Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Tues 13th,Up early to catch the Inter City bus,because we got such a good deal with Kiwi Experience the small print say's once you have visited somewhere you cant re-trace your steps and we started in Christchurch so had to pay to get to the ferry port of Picton,caught the ferry(Kaitaki) and left at 13.10,met up with Lauren and the boy's so our lift to the hostel was sorted,the ferry takes about 3 1/2 hours but there is quite a bit to do on there,checked in at Base,later we went to the cinema to see the first film of a trilogy,The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,a good film even though it was Sweedish with subtitles.
Wed 14th,Took the short walk round to the Te Papa museum,1st bonus was it was free,the place is massive and on 5 floor's,we only managed to get through the first 2 floor's so will have to come back again to finish it off,some interesting things in there,Ian's dad's birthday today.
Thurs 15th,Booked tickets to see the All Blacks V South Africa at the Westpac Stadium,means staying a few extra day's here but it will be worth it to see them play in NZ,also booked our flight up to Auckland for Monday $90,walked round the botanical gardens then caught the cable car back down,1st opened in 1902,was closed down for a few years but re-build as it is today,got back and had a nice $10 chinesse.
Fri 16th,Went back to Te Papa museum to finish off the remaing floors,well worth the visit,walked round the harbour for a while then headed back to Base.
Sat 17th,Big game day!!!got the local bus up to the staium and arrived about 6pm so we could have a look around,it's a round stadium and holds about 40,000,there was'nt many seats left,got our fish and chips and 4 bottles of beer for $30,settled down to see the All Blacks stuff them 28-12,enjoyed the game,later we went to the San Fransico bar to listen to music from Manchester bands,mad a nice change to listen to some decent music instead of r&b all the time,met up with Adrianna on the way back and had a few drinks in the El Horno bar.
Sun 18th,Did'nt do a lot in the day,the NZ International Film Festival is still going on around the country so we thought we would go and see an English film called Four Lions,it was all sold out but we pyt our names down on the waiting list and the nice lady sneaked us in,would def reccomed this film one of the funniest films I have seen in ages,it's about 5 muslim suicide bombers,really funny!!!!!
Mon 19th,I got up and went to do the 10am tour of the Parliment building and the Beehive,Ian and Jamie did'nt want to come,they were an intersting couple of buildings and good to see behind the scenes where the countries desicions are made,only lasted about an hour and then had a nice walk back,we caught the airport shuttle bus at 1.45 ready for our 3.20 flight to Auckland,when we arrived we were told there was a 2 hour delay,then 4 we then found out we would be leaving at 9.30 a 6 hour delay,thats what you get with cheap airlines(jetstar),after the shuttle bus dropped us off at Base hostel it was midnight and time for bed.
Tues 20th,Myself and Jamie went for a walk round the town first,was going to go up the tower but decided $28 was too much so walked for ages to see the harbour bridge,nobody doing a bungy jump off it so walked back,myself and Jamie went to the Civic Theatre to see a crap American film called Winters Bone,worth it to see the old theatre though built in 1929,Ian went to a different cinema to see a strange film,he was sat next to one of the actresses in the film.
Wed 21st,Caught the kiwi bus at 08.30,we stopped off at Mt Eden,drove to the top to see some great views over the city including the Eden stadium where the 2011 rugby world cup will be held,we then stopped at Hahei beach for a while before arriving in Crystal Bay,we stayed in the Turtle Cove Hostel $33 inc a nice spag bowl meal with garlic bread,sat up and watched a crap dvd called Sin.
Thurs 22nd,Left at 8am,1st stop of the day was an old minning village called Karangahake,we had a walk over 2 swing bridges to reach the old train tracks they used to get the minerals above ground,it was pitch black,cold and wet but we made it through,our next stop was a town called Paeroa,it's famous because a drink came from here L&P a lemon drink,Coke bought them out because they were/are quite big over here,arrived in Rotoura at 1.30 and after checking in at Base we headed for the luge ride,$28 for 3 rides downhill on 3 different courses all quite fast but getting faster each time,good fun!!!in the evening we were booked into a Maori show in a purpose made village called Tamaki,we were first welcomed by the chief then shown some of the old way's the village used to work,bit rushed so did'nt see everything,then went inside to see a few dances and a couple of songs,the best part was the food it was lovely and cooked the old way underground(hagi)finished about 9pm.
Fri 23rd,A lazy day today with a nice lay in,myself and Jamie had a walk round town and that was about it.
Sat 24th,Myself and Jamie hired mountain bikes $30 for the day,we bought a guide map of the woods we were going to and got out of town,we cycled for about 40mins and reached a geezer(not a right geezer)but not going to pay $40 to see it,we cycled a bit more and saw and smelt some hot springs they stink of sulphur,a few more miles up the road we reached the Whakarewarewa Forest(Redwood)this is where the 2006 UCI World Mountain Bike championships were held,there are 4 different levels,Red,Green,Blue and Black the Black ones being the most dangerous,we managed to do a a couple of Red's and a few Green's but it was really hard work but good fun when we managed to get our breath back,was glad to give the bikes back later as it was a long day sat on uncomfortable saddles,we earned our 2 pints of cider.
Sun 25th,Left at 9am and only travelled a short distance to Agro Ventures,a field with different activities in it eg bungy,a massive swing and stuff,myself and Jamie paid £12 each to have a spin in the Agrojet,this small boat is so fast and really good fun,there are only 4 people in NZ who can drive the boat you can see why when he turns at speed to avoid the hazzards in front,great fun!!!!at 2pm myself and Jamie got picked up to do Black water rafting(black abyss)the title under values this experience it should be called the caving adventure,once we are kitted up with wet suit and harness and minners helmet we are driven to the caves,we have a quick go outside on how to do abseiling,then we do it for real,35metres down a dark hole that gets very thin in the middle and ends up in the cave,then we work our way through the caves untill we get our big tube,jump 20ft into frezzing cold water that takes your breath away,after a while we get out and have to do a backwards jump again bloody frezzing,we then clim up waterfalls work our way through tiny holes and do rock climbing,you do a flying fox in the dark,because there was only 4 of us in the group instead of 8 we went way past where the trip should have finished our guide Monkey took us to places hardly anyone else had been,Awesome is a word the Aussie's and Kiwi's use to often but this adventure was AWESOME!!!probably one of the best things we have done on our trip,scary at times but unforgetable,back to Kiwi backpackers hostel Waitomo, then into Curly's bar next door to relieve our day's experiences.
Mon 26th,Left at 9.30 and stopped off at Huka Falls,not very big drop but the water was flowing really fast from the Waikato River,a few people have died trying to swim or canoe through it,a woman accidendly did it when she went off course in a canoe and lived to tell the tale,arrived in Taupo about 12ish,lake Taupo at 616 sq kms is the largest lake in Australasia,we had a walk around by the lake and met up with the others for a few drinks in te bar.
Tues 27th,Got up at midday,updated blog and watched a dvd later,the 40 year old virgin.
Wed 28th,Bus left Taupo at 9.30,1st stop Tongariro National Park,we were supposed to do a walk but because it had been snowing it got cancelled,we still could see the 3 volcanoes,Ruapehu,Ngaunuhoe and Tongariro,the last time 1 erupted was back in the 70's and they say they are due another one soon,we had a look round the museum then we were back on the coach and on our way again this time to Tawhai Falls,we were staying at the River Valley Adventure Lodge,a place right out in the sticks,myself Jamie and Ian paid an extra couple of dollars to stay in a 4 bed dorm the others stayed in a cramped 30 bed dorm(suckers),no tv so played some games.
Thurs 29th,Left our quiet retreat at 9am,stopped at a place called Bulls(again)for lunch,arived in Wellington(again)about 2.30 and stopping at Base again,we were so fed up with listening to r&b crap all the way round so we were delighted to see that there was a drum and base night in the Sandwich Bar tonight,ourselfs along with Vinny,Sarah,Emma,Nick and Laura all headed there and had a good night,a few fell by the wayside but Vinny and laura held the pace even though they had to get on the bus at 9am and we did'nt get in till about 4ish.
Fri 30th,Recovery day,got up late but still managed to go to STA Travel to book our Feejee Experience bus pass and our Bula pass to get us around the Yasawa islands,$1,475 altogether,we celebrated with a nice curry.I booked 2 Madness tickets for 10th Dec,Rivermead.
Sat 31st,Left at 8am,again stopped at Bulls for lunch and arrived in Taupo at 3.45 after stopping at Huka Falls again,Ian went to cinema to see Inception.
Sun 1st,Left at 9am,had a slight detour round the town as there was a 1/2 marathon going on(fit gits unlike me at mo),1st stop Matamata for lunch.arrived at Base in Auckland at 3pm,8 bed dorm,booked a special 4 day trip,2 to Smugglers Cove hotel and 2 nights on Robinson Crusoe Island $279.
Mon 2nd,Ian and Jamie stayed round by the hostel,I went off to meet up with an old mate of mine who had lived in Reading but moved back to Auckland,Matt Geisler,he picked me up and went back to his house where his wife cooked us a nice meal and met his kids.got back to the hostel and ready for an early night as we are flying out to Fiji tomorrow.
- comments