Mt. Maunganui & Auckland - where?

'Whistlestop' is a word that can be used to describe much of my trip around NZ, but none more so than my visits to Mt Maunganui and Auckland.

'The Mount' as locals call it is nice enough. Nice beach and a harbour with many sail boats, boutique style shops and cafes galore. I got the impression is was similar to some 'Riviera' type place - a playground for those on hols and with money. Still, the beach was good for a beer or two and some silly snaps.

Auckland's a big city. What more can I say? On a major positive side, my passport with my Indian visa was ready and waiting for me at the hostel.... It had been cutting it fine to sort this out and get it back in time to fly out on the 28th, so a rather large sigh of relief was heard!
I'm sure, with more time, I'd have been able to seek out some nice spots and such, but as it was I managed a tad of shopping, a walk down the main street and five mins sitting in the sun at the harbour front. It was really just a through point as the 'Bay of Islands' and Pahia beckoned - a place to spend the last few days in NZ chilling out, avoiding bus journeys and mentally preparing myself for my next flight!

More Rotorua

Rotorua is a great place as you can walk through town and see random gas escaping from the earth. You can also dip your feet into thermally heated foot pools next to bus stops etc.

Perfect for tired feet

The pool at the backpackers was thermally heated too - one of NZ's many methods of renewalable energy production; proving yet again how much greener they are than us! Personally, it'd make me feel a bit edgy knowing all that activity was going on right beneath my feet, but I didn't notice the Kiwi's worrying (do they worry about anything I wonder?).

Kat and I enjoyed a Mouri cultural evening (a bit over-subscribed and incredibly touristy, but it had to be done!) where we got a show, traditional 'hangi' meal and an opportunity to learn about Maouri crafts and traditions. The 'hangi' is where they cook food in an oven made in the ground. Pretty much everything at the meal had been cooked in it, and given that there were close to 200 people there, it was quite a feat.

We also invested in a tad more horse-riding and a visit to Waka-o-tapa geothermal site. This was pretty amazing as you could enjoy sights such as the champaigne pool, devil's inkpotsand Lady Margaret's geyser (incidently, they know what time it's going to erupt every morning as they use a soap-based product to chemically react and cause the release of pressure).

After a couple of night's here, it was onto Mt Maunganui - one of the North Island's well loved holiday destinations apparently.

Rotorua - land of eggs

Blurb to follow! Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity and Maouri Cultural attractions...

One for the ladies

Had a real treat on the way to Napier as you pass through the Hawkes Bay wine region. We stopped off at a winery called 'The Mission' for a spot of very civilized wine tasting - well, it would have been if I had accidentally squirted wine out of my mouth on the first tasting! The lady was very kind and merely pointed out that she didn't want to wear it. Thanks for noting it. The building and grounds were fantastic. It really reminded me of home on a good summer's day or something from a film set in Colonial India (minus the Indians of course). People were enjoying Sunday lunch in the gardens and there was the sound of glasses chinking and a waterfall. Definitely an Oxford moment.

Napier itself is renowned for its Art Deco buildings having been virtually rebuilt in the 1930s following a severe earthquake. It celebrates an 'Art Deco' weekend every year. I arrived at the tail-end of the weekend so got greeted by vintage cars and lots and lots of people dressed in vintage clothing. It was great and made me think how much the LCA would have liked it (hello ladies!).

I took a stroll into town and had the unexpected surprise of seeing a spit-fire fly past, two men on Penny Farthing type bicycles and some truly beautiful cars. Napier itself seemed nice enough, but I think coming from England, and especially Oxford, I'm a bit of an architecture snob. Yes, yes, art deco's great, but nothing is really that old or that beautiful. NZ's natural attractions are a sight to behold, but buildings it just hasn't got. That was it for Napier, having never really wanted to visit it in the first place (unavoidable due to bus ticket restrictions). I ate. I watched a bit of TV and I went to bed to listen to a lovely NZ cellist snore.

Wellington

Left Kaikoura for Wellington on Thursday 15th. The journey involved a bus journey to Picton and then the Inter-Islander ferry over to Wellington. The ferry journey was great, although you had to fight off the feeling of sick-sickness all the way. I was lucky. Kat's crossing a day later was much rougher and it was all she could do to lay down somewhere and keep her eyes shut! The Cook Straight is renowned for being a tad blowy.

On leaving Picton you pass through Malborough Sound - a collection of Islets and peninsulas - and they're truly beautiful.

It's then open sea for the next hour or so but you can see the North Island all the way. It was strangely sad saying goodbye to the South Island... I really enjoyed my time there and as I had always intended to spend longer on the South, it became synonymous with my trip drawing closer to its end.

Arriving in Wellington, you can see why its called the 'Windy city'. I looked rather like I'd been to visually impaired hairdresser and had caught a 'rosy' glow from the sun t'boot. It's always good to know you look your best.

Wellington, being the capital, was a little bit of a shock to the system after small towns and laid-back atmospheres on the South. I became, for want of a better way of putting it, somewhat disillusioned with it all. The tiredness had caught up on me and I came to a grinding halt. What this surmounted to was eating lots of crunchy bars, drinking lots of tea and sitting around reading my book (Thanks Pol - Shadow of the Wind was great!) until it was finished. I didn't even venture further than having a brief ramble round the block.

The next day I felt more life-like and went for another ramble - this time taking in the main centre and the like (lots of shops, cafes and restaurants basically - ooh and a harbour). I met Kat at lunchtime and we ventured into Te Papa museum. What a delight it was too.

First off saw a mini show of Mouri songs etc. I managed to avoid (this time!) being dragged up to have a go at learning how to use the 'poi' (balls things on strings that the Mouri women use with such expertise, you can't help but think it must be easy - not on your nelly!). We then ventured onto each floor and its different displays. It's all very interactive and visually stunning in places. What shocked me was learning about how precariously placed NZ is on a major fault-line and that they're well over due for a major earthquake. Scary. I had my fill of earthquakes in Thailand thank you.

Te Papa is so extensive that Kat and I had to take a breather and get some lunch. Whilst this may seem trivial detail, a strange but true fact about NZ came to light during it. I bought a frittata slice thing (lots of potato and egg) off the deli in a supermarket and when opening the tub it had been put in, commented on a funny smell. Thinking it must be me, I was just about to take a bite when Kat pointed to mould growing on the side of it. On closer inspection, it was very much 'on the turn' having started solidifying on the base - thank god I didn't take a bite! To the point, on returning the food to the supermarket (Kat had bought a slice too) we were offered a 200% refund! Now there's a thing! Could be onto something here.... It bought beer.

A nice sculpture in Wellington

So, a (terrible) Thai meal and a good natter later, I was off to bed for some much needed sleep before my departure the next day to a place called Napier.... Sleep. It would be nice if I could get any. I have had my eyes opened (literally) to the issue of snoring. It's amazing how many people snore - men and women! Whilst understanding that it can't be helped, I'm at the point of utter frustration and run the risk of slipping into a sleep-deprived pillow throwing frenzy at the next snorer I encounter. I sit here with large dark circles under my eyes. Last night this lovely old lady was snoring. What's a girl to do? My own form of self defence is to wriggle (if they are sharing a bunk with me) thus bringing them a little out of the deep sleep they are in and preventing the snoring for all of two minutes. People must think I have some kind of ADHD problem when sleeping. And no, ear plugs are no good. Either the snores reverberate through the bed, or I need to hear my alarm clock in the morning. Personally speaking, I'm thinking of starting a campaign that gently requests snorers get their own room. Surely that's not unreasonable?

Kaikoura

'Kai' means food in Mouri and 'koura' means crayfish - a name probably given to the place due to its abundance of sea food (sorry - really obvious comment there!). The reason for the abundance is that there is a continental shelf just off the coast - the sea depth drops drammactically from about 100 meters to 1000. This brings an upwelling of plankton etc, which means the food chain is plentiful for sea life.... ooohhh - I'm impressed I remembered something for once!

The upshot of all of this is that Kaikoura is the place to go for whale watching, dolphin swimming, seal swimming and pretty much anything else of that nature. I was very excited and booked in for a whale watch and dolphin swim - the latter of which has always been something high on my priority list. Who wouldn't want to swim with dolphins completely in the wild if given the chance?

I set off for my whale watch the afternoon I arrived. Having not read the guide book properly, I booked into a YHA that was at least a forty minute walk from everywhere else - fine if you want a stroll, but not so good when you're late for everything in the way that I typically am (that's taken years to admit!). I had limited time to reach the setting off port, so decided to hitch.

A note on hitching. It's bloody marvellous that in NZ hitching is considered the norm still. It's safe enough (if you're sensible) and people are more than happy to stop - testament to the helpful attitude of the Kiwis. I love this fact - I'm not sure why, but it fills me with an inner contentment just to know that somewhere in the world, we can still depend on the positives of human nature (hippy thing again maybe?).

I managed to hitch a lift with a Kiwi Experience Bus. Typical. The one tour company I had done my very upmost to avoid at all costs. Nick-named 'the green f**k truck (I hope no children are reading this!) due to its 'party, party, party' reputation and the fact that the average age of its clientel is 21; it was the last 'experience' I was hoping to gain from a trip to NZ. Imagine my utter disgust at discovering that a) their bus was, without a doubt, much nice than ours b) their driver seemed unimaginably more chatty and friendly and c) it had a toilet on board (only that morning I had nearly forced the driver to stop so that I could pee by the road-side). Still, it did the trick and I arrived with plenty of time to spare.

The whale watching centre was very well organised (as it's so popular here). There were flat screened tvs everywhere telling you about the risk of sea-sickness. Luckily, I had had a rare moment of pre-planning clarity, and taken a travel sickness tablet prior to setting off. Others were not so lucky! We set off at an incredible speed (a type of motorised catamaran I think) and literally 'bounced' over the top of rather large swells on the ocean. 'Moderate' sea sickness risk my foot. I swallowed hard and managed to maintain my dignity. Can't say that I didn't worry about the boat turning over or some such distasterous thing. Is it just me who's finding the capacity to worry about such things as I get older, or does everybody get it?

Within ten minutes, we were gazing at a sperm whale. It was incredible. They come up and float on the surface for about ten minutes every 20 minutes or so. Obviously, we didn't get too close and I'm pleased to say the crew gave us great detail on how they avoid distressing the whales or impacting on them in any way. As testament to this, the whales we saw are the same that they have been onserving in the bay for some years. In layman's terms - the whales aren't bothered.

After watching two different whales blowing and floating, then diving (yes, you get to see the classic 'whale tail' shot) we were lucky enough to join a huge pod of dusky dolphins as they bolted across the bay. They go so fast! It was just awe-inspiring to watch them so close to the boat, diving under and jumping out of the water. I tried in vain to get some good pics, but then just had to put my camera away and watch and enjoy the moment.


Another point on Kaikoura. When out to sea you could see the town itself and the hills which had cloud cover at the top ('Land of the long white cloud' is a fitting name for NZ). What takes you slightly by surprise is that everynow and then there is a gap in the clouds some considerable distance up from the hill tops.... there you get a sneaky view of mountain tops covered in snow. Without the cloud, I'm sure the mountains would have been breath-taking. With the clouds, it added an air of mystery.

On my return to Kaikoura, I discovered that my dolphin swim the next day wasn't possible. This determined my next move, as I rearranged all my plans (ferry, bus and accomodation) to move onto Wellington after only one night. Well Kaikoura was nice, but not a lot to do if you weren't heading out to sea and were staying somewhere in the middle of nowhere!

Back to Christchurch

After Lake Tekapo, I journeyed back to Chirstchurch. It was strangely comforting to be back in a hostel where you know the routines and know where to go to get a good cup of tea!

Had a couple of days to be still again; something I'm appreciating a lot. Was lucky enough to catch the 'wizard' of Christchurch who is considered (by LP) a tourist attraction at Cathedral Square. Basically, he spends time talking at people about various topics. What he was saying was highly amusing and I was glad I got the chance to see him.


Also did lots of practical stuff like drinking beer on a Sunday afternoon and feeling decidedly squiffy on just the one - I really have become a terrible lightweight (sorry Jon!). Finally managed to confirm flight changes as, excitingly, I'm now heading to India after a briefly extended stay in NZ. Hurrah! Will catch up with Jon in Goa for a week and fully intend to use it for cultural pursuits such as beach time, sleeping, eating and shopping - well, it will be my last stop afterall and what can you see in a week?

Kat and I (Irish girl who lives in London) spent time chilling and visiting the Antartic Centre where we got to experience an Antartic blizzard (it was bloody freezing!)
and ride on the Hagglund - an all terrain vehicle that, much to my joy and surprise, floats as well.

On the Hagglund

It would seem that Kat and I have the 'great minds think alike' syndrome and we're pretty much following the same route up to Auckland, as well as flying out to Sydney on the same flight. She's therefore stuck with my good self for much of her remaining time in NZ. It'll be great to have some company for the flight, although she may not be able to say the same of me - remember the visit to the doctors for 'I really hate flying pills'? I fully intend to not care about being 20,000 feet in the air in a giant metal object. How do people do it? I just don't know.

We also invested in a fanatstic Indian meal, in honour of Helene's (fellow Magic bus traveller) last night.... What made it even tastier was the fact that we had managed to acquire $5 discount tickets each. I couldn't help but think it would be good practice for Goa too.

Helene and Nicola eat fudge at the Arts Factory

So after a few farewells and sleepless nights (shared with three French men one night who were so quiet and considerate when going to bed after me, then promptly fell asleep rapidly and snored like combustion engines ALL night - literally all three of them! God I miss my own bed) I set off for a place called Kaikoura which is further up on the East coast of the South Island.

Lake Tekapo

When leaving Dunedin, we briefly stopped off to see the 'steepest street' in the world and had the opportunity to walk up it. As it was still only 8.30 in the morning and was raining, I was content to have a look, say 'that's nice' and return to the relative warmth of the bus. I'm beginning to give myself the impression of being a tad non-plussed at exciting sights and so should remedy this... It's not quite time for me to become a poe-faced misery.

We also got the chance to see some interesting rock formations on a beach and I was thouroughly more impressed with these, although I have forgotten the name of them - this is a problem that seems to plague me at present, but I put it down to so much happening all at once that details escape me... either that or I'm getting old.

The bus journeys are beginning to drag.... I like the fact that we stop off at places to see things we otherwise would miss, but the every now and then I'd like to just get somewhere. On this journey, our driver decided that we wouldn't stop at a cafe for lunch, but instead find somewhere nice to pull over and sit for a bit. I'm all for this if I actually have some lunch to eat -it was a little frustrating to sit, whilst my stomach churned with hunger, and watch others tucking into their various delights. A lesson learned on this one.

We arrived in Tekapo at about 3.30pm. The lake view from the hostel was stunning (must find some more adjectives really). I took a gentle (eh hem) walk up the Mt John to take in the views. Gentle walks in NZ terms generally mean they don't last long - this one, however, climed steeply up and I found myself sweating profusely within minutes. This was all made more painful by the fact that I walked up with a 20 year old Canadian girl who took it all very much in her stride.... How dare she. The view from the top was, well, stunning (again!).

Views of Lake Tekapo

After a night in a pretty crappy hostel and a brief pint in the local, it was off to Christchurch again on yet another bloody bus.... yawn.

Dunedin - where?

Dunedin - university town and supposedly like Edinburgh (now on East coast of South Island). Actually, it's nothing like it. Still it has some pretty special wildlife which I was lucky enough to see - in fact get pretty up close and personal with - so a real honour in many ways.

On the day we arrived, I took the Elm Wildlife tour to the Otago peninsula. The first wildlfe spectacular was getting to see Royal Albatross not only flying around above our heads, but also nesting on the only main-land nesting site in the world. It was amazing and they are soo big.

Next stop was down to the beach front where we saw NZ fur seals and their pups. The colony were happy enough getting on with it whilst we all peered over the edge of a hide all of 10 meters away from them. The pups were incredibly playfull and lolled around in rock pools waiting for the mothers to return from feeding.

Moving on, we got the chance to see sea-lions up close on the beach. There was an anxiety provoking moment when one of them thought we might be good fun to play with, but as our guide was an MA student studying them as part of his course in Marine Biology, we were in safe hands as he told us what to do, where to stand etc... Not only this, but he was able to give us an excellent insight into all the wildlife we saw - I was very impressed. The sea-lions were huge and incredibly powerful looking. I really did feel very lucky.


Finally, we saw yellow-eyed penguins coming in from the sea to nest for the night. I can't, once again, describe how special the whole thing was... I saw three endangered species all on one night (NZ fur seals are not endangered, but everything else is). I also saw them in their natural habitat, doing what they should be and being undisturbed by us and our small, very well guided group. Just how it should be!

The following day it absolutely pelted it down all day.... what better excuse for a trip around the Cadbury's Chocolate Factory! All I'll say is that the smell was delicious and they had a whole, huge silo totally dedicated to something completely useless - a chocolate waterfall which drops one tonne of chocolate down in front of you in all of 30 secs. A great idea. You also got freebies.... yum.

Queenstown and the like

The journey to Queenstown was punctuated by a stop at a bungy jumping centre. Here you could watch poor souls fling themselves off a bridge and, if they were lucky enough (eh hem) get their heads soaked in the freezing cold river that ran below. Even watching them gave me the jitters. Not for me thanks. So not a good start to entering the 'adventure capital of the world'. Oh well.

Queenstown itself was lovely - it very much reminded me of an Alpine town in Europe. It hugs the shores of the second largest lake in NZ (the name of which currently escapes me at present having had only one glass of beer - is there no hope?) and is surrounded by mountains (one range called the 'Remarkables' which I'm sure is a film). I spent three nights there and generally chilled out as I was stricken with my second chest infection of my travels. So much for NZ being the 'healthy' leg of my jaunt. A trip to the doctors and $125 later, and I was well equipped with enough tablets to fell a horse - this is good (see below). Apparently these fees are normal here... and I have the cheek to complain about the NHS.

I decided that 'gentle' pursuits were the best way forward - I could hardly visit here and do nothing - so I booked in on an afternoon's horse trek which was fantastic. The scenery was so overwhelming that I lost the power of speech and could do nothing but sit back and soak it up. The ride itself was good, but as my horse riding skills are a little rusty (by 20 years or so) it took me a while to remember how to stay on when going anything faster than a trot. I was the lucky one however, as my fellow 'trekkers' were particularly inexperienced and struggled to maintain their dignity when even walking briskly. This was good as it made my skills look much better than they actually were. Never a bad thing. My horse was an ex-racing pacer (if you know what that is) rescued from it's previous owners - it also had a part in Lord of the Rings. There's my claim to fame then. I always thought it might be more earth-shattering than that but beggars can't be choosers I suppose!

The proceeding days were spent walking like Jon Wayne - you forget how unforgiving a saddle can be!

Other than the trek, I spent time convalescing (yes - sleeping!) and trying to sort my tickets out as I had word that, despite it being a struggle, work were able to just about manage without me for a bit longer (actually, ' stay as long as you like' was the exact phrase, but I know what was meant). I also took a brief jaunt up on the Gondola (bubble cable car affair) and a speedy trip or two down on the 'luge' (go-kart affair) which was good fun. The views from the top of the hill overlooking queenstown were fanatstic - as are most of the views in NZ. Sorry - is this getting repetative?

No pics from Queenstown unfortunately as camera out of action - pah!

Wanaka

Lake Wanaka by moonlight

Arriving in Wanaka, I could immediately see why Jon loved this place. The views around the lake were stunning and it just had a really chilled atmosphere...

I stayed three nights instead of one. I enjoyed puzzle world (big maze on which I have to say I cheated at the end on as well as other 'puzzling' attractions) Cinema Paradiso (yes Jon, the local beer and fresh baked cookies are delicious) which I loved - very much my sort of cinema with sofas, great food and even a beetle car to sit in if you so desired and I also did a three hour tramp up the Rob Roy Glacier track. I can't begin to describe how visually spectacular the views were - it just doesn't do them justice. I will say that pick-nicking in front of a glacier that towers above you is something else - especially as snow and ice break off and literally 'thunder' down the glacier.

Rob Roy Glacier

In the cinema

I would have gladly stayed longer, but alas, time was getting the better of me and it was off to Queenstown - 'Adventure Capital of the World'. Hmmm...

Rain, ice, snow and wind - isn't that a song?

TheTranzalpine train, unfortunately, deposited me in a place called Greymouth on the west coast. I kept looking for the tumbleweed, but even that had left town. It was raining and yes, it did feel very 'grey'.

After checking into a hostel the likes of which I've never quite experienced before - you feel ultimately unwelcome if you speak the wrong language and there's a strange damp smell seeping through the building - I strolled around to see what was on offer and to book my bus for the next morning. There was nothing on offer other than a few ponamu shops (Jade/Green stone) and a river. I nearly cried when the bus office said the bus might be full for the next day. Thankfully someone smiled on me and, oh yes, there is one seat left.

Franz Josef was the next stop (I keep spelling it different ways as all I know is it doesn't follow conventions!). Here I was met by truly stunning mountain scenery and a glacier. The sun even came out (please note - on the first day). I joined some fellow 'Magic Bus' travellers and the driver for a quick trip to the 'look out' points to see the glacier and take the obligatory photos. I even had my first encounter with a wild Kea (large green and orange parrot known for causing devastation to cars and dustbins due to it's curious nature and extremely strong beak). However, this one didn't appear to be the cheeky devil I had been led to believe; it simply ignored me. pah.

Spot the glacier

The group I was with decided to tramp (walk/hike in NZ) the leisurely track back onto town. Three and a half hours, two swing bridges, three creek crossing, several up hill climbs (ooo how I love those) and a group bonding experience later and we hit the pub at the other end. Well, it was well deserved no? The route was great in truth and I could really see, as I passed green clad trees and waterfalls, why Lord of the Rings was filmed here. It is a place of magic. Sorry - hippy again.

The next day the heavens opened. I haven't seen rain like that in a very long time. What a pity I'd chosen that day and not the gloriously sunny day before, to book my walk up the glacier. I donned the free 'waterproof' (ha ha) jacket and trousers and the boots that were a size too big ("don't worry love - have another pair of socks") and set off.

We walked to the glacier via a valley interspersed with small creeks. My feet stayed dry en route as I sensibly avoided the large puddles and used stepping stones - why get wet if you don't have to?

The glacier itself was nice. It would have been nicer without the rain and the strange, worrying groans and cracking noises that even had our guides ears pricked up. There were some beautiful ice formations that really shone icy blue (sorry - obvious adjective there). It was so wet though that pretty much everyone in the group was reasonably pleased with a 'ah that's nice, shall we move on?'.

On the way back we waded, with large men/guides hanging onto to us for fear we might get swept away, through thigh-high(!) torrents of gushing water that had swelled the creeks in a matter of minutes.

On our very wet return, I realised I'd rather stupidly forgotten to take every important document I own out of my day pack (including my passport). My dorm room looked rather strange as I spread my paperwork out in a vague effort to return it to it's former glory - not sure what the check-in staff will think of my ticket however. Unfortunately, my camera didn't venture out it was too wet, so no nice pics or photographic evidence that I did it at all. I did (and still do) have a blister though - extra socks - yeah, thanks for that.

The next day, as I left, the sun was shining in all it's glory. Next stop Wanaka.

The sun shining on the peaks as I left