NZ- The North Island

I dont think we saw one motorway in the whole of the South Island yet as soon as we drove off the ferry in Wellington.... we were back into full-on civilisation with 3 lanes of traffic and carrs everywhere, instantly we were lost! After composing ourselves we found our way around Wellington, which in truth aint all that big but is still a marvellous city (NZ Capital) beautifully situated at the Southern most point sticking out into the Tasmanian Sea. We spied a huge book sale where we were atlast able to get CD's for the vans stereo and I would no longer need to suffer in silence when we were out of radio range and Charlie was sleeping! That night we met some Kiwis who were at a dog show, but they supplied us with the Do's and Do nots of the North. We decided that with only a 2 week time frame we had to do some serious driving, but first we wanted to see Wellington properly. The massives of contemporary art that sprawls through the city give the place a very young and cool feeling but if you want history then hop into TePapa museum, 5 levels of interactive musueum where you can learn the history of the Country. I would not have been allowed to immigrate in the 50's but if I brought my sister then I would have been accpeted, all they wanted was the woman!

We drove straight up the centre of the North Island along roads such as desert highway, named for a reason, and it strikes that this island is far more populated and a lot less spoilt which means you miss out on the views (there still impressive though) but then you get extra action! Oh and also a lot of giant corrugated iron stuff; Gumboots, Shephards, Sheep and Sheepdogs, all very odd! Lake Taupo was where we found our wonder; took a stroll and found ourselves a stream not just any stream though this was a hot water stream, thankfuly we were prepared with swimmers so jumped in for a relax, what a feeling. Geothermal activity is everywhere in the centre of the north and we managed to see some great sights from Lady Knox geyser to Champagne pools through to the Devils bath, which is green not red as I had thought it would be. If you never get the chance to see them for real check out Billy Connelly's tour of NZ and you can see why we were so awe struck.... however you wont get the smell that way which to be honest is awful unless you have a real love for egg!

Rotorua next which is actually a town built inside the crater of a volcano which is likely to blow in the next 20years.... good idea to build a town here! Some White Water Rafting was welll and truely done, and a 7 meter waterfall was completed without problem but there may have been some screaming on the way down, what a buzz! Whilst in the area we checked out a traditional Maori village and ate corn cooked in a thermal pool, best corn I ever did have! I got involved in some haka but dont think I'll be scary many people, probably better off just with my regular dancing! Our last excursion in Rotorua was one I would not associate with NZ but Paradise Valley Springs, like NZ, is not your regular zoo. In amongst feeding goats, ducks and trout we got to stroke a couple of lions, "you'll be fine aslong as you dont touch their head" is what they tell you and it worked, not sure if it would out in the wild though!

Next stop was Waitomo for some more Black Water Rafting, Tumb Tumb Toobing style! This is basically caving with the added extra of rafting down the water on a tube. Equipped with wellies, a wetsuit, helmut and headtorch we headed underground, there were some seriously tight holes to squeeze through, glow worms (which are maggot poo) to idle at, and deep water to ride tubes down. The trip ended with pinball of which I went first.... basically float on the water and let it fire you through a small space whilst you bounce off the rocks on either side until you're spat out the other side, good times!

North East point was our next port of call, get yourself a spade dig a hole on the beach let it fill with water, make sure its not too hot and then get in! This was hot water beach, a fairly cold day saw a beach lined with people paying $5 to rent a spade and dig themselves a bath, all very bizarre but another one of the amazing aspects of this spectacular country.

Cape Reinga NZ's most northern point was a next call, a 90 mile beach leads the way to the end of the world, a long lonely road but definatley worth it. From the lighthouse the the amazing site of the Tasmanian Sea meeting the Pacific Ocean can be viewed, its as if the waters fight for their favourite. There are giant sand dunes, and when I say giant I mean monstorous! We managed to hire buggey boards from the only shop in miles clambered up the super steep dunes and looked down on what seems a vertical drop, despite doing crazy things like Bungey swings and Sky Dives Charlie thought this looked a bit dangerous so we tried to find somewhere less vertical... not possible! So I just went for it, what a rush hurtling down the sand at what seems like 100mph, problem is how do you stop, well I just came flying of the board and hurtled down the sand in a giant ball of dust! Thankfully sand is soft and I was fine, Charlie thought I had killed myself but I convinced her it was fine and she set of down the sandcliff but there was no crazy fall here a perfect surf. The rush got us doing it over and over again, after a while though the climbing of these humungous dunes gives the legs cramp and the fact that its like a desert makes it seriously tough, so we had to retire exhausted but with smiles on our face.

Our last stop was Auckland, this place holds half of the whole population of NZ and its instantly noticiable high rises, loads of traffic and people everywhere. We had been told on a few occasions that those not from Auckland call them JAFA's (Just Another F***ing Aucklander), but we found everyone here just as hospitable as the rest of the countries population. We never once got a real map in NZ and this was the first time we encountered any problems, but we wouldnt give in now and managed to navigate ourselves round with only a few angry moments. The van was given back, after it had provided us with a home on wheels for so long and it was sad to say goodbye but it was also a relief to get out of the confined and smelly tin can, we no longer had the need for it and stayed in real beds for the first time in 5 weeks.... so nice! Auckland was cool much like many other cities but it again has a very relaxed feeling and the fact its surrounded by water gives it an open feeling despite all the high rises.

Next up is Australia, but New Zealand is truely an amazing country; where else do you get stunning beaches, unbelievable mountain ranges for hiking and skiing, fiordlands, glaciers, geothermal activity, traditional and modern cities for culture and shopping, all this and you never have to travel more than 2hrs for the next wonderous adventure!

"The only difference between a flower and a weed is Judgement, we Judge New Sealand to be a true Flower!"

Videos!

New Zealand - The South Island

Rocky mountains, desert plains, ice (ice cold), snow, green, blue, yellow and white lakes and lots of heart stopping laughs this place is 'Sweet As'...

Unlike the rest of our adventure so far, the residence has been slightly different. For 3 weeks now we have been rockin' up to the best spots of the South Island in our 'Breezer' sized campervan. To the lay person, this means a very tight campervan, actually the smallest in the company's range! But despite its cramped size and occassional smell (damp, feet etc.) it has been the best fun and we couldn't be closer! Literally.

We started in Christchurch and made sure we hired the Winter Warmer extras package for the camper including an extra duvet, hot water bottle and flask - it has been invaluable. We thought we had a faulty gas stove. After spending $15 on emergency-line phone call and a couple of locals advice we were left shamed that the gas stove wasn't leaking - it actually was just not turned off properly. Oops.

The Salvation Army helped us to kit out on hats, scarfs and warm pants. Whilst wandering around this city gathering these essentials we bumped into a German couple and we had seen them countless times in Fiji, wierd.

We made sure we visited the main attraction here and visited the Antartica Center, we experienced a snow storm, penguins and a Haaglund which is an off road snow truck - we were taken over a dirt track at full throttle, you can imagine the whip-lash.

We had started off in proper electric powered camp sites in Christchurch and the rest of the South due to the sheer blooming cold. Being so close to Antartica, is gets minus temperatures during the evening and about 7 degrees average during the day.

For Hamner Springs, Methven and Lake Tekapo we decided to brave the elements and 'Freedom Camp'. We were equipped with the winter warmer package at least but only a small windup torch - it was slight torture. It goes dark at 5.30pm so because of the dark and cold we found ourselves asleep by 7.30pm usually, not so fun. We woke up in Lake Tekapo to icicles inside the cabin. So you can appreciate that we decided to nip that in the bud and make sure we hooked up to electric from then on!

If you could wake up with a smile on your face anywhere, it must be New Zealand. At every campsite we have woke up at there has been breath taking scenery from snow mountains, grass mountains, salmon and ducks playing in rivers, valleys, creamy blue lakes (from the rock flour), birds singing, rainforest, vast lengths of farms etc etc. We have been spoilt and I could bore you with all the tiny details. We both agree that the best thing is the drive from the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps, the coast is pretty cool too. It is silly that you actually get used to your surroundings and we have to wake each other up from time to time.

We explored the South Island clockwise but had to miss out Dunedin, Intercarvill and Catlins due to the campervan guzzling too much fuel and we could not afford there. The Kiwis are great, really nice people they have given us tips from the best fish and chips to the hot spots. Even though we have had the best time in every place, here are the highlights:

09/08/10 - Skiing in Cardrona (Queenstown) followed by a burger from FergBurger (woooah) and a night out and also we went back a few days later for a night out in nearby Gold Rush town of Arrowtown (13/08/10) cosying up with the locals! The guy who took us up the mountain (about an hour drive) said it was one of the best days the had all winter, and I believed him. The sun was beaming and it had snowed heavy the previous night so lots of nice powder, sweet as. As Jon hadn't been skiing in about 142 years, we took it easy but Join hadn't forgotten his moves and we made the most of beginner and intermediate slopes and we didn't fall over. Queenstown is like everyone says it is - awesome and expensive, we had blown most of our cash here but it was worth it. The atmosphere is eletric and full of cool people but a pint will set you back $7!

10/08/10 - Charlie did Sky Ledge Swing 400ft above Queenstown - didn't quite make the bungy as I thought this was going to be its timid little brother - oh no. Jon is putting the video on Facebook soon, it is a cracker. Plenty of straps on me I had lower myself into a sitting position and the man slid me off the edge, once suspended succesfully 400 metres over QT. Jon and my audience counted down 5 to 1 - one arm out and pulled off the little red cord that held me up with me right hand then - well then I don't remember much else, think my heart stopped slightly. I had the job of making sure the 3 harnesses we used in the correct order to get me back up to the ledge. I don't know whether I was shaking from the cold or the fear...

10/08/10 - Jon did High Speed Jet Boat (Queenstown). Travelling at super high speeds on only 4 inches of water through the Shotover Canyon. Came nerve-rackingly close to the gorge rock edge! Had some 360 degree spins thrown in too. The boat was going that fast Jon's face nearly fell off due to the frost bite.

12/08/10 - Doubtful Sound Cruise (Te Anau). Before the cruise it included a coach ride 2km down underground to hydro power station - the caves underneath were fun to look at the rest was pretty boring. Our small boat with 20 others we sailed up through Doubtful Sound, past the West Arm to the edge of the Tasman Sea, we couldn't get all the way out 'cause it was too rough. The scenery was breathtaking, truely amazing and had low fog which made it look even more dramatic against the surrounding mountains. The guide was great he had not had a day off in 3 months!

14/08/10 - Got lost in Puzzling World in Wanaka, a place with a huge wooden maze built in the 70's - we saw the German couple again!! They also managed to flatten their battery so we had the job of pushing the van around the carpark with them trying to jumpstart it, very funny.

16/08/10 - Franz Joseph Glacier. A military operation to start with to get the gear - coats, special boots, crampons, lockers, rucksack etc. A short bus journey too us to the start of the glacier trek. It looked 500m away but it was 2.2km. So we made the trek, it didnt look real a pale blue radiance, with white peaks and black rock flour. In all we had 2 hours on the ice with the guide pick-axing the path through for us, a great adventure. We are learning that despite the cold, winter is the best time to come to NZ because we have the glacier and NZ to ourselves.

18/08/10 - Limestone Arches at Oparaka Basin. We had the intention of seeing the caves too but the windup torch wasn't man enough. To get the Arches walk area we had to venture up a 14km 'no campervans allowed' gravel track. As our van bearly makes the camper grade we went for it. At the top we head down the track for 1/2 hour and came to the 45 meter high arches. Wow. It had mini waterfalls inside, a river below and the only light passed though the smaller exit and enterance. The whole outer area was drenched in dense rainforest, looked like Jurassic Park we thought.

In between all this? Well that was full of hours of driving and Fiji Rum/Vodka. We covered 2900km, just in the South Island. We have only had the one campervan 'issue' - on the 18/08 we got stuck in gravel/mud on a side road on the way to Nelson. We had to be rescued by a local called Jon with his 4x4 - bad times!!!

We now are off to the warm(er) North Island on the InterIslander Ferry from Picton to Wellington!

xxxxx

Fiji

Its been over 2 weeks since we last posted and since then we have sunned ourselves silly in paradise! It was winter when we were there and the guy who picked us up from the airport was wearing a hat for their subzero temperatures if you can call a low of 25degrees C cold! During the day it was pushing the 35degrees but that was nice with a sea breeze.

We spent all but 2 of our nights in Fiji on the islands known as the Yasawas. The islands are where the picture perfect postcards are all taken. We took the big yellow boat (the flyer) up the islands to the very north 5 hours it took we went up to an island called Tavewa at Otto and Fannies resort, we happened to be the only people staying there, imagine that a whole beach to ourselves! During our 2 week stay we stopped at a total of 9 different islands resorts, the most beautiful being Blue Lagoon which was actually where the movie was filmed, the Crystal clear waters here and the white sandy beaches surpassed anything you can ever imagine. The snorkelling was unbelievable here all the different tropical fishes, Nemo and Doris were everywhere, swimming is great schools close enough to touch. As well as sunning ourselves we took in some of the tours; I (JP) saw the Saw-wi-la caves which involved an underwater swim under the rocks into another cave, pretty scary when you are the first to go through and met with nothing but deeper water and complete darkness. Also involved a climb up the rock face, whilst wet, up through a small passage known as the pregnancy cave because those that are pregnant cant get through that gives an idea of how tight it was. I was surprised that they were able to do this part of the trip and that nobody had been killed before! We also did some Voi Voi weaving in which Charlie made a nice bracelet and I made a rather pathetic bookmark, dont thing weaving is for me! We both really enjoyed a visit to a local village, in particular the school where all the local kids wanted to play, they loved our cameras taking pictures and then looking at the results, Charlie even had a bit of trouble getting hers back from one of the kids! On one day I even took on the ridiculous idea of swimming from one island to another, I managed it just, but this was far toughter than I had expected and I must have swallowed enough sea water to start an aquarium! The swimming with sharks had to be the highlight though, taken out into the middle of the ocean to where there was a reef we jumped in and snorkeled along until we saw 4 white tipped reef sharks, they just swam amongst us getting there free feed from the guides. Charlie managed to touch one but I didnt get close enough, those who dares wins!

The night life was a little more laid back than I would have thought, but that may have been down to the amount of food they fed us! Every meal was 3 courses and there was always extras for those who wanted it. If you dont like fish though do not go to Fiji, every meal even breakfast included fish! Most nights there was entertainment, some of the highlights were the international crab races but we never won. The Meke and the fire dancing we saw on Wayalailai was probably the most impressive a real insight into some of the more traditional side of Fiji. The fire dancing was slightly scary though as one guy was clearly learning as he kept dropping his flaming stick, not good for those sat in the front row, thankfully we were up a height and out of the way. They love their Cava in Fiji, it is basically a drink made from the root of a plant which they leave to dry and than crush into a powder and mix with water; leaving a lovely muddy brown water to drink! We partook in many of these ceremonies not always by choice but after you got used to the taste it wasnt so bad and it always numbed ours tongues and helped us sleep better. One traveller I chatted with did it for 10hours and lost the feeling of his legs!!

Think that pretty much covers our Fiji experience, a truely beautiful place which cannot be described in words!

Now for the cold cold land of New Zealand!

Californian Adventure - Part 2!

So, we have squeezed the California Juice out of this place!
Here are the highlights of what we have been up to:

We picked up our Nissan hire car and head off on the road trip! In total of 2 weeks on the road we have done 1380 miles.
We are getting used to living out of a bag but pants and socks run out really quickly!

Yosemite:
The wildlife is really close here. The lady who owned the B&B we stayed at warned us about the deer who walk right into the kitchen to join us for breakfast. Bears and coyote were close by too, so no food to be left outside of houses! The location was something like a dream, 4000 ft up in the mountains and in a exclusive gated area where most San Franciscans have their second home. It was about half hour drive into the center of Yosemite National Park.
We visited the Yosemite Falls (the highest in the US), we were enjoying the view and 3 people in some sort of a love triangle made us feel uncomfortable so we left! Attempted to do a trail to a place called Mirror Lake but gave up half way through - amateurs. Took a dip in Calon River, lovely freshwater created from molten snow from the mountains above - freezing.
We did do one proper trek to Wapama Falls (north of Yosemite) - 5 miles in total.

Yosemite to San Jose:
We stayed in a motel here in a town called Fremont (the motel was nicer here than the one in Vallejo aka The Ghetto), the locks were much better! However the sign did say that they "dont take responsibility for Cancer, birth defects and death!" Went off to see the big Sequoia trees in the Big Red Basin, sat nav decided to get lost on the way - funny that it is called 'NeverLost'.
In all, San Jose was pretty rubbish. A drive through town so we were glad to head to Monterey:

Monterey:
Independence Day! Ok, so, this was supposed to be one of the most impressive days but this town was broke and so no fireworks for us!!
I thought we would have needed to spend 2 days here at the seaside/harbour town but we managed to see the whole place in 3 hours. The town put on a day time celebration instead with music, games, bbq - kind of like a mini festival. Was super hot and had fun. We asked at the tourist info place if there was any other towns doing fireworks, they pointed us in the direction of Seaside Town. Idyllic named town I hear you think - god no, the ghetto again and kids setting their own fireworks in the street from their hands - we called it a night.

Next stop LA!:
We were gonna stop at several places on the way down the Pacific Coast (scenic highway 1) but looked at the tourist guide and the middle section of California is almost empty! So we drove on down to LA. Set off at 10.30am and arrived at 7.30pm!! A long haul. Arrived into West Hollywood and this is where we stayed, stayed in a hostel that had about 5 staff working and living there, wierd setup but good fun.

We WELL underestimated the size of LA, it is bloody well huge!! We didnt really get to touch the surfice of what is on offer here, some things we did do:
Santa Monica Bay - best beach by far.
Natural History Museum - we happened to go on the first Tuesday of the month and so it was free! Bonus!
Venice Beach - weird, full of hobos and hippies, run down but had great ice cream!
Drove through Beverley Hills.
Hollywood - errmm disaster, tried to find the Hollywood walk of fame and sign for 2 days and missed it both times!!
Universal Studios - this place was incredible, the best that LA has to offer.
LA is also not like what you see in the movies or mags, it has no centre (being the 2nd largest city in the whole of the US), San Diego and San Fran much better.

San Diego:
Just the one night here, set off from LA at half 6 that morning to get to Diego as the the LA rush hour is from 7am-7pm so all day every day.
We have not had much luck with the weather at all on the coast - cold cloudy and San Diego is only 20 miles from Mexico!!
Went to see Balboa Park here, a main sight, great gardens, tram tour, cactus garden. I (Charlie) managed to get a cactus needle stuck in my foot so had to head back to hostel. Checked out the local boozer and pitcher of beer only $7 - magic. We met a guy called Chris who came on a tour with us on the second day to Old Town and Sunset Cliffs.
Also met an old lady from Arizona who I had to share a girls dorm with - just me and her. She was nuts. She snored, meditated, got up several times to check the window, lay like a vampire, talked in her sleep. Pretty restless night. I tried to shake the the bunks to stop her snoring - no joy.

Big Bear City (09/07 til now):
It took us 3 hours to get from San Diego to here. It is 7000 ft above sea level!! Stuff exploded because of the altitude. We are staying with Jon's uncle George and aunty Marty. They have a great place here in the mountains, it is beautiful. The town (not a city) is surrounded by a lake. We are gonna do mountain biking, kyaking, trails and relaxing whilst we're here. They have a beach cinema that is free!

That is pretty much it for California. We head to Fiji on the 15/07 :-).

Things that are well different in the US!:
Wine is only $2.50 per bottle - oh yea!
It is cheaper to eat out than to shop at a supermarket.
They do not do multipack crisps?!
They use concrete on the roads instead of tarmac.
The serve Newcastle Brown Ale in every place!
More fast food places than bars.

He knows not where he is going
For the ocean will decide -
It's not the DESTINATION...
... It's the glory of THE RIDE.

xx

San Fran

June 24th 2010- After waving everyone goodbye the past few days, we rose at 3.30am driven to the airport by Josh and accompanied by a drunk Sarah! We checked in no problems and flew off to our first destination, San Fransisco via London.

We had been pre warned but San Fran is a lot colder than expected! We have been kindly put up by my (Jon) cousin Ian and his gf, they live in the Richmond district a short bus journey into the centre or out to Ocean beach.

Day 1- we decided to walk about 200 miles around the city going to Golden Gate park they have Bison bit strange for a city! We also saw the botanical gardens which had plants of all the countries we are going to visit. We then took the tram into the city centre, not knowing we had to board the front the carriage to pay, we thought we had got away with this until a female guard stopped us in the station asking a million and one questions but as soon as Charlie pulled out the guide book and we said we were willing to pay she let us off the hook. We walked up and down their crazy hilly city. China town was nuts with live fish flapping about the streets with woman chasing them with nets! The crookest street was truely crooked and a hell of walk to get too. We saw the whole of the city from Telegraph hill. A couple stopped to take our picture and asked where we were from, Manchester was a our answer.... "So you support Manchester UNITED!" Of course "no" was our response and that ended their interest! In the evening we went to watch our first ever Baseball match SF Giants vs Boston Red Sox. We got the obligatory beer, hotdog, garlic fries and Peanuts. The game was really close finishing in a home victory 5-4 but they nearly threw it away in the final innings. One guy managed to hit the ball out the park and into the sea, unfortunatley not within the zone so no home run! But from what I can gather the game had everything you could wish for. The atmosphere was really good but they could do with working on a few more chants "Lets go Giants, Lets go!"

Day 2- Quiet in comparison to the day before. We headed to a local bar for 11am to watch the USA v Ghana match, it was a real fanfare inside with many dressed in full flag attire. It was a bad day for the US though as they were beaten by the Ghanians in extra time. You cannot fault the Americans on their support for Country they were out in vast numbers and you could clearly see the devastation when they lost despite (I think its fair to say of some) lack of understanding in the game! After the disappointment Ian and Mary took us to a little Vietnamise restaraunt for lunch, it was excellent trying new things such as Jasmine tea and Chicken Clay pot. From there we headed to the Golden Gate bridge, where we saw very little! This was due to extreme fog, we had to laugh though, you could barely see 10feet in front and the wind was really strong. We walked part way across laughing at all the people in beach wear as we were wrapped up in our super cool anorachs! Ive heard the views from the bridge are amazing when the weather is good, but when its foggy its really foggy! We finished the day with Movie and Pizza all in all very relaxing and easier on the feet!

Day 3- Pride!

Lots of fun today and it was the hottest day yet. Trying to decide what clothing will be the most suitable is a real struggle. Charlie got it wrong again - jeans and Converse, where shorts and sandals would have been more suitable. Jon forgot the hat and so ended with a nice head glow. We jumped again onto the 38 bus to downtown to enjoy the Gay Pride Festival. As you can see from the pics, the show they put on was fab!! Floats, glitter, high heals and politics was all go. Had some guest appearances too from the Back Street Boys and Erasure - amazing. Supersize kebabs and hotdogs for lunch and then we relaxed on the Civic Hall grass, here was where are the food tents, street entertainment all centralised.

Later, Ian and Mary took us to an area called Cliff Houses - beautiful views across Lands End and old Bath House ruins. The weather was still nice so we managed to get a full view of the Golden Gate Bridge - Hooray! I (Charlie) keep forgetting my ID (after the Cliff Houses when we went to an American style restaurant) everyone enjoyed a beer whilst I had to settle for a lemonade, how embarrassing! I was later smuggled a sangria so that made up for it.

Day 4 - Our last day.

I thought in my dream (Charlie) this morning that a large truck went down outside Ian's house causing loads of irritating noise. When I got up - Ian told me that at 7.50am we had experienced a 3.5 strength earthquake! It happened just off the West coast of San Fran and was not strong enough to cause any damage, thank god!

We did the main tourist trail today, the big San Fran highlights of Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.

We spent around 2.5 hours at Alcatraz (there is no place to buy food on the Rock which meant any early departure for us!). We got ferried there and straight away the place looked haunting. The huge concrete structure was last occupied by prisoners and as a prison up to 1963 and then for 19 months after that the US government decided to let Indian natives live on there - god knows why, its not a comfortable place but it worked for them politically apparently. The tour was excellent and we got to go into the actual cells (Thom - we did not get shut in the isolation cells like the 'Bird Man' - gutted). Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 is like every holiday boardwalk you see in an American movie - bright colours, cheesy shops, seafood diners and rides. We saw Bubba Gumps! Disappointly, the menu didn't look great so we moved on but ended up eating in a worse place, typical!

We ended the day with a happy hour beer (remembered the ID this time) at Hooters! Treat for Jon.

P.s. the homeless in San Fran lovc the buses, much to Jon's disgust when one nearly sat on his knee.

P.p.s We have lots of pictures to show you but this will have to be on email as the blog won't show them all!