Tuesday 29th May

Last day in New Zealand!
I just can't believe how quickly my trip has gone. It only seems like yesterday that I was sat in Sydney airport waiting to board my plane to Auckland and here I am waiting to get a bus to the airport ready to leave.
I spent the last 48 hours in Christchurch, which is incredibly English and reminds me of Oxford. Although the plan of the city is based on the block system, the general atmosphere and architecture makes you feel like you're in the UK. It is very strange! Whilst in Lake Tekapo I met up with Lynne, who I have been travelling with on and off for the past three weeks. So it was a great suprise and relief to have some company for the last leg of my journey. Therefore, the two of us, wandered through the streets of Christchurch at a very relaxed pace yesterday and finished with a cocktail on the banks of the River Avon. We did, on route, visit a fudge factory and join a tour, which involved plenty of tasting opportunities! There is a gondola here out of town and a short walk along the coastal path, but feeling tired I decided to realx for a few days, as I need some energy for the US. Conveniently the local swimming baths is just around the corner from the hostel, so I have been for a swim each day including this morning!
So it is a shame to be leaving a country that I feel I've only seen a snipit of. I have thoroughrally enjoyed admiring the outstanding scenery and participating in a few of the outdoor adventure tasks NZ has to offer. I have many photos of the scenery that I have yet to put on flickr, I'll choose the best ones and display a selection when I'm back home.
The relaxed working hours and emphasis on social life and wellbeing is very apparant and appealing, I can see why Lara chose to stay. I would definately recommend the Magic Bus as a form of transport, booking my seat was the best decision I made during my stay. On the bus I have met many people of all ages and backgrounds, most of which I hope to keep in touch with. But, more importantly, I have people to share my travelling memories with!
My next post will probably be back in the UK as I don't know whether I'll have time in LA, I shall see what I can do. The flight is a very long 12 hours from Auckland ontop of a hour flight to Christchurch, I'm glad I've got a good book!!

Saturday 26th May

As planned I headed to Mt Cook today. We had beautiful weather, with a crystal blue clear sky which highlighted the thunderous and magnificant Mt Cook on the horizon. Bus driver 'Bill' recommended a walk up the Hooker Valley towards the mountain, so I took his advice and followed the signs upwards. The walk proved easy actually, with no challenging hills, but the scenery wasy incredible. It only took two hours to reach the glacier at the foot of Mt Cook, but the views were outstanding. Along the path were two large swing bridges over the river that powered down from the glacier, forming two large glacier lakes enroute. Within the lakes were large iceburgs stationary but dominating. Along the way I bumped into a guy called Frederick from the Netherlands, who I determined, is a newly qualified physio! So we spent most of the walk comparing the different health systems and physio in different countries! Although the walk turned out to be an easy four hours, it was certainly worth the beautiful views of the tallest mountain in NZ and with the cascading waterfalls and snow peaked mountains, its certainly an extraordinary place to hike. When we were near the Mt, we heard a thunderous noise, which we presume was ice breaking away, well we didn't hang around to find out!!
I just had a text from Richard, who was on the Magic Bus earlier in my trip, to say he's just leaving NZ but to drop in to his hotel in Christchurch, because he's left some beers for me behind the reception! I've met some great people during my travels in NZ, I'll certainly do my best to keep in touch with them. Well tomorrow I'm onto Christchurch, I believe Lynne is on the bus so I'm heading back to the YHA to try and find her....

Friday 25th May

Well after not being impressed by Dunedin, it proved difficult to leave! The bus broke down during the first half an hour of our trip. Which meant a two hour delay while the mechanic worked out that he really couldn't fix it and we waited for a replacement bus. Eventually we arrived in Lake Tekapo at 4pm and had a quick stop off at the lakefront taking in the sights and taking a few snaps.
It is beautiful here. The town is very small, comprising of one main street and very few houses. The YHA I'm staying in is right on the lakefront and has perfect views of Lake Tekapo and the mountain range behind. We were very tired last night after a long day of travelling, so instead of falling asleep infront of the telly, Frank challenged me to a game of pool (I'm 2 nil up at the moment) at the local pub. It was very daunting walking in as completely full of locals. We went to put our money on the table with the intention of having a quiet game, when the locals said it's winner stays on. Well,we ended up playing a few matches and having a great night chatting with a crowd around the pool table. We were really glad we pushed ourselves to go out, although my head is muggy this morning and I struggled up Mt John this morning! Serves me right! So for the rest of today I have nothing planned, so I'm going to get a cup of coffee and relax in a cafe for a bit. Tomorrow I'm going to Mt Cook for the day, it's the tallest mountain in New Zealand, I won't get to the summit as it'll be on snow, but I believe I can get up to some lakes that host stunning views. Then on Sunday I'm off to Christchurch for the last leg of my Magic Tour.

Wednesday 23rd May

I've just arrived in Dunedin. It didn't take us as long as I thought to get here so I've a few hours this afternoon to explore.
Unfortunately I had to leave Queeny and Lara this morning. I've had a great time walking and relaxing in the incredible town of Queensland. Lara is very settled here and seems to be thoroughly enjoying her life, which primarily involves climbing and skiing. Work definately fits around her social life and, so she tells me, is flexible according to her. She has a beautiful house, overlooking the lake and remarkable mountain range. The roaring open fire heats the cosy house making it perfect, especially with the new arrival of a gorgeous puppy belonging to housemate Justin.
Yesterday I went for a walk, which was shorter than I had planned, completely my fault. I walked up Wye Creek and feeling energetic started to boulder hop accross the stream. Well, it wasn't long before I got wet! It was really funny but really very cold! So I turned around early and walked to the road where I called Lara and started a gentle jog towards the clinic where she works. Ah well, it was a good bit of exercise anyway and, while Lara had a nap, I explored the tourist part of QT centre. Oh have you seen the film Chocolat?!? Well I went to a cafe exactly like the film. Had a gorgeous cup of Mexican Chilli Hot Chocolate and, I promise you, it was the best hot choc I've ever tasted! Later last night we watched a DVD, well I tried to watch it, but ended up snoozing!!!
Three nights flew by and it was quite sad having to say goodbye this morning.
I'm on the Magic Bus with a completely different group of people, which is also quite sad as I'd made some really great friends over the past two weeks, we did celebrate though with pizza in Winnie's before the guys went. We've all swapped email addresses, so I really hope to keep in touch.
So I'm now in Dunedin, which is a city of Scottish heritage, on first impressions seems like any other. Although the steep hills remind me of Hong Kong! There is a chocolate factory here that a few people are touring as i speak, but as I have yet resorted to eating chocolate I am going to avoid it. So I plan to wander around the cathedral and spend an evening in relaxing tonight. Then tomorrow I'm heading to Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook.

Monday 21st May

I'm in Quenstown! Met Lara yesterday and spent the last twenty four hours catching up and admiring the amazing views of Queenstown. It is spectacular. This morning I met up with some of the Magic Bus guys and got the gondola up to the top of a huge hill then followed the path up Ben Lomond. It was a bit of a killer and my calves were burning. We got to approximately 50 metres from the summit then unfortunatley decided to turn round as the guys were jet boating in the afternoon. Anyway I'm being antisocial so I'll fill this in a little more when I move to Dunedin.

Saturday 19th May

After a few beers last night another early start challenged us this morning. Christy, Jake and I booked ourselves on a guided day hike of Franz Josef Glacier. We first caught a glimpse of the glacier from the bus, however the actual size of the ice river hit us once we'd walked to the base and looked towards the summit. The 12km long glacier sits 17km from the Tasmin Sea, at only 240m above sea level and averages 70cm move each day. Greg, our guide, reassured us that in one day it wasn't possible to reach the summit, he pointed to half way up the hill, which was a huge relief! The ice at the foot of the glacier was dirty with rock and sediment. But only an hour into our climb and fresh blue ice crystals and drifts surrounded us. The glacier looks almost like the sea with canyons imitating waves. With our spikes on our boots, waterproofs and warm clothing we gradually ascended. It was slow progress as the guides carve steps out of the ice using pic-axes. At one point we walked through a tiny canyon which was a brilliant sky blue and slippery smooth as you slid through. It was incredibly tough at times to negotiate the drops, pools and huge steps, not to mention the slippery ice and slush. The views were outstanding, as either side of the glacier are rocks and rainforest vegetation with waterfalls falling towards the glacier river. Beautiful and very picturesque. In total we were about 6 and a half hours hiking, by the end everyone was feeling the cold and legs were sore. Some of the daring guys that were in our group decided to brave a dip in one of the pools sitting near the foot of the glacier. Well they were absolutely crazy because there was no way I was participating!
Tomorrow I'm back on the magic bus heading to Queenstown. If everything goes to plan I'll meet Lara off the bus, where I'll stay for 3 nights to reco-operate. In the evening we're hoping to go out as the magic gang are heading separate ways over the next few days. It'll be a shame, but I hope to keep in touch with most. Right I think a game of cards is planned for tonight!! I'm off!!

12,000 feet!!!

I did it!!! Sorry Mum, I thought I'd tell you afterwards! I just did a tandem 12,000feet Sky Dive at 200kph. It was absolutely awesome! I won't lie to you I was terrified before I got in that small plane. But once on the runway and hooked up to my instructor Trev (from Blackpool) there was no going back. We made the slow ascent to 12,000 feet, with quite a bit of turbulence over the mountains. The rugged snow peaked moutains were fabulous from the air and I took quite a few photos on the way up. Twenty minutes later though and we were ready to go. Once the door was open, Trev put his leg out, I swung mine round, smiled for a photo and then we were gone!!! The force of the wind was amazing sat in the doorway. We free fell for 45 seconds which felt like 10 at the most. Doing a brief spin to watch the plane disappear from view. The noise and the force of the air as you plummit to the ground is overwelming and surreal. Then all of a sudden, silence, the parachute opens and you're left suspended in the air. Trev then talked me through things and took a few photos including a short video on my camera! Before you knew it we'd returned to Earth on our bottoms for a very smooth landing! An amazing experience that I would certainly do again, however I don't think the views would be quite as impressive. Now I'm on a high I'm going to head to the pub with the magic crew and celebrate! Sorry Mum!!!!!!

Thursday 17th May

Wellington
I spent Monday exploring the small windy city of Wellington. To begin the day I walked up Mt Victoria, situated behind my hostel, for a fantastic panoramic view of Wellington. The city is surrounded by mountains therefore not allowing much potential for further development. However, following a large earthquake not so long ago Wellington gained some land from the sea, which the harbour and mueseum 'Te Papa' inhabits.
Following my short walk I caught a cable car up through the Botanic Gardens, explored a very compact, although interesting, mueseum regarding the history of the cable car, before meandering back down to the city through the gardens.
Next I booked myself on a tour of Parliament House, Beehive and Libraries primarily to see the well-reknown earthquake shock absorbers located in the basement. The tour, although long-winded, was very interesting. The small iron and rubber cylinders located in the basement allow the building to move inresponse to an earthquake should it happen. Wellington is very vunerable to earthquakes as it sits on three plates.
After the tour I went to quickle see the treaty that I have learnt so much about. Unfortunately the treaty has been severly damaged, particularly from rats, when it was stored securely in a basement! I popped in the building next store, which is Old St Pauls, made completely of wood. Inside it was very dark but the beams running through the building are very prettyu.

Nelson
On Tuesday I caught the ferry accross to the South Island. The crossing was very calm and enjoyable. At one point there were hundreds of dolphins swimming infront of the boat and I'm not exaggerating!
Upon arriving in Nelson I walked up a hill to the exact centre of New Zealand! Here I admired the scenery and accross the estuary to Abel Tasman, the nature reserve I would be walking through.
Wednesday, the bus picked us up at a good time of 7:50 to transport us to the national park. Arriving in Marahau a few of us were directed into a speed boat (water taxi) on top of a trailer! A tractor towed us and reversed us into the water, where the speed boat took us up along the coast to admire the coves and scenery before dropping me at Barks Bay ready for my walk back! The Park is beautiful, surrounded by lucious green hills, the coast has pretty sandy beaches hidden away. At one point I crossed the river on a swing bridge, it moved a lot more than I first anticipated! Then at Torrent bay I had the option of two paths, a low tide or high tide. As the tide was half way out I decided on the low tide and waded my way accross the bay dodging crabs as I went. It was great fun! The rest of the very short four hour walk was on a wooded path, which got a little boring, the occasional view through the trees though was absolutely amazing and very picturesque. I will upload some photos as soon as I have the time!!!
After the trip back I had the intention of going for a swim however the pool was closed. So, Lynne and I got fish and chips from the local fish and chippy (the cod was delicious) and went out to the pub to meet up with the rest of the magic crew!

Greymouth
Today I've been travelling on the bus until 6pm so I am very tired, so we are to play monoploy and get an early night. Tomorrow we head to Franz Joseph and prepare for a glacier hike on Saturday.

P.S. Appologies for the lack of posts over the past few days I've not been able to get to a computer!

Sunday 13th May

Rotorua
The trip on the Magic Bus was incredibly relaxed. The bus driver talks you through the surroundings and stops regularly so that you can take photos or simply for a break. The bus took a couple of hours to get to Waitomo where we had a stop for three hours in order to admire the magnificant glow worm caves. Our very enthusiastic English guide took us down through the caves down to a boat. Once aboard he lead us (using only rope) through the dark and damp caves. The ceilings were magically lightened by thousands of glow worms, it was a truely relaxing experience although very brief. Therefore, this left us with plenty of time until the bus was due to depart. So Suzie, Frank and myself walked up a very big hill before hitting a cafe for lunch.
Once in Rotorua Suzie and I went to a Maori evening, where local performers present the cultural dance and song in combination with a delicious traditionally hangi cooked meal. The evening was fantastic and, yes, they performed the famous Haka, which was very dramatic and energetic. To round off the evening the bus driver entertained us all the way back to the youth hostel.
Once used to the smell, Rototua is a lovely city with obvious character. I spent a day walking around the sights recommended by my trusted Lonely Planet and then went for a walk in the Redwoods Forrest. From the summit I took a while to take in the breathtaking views of the city and surrounding volcanoes before heading back through town and to my hostel. It is remarkable to see the pools in the park steaming and bubbling from geothermal activity. To finish the evening I went for a lovely swim in the local pool which was just around the corner from the hostel.

Taupo
The journey on the bus seemed to take forever from Rotorua. It was not far but the driver stopped a little too much for people to do activities such as Bungy jumping and Jet Boating (neither of which I was interested in). However we did stop first at a fantastic mud pool, due to the geothermal activity it bubbled and boiled ferrousiously. It was incredible. Then just round the corner was a Thermal Wonderland with pools, craters and views galour. The colours of the sulphur stained rock and the pools are vibrant and eye-catching.
Once at the Hostel Liz and I took a walk into town and had a stop off in a cafe for some cake - it was raining and miserable!!! Then we booked our place to do the Tongariro Crossing on Saturday. So, the day started at a much too early time of 5:45 in order to catch the bus to the beginning of our expedition. Very energetically we began the hike the pace did slow somewhat when we got to the Devil's Staricase (which lives upto it's name). Unfortunately the weather let us down a little, as it was cloudy so visability wasn't very good. Once on top though we had a lunch stop at the top of the Red Crater, the rocks were warming our bottom's as we sat there. We waited for approximately 5 minutes for a break in the cloud and when it did the spectacular red rock lined crater was below us. It was huge and incredibly steep. Beautiful calm blue emerald lakes line the foot of this crater, we wondered through them taking lots of photos. All in all the walk took about six and a half hours and, unexpectantly, I didn't find it too strenuous. It was an amazing day, the terrain changes quickly when you walk through the volcanoes and, at times, it feels like you're on another planet! I'd do it again! It was just a shame about the weather because we missed out on some spectacular views.
Luckily the weather this morning brightened and the cloud lifted. So as the bus driver passed the volcanoes he stopped so that we could take some photos of the breath-taking mountains and volcanoes that dominate the landscape.
Wellington
I've just arrived in Wellington. Once booked into my hostel I wandered down to the harbour, tok a brief stroll and then decided to begin a walk around the huge mueseum 'Te Papa'. The displays about the local volcanoes and natural disasters were really interesting. One display had an earthquake simulator, it was quite scary the force and amount the whole room moved. So tomorrow I'm going to spend my day in Wellington and then Tuesday I catch the ferry to the South Island. Time is certainly flying, it won't be long until I return to the U.K!!!!

Tuesday 8th May

My gosh, I can't believe it's the 8th of May already! Time is certainly flying! I'm back in Auckland for tonight, just arrived on the bus. Auckland is just a stopover before I head to Rotorua tomorrow.
I had a fantastic day yesterday. We went in search for dolphins and found loads! Two pods infact. Both of which were Bottlenose dolphins and absolutely huge! I really never expected them to be about 6 foot each! Unfortunately the pod had young so we were unable to dive in and snorkel with them, but we were able to admire them from the top deck! I'm sure that the dolphins were showing off! They followed the boat for about half an hour.
For the remainder of the day we cruised around the tranquil Bay of Islands, which included an expert manoever by the skipper through the hole in the rock! I have photos but this computer is ancient so I can't upload them, I will try later in the week. It was a beautiful sunny day which made the Islands look peaceful and very inviting! Lunch was on a remote Island, a few of us decided to hike to the top to admire the views over a luke warm sandwich. It felt like we were on the film set of 'Lost' at one point as the sun was blazing down and no evidence of life for miles. Fortunately we had a boat to make a gettaway before encountering 'the others'!!! I did find the skeleton of a puffa fish which I paraded round the group, it was very spikey oh and it smelt a little! The water was freezing though, I did have good intentions of swimming however I was a bit of a chicken and ventured only to my waist. So all in all a great day. I can see why tourists return year after year to Paihia.
This morning I wandered along the beach in the opposite direction, with the sun shining it was a gentle stroll for only an hour before I settled down with my book to wait for the bus. So I've checked in and only here for the night before I begin my trip South through New Zealand.

Sunday 6th May

Paihia - Bay of Islands
I took a very scenic bus journey this morning North to Paihia, the views were beautiful. Paihia is a small town centered primarily for tourism due to it's excellent location within the Bay of Islands. The weather is mild and sunny so I took a walk along the coast. It is a very picturesque town. My walk took me to the next village called Waitangi. This is where the treaty was signed in 1840 between the English and Maori. The town have turned the area into a reserve. There was a huge war canoe and a magnificant maori meeting place, with wooden statues carved by hand. Every little detail is magnificant and the location overlooks the bay.
So tomorrow I'm taking a boat on a day cruise around the Bay of Islands in search of dolphins and, if everything goes to plan, I'll be able to snorkel with the dolphins I can't wait.

Saturday 5th May

I'm in Auckland and it's not that cold! I had thought that it would be freezing but its a cool 20 degrees! I have spent the past two days relaxing, or sort of! Yesterday I followed the coast to coast walk accross Auckland. It took me up Mt Eden and One Tree Hill, the views were amazing. So that took most of the day. I've been attempting to organise a route down to Christchurch and have booked a ticket with Magic Bus, that starts on Wednesday. In the meantime, I am heading North to see the Bay of Islands and also, hopefully, manage to get to Cape Reinga.
Anyway today I took the ferry accross the harbour to Devonport. It was really nice over there, I sat in the park and watched a local rugby union local match. Then I headed up Mt Victoria and the North Point. The weather has been a little cloudy, but a mild temperature, so perfect walking conditions.

Wednesday 2nd May

I can't believe this is my last day in Australia, the time has flown by!
I can still feel the motion from the boat! It's very strange, although one of the instructors promised that a beer would cure the motion, well that certainly didn't help!
Last night we all went out for a meal and then we went to a pub for a bit of a dance. It was a funny night and a fantastic way to end the trip. I managed to swap emails with most people and then we're all going to switch photos so that we get a great collection.
Anyway today I am relaxing. Which, unfortunately, involves doing my laundry. Nevermind it needs to be done before I fly tomorrow. I can't believe that I'm going to New Zealand tomorrow! I'm very excited.

Tuesday 1st May

The Great Barrier Reef was all I expected and much, much more! It was incredible. Following our first two days learning how to dive in the pool, we went on board a very comfortable boat for three days of fantastic diving.
Before the first dive I was really apprehensive, but once you're down there its like another world! Following four dives with your instructor telling you to take your mask off, pretend you have no air etc. we all passed and were free to explore with our buddy. We swam within a meter of a very complacent green turtle, he started to swim with us at one point! During our first certified dive we had a very curious white tipped reef shark come within a few meters. But the scenery in general, with the array of coral, was beautiful. The fish are absolutely stunning, we tried to look them up in a book when we surfaced but there are so many! Oh and we saw a clown fish! Exactly like nemo!! That made my day! The second night we went for a dive with our torches, careful not to let the instructor get too far ahead, in search of sharks! Unfortunately we didn't see any, only a huge eel, that looked quite upset that we disturbed him! I took a disposible camera to one of the dive sites and took loads of snaps, I just pray that they come out. If not some of the other guys said they'd put some digital photos on the net.
I can't believe that I've done 9 dives on the Great Barrier Reef. Incredible. Well I don't really know what to do with my PADI qualification now. I decided against doing the adventurer diver, as this meant I would miss out on a dive during my trip. I think I'm in need of a shower before the group meet up for dinner tonight, I'm still swaying at the moment though!!!
So I've one more day left in Cairns, in Australia even, so I'm going to relax as best I can before heading to New Zealand on Thursday morning! Time is flying!!!