Kiaora!!!

I think it has been about 3 weeks since my last entry and I continue to be amazed by how awesome a time I am having. Since I last wrote I have had a sneaky visit to Sydney, Australia and then continued on to New Zealand where I have been travelling for the last 3 weeks.

Sydney was a welcomed break after my time in China and Hong Kong. Although trying to communicate in a completely different language and use a form of tourist sign langauage had been fun it was nice to use my mother tongue and be understood. Sydney is a place I felt really at home. There is simply a sense of happiness there. I know a lot of people who have experienced New Zealand may disagree as NZ takes the "chilled-outness" that little bit further, but I loved the healthy life-style and friendliness of the people. Whilst there I packed in as much as I could as I was only visiting for a few days. So after arriving at my hostel at 7am I dropped of my bag and headed into the center of the city.

I decided to find out about this fab city so after getting my touristy photos of the famous Sydney harbour complete with the Opera House, I went on two different walking tours of the city. One told me all about the city's history and the other all the weird crimes that happened in the "The Rock" where all the convicts who had been sent over from England lived. SO it was a pretty jam-packed day. The next two days consisted of hiking and exploring. One day I had a day trip to the "Blue Mountains" which was a canyon which was named blue due to the eucalyptus trees letting off their oil which gives the mountains a blue tone, again stunning view. The other day was spent exploring areas across from the harbour including Manly, which included a golden sandy beach, and Taronga Zoo where I got to see sleepy koalas.

But before long it was time for me to move on to New Zealand. It is always strang moving on to a new place just after you have got settled. You feel like you would rather just stay put. But each time I have never been dissapointed when it comes to adventure. Although I found that I do get very confused when I wake up. One day I had a little panic as I simply could not remember which country I was in!

Anyway on the 31st October I boarded my next flight to New Zealand. it was quite a relaxing journey as it was one of my few trips that was a direct flight, so I didn't have to change planes. Flying into Queenstown New Zealand was simply awe inspiring. I think I fell in love with the country before my feet even touched the ground! As we approached the airport, the clouds were completely covering the ground below but every now and then you would see the snow-capped mountains piercing through. As we descended below the clouds the land below emerged. It was so green and lush. The rolling hills, the valleys, the mountains, the colours! It was stunning! Even once I landed I was amazed by the colour of the lake on the way to my hostel which was backdropped with jagged mountains.

I only had one day to explore the area before I joined my tour so I took that opportunity to do a day trip to Milford Sounds where I did a cruise. Just thr drive there allowed me to see more of what beautiful New Zealand had to offer and the cruise itself, although fairly damp from the weather, was still an experiences where I got see some Little Penguins and get close to some seals.

The next day it was time to meet the tour group I would be travelling with for the rest of my time in NZ. I had had such a great time with the people in China that I didn't think I would be lucky enough to have a group just as awesome. I was wrong. Again I was surrounded by a bunch of fun-loving people who were as keen to explore as I was. Over the next 2 weeks we had a real laugh and more life-long friends were made. And the weirdest part that my friend I had travelled part of America with had, by pure coinsidence booked on to the same trip!

The trip was essentially a camping trip and we travelled onto our next location each day with stops at various points where we could take part in different activities. Due to the first 3 nights being rainy and cold pretty much everyone upgraded into cabins. But after that it was camping all the way. We also had two tour guides: Steely and Hannah both energetic kiwis and felt as though they were part of the group.

The next two weeks were spent steadily travelling up the west coast of New Zealand, first the south island and then the north. We stopped at so many different places and had such a good time that I could probably write a book about it but I will try and select my favourites to write here and hopefully the photos that will follow will hopefully do what the words in thie blog can't ( you know the saying a picture can tell a thousand words!)

One of the first stops was Fox Glacier. I had always want to see a glacier ever since I studied it in school. So we had a trip to see this slow moving river of ice. It had moved quite a bit in the last yuear so we were not allowed to walk on it but we did get close and see its jagged edges. The guide also explained how it had formed and transformed the surrounding area, it was the best geography lesson ever. If anyone sees Mrs Desmond you can tell her I am actually starting to quite like Geography!

As we were walking away through an area we had been told to be careful due to falling rocks and sudden surges of ice water, we heard a groan and a sudden crash, we all looked around for the source of the noise. A phone call another guide to ours told us that some of the ice had fallen fromt he glacier and would soon be passing us along with some of the water that had build up behind it. We were lucky it wasn't to large and this meant we could watch the freshly fallen ice float past us like giant ice-cubes.

About a week later I had another amazing experience. Whilst at Abel Tasmin National Park I caught a scenic flight up to view the National Park from the air. But this was no average flight. Once we were at 13,500 feet in the air the plane door was opened and with an instructor tied behind me I fell from the plane and did a skydive! It was the best experience! After the brief flip of the belly and a scream of amazement, I viewed the coast and the national park from literally a birds-eye view! It was a real adrenaline rush! And I was actually speechless after!

But the adventure didn't stop there. Once we arrived on the north island we got to go blackwater rafting through Waitomo Caves. I was a little nervous as it included a variety of different fears all crammed under rocks: the dark ( I mean pitch black!) enclosed spaces and eels. We entered the caves, dressed in our very fetching wet-suits and helmets with LED lights and doughnut rings to float on. As we walked through the water it got steadily deeper and the rings we had floating around our legs slowly rose to help us float. We were then told to turn off our lights and relax. Not an easy thing to do; until you saw above you. Imagine, if you will, the ceiling in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, or the Milky Way in the night sky. That is what I saw only they weren't stars...they were thousands upon thousands of glow worms on the roof of the cave. A sight that I could not truely explain. So that experiences turned out to not be too bad after all.

After the caves we travelled further up the North Island to an area called the Bay of Islands. Here I got to discover about the history of New Zealand. To my surprise, I found out that the country was orginally uninhabited by humans and birds ruled the land both in the sky and on the land. The Maoris, considered to be the natives came from areas in the Pacific and the Europeans discovered NZ. I visited a place called Waitangi where an agreement was signed between the Marois and Europeans about New Zealand. Here I got to see a Maroi performance complete with the famous haka, which was quite intimidating!

Anyway I think that is enough to be getting on with for now. I think this may have been my longest entry yet. I am now in Australia where the weather is significantly warmer - woohoo, bring on the summer! I guess many of you are preparing for Christmas, something I am really struggling to get my head around whilst surrounded in this temperature (not that I am trying to make you jealous or anything!)

Check out the photos, they explain the beauty of this place much better than I could. Again I hope you are all well and I will try and complete another blog before the year is over!

Miss Bayne