when i plucked up the courage (because i was steaming drunk) to try and wake Rebecca up. She opened the door and i got changed and had a shower and went out for some breakfast which by that time i really needed to wake me up.
We booked the train on the way back from breakfast which would also take about 14 hours.
The train is called the sleeper train and you can buy a ticket which means you have a bed. We all got really drunk on the train and made a few new mates. Chris who has been travelling with us for about a week and we expect another week with him at least. Franko and Paul are staying in Chang Mai and we meet them for drinks every now and then.
Over the last 4 days of travelling mentioned above I had been in transit for something like 50 hours. Happy days.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Time for some photos..
Sorry there hasn't been any photos so far as the last three posts have been composed soley on my mobile which isn't easy and doesn't have a spell checker.
Phi Phi's best football team.
Tom and I in the Bamboo lodge
Holding a blowfish
Koh Samui jungle trek
Night out on the beer with the lucky ballon.
Koh Pangnan scooter trip
Phi Phi's best football team.
Tom and I in the Bamboo lodge
Holding a blowfish
Koh Samui jungle trek
Night out on the beer with the lucky ballon.
Koh Pangnan scooter trip
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Phi Phi Island, a week in paradise
We arrived at Phi Phi and knew that we would have to avoid and ignore the Thai people shouting at us to stay in there hotels as they add a few hundred baht on for commission. The six of up walked straight past them and found a place to stay called Sand Seaview resort. They only had two concrete rooms and one bamboo room so Tom and I took the bamboo room because everyone had offered that we could use their hot showers which meant we would be saving a few hundred baht a night. On Phi Phi we went out on kayaks and a day fishing trip where we caught a baracuda which a really nice Thai guy cooked for us for free. The boys and I played football with lots of thai people from 5 until 7 most days which was a really good laugh, we even won more games than we lost. We made really good friends with a few of the people that worked there. One was called Thai, another Chai and Big and little boss. We didn't know this yet but those friendships would really count two days before we left. One morning Tom, Rebecca and I swam over to a small beach around the corner from where we were staying which was about 2 kilometers away. The whole of the bay we stayed on in Phi Phi had white sand with amazingly clear water.
We visited "The Beach" one day which is called Ma Ya bay and even got some snorkelling done which I assume Bampy will be pleased to hear. We did go out for a few drinks on two occasions. The second night we went out it all went rather pear shaped and left Tom and I a little bruised and battered. Our intentions for the evening was to go and watch our new thai friend Chai fight in a thai kick boxing fight in reggae bar which is a really popular spot for backpackers. We couldn't see him when we arrived so we went to another bar on top of a building and had a few drinks up there. When we'd finished there we went to Jordans Irish bar and had another drink and a dance session which was really fun. Ben, Fray and Finland had all gone to another place but we had planned to meet up with up later.Bex and I went outside for a chat, we had been sitting across from the main doors when i saw poor Tom come playing out of the door stumbiling backwards before hitting the deck hard. Next thing i know there's about four thai men standing over him kicking him. At this point I got up and ran over and thumped some thai guy in the head. After that it all went black and i woke up with Bex laying over me shouting. I don't know how long i was out for but when i came around i got up and grabbed Tom and said " We've got to go". We both ran as fast as we could back to the hotel. I was bare foot because i'd lost my flip flops. We where running along the road and Tom kept shouting about his wrist, as one was tightly locked up in a hand cuff. Turned out the guy who had started on Tom was a Thai police man who was drunk and has a nasty habit of beating up westerners. He's also a Thai kick boxing champion which i hope explains why Tom and I put up such a poor resistance. We got back to the room and Rebecca and Jess turned up about 15mins later being escorted by an irish guy. They were shaken up but not as much as Tom still having one hand in a police handcuff. The Irish guy left and we began to think of ways to get the handcuff of Tom's wrist. This is where it all gets a little Hollywood. Jess suggested three amazing options, if it was a blockbuster film. They are as follows...
1. Pick the lock with a hairclip.
2. Use her hair straighteners to heat the metal and bend the metal.
3. Use a breeze block from outside to smash it off.
Obviously I tried to calm everyone down and said that there was a building site around the corner and in the morning we would get Thai or Chai to go and get a hacksaw so we could free Tom. At that point Chai turned up to see what was wrong and next thing i know i'm standing outside Big bosses bungalow asking for a hacksaw. About half an hour later Tom was free. He's still got the smallest part of the handcuff to keep as a memory, he may even make it into a bracelet just for a laugh. The next day i could bearly see out of my right eye because it was so swollen. Small boss had already been to the police station to kick up a stink. Everyone found it slightly funny the next day because if we didn't laugh I would have definetly cried. That afternoon a policeman from the main land had come over to see us because this was a really serious incident for the Thai people, everyone on the island really wants the policeman strung up. We missed the police man but after we decided that we wouldn't do anything because it could turn around on us. That evening big boss made sure that we where around because he threw a massive BBQ to say sorry. We had fish, rice and a few beers which was really nice. Lots of Thai people came over to show that they were sorry for what had happened. Thai, Chai and little boss tried on a few occasions to pursuad us to go to the police but we really didn't want to. The next day we left Phi Phi and headed back to Krabi.
Please don't be to concerned because its ok now and we've all had a laugh about it
Me and my face : )
.
We visited "The Beach" one day which is called Ma Ya bay and even got some snorkelling done which I assume Bampy will be pleased to hear. We did go out for a few drinks on two occasions. The second night we went out it all went rather pear shaped and left Tom and I a little bruised and battered. Our intentions for the evening was to go and watch our new thai friend Chai fight in a thai kick boxing fight in reggae bar which is a really popular spot for backpackers. We couldn't see him when we arrived so we went to another bar on top of a building and had a few drinks up there. When we'd finished there we went to Jordans Irish bar and had another drink and a dance session which was really fun. Ben, Fray and Finland had all gone to another place but we had planned to meet up with up later.Bex and I went outside for a chat, we had been sitting across from the main doors when i saw poor Tom come playing out of the door stumbiling backwards before hitting the deck hard. Next thing i know there's about four thai men standing over him kicking him. At this point I got up and ran over and thumped some thai guy in the head. After that it all went black and i woke up with Bex laying over me shouting. I don't know how long i was out for but when i came around i got up and grabbed Tom and said " We've got to go". We both ran as fast as we could back to the hotel. I was bare foot because i'd lost my flip flops. We where running along the road and Tom kept shouting about his wrist, as one was tightly locked up in a hand cuff. Turned out the guy who had started on Tom was a Thai police man who was drunk and has a nasty habit of beating up westerners. He's also a Thai kick boxing champion which i hope explains why Tom and I put up such a poor resistance. We got back to the room and Rebecca and Jess turned up about 15mins later being escorted by an irish guy. They were shaken up but not as much as Tom still having one hand in a police handcuff. The Irish guy left and we began to think of ways to get the handcuff of Tom's wrist. This is where it all gets a little Hollywood. Jess suggested three amazing options, if it was a blockbuster film. They are as follows...
1. Pick the lock with a hairclip.
2. Use her hair straighteners to heat the metal and bend the metal.
3. Use a breeze block from outside to smash it off.
Obviously I tried to calm everyone down and said that there was a building site around the corner and in the morning we would get Thai or Chai to go and get a hacksaw so we could free Tom. At that point Chai turned up to see what was wrong and next thing i know i'm standing outside Big bosses bungalow asking for a hacksaw. About half an hour later Tom was free. He's still got the smallest part of the handcuff to keep as a memory, he may even make it into a bracelet just for a laugh. The next day i could bearly see out of my right eye because it was so swollen. Small boss had already been to the police station to kick up a stink. Everyone found it slightly funny the next day because if we didn't laugh I would have definetly cried. That afternoon a policeman from the main land had come over to see us because this was a really serious incident for the Thai people, everyone on the island really wants the policeman strung up. We missed the police man but after we decided that we wouldn't do anything because it could turn around on us. That evening big boss made sure that we where around because he threw a massive BBQ to say sorry. We had fish, rice and a few beers which was really nice. Lots of Thai people came over to show that they were sorry for what had happened. Thai, Chai and little boss tried on a few occasions to pursuad us to go to the police but we really didn't want to. The next day we left Phi Phi and headed back to Krabi.
Please don't be to concerned because its ok now and we've all had a laugh about it
Me and my face : )
.
Aonang
Tom and I arrived in Aonang at about 2 o'clock and checked into our room in the Grand Inn. The room was really nice, we had a fan, air con, tv, fridge, a balcony, a safe and even hot showers. We threw out bags in and looked the valuables in the safe before going to have a bit to eat and a look around the resort. The main road runs right along the beach which is a large bay with crystal blue water and the odd island and stack rock formation out at sea. After going for the walk and pricing a couple of activites that we wanted to do we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a beer. The day was sweltering hot so we sat out the front of the hotel playing scramble and watching the mopeds breeze down the road with no less than four adults clinging onto them. After a few games we headed back to the room and had a shower then popped out to get another beer and a Pad Thai from a street stall. Tom and I went out for a beer in the evening to watch the New Zealand verses South Africe game. We wandered down a small side street and saw at least a dozen bars all with Thai girls standing outside. As soon as Tom got about a third of the way down the street a Thai girl came running over and fell flat on her face about 2 inches from Tom's feet. Suddenly Tom and I both became aware of the 20 or so pairs of Thai girls eyes staring at us. We both just looked at each other and said "Not a chance" so we turned around and walk back up the street and found a quiet Irish bar and had a beer there and caught the game where we could relax. The next day Tom and i got up and went for a walk down the beach. We grabbed some food from a food stall and took it down to the beach and ate it on a long watching the waves Andaman sea breaking on the sand. We decided to go for a swim which was really refreshing. When we got to the end of a beach we saw a monkey eating a banana with his feet sitting on a bridge which had a wooden walk way leading up around the cliff into the jungle. We walked all the way around the walkway and ended up on a private beach resort where we had to sign in just to walk along it. After the stroll along the beach we went back to the hotel to read our books and relax. Rebecca and co turned up about an hour later so we all chilled out and played cards and scrabble until the early hours.
The next day we'd all planned to rent kayaks but when we woke up the weather for kayaking was less than perfect so that went out the window. Instead we wondered around the shops, went out for a bit to eat and read. Sometimes its nice to have a really lazy day not doing anything at all. That evening we went out for a few drinks but it was only a quiet one so where all in bed by 11 ready to travel to Phi Phi island the next day.
The next day we'd all planned to rent kayaks but when we woke up the weather for kayaking was less than perfect so that went out the window. Instead we wondered around the shops, went out for a bit to eat and read. Sometimes its nice to have a really lazy day not doing anything at all. That evening we went out for a few drinks but it was only a quiet one so where all in bed by 11 ready to travel to Phi Phi island the next day.
Friday, 24 July 2009
Krabi
Yesterday Tom and I left the islands on the east coast to go over to the west coast to see the islands over here. The most famous of the islands is Phi Phi. Phi Phi is the island out of the blockbuster film The Beach with Leonardo Decaprio. Krabi is the main port that the ferries sail from so we got the bus there. We arrived there at about 9:30 in the evening. To make it over to Krabi we got a shuttle bus, a ferry, a tuk tuk, a coach and last but not least a school bus.It took about 8 hours. We arrived and found a hotel which was terrible and had some food. As soon as the lady had closed the door to our room Tom caught a glimpse of what he would be sharing his bed with that night. A cockroach, right over his pillow. We turned the room inside out then went to bed. The next day we got a taxi down to Krabi town centre and booked into a hotel for the night. We went out on a long tail boat ride up the river that runs next to the city. The boat driver took us to a few places the only one worth mentioning was a kind of fish farm where he got a blow fish out of the water and made it blow up right before our eyes. Tom and I both found this amazingly funny, he even let us take some photos of it while we held it. I'll have to post them at a later date. Were planning on going over to Muang which is the beach resort area of krabi tomorrow.
Koh Samui
Ben and zulu left for koh Samui a couple of hours before the three of us so we said we'd meet them at there place in lamia called lamia chalets. When we arrived it started 2 rain and ben said he'd go and speak 2 the owner 2 see if he had any rooms available. He managed 2 get us a bottom of the range chalet for 200 baht a night which is less than £4. It had its own toilet and cold shower and thats it. The complex has a swimming pool, laundry service and restaurant and Thai massage area and is about 6 feet from the beach. As you may have guessed our accomodation is basic, but great if your on a budget. That evening we went out with a few of the other people staying in the hostel. We walked in to Lamia town center and managed to catch a few fights of Muoy Thai which is the martial art of Thailand. While i enjoyed the men fighting i wasn't the womens and childrens bouts. The entry fee was you had to buy a beer and seen as we where all doing that already that was no great shakes. When we decided to walk back to the chalets at about 3ish Ben convinced us to stop at a Thai massage place and have an oil massage. I know they have a seedy reputation about the end but i can assure you that i didn't partake in any such sleazey activities. The massage was excellent and we all laughed and joked all the way through. I'd been and used the internet that day to tell Ms Carter where we were staying as she was planning on coming 2 the island as well.
Ben and i got up early the next morning to the beach and have a lie down because the weather was amazing. About 11 o'clock Tom came down and said that i had a visitor. As soon as the words came out of his mouth i knew who he was talking about. I rammed my stuff into my bag and ran up the beach to see Rebecca. We hugged for ages then i gave Jess a hug and she started crying. No tears from Rebecca but you could see in her face and smile that she was as happy to see me as i was to see her. I introduced her and the rest of her team to my team. When they'd all unpacked the nine of us went down the beach and layed about catching up and going swimming in the sea which was really warm. That evening we all went into Lamia for a few drinks which was a really good laugh because there was so many of us.
Over the next few days the boys played football and the girls sunbathed. We started all going out for meals together in the evenings which was a really good laugh. The first night we all went out we walked along the beach to a restaurant called the Black Pearl. We all sat around one big table and had a really good time, we ate drank and got very merry. Thai people walk along the beach selling lots of different stuff so i bought a lucky lantern which your supposed to set on fire and let it float of into the sky because it brings you good luck. When we got back 2 the hotel i got a pen and we all wrote a message on it before sending it into the night sky. We all had a great time doing it and there was even some Welsh banter about the flag. We stayed up late that evening playing drinking games and larking about.
We also got mopeds again but this time not everyone got one. I took Rebecca on the back of mind and Zulu took Jess on the back of his. It took ages to get to places because I nor Zulu wanted to damage our cargo. We stopped at a few waterfalls and even drove to the top of a mountain where we stopped at a cafe that poked out of the surrounding jungle which offered spectacular views across the island.
That evening we drove to the largest town on koh Samui called Chaweng. We had food an a white sand beach which was stunning. The seafood was amazing but quite spicy. We all had a really good evening, most of us didn't have a drink because we were driving and in need of a night off.
Once we'd dropped off the mopeds the next day a few of us went to the driving range which was really cheap. Rebecca was hitting the ball the furthest followed by me then foxy. It was Ben and Zulu's last night so we all went for another meal in Lamia which again was stunning.
Ben and i got up early the next morning to the beach and have a lie down because the weather was amazing. About 11 o'clock Tom came down and said that i had a visitor. As soon as the words came out of his mouth i knew who he was talking about. I rammed my stuff into my bag and ran up the beach to see Rebecca. We hugged for ages then i gave Jess a hug and she started crying. No tears from Rebecca but you could see in her face and smile that she was as happy to see me as i was to see her. I introduced her and the rest of her team to my team. When they'd all unpacked the nine of us went down the beach and layed about catching up and going swimming in the sea which was really warm. That evening we all went into Lamia for a few drinks which was a really good laugh because there was so many of us.
Over the next few days the boys played football and the girls sunbathed. We started all going out for meals together in the evenings which was a really good laugh. The first night we all went out we walked along the beach to a restaurant called the Black Pearl. We all sat around one big table and had a really good time, we ate drank and got very merry. Thai people walk along the beach selling lots of different stuff so i bought a lucky lantern which your supposed to set on fire and let it float of into the sky because it brings you good luck. When we got back 2 the hotel i got a pen and we all wrote a message on it before sending it into the night sky. We all had a great time doing it and there was even some Welsh banter about the flag. We stayed up late that evening playing drinking games and larking about.
We also got mopeds again but this time not everyone got one. I took Rebecca on the back of mind and Zulu took Jess on the back of his. It took ages to get to places because I nor Zulu wanted to damage our cargo. We stopped at a few waterfalls and even drove to the top of a mountain where we stopped at a cafe that poked out of the surrounding jungle which offered spectacular views across the island.
That evening we drove to the largest town on koh Samui called Chaweng. We had food an a white sand beach which was stunning. The seafood was amazing but quite spicy. We all had a really good evening, most of us didn't have a drink because we were driving and in need of a night off.
Once we'd dropped off the mopeds the next day a few of us went to the driving range which was really cheap. Rebecca was hitting the ball the furthest followed by me then foxy. It was Ben and Zulu's last night so we all went for another meal in Lamia which again was stunning.
Koh Pangnan
Tom, Ben and I went to a half moon party on an island off the south east coast of thailand called koh pangnan. We were staying in the coco bungalows just outside a small town Haadrin. The bungalows themselves were air conditioned with a bed that tom and i were sharing which is the biggest and most comfortable bed i think i've ever slept in.we were staying about 25 feet from a nice beach where the water is crystal blue. The complex has got a bar thats on the beach and a small cafe and tv area. The food is relatively in expensive and very nice. This place can be best described as paradise. The best thing is its all for £5.50 a night. The half moon party is about 15mins from where were staying and its in the middle of the jungle. Five of us went from our bungalows. Ben, Tom, Zulu, another Ben and myself. When we arrived we got in the queue which was really long. When we finally got into the party we got all uv paint up our arms and on our faces. Its basically a legal rave in the middle of the jungle. The type of music they play i'm not that keen on but when your drunk as a skunk it doesn't really matter. There's lots of small food shops and bars to get a few beers in. All of the people i have spoken to about the party said that the half moon is better than the full moon and black moon parties. We must have gotten back 2 the bungalow about 5 in the morning before getting into bed partied out and sobering up. When we awoke the next morning myself, Ben and Tom went for food in the bungalows before the boys turned up and persuaded us to rent mopeds and drive around the island. On the way around we saw elephants and monkeys on the back of motorbikes which was hilarious. The five of us visited a few beaches and went to the small town and beach area where the hold the full moon parties. We dropped the bikes back a day later without incident which was a relief because they cost loads to repair if you fall off.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Thailand and the journey to get there...
Tom and I are in Thailand and now and its really hot, not that I'm complaining because its a change from the 6 weeks of winter we had to endure in the vans.
The trip from Auckland was a bit of a pain. We had to checkout of the hostel at 9:30 and then wait for 12 hours to go to the airport where we would have to wait another 8 hours for our flight to Sydney. As you can imagine this is going to be a really long day. When we tried to check into the Auckland to Sydney flight we needed to go to the Qantas ticketing desk to get our ticket number. The lady who was going to serve us was some old woman who had way too much makeup on and moved at 2 speeds. The first was an impressive glacial speed and the other coma. As you can imagine i wasn't a happy bunny and got rather arsey. We managed to make our flight which was a relief as this meant that i wouldn't have to decapitate her in the middle of the airport (i can't imagine that would have gone down very well with the airport staff).
When we arrived in Sydney, which was good news, however there was an element of bad news that soon dampened our spirits. We had a 10 hour wait for our connecting flight to Thailand. We still had visa's for Australia so we left the airport for about an hour before going back into the departure lounge. At this point i thought i had swine flu. I'm not sure if it was it was because I'd been up for so long or because I wasn't in a happy place. Thankfully that passed about 4 hours later.
The flight went fine and we had a few drinks and even some shut eye, which was a great relief. We arrived in Bangkok and as soon as i got off the plan i broke out in the most hideous sweat. It must have been a really muggy 28 or so degrees. When got through customs fine and then managed to make it to the taxi rank and meet 2 guys called Ben and Chris to share the taxi with to Ko Sahn road which cost us about 2:50 each. They hadn't booked anywhere so they ended up staying in the same place as us for the first few days. We went out for a couple of beers in the evening and walked along the famous Ko Sahn road. It's a dirty road with lots of bars and street stalls selling anything you can imagine, from images of Buddha (very cool) to tazers (very very uncool). We had a few beers on the street which cost about 80p before going to a place called spicy disco which I think is a favourite haunt for the majority of Thailand's lady boys. It's really weird, they kind of stick together which means they are essentially pack hunters. A very scary thought as you can appreciate. We got a tuk tuk there and because we were all drunk and a little pumped up we paid the drive extra to do some wheelies and stuff on the way.
The next few days we spent wondering around the area looking in stalls and we even went to the Grand Palace but when we got there we found out you have to be totally covered up which then stopped us dead in our tracks. The four of us also meet a tuk tuk drive who very kindly offered would we like to go to a travel agent to see about booking our trip. Believe it or not the guy was from Wales and coached Tom in rugby when he was a nipper. That didn't stop him from trying to rip us off. So we disregarded everything he told us and went to the shopping mall called MBK to meet some other people. I've never seen a place filled with so much stolen phones and pirated software in my life. It's crazy, they even had a full copy of Windows 7 which isn't even out yet.
We've also been to a ping pong show most disgusting spectacle I've ever seen and I'll never go to anything like that in the rest of my life. That's all I'll say about that.
The plan now is to go down south to Koh Pangna which is an island of the east coast to go to a half moon party. Will be another update when the parting's over and done with.
P.S Can i please see some comments, I really miss them. Thanks
The trip from Auckland was a bit of a pain. We had to checkout of the hostel at 9:30 and then wait for 12 hours to go to the airport where we would have to wait another 8 hours for our flight to Sydney. As you can imagine this is going to be a really long day. When we tried to check into the Auckland to Sydney flight we needed to go to the Qantas ticketing desk to get our ticket number. The lady who was going to serve us was some old woman who had way too much makeup on and moved at 2 speeds. The first was an impressive glacial speed and the other coma. As you can imagine i wasn't a happy bunny and got rather arsey. We managed to make our flight which was a relief as this meant that i wouldn't have to decapitate her in the middle of the airport (i can't imagine that would have gone down very well with the airport staff).
When we arrived in Sydney, which was good news, however there was an element of bad news that soon dampened our spirits. We had a 10 hour wait for our connecting flight to Thailand. We still had visa's for Australia so we left the airport for about an hour before going back into the departure lounge. At this point i thought i had swine flu. I'm not sure if it was it was because I'd been up for so long or because I wasn't in a happy place. Thankfully that passed about 4 hours later.
The flight went fine and we had a few drinks and even some shut eye, which was a great relief. We arrived in Bangkok and as soon as i got off the plan i broke out in the most hideous sweat. It must have been a really muggy 28 or so degrees. When got through customs fine and then managed to make it to the taxi rank and meet 2 guys called Ben and Chris to share the taxi with to Ko Sahn road which cost us about 2:50 each. They hadn't booked anywhere so they ended up staying in the same place as us for the first few days. We went out for a couple of beers in the evening and walked along the famous Ko Sahn road. It's a dirty road with lots of bars and street stalls selling anything you can imagine, from images of Buddha (very cool) to tazers (very very uncool). We had a few beers on the street which cost about 80p before going to a place called spicy disco which I think is a favourite haunt for the majority of Thailand's lady boys. It's really weird, they kind of stick together which means they are essentially pack hunters. A very scary thought as you can appreciate. We got a tuk tuk there and because we were all drunk and a little pumped up we paid the drive extra to do some wheelies and stuff on the way.
The next few days we spent wondering around the area looking in stalls and we even went to the Grand Palace but when we got there we found out you have to be totally covered up which then stopped us dead in our tracks. The four of us also meet a tuk tuk drive who very kindly offered would we like to go to a travel agent to see about booking our trip. Believe it or not the guy was from Wales and coached Tom in rugby when he was a nipper. That didn't stop him from trying to rip us off. So we disregarded everything he told us and went to the shopping mall called MBK to meet some other people. I've never seen a place filled with so much stolen phones and pirated software in my life. It's crazy, they even had a full copy of Windows 7 which isn't even out yet.
We've also been to a ping pong show most disgusting spectacle I've ever seen and I'll never go to anything like that in the rest of my life. That's all I'll say about that.
The plan now is to go down south to Koh Pangna which is an island of the east coast to go to a half moon party. Will be another update when the parting's over and done with.
P.S Can i please see some comments, I really miss them. Thanks
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Summary of New Zealand
The North Island
Auckland is an amazing city, plenty of culture and i would say is the most business orientated city in NZ. As soon as you head north say goodbye to the beautiful skyline and massive harbour you instantly get stuck into the beautiful country side NZ has to offer. Rolling fields, snow capped mountains, stunning blue sky's and vast crystal blue lakes. The bay of islands in truly awe inspiring, especially on a clear day when there isn't a could in the sky. NZ is very accommodating for campers, you can camp most places just on the side of the road and not get bothered by the police.
The people aren't i regret to report as accommodating or friendly as they're Australian counterparts. We'll the Mauri people aren't friendly but the European Kiwis are a little better. I must say that the Mauri culture is a lot more respected than the Australian Aboriginal culture. I spoke to a kiwi and he said that it's forced down they're throats more than accepted but that may be just his opinion.
The South Island
The south island in my opinion is more picturesque than the north island. It's slightly rough and tough on the account it has more mountains and ski areas. Queenstown is my favourite town in the whole of New Zealand, it's not that big but because it's a very ski orientated town, plenty of hire shops as well as the majority of the bungy jumps. The glaciers are also an amazing site, they aren't that far from the sea. The truly sad thing is that they will disappear in my life time so I'm really glad that i have seen them. The people on the south island are slightly more friendly but i have that impression because i haven't meet that many on the south island. If i had to recommend one of the two islands it would have to be the south island because its more extreme and the majority of amazing sights are here.
Auckland is an amazing city, plenty of culture and i would say is the most business orientated city in NZ. As soon as you head north say goodbye to the beautiful skyline and massive harbour you instantly get stuck into the beautiful country side NZ has to offer. Rolling fields, snow capped mountains, stunning blue sky's and vast crystal blue lakes. The bay of islands in truly awe inspiring, especially on a clear day when there isn't a could in the sky. NZ is very accommodating for campers, you can camp most places just on the side of the road and not get bothered by the police.
The people aren't i regret to report as accommodating or friendly as they're Australian counterparts. We'll the Mauri people aren't friendly but the European Kiwis are a little better. I must say that the Mauri culture is a lot more respected than the Australian Aboriginal culture. I spoke to a kiwi and he said that it's forced down they're throats more than accepted but that may be just his opinion.
The South Island
The south island in my opinion is more picturesque than the north island. It's slightly rough and tough on the account it has more mountains and ski areas. Queenstown is my favourite town in the whole of New Zealand, it's not that big but because it's a very ski orientated town, plenty of hire shops as well as the majority of the bungy jumps. The glaciers are also an amazing site, they aren't that far from the sea. The truly sad thing is that they will disappear in my life time so I'm really glad that i have seen them. The people on the south island are slightly more friendly but i have that impression because i haven't meet that many on the south island. If i had to recommend one of the two islands it would have to be the south island because its more extreme and the majority of amazing sights are here.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
The bungy jump...
Well from the moment I booked it, I had the greatest fear of doing it. Think about, the human boby is programmed from birth to fear 2 things, loud noise and heights. So knowing that i was about to jump of a bridge that was over 125 feet tall with nothing more than a large amount of elastic bands tied to my feet was going against human instinct for survival. Tom on the other hand didn't seem that bothered. The fear i felt was at least a 100 times greater than the skydive over Las Vegas. The biggest fear factor is perspective. 15,000 feet is a number, looking down at a person in a small dingy makes you know exactly how high it is. When Tom did his first jump I was trying to take photos but i was shaking like a leaf. He loved it. When it was my turn i was so scared. Tom's second jump he turned his back to the drop and lent out. The Welsh man working on the bungy was holding onto Toms waist harness to stop him going, started talking to Tom, winding him up of course, and said "oh one la" (meant to be "oh, one last thing") and let him go. The guy didn't even finish his sentence. When it was my second jump, they welsh guy was abusing me about not wanting to go backwards, "Better role your selves up James, your going to hit the water." Then to make things worse he starts the countdown to me jumping 5-4-3-2-4-3-2-5-4-5-4-3-4, after about 30 seconds he said 5-4-3-2-1 jump. So i did, well sort of stepped off. It's so much fun. If i can work out how to upload the video of me jumping I'll get it on here for you all to have a good laugh at my expenses. I would definitely recommend doing it, but only once, you really don't need to go through with it that many times, i can't imagine it getting any easier the more times you do it.
Me doing my first jump
Note: Flapping you arms like a bird DOESN'T slow you down
Tom getting ready
Monday, 29 June 2009
South Island Road trip
We got a flight into Christchurch on the 13Th and picked up the car from just outside the airport. Tom and I had booked tickets to watch the All blacks versus the French in Dunedin which is about 360 kilometers from Christchurch. We'd parked about a 15 minutes walk in a small park. We'd picked up the some beer on the way down so had a few when we were strolling to the stadium. We had good seats but soon noticed that the south island is way colder than the north island. We were supporting the All Blacks but as you may or may not be aware the dam french won. We ended up walking into town and going for a few drinks with this rather random fellow. We stayed with them for a while and after Tom had taken the mans very very cool looking hat we headed of into the night. We stopped from a bite to eat and another drink as we walked up the hill back to the van. I slept like a baby because i was steaming drunk. The next morning we got and took in the glorious view over Dunedin before going to get some breakfast and heading off to the swimming pool for a swim and a shower. The swim was a really good way to get over the hang over and when we got back into the changing rooms the whole french team walked in. A few people had autographs but Tom and I didn't bother. When your standing next to Sebastian Chabel you realise that he's even bigger in real life than he is when you watch him smashing people up on the rugby field. We left and grabbed some lunch before going to Otago peninsula to sleep. Tom and i both got up early the next day and went and watched the sunrise over the sea which was absolutely stunning. Tom cooked breakfast and we left to go to Te Anua on the west coast which is the closest town to the Milford sound where we were going to go on the cruise around the sound. We got to Te Anua and quickly realised that it had as much to offer in the way of activities as walking around a grave yard. We decide to carry onto to Milford which was about another 120 kilometers. We arrived just before dark so Tom cooked me tea again before we watched and film in the van and bedded down for the night.
I booked us onto the cruise the next morning and it was a glorious day. The cruise is about an hour and a half and we saw the waterfalls, seals and a mountain called Mitre peak which rises over a mile straight from the sea. A very impressive and beautiful place, if you ever in NZ you should definitely make the effort and go. When we drove out of the sound and headed back towards Queenstown we soon realised that last night it had snow pretty hard. Yes the photo of me standing in the snow is just outside Milford and i am wearing flip flops and shorts, not the brightest button. We got up to Queens town and i was freezing cold so we decided to stay in a hostel to freshen up and have a night away from the van.
The next morning we got up and checked out and headed up to Wanaka which is the second largest lake in NZ. Again we we're mega lucky with the weather so I went for a walk around the lake and just out listening to the water lap against the shore. NZ is such a picturesque place, you could take millions of photo which i have to a degree. After a few hours in Wanaka we continued north up the west coast towards the glaciers and a small town called Haast. We stopped for tea in Haast and popped into the towns supermarket which is, a restaurant, a bar, an inter net cafe and a supermarket ( i was pretty impressed with this). We got to Fox glacier and made the bed and went to sleep.
The next morning was cold, really really cold to the point where there was ice on the inside of the windows. I couldn't believe it. Tom and i walked to a few view points around the glacier taking photos and larking about until we decided to continue north to Franz Joseph glacier. We did pretty much the same thing as the fox glacier but when we got back from the walk to the terminal face of the glacier (which moves a massive 40 cm a day!) we decide to stop and get a bit more civilised so we had tea and crumpets! After the brunch we continued up the coast towards picton stopping a little town to have a look a wildlife center and to feed eels that were about 110 years old. Eels are horrible, it was fun feeding them but seeing them all slithering and swimming over each other was gross. We also saw a kiwi which was a high light because there are less than 25,000 left in the wild because cats, dogs and ferrets. I think they are the craziest birds I've ever seen, evolution hasn't been kind to these birds. We left the wildlife center and stopped to watch the sunset on the cliffs before bedding down in a car park on the top of the cliffs.
The next morning we went back to the pancake rocks and blow holes just south of where we had stayed the night before. Pancake rocks are essentially layers of rocks that are packed really tight together making them look like a stack of pancakes. We drove for a good few hours until we got to a little town on the north coast. We had hot dogs for tea and stayed at Patons rock which was an amazingly beautiful place to camp.
Day 8 (the day of danger and a near death experience) and half way through the road trip, we went to a springs which has the clearest water in the southern hemisphere and that was not understatement you could see from one side of the spring to the other using a upside down periscope. We decided to stay another night and do a bike ride over the mountains. We'd booked into a hostel because we'd need a good nights sleep after this leisurely bike ride that we had planned. we rented the bikes and booked the buss to take us to the start of the Rameka track. The track began really easy, a 40 or so minutes ride up a hill followed by a easy but nice cruise down a dirt road to the Hamama hole which was extremely deep and very scary when you walking on icy rocks to see over the edge. I'd imagine it must have been 100 meters deep. We cycled back up the track and stopped at a frozen lake to try and smash the ice which didn't happen but we had a dam good time trying. We got back to the track and started heading up the hill in the opposite direction when we bumped in Bernie and Mark. Bernie and Mark must have been about forty and as soon as I had started to talk to them they made out that if we didn't follow them down a track there would be a good chance that we would be spending the night up this mountain and i was only in shorts and t-shirt. I obviously panicked and followed the guys down a track. They were flying ahead of Tom and I and the urgency of the situation to get of the mountain began to swirl around my head and i got worried, very worried. The track we rode down was about a foot wide with a drop off to the left that was a minimum of 6 foot at all times. At one point Tom fell down the back but he was fine if not a little shaken up. It took about an hour and a half to get out of the forest and the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. The get back to there car it was a 6 kilometer ride down another dirt road and by this time i was freezing cold. In the end we got safely back to the car and back to the village. Bernie and Mark had a good laugh of our lack of preparation, knowledge and skill of what we were doing. They told us that the difficulty of the track we'd just completed was a 3 out of 5. we dropped the bikes back and left there company, great guys in all fairness. The said we would have been another 3 or so hours on the mountain if they hadn't followed them. Good bless you boys.
We had a few beers that evening and watched the All blacks beat the French. I won a free jug of beer in the pub for predicting the score. I left like a baby that night but my knees and bum were killing that evening and the next few days.
Tom and I left the next morning and headed east to Nelson to stay in another hostel and get some stuff done. The Green Monkey was a small but really well managed hostel, they bloke who owned it was a great guy and even put his welsh shirt on to make Tom and I feel at home. We had a bumper meal and an early night. When we left town the next day we stopped at the center of NZ and the place where the first game of rugby was played in NZ, i think it was 1840. Today we started our journey south to get back to Queenstown. We ended up booking into a hostel on the coast called the dusky lodge where we partook in a stop of deep sea fishing. The boat was small and the swell was considerably larger but it was still fun. I'm not sure what we were catching but I do know that we caught loads of fish. A couple of Albatrosses bobbed about within a meter of the boat and on the way back to land we say dolphins which was just amazing. The captain of the boat (Nubs) gave us a cray fish which supposedly coast about 70 dollars but when Tom and I cooked it, neither of us rated it that highly that we'd pay 70 cents for for the thing. We left the hostel the day after the fishing adventure and headed inland to Hanmer Springs. The springs are basically a lot of pools that range in temperature from 36 to 41 degrees. However they do all have one thing in common. They STINK of sulphur which as you can imagine gets rather wearing after an hour or so. We continued down towards Christchurch and stayed just outside the city limits because its easier to find somewhere to sleep. The next morning we drove into Christchurch and wondered around the city looking in bookshops and looking for a cinema to watch Angels and Demons (which i thought was a great film). We had a drink in the biggest sports bar in NZ. We used the Internet and worked out that all the hostels in Queenstown had no rooms because the Friday would be the start of the winter festival. We worked out that we would had to go back to Queenstown to do the bungey jump that we had a BOGOF for. We drove from Christchurch towards Queenstown and stopped when we got too tired to drive anymore. We got into Queenstown and drove around looking for somewhere to stay as the car had to be back in 2 days. We found somewhere after a about 15 minutes of looking and booked in for the following 3 nights. We wondered into Queenstown from the car park and booked our bungy jump. Tom and i Stayed in the car that night. I went for a few beers with another couple that planned on staying in the same car park as Tom and I. I can't remember there names but they were great and they took me to a few places around Queenstown. Not sure what time i got back to the van but i do know the next day i woke up with a horrible case of man flu. The next few days have been just chilling out and exploring Queenstown, the van got back safe and sound.
All Blacks Verses France in Dunedin
Tom after his little fall down the back while we were mountain biking
I booked us onto the cruise the next morning and it was a glorious day. The cruise is about an hour and a half and we saw the waterfalls, seals and a mountain called Mitre peak which rises over a mile straight from the sea. A very impressive and beautiful place, if you ever in NZ you should definitely make the effort and go. When we drove out of the sound and headed back towards Queenstown we soon realised that last night it had snow pretty hard. Yes the photo of me standing in the snow is just outside Milford and i am wearing flip flops and shorts, not the brightest button. We got up to Queens town and i was freezing cold so we decided to stay in a hostel to freshen up and have a night away from the van.
The next morning we got up and checked out and headed up to Wanaka which is the second largest lake in NZ. Again we we're mega lucky with the weather so I went for a walk around the lake and just out listening to the water lap against the shore. NZ is such a picturesque place, you could take millions of photo which i have to a degree. After a few hours in Wanaka we continued north up the west coast towards the glaciers and a small town called Haast. We stopped for tea in Haast and popped into the towns supermarket which is, a restaurant, a bar, an inter net cafe and a supermarket ( i was pretty impressed with this). We got to Fox glacier and made the bed and went to sleep.
The next morning was cold, really really cold to the point where there was ice on the inside of the windows. I couldn't believe it. Tom and i walked to a few view points around the glacier taking photos and larking about until we decided to continue north to Franz Joseph glacier. We did pretty much the same thing as the fox glacier but when we got back from the walk to the terminal face of the glacier (which moves a massive 40 cm a day!) we decide to stop and get a bit more civilised so we had tea and crumpets! After the brunch we continued up the coast towards picton stopping a little town to have a look a wildlife center and to feed eels that were about 110 years old. Eels are horrible, it was fun feeding them but seeing them all slithering and swimming over each other was gross. We also saw a kiwi which was a high light because there are less than 25,000 left in the wild because cats, dogs and ferrets. I think they are the craziest birds I've ever seen, evolution hasn't been kind to these birds. We left the wildlife center and stopped to watch the sunset on the cliffs before bedding down in a car park on the top of the cliffs.
The next morning we went back to the pancake rocks and blow holes just south of where we had stayed the night before. Pancake rocks are essentially layers of rocks that are packed really tight together making them look like a stack of pancakes. We drove for a good few hours until we got to a little town on the north coast. We had hot dogs for tea and stayed at Patons rock which was an amazingly beautiful place to camp.
Day 8 (the day of danger and a near death experience) and half way through the road trip, we went to a springs which has the clearest water in the southern hemisphere and that was not understatement you could see from one side of the spring to the other using a upside down periscope. We decided to stay another night and do a bike ride over the mountains. We'd booked into a hostel because we'd need a good nights sleep after this leisurely bike ride that we had planned. we rented the bikes and booked the buss to take us to the start of the Rameka track. The track began really easy, a 40 or so minutes ride up a hill followed by a easy but nice cruise down a dirt road to the Hamama hole which was extremely deep and very scary when you walking on icy rocks to see over the edge. I'd imagine it must have been 100 meters deep. We cycled back up the track and stopped at a frozen lake to try and smash the ice which didn't happen but we had a dam good time trying. We got back to the track and started heading up the hill in the opposite direction when we bumped in Bernie and Mark. Bernie and Mark must have been about forty and as soon as I had started to talk to them they made out that if we didn't follow them down a track there would be a good chance that we would be spending the night up this mountain and i was only in shorts and t-shirt. I obviously panicked and followed the guys down a track. They were flying ahead of Tom and I and the urgency of the situation to get of the mountain began to swirl around my head and i got worried, very worried. The track we rode down was about a foot wide with a drop off to the left that was a minimum of 6 foot at all times. At one point Tom fell down the back but he was fine if not a little shaken up. It took about an hour and a half to get out of the forest and the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. The get back to there car it was a 6 kilometer ride down another dirt road and by this time i was freezing cold. In the end we got safely back to the car and back to the village. Bernie and Mark had a good laugh of our lack of preparation, knowledge and skill of what we were doing. They told us that the difficulty of the track we'd just completed was a 3 out of 5. we dropped the bikes back and left there company, great guys in all fairness. The said we would have been another 3 or so hours on the mountain if they hadn't followed them. Good bless you boys.
We had a few beers that evening and watched the All blacks beat the French. I won a free jug of beer in the pub for predicting the score. I left like a baby that night but my knees and bum were killing that evening and the next few days.
Tom and I left the next morning and headed east to Nelson to stay in another hostel and get some stuff done. The Green Monkey was a small but really well managed hostel, they bloke who owned it was a great guy and even put his welsh shirt on to make Tom and I feel at home. We had a bumper meal and an early night. When we left town the next day we stopped at the center of NZ and the place where the first game of rugby was played in NZ, i think it was 1840. Today we started our journey south to get back to Queenstown. We ended up booking into a hostel on the coast called the dusky lodge where we partook in a stop of deep sea fishing. The boat was small and the swell was considerably larger but it was still fun. I'm not sure what we were catching but I do know that we caught loads of fish. A couple of Albatrosses bobbed about within a meter of the boat and on the way back to land we say dolphins which was just amazing. The captain of the boat (Nubs) gave us a cray fish which supposedly coast about 70 dollars but when Tom and I cooked it, neither of us rated it that highly that we'd pay 70 cents for for the thing. We left the hostel the day after the fishing adventure and headed inland to Hanmer Springs. The springs are basically a lot of pools that range in temperature from 36 to 41 degrees. However they do all have one thing in common. They STINK of sulphur which as you can imagine gets rather wearing after an hour or so. We continued down towards Christchurch and stayed just outside the city limits because its easier to find somewhere to sleep. The next morning we drove into Christchurch and wondered around the city looking in bookshops and looking for a cinema to watch Angels and Demons (which i thought was a great film). We had a drink in the biggest sports bar in NZ. We used the Internet and worked out that all the hostels in Queenstown had no rooms because the Friday would be the start of the winter festival. We worked out that we would had to go back to Queenstown to do the bungey jump that we had a BOGOF for. We drove from Christchurch towards Queenstown and stopped when we got too tired to drive anymore. We got into Queenstown and drove around looking for somewhere to stay as the car had to be back in 2 days. We found somewhere after a about 15 minutes of looking and booked in for the following 3 nights. We wondered into Queenstown from the car park and booked our bungy jump. Tom and i Stayed in the car that night. I went for a few beers with another couple that planned on staying in the same car park as Tom and I. I can't remember there names but they were great and they took me to a few places around Queenstown. Not sure what time i got back to the van but i do know the next day i woke up with a horrible case of man flu. The next few days have been just chilling out and exploring Queenstown, the van got back safe and sound.
All Blacks Verses France in Dunedin
Sunrise at the Otago peninsula
Mitre Peak at the Milford Sound
The snow fall we had whilst camping at the Milford sound
View across the lake in Wanaka
Franz Joseph glacier
Tea and crumpets at the glacier
The eels Tom and I feed
Another romantic sunset
Pancake rocks and the blowholes
The springs with the clearest water in the southern hemisphere
Tom after his little fall down the back while we were mountain biking
Tom and the Cray fish before cooking
Monday, 22 June 2009
North Island Road trip
We picked the car up in Auckland at about 11. We got the essentials which is obviously beer and food before heading off to the north, our route was travel north along the west coast, see the most northerly tip of the north island then travel south trying to stick to the east coast until we get to the bay of islands.
The van
The van we rented from juicy is a Toyota. Below are some photos of the van. It's got a sink, a small gas cooker, a fridge or hi-tech cool box and a DVD player! Can you believe it? A DVD player in a camper van, technology these days hey. The beds are formed buy pulling out a few boards and moving pillows, actually it's very comfy and very cosy, because lets face it, it's winter in NZ and is bloody cold at nights.
First place we stopped was Sullivan's bay, it was an awesome clear day and it wasn't very far outside Auckland. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before jumping back in the car and making our way to our next stop which was Dargville where we planned to stay on the beach. We slept on the beach i didn't sleep that well the first night, not because i was uncomfortable simply because i was dreaming of the car getting washed away with Tom and i in it and how in gods name we were going to explain it to the rental company. Anyway, we got up and packed the van away and made our way towards Kawai lake about an hours drive from the beach, when we arrived the lakes looked amazing. It was a gorgeous day so we decide to have bacon and egg sandwiches by the lake. We went for a walk after brekkie and took a few more photos before jumping back into the car and driving towards the Kauri forest which has native trees that grow about 50 meters (150 feet) tall but the grow about 13 meters (39 feet) in girth! When we drive down pretty much any road in NZ you see more birds of prey than you could shake a stick at. On the second day we saw a bird of a prey (i think it was an falcon) trying to eat road kill of the road. When i stopped and tried to get my camera out my pocket it flew away trying to take whatever it was eating away with it. I was so amazed, a very beautiful bird whatever it was. After leaving the forest and heading north towards Cape Regina we got a fairy which saved us about 150 kilometers We got to Cape Regina just after dark because we the last 20 k's were unsealed roads which is always a giggle when it's dark and your sliding all over the road.
We awoke on day three and the weather had turned slightly, it was a little overcast but not cold so i couldn't complain. We walked down to the light house and looked out to see before getting back to the van and heading south towards the giant sands dunes which were about 30 kilometers away. I walked up them while Tom sat in the car because it was raining. It took a lot of effort to walk to the top as they must be a least 30 meters (100 feet) tall. It was definitely worth the walk because the view from the top was amazing. I jumped back in the car and we drove south towards the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped at Haruru falls to see the water falls and they were rather cool.
When we got to the Bay of Islands went and had a bacon and egg sandwiches near a forestry which was a nice view to see as the sun went down. We went down the the water front and made the beds and watched a DVD before getting moved on by a security and going to bed.
Day four and we moved to hostel to have a shower and a relax in the spa. After a session in the spa we went out to book a fishing trip which was going to be a red snapper trip. We meet the boat captain and the four other people before heading out for four hours. We drove out between the islands for about an hour before putting the lines in. I've never fished anywhere so good in all my life. I've time the road got down the 24 meter drop i had a bite and had to reel it back either with the desired result or a bait less line. Tom caught the first keeper followed by me. I mentioned before that i am the unluckiest person when it comes to stuff like this. However fishing is the exception. I had the most luck at the first spot getting one keeper and catching four that where too small. After an hour we moved spot where it kicked off! The six of us caught about another eight or so red snapper as well as some Australian trout. Then me James Ryan had a bite, a big bite. The reel began to run away from me and there was nothing i could do about it. The captain Andrew came over and taught me how to "fight" a fish without letting him get away or snapping the line. After fighting for about 30 minutes or so i managed to bring the beast to the surface. It was a ............ SHARK!!!! A six foot Bronze whaler shark. I know what your thinking, yes i am amazing. Nah only joking. Before Andrew could get a hook in him so we could all take a few photos he turned and snapped the line. I was shaking and also amazed that i was so lucky. When we got back to shore Andrew gutted the fish and we went to the fish and chip shop to get our catch battered and have a few to chips to finish it off.
We awoke the next morning and again headed south to the Bay of Plenty. We had to make a de-tour north because i was navigating and we missed hot water beach (10). We slept there and the next morning we went down where everyone were digging holes to get to the hot water that flowed from under the beach. People were making holes in the sand and lying in them while fishing and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had a paddle in someone elses pool then made our way towards cathedral cove which was an arch rock-formation in the cliff. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before leaving. The last stop of the day was Manguni. Manguni was a sand spit with a mountain at the end of it. We stayed and had some fish and chips which was the Red snapper from the boat trip which was awesome and very tasty. We stayed very close to the beach which was nice.
The next morning we ventured up the mountain, it was a beautifully clear day so we took so good photos from the top. The accent took about half an hour and below is a photo of just how worth it was. After we strolled back down the mountain we had a bit of road side brekkie in a free bbq area before heading off towards Rotorua. The drive to Rotorua was about an hour and it must have been roughly three o'clock when we arrived. We went to the visitor center to get some leaflets and choose to go luging with a gonadal ride which was about10 minutes outside of town. We drove over and booked to do the gondola with three rides on the luge. The gondola wasn't that exciting as you can image but it did provide us a moment to get our bearings as well as being able to view Lake Taupo in the late afternoon when the sun was low in the sky. When we got to the top of the Gondola ride we grabbed our helmets and strolled towards the starting area for the luge. We did three in total, Tom won the first and i won the second and third. The third was a white wash but i haven't laughed so much in a while. Most excellent fun. Tom drove us back into town and we stopped next to the lake to have some hot dogs for tea and a chill out. We were listening to the Micheal Jackson number one album when all of a sudden the lights went out and the music stopped. We'd run out of battery and you can't bump start an automatic because you can't get the dam thing out of park. We'd worked out that earlier that morning I'd found a lighter plug on the floor and plugged it in and it must have sucked the battery dry. After about half an hour and a miracle the car started so we went for a drive to the hot pools and then went for a beer in an Irish bar where we watched the Lions reply. That nights sleep was rather uncomfortable as we experienced out first frost.
We awoke early the next morning as you can imagine and headed back to the information center to book the next activity. Zorbing was next on the schedule, Zorbing is basically getting inside an eleven foot high beach ball with a smaller beach ball inside it and filling in a quarter full with water then going down a fairly steep hill. A great laugh as you can imagine. Tom and I had a go in separate Zorbs for our first run, the guys there gave us a free second run and we both decide to go in the same one and play fight all the way down the hill. It ended in tears because Tom head butted my knee so i couldn't walk properly after that so he had to drive. We pottered around town doing some of the less fun things about traveling (laundry) before heading back to the pub we went in last night to watch the lions again. After watching the lions cream the Lions we headed towards Taupo, we stopped at Huka waterfalls which was nice, the water fall drop isn't that impressive, but the amount of water that drops the seven or so meters is. Two Olympic swimming pools a second (350 cubic meters per second. We also stopped at a scenic view point to look at the snow covered mountains (which are mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) before going to Taupo to cook tea and settle down with a cup of coco and watching a film in bed!
We both slept really well that night, we went to the tourist information center to get some leaflets on stuff to do in the area. We choose crater of the moon, it's an hour walk around a board walk where everything is either hot, steaming or bubbling. A rather cool experience, there is lots of volcanic activity around the lake Taupo area. The weather started to turn for the worse, we planned to visit the bee museum to try lots of free bee products, wines, honeys and fudges. We left Taupo and again headed south towards Wellington. We got as far as National Park which is a village and stayed in a hostel as it was very cold and we decided to have a night away from the van.
As you can imagine sleeping in a proper bed is great. We had a shower before hitting the road again, we weren't sure where we going to stop today we thought we'd drive until we got bored and camp wherever or whenever that happened. We stopped in Palmerston North to have a look at the rugby museum. The museum was amazing, the amount of welsh stuff they had in there was unbelievable. The museum had a Welsh players Great Britian jersey from 1904. The lady that was looking after the place was really helpful, she rang a local brewery for us and booked us onto the next tour which was at two o'clock. We thanked the lady and left to attend the Tui brewery tour. In the price was the following three free drinks and a free beer glass. We had a lager before going on the tour. The tour took us through the whole plant. Tom and I both ate raw hops which was disgusting but we were promised a free beer if we did. We got back to the bar and had our three free drinks before getting another free drink for opening a jar of beetroot. We weren't sure where we were staying so we drove a little further until we decided that we would just drive until we got into Wellington. After driving for about three hours we arrived at a city which wasn't labeled. We drove around to try and find someone to give us directions to Wellington. We pulled up to a group of late thirty's and i leaned out of the window of the van and asked "excuse me, do you know how to get to Wellington?" They replied, "Your in Wellington" ah. I kindly said thank you before telling Tom to get me out of there as they were still staring at me in amazement that i could be in the city center and still manage not to know where i was. Tom just sat there, looking at me with this stupid grin on his face. So, Tom was staring at me, the group of people were staring at me and I felt like a really idiot. After about two minutes i put the car in drive and made him drive. We laughed all the way down the road before leaving the center of Wellington and finding somewhere to camp in the suburbs.
We went back to Wellington the next day and had a look around the city, i must say it's very stunning city. We walked around a few shops before going to do something normal. We went to watch a film in the cinema, poor film in the end but I won't mention what it was. We had a beer then went back to the camp spot and had a fairly early night.
Today, today has been a good day. We drove into Wellington and drove to the top of Mount Victoria which they used as the shire in Lord of the Rings. Again it's been a fabulous day. We left Wellington and headed north along the west coast heading back towards Auckland. We've stopped for the night in Manganui. Again in a hostel so Tom can cook me a bumper meal. Red Thai curry with vegetable fried rice and it smells awesome. I'm glad he enjoys cooking because I'm no good at all!
THe next day we checked out of the hostel and headed north up to New Plymouth where we had lunch and went for a swim and sauna session. Not a great deal happened that day as we were just making up the k's. We did stay on the cliff above a really famous surfing beach where you can ride a wave for some ridiculous like half an hour.
The second but last day we drove all the way into Auckland to have a few beers and enjoy our last night with the camper van. We stayed in another really nice spot before dropping the car of the next morning. Total K's covered for the north Island 3103.
Cape Regina
The view from the top of the giant sand sunes
Oldest Great Britian rugby jersey outside of the UK (1904)
The van
The van we rented from juicy is a Toyota. Below are some photos of the van. It's got a sink, a small gas cooker, a fridge or hi-tech cool box and a DVD player! Can you believe it? A DVD player in a camper van, technology these days hey. The beds are formed buy pulling out a few boards and moving pillows, actually it's very comfy and very cosy, because lets face it, it's winter in NZ and is bloody cold at nights.
First place we stopped was Sullivan's bay, it was an awesome clear day and it wasn't very far outside Auckland. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before jumping back in the car and making our way to our next stop which was Dargville where we planned to stay on the beach. We slept on the beach i didn't sleep that well the first night, not because i was uncomfortable simply because i was dreaming of the car getting washed away with Tom and i in it and how in gods name we were going to explain it to the rental company. Anyway, we got up and packed the van away and made our way towards Kawai lake about an hours drive from the beach, when we arrived the lakes looked amazing. It was a gorgeous day so we decide to have bacon and egg sandwiches by the lake. We went for a walk after brekkie and took a few more photos before jumping back into the car and driving towards the Kauri forest which has native trees that grow about 50 meters (150 feet) tall but the grow about 13 meters (39 feet) in girth! When we drive down pretty much any road in NZ you see more birds of prey than you could shake a stick at. On the second day we saw a bird of a prey (i think it was an falcon) trying to eat road kill of the road. When i stopped and tried to get my camera out my pocket it flew away trying to take whatever it was eating away with it. I was so amazed, a very beautiful bird whatever it was. After leaving the forest and heading north towards Cape Regina we got a fairy which saved us about 150 kilometers We got to Cape Regina just after dark because we the last 20 k's were unsealed roads which is always a giggle when it's dark and your sliding all over the road.
We awoke on day three and the weather had turned slightly, it was a little overcast but not cold so i couldn't complain. We walked down to the light house and looked out to see before getting back to the van and heading south towards the giant sands dunes which were about 30 kilometers away. I walked up them while Tom sat in the car because it was raining. It took a lot of effort to walk to the top as they must be a least 30 meters (100 feet) tall. It was definitely worth the walk because the view from the top was amazing. I jumped back in the car and we drove south towards the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped at Haruru falls to see the water falls and they were rather cool.
When we got to the Bay of Islands went and had a bacon and egg sandwiches near a forestry which was a nice view to see as the sun went down. We went down the the water front and made the beds and watched a DVD before getting moved on by a security and going to bed.
Day four and we moved to hostel to have a shower and a relax in the spa. After a session in the spa we went out to book a fishing trip which was going to be a red snapper trip. We meet the boat captain and the four other people before heading out for four hours. We drove out between the islands for about an hour before putting the lines in. I've never fished anywhere so good in all my life. I've time the road got down the 24 meter drop i had a bite and had to reel it back either with the desired result or a bait less line. Tom caught the first keeper followed by me. I mentioned before that i am the unluckiest person when it comes to stuff like this. However fishing is the exception. I had the most luck at the first spot getting one keeper and catching four that where too small. After an hour we moved spot where it kicked off! The six of us caught about another eight or so red snapper as well as some Australian trout. Then me James Ryan had a bite, a big bite. The reel began to run away from me and there was nothing i could do about it. The captain Andrew came over and taught me how to "fight" a fish without letting him get away or snapping the line. After fighting for about 30 minutes or so i managed to bring the beast to the surface. It was a ............ SHARK!!!! A six foot Bronze whaler shark. I know what your thinking, yes i am amazing. Nah only joking. Before Andrew could get a hook in him so we could all take a few photos he turned and snapped the line. I was shaking and also amazed that i was so lucky. When we got back to shore Andrew gutted the fish and we went to the fish and chip shop to get our catch battered and have a few to chips to finish it off.
We awoke the next morning and again headed south to the Bay of Plenty. We had to make a de-tour north because i was navigating and we missed hot water beach (10). We slept there and the next morning we went down where everyone were digging holes to get to the hot water that flowed from under the beach. People were making holes in the sand and lying in them while fishing and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had a paddle in someone elses pool then made our way towards cathedral cove which was an arch rock-formation in the cliff. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before leaving. The last stop of the day was Manguni. Manguni was a sand spit with a mountain at the end of it. We stayed and had some fish and chips which was the Red snapper from the boat trip which was awesome and very tasty. We stayed very close to the beach which was nice.
The next morning we ventured up the mountain, it was a beautifully clear day so we took so good photos from the top. The accent took about half an hour and below is a photo of just how worth it was. After we strolled back down the mountain we had a bit of road side brekkie in a free bbq area before heading off towards Rotorua. The drive to Rotorua was about an hour and it must have been roughly three o'clock when we arrived. We went to the visitor center to get some leaflets and choose to go luging with a gonadal ride which was about10 minutes outside of town. We drove over and booked to do the gondola with three rides on the luge. The gondola wasn't that exciting as you can image but it did provide us a moment to get our bearings as well as being able to view Lake Taupo in the late afternoon when the sun was low in the sky. When we got to the top of the Gondola ride we grabbed our helmets and strolled towards the starting area for the luge. We did three in total, Tom won the first and i won the second and third. The third was a white wash but i haven't laughed so much in a while. Most excellent fun. Tom drove us back into town and we stopped next to the lake to have some hot dogs for tea and a chill out. We were listening to the Micheal Jackson number one album when all of a sudden the lights went out and the music stopped. We'd run out of battery and you can't bump start an automatic because you can't get the dam thing out of park. We'd worked out that earlier that morning I'd found a lighter plug on the floor and plugged it in and it must have sucked the battery dry. After about half an hour and a miracle the car started so we went for a drive to the hot pools and then went for a beer in an Irish bar where we watched the Lions reply. That nights sleep was rather uncomfortable as we experienced out first frost.
We awoke early the next morning as you can imagine and headed back to the information center to book the next activity. Zorbing was next on the schedule, Zorbing is basically getting inside an eleven foot high beach ball with a smaller beach ball inside it and filling in a quarter full with water then going down a fairly steep hill. A great laugh as you can imagine. Tom and I had a go in separate Zorbs for our first run, the guys there gave us a free second run and we both decide to go in the same one and play fight all the way down the hill. It ended in tears because Tom head butted my knee so i couldn't walk properly after that so he had to drive. We pottered around town doing some of the less fun things about traveling (laundry) before heading back to the pub we went in last night to watch the lions again. After watching the lions cream the Lions we headed towards Taupo, we stopped at Huka waterfalls which was nice, the water fall drop isn't that impressive, but the amount of water that drops the seven or so meters is. Two Olympic swimming pools a second (350 cubic meters per second. We also stopped at a scenic view point to look at the snow covered mountains (which are mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) before going to Taupo to cook tea and settle down with a cup of coco and watching a film in bed!
We both slept really well that night, we went to the tourist information center to get some leaflets on stuff to do in the area. We choose crater of the moon, it's an hour walk around a board walk where everything is either hot, steaming or bubbling. A rather cool experience, there is lots of volcanic activity around the lake Taupo area. The weather started to turn for the worse, we planned to visit the bee museum to try lots of free bee products, wines, honeys and fudges. We left Taupo and again headed south towards Wellington. We got as far as National Park which is a village and stayed in a hostel as it was very cold and we decided to have a night away from the van.
As you can imagine sleeping in a proper bed is great. We had a shower before hitting the road again, we weren't sure where we going to stop today we thought we'd drive until we got bored and camp wherever or whenever that happened. We stopped in Palmerston North to have a look at the rugby museum. The museum was amazing, the amount of welsh stuff they had in there was unbelievable. The museum had a Welsh players Great Britian jersey from 1904. The lady that was looking after the place was really helpful, she rang a local brewery for us and booked us onto the next tour which was at two o'clock. We thanked the lady and left to attend the Tui brewery tour. In the price was the following three free drinks and a free beer glass. We had a lager before going on the tour. The tour took us through the whole plant. Tom and I both ate raw hops which was disgusting but we were promised a free beer if we did. We got back to the bar and had our three free drinks before getting another free drink for opening a jar of beetroot. We weren't sure where we were staying so we drove a little further until we decided that we would just drive until we got into Wellington. After driving for about three hours we arrived at a city which wasn't labeled. We drove around to try and find someone to give us directions to Wellington. We pulled up to a group of late thirty's and i leaned out of the window of the van and asked "excuse me, do you know how to get to Wellington?" They replied, "Your in Wellington" ah. I kindly said thank you before telling Tom to get me out of there as they were still staring at me in amazement that i could be in the city center and still manage not to know where i was. Tom just sat there, looking at me with this stupid grin on his face. So, Tom was staring at me, the group of people were staring at me and I felt like a really idiot. After about two minutes i put the car in drive and made him drive. We laughed all the way down the road before leaving the center of Wellington and finding somewhere to camp in the suburbs.
We went back to Wellington the next day and had a look around the city, i must say it's very stunning city. We walked around a few shops before going to do something normal. We went to watch a film in the cinema, poor film in the end but I won't mention what it was. We had a beer then went back to the camp spot and had a fairly early night.
Today, today has been a good day. We drove into Wellington and drove to the top of Mount Victoria which they used as the shire in Lord of the Rings. Again it's been a fabulous day. We left Wellington and headed north along the west coast heading back towards Auckland. We've stopped for the night in Manganui. Again in a hostel so Tom can cook me a bumper meal. Red Thai curry with vegetable fried rice and it smells awesome. I'm glad he enjoys cooking because I'm no good at all!
THe next day we checked out of the hostel and headed north up to New Plymouth where we had lunch and went for a swim and sauna session. Not a great deal happened that day as we were just making up the k's. We did stay on the cliff above a really famous surfing beach where you can ride a wave for some ridiculous like half an hour.
The second but last day we drove all the way into Auckland to have a few beers and enjoy our last night with the camper van. We stayed in another really nice spot before dropping the car of the next morning. Total K's covered for the north Island 3103.
The van
Sullivans bay
Kawai lake
Kawai lake
Kauri tree
Cape Regina
The view from the top of the giant sand sunes
Hot water beach
Tom and I in the Bay of islands
View off the top of mount Manguni
Oldest Great Britian rugby jersey outside of the UK (1904)
The view atop of mount Wellington
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
New Zealand.... the plan
We got our flight safe and sound. A good friend once told me to always have G&T's with ice and a slice. That tradition didn't start on this trip but were definetly keeping it going. Theit so good tasting at 10am. I've been in NZ for two whole days now and this is the plan. Tom and i booked a camper van for 15 days to see the whole of the north Island which i have been assured by a few people is plenty of time. We plan to do the exact same thing on the south island so i'm not sure when the next blog update will be done, but i do promise you one thing. It will be action packed! Bungee jumping, white water rafting and more extreme sports than you can shake a stick at!
The adventure continues...
The adventure continues...
Australia
Six months in Australia has come to an end. I don't think i've seen anywhere as much as i would have liked to seeing only four out of the eight states. I saw most of Tasmania and most of the Australia capital state (only because ACT is so small). New South Wales is a beautiful place and definetly somewhere i would consider living. Melbourne is the most cosmopolitan state with people dressing very fasionably and rather qwerky.
Australia is very baron but also very beautiful and because it's so big there is so much to see and do, while i didn't manage to see anything of the outback and alike i think i had a totally different experience to most that go to Australia and i am thankful to Dave for suppling that. I've learnt that i could move to anywhere in the world and make new friends start a new life. I have an understanding of Australian working culture, they don't like doing it but they do love a few beers after the work is done, which i must say is something i agree with.
The culture is a mix between British and American and obviously and element of thier own. I really liked Australia and will definetly be going back sometime in a later part of my life to see the other states i missed. I meet some truly amazing people that i hope to keep in touch with them for the rest of my life!
Australia is very baron but also very beautiful and because it's so big there is so much to see and do, while i didn't manage to see anything of the outback and alike i think i had a totally different experience to most that go to Australia and i am thankful to Dave for suppling that. I've learnt that i could move to anywhere in the world and make new friends start a new life. I have an understanding of Australian working culture, they don't like doing it but they do love a few beers after the work is done, which i must say is something i agree with.
The culture is a mix between British and American and obviously and element of thier own. I really liked Australia and will definetly be going back sometime in a later part of my life to see the other states i missed. I meet some truly amazing people that i hope to keep in touch with them for the rest of my life!
Bondi and Coogee beaches
Bondi and Coogee beaches are really beautiful parts of Sydney. We stayed in Bondi for a week, went surfing, looking around a few little saturday markets and chilling out before we had to leave Australia. The first few days we were in Bondi the weather was stunning not a cloud in the sky and comforting sun beating down on our skin as we read and listened to music. I went out for a night out with the hostel on a Tuesday which was a really good laugh and made some other new mates.
When we were checking out at the end of our stay the owner asked where we planned to go next, he offered to drive us over to the sister hostel in Coogee and even gave us cheap night for the last few days of our stay in Australia. The hostel in Coogee was really nice, not many people in our room whihc was a bonus and we could see the local rugby ground from the balconay of our room. We went over to the rugby ground to watch the rugby over the weekend, Saturday was union day and Sunday was leaugue. obviously i watched more union than league.
When we were checking out at the end of our stay the owner asked where we planned to go next, he offered to drive us over to the sister hostel in Coogee and even gave us cheap night for the last few days of our stay in Australia. The hostel in Coogee was really nice, not many people in our room whihc was a bonus and we could see the local rugby ground from the balconay of our room. We went over to the rugby ground to watch the rugby over the weekend, Saturday was union day and Sunday was leaugue. obviously i watched more union than league.
Another road trip, just Tom and I
So after about 16 weeks spending time with other people not just Tom i was time for some "us" time. I know what your thinking, this is starting to sound like a relationship. We'd planned to get a car for 3 days to drive from Melbourne to Sydney via Canberra and a few other places. I picked the car up from Melbourne airport early before heading back to the hostel to pick up Tom and the bags. This plan had a flaw, me not being drivings greatest fan as well as driving through a really busy city at lunch time. I got lost for roughly 2 hours and stressed is not the word. I grabbed Tom and we headed to Sydney. We'd planned to stop in a town just south of Canberra, this in the end didn't happen because we thought just get to Canberra and then we could have all day driving around the city and seeing the sites before heading onto Sydney and the Blue mountains. We stayed in a formula one hotel which was quite nice but we had to wake the receptionist up at a little gone 12 in the night because the machine we used to check in stopped working. We slept rather heavy that night as we had been driving since about 1.
The next day we went straight to the tourist information centre and found all the free things to do in city. Tom wanted to visit the war memorial museum which was really cool and interesting but as it was still early in the morning and neither of us had eaten anything i was a little restless and my mind wasn't in a learning or strolling mode, if I'm honest i just wanted a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. The drive through Canberra itself is really nice, the city itself has only been there for 90-something years so everything is really new, clean and well organised. I eventually got my coffee and bite to eat so stopped nagging Tom. We went to the National arts museum but because they only thought to put about 25 parking spaces we couldn't find anywhere to park and didn't actually get to go in, Tom was rather disappointed, but me I'm not art farty at all and don't get all the finger painting thing selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
We hit the road again for a fairly short drive to Sydney, the scenario was beautiful if not sometimes baron. We arrived at about 5pm so hit rush hour square on which was fun as you can imagine. We drove across the Harbour bridge which is a great bridge as bridges go of course, saw the opera house which is also great and an iconic building. We managed to get down to Bondi beach, parked outside MacDonald's to use their wireless Internet and found a hostel in the Blue mountains. I also popped into a hostel and booked a four night stay about 2 minutes walk from the beach for when returned a day later. All the organising being done it was time to drive up to the Blue Mountains, it's about a 2 hour drive west of the city. We got there about a 8ish and found the hostel we planned to stay in, checked in, threw the bags in the room then went for a pint and a pizza.
We got up early the next day and drove about 5 minutes to the most famous attraction in the blue mountains, a rock formation called the three sisters (picture below). It was a windy day so we didn't hang around long before moving onto the next attraction which was a few rides and a walk around the rain forest. They had a gonadal car that went across the valley, past a waterfall and gave you a different view of the three sisters rock formation. The next ride we went on was the old miners railway where they used to mine for gold. At the steepest part of the ride it 52 degrees which even going about 20 miles an hour is a scary experience. Once we'd hopped off the ride we walked around the valley floor looking at the mining exhibitions and watching a few videos. We also looked at the flora and fora that lived in the area. In order to get out of the valley we got the last ride of the day back to the visitor centre which was a lot like a ski lift and went about as fast although we did manage to get another perspective on the three sisters.
We'd popped into town for some fish and chips before moving onto our next destination which was to be a waterfall, this is going to sound really stupid so please excuse me. We managed to find the car park for the water fall but not the water fall! I know how stupid are we. So instead of going to see some water fall Tom and i sat in the car and played a cross word, which was a fun and made me feel even more stupid, happy days!
That spot being left behind forever we headed back to Sydney this time driving slowly taking in all the views as we come off the mountain range. Fairly impressive i must say.
We got back to the hostel in Bondi while it was still light so we popped up to the shop and got something for tea. We dropped the car back the next morning which was as much of a palaver as picking it up but i won't go into that for Tom's sake!
Photos - Tom and I driving into Sydney
Driving over the Harbour bridge
The drop from the gonadal car
Three sisters
The next day we went straight to the tourist information centre and found all the free things to do in city. Tom wanted to visit the war memorial museum which was really cool and interesting but as it was still early in the morning and neither of us had eaten anything i was a little restless and my mind wasn't in a learning or strolling mode, if I'm honest i just wanted a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. The drive through Canberra itself is really nice, the city itself has only been there for 90-something years so everything is really new, clean and well organised. I eventually got my coffee and bite to eat so stopped nagging Tom. We went to the National arts museum but because they only thought to put about 25 parking spaces we couldn't find anywhere to park and didn't actually get to go in, Tom was rather disappointed, but me I'm not art farty at all and don't get all the finger painting thing selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
We hit the road again for a fairly short drive to Sydney, the scenario was beautiful if not sometimes baron. We arrived at about 5pm so hit rush hour square on which was fun as you can imagine. We drove across the Harbour bridge which is a great bridge as bridges go of course, saw the opera house which is also great and an iconic building. We managed to get down to Bondi beach, parked outside MacDonald's to use their wireless Internet and found a hostel in the Blue mountains. I also popped into a hostel and booked a four night stay about 2 minutes walk from the beach for when returned a day later. All the organising being done it was time to drive up to the Blue Mountains, it's about a 2 hour drive west of the city. We got there about a 8ish and found the hostel we planned to stay in, checked in, threw the bags in the room then went for a pint and a pizza.
We got up early the next day and drove about 5 minutes to the most famous attraction in the blue mountains, a rock formation called the three sisters (picture below). It was a windy day so we didn't hang around long before moving onto the next attraction which was a few rides and a walk around the rain forest. They had a gonadal car that went across the valley, past a waterfall and gave you a different view of the three sisters rock formation. The next ride we went on was the old miners railway where they used to mine for gold. At the steepest part of the ride it 52 degrees which even going about 20 miles an hour is a scary experience. Once we'd hopped off the ride we walked around the valley floor looking at the mining exhibitions and watching a few videos. We also looked at the flora and fora that lived in the area. In order to get out of the valley we got the last ride of the day back to the visitor centre which was a lot like a ski lift and went about as fast although we did manage to get another perspective on the three sisters.
We'd popped into town for some fish and chips before moving onto our next destination which was to be a waterfall, this is going to sound really stupid so please excuse me. We managed to find the car park for the water fall but not the water fall! I know how stupid are we. So instead of going to see some water fall Tom and i sat in the car and played a cross word, which was a fun and made me feel even more stupid, happy days!
That spot being left behind forever we headed back to Sydney this time driving slowly taking in all the views as we come off the mountain range. Fairly impressive i must say.
We got back to the hostel in Bondi while it was still light so we popped up to the shop and got something for tea. We dropped the car back the next morning which was as much of a palaver as picking it up but i won't go into that for Tom's sake!
Photos - Tom and I driving into Sydney
Driving over the Harbour bridge
The drop from the gonadal car
Three sisters
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