April 11, 2005
Day 182: last day in Kiwiland
We didn't do too much noteworthy today, just had a nice lunch, spent some time on the internet and saw 'Assault on Precinct 13' at the cinema, which was pretty good....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:54 AM |
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Day 181: Auckland
We drove to the airport, stopping briefly at a petrol station to make Dougie more presentable, and dropped him off at the Avis office....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:52 AM |
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Day 180: Bouncy pillow
Most of this day was spent sorting out our stuff, as we are flying to Auckland tomorrow and needed to get rid of some of the camping things. We put out a box and it seemed very popular, as most...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:45 AM |
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Day 179: Christchurch
We set off in the bus for the centre after a windy night, though not quite as windy as Wellington....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:40 AM |
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April 07, 2005
Day 178: Christchurch
Our tent was soaked, as it had been raining again, and we were both pretty cold, so we got up quite early. It cleared up beautifully though as we were driving....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 02:55 AM |
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Day 177: Fairlie
We got up quite early. It had been very windy all night, but luckily our tent stood in a very secluded spot and we didn't have a Wellington repeat....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 02:46 AM |
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Day 176: Hooker valley
We made sure the geology class had left before we got up for breakfast, wondering at the ice which had actually formed on our tent! At about 9, we drove to Mt Cook/Aoraki village and we started walking about 9.35....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 02:37 AM |
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April 04, 2005
Day 175: Mt Cook/Aoraki NP
We got up really early (well, about 8) as it was freezing in the tent. There was actual condensation from our breath on the inside!...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 08:25 AM |
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Day 174: Oamaru
We drove to the small town of Oamaru, 109 km north of Dunedin. It was basically just a stop to break the trip to Mt Cook, which is almost on the other side of the island....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 08:24 AM |
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Day 173: Dunedin cafe culture
In the morning after breakfast, I slipped in my flipflops and was covered in mud... Why do these things happen to me? Well, it could have been worse, as I was carrying a sharp knife......Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 01:51 AM |
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Day 172: Taieri Gorge Railway
Keiron arranged for a taxi to pick us up and we drove to the railway station and bought our tickets....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 01:49 AM |
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Day 171: Otago Peninsula
I was a nurse to Brad Pitt and he had a rather embarrassing bum infection, so I had to put new bandages on. But at that point I was rudely woken up by the van taking off next to us...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 01:36 AM |
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Day 170: Dunedin
I got a bit cold because of all the soppy wetness of Invercargill, so, uncharacteristically, I was up before Keiron, and very lively at that!...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 01:18 AM |
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March 29, 2005
Day 169: Invercargill
We packed up a wet tent in the rain. Seemed like it was time to leave Te Anau. Dougie sounded like he had a cold, he hadn't had any serious driving to do in a while....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:55 AM |
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Day 168: Kepler Track
After being pampered on the boat, we put on our boots again and decided to do a bit of the Kepler track, normally a three day hike....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:46 AM |
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Day 167: Milford Sound - day 2
I slept amazingly, though the sheets rustled quite noisily... We had to get up at 6.30 though, as breakfast was served at 7....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:39 AM |
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Day 166: Milford Sound
We had a leisurely morning, went into town to get a drink and had an early lunch, boiled eggs and soldiers to be precise....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:31 AM |
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March 25, 2005
Day 165: Quad pro quo
Keiron went off quad biking in the morning. I didn't fancy it, as my mind seems to wander every time someone tries to explain something technical to me, such as bike gears or cricket....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:32 AM |
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Day 164: Te Anau
We had decided only to stay in Queenstown for one day. If you are not there for the action (bungy, jetboating, rafting...) it's not really an interesting town, so we moved on....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:23 AM |
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Day 163: Thrill Therapy
We drove to Queenstown, where it was busy, drizzling and crowded. The campsite would be full by evening, but as we were reasonably early, we got ourselves a nice spot, by the little stream....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:11 AM |
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Day 162: Mt Aspiring NP
I had difficulty getting up as I had slept badly (perhaps because I checked my bank account) and had nightmares....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 02:59 AM |
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March 21, 2005
Day 161: Wanaka
We drove the windy road to Fox, had a stop at Knight's Point (another lookout over the ocean) and I got bitten by vicious sandflies....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 12:46 AM |
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Day 160: Fox Glacier and Lake Matheson
I wasn't feeling too stiff in the morning, and we set off towards Fox glacier, this time to have a look from down on terra firma......Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 12:41 AM |
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Day 159: Glacier Adventure
We walked to the Franz Josef Township and the Glacier Guides office, as we had signed up for a Glacier Adventure which would last the entire day....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 12:18 AM |
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Day 158: Franz Josef
Our tent was soaking wet, because of the dew, which was fun packing up (not). We stopped at the supermarket for supplies, then drove to Franz Josef, the views getting increasingly more spectacular as the mountains got higher....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 12:02 AM |
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March 20, 2005
Day 157: Greymouth
When we set off from Carter's Beach, we drove straight at the mountains, which had all been named after scientists: Mt Einstein, Mt Pasteur, Mt Kelvin, Mt Euclid... The Kiwi's tend to name every little brook, creek and molehill. I'm...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 11:57 PM |
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March 18, 2005
Day 156: Carter's Beach
In the morning we had bacon and eggs for breakfast, as a treat. We drove to Buller Gorge, amidst a beautiful landscape of hills, the mountains in the background, and the Buller river on the right....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:55 AM |
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Day 155: The scenic route
We got up at six thirty after a restless night. Keiron had to wake up the owners of the car that had wedged us in, and she came out, still drunk with sleep. We set off for our last journey...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:46 AM |
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Day 154: I just called to say I love you
We went out quite early (windy Wellington lept us awake again) and bought a phonecard from a Japanese lady who didn't speak much English....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:22 AM |
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March 17, 2005
Day 153: Leuven
In the morning, we were woken up by people taking down their tents. As we were in such close quarters, it was as if they were shouting in our ears. Time to get up and have a shower......Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:03 AM |
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Day 152: Wellington
We drove the three hours to the capital, Wellington, more or less continuously and I got stressed when the road we took fell off the map and I got us a bit lost in the hills of Wellington....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 05:40 AM |
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Day 151: Wanganui
Getting up was a bit of an ordeal as I could barely walk. I managed to hobble to the town and we bought some postcards of what we should have seen yesterday and a blueberry muffin to cheer me up....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 05:22 AM |
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March 13, 2005
Day 150: Tongariro Crossing
Today we were going to walk the 'best walk in New Zealand', which meant we had to get up at 6.15, which felt like the middle of the night. We had breakfast, made sandwiches and observed a few drops of...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 04:12 AM |
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Day 149: Okahune
Our Judy (the car) is now covered in bird shit thanks to the trees in the Rotorua campsite. After the Maori evening we decided she needed to take pride in her Maori heritage, so we renamed her 'waka Judy', waka...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:57 AM |
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March 10, 2005
Still day 148: Tamaki Maori Village
After we both had a shower to get the sulphur smell off, we waited for the transport to Tamaki Maori Village. We were picked up by a bus & busdriver, the latter introducing himself as 'Dennis the Menace can't play...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:46 AM |
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Day 148: Hell's Smells
After breakfast we set off to Hell's Gate, a thermal reserve just outside Rotorua....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:39 AM |
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Day 147: Rotorua
In our usual efficient way, we were all packed up at 9.15 and we drove straight through to Rotorua. The road was quite boring anyway....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:30 AM |
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March 08, 2005
Day 146: St Benedict Cave
In the morning after breakfast, we walked across the road to Waitomo Adventures, where we booked a caving trip to St Benedict's Cave. We were met by our guides, Riki and Dan, and it turned out we were the only...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 04:16 AM |
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Day 145: Rod Stewart
I spent another few hours on the internet, we went to the supermarket where a scary cashier was being very possessive of her shopping trolley and drove to Waitomo....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 04:03 AM |
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Day 144: Hamilton
Getting up early was painful as I hadn't slept too well. After we got up, it started raining so we packed up the tent speedily and drove through the pouring rain to Hamilton. We passed Auckland on the way and...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:46 AM |
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March 04, 2005
Day 143: Forest through the trees
When I woke up in the morning the sun was shining bright and I got up. Keiron got up shortly after me, asking what I was doing up at 6.30! However, when we got to the kitchen, it turned out...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:59 AM |
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Day 142: Kauris and Maoris
We got up early, at eight, and were all ready to go by 9.15. We drove to the car ferry and crossed the bay to Paihangi, then drove on to Waitangi and the Waitangi Treaty grounds....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 03:35 AM |
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March 01, 2005
Day 141: Flagstaff Hill
When we woke up, we were both very sore. Keiron's sore throat had progressed to a full blown cold and we took it easy....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 07:11 AM |
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Day 140: The Excitor...
Keiron and I got up at 8 (it's not all fun and games you know...) and after breakfast we took the ferry across to Paihia, a slightly bigger and more touristy town in the Bay....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 07:02 AM |
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Day 139: Romantic Russell
We were on the road by 20 to 10 and started on highway one, then turned off for the scenic detour to Russell, in the Bay of Islands....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:45 AM |
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Day 138: Whangarei Falls
Keiron and I woke up around 8.30, not bad for a first tent night. I did feel a bit sore from the hard ground....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 06:29 AM |
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February 28, 2005
Day 137: Whangarei
We took a taxi to the Avis office even though it was only a few streets away, as all our camping stuff (and rucksacks) would be a bit much to carry. Our taxidriver was a jolly Fijian with a thick...Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 11:32 PM |
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Day 136: Penguins
After I managed to rouse Keiron from his slumber we had breakfast at Starbucks....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 11:22 PM |
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Day 135: Shopping frenzy
We had to move our stuff to a dorm, as there was no double room available that night and we couldn't be bothered to move hostels. The dorm was pretty stuffy and of course there were no bottom bunks available....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 11:07 PM |
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Day 134: Auckland
We got to Auckland at 12.50 local time and it took us nearly three hours to get out of the airport....Read this update
Posted by Nathalie at 10:49 PM |
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