Melbourne to Sydney

Our first flight of the year ends with a bumpy landing – it’s seriously windy in Melbourne. We take the  bus to the train station, then hop on the free tram to near our hostel. We’re given a free drink voucher on arrival so we use it on a coffee and plan our day. We spend the first day getting our bearings and understanding how the free tram works (i.e. really well, it’s super useful). We wander down the main streets, Federation square and a few of the street art laden alleys.

Hoiser Lane

The next day we head to the State Library. There’s a few exhibitions in here, including a permeant fixture dedicated to infamous bushranger Ned Kelly. It includes his actual armour he was wearing when he was shot and captured, complete with bullet holes. We play some chess in the main room of the library. Melbourne’s IMAX claims to be the largest cinema screen in the world (Google seems to agree) so we feel obliged to go and see Dunkirk there, even though we saw it back in Wellington. It’s worth it though, as it improves the experience tenfold. As we walk back I notice something moving in the trees, but it’s too dark to see. Further down the path, one of the critters steps towards a street light. We later identify our first run in with Australia’s varied wildlife as a Possum, who run rampage around the park at night.

Saturday is an early start as we have a bus tour booked for the Great Ocean road. This starts a little to the South West of Melbourne, so it made sense to do a tour rather than drive there and back. We drive for a few hours until we reach Torquay, birthplace of the surfing brand Ripcurl, where we have morning tea and watch the surfers from the beach. Next stop is the gateway which marks the start of the Great Ocean Road, which as the name suggests is a stunning trip between ocean and cliff. We stop for lunch at a holiday park where we also walk around spotting parakeets and koalas. Being nocturnal, the koalas are asleep in the trees but I did spot one being rudely awoken by a bird. We stop for a rainforest walk before heading to the highlights of the GOR.

Seconds from disaster

When we reach the iconic 12 apostles, it begins pouring it down with rain. It’s a bit of a shame not only because we get wet but because the scenery isn’t quite as picturesque in the grey. Still pretty impressive, mind. Also we spot our first Wallaby on the way. No-one can quite agree how many apostles there actually are, just that there arn’t 12. Next is Loch Ard Gorge, which I think outshines 12 apostles, and Gibson steps. At the bottom of the steps is a beach and caves complete with Stagmalites, etc. It’s a long journey back and a late night.

A number of Apostles

We have to change hostel the next day as we have now booked our first campervan. It’s a relocation deal between Melbourne and Sydney at a reduced price, but we have to pick it up Tuesday. It’s not really an issue because there’s plenty to do in Melbourne. We start the day at the Queen Victoria Markets – the worlds largest open air market. We mooch about, not really planning on buying anything and have a bit of lunch. We then head to the ACMI. We do the permenant free exhibition, a history of film and moving image which dips into Austrailia’s contribution. I play on an original NES for the first time. We see our second Academy Award of our trip (the first being in the Roxy in Wellington, this one Cate Blancett’s from The Aviator). It’s certainly my kind of museum. We walk across town back to the library where we start a free walking tour, but a couple of stops in it’s clear Heidi isn’t feeling well so we stop. I drop her off at the hostel and go for a walk down by the river taking pictures. That night the hostel manager has bought pizza for everyone, and we watch the first Harry Potter with some great commentary from our fellow patrons.

We take it fairly easy the next day and head out a bit later for a river cruise. This tkes us out of Melbourne and to the nearby Williamstown. Here we grab a map and give ourselves a self guided tour. It’s pleasant but very sleepy. We have coffee and cake for lunch. When we get back to Melbourne we head back to the ACMI for another free exhibition – this one about women in the videogame industry. It’s essentially pods where you can play games with a bit of a bio next to it. Heidi and I play a game called Tricky Towers for a time probably pushing acceptable boundaries. That night we go to a rooftop bar for a quick drink and grab a gourmet doughnut on our way back.

I don't know what this is

Melbourne by sunset

It’s time to pick up the camper. We head out of town to an inductrial district not far from the airport and see her for the first time – and she is massive. I’ve never driven a campervan before, and this is a 4-birth, more of an RV than campervan. But I can’t back out now. Luckily, it’s easy to get on the main road from the rental place and within 30 minutes, I’m fairly comfortable. “Punch it Chewie!” I say to Heidi, but she ignores me.

We take Felicity (the campervan, my naming) the long way round to Sydney, through what is sometimes affectionately known as the coastal route (you see the sea two, maybe three times). Shortly after we leave we pass a place called ‘Cannibal Creek’. I ask Heidi if she wants to stop there for lunch but she says no, which I thought was super weird. Instead we opted to have lunch in a shopping centre car park after a few hours of driving. It’s only after this that I realise I should be waving at every campervan coming towards us in the other lane. When the other driver waves back, it gives me a joy I can’t begin to put into words.

We head to a place called Lakes Entrance, which seems like a nice place but we don’t really a have a chance to explore. Its getting dark and starting to drizzle so we attempt to cook our first meal in the camper. But we can’t figure out the gas, so we give up and go to McDonalds. The next morning I figure out the gas (an extra secret valve I wasn’t told about) and we cook up some sausages for breakfast. I am already loving camping.

Camperman

The next day we drive for a few hours until we reach Ben Boyd national park for lunch and a little walk around the forest. We don’t see any wildlife  but there is a lookout over the dramatic cliffs that meet the sea. After this, somehow I miss the turning to stay on the main road and we end up in a place called Pambula Beach where we see a large mob of kangeroos chilling in a fenced area. After finding the main road we continue until we find our first free campsite – one in a forest. The only facilities here are a toilet and running water. We agree that we probably can’t do consecutive nights at free camp sites, as we wouldn’t be able to shower (plus you usually need power to charge the fridge). I do a bit of star gazing and I’m pretty sure I see a shooting star.

Into the wild

The next day we arrive in Sydney. Once again it’s an industrial district out of town so we have to find the metro and get that to get into the centre. Fortunately our hostel for the night is not too far from the station. We stay in ‘The Pod’ which is like a hostel except the bunk beds are more like boxes with a curtain, giving you a bit more privacy. There’s a bit of a mix up at check in, we appear to have booked the both of us into one bed and so as a result we end up in separate rooms.  I go out just to check out the immediate surroundings, but we’re both pretty knackered so we have a chilled evening.

On our first full day in Sydney, we head for another ‘free’ (read: pay what you want) walking tour. We walk around the old colonial buildings and get quite the history lesson of Sydney. The tour ends by the harbour where we get our first glimpse of the iconic Opera House and bridge opposite. On walking back, Heidi spots a Guylian chocolate cafe which seems like a one-off (actually a large chain in Australia) and we have lunch and a coffee (mocha, obviously).

Bird cages

After our second night we have to change hostel again – we opt for a 4 bed dorm and when we get in it appears the two girls in there have spread their stuff out all over the room (it later transpires that only one was the real culprit). We spend a bit of time shopping for necessities, then we have lunch in the Domain. We walk through the Botanic gardens back to the Opera House. Heidi spots rugby referee Wayne Barnes. Given that the Wallabies are playing the All Blacks tonight in Sydney, we guess he must be reffing. We continue on to the opera house and get a few snaps up close. On our way back into town Heidi tries and fails to get my attention, as she’s spotted another recognisable face – actor Jason Momoa. I turn back and indeed see a tall man with dreadlocks surrounded by bodyguards. As Heidi’s a big fan I take her word for it. When we go back to town we catch a dance that is performed on the side of a tall building.

Extreme Ballet

Silly pose next to iconic building

That night we head to a pub to watch the rugby. We speak to a nice couple (she from New Zealand, he from Scotland), then watch the All Blacks dominate as they do. I have my first beer in a while.

Something of a travel hack for you – Sydney’s transport system is usually capped at $15 dollars a day but on Sunday this cap is reduced to the odd figure of $2.65. We take advantage of this and head inland to the Blue Mountains (a 4 hour round trip). We opt for a hop-on hop-off bus tour which we later find out you don’t really need, though we did have a nice walk down to a waterfall we wouldn’t have otherwise. The main lookout is called Echo Point given you a full 180 degrees view of the mountains which are stunning, as well as the ‘three sisters’ – giant stone structures. We have a little walk and I go down some very steep steps to reach one of the three sisters, except it’s seriously crowded. I think we both fall asleep on the train ride back, and once again opt for a an early night.

Gordon Falls

At Echo Point

Next time – Syndey to Brisbane!

Wakana, Queenstown, Milford Sound and Christchurch

It’s counting down to our last week in New Zealand with just 3 more stops remaining. The first of which is Wanaka. We’re only here on night and we get there in the afternoon when it’s hammering it down with rain. We’re not sure what else we can do so we decide to go to the quirky independent cinema to see War for the Planet of the Apes (8/10). Next stop is Queenstown, the country’s adventure and party capital. On the way in we stop at the original A. J Hackett Bungy, the first commercial bungy jump in the world. We watch a short documentary about the man, who turned his hobby of jumping off tall things into, I presume, a multi-million dollar industry. One person on our bus does the jump here, other adrenaline junkies are saving it for the Nevis bungy, the largest in the world. Go hard or go home, I suppose.

We arrive at the hostel, do a quick food shop then think about what we want to do. Heidi and I are not really down to do much in the way of thrill rides, or partying, but because of how the bus works we have three nights here. I go with two lads from the bus up the gondola, which takes you up the giant mountain that overlooks the town. The views from the top of Queenstown surrounded by beautiful mountains and the massive lake are spectacular. From there, we get on the luge – small carts you roll down a paved track. You only have a brake and let gravity do the rest, it’s pretty great fun.

That night there’s a dinner put on by the Kiwi Experience – chicken and ribs. It’s a great meal but we don’t hang around for drinks as tomorrow we have a day trip, also courtesy of kiwi, to Milford Sounds.

We get up seriously early and hop on the bus. The sounds are a good two hour drive, so halfway we stop for coffee and snacks. The last 45 minutes of the drive are a stunning jaunt through the snowy mountain range, at one point going through a mountain via a tunnel. We emerge from the other side as our driver plays the Jurassic Park theme. It’s apt but not needed to inspire awe at our surroundings.
We arrive at the ferry port and shortly get on the ferry. The trip is about 1 ½ hours. Milford Sounds is pretty incredible, and our ferry captain provides narration pointing out waterfalls and, once again, seals chilling on the rocks. Fun fact: It turns out Milford Sounds is misnamed because it’s actually really quiet actually a fjord.

No scuba gear, no pot of gold

It’s a long day so we’re pleased to get into bed. Unfortunately, there are people in our 8 bed dorm who don’t seem to care we’re trying to sleep and chat for ages (mainly umming and arring about whether to go out). When some of them eventually do go out they come back and wake us both up. I can’t get back to sleep so I read for a few hours in the log cabin-esque lounge (complete with fire). We change rooms for our final night.

On our last day I do the walk up the same mountain where the gondola and luge is. The walk is longer and harder than I imagined, but as it’s a clearer day the view from the top is that much better. Later we meet people for drinks and have a nice night chatting, and saying goodbye to some of, our travellers from the bus.

As if the walk wasn't "breath-taking" enough

Queenstown is often where the crowd on the kiwi bus changes. Some people go south to Invercargill and Dunedin, some people spend more time in Queenstown. The bus, therefore, becomes instantly more clicky with people predominantly sticking with those from their previous bus. As a result, Heidi and I are mainly hanging around a group of lads (a mixture of UK, Germany and one American). Next stop is Lake Tekapo.

Before arriving at the hostel we visit the church that sits on the side of the lake. This is one of the most photographed buildings in New Zealand, not just because of it’s beautiful surroundings but because Lake Tekapo is a great place to see the milky way. Which is why Heidi and I are booked on a star gazing tour at night.

This might actually have been on the way to Lake Tekapo...

We treat ourselves to a double room at Lake Tekapo, a small chalet with a double bed and two heaters. The hostel has a large dining/lounge area with a roaring fire. We venture out with the lads to climb the mountain. Before we begin our ascent there are warnings of ice – enter at your own risk type of things. These are ignored, but after about 30 mins Heidi and I are separated from the guys and she quite rightly points out that we will have to descend through the ice, a task more arduous than traversing up through it. She’s right, so we return to the hostel and drink hot chocolate by the fire.


We get picked up for our star gazing at 10.30pm and get taken to the observatory atop the same mountain we attempted to climb earlier. We’re given something of a tour around the observatory, and our guide points out stars and constellations with a laser pointer. We then get to look through some powerful telescopes at the moon, Saturn and a great number of stars. Unfortunately, because it’s a full moon it’s too bright to see the milky way. When we get back down the mountain it’s minus 8 degrees and it takes a while to stop shivering and go to sleep.

Me, shifting in and out of our known reality

Out final stop is Christchurch. We arrive here on the 5th but our flight isn’t until the 10th – we thought we could use the downtime. And downtime there was because Christchurch is still recovering from a large earthquake in 2011. We find that for the most part they have been planning the rebuilt, and it’s only this year they have actually started. There are some temporary work-arounds, such as the Re:Start mall, which is entirely comprised of shipping containers and food trucks.
The only attraction we decide to do is the tram, which is a restored antique one. The tram itself is very pretty but the tour consists of listing the buildings that were destroyed, and the buildings their completing. As we go round there’s some concern part of the track will be closed off because the local super rugby team the Crusaders are having their victory parade today (remember, we watched the final in Franz Josef?). We get off the tram, pick up a free flag and become loyal supporters for the afternoon.

Heidi and I manage to get our flag signed by a few players, including All Black captain Kieran Read. We listen to the speeches then have our picture taken with the cup. It’s the highlight of our stay in Christchurch.

We book our last night in a hotel near the airport and for the last meal I have a burger from New Zealand’s own Burgerfuel. We first saw one of these in Sri Lanka, but their everywhere in NZ and...their pretty damn good. The quality of the patty far surpasses other mainstream burger joints and the other ingredients, of which Heidi is not a fan, compliment it perfectly. It’s only my second since we’ve been here and I’m sad I haven’t had more. I also attempt to eat a McDonalds pie because, y’know, it’s a pie from McDonalds but as always my eyes are bigger than my stomach (also the pie was surprisingly average).

It’s an early flight so after only a few hours sleep we get up and trudge along to the small airport and leave our temporary home. We’ve spent 10 months in the land of the long white cloud, while we only planned 4. Just like when we left Wellington, I’m keen to leave but the feeling’s ultimately bittersweet.


Next stop...Australia!

Kaiteri, Westport, Lake Maninapua and Franz Josef

It's an early start as we head back on to the Kiwi Experience bus, which takes us all the way from one side of the city to the other, where the ferry terminal is. The ferry journey takes 3 hours, the last third of which goes through the very pretty Marlborough sounds.

Island in the Sun

We spend the rest of the day in transit, before finally reaching our hostel in Kaiteri in the evening. We do a quick walk up a short uphill track then return to cook dinner in a cramped kitchen. Our hotel in Wellington didn't have an oven, but the hostel here does so we cook a pasta bake which Heidi has long craved for. The next morning we are taking a water taxi up to a beech and track which is part of the massive Abel Tasman National Park. The walk takes over an hour but we have to kill a bit more time before our taxi picks us up and takes us back to the hostel, not before checking out a few seals chilling on the rocks. 

The rest of the day we travel to Westport, with a few stops for walks and so on. It's getting colder the further south we go, so when we arrive at the very Bohemian, surfer themed hostel we're pleased to see a large lounge with a roaring fire. This is where we spend most of our evening.  

The activities in Westport are surfing and paddle boarding, but given the low temperatures no one is keen. Shortly after leaving we go on a coastal walk which ends with a platform looking out at a whole community of seals on the rocks.

Poser

Our stop for lunch is at Pancake Rocks, named due to the unusual shape due to erosion. The waves here crash with such power it causes the water to shoot up several metres in the air, occasionally creating a cool rainbow effect.

We stay at a lodge in Lake Maninapua, where we're told we're to have a fancy dress party, the theme of which is 'bad taste'. Heidi and I don't partake in the dressing up, but we enjoy a bit of the party with the cross dressers, a giant condom, et al.

Dirty lens

Our next stop is something we've been waiting for with great anticipation - Franz Josef, home of the Franz Josef glacier. We've booked ourselves onto the 'heli hike' which involves getting a helicopter ride onto the glacier, then wondering about on it for a few hours. As neither of us have been in a helicopter before, or on a glacier before, we're very excited.

Shortly after arriving and checking in we and a large portion of our kiwi experience travellers head to the centre for a quick safety briefing. We're to come back here tomorrow morning for an early lift-off. Heidi and I spend the rest of the evening in a nearby bar (though, more of a restaurant) to watch the Super Rugby final. I make the wise decision not to have a few beers.

It's an early start as we return to the centre the following morning, get our gear on and meet our guide for the day. There's some final weather checks but we're given the all-clear. Heidi and I are put in separate choppers and we take off. The ride over to the glacier provides some amazing views of the glacier and the mountains that surrounds it. The glacier itself is situated in a valley in between two huge mountains. 

We land on a tiny flat square of ice and wait for the other chopper. Heidi's follows shortly and we begin our walk. There's ice for miles around us. Other guides and people making paths look like ants in the distance. We begin climbing the glacier, and I begin dishing out my 'Mr Freeze from Batman & Robin' ice puns. 

Ice to see you

The track, which is constantly being carved by the guides, takes us past deep crevasses in the ice, as well as through them. We stop every once in a while so our guide can ell us a little about the glacier, and this helps make the 3 hour walk less intense. The time does fly though and before we know it we're back on the helicopters returning to the little town. The heli hike will be one of the most expensive one-off costs of the whole trip, but we're certain it will be an experience we will never forget.


 

GET TO THE CHOPPAA

That night we have a few drinks with our kiwi experience group, then hit the hay.

Sunset at Franz Josef

Next time - Queenstown, Milford Sound, Lake Tekapo and Christchurch!

The blog's back, baby

 

Me and my city

Yeah, I know. I haven’t kept up with this blog for around 8 months and for that I’m sort of sorry, but the truth is as we’ve been living and working in the windy city of Wellington, there hasn’t been enough going on each week to write significant regular update on. We’ve been too busy saving for the next leg of travelling which will be the most significant, spanning around 6 months. I mean, I could have written a monthly post but y’know, I just didn’t. Let’s move on.

Life hasn’t been all sedentary, mind. Which is why I thought I’d dedicate this comeback post to the highlights of our 8 months in Wellington. Here they are, in no particular order:

r/wellington; You’re on the internet so chances are you’ve heard of giant mega forum Reddit. Early on in our stay I checked out the local subreddit for advice and tips, but found more than what I bargained for as the community is fairly active and organises multiple meetups. Whilst my first was a pleasant outing at a bar, over time these meetups ranged from walks to escape rooms. It’s something I would definitely recommend using if you find yourself in a city for a long time where you don’t know anybody. I met a whole host of cool people and did a whole range of things I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I even ended up organising a few cinema meetups myself. Whilst an organised “cake walk” (like a pub crawl, but with cake) wins for originality, a walk up Colonial Knob was a real highlight.

Lions tour: The main benefit of extending our stay in Wellington (other than, y’know, money) was that we got to stay in New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions tour. The Lions are only formed every 4 years, and come to New Zealand every 12 so we took it as providence, and back in March bought tickets to see them play the local Super Rugby team, the Hurricanes. It wouldn’t be the first time we’d step foot into the Westpac Stadium – back in February we’d gone to see the Sevens tournament. I’d read that the Sevens in wellington was a big deal, but it suffered in recent years due to mismanagement (mainly strict regulations on alcohol sales) and so was not the event it once was (in fact since then, Wellington has now lost the Sevens tournament to Auckland.) We still had a great weekend watching some 20 hours of rugby.
We’d also see the Hurricanes a few times before the Lions. Super Rugby, he tournament between a selection of NZ, Australian, South African and Japanese teams, is wildly exciting, with a pace unseen in European rugby. But the Lions did not disappoint against these sides. When we saw them against the Hurricanes they started incredibly strong, only to lose their form near the end and end up drawing.
The day after seeing this game I came home from work to a very cagey Heidi. I can’t quite put it into words but something was off. She went out to meet some “friends for a drink” as I was supposed to be working at the Welsh pub (they needed extra people for a very busy week). My shift was cancelled so Heidi asked if I wanted to come out. She was very insistent, and told me she’d met someone I knew. So I went out and found Heidi...sat with my dad.
The week before he’d had a revelation of sorts – that the next time the Lions toured NZ he’d be in his 70s and would, in all probability, not fancy it. And with me being here it gave him that extra motivation to get on a plane, travel half way round the world and get some tickets for the big games against the All Blacks. And one of those tickets was for me.
The three of us had a great week which culminated in dad and I witnessing the Lions historic win against the All Blacks. They went on to draw the final test, meaning a draw for the entire series. It’ll be something I never forget.

Us at Westpac Stadium for the Rugby Sevens

Outings: Without a car or a lot of expendable cash we often felt quite confined to the city. Along with the aforementioned Colonial Knob we did occasionally make an effort to get out of town and head into the incredible surroundings of the Wellington region. When dad visited, he rented a car and the three of us had a day trip down to Lake Ferry. This is further south than Welly, and on a clear day you can see the peaks on the South Island, which we did. Dad also spotted something in the water, between the lake and the sea. After much inspection through camera lenses and binoculars we could then make out that it was a frolicking Sea Lion. As we were leaving he made his way to land and we were able to see him a bit more clearly.
There’s a town on the way to Lake Ferry called Martinborough, where we had visited a few months earlier. The region is predominantly known for it’s vineyards and wineries, so we booked ourselves on a wine tour and had a minibus drive us and 3 older couples round as we tested a huge variety of reds and whites.
The only other tour we shelled out for was a Lord of the Rings tour. There are a few spots in the Wellington region where scenes were filmed, not to mention the rather awesome Weta workshop where props and sets and built for a huge proportion of Hollywood films. The tour took us to the workshop, where we awed at weapons from District 9 and the full size, operational Warthog from Neil Blomkamp’s Halo 3 promotional short films. The tour also took us to sites where Rivendell and Isengard scenes were filmed, and our guide was informative and entertaining.
Another outing we embarked on was the Paekakariki Escaparment, which is along the Kapita coast and is conveniently located between two train stations, so we travelled to the furthest and walked backwards. It was a stunning day and we had great views of Kapita Island, which is a nature reserve. Much to Heidi chagrin, the walk included two rather large swing bridges.

Sea? I wasn't lion

Ready for battle

As a city Wellington has been very good to us. It’s a very lively city where most weekends, especially in the summer, will be host to some public event or festival. The food and drink here is also exceptional, with a huge range of independent restaurants, cafes and bars. Notable examples include Mama Browns, a soul-food diner which serves an excellent chicken and waffles, R Bar, a pirate themed underground bar and the Foxglove, where we had an excellent steak when dad was visiting. Across from out hotel is Capital Market, a food court featuring cuisine from across Asia. I have now developed a taste for a Filipino dish called Dinuguan, the main ingredient of which is...pig blood. Tasty as hell, though.

And so, with just a few days to go I find myself in a conflicted mental state. On the one hand, I’m keen to get moving. We extended our stay here by roughly 5 months, and living and working in one place for a long period of time was never part of the plan. But conversely as the end of our trip looms I realise that I will certainly miss Wellington’s vibe. It’s trendy without being pretentious. It’s cool without being too try-hard. And it’s just the right size. Heidi and I know we’ll come back one day (maybe in 12 years!)

Cuba Street, Wellington

Taupo and Wellington

On our way out of Rotorua the bus stops at a beautiful redwood forest were we have a little walk, then it's straight to Taupo. The famous thing here is the Alpine crossing, but our driver warns that this may be not be happening, as it's pretty cold and pretty windy. Once checked in to our hostel, I make some dinner and chat with some of the other travellers, including a Canadian girl who'd been travelling 3 years! Wish I has thought of that a few years ago. 

The next day Heidi and I have some kayaking booked. During breakfast we learn that the Alpine crossing was in fact cancelled, meaning that many travellers would have to stay an extra night in Taupo. Wellington, where we will be spending a long time, is not that far from Taupo, so we can always come back for this and a few other activities. This morning, however, we're going kayaking down the river. We shoot off to the kayaking place and meet our guided, a young American guy whose been in the country for a few months. Once down by the river, he takes us and another couple through a few basic pointers, and we're on the river. At Heidi's request, we're in a two seater kayak which to my mind is a perfect recipe for arguments. With guidance we get to grips with steering and that, and even develop a system of communication that seems to work (Left! No, go left, paddle right! Etc.). The river is rather beautiful, and near the end of the stretch we stop by a hot spring. I have a little dip just to experience it, but no one else is keen so I don't get too involved. Whilst the kayaking was good, I could have happily done it for a bit longer. Still, it was a nice taster and maybe next time we can go solo!

The random tandem

Billy no mates in the hot pool

We wonder round Taupo for a short while, visiting amongst other place the All Blacks shop where Heidi gets very tempted by baby clothes for her nephew born earlier this year. After reminding her that he has doubled in size since we last saw him and that he would hulk out of most of the clothes on offer, we wonder round some more. We walk down the waterfront but it's so windy, even the birds are struggling (much to my amusement). We have a boat trip planned for the evening but when we arrive we find that it's been cancelled because it's too windy. Gutted.

The bus makes a handy spot to Tongariro national park. We stop for some snaps of Mount Doom (not it's real name, but whatever) then do an awesome 2 hour walk to a waterfall which is pretty stunning.

He was right, you can't walk it

Quite high

The next stop is in a place called River Valley. This is essentially a lodge in the middle of nowhere offering two activities: white water rafting and horse riding. We do want to do white water rafting, but we are quickly running out of money and it's a bit pricey. fortunately the activities are early in the morning the next day, so we only have to hang about for a short while before we're back on the bus and heading to Welly.

Earlier on in our NZ trip we quickly realised that if you are planning to work, most places will expect a commitment of at least 8 weeks. So we decided to enjoy our tour of the North Island, but then look for work when we get to Wellington, where we will spend approximately 3 months. This excites me. I have never lived in the middle of a big city and by all accounts Wellington sounds like a sweet place to be. We arrive at Base hostel, have a bit of macaroni and cheese and hit the hay. 

We decided that for our first day in the big city, we should go our separate ways and do a bit of exploring. I can't even remember where I went other than the waterfront, but it was a good thing to get our bearings and know roughly where certain places are. I find Cuba Street, a high street populated with coffee shops, record shops, bookshops and all things hipster. I know I'm going to like it here. When I go back to the Hostel for lunch I bump into Heidi who had the same idea. 

After this we start a mission that consume the next few days - getting some clothes together for an interview. The next day we head to an outlet store a bit out of town but it is pissing it down with rain all day. Luckily I do manage to get 2 fairly decent fitting shirts, but that's all. We discovered a Welsh pub in the city centre that, amazingly, shows all the Welsh rugby games at ridiculous o'clock. To get round the 24 hour drinking laws, they have to sell tickets to this. We want to see Wales play Argentina at 6 in the morning, so we plan an early night Saturday. However, we didn't get much sleep because of a large group of seriously anti-social LADS who only seemed to go out for 2 hours. It was by far the worst hostel experience yet, and I can't imagine it being topped (touch wood).

Anyway, we watched the rugby and after a day staying awake, we finally turned in for a good night's rest. Then, at around midnight, Wellington's 3rd biggest recorded earthquake began shaking our seemingly fragile hostel. It's a hard experience to describe, not least because I was understandably dazed having just woken up. It shook the hostel for about a minute, after which people began to populate the hallway. The general idea seemed to be to get out. And so a hundred or so travellers filled the streets, where we waited for a few hours for the all-clear to go back inside. We tried stealing some wi-fi from Burger King for updates, where we learnt there was a "Tsunami threat" (this is different to a warning). After we eventually were allowed back in Heidi and I packed some things just in case we would have to make a sudden departure. We stayed awake for a few more hours, keeping tabs on the tsunami threat, but around 5 went back to sleep. We later found out the earthquake had hit 7.8 on the Richter scale.

The next day the council put out a warning not to walk around the city, as loose glass could be falling. So we stayed in housebound, only to venture to Burger King for some dinner. There were aftershocks all week. As I write this, some three weeks later, we just had a large aftershock shaking our hotel. 

As the city eventually opened up, I completed my interview ensemble, and pushed on getting my CV to recruitment agencies and employers. I had two interviews the following week, the second one of which opened up an interview on the Friday...for which I was awarded the job. I won't say who it's with, but it's admin support for a large charity.

This blog will undoubtedly take a different direction for the next 3-4 months as I talk about life in Wellington. As we are essentially living here, I might vary it rather than just relaying my experiences as that might get a bit boring. I'll do my best, folks, and Ill try to update once a week!

The beehive a.k.a Parliament

Next time: I don't know I'll come up with something.

Hobbiton and Rotorua

The Kiwi bus makes two stops between Waitomo and Rotorua. The first is Karangahake Gorge, which is quite stunning but unfortunately the walk is cut short by a locked gate. Oh well, onto the next stop: Hobbiton!

A wee bit of context: Whilst location scouting for the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the late 90's (I know right), Peter Jackson and his crew settled on farmland close to the small town of Matamata for the setting of Hobbiton, the home of Bilbo, Frodo and the other Hobbits. The farmer who owned the land agreed and the film crew set to work building the 'holes in the ground' wherein the hobbits live. After filming the set was dismantled, and only the shells of the holes remained. Yet, people would travel from around the world just to stand in Hobbiton and see these modern relics. At the end of the naughties, PJ came back with his crew and rebuilt the set for the disappointing Hobbit trilogy. This time, however, they decided to leave the set as is and charge people to enter, thereby making *loads* of cash.

The bus drops us off at the gift shop which is fine and we also grab a bite to eat. Another bus then takes you to the set, complete with a video introduction from Peter Jackson. The famous score from the films is also played. We're introduced the site by an impressively enthusiastic tour guide, who takes us through a path and suddenly...we're in Hobbiton. That's the path that Bilbo runs out of shouting 'I'm going on an adventure' and that Frodo and Gandalf ride in on. Stepping into the fictional world is very awesome. This isn't like a Universal studios reconstruction, this is the real deal, and the attention to detail is quite amazing. We walk around all the various hobbit-holes, including Bilbo's own Bagend, and our tour guide gives us lots of interesting factoids. The tour ends at the pub for a ginger beer. The village feels bigger in the films, but I guess that's just movie magic. As a result, the tour is quite short but it was a great experience nonetheless. We head into Rotorua, find our hostel and hit the hay.

Bagend

To be fair, they are designed for Hobbits

Rotorua is famous for a number of geothermic sites, so we make a booking through a discount website to go to a site called Wai-O-Tapu. It's first thing in the morning, so we get up and go straight to the information site. When the driver arrives, he asks us if we booked through bookme, to which we say yes. He then asks how we did this. We're not sure how to answer this question. It turns out that the deal wasn't meant to be on the site this month. He then asks us what we think he should do. I'm not sure what he expected us to say so I suggested he just let us on the bus and speak to bookme later, to which he agreed.

On our way up to the site we stop at a bubbling mud pool. It's just the first of many cool geothermic things we see today. as we're leaving I notice a girl I sort of recognise. I hear her name, Heidi, from one of her friends. "Excuse me, you're not from Evesham, are you?" I ask and all three look at me in disbelief. Turns out I worked with this Heidi in a cinema around 3 years ago. Crazy small world. 

We go up to the site for a short explore, before it's time to see the Lady Grey Geyser erupt. They trigger the eruption by adding some natural soap to the Geyser. It's a gradual process but eventually the slight bubbling turns into a full erupting, and the foamy water goes several meters in the air, and this goes on for quite some time. We then go back to walk around the rest of the park. It's full of boiling water pits, crazy coloured rocks and lakes and gaseous mist. It's a somewhat other-worldly experience which we both enjoy.

A right geyser

The champagne pool didn't taste as advertised

Lovely beach?

When we get back into town we go to the i-site to research more things to do. We have heard about the Buried Village, which is part museum and part actual site of a village that was decimated in a volcanic eruption. We think this sound good, like a sort of mini-Pompeii and so we ask the best way of getting there. The cheapest way is to rent a car. I was reluctant to rent a car whilst travelling, but Rotarua is a fairly quiet place so I put my driving worries aside and go for it. I pick up the car and drive it back to the hostel (after getting used to the automatic transmission in the parking lot) and we make a plan for the next day.

The first thing we drive to is the Ogo. Ogo is zorbing. I don't think there is a distinction, I can only think that there's some copyright issue. This particular Ogo is one where the smaller sphere has some water, thereby keeping you (roughly) in one place as the larger sphere tumbles down a straight track on a hill. It's a great thrill. After this, we head to a maze. I still don't know why we went to a maze, but we did. We have some time to kill before our booking at the buried village, so we decide to take the car out to some of the lakes out of town. We go to Lake Tarawara and begin walking round. Little did we know that the full walk is 5-7 hours long, and we have to head back after 45 minutes to make our slot at the Buried Village.

The village begins with the museum, where alarm bells started. It's an impressive museum, don't get me wrong, but there's so much detail about the eruption and the lives it affected I can't help feel they're reaching. We start walking around the alarm bells get louder. Essentially there really isn't much of the village other than a few holds in the ground where houses once stood and a few stones. They've rebuilt some shacks to show what they would have looked like. The walk ends up being quite nice, with an impressive waterfall at the end, but we can't help but feel a bit ripped off by this. As attractions go it was a fairly pricey one (something they like justifying by saying it's "privately owned")...I could have gone on the Ogo again! To make up for the disappointment we drive the car about a bit and visit some of the other lakes around the area. The scenery here is particularly beautiful and even just driving (which I normally don't enjoy) is a treat. 

We then had a very chilled weekend in town. We went to the cinema (The Accountant, 6.8/10) and watched the rugby with a fry-up breakfast. Attempting to upload all my photos I managed to deleted roughly two weeks worth of photos from my camera which I'm very upset about. I keep telling myself the trip isn't the photo album (or vice-versa) but I've wiped Hobbiton, my Ogo video and loads of great panoramics. As mentioned last post, the snaps above are from Heidi's camera and my next post should be back to mine.

Next time - Taupo and River Valley.

Mission Bay, Hot Water Beach and Waitomo

(Note: On trying to upload all my photos and videos, I accidentally deleted about two weeks worth of them. I was livid. The photos below are Heidi's)

On returning to Auckland we stay in a different hostel in the middle of town. We get back on the Sunday, with a plan to sort out our bank account (which we started in Paihia) and Tax numbers the following day. However, we quickly find out on Monday that it's a public holiday, and the bank and post office will both be shut. We opt to do precisely nothing instead. On Tuesday we get this admin sorted out (which included a lengthy trip to a dreadful post office) then go to our new temporary home in an area of the city called Mission Bay.

We are staying the rest of the week with Mike and Eva. We discovered the couple on Cultural Exchange, which is the sister website of WWOOF, and is so similar you wonder why they need to be separate (something to do with the organic farming element). On locating their house through the rain, we're met by Eva, a super friendly French lady with excellent cooking skills. She gives us some tips for the surrounding area and some things in Auckland we missed. The deal for accommodation is the same as WWOOF - we are asked to do a few hours of work every day. We get up late Thursday morning and get to it. I'm on the power washer, cleaning the patio and driveway whilst Heidi sweeps. We then go on a jaunt to better  familiarise ourselves with Mission Bay. It's a very nice, chilled area and feels like a small town of itself, rather than a district of the city. The centrepiece is its sprawling beach, facing out towards the volcanic island of Rangitoto (more on this later).

When we get back we briefly meet Mike, but then I'm heading out to check out Mission Bay's art deco cinema to see Woody Allen's Cafe Society. It's pretty great. Mike and Eva have gone out so when I get back from the cinema, Heidi has cooked dinner. When Mike and Eva get back they set out a deal - we can have Friday off if we work a full day Saturday whilst they are there. 

After a few hours work the next day (Thursday) we go into the centre of Auckland and go to the art museum and the Auckland Domain, which is a Giant park. Not much to say here, to be honest. On our full day off we take the ferry to Rangitoto Island. This is Auckland's latest Island, being only 600 years young. It's a steep walk to the top (and it was pretty hot) but the views from the top were stunning. It's an interesting walk as well, seeing plant life trying to grow through the volcanic rock.

At the top of Rangitoto

The main highlight of this week was Mike and Eva themselves. We felt so comfortable in their home and this was due to them both being incredibly warm and friendly to the two backpacking strangers who'd emailed them a few days before. On Sunday, they had friends over for lunch whilst Heidi and I went to the cinema (Doctor Strange this time, 7/10) and by the evening, they were quite inebriated on red wine. It's the first time on the trip I've been a bit sad I'm not drinking, because I would have loved to have joined them.

Many, many months ago whilst planning the trip we booked a hop-on hop-off bus ticket with a company called Kiwi Experience. Monday is the first day we'll be hopping on one of these buses at 8.30 in the morning. Journey number 1 is to Hot Water Beach. The idea here is that because the Earth's crust is so thin, the water just under the sand can be quite hot. So, by digging a small hole in the ground you can make your own hot pool on the beach. This is easier said than done, not least when there are only a few places you can dig and 100 people are trying to do the same. Still, we do manage to get the gist (I think I burnt my foot at one point, occasionally it feels like stepping on an oven hob). Later on in the day, the coach takes us down to Cathedral Cove. This includes a great coastal walk. Cathedral Cove is a rather beautiful spot, as is a smaller area Heidi and I venture to called Stingray Bay. Unfortunately this turns out to only be a name because it's actually a delta we don't see any stingray. As it's Halloween, Heidi and I watch Friday the 13th for the first time back at the hostel.

Inside Cathedral Cove

Journey number 2 on the Kiwi Experience is to Waitomo Caves. On the way here we stop off at a gorge for a walk but after a short stroll we come to a locked gate. It was still very pretty. The caves at Waitomo are quite famous, and numerous companies have taken advantage of these natural wonders. For the more adventurous, you can do black water rafting, ziplining, tubing and abseiling in these caves, but the thing we're most interested in is seeing the glowworms. We're booked on a tour at 3. We're part of a small group and take the journey through the hilly countryside to the first of two caves. We're led in by our tour guide, hard hats with headtorches equipped, into the cave. After a short walk, we're asked to switch off our headtorches and we begin to see the glowworms...thousands of them. At this point they look like hundreds of small LED lights in the ceiling of the cave. We head further into the cave and hop aboard a small dingy, which floats down the river. Once again, we're asked to turn off our headtorches so that our eyes adjust. Our guide then smacks the side of the boat loudly and the cave lights up with thousands of glowworms. Now they remind me more of space, tiny flickers of light amongst the darkness.

After floating up and down the river for a bit we head to the second cave which is a natural showcase of interesting rock formations. I can't really say much more about this as I'm no expert, but it was pretty cool. After we're dropped back off we go to the pub where we eventually have an overpriced dinner (seriously, there is very little in Waitomo) then head off to bed.

Mancave

Next time - Rotorua (including Hobbiton!)