Paradise...

Arrived in Tahiti at midnight after a relatively easy 5 hour flight, but we'd travelled back in time to the day before (so weird all this time travel malarky), plus it was a million degrees, so were both sweating profusely by the time our transfer arrived! However, our minds were taken off the heat slightly by the Tahitian band that greeted us, and the lovely people putting flower garlands round our necks!

As it was dark, we couldn't really see what the hotel and the grounds looked like, but were amazed at how fantastic our room, no sorry water bungalow was. Stace started jumping around like a kid at christmas - the bed could fit about 6 people in it, and the bathroom was huge! The best thing was that the bed overlooked our balcony and own private jetty to the sea - what an amazing view (well, from what we could tell in the dark anyway)!

Our gorgeous bungalow, the infinity pool and the amazing sunset

Chilling in a hammock, and admiring the views

We got up the next morning and realised just how beautiful our surroundings were - our bungalow was right at the quiet end of the resort, and next to a fantastic infinity pool and manmade beach (bonus being a swim up bar), and there was also another larger pool, a lagoon with tropical fish, lovely restaurants (including an overwater one) and all the staff were lovely.

Not really done much in Tahiti, other than relax in the (much needed) sun, snorkling, eating lots and chilling out on our balcony with some drinks (oh, and Stace becoming a Sudoku guru and Nath constantly playing his new PSP he bought in NZ - very sad). We didn't think it could get any better, but as we'd told them it was our honeymoon we also got a bottle of complimentary champagne (excellent) and they brought us a free breakfast by canoe straight to our balcony (cool)!

Our honeymoon breakfast (Nath was excited to find a fry up under the fruit plates)!

Another funny story is that Stace came back from taking some photos to find a crabby friend hanging outside our door. However, it got a bit scared by the photos and as soon as Stace opened the door it legged it into our room and hid behind the cabinet. We spent the next half hour trying to get it back out again!

Finally, a friend after all this time travelling!!!

Were now in the coolness of the hotel internet room, waiting for our transfer back to the airport - not looking forward to this flight as its 9 hours and we're sure we won't be able to sleep! However, we've had a fantastic time and are looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone over Christmas and new year.

See you all soon (and we hope you've enjoyed listening to us rant on)!

X

Auckland

Arrived in Auckland and the weather fortunately seemed to stay with us. There were no campsites in the centre so we had to stay about 30 minutes outside on the North Shore. The first night we decided to just stay local and have a nice meal and some drinks. The next day Nath decided to get his barnet cut (it was pretty out of control by this time), then we caught a bus into the centre to meet up with Rich Hughes, one of Naths friends from Orange, who was travelling. Stace was very amused at the nicknames they have for one another - Rich is Cueball, due to his bald head, and Nath is Big Gay Bear - heehee!!!

Cueball and Big Gay Bear

Met up with Rich and went for a few beers on the harbour before we all headed up to the Sky Tower. Went to the top of the tower (which is 8 metres higher than the Effiel Tower) to check out the view. It was pretty amazing, although Nath started to get dizzy as soon as we got out of the lift. As we were admiring the view, some bloke suddenly appeared in front of us outside the window, suspended from a wire. He was doing the Sky Jump, which is a wire base jump 192 metres to the bottom! We decided we'd had enough action already so we gave it a miss (nothing to do with the copious amounts of alcohol we'd already consumed).

Sky Tower and the Views from within (look closely at the last one and you can see the guy Sky Jumping)

One of the weirdest things to try and get used to is all the Christmas decorations around the place - its like its the middle of summer and they couldn't be bothered to take them down (I'll have to get out the Xmas album on the IPOD to get us in the christmas spirit before we get back).

The Sky Tower Xmas tree (just like the one in AXA centre...not)

Anyhow, got down from the tower and met back up with Rich who took us to the Asian quarter to get some food. We then left Rich, who was meeting up with another mate (we'd arranged to meet him again later in the night) and then went to meet up with another one of Naths Orange mates Mike Nichols (Uncle Mike to those that know him), who'd emigrated to Auckland last year. It was really good to catch up and have a few beers with him and hear all about life down under - he's clearly loving it here. Unfortunately he had to catch the bus back home which would take him quite a while, so couldn't stay out too late.

Big Gay Bear and Uncle Mike

We said our goodbyes and decided to go and check out a bar that Rich had recommended earlier, called Minus 5 - basically its a huge freezer box thats been made into a bar (very James Bond) - and everything is made of ice - literally, including the bar, the seats and even the glasses you drink out of! We had to gear up in 2 pairs of gloves, boots and a massive jacket before we were let in (it was that cold). We ordered a number of cocktails (which were great) and had lots of fun taking stupid pictures around the ice sculptures, before the need for warmth took over and we headed on up to meet up with Rich and his friends.

The Ice Bar - literally everything was made of ice

Spent the rest of the evening getting extremely drunk (and in Stace's case annoying - she'd decided Rich looked like Jack Bower from 24 and kept inpersonating the cell phone ring tone from the programme). We had a great time and everyone was very worse for wear when it came to leaving. Woke up with a raging hangover, which wasn't great as we had to pack and clean the van as we had to return it that day, then made our way to the airport hotel, ready for our flight to Tahiti. Looking forward to doing nothing but eat, drink and sunbathing for a few days....

Baths and Beaches

We had originally planned to spend our last days passing through Rotorua and the rest in Auckland, but as Stace had worked out the days wrong, we found we had an extra day, so decided to head up to the Corimandel Penisula, which has some great beaches! On the Tuesday we planned to leave Waitomo early to get to Rotorua in time to see the Lady Knox geyser erupt (it erupts every day at 10.30am), but typically we got up late (well, Stace did - things never change) and plus the fact there was loads of roadworks we arrived there with about a minute to spare.


Lady Knox Geyser (and chucky in the pink...)

However we did manage to see it - just (no thanks to the little girl blocking our view - she looked the spit of chucky the killer doll)! We then had a walk around the Wai-O-Tapu thermal park which stank of rotten eggs (the sulphur apparently - lots of amusing childish comments between the two of us ensued)!

The Artist's Palette, the Devil's Bath and Stace smoking...

The lonely planet guide had recommended a place called Fat Dogs cafe, so we thought we'd check it out. Oh my god it was great - one of the walls was just a huge blackboard menu - we were in heaven! If you ever go to Rotorua definately go there (the food is great and the portions are massive) and its got lots of quirky little features. We then headed straight up to the Corimandel Penisula which was a good few hours drive.

We arrived in a place called Whagamata, planning to stay the night and carry on up to Hahei beach in the morning, however, the campsite was being renovated so as we had no where else to stay we had to drive on (in the pouring rain might I add - that bloody cloud is following us I swear)! However, we finally arrived in Hahei and were pleased we did - it was sunny, hooray! Stayed in a campsite right on Hahei beach, with a view looking right over the sea - fantastic! Spent the next few days walking and sunbathing (well, you had to walk to a great beach called Cathedral Cove so we thought we'd reward ourselves with a spot of sunbathing - we need to take all the chances we can). Visited Hot Water beach, where you can dig holes in the sand and it fills up with hot water - cool (although we were expecting a bath not a puddle)! After a relaxing few days it was time to make our way to the bustling city of Auckland...

Cathedral Cove


Hahei beach and the view from the van (Nath spoiled it somewhat though...)

Underground, overground...

The views on the way to Taupo were amazing - the sun was shining and the lake is so massive (the biggest in NZ) that you don't know where to look. We checked into the campsite - which was one of the best that we'd been in - and phoned around to organise the skydiving. Unfortunately Nath was too heavy to do it (apparently he's just big boned) but Stace decided to go ahead anyway, and booked the highest jump available (15,000 feet)!!! Also as Nath couldn't do it we decided to use the money wisely and book an extra person to dive to take photos and a dvd.

Stace was booked in for noon the next day so we had a light breakfast and made our way to the airport. There are actually 3 different companies working there - they must have alot of competition! Beacause Stace was doing the higher jump, we had to wait for ages for a plane to be available (most people were jumping from 12,000 - wimps), but luckily the weather was scorching so we sat outside enjoying the sun. Finally Stace was called in to get ready - a lovely red jumpsuit, cap and goggles (very flattering...not) and she only had a short briefing before it was time to board the plane!

We were all crammed in like Sardines - I was right at the back as I was the only person going higher, and was inbetween my dive buddy Damo, and the cameraman Steve (its a hard life, but someones gotta do it)! Once the plane took off it took about 20 minutes to get to 12000 feet - I started to get a little worried when they told me to start breathing into an oxygen mask, but Damo assured me that it was only because the other guys were getting ready to jump and we were going higher. Watching their faces as they hung out of the plane didn't fill me with a lot of confidence, but they all dropped out pretty quickly, we climbed higher, then it was my turn!

Stace and Damo

I had to sit on Damo's lap whilst he attached himself to me (pretty worringly he seemed to only attach 2 little clips), then we shuffled along to the door. Mental Steve hung out of the plane and took my picture, then we all just fell....oh my god!

ARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH

I have never screamed so much in my life but it was amazing - apparently I had 60 seconds of freefall but it seemed so much longer. Steve mucked about with us in the air, spinning us and getting me to do silly poses, then Damo opened the parachute, we went up and Steve went down! On the slow float back down to earth he pointed out lots of scenery and told me that on a busy day he could do this 15 times - is he mad!!!! Lucily the landing was very smooth and I even managed to stay on my feet! It was such a buzz, I'd definately recommend it to anyone! Nath even managed to get some shots of me coming down (and I thought he would have fallen asleep by then)!

In-flight entertainment, the magnificent view of Taupo, and the not so magnificent leg flailing

After I'd gotten over the fact of me falling out of a plane, it was time to move on (although we would have loved to stay longer, it was lovely there). We headed west to a place called Waitomo where we had booked to do a days caving and see the famous Glowworms. The following day we turned up at the shop and were introduced to our guides, a Kiwi guy called Al (who looked like Samwize Gangi out of Lord of the Rings) and a Londoner called Rob, who both seemed up for a laugh. After a short drive we arrived at a hut, where we all had to don a wetsuit, gum boots and a helmet ( very attractive, Nath looked like he was a serial killer), and then had to walk to the entrance of the caves where we were confronted by some abseil ropes and a drop of 100 metres!! Stace was fine with it but poor Nath, not being so good with heights stll started to break out in a sweat. However he did manage to make it down in one piece thank god. When we got to the bottom of the cave we sat and had lunch, then set off into the darkness.

Note the beads of sweat on Nath, and at the bottom (check out our outfits)

It took us 5 hours to make our way out, which involved lots of swimming through underground rivers (although Stace's feeble legs seemed to flail about too much against the current), sueezing through tiny caverns, climbing up and over rocks and also, much to Al's amusement, making us all turn our lights out and telling us to jump off ledges into freezing water!!! All in all it was a fantastic day, especially when, near the end they led us into a huge cavern, made us lie down on the rocks and told us to turn our lights out - such a cool sight, millions of glowworms that looked like fairy lights - wow, what a great end to a great day (even if Stace bruised her shin in a river filled cavern called Shinbreaker Alley)!

Squeezing through one of the caverns, and the gang!

Wellington and Tongariro Crossing

We'd been warned that the ferry crossing to the North Island was pretty horrific (thanks Neil & Duffy), so we really weren't looking forward to 4 hours of rough sea and sickness! However, we were lucky enough to have calm waters, a nice sunny day and club class open to everyone, so the trip was very uneventful - well, apart from a middleaged couple (who looked like they were twins!) who were giggling and canoodling the whole way over. We wouldn't have minded but they weren't the most attractive - try to imagine a big american trucker....... and her twin partner!!


Stunning Views from the Ferry to the North Island

Anyhoo, arrived in Wellington and decided to hit the town - well, the plan was to go out for a quiet meal, however a good few beers later we stumbled across a bar holding an 80's fancy dress competition, which was pretty amusing. Then we moved onto an American bar where Nath taught me a lesson in pool! (Stace actually plays better when drunk?!)


Thrashing Stace at Pool (again!)


A few too many....

After a long lie in we thought we'd take in some culture and history so visited the Te Papu museum, which was pretty cool and displayed alot about the Mauri history and culture.

We then took a very long drive up to Tongariro National Park, which is in the middle of the North Island. We stayed in a lodge which was surrounded by 3 huge Volcano's called the Norther circuit - this is supposed to be the best 3 day walk in New Zealand - luckily for Stace's legs we were only attempting a one day hike called the Tongariro crossing, but even that should take 7 hours! We set an early alarm and got picked up at 6.30 the next day - not sure how we got Stace out of bed that early! Arrived at the base of Mount Ngaurhoe (which was Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings), and just thought "oh shit" - basically, it was more of a scramble than a walk, up over whats called the Devil's staircase, lot's of rock and snow, to the Saddle of Ngaurhoe and the Tongariro volcano. We then had an uphill climb in the snow and strong winds to the volcano craters - the highest point of the walk, just under 1900 metres!


Views of the Volcano from the camping park - we climbed the saddle in the middle photo!

The walk was definetly worthwhile as the views were stunning and apart from the strong winds, it was a really clear day and we were treated to the views of the Emerald Lakes and blue lake (very colourful as the names suggest!) and on the way back down we saw the Ketetati Hot Springs. In all we walked 17KM, but did it with an hour to spare before our bus picked us up at 14.00 - not bad for a bunch of novices. We were put to shame by two Kiwi guys though, who were just wearing shorts and a fleece - we had about 7 layers each on (Crazy men!).


Some views from the Tongariro Crossing (bottom right - we just walked down from this!)

Feeling really tired now but very chuffed with ourselves! We are off to Lake Taupo now for a spot of gentle Sky Diving (any excuse not to use our legs!)....

Last few days on South Island

Arrived in Pohara, which is based near the top of Abel Tasmen National Park, luckily for us the weather improved and although slightly overcast, the sun was trying to come out. However, the drive was pretty scary as we had to cross some huge mountains which only had a narrow winding road down - we were going at snails pace but you should have seen some of the huge lorries coming from the other direction, speeding down without a second glance! As we didn't arrive until early evening we thought we'd get an early night for a full days activity the next day.

Set off early the next day to sort out a kayak trip but it didn't really work out (doesn't help when the person on the other end of the phone doesn't really speak english). Instead we asked the owner of the campsite who recommended we go to a local salmon farm, where you can fish for your lunch and get it cooked and smoked for you right there. All the equipment was free, we just had to pay for what we caught - Stace was the expert as she had been fishing before (well about 15 years ago but it was better than nothing), so we both cast off and within the hour we had both caught a decent sized fish. The owner had told us how to kill the fish by driving a knife into its head (awwwww) - that was the bit we didn't like (and Stace hadn't actually done before), and we quickly found out that these were super salmon, which couldn't be killed by a single blow to the head (or a slight tap in Staceys case). Nath came to the rescue with the touch of death - only the damn thing was still alive about 15 minutes later (don't report us to the RSPCA!). However, we had them smoked in cajan and tandori spices and Nath said it was the best salmon he'd ever tasted (Stace still being a non fish eater couldn't comment but she still ate it so it must have been good)!


Before the catch, the bloody mess and the end result

We then went next door into a small farm which had cows, llamas, sheep and emus which you were allowed to feed. The llamas took a special interest in Stace and had her surrounded at one point (which was strange because you'd think she would have attracted the goats instead)! We then went down to the rivers edge where eels have been coming for the last 100 years - we were given a small pot of meat and some sticks and we're told they'd actually come out of the water in order to get fed. They weren't wrong, at one point some of them started to go for Naths trainer! It was pretty cool though!


Feeding the eels



After that, we though we'd take a drive actually into the Park to a place called Tortaranui, for which we had to again go over a mountain on a gravel track (don't think Nath took a breath the whole way round). However, it was definately worth it when we got there - picture perfect golden beach plus the sun was out which was a bonus. We did an hour trek to Goat Bay (much to Naths amusement) which was great, then made our way back to camp.


Goat Bay in Abel Tasmen Park

The following day travelled back over the mountain to get to the lower part of the National Park (by this time Nath had mastered the mountain driving thank god) to a place called Kaiteriteri from where we got a water taxi round to one of the bays for a 3 hour trek back (Bark bay to Anchorage bay). Again, we had fantastic sunshine all day and the views were stunning (definately could match a beach in the carribean). The last bit of the walk had to be done at low tide, so we had to walk across the sea bed, which was pretty hilarious as noone had told us we'd probably need to take our shoes off, so there we were trying to jump over some of the bigger pools, and soaking ourselves in the process!

Anchorage Bay in Abel Tasmen (check out our tripod action..)

The swing bridge crossing (very Indiana Jones), and Stace getting a bootful

After drying off on one of the fantastic beaches, we got a water taxi back to our campervan as we had to then take a four hour drive back to the east coast to Picton, where we had planned to walk part of the world famous Queen Charlotte track the following day.

Caught a water taxi early this morning which took us out to Mistletoe Bay for our 4 hour trek, picking us back up from Tourea Bay, some 12km away. After Stace insisting at the start we had to take a right, we ended up doing a 30 minute loop track which basically took us right back to where we'd started, which was not a good start, so we had to trek back up the hill to start the walk properly (doh!). Luckily the water taxi company had advised us to do it this way, instead of in reverse as it wasn't so steep - not sure whether he'd actually done the bloody walk himself because it seemed pretty steep to us (especially after our 'warm up' loop) - basically kept winding up around the mountain until we got to the top, and then we saw the top of the next one towering above us - noooooooooooooo! However, the scenery was amazing, and did take our mind off our aching legs - looking out over the whole of the Marlborough Sound was fanstastic, and to be fair it seemed a lot further going down than going up, and we did make it down in one piece (and actually not as tired as we thought we would be). In fact, we did the walk with an hour to spare (experts that we are... yeah right)!

Thought we were done, but we still had to climb over the top!

This is our last day in the South Island (boooooo), tomorrow we've booked the ferry which will take us across to Wellington in the North Island. We've been told that the North Island is completely different to the South, and we've already planned our route - lots of caving, skydiving and mud pool lounging to be done....

BTW Brett - wish you were here....?!

Whales and wine

Unfortunately the weather deteriorated so the afternoon whale watch was also called off, so we decided to cheer ourselves up by going out for a slap up meal. Ended up at this really nice bar/restaurant where Nath ordered the biggest crayfish meal in the world, which he says was fantastic! There was also a really cool singer with a guitar so we hung out there for the rest of the night (nothing to do with the fact that the dessert menu was amazing, honest...)!


Kaikoura scenery

The next day we got up early as we had managed to get 2 spaces on the dolphin swim trip, which was great news seeing as we'd tried booking it the day before and were told there might not be enough space. Got to the place where we had to change (or shoehorn in Naths case) into full wetsuits and were given a briefing before jumping on a boat to try and track down the dolphins. We'd swam with a trained dolphin before so had it in our heads what to expect but couldn't have prepared for the experience - it was amazing. The captain had a tip off so we finally came to a stop - we were expecting to see a couple of dolphins, but we were in the middle of a pod of about 400!!!!!! We had to slide off the back of the boat as quietly as possible, which was difficult seeing as the water was absolutely freezing, but once we were in we quickly forgot the cold. I cannot believe the amount of dolphins that were swimming past us and with us - you'd put your face in the water (we were given a mask and snorkel) and see a whole group of them come towards you. As they are all completely wild we were told a couple of tips to make them more interested in you - circling with them and making completely stupid noises. However silly we felt it worked and it was probably one of the best experiences we've had here so far - amazing! Especially as it was calving season so all of these dolphins had tiny little babies with them too.


Dusky dolphins of Kaikoura (looking like a school of sharks in the last picture)

After that we had rebooked to do the whale watch - finally they confirmed we were all set to go. The sea was pretty choppy and because we'd been out in the morning aswell we both were feeling pretty rough by the time we got out there. Stace was expecting for the boat to drive straight to a whale but obviously its not that easy - we were boating all over the place trying to find them, and the captain had this big microphone he'd put in the water to determine where they were. We were starting to think we weren't going to see anything when all of a sudden there it was - again, I think we were expecting to see the whole thing, but obviously you only see the top (in fact, we could be mistaken for thinking it was a big floating treetrunk), only thing giving it away was the spray every couple of minutes. When it got bored and decided to dive, well that was pretty spectacular - you get to see its massive tail as it comes out of the water - wow!! We only managed to see 3 whales inbetween hearing most of the cabin puking (nice) - luckily we managed to keep our dinner down.


The spraying log and its final dive

After the knackering previous day we took a slow drive around the coastline up to the Marlborough wine district. Most of the guide books advise you to stay in a place called Blenhiem but we'd had a recommendation to stay in a little backpackers place in a town called Renwick, just outside (thanks Neil). However, we stopped in Blenheim for lunch on the way through, we parked up the van and luckily ate in a restaurant opposite when Nath noticed someone eying up the van. He decided to go over and ended up having an argument with a traffic warden who had ticketed us for parking the van facing the wrong way up the street - another stupid New Zealand law! Anyway, nothing we could do about it, so drove to the council building where we had to pay the $40 fine and Stace jumped out to pay it. Luckily, her wily feminine charms got the better of the guy behind the desk and he cancelled the ticket for us (apparently it happens a lot to British tourists) - result!!!!


On the way to Renwick

Anyway, got to Watson Way backpackers - what a great little place, the owners were lovely (Nath decided the guy looked like Rolf Harris), and the facilities were really good and clean. We had a quick scout around the place (didn't take long as there was hardly anything there) and decided we'd do the winery tour the following day. Luckily the weather was glorious (apart from a pretty strong wind) so we hired some bikes and started off around 11am. Got back to the site around 4ish, after having wine tasting stops in all of the winerys around our cycle loop (about 8 of them), slightly worse for wear - what a great day. Obviously it would have been rude not to buy a bottle in each of them (well, from the amount of tastings we did we must have nailed a bottle in each anyway), and we've also ordered a crate of really good Sauvingnon Blanc to be sent back to the UK too. When we got back that night Nath decided to cook tea so went back to the van to get the food and ended up locking the keys in the van - doh! The rental place he phoned was no help at all, so Rolf offered to help break into the van with him however, luckily after trying to wedge a bar into the door Nath tried one of the windows and found that Stace hadn't closed one properly - phew! After that ordeal we had a very surreal night - in this little place in the middle of nowhere Nath bumped into Helen from Bristol, someone he knew from years ago - how mad is that, half way across the world in a remote backpacker place!!!!


The cycle tour of the winery's (followed by the end result...)!

We're now in Nelson, on our way up to Abel Tasmen National Park where the beaches and walking are supposed to be great. However, we've ran out of luck on the weather front and its bucketing down with rain yet again! Fingers crossed it clears for tomorrow as we've still got alot of suntanning to do (or so Nath tells me anyway)...

Here comes the sun...

Bottom of Fox glacier

After Wanaka we headed up to Fox Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand - we're sure the views of the Sea would have been great but typically it was raining hard was grey and cloudy so we didn't stop to take any photos!! We booked up to fly up to the top of the glacier and do a couple of hours hike, but unfortunately the cloud never cleared so the Helicopter was not able to fly! We booked in for a half day hike instead and spent a tiring 2 hour hike up to the glacier and then hiked around on it for an hour. It was really cool and the views again were great! Luckily it stayed dry and wasn't too cold.


Walking the glacier


How appropriate (Stace was starving)...

After the hike on the glacier we headed straight up to Franz Josef which was only a couple of hours up the road. We booked into a really nice campsite called the Rainforest which had it's own bar and restaurant, so decided to eat there. Got to the bar and Nath fancied a Jagermeister so we both necked one - uugghhh! Then a Contiki tour turned up (18-35's) and filled the bar up - Nath teamed up with a local guy (Mark) to start taking on some other guys at pool - fortunately Mark was really good and made up for Nath being shite! (he potted the black by accident in the first game). Mark started getting the Vodka redbulls in and we ended up getting wasted and going on to the Blue Ice nightclub (which Nath didn't even remember!!).

Woke up the next morning with our first hangover of the holiday and then took a long 5 hour drive to a place called Hanmer springs - a really nice village that has some thermal Spa's. Finally, the sun came out and the weather was glorious, so we went Mountain biking in the morning, which was great (think we'll get Stace some stabilisers next time though!) and then spent the afternoon in the sun at the Spa.


A well deserved rest from biking


Is that the sulphur pools we can smell, or Nath....?

We have just arrived in Kaikoura where we are going to go Whale watching - unfortunately the weather at sea is a bit rough so our trip has just been cancelled (typically!) - we have booked back in for the trip later on today so fingers crossed the weather will clear in time. It's actually nice and sunny on the land, but the sea does look choppy (maybe time to get some sea sickness tablets)! We're maybe thinking of doing a dolphin swim aswell, but we have to leave tomorrow to drive up to Blenheim to spend a couple of days getting leathered by cycling round wineries (well, it'd be rude not too wouldn't it....)