Monday, 20 August 2012
QLD, NSW, NZ, VIC, SA, NT, WA... Did you get all of that!?? .... Basically Australia and New Zealand!
G'day!
Sweet! Righteo! But. Ay. Such is life! What's happening? Fair Dinkum. How's it going? Schooners & Midis. Ah true! Sweet as! Arvo. Pom. Barbie. Bonza. Too Easy! No worries! Strewth. Crikey! She'll be right! Walkabout.
Catch ya
Get used to hearing these kind of phrases! We head back to England tomorrow! How crazy is that!?
This last week has been a bit of a blur...well for Haz anyways. Nick has been "chilling out a little bit" as usual....meaning lounging in the sun reading all day :) erm... Not all day actually!! There were times when I had to do something productive! Like ?? ..... Go for a run!! Hahaha
Haz was kept very busy Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Fremantle completing a JNCC certified MMO (Marine Mammal Observer) course. They were very long days, but well worth it, especially getting high credit! Basically the qualification means Haz can be hired by contractors/government to go offshore on board vessels doing seismic work/explosions/pile driving etc, in order to spot marine mammals and advise on mitigation measures. All good fun, even though the course was very stressful! Got to meet some nice people and make good contacts.
There have been quite a few days of sunshine which we have been able to enjoy, just to soak up the rays and try and get a bit of a tan before we return to the UK! Yes it is actually winter here at the moment, so no sun all the time!! So apart from chilling out.... soaking up the rays..... reading books... going for walks... we've done quite a lot of organising ready to come home - certainly not going to get to the airport in the same mess like we did in Sydney on our way to New Zealand! :)
We took one last trip to Fremantle at the weekend to enjoy some of the quirky shops and markets, and a nice coffee and cake to finish it off! :)
We will probably make this one our last blog :(
Tomorrow, the 21st August 2012 we'll be jetting off back to the UK, to start another adventure! :)
We've had an absolutely incredible time. Some of our favourite moments:
- Bungee jump in Queenstown, New Zealand
- Sky diving 14,000ft, Hervey Bay
- New Years Eve fancy dress Party!
- White Water Rafting, River Valley, New Zealand
- Cuddling a koala, Hamilton Island
- Australia Zoo, Mooloolaba
- Hail Creek Mine ... " oh my god I'm freaking out!!!"
- Busselton Jetty/ Albany/ The Pinnacles
- Diving in Cairns and Byron Bay
- Of course Byron Bay
- Franz Josef Glacier Hike, Franz Josef, New Zealand
- Residents in Brisbane
- Step into the map.... Sydney tourists!
- Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island.... The Penguin Parade!
- The Rock Tour, Alice Springs
- Black Water Rafting, Waitomo, New Zealand
- Whale Watching, Kaikoura, New Zealand
- Seeing Seal pups and Hectors dolphins, New Zealand
...... The list is endless, it's been an absolute blast!! We're sad to be leaving Australia, but very excited for the many adventures ahead :)
See you all soon!
Nick & Haz .... Haz & Nick.... or however we've signed off over the last 10 months! Hehe
Xxxx
Saturday, 11 August 2012
The lonely state...WA
Perth and Western Australia!
Well we survived the flight from the Red Centre to the West Coast (by the way, had a great view of Uluru and Kata-Tjuta from the plane!).
So we're staying with one of Nick's friends from cricket, Carl, and has made us very welcome in his home Innaloo! Sorry no, IN Innaloo! No giggles thank you very much! Innaloo is a suburb 7km north of the Swan River (apparently the better side of it too!) and not too far from Perth CBD. When Carl met us at the airport he took us for a tour of all the most interesting areas in Perth and the surrounding suburbs.
We've had a few little trips during our time in WA, along with meeting up with a few mates,be it for evening drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinners, hockey games, road trips or general chit chats :). Some of our little trips have included the following:
* Joondalup Golf Resort- driving around in a golf buggy, looking for kangaroos! Awesome!
* The Pinnacles- situated in Nambung National Park, 250km north of Perth. The Pinnacles are limestone formations. The raw material from the limestone come from sea shells in an earlier epoch rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime rich sands which were blown inland to form high mobile dunes.
We had a great laugh finding funny shaped rocks, taking cool pictures, doing press ups and planks on the rocks and enjoying the sunshine :). Oh and we saw our first wild emu on the road trip to the Pinnacles!
*Albany- two day road trip, this time down south! We saw an awesome giant Ram, apparently the town's main attraction, called Baart. He is 9m high, 13m long, 6m wide and weighs 4 tonnes, and is about 27 years of age...... one hell of a fibreglass ram! Bet you have never seen a ram that big! Wagin... now there's a place to visit!!
In Albany we went up Mount Melville for fantastic 360 degree views over Albany. We saw Princess Royal Harbour and the wind turbines over at the sand patch. Then we went up Mount Clarence, bit of a workout climbing all the steps! At the top we could see the port and harbour and out to the islands (Breaksea and Michaelman's) and King George Sound. We also went to Torndirrup National Park, which is on the south coast of Albany. "The Gap' is a 24km drop to the sea. Nick decided to make Carl and I very nervous by standing stupidly close to the edge.... with no barriers and very strong winds! (ooops!). The "Natural Bridge" is a huge granite suspension which is bridge-like in shape. Pretty cool to look at! The "Blowholes" are crevasses in the granite, stretching down to sea level far below. With each wave the holes blow air and water up the channel out the top creating a burst of spray and a very loud droning whoosh! On the trek back up to the car, we kept a close eye out for any whales on the horizon. Thanks to Haz's keen eye we saw, very briefly, a humpbacks fluke splash! Very exciting and reminded us of New Zealand! :). After a long day, we both decided to treat ourselves by getting an Indian takeaway.
The following day we headed off in a different direction, obviously back towards Perth but don't ask us the road we took! It was a great route, enjoying the scenery and stopping at various lookouts. We stopped briefly in Walpole Nornalup National Park, which is famous for its Karri and Tingle trees. We then stopped in Pemberton, which is a very pretty timber town. The biggest attraction are the truly magnificent trees- the Karri Giants! We visited the Gloucester Tree in the Gloucester National Park. At over 60m tall, the Gloucester tree towers above Pemberton and is probably WA's most famous Karri tree. It was a fire lookout tree which foresters maintained a regular lookout from. So in order to appreciate the fantastic views offered from the lookout lodge located 58m up the tree....we first had to climb it.... On attempt number one, Nick vanished from view pretty much straight away leaving Carl and Haz climbing slower and slower until we reached 1/4 of the way and decided to turn back because the rain was making it more scary to climb! Meanwhile Nick was already up the top and peering over the edge to see what the hold up was! Attempt number two, Haz braved the slippery rungs, no harness or safety lines whatsoever and climbed the 58m to the lookout point. phew! Well done Haz :) The views were well worth it of course, but then again we had to go back down again, and that was probably just as hard as it was when going up! A great trip down to Albany!
*Fremantle - A few trips to Fremantle or Freo as the locals call it. A quirky little place which reminded us a bit of Byron Bay but with out all the surf and the amazing beaches.... so not really like Byron Bay at all i suppose! Freo is a small coastal town with a very relaxed hippy-like vibe to it. The first place we visited was the round house, which is the oldest building in WA - built in 1830. The Freo markets were pretty cool, and we both enjoyed walking around the harbour in the glorious sunshine.
Hopefully when we get money back from the tax man we can visit Freo again and instead of window shopping, buy some nice things!
* Haz's Birthday - Another year older and yet still mistaken for being 18! ah well, i suppose in 20 years it will be a good thing to look 6 years younger than actual age! We took a trip into Perth CBD and had a good look around the city which was nice. We also paid a visit to the Bell Tower overlooking the Swan River. It was a chilled and relaxed day, and great to receive birthday cards all the way from home wishing me a lovely birthday :).
*Kings Park - There have been quite a few lovely sunny days recently so we have tried to make the most of them. On a few occasions we have ventured to Kings Park which is the largest inner city park in the world! But also, has lovely views over Perth and the Swan River, and is a perfect spot for lazing in the sun with a good book.
*Perth Zoo - A trip to the zoo to visit our friends the Koala, Roo, Orang-utan, Lemur, Gibbons, Penguins and true aussie animals of course the elephant and giraffe. A really good day chilling with the animals. Not quite as good as Australia Zoo (back in Mooloolaba...we just like saying the name) but still pretty fun.
*Mundaring - Afternoon trip to the Weir - a dam which is basically Perth's water supply. It was pretty cool to see - quite impressive really. This trip was also the first time we saw a joey pop its little head out of its mum's pouch! There must have been about 3 or 4 that we saw! So so cute.
*Busselton - Another trip down south, this time not quite as far as Albany. Busselton is of course yet another coastal town known for its 1.8km long jetty set over the stunning waters of Geographe Bay. The heritage listed Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. We walked all the way to the end of the jetty in the gorgeous sunshine, enjoying the scenery and the birds (sea gull chicks, cormorants, gulls, pelicans) and fish along the way. What better way to end a walk in the sunshine with a scrummy ice cream!
In between all our little trips we have of course been hooked on LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS.
The Aussie commentary obviously cant be helped, its nothing like the good ol' BBC but its been fantastic to watch never-the-less. Team GB have excelled and no doubt inspiring many. Fingers crossed they manage to squeeze another few medals out in the last few days!
That's it for now. So far in WA we have had a lovely chilled time as you can see. We have been going for nice runs around a nearby lake as well so no slacking on the fitness front - particularly with all this sport on TV!
We haven't got long left in Australia now! Only another week or so can you believe!? But we will log off for now, and speak soon :)
Haz and Nick x x
Well we survived the flight from the Red Centre to the West Coast (by the way, had a great view of Uluru and Kata-Tjuta from the plane!).
So we're staying with one of Nick's friends from cricket, Carl, and has made us very welcome in his home Innaloo! Sorry no, IN Innaloo! No giggles thank you very much! Innaloo is a suburb 7km north of the Swan River (apparently the better side of it too!) and not too far from Perth CBD. When Carl met us at the airport he took us for a tour of all the most interesting areas in Perth and the surrounding suburbs.
We've had a few little trips during our time in WA, along with meeting up with a few mates,be it for evening drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinners, hockey games, road trips or general chit chats :). Some of our little trips have included the following:* Joondalup Golf Resort- driving around in a golf buggy, looking for kangaroos! Awesome!
* The Pinnacles- situated in Nambung National Park, 250km north of Perth. The Pinnacles are limestone formations. The raw material from the limestone come from sea shells in an earlier epoch rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime rich sands which were blown inland to form high mobile dunes.
We had a great laugh finding funny shaped rocks, taking cool pictures, doing press ups and planks on the rocks and enjoying the sunshine :). Oh and we saw our first wild emu on the road trip to the Pinnacles! 
*Albany- two day road trip, this time down south! We saw an awesome giant Ram, apparently the town's main attraction, called Baart. He is 9m high, 13m long, 6m wide and weighs 4 tonnes, and is about 27 years of age...... one hell of a fibreglass ram! Bet you have never seen a ram that big! Wagin... now there's a place to visit!! 
In Albany we went up Mount Melville for fantastic 360 degree views over Albany. We saw Princess Royal Harbour and the wind turbines over at the sand patch. Then we went up Mount Clarence, bit of a workout climbing all the steps! At the top we could see the port and harbour and out to the islands (Breaksea and Michaelman's) and King George Sound. We also went to Torndirrup National Park, which is on the south coast of Albany. "The Gap' is a 24km drop to the sea. Nick decided to make Carl and I very nervous by standing stupidly close to the edge.... with no barriers and very strong winds! (ooops!). The "Natural Bridge" is a huge granite suspension which is bridge-like in shape. Pretty cool to look at! The "Blowholes" are crevasses in the granite, stretching down to sea level far below. With each wave the holes blow air and water up the channel out the top creating a burst of spray and a very loud droning whoosh! On the trek back up to the car, we kept a close eye out for any whales on the horizon. Thanks to Haz's keen eye we saw, very briefly, a humpbacks fluke splash! Very exciting and reminded us of New Zealand! :). After a long day, we both decided to treat ourselves by getting an Indian takeaway.
The following day we headed off in a different direction, obviously back towards Perth but don't ask us the road we took! It was a great route, enjoying the scenery and stopping at various lookouts. We stopped briefly in Walpole Nornalup National Park, which is famous for its Karri and Tingle trees. We then stopped in Pemberton, which is a very pretty timber town. The biggest attraction are the truly magnificent trees- the Karri Giants! We visited the Gloucester Tree in the Gloucester National Park. At over 60m tall, the Gloucester tree towers above Pemberton and is probably WA's most famous Karri tree. It was a fire lookout tree which foresters maintained a regular lookout from. So in order to appreciate the fantastic views offered from the lookout lodge located 58m up the tree....we first had to climb it.... On attempt number one, Nick vanished from view pretty much straight away leaving Carl and Haz climbing slower and slower until we reached 1/4 of the way and decided to turn back because the rain was making it more scary to climb! Meanwhile Nick was already up the top and peering over the edge to see what the hold up was! Attempt number two, Haz braved the slippery rungs, no harness or safety lines whatsoever and climbed the 58m to the lookout point. phew! Well done Haz :) The views were well worth it of course, but then again we had to go back down again, and that was probably just as hard as it was when going up! A great trip down to Albany!
*Fremantle - A few trips to Fremantle or Freo as the locals call it. A quirky little place which reminded us a bit of Byron Bay but with out all the surf and the amazing beaches.... so not really like Byron Bay at all i suppose! Freo is a small coastal town with a very relaxed hippy-like vibe to it. The first place we visited was the round house, which is the oldest building in WA - built in 1830. The Freo markets were pretty cool, and we both enjoyed walking around the harbour in the glorious sunshine. Hopefully when we get money back from the tax man we can visit Freo again and instead of window shopping, buy some nice things!
* Haz's Birthday - Another year older and yet still mistaken for being 18! ah well, i suppose in 20 years it will be a good thing to look 6 years younger than actual age! We took a trip into Perth CBD and had a good look around the city which was nice. We also paid a visit to the Bell Tower overlooking the Swan River. It was a chilled and relaxed day, and great to receive birthday cards all the way from home wishing me a lovely birthday :). *Kings Park - There have been quite a few lovely sunny days recently so we have tried to make the most of them. On a few occasions we have ventured to Kings Park which is the largest inner city park in the world! But also, has lovely views over Perth and the Swan River, and is a perfect spot for lazing in the sun with a good book.
*Perth Zoo - A trip to the zoo to visit our friends the Koala, Roo, Orang-utan, Lemur, Gibbons, Penguins and true aussie animals of course the elephant and giraffe. A really good day chilling with the animals. Not quite as good as Australia Zoo (back in Mooloolaba...we just like saying the name) but still pretty fun. 
*Mundaring - Afternoon trip to the Weir - a dam which is basically Perth's water supply. It was pretty cool to see - quite impressive really. This trip was also the first time we saw a joey pop its little head out of its mum's pouch! There must have been about 3 or 4 that we saw! So so cute. 
*Busselton - Another trip down south, this time not quite as far as Albany. Busselton is of course yet another coastal town known for its 1.8km long jetty set over the stunning waters of Geographe Bay. The heritage listed Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. We walked all the way to the end of the jetty in the gorgeous sunshine, enjoying the scenery and the birds (sea gull chicks, cormorants, gulls, pelicans) and fish along the way. What better way to end a walk in the sunshine with a scrummy ice cream!
In between all our little trips we have of course been hooked on LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS.
The Aussie commentary obviously cant be helped, its nothing like the good ol' BBC but its been fantastic to watch never-the-less. Team GB have excelled and no doubt inspiring many. Fingers crossed they manage to squeeze another few medals out in the last few days!
That's it for now. So far in WA we have had a lovely chilled time as you can see. We have been going for nice runs around a nearby lake as well so no slacking on the fitness front - particularly with all this sport on TV!
We haven't got long left in Australia now! Only another week or so can you believe!? But we will log off for now, and speak soon :)
Haz and Nick x x
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Our first experience of a desert!
The 'Mighty' Rock Tour!!
After our epically long journey to Alice Springs, the last thing we wanted to do was sit on another bus for goodness knows how many hours!! But..... That's what we were about to do for 3 days straight! *sigh* So it was short night's sleep as we got picked up from our accommodation at 5:50am to start the Rock Tour.
First stop was Kings Canyon (Watarrka) which is 450 odd km away from Alice, so basically we headed back down the same road (Stuart Highway) that we had driven up the day before! After 5 hours travelling, we arrived at Watarrka National Park for our first 3 hour hike. To break into the hike gently, we climbed up 'heart attack' hill....as the name suggests, not an easy climb! Luckily it wasn't 40 odd degrees otherwise we would have suffered! Once we reached the top, the views made it all worthwhile! We're not going to try and describe the beauty. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so take a look at the photos. The hike revealed to us magnificent views of the Canyon rim, the weathered, buttressed domes of ‘The Lost City’ and the ‘Garden of Eden’ - a sheltered valley with permanent waterholes and lush vegetation....... That's not copy and pasted from a website at all!! Ahem.... For those of you that have 'jumping over a canyon' on your bucket list.. Then be jealous of us!
Next stop was the challenge of finding firewood.... in the desert.....not really an easy task! That night we enjoyed a sky like we've never seen before, filled with a million stars and even more beautiful, we saw a full moon rise.... Stunning! We were camping literally in the middle of nowhere, under the stars, minus 5 degrees, with a tin shed being the only man build feature in the vicinity. Our guides cooked us chilli con carne on the open flames and then it was an early night, retiring to our swags (heard of the songs 'waltzing Matilda' and the 'swagman' ... Well they're actually written about these swags!!), basically they're Australian camping bed rolls.
Another early morning, up at 5:30am after a long cold night, shivering in minus 2 degrees and sleeping in a sleeping bag which later on we found out was in fact inside out, we huddled round the bonfire eating breakfast before packing up camp and making our way to Uluru- Kata Tjuta National Park. This is an area of cultural significance to the traditional owners, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankuntjatjara Indigenous peoples (who refer to themselves as Anangu). Today we did the 'Valley of the Winds' walking track around Kata Tjuta (aboriginal name for 'The Ulgas'). A 7.4km loop trail that traverses varying desert terrain with wonderful views. It wasn't as arduous as yesterday's walk, but it was still a challenge, especially due to the wind! Kata Tjuta is a striking group of domed rocks about 35km west of Uluru. The 36 domed rocks, shoulder to shoulder, form deep valleys and steep sided gorges. Like Uluru, the Ulgas are a glorious orange colour. Next up was the second walk of the day, the Mala walk at Uluru, Ayers Rock. This was only a short walk but we learnt so much about the Indigenous culture from our experienced tour guide Cooper. For the evening we headed to the sunset lookout point to take as many photos as possible of the changing sky with Australia's iconic rock Uluru (world's largest rock). If you want to appreciate the beauty we saw, take a look at our photos. An awesome day! Yet more star gazing, food and alcohol around the campfire, exhausted from our busy day we curled up in our swags, knowing once again it would be an early rise, this time for the spectacular Uluru sunrise.
This morning we did the Uluru base walk (9km) taking about 2 hours to complete. Just a point of interest, its not the rock itself which is sacred to the indigenous people, rather it is sites upon the rock which are sacred. The best way to understand what Uluru means to the people is to think of it as a book, and the sites upon the rock are chapters of the book, creation time. To understand its the same principle as Christians with the Bible, for the indigenous people Uluru is like their Bible.
That was pretty much the end of our rock tour, and what an awesome time we had!
On the way back to Alice Springs, we dropped everyone bar 5 or us at Ayres Rock Airport. The rest of us enjoyed fish and chips in the desert for lunch.....a camel ride (highly amusing), and drinks at the Rock Bar back in Alice.
All in all a truly memorable adventure. Highly recommended.
Next on the agenda was a 3 hour flight across Western Australia to Perth, where we will be seeing out the rest of our time in Australia. But don't worry, we'll be updating our blog with little stories along the way! :)
See you soon!
P.s. comments are appreciated for our hard work!
Xxx
After our epically long journey to Alice Springs, the last thing we wanted to do was sit on another bus for goodness knows how many hours!! But..... That's what we were about to do for 3 days straight! *sigh* So it was short night's sleep as we got picked up from our accommodation at 5:50am to start the Rock Tour.
First stop was Kings Canyon (Watarrka) which is 450 odd km away from Alice, so basically we headed back down the same road (Stuart Highway) that we had driven up the day before! After 5 hours travelling, we arrived at Watarrka National Park for our first 3 hour hike. To break into the hike gently, we climbed up 'heart attack' hill....as the name suggests, not an easy climb! Luckily it wasn't 40 odd degrees otherwise we would have suffered! Once we reached the top, the views made it all worthwhile! We're not going to try and describe the beauty. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so take a look at the photos. The hike revealed to us magnificent views of the Canyon rim, the weathered, buttressed domes of ‘The Lost City’ and the ‘Garden of Eden’ - a sheltered valley with permanent waterholes and lush vegetation....... That's not copy and pasted from a website at all!! Ahem.... For those of you that have 'jumping over a canyon' on your bucket list.. Then be jealous of us! 
Another early morning, up at 5:30am after a long cold night, shivering in minus 2 degrees and sleeping in a sleeping bag which later on we found out was in fact inside out, we huddled round the bonfire eating breakfast before packing up camp and making our way to Uluru- Kata Tjuta National Park. This is an area of cultural significance to the traditional owners, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankuntjatjara Indigenous peoples (who refer to themselves as Anangu). Today we did the 'Valley of the Winds' walking track around Kata Tjuta (aboriginal name for 'The Ulgas'). A 7.4km loop trail that traverses varying desert terrain with wonderful views. It wasn't as arduous as yesterday's walk, but it was still a challenge, especially due to the wind! Kata Tjuta is a striking group of domed rocks about 35km west of Uluru. The 36 domed rocks, shoulder to shoulder, form deep valleys and steep sided gorges. Like Uluru, the Ulgas are a glorious orange colour. Next up was the second walk of the day, the Mala walk at Uluru, Ayers Rock. This was only a short walk but we learnt so much about the Indigenous culture from our experienced tour guide Cooper. For the evening we headed to the sunset lookout point to take as many photos as possible of the changing sky with Australia's iconic rock Uluru (world's largest rock). If you want to appreciate the beauty we saw, take a look at our photos. An awesome day! Yet more star gazing, food and alcohol around the campfire, exhausted from our busy day we curled up in our swags, knowing once again it would be an early rise, this time for the spectacular Uluru sunrise.This morning we did the Uluru base walk (9km) taking about 2 hours to complete. Just a point of interest, its not the rock itself which is sacred to the indigenous people, rather it is sites upon the rock which are sacred. The best way to understand what Uluru means to the people is to think of it as a book, and the sites upon the rock are chapters of the book, creation time. To understand its the same principle as Christians with the Bible, for the indigenous people Uluru is like their Bible.
That was pretty much the end of our rock tour, and what an awesome time we had!
On the way back to Alice Springs, we dropped everyone bar 5 or us at Ayres Rock Airport. The rest of us enjoyed fish and chips in the desert for lunch.....a camel ride (highly amusing), and drinks at the Rock Bar back in Alice.
All in all a truly memorable adventure. Highly recommended.
Next on the agenda was a 3 hour flight across Western Australia to Perth, where we will be seeing out the rest of our time in Australia. But don't worry, we'll be updating our blog with little stories along the way! :)
See you soon!
P.s. comments are appreciated for our hard work!
Xxx
Alice Springs....the middle of nowhere
Melbourne to Alice springs -
Now this is probably going to be our shortest blog yet. Reason being, there really isn't much to say, but we both felt this journey deserved its own blog post.
Melbourne to Alice springs is approximately 1403 miles long.....that's 2258 km. now, clever as we both are, we decided to do this journey on a coach. We also thought it was a splendid idea to spend 12 hours in Adelaide coach station.
Actually, we didn't decide this ourselves, it was a lack of money for other, more comfortable and slightly quicker transportation that was the deciding factor.
The journey, in total (so including our glorious 12 hours spent in Adelaide) was .... 42 hours
Thats all.
Now this is probably going to be our shortest blog yet. Reason being, there really isn't much to say, but we both felt this journey deserved its own blog post.
Melbourne to Alice springs is approximately 1403 miles long.....that's 2258 km. now, clever as we both are, we decided to do this journey on a coach. We also thought it was a splendid idea to spend 12 hours in Adelaide coach station.
Actually, we didn't decide this ourselves, it was a lack of money for other, more comfortable and slightly quicker transportation that was the deciding factor.
The journey, in total (so including our glorious 12 hours spent in Adelaide) was .... 42 hours
Thats all.
Melbourne - doors, trams, sports, penguins and wallabies
Melbourne - four seasons in one day! Believable? Certainly.
We were only here for about 2 and a half weeks, so a lot shorter than we first thought. So much so we ended up having to cram everything into the last 3 days! Why? Because we worked for a wonderful company...ehem...knocking doors.....yes you remember our time in Brisbane don't you? Well, this time around we stayed knocking considerable less than Brisbane......Nicky 4 days, Haz 5!
Highlights of Melbourne in this short time include:
* Visiting the iconic MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is also where the National Sports Museum is situated. Nicky went for a tour around the cricket grounds whilst I did not.....!
The sports museum was very interesting. We actually managed to spend all morning there. Best part had to be all about the Olympic Games (Citius, Altius, fortius; faster, higher, stronger) and the interactive games centre where we put our skills to the test! Other exhibitions included Shane Warne hologram, back yard to baggy green and the spirit of sport (hall of fame for Australian stars).
* Going on the City Circle Tram
* Our own walking tour around the city visiting the lane ways, seeing graffiti art, federation square, drinking hot chocolate at koko black, block arcade, and walking past the Press Club (master chef Australia connection).
From Melbourne, we organised a day trip to Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is one of the world's most scenic coastal routes. It is 243km long passing by the stunning coastline of Victoria's SW.
The whole day was incredible and although it was raining and cold, we still had a totally awesome time!
Main spots of interest along the road were:
* Torquay (Bells Beach) which is host to the World Surfing Championships
* Memorial Arch - a tribute to the 3000 survivors of WWI who helped build the GOR over 14 years
* Kennett River where we were surrounded by loads of Eastern Rosellas (green parrots) and King Parrots.
* Cape Otway National Park where we visited the Lighthouse and saw our first wild koalas. Just a little fact (because we know you love them) the lighthouse was built in 1848 and is the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia and 100m above sea level at the top and the most southern point of the GOR.
* And the highlight being....? Can you guess?? Of course it was the iconic Twelve Apostles. These are rock formations which have been carved out of the headland by the fierce waves of the Southern Ocean. How many apostles do you think there were originally? And how many do you think there are now? We will give you a clue....12 is not an answer to either question!
* Loch Ard Gorge
* Gibsons Steps (steps down to the beach surrounded by 70m high vertical cliffs).
After this very long day, we jumped back on the bus back to Melbourne. awesome day.
Phillip Island was our last day trip tour from Melbourne. You may have already seen lots of our photos, but what you haven't seen, is the very cute, very funny Little Penguins. Unfortunately we couldn't take photos of the little guys as it makes them disorientated, so if you type 'little penguin' into google search engine you can appreciate their cuteness. We went down to the beach around half five to get good seats to watch the little penguins coming in from the sea and finding their way back to their burrows for the night.
The other highlight of the day was at Moonlit Sanctuary where we saw loads of wallabies and had great fun feeding them.
That pretty much sums up our time in and around Melbourne. Short and sweet as the saying goes!
We were only here for about 2 and a half weeks, so a lot shorter than we first thought. So much so we ended up having to cram everything into the last 3 days! Why? Because we worked for a wonderful company...ehem...knocking doors.....yes you remember our time in Brisbane don't you? Well, this time around we stayed knocking considerable less than Brisbane......Nicky 4 days, Haz 5!
Highlights of Melbourne in this short time include:
* Visiting the iconic MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is also where the National Sports Museum is situated. Nicky went for a tour around the cricket grounds whilst I did not.....!
The sports museum was very interesting. We actually managed to spend all morning there. Best part had to be all about the Olympic Games (Citius, Altius, fortius; faster, higher, stronger) and the interactive games centre where we put our skills to the test! Other exhibitions included Shane Warne hologram, back yard to baggy green and the spirit of sport (hall of fame for Australian stars).
* Going on the City Circle Tram* Our own walking tour around the city visiting the lane ways, seeing graffiti art, federation square, drinking hot chocolate at koko black, block arcade, and walking past the Press Club (master chef Australia connection).
From Melbourne, we organised a day trip to Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is one of the world's most scenic coastal routes. It is 243km long passing by the stunning coastline of Victoria's SW.
The whole day was incredible and although it was raining and cold, we still had a totally awesome time!
Main spots of interest along the road were:
* Torquay (Bells Beach) which is host to the World Surfing Championships
* Memorial Arch - a tribute to the 3000 survivors of WWI who helped build the GOR over 14 years
* Kennett River where we were surrounded by loads of Eastern Rosellas (green parrots) and King Parrots.
* Cape Otway National Park where we visited the Lighthouse and saw our first wild koalas. Just a little fact (because we know you love them) the lighthouse was built in 1848 and is the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia and 100m above sea level at the top and the most southern point of the GOR.
* And the highlight being....? Can you guess?? Of course it was the iconic Twelve Apostles. These are rock formations which have been carved out of the headland by the fierce waves of the Southern Ocean. How many apostles do you think there were originally? And how many do you think there are now? We will give you a clue....12 is not an answer to either question!* Loch Ard Gorge
* Gibsons Steps (steps down to the beach surrounded by 70m high vertical cliffs).
After this very long day, we jumped back on the bus back to Melbourne. awesome day.
Phillip Island was our last day trip tour from Melbourne. You may have already seen lots of our photos, but what you haven't seen, is the very cute, very funny Little Penguins. Unfortunately we couldn't take photos of the little guys as it makes them disorientated, so if you type 'little penguin' into google search engine you can appreciate their cuteness. We went down to the beach around half five to get good seats to watch the little penguins coming in from the sea and finding their way back to their burrows for the night.
The other highlight of the day was at Moonlit Sanctuary where we saw loads of wallabies and had great fun feeding them.That pretty much sums up our time in and around Melbourne. Short and sweet as the saying goes!
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
New Zealand ...what else is there to say? A hell of a lot by the looks of this blog actually!
NEW ZEALAND
May 20th - June 20th
Incredibly exciting!! However, regardless of all the excitement, we were very slack preparing for the trip, and completely forgot we had a weight limit on luggage! So much so we ended up offering the check in girl at the airport our shampoo....conditioner....pepper grinder...you know, all the usual things.
Our flight into Auckland was short and sweet. Our first views of New Zealand were gorgeous - a sign of all the astonishing sights to come.
Our trip around New Zealand was on a Kiwi Experience bus - a big green bus, which would allow us to "hop-on and hop-off" and stay longer at different towns / cities visited. Our Kiwi Pass was called the "Funky Chicken" - random name not used to describe passengers, rather the route we were able to take around the country.
Day 1: AUCKLAND to HOT WATER BEACH
Accommodation: Hot Water Beach Holiday Park
* Spade and beach = "dig your own spa" although at 64 degrees Celsius there were a few burnt toes!
* Cathedral Cove and Hahei Beach - coastal walk with some truly spectacular views (btw you are going to see "spectacular views" a lot throughout NZ blog.
Surrounded by crystal clear waters, white sand and magnificant archway is where you will find Cathedral Cove.
If any of you are fans of, or know of The Chronicles of Narnia 'Prince Caspian',you may already have seen these picturesque scenes of Cathedral Cove and the iconic Coromandel location, in the movie.
Day 2: HOT WATER BEACH - KARANGAHAKE - WAITOMO
Accommodation: Kiwi Paka
* Travelling over the Kopu Ranges we stopped at the Karangahake Scenic Reserve
Walking over two swing bridges, we walked on a 1km track called the Crowned Tramway Railway Walk. Highly entertaining during the pitch black parts of the tunnel with no torch..... And guiding our way using the flash from the camera!
* Drove past Mt. Te Aroha - The Mountain of Love.
* The mighty Waikato and regions to Waitomo
* The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company
GLOW WORM CAVES:
An amazing underwater adventure - "The Black Labyrinth"
Climbing, leaping, floating, partially swimming,.....shivering, and using GPS (glow worm positioning system) through the Ruakuri (two dogs Maori word) Cave System.
It was stunning to see the glow worms (shiny maggots) scattered on the roof of the cave! Fantastic experience, albeit insanely cold!
Day 3: WAITOMO -ROTORUA
Next stop Rotorua....or Sulphur City......or Rotten Vegas....or Whangapipiro (Maori for Evil Smelling Place).
Although before that we did stop at Arupuni Swing Bridge - the highest..... Or the longest swing bridge in NZ ... We can't remember which one!
* Sulphur City - it is the sulphur dioxide gas created by geothermal activity that causes the town to have a very very very distinctive smell.
* Short walk through Kuirau Park- an area of volcanic activity full of stinky boiling mud pools, plenty of steam from geysers and a crater lake! Smelly!
* TAMAKI MAORI VILLAGE
We we taken to a recreation of a Maori village from the 1600's. The night started with the Maori challenge (Te Wero) which is a traditional ancient ceremony of welcome which determines whether you are friend or foe. Thankfully we were accepted as friends, and welcomed into the village to watch poi dance demo (Nicky took park), weaponry displays, traditional games, and of course the Haka.
The feast at the end of the evening was cooked in the Hangi (earth oven) which we witnessed as it was removed. All you can eat buffet......in a room filled with backpackers.....use your imagination as to what that looked like!
A few Maori words to remember: Kia Ora! Which basically means pretty much anything along the lines of hello, hi, welcome, see ya later, how are you, good health, have a safe journey, be well.... Our bus driver actually managed to translate Kia Ora not just in English as above, but in an additional 63 languages! (Legend - also reciting the national anthem for the 10 or 11 different nationalities on board the bus).
Inspirational speech to finish off our time in Rotorua:
"Ki mai koe ki a au, he aha Te mea nui tenei ao:
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata"
If should ask me what is the greatest thing in the world, the answer would be: It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
The Maori are a very passionate culture with regards to their traditions and people and world around them.
Day 4 & 5: ROTORUA - TAUPO
Accommodation: Base Taupo
* Walk in Whakarewarewa State Park Forest where we hugged a few very large trees.
* First views of TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK and the famous Ngauruhoe Mountain....... Not famous you say? You haven't heard of it? Of course you have it's Mt Doom from The Lord of the Rings films!
* Aratiratia Rapids - a dam that opens every day to let the water flow out which actually creates the rapids we saw. Quite interesting seeing the valley before and after.
* Huka Falls known as Hukanui in Maori meaning "Great Body of Spray".
Situated in the Waikato River - NZ's longest river at 425km.
The falls are 11m high and formed by a blasted out channel; a natural formation as consequence of an earthquake.
* TAUPO (Taupo-nui-a-tia) (meaning great cloak of Tia) - the adventure capital of the north....supposedly.
Our time in Taupo was not exactly adventurous unless you count buying scarves particularly exhilarating?
The best part of Taupo was seeing the Lake. Lake Taupo at 616 sq km, is the largest lake not just in NZ but in Australasia! It is actually so big, that the island of Singapore could fill the area. Lake Taupo was formed by one of the greatest volcanic explosions of all time approx. 26,500 yrs ago.
This serene body of water is the source of NZ's longest river the ....? Do you remember? The Waitkato.
Day 6: TAUPO - WHAKAPAPA - RIVER VALLEY
Accommodation: River Valley Adventure Lodge
Driving around the Eastern shores of Lake Taupo, into Turangi and onto Tongariro National Park for two walks. Quickly, Tongariro National Park is NZ's first national park established in 1887 and played the role of Mordor in Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The 3 mountains within the park are Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu.
* Tawhai Falls (Gollum's Pool - Lord of the Rings). Our first walk of the day and was very cool to see the scenery used in such a famous film.
* Whakapapa - Taranaki Falls. Second walk of today which was supposed to be an hour long and was actually more like two!
It was a loop walk with excellent views of Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu Mountains.
By the way, we are going to be in "The making of the Hobbit" well, maybe. Let us explain. Basically, on the walk, whilst admiring the pretty stream, a helicopter with camera crew on board, were circling the area, filming and then proceeded to land the chopper right by us, where the crew jumped out to investigate the area further! So if you see 4 girls waving on a bridge in the making of the next Peter Jackson film The Hobbit....it's us! And 2 others..
* RIVER VALLEY
An adventure lodge in the middle of nowhere, was quite unlike the other hostels and accommodation we had stayed in so far. A typical woodland lodge, a big wood fire as centre piece, squishy sofas, hung stag heads, and of course scrummy hot chocolates!
The lodge itself is a working lodge, for White Water Rafting, along the Rangitikei River.
Day 7: RIVER VALLEY to WELLINGTON
Accommodation: Base Wellington
So, before actually leaving River Valley, it was time to get suited and booted in layers and layers plus a very fashionable wet suit, ready to tackle the grade4-5 rapids of the Rangitikei River! There were 10 major rapids over 12km of river, we had an absolute blast! As well as the "adrenaline" side of things we saw some beautiful scenery along the way. Nick and I were at the front of the raft paddling hard, grade 5 rapids are seriously extreme! But we worked well together on our raft and succeeded in navigating some serious rapids!!
*A long journey to Wellington, arriving late afternoon before a nice Italian meal with friends from the bus. Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, is located directly on a major earthquake fault line. The city's biggest earthquake was recorded in 1855 and measured 8 on the Richter Scale!! A brief stop over in Wellington before shooting across to the South Island! (In case you haven't already guessed, there's a lot of facts, figures, and generally interesting information to share, so we hope you're ready for it!!)
Day 8: WELLINGTON - PICTON - KAITERITERI
Accommodation: Kaiteriteri Lodge
* The Cook Strait Crossing on the Interislander ferry, approximately 3 hours, passing through Queen Charlotte Sound and Tory Strait. Cook Strait is 22km wide at its narrowest point - a formidable barrier dividing New Zealand in two. It's such a shame that photos can't do justice of the views because the Tory Strait has some breath-taking and magical views.
* Back on the Kiwi bus in Picton, we headed out via the scenic Marlborough valley towards Kaiteriteri. Unfortunately that was pretty much it for the day, a long drive and boat trip!
Day 9: KAITERITERI - WESTPORT (via Abel Tasman National Park)
Accommodation: Bazil's Hostel
* A walk along Kaiteri beach (part of the Tonga Island Marine Reserve) before heading up to Kaka-Pah Point for more stunning views. We found a little beach, Breaker Bay, where lots of artsy fartsy photos were taken as per usual.
* Leaving Kaiteriteri we travelled through Murchison (where Haz realised she had left her camera battery on charge back at the Lodge..... Won't be seeing that till Queenstown now! :-S ).
* We drove down the Buller Gorge. This is one of the South Island's longest and most scenic drives.
* Westport, a major (previously coal mining) town at the northern end of the West Coast. After dinner everyone jumped in the bus for a pitiful attempt of a bonfire down Westport beach. Our friend Mel did show us the Southern Cross which was quite cool!
Day 10: WESTPORT - PUNAKAIKI - LAKE MAHINAPUA
Accommodation: a lot to be desired... But....Lake Mahinapua Hotel
* A short drive from Westport is the town of Cape Foulwind. We did the walk to Tauranga Bay, home of NZ's largest Seal colony (Arctocephalus forsteri) and it just so happens to be NZ's closest point to Australia! The seals can actually be seen all year round, it's just their abundance which changes due to the seasons.
* The middle of our journey between Westport and Lake Mahinapua, is the small settlement of Punakaiki and the Paparoa National Park. Fact - Paparoa National Park, at 30,000 hectares, became NZ's 12th National Park in 1987.
* Punakaiki is centred around the famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The rocks are named so due to the limestone rocks at Dolomite Point having formed what looks like stacks of pancakes through a weathering process known as stylobedding.... Are you learning lots!!? .....Nick is!!! Hehe
* Greymouth was our next stop for food supplies and fancy dress attire for Les's (our host for the evening) themed party. Anyone feel like they are back at school??
* Greymouth is a pretty small town, yet it is the largest town on the West Coast.
* The theme for the evening was Beauty and the Geeks, of course us girls had to be the geeks! The guys outfits were impressive, some even went as far as bras, stockings and very short skirts! Les's bar was quite quirky.... full of hats, t-shirts, bras etc that have clearly been given to Les by previous Kiwi Experience travellers!! Matt Pym.... You didn't happen to leave anything behind in 2006 did you!!?? The night was great... cheap drinks, great costumes, plenty of singing and dancing and lots of laughter!
Day 11: LAKE MAHINAPUA - FRANZ JOSEF
Accommodation: Rainforest Retreat
* Short drive to Pukekura to visit the Bushman Centre. Apparently the centre was there to offer an insight into how people used to make a living on the coast through Sphagnum Moss, timber milling, possum trapping, and helicopter deer recovery.... We certainly did enjoy our hot chocolate and pancakes!
* Heading further South to Franz Josef Glacier Village (nestled in Westland National Park) we passed a few Kettle Lakes. Fact - Kettle Lakes are created as glaciers retreat and leave huge chunks of ice behind that melt into deep lakes. Fact - Westland National Park contains 60 named glaciers. Glaciers descend from perpetual snow at 2,500m to a terminal face at 250m above sea level. There is only one other place in the world - Patagonia, where glaciers descend into rainforest.
* The region we entered the northern gateway to Te Wahipounamu, the SW -NZ World Heritage Area. The region includes Aoraki/Mount Cook, Westland Tai Poutini, Mount Aspiring, the Fiordland National Parks, and surrounding conservation lands. Franz Josef itself was tiny, consisting of one main street and a few side roads.
* For the rest of the day at Rainforest Retreat, we chilled out and made good use of their steaming hot tub with other friends from the bus.
You might want to go for a cup of tea now and pop back later to read the rest....
We did warn you....get that brew....
Day 12: FRANZ JOSEF
* A little walkabout on Franz Josef Glacier, following a Helicopter ride to the top of the Glacier. The views from the chopper were fantastic, we were so lucky to have had this opportunity! Once on the ice, crampons were on and we were off hiking on the world famous glacier! The hike was about 3 hours and we walked amongst some of the most pristine and awe-inspiring glacier scenery. We walked through crevasses, pinnacles and ice caves... Stunning! As well as seeing quite a few ice pools, which some of the lads decided to jump in! I'm up for doing a lot of crazy things, but that one I passed on very quickly! Haz agreed with me on that one!
* Facts- Franz Josef Glacier is 12km long, it's unique because it descends from the southern alps to less than 300m above sea level amidst a temperate rainforest, only 3 in the world to do so! It's fed by a 20sq m bowl of snow high in the southern alps. The glacier constantly retreats (goes back up the mountain) and advances. The rate of descent is staggering: the glacier can move up to 5m a day (over 10 times as fast as glaciers in the Swiss Alps!), generally it moves at a rate of 1m per day. Impressive huh!!??
* After our hike, we took to the gorgeously relaxing hot pools, 36, 38 and 40 degrees C. Utter bliss!
Day 13: FRANZ JOSEF - WANAKA
Accommodation: Base Wanaka
* Early start as it was a fair way to Wanaka. We eventually passed Lake Hawea which was just beautiful. We also stopped at Lake Matheson for a short walk to a lookout spot! The views of the snow-capped Mount Tasman and Mount Cook at sunrise reflected on Lake Matheson was spectacular.... It can't get much better than this!
* Next stop Ship's Creek where we actually spotted Hector's Dolphins swimming close to the shore. Fact - Hector's dolphin is one of the rarest species and is actually the smallest species of dolphin! So we were lucky to spot them surfing the waves! Just cruising!!! Fact - Cephalorhynchus hectori is confined to NZ waters. They reach a length of only 1.4m.
* From here we said goodbye to the coastline and headed inland, crossing the bridge at the Gates of Haast and we entered into yet another National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park. We stopped at a couple of picture perfect spots- Thunder Creek Falls and Blue Pools.
* On our way to Wanaka, we passed the 5th largest lake in NZ, Lake Wanaka! Arriving late afternoon meant we didn't have much time to explore, so we went and found a local bar with Mel, our friend from the bus, and had a few drinks... Well actually no, one, as last orders were at 10pm! Wanaka = ghost town!
Day 14: WANAKA - QUEENSTOWN
Accommodation: Nomads Queenstown
* Fairly amusing first stop of the day- Puzzling World. The most puzzling place on the planet...apparently! Plenty of illusion rooms, tilted house and 3D maze, we were entertained for an hour or two before heading towards Queenstown. By the way, who knows how they achieved the Hobbit illusion in Lord of the Rings!?? Well, it's called the Ames Illusion.... Look it up! Hehe
* The route to Queenstown took us towards the Kawarau Gorge, where the scenery transformed into rugged rocky terrain. At this point, us and our group of friends on the bus were entertaining the idea (or in fact the very likely possibility) of throwing ourselves off their 134m high Nevis High wire! Certainly not the best feeling in the world (for some, ahem Haz! ok and others!!) yes we are talking about the Nevis Bungy Jump! The Kawarau Bridge is home of the Bungy pioneers AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch's first commercial Bungy site (established 1988), measuring in at 43m! Although it would have been awesome to do the original Bungy, if you're going to jump off a platform, you may as well go for the highest one and get your money's worth! Fact - Nevis Bungy measuring at 134m (440ft) with a 8.5 second free fall! "Bring it on!!"
* After a short drive through Gibbson Valley, we arrived at the ruggedly isolated Nevis Base! We were all harnessed up and raring to go! Well some of us were anyways! We headed towards the cable car and took our first glimpse at the platform in the distance! So exciting! I couldn't wipe the grin off my face, Haz on the other hand looked like she had just seen a ghost!! We took the cable car over to the jump pod and lined up in weight order..heaviest first! So unfortunately Haz had to suffer watching others jump when she just wanted to get it over and done with! So, it was either jump or take the most expensive bus ride ever. Eventually it was Haz's turn, so by now you have probably all seen our photos and videos and seen just how scared Haz was! But, she did it!! :) Haz waddled over (as we all did) to that 'scary' ledge and had the courage (or stupidity) to jump! As soon as you jump, the adrenaline kicks in and the fear goes away, but up to that point you can't quite remember whats possessed you to be there in the first place! Haz returned with a big smile on her face and loved it!
Soon after it was Nick's turn to jump.... Slightly different feeling compared to Haz.... Adrenaline already pumping, feeling excited and raring to go! Bring it on!! After a countdown from 3, Nick was off the platform and free falling! It was such an incredible feeling of being free! Would do it again in a heart beat!
Day 15 &16: QUEENSTOWN
* These couple of days we chilled out and enjoyed Queenstown. Queenstown is a special and beautiful place. It's on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and is the self styled "adventure capital of the world." Fact- Lake Wakatipu is NZ longest lake (approx 75km) and the 3rd largest lake (290 sq km).
* One of the highlights was visiting FERGBURGER...seriously good burgers.... People will tell you, if you're going to Queenstown, you must have a Fergburger, and we're going to continue passing this advice on because these burgers are seriously good. And they do gluten free buns!!! The selection of burgers we had during our time in Queenstown include; Sweet Bambi (Fiordland Deer), Little Lamby (Prime NZ Lamb) and Bombay Chicken. Yum!! Best burger ever!!
Day 17: MILFORD SOUND
* A very exciting day today! Now you've all heard of Milford Sound - the 8th natural wonder of the world. The journey to Milford was long, but we saw plenty of lovely scenery along the way, including: Te Anau, the gateway to the Fiordland National Park. Te Anau is NZ's 2nd largest lake after ? ..... Come on we mentioned it earlier. It takes it name from the caves discovered on its western shore - Te Ana - Au (the Cave of Swirling Water). An additional fact - it is the largest body of freshwater in Australasia.
* From Te Anau to Milford, we took the Miford highway - 120km stretch.
* Go on then we'll throw in some more facts for you...
* Fiordland National Park is 1.2 million hectares of land.
* It contains 14 Fiords including Miford.
* Milford Sound is actually incorrectly named. 'Sound' means formed from a river, Milford is actually a glacier carved valley, filled with glacier water.... Something along those lines anyway.
* Next stop Mirror Lakes, these are ponds which rely on rainwater to keep them topped up. The water becomes stagnant which is what gives it it's reflective properties!
Fact - it rains 2 out of 3 days in Fiordland, as we got the one day of pure blue skies, how lucky we were!!??
* Knob's flat, next stop for a few snaps.
Points of interest that we passed- Lake Gunn and Lake Fergus. Lake Gunn is the largest of the Eglinton Valley lakes, but Fergus is higher in altitude. The Humboldt mountains could be spotted in the distance.
* Eventually the Milford road took us to the Homer Tunnel, the highest point we reached today which was 900m above sea level. Icicles had formed in the tunnel so you can tell how cold it was!!
* Shortly after the tunnel we arrived at the Wharf, where we boarded the 'Spirit of Milford' and were off, already spotting bottlenose dolphins after a few minutes on board.
Facts-
* The Fiord is 22km long (now can you remember what other fact we gave you regarding the same figure of 22km?) and dominated by 1,693m high mitre peak.
* It was actually Captain John Grono, who was the first European to discover Milford Sound (not Captain James Cook for a change!), he was a Welsh sealer, and named it Milford Haven.
* It was in 1851 when John Lort Stoakes anchored his ship in the Fiord and changed the name to Milford Sound.
* We went up the Fiord and back down in a clockwise direction, passing through Bowen Falls, Cemetary Point and Sinbad Gully. Here we had some spectacular views of Mitre Peak. Fact - Mitre Peak is one of the highest mountains in the world at 1,682m, rising directly from the ocean.
* Further on we passed Fairy Falls and got some spectacular views of the magical rainbow created in the waterfall. We turned about in Anita Bay and headed back into the Fiord past Dale's Point which denotes the entrance to Milford Sound (that Captain Cook missed!) We continued cruising to our next point, Seal Rock. Fact - it is one of the few areas in the Fiord where the Southern Fur Seal is able to climb up out of the water onto the rocks.... Bless them! We were lucky enough to spot 3 seals on the rocks as we cruised past! The next impressive site were the Sterling Falls which look most spectacular after very heavy rain! The water was gushing down the falls at immense force, very impressive!
* Next we cruised round to Harrison Cove to Milford Deep Underwater Observatory Centre. We got off the boat and wondered round the museum learning all about the history of Milford and the Fiordland National Park. There was also an underwater viewing deck at a depth of 10m. The main attraction of the underwater viewing deck- black coral. Fact - Milford Sound is the only place where black coral grows at a depth less than 100m, and it's name derives from its black skeleton, but to the eye it actually white!
* Milford Sound contains a rare and extremely fragile Eco system. The array of animals living here tend to grow very slowly and have long life spans. For this reason, species can be easily wiped out by human impacts or natural causes as such the Piopiotahi Marine Reserve was created.
* We boarded the boat again and headed back to the Wharf. Milford Sound is something quite special, and we were incredibly pleased to have had the opportunity to see the 8th natural wonder of the world! :)
* Back on the bus it was a long journey back to Queenstown with a short stop at Te Anau for Hot chocolate and chips before heading home!
Day 18, 19 & 20: QUEESNTOWN
Ok, so pretty much the whole time we've been in Queenstown we've chilled out and these three days where no different. Fergburger was back on the menu, as was Cookietime and Hot chocolate from Patagonia shop. Amongst all of this we did take the time to head up to Skyline on the Gondola to check out the remarkable views of 'The Remarkables Mountain Range' - cheap joke we know, and the Eyre Mountains.
* For our last night we headed to Brazz pub for a drink and to watch Ireland Vs NZ rugby match. A great way to finish our time in Queenstown!
Day 21: QUEENSTOWN - CHRISTCHURCH - KAIKOURA
Accommodation: Fish Tank Lodge
* An early start leaving Queentown for a heck of a drive to Kaikoura. We passed through Kawarau Gorge again, a bit further up over the Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country where we stopped at Lake Pukaki and had spectacular views of Mount Cook. Fact - Mount Cook is NZ's highest peak, at 3,754m, it's Maori name is Aoraki which means 'cloud piercer.'
* Switching buses just outside Christchurch to carry on straight up to Kaikoura, we headed north across the Canterbury Plains. Home for the next three nights was a cute little hostel, and probably the nicest hostel we've been in whilst travelling, Fish Tank Lodge.
Fact - Kaikoura means ' to eat Crayfish'- Kai - to eat, Koura - crayfish.
Day 22: KAIKOURA
* Well, our original plan was to go swimming with the Dusky dolphins (what's the smallest species of dolphin!??... You all love a good old pub quiz!!) but unfortunately the sea was too rough. So, we went whale watching instead!
* Although it was incredible cold, and the sea was insanely rough, we had an awesome time and we spotted loads of Humpback Whales, alongside the mighty Royal Albatross...A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
Facts:
* NZ has 14 of the world's 24 species of albatross, including the Royal Albatross with a wingspan of over 3m and we saw it!!!!
* The humpback is a Baleen whale which means they use baleen sieves to filter food from the ocean.
* Unfortunately we didn't see any Sperm whales, but lucky for us it meant we got 80% of our money back, the cheapest whale watching trip ever, at £14.50! Not too shabby aye!!
* It was a magical experience to see such majestic creatures of the ocean!
* Fish n Chips time.... You can't go to a seaside town without getting good old fashioned local Fish 'n' Chips! And boi they were scrummy!
Day 23: KAIKOURA:
* Today we decided to do the Kaikoura Peninsula walk which was a 3 hour trek around the coastline, passing wharf, beaches, and seal colonies.
Fact - The first European settler was Robert Fyffe who established a whaling station in 1842.
* It was a very enjoyable walk, despite the cold, wind and rain! We saw plenty of wildlife including; gannets, shags, fur seals and even a kingfisher!
* The ocean is essential for the survival for a third of NZ's bird species so as mentioned we saw plenty of gulls, shags, shearwaters, and terns.
* We saw plenty of seals in the most unusual places! It was quite amusing to see some of their resting spots- under a bush, by the boardwalk, on the boardwalk and even in the car park!
Facts:
* There is such an abundance of marine life in the area because not far from the shore lies the Kaikoura canyon. The canyon is a branch of the deep Hikorangi Trough, sited at the boundary of two of the world's crustal plates.
* The convergence of cold and warm currents in the vicinity of Kaikoura, and the configuration of the canyon itself can act to draw in deep, oceanic water close to shore and towards the surface. This 'upwelling' means the waters of the upper canyon can be rich with life. Zooplankton and Phytoplankton form the baseline of the food chain sustaining increasingly larger animals.
* It's all getting a bit to scientific now Haz! Haz apologises, so once again time for Fish 'n' Chips and a wonder through the quirky shops.
Day 24: KAIKOURA - PICTON - WELLINGTON
Accommodation: Base Wellington
* Today's drive was quite boring apart from two things: seals and dolphins.
* Ohau Stream Seal Pups at Ohau Point. We pulled up and walked a short way to the waterfall where there were so many seal pups playing, fighting, swimming, jumping in the water! It was an incredible sight!
* From here it was a straight run through to Picton and where we bid farewell to the South Island!
* As mentioned the second highlight of the day was dolphins. We saw them on the ferry across to Wellington, they were either Hector's or Dusky dolphins. The sea conditions were very rough, with swells 4-5m high, which meant some (lucky Nick :-s) had an atrocious journey. After never suffering from sea sickness before, Nick wasn't too impressed with the surprise this time around!
* For the evening, we went for a few drinks with Fern to a unique place called The Library. An awesome little bar tucked away and decorated .... Can you guess? in the style of a library!
Day 25 & 26: WELLINGTON
* Another relaxed few days, checking out Wellington Cable Car, Te Papa Museum (and making use of their free Internet!) and Wellington Botanic Gardens, with a few coffee's and hot chocolates scattered in there somewhere!
Day 27 & 28: WELLINGTON - TAUPO
Accommodation: Taupo Urban Retreat
* So we'll try not to repeat ourselves now. All the way up to Taupo, passing through Tangariro National Park (which played the role of what in the Lord of the Rings trilogy's? Can you remember?) and guess what we saw.....Snow! Yay! Our first experience of snow in NZ! It was quite pretty seeing it settle on the mountains, but it wasn't long till the weather changed to bright blue skies!
* Our time in Taupo was very similar to last time, the only difference really being accommodation and use of the local gym.
Day 29 & 30: TAUPO - AUCKLAND
Accommodation: Base Auckland
* So passing through Sulphur City once more, we held our breath for as long as possible! Then an express trip with no frills straight up to Auckland. Our last Kiwi experience bus stop :(
* We didn't really do much exploring in Auckland, just a stroll down Queens street (the main strip), a catch up with some friends who were previously on the Kiwi bus, and a bit of a treat for ourselves.... A long awaited hair cut!
~Question: what's NZ's capital? Now we're fed up of having no comments on our blogs anymore, so the answers to our questions need to be posted as a comment on these blogs, or we won't write again!
~Last question, very easy: what is tubby, flightless, has lousy eyesight, pokes around for worms, is rare.....And you see them on a rugby pitch!?
Whoever posts the correct amount of answers (out of 6) will win a prize when we return from our adventure!! Or we'll send it in the post if you aren't living in the UK!! :-)
May 20th - June 20th
Incredibly exciting!! However, regardless of all the excitement, we were very slack preparing for the trip, and completely forgot we had a weight limit on luggage! So much so we ended up offering the check in girl at the airport our shampoo....conditioner....pepper grinder...you know, all the usual things.
Our flight into Auckland was short and sweet. Our first views of New Zealand were gorgeous - a sign of all the astonishing sights to come.Our trip around New Zealand was on a Kiwi Experience bus - a big green bus, which would allow us to "hop-on and hop-off" and stay longer at different towns / cities visited. Our Kiwi Pass was called the "Funky Chicken" - random name not used to describe passengers, rather the route we were able to take around the country.
Day 1: AUCKLAND to HOT WATER BEACH
Accommodation: Hot Water Beach Holiday Park
* Spade and beach = "dig your own spa" although at 64 degrees Celsius there were a few burnt toes!
* Cathedral Cove and Hahei Beach - coastal walk with some truly spectacular views (btw you are going to see "spectacular views" a lot throughout NZ blog.Surrounded by crystal clear waters, white sand and magnificant archway is where you will find Cathedral Cove.
If any of you are fans of, or know of The Chronicles of Narnia 'Prince Caspian',you may already have seen these picturesque scenes of Cathedral Cove and the iconic Coromandel location, in the movie.
Day 2: HOT WATER BEACH - KARANGAHAKE - WAITOMO
Accommodation: Kiwi Paka
* Travelling over the Kopu Ranges we stopped at the Karangahake Scenic Reserve
Walking over two swing bridges, we walked on a 1km track called the Crowned Tramway Railway Walk. Highly entertaining during the pitch black parts of the tunnel with no torch..... And guiding our way using the flash from the camera!
* Drove past Mt. Te Aroha - The Mountain of Love.* The mighty Waikato and regions to Waitomo
* The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company
GLOW WORM CAVES:
An amazing underwater adventure - "The Black Labyrinth"
Climbing, leaping, floating, partially swimming,.....shivering, and using GPS (glow worm positioning system) through the Ruakuri (two dogs Maori word) Cave System.
It was stunning to see the glow worms (shiny maggots) scattered on the roof of the cave! Fantastic experience, albeit insanely cold!
Day 3: WAITOMO -ROTORUA
Next stop Rotorua....or Sulphur City......or Rotten Vegas....or Whangapipiro (Maori for Evil Smelling Place).
Although before that we did stop at Arupuni Swing Bridge - the highest..... Or the longest swing bridge in NZ ... We can't remember which one!
* Sulphur City - it is the sulphur dioxide gas created by geothermal activity that causes the town to have a very very very distinctive smell.
* Short walk through Kuirau Park- an area of volcanic activity full of stinky boiling mud pools, plenty of steam from geysers and a crater lake! Smelly!
* TAMAKI MAORI VILLAGEWe we taken to a recreation of a Maori village from the 1600's. The night started with the Maori challenge (Te Wero) which is a traditional ancient ceremony of welcome which determines whether you are friend or foe. Thankfully we were accepted as friends, and welcomed into the village to watch poi dance demo (Nicky took park), weaponry displays, traditional games, and of course the Haka.
The feast at the end of the evening was cooked in the Hangi (earth oven) which we witnessed as it was removed. All you can eat buffet......in a room filled with backpackers.....use your imagination as to what that looked like!
A few Maori words to remember: Kia Ora! Which basically means pretty much anything along the lines of hello, hi, welcome, see ya later, how are you, good health, have a safe journey, be well.... Our bus driver actually managed to translate Kia Ora not just in English as above, but in an additional 63 languages! (Legend - also reciting the national anthem for the 10 or 11 different nationalities on board the bus).Inspirational speech to finish off our time in Rotorua:
"Ki mai koe ki a au, he aha Te mea nui tenei ao:
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata"
If should ask me what is the greatest thing in the world, the answer would be: It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
The Maori are a very passionate culture with regards to their traditions and people and world around them.
Day 4 & 5: ROTORUA - TAUPO
Accommodation: Base Taupo
* Walk in Whakarewarewa State Park Forest where we hugged a few very large trees.
* First views of TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK and the famous Ngauruhoe Mountain....... Not famous you say? You haven't heard of it? Of course you have it's Mt Doom from The Lord of the Rings films!
* Aratiratia Rapids - a dam that opens every day to let the water flow out which actually creates the rapids we saw. Quite interesting seeing the valley before and after.* Huka Falls known as Hukanui in Maori meaning "Great Body of Spray".
Situated in the Waikato River - NZ's longest river at 425km.
The falls are 11m high and formed by a blasted out channel; a natural formation as consequence of an earthquake.
* TAUPO (Taupo-nui-a-tia) (meaning great cloak of Tia) - the adventure capital of the north....supposedly.
Our time in Taupo was not exactly adventurous unless you count buying scarves particularly exhilarating?
The best part of Taupo was seeing the Lake. Lake Taupo at 616 sq km, is the largest lake not just in NZ but in Australasia! It is actually so big, that the island of Singapore could fill the area. Lake Taupo was formed by one of the greatest volcanic explosions of all time approx. 26,500 yrs ago.
This serene body of water is the source of NZ's longest river the ....? Do you remember? The Waitkato.
Day 6: TAUPO - WHAKAPAPA - RIVER VALLEY
Accommodation: River Valley Adventure Lodge
Driving around the Eastern shores of Lake Taupo, into Turangi and onto Tongariro National Park for two walks. Quickly, Tongariro National Park is NZ's first national park established in 1887 and played the role of Mordor in Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The 3 mountains within the park are Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu.
* Tawhai Falls (Gollum's Pool - Lord of the Rings). Our first walk of the day and was very cool to see the scenery used in such a famous film.* Whakapapa - Taranaki Falls. Second walk of today which was supposed to be an hour long and was actually more like two!
It was a loop walk with excellent views of Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu Mountains.
By the way, we are going to be in "The making of the Hobbit" well, maybe. Let us explain. Basically, on the walk, whilst admiring the pretty stream, a helicopter with camera crew on board, were circling the area, filming and then proceeded to land the chopper right by us, where the crew jumped out to investigate the area further! So if you see 4 girls waving on a bridge in the making of the next Peter Jackson film The Hobbit....it's us! And 2 others..
* RIVER VALLEY
An adventure lodge in the middle of nowhere, was quite unlike the other hostels and accommodation we had stayed in so far. A typical woodland lodge, a big wood fire as centre piece, squishy sofas, hung stag heads, and of course scrummy hot chocolates!
The lodge itself is a working lodge, for White Water Rafting, along the Rangitikei River.
Day 7: RIVER VALLEY to WELLINGTON
Accommodation: Base Wellington
So, before actually leaving River Valley, it was time to get suited and booted in layers and layers plus a very fashionable wet suit, ready to tackle the grade4-5 rapids of the Rangitikei River! There were 10 major rapids over 12km of river, we had an absolute blast! As well as the "adrenaline" side of things we saw some beautiful scenery along the way. Nick and I were at the front of the raft paddling hard, grade 5 rapids are seriously extreme! But we worked well together on our raft and succeeded in navigating some serious rapids!!
*A long journey to Wellington, arriving late afternoon before a nice Italian meal with friends from the bus. Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, is located directly on a major earthquake fault line. The city's biggest earthquake was recorded in 1855 and measured 8 on the Richter Scale!! A brief stop over in Wellington before shooting across to the South Island! (In case you haven't already guessed, there's a lot of facts, figures, and generally interesting information to share, so we hope you're ready for it!!)Day 8: WELLINGTON - PICTON - KAITERITERI
Accommodation: Kaiteriteri Lodge
* The Cook Strait Crossing on the Interislander ferry, approximately 3 hours, passing through Queen Charlotte Sound and Tory Strait. Cook Strait is 22km wide at its narrowest point - a formidable barrier dividing New Zealand in two. It's such a shame that photos can't do justice of the views because the Tory Strait has some breath-taking and magical views.
Day 9: KAITERITERI - WESTPORT (via Abel Tasman National Park)
Accommodation: Bazil's Hostel
* A walk along Kaiteri beach (part of the Tonga Island Marine Reserve) before heading up to Kaka-Pah Point for more stunning views. We found a little beach, Breaker Bay, where lots of artsy fartsy photos were taken as per usual.
* Leaving Kaiteriteri we travelled through Murchison (where Haz realised she had left her camera battery on charge back at the Lodge..... Won't be seeing that till Queenstown now! :-S ).
* We drove down the Buller Gorge. This is one of the South Island's longest and most scenic drives.* Westport, a major (previously coal mining) town at the northern end of the West Coast. After dinner everyone jumped in the bus for a pitiful attempt of a bonfire down Westport beach. Our friend Mel did show us the Southern Cross which was quite cool!
Day 10: WESTPORT - PUNAKAIKI - LAKE MAHINAPUA
Accommodation: a lot to be desired... But....Lake Mahinapua Hotel
* A short drive from Westport is the town of Cape Foulwind. We did the walk to Tauranga Bay, home of NZ's largest Seal colony (Arctocephalus forsteri) and it just so happens to be NZ's closest point to Australia! The seals can actually be seen all year round, it's just their abundance which changes due to the seasons.
* The middle of our journey between Westport and Lake Mahinapua, is the small settlement of Punakaiki and the Paparoa National Park. Fact - Paparoa National Park, at 30,000 hectares, became NZ's 12th National Park in 1987.* Punakaiki is centred around the famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The rocks are named so due to the limestone rocks at Dolomite Point having formed what looks like stacks of pancakes through a weathering process known as stylobedding.... Are you learning lots!!? .....Nick is!!! Hehe
* Greymouth was our next stop for food supplies and fancy dress attire for Les's (our host for the evening) themed party. Anyone feel like they are back at school??
* Greymouth is a pretty small town, yet it is the largest town on the West Coast.* The theme for the evening was Beauty and the Geeks, of course us girls had to be the geeks! The guys outfits were impressive, some even went as far as bras, stockings and very short skirts! Les's bar was quite quirky.... full of hats, t-shirts, bras etc that have clearly been given to Les by previous Kiwi Experience travellers!! Matt Pym.... You didn't happen to leave anything behind in 2006 did you!!?? The night was great... cheap drinks, great costumes, plenty of singing and dancing and lots of laughter!
Day 11: LAKE MAHINAPUA - FRANZ JOSEF
Accommodation: Rainforest Retreat
* Short drive to Pukekura to visit the Bushman Centre. Apparently the centre was there to offer an insight into how people used to make a living on the coast through Sphagnum Moss, timber milling, possum trapping, and helicopter deer recovery.... We certainly did enjoy our hot chocolate and pancakes!
* Heading further South to Franz Josef Glacier Village (nestled in Westland National Park) we passed a few Kettle Lakes. Fact - Kettle Lakes are created as glaciers retreat and leave huge chunks of ice behind that melt into deep lakes. Fact - Westland National Park contains 60 named glaciers. Glaciers descend from perpetual snow at 2,500m to a terminal face at 250m above sea level. There is only one other place in the world - Patagonia, where glaciers descend into rainforest.
* For the rest of the day at Rainforest Retreat, we chilled out and made good use of their steaming hot tub with other friends from the bus.
You might want to go for a cup of tea now and pop back later to read the rest....
We did warn you....get that brew....Day 12: FRANZ JOSEF
* A little walkabout on Franz Josef Glacier, following a Helicopter ride to the top of the Glacier. The views from the chopper were fantastic, we were so lucky to have had this opportunity! Once on the ice, crampons were on and we were off hiking on the world famous glacier! The hike was about 3 hours and we walked amongst some of the most pristine and awe-inspiring glacier scenery. We walked through crevasses, pinnacles and ice caves... Stunning! As well as seeing quite a few ice pools, which some of the lads decided to jump in! I'm up for doing a lot of crazy things, but that one I passed on very quickly! Haz agreed with me on that one!
* Facts- Franz Josef Glacier is 12km long, it's unique because it descends from the southern alps to less than 300m above sea level amidst a temperate rainforest, only 3 in the world to do so! It's fed by a 20sq m bowl of snow high in the southern alps. The glacier constantly retreats (goes back up the mountain) and advances. The rate of descent is staggering: the glacier can move up to 5m a day (over 10 times as fast as glaciers in the Swiss Alps!), generally it moves at a rate of 1m per day. Impressive huh!!?? * After our hike, we took to the gorgeously relaxing hot pools, 36, 38 and 40 degrees C. Utter bliss!
Day 13: FRANZ JOSEF - WANAKA
Accommodation: Base Wanaka
* Early start as it was a fair way to Wanaka. We eventually passed Lake Hawea which was just beautiful. We also stopped at Lake Matheson for a short walk to a lookout spot! The views of the snow-capped Mount Tasman and Mount Cook at sunrise reflected on Lake Matheson was spectacular.... It can't get much better than this!
* Next stop Ship's Creek where we actually spotted Hector's Dolphins swimming close to the shore. Fact - Hector's dolphin is one of the rarest species and is actually the smallest species of dolphin! So we were lucky to spot them surfing the waves! Just cruising!!! Fact - Cephalorhynchus hectori is confined to NZ waters. They reach a length of only 1.4m.
* From here we said goodbye to the coastline and headed inland, crossing the bridge at the Gates of Haast and we entered into yet another National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park. We stopped at a couple of picture perfect spots- Thunder Creek Falls and Blue Pools. * On our way to Wanaka, we passed the 5th largest lake in NZ, Lake Wanaka! Arriving late afternoon meant we didn't have much time to explore, so we went and found a local bar with Mel, our friend from the bus, and had a few drinks... Well actually no, one, as last orders were at 10pm! Wanaka = ghost town!
Day 14: WANAKA - QUEENSTOWN
Accommodation: Nomads Queenstown
* Fairly amusing first stop of the day- Puzzling World. The most puzzling place on the planet...apparently! Plenty of illusion rooms, tilted house and 3D maze, we were entertained for an hour or two before heading towards Queenstown. By the way, who knows how they achieved the Hobbit illusion in Lord of the Rings!?? Well, it's called the Ames Illusion.... Look it up! Hehe  |
| Nick lept off the ledge! |
 |
| Haz took the 134m plunge! |
Soon after it was Nick's turn to jump.... Slightly different feeling compared to Haz.... Adrenaline already pumping, feeling excited and raring to go! Bring it on!! After a countdown from 3, Nick was off the platform and free falling! It was such an incredible feeling of being free! Would do it again in a heart beat!
Day 15 &16: QUEENSTOWN
* These couple of days we chilled out and enjoyed Queenstown. Queenstown is a special and beautiful place. It's on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and is the self styled "adventure capital of the world." Fact- Lake Wakatipu is NZ longest lake (approx 75km) and the 3rd largest lake (290 sq km).
* One of the highlights was visiting FERGBURGER...seriously good burgers.... People will tell you, if you're going to Queenstown, you must have a Fergburger, and we're going to continue passing this advice on because these burgers are seriously good. And they do gluten free buns!!! The selection of burgers we had during our time in Queenstown include; Sweet Bambi (Fiordland Deer), Little Lamby (Prime NZ Lamb) and Bombay Chicken. Yum!! Best burger ever!! Day 17: MILFORD SOUND
* A very exciting day today! Now you've all heard of Milford Sound - the 8th natural wonder of the world. The journey to Milford was long, but we saw plenty of lovely scenery along the way, including: Te Anau, the gateway to the Fiordland National Park. Te Anau is NZ's 2nd largest lake after ? ..... Come on we mentioned it earlier. It takes it name from the caves discovered on its western shore - Te Ana - Au (the Cave of Swirling Water). An additional fact - it is the largest body of freshwater in Australasia.
* From Te Anau to Milford, we took the Miford highway - 120km stretch.
* Go on then we'll throw in some more facts for you...
* Fiordland National Park is 1.2 million hectares of land.* It contains 14 Fiords including Miford.
* Milford Sound is actually incorrectly named. 'Sound' means formed from a river, Milford is actually a glacier carved valley, filled with glacier water.... Something along those lines anyway.
* Next stop Mirror Lakes, these are ponds which rely on rainwater to keep them topped up. The water becomes stagnant which is what gives it it's reflective properties!
Fact - it rains 2 out of 3 days in Fiordland, as we got the one day of pure blue skies, how lucky we were!!??
* Knob's flat, next stop for a few snaps.
Points of interest that we passed- Lake Gunn and Lake Fergus. Lake Gunn is the largest of the Eglinton Valley lakes, but Fergus is higher in altitude. The Humboldt mountains could be spotted in the distance.
* Eventually the Milford road took us to the Homer Tunnel, the highest point we reached today which was 900m above sea level. Icicles had formed in the tunnel so you can tell how cold it was!!
* Shortly after the tunnel we arrived at the Wharf, where we boarded the 'Spirit of Milford' and were off, already spotting bottlenose dolphins after a few minutes on board.
Facts-
* The Fiord is 22km long (now can you remember what other fact we gave you regarding the same figure of 22km?) and dominated by 1,693m high mitre peak.
* It was actually Captain John Grono, who was the first European to discover Milford Sound (not Captain James Cook for a change!), he was a Welsh sealer, and named it Milford Haven.* It was in 1851 when John Lort Stoakes anchored his ship in the Fiord and changed the name to Milford Sound.
* We went up the Fiord and back down in a clockwise direction, passing through Bowen Falls, Cemetary Point and Sinbad Gully. Here we had some spectacular views of Mitre Peak. Fact - Mitre Peak is one of the highest mountains in the world at 1,682m, rising directly from the ocean.
* Further on we passed Fairy Falls and got some spectacular views of the magical rainbow created in the waterfall. We turned about in Anita Bay and headed back into the Fiord past Dale's Point which denotes the entrance to Milford Sound (that Captain Cook missed!) We continued cruising to our next point, Seal Rock. Fact - it is one of the few areas in the Fiord where the Southern Fur Seal is able to climb up out of the water onto the rocks.... Bless them! We were lucky enough to spot 3 seals on the rocks as we cruised past! The next impressive site were the Sterling Falls which look most spectacular after very heavy rain! The water was gushing down the falls at immense force, very impressive!
* Next we cruised round to Harrison Cove to Milford Deep Underwater Observatory Centre. We got off the boat and wondered round the museum learning all about the history of Milford and the Fiordland National Park. There was also an underwater viewing deck at a depth of 10m. The main attraction of the underwater viewing deck- black coral. Fact - Milford Sound is the only place where black coral grows at a depth less than 100m, and it's name derives from its black skeleton, but to the eye it actually white! * Milford Sound contains a rare and extremely fragile Eco system. The array of animals living here tend to grow very slowly and have long life spans. For this reason, species can be easily wiped out by human impacts or natural causes as such the Piopiotahi Marine Reserve was created.
* We boarded the boat again and headed back to the Wharf. Milford Sound is something quite special, and we were incredibly pleased to have had the opportunity to see the 8th natural wonder of the world! :)
* Back on the bus it was a long journey back to Queenstown with a short stop at Te Anau for Hot chocolate and chips before heading home!
Day 18, 19 & 20: QUEESNTOWN
Ok, so pretty much the whole time we've been in Queenstown we've chilled out and these three days where no different. Fergburger was back on the menu, as was Cookietime and Hot chocolate from Patagonia shop. Amongst all of this we did take the time to head up to Skyline on the Gondola to check out the remarkable views of 'The Remarkables Mountain Range' - cheap joke we know, and the Eyre Mountains. * For our last night we headed to Brazz pub for a drink and to watch Ireland Vs NZ rugby match. A great way to finish our time in Queenstown!
Day 21: QUEENSTOWN - CHRISTCHURCH - KAIKOURA
Accommodation: Fish Tank Lodge
* An early start leaving Queentown for a heck of a drive to Kaikoura. We passed through Kawarau Gorge again, a bit further up over the Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country where we stopped at Lake Pukaki and had spectacular views of Mount Cook. Fact - Mount Cook is NZ's highest peak, at 3,754m, it's Maori name is Aoraki which means 'cloud piercer.'
* Switching buses just outside Christchurch to carry on straight up to Kaikoura, we headed north across the Canterbury Plains. Home for the next three nights was a cute little hostel, and probably the nicest hostel we've been in whilst travelling, Fish Tank Lodge.Fact - Kaikoura means ' to eat Crayfish'- Kai - to eat, Koura - crayfish.
Day 22: KAIKOURA
* Well, our original plan was to go swimming with the Dusky dolphins (what's the smallest species of dolphin!??... You all love a good old pub quiz!!) but unfortunately the sea was too rough. So, we went whale watching instead!
* Although it was incredible cold, and the sea was insanely rough, we had an awesome time and we spotted loads of Humpback Whales, alongside the mighty Royal Albatross...A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Facts:
* NZ has 14 of the world's 24 species of albatross, including the Royal Albatross with a wingspan of over 3m and we saw it!!!! * The humpback is a Baleen whale which means they use baleen sieves to filter food from the ocean.
* Unfortunately we didn't see any Sperm whales, but lucky for us it meant we got 80% of our money back, the cheapest whale watching trip ever, at £14.50! Not too shabby aye!!
* It was a magical experience to see such majestic creatures of the ocean!
* Fish n Chips time.... You can't go to a seaside town without getting good old fashioned local Fish 'n' Chips! And boi they were scrummy!
Day 23: KAIKOURA:
* Today we decided to do the Kaikoura Peninsula walk which was a 3 hour trek around the coastline, passing wharf, beaches, and seal colonies.
Fact - The first European settler was Robert Fyffe who established a whaling station in 1842.
* It was a very enjoyable walk, despite the cold, wind and rain! We saw plenty of wildlife including; gannets, shags, fur seals and even a kingfisher!
* The ocean is essential for the survival for a third of NZ's bird species so as mentioned we saw plenty of gulls, shags, shearwaters, and terns.
* We saw plenty of seals in the most unusual places! It was quite amusing to see some of their resting spots- under a bush, by the boardwalk, on the boardwalk and even in the car park!
Facts:
* There is such an abundance of marine life in the area because not far from the shore lies the Kaikoura canyon. The canyon is a branch of the deep Hikorangi Trough, sited at the boundary of two of the world's crustal plates.
* The convergence of cold and warm currents in the vicinity of Kaikoura, and the configuration of the canyon itself can act to draw in deep, oceanic water close to shore and towards the surface. This 'upwelling' means the waters of the upper canyon can be rich with life. Zooplankton and Phytoplankton form the baseline of the food chain sustaining increasingly larger animals. * It's all getting a bit to scientific now Haz! Haz apologises, so once again time for Fish 'n' Chips and a wonder through the quirky shops.
Day 24: KAIKOURA - PICTON - WELLINGTON
Accommodation: Base Wellington
* Today's drive was quite boring apart from two things: seals and dolphins.
* Ohau Stream Seal Pups at Ohau Point. We pulled up and walked a short way to the waterfall where there were so many seal pups playing, fighting, swimming, jumping in the water! It was an incredible sight!
* From here it was a straight run through to Picton and where we bid farewell to the South Island! * As mentioned the second highlight of the day was dolphins. We saw them on the ferry across to Wellington, they were either Hector's or Dusky dolphins. The sea conditions were very rough, with swells 4-5m high, which meant some (lucky Nick :-s) had an atrocious journey. After never suffering from sea sickness before, Nick wasn't too impressed with the surprise this time around!
* For the evening, we went for a few drinks with Fern to a unique place called The Library. An awesome little bar tucked away and decorated .... Can you guess? in the style of a library!
Day 25 & 26: WELLINGTON
* Another relaxed few days, checking out Wellington Cable Car, Te Papa Museum (and making use of their free Internet!) and Wellington Botanic Gardens, with a few coffee's and hot chocolates scattered in there somewhere!
Day 27 & 28: WELLINGTON - TAUPO
Accommodation: Taupo Urban Retreat
* So we'll try not to repeat ourselves now. All the way up to Taupo, passing through Tangariro National Park (which played the role of what in the Lord of the Rings trilogy's? Can you remember?) and guess what we saw.....Snow! Yay! Our first experience of snow in NZ! It was quite pretty seeing it settle on the mountains, but it wasn't long till the weather changed to bright blue skies!
* Our time in Taupo was very similar to last time, the only difference really being accommodation and use of the local gym. Day 29 & 30: TAUPO - AUCKLAND
Accommodation: Base Auckland
* So passing through Sulphur City once more, we held our breath for as long as possible! Then an express trip with no frills straight up to Auckland. Our last Kiwi experience bus stop :(
* We didn't really do much exploring in Auckland, just a stroll down Queens street (the main strip), a catch up with some friends who were previously on the Kiwi bus, and a bit of a treat for ourselves.... A long awaited hair cut! ~Question: what's NZ's capital? Now we're fed up of having no comments on our blogs anymore, so the answers to our questions need to be posted as a comment on these blogs, or we won't write again!
~Last question, very easy: what is tubby, flightless, has lousy eyesight, pokes around for worms, is rare.....And you see them on a rugby pitch!?
Whoever posts the correct amount of answers (out of 6) will win a prize when we return from our adventure!! Or we'll send it in the post if you aren't living in the UK!! :-)
Absolutely epic time in New Zealand! :)
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