George’s Adventure

Saturday 7th October 2006

Darwin is extremely hot. Did you know that Darwin is the most likely place to suffer lightening and thunder in the world? Interesting I thought. Since we have been in Darwin we have been enjoying being in one place for more than one or two nights and our hostel is great as it has a swimming pool to keep us cool in this swealtering heat. On Thursday we visited the library and Government buildings, mainly to take advantage of the free internet but the buildings are impressive anyhow. On Friday we went to Mindil Beach in the evening. We got there just in time to see a beautiful sunset of yellows and reds. There were so many people about too which made the night markets very atmospheric. They had every stall imaginable and more. Lots of jewellery stalls and food galore (you could eat all night if you wanted to) and different bands playing. One band named Em Dee were particulary good. There was a guy showing us his whipping skills and for a small price you could have a go yourself. I bought some new sunglasses as I lost my others on Fraser Island. There was also a little stall called Road Kill cafe where we tried kangaroo, which tasted just like beef, and crocodile, which I actually had no interest in trying but Janine was absolutely loving in and really wanted to so I had a bit, and eeew it tasted like chewy chewy fat chew – not nice at all to me and I couldnt help thinking the meat tasted a bit old. Yum! While we were at the market we also visited a man called Manfred. He told me my fortune using tarot cards and reading my palms. Very interesting! I have never had my fortune told before so it was quite exciting and I enjoyed every moment of it. I wont say too much about what he told me as we could be here for hours, but my future looks bright anyway. Yay! Last night we sampled some of the local nightlife and said goodbye to Brian and Anne-Marie who drove us up to Darwin from Townsville.

Thursday 5th October 2006

I have now reached Darwin and what a hard slog it was to get there.  Looking at a map of Australia you would be forgiven for thinking that it wouldnt take that long to get from Cairns to Darwin…oh no no no my friends, not only is it soooo hot and sticky in the back of a Ford Falcon with another 3 people in the car but it takes forever and the road is just one straight line.  There is only so many termite hills, red soil and trees that can amuse one. Hmmm.

Well, the road trip didnt start quite as expected.  On Sunday 24/9 we caught the ferry from Magnetic Island back to Townsville where we put all our bags into big lockers at the ferry terminal so that we could explore Townsville and catch the Greyhound bus later on that night.  We went to ‘Flanders Mall’ where they had a few market stalls up and visited the art gallery which was really good.  They had an exhibition by Lee Harnden who is a grafitti artist but his prints look just like fine art paintings – amazing what you can do with a spray paint (yes Dad i can imagine the look on your face and the mumblings of the amount of grafitti about and having to get it off the green box over the road….yes yes).  Anyway, the best thing about this art gallery is that the ground level is dedicated to participation.  There is a room filled with empty cardboard  boxes for you to make houses, there is a corner for drawing and colouring (yes i did do this), and best of all – there was a lego room.  Wicked!

Once we had finished being creative for the day we went for a long walk along ‘The Strand’, nothing like London’s street i might add, and then headed back to the bus/ferry terminal to catch the bus to Cairns.

Cairns is a very touristy place, I was surprised by this.  It was made better by being able to meet up with some people we had met on the Whitsundays and by the fact that Cairns has a lagoon.  This is again, just a big swimming pool but its great to sunbathe and swim when it is so hot.  We had a free night in one hostel and then had to move to another hostel to take advantage of a discounted night.  What an effort.  Just to move hostel it took us an hour to walk to the other one with all our bags and massive rucksack in the heat.  It was a nightmare.  Just to find out that when we arrived at the hostel, we couldnt check in until 12.30pm.  Greeeat!

From Cairns you can visit Cape Tribulation.  We did a day trip allowing us to see ‘where the rainforest meets the reef’.  We had morning tea and biscuits at the Daintree River where a boat took us on a little cruise and we spotted crocodiles on the river bank.  We did a botanical boardwalk where our guide talked to us about buttress roots (my brain was trying to remember some of that Geography A-Level stuff and it was starting to return).  We had lunch at a jungle village and visited Mossman Gorge, a beautiful place where you can swim – if only the water hadnt felt like an ice box i would have jumped right in.  On the way back we stopped off at Port Douglas for half an hour.  This is a lovely little place where some of the stars holiday.

We began our roadtrip on Thursday 28/09.  We met a couple called Anne-Marie and Brian on our Whitsunday trip and they mentioned they were driving to Darwin.  Janine and I soon persuaded them that they couldnt possibly leave without our sintilating company.  We stopped off at Mission Beach for lunch, made a slight detour to The Girrigun National Park to see the Wallaman Falls, and only reached Townsville on the first day.  Janine and I had already visited here as you know so we were keen to get going the next day but it didnt begin well as the car had to go in for a service which took longer than expected so we didnt set off until well into the afternoon on Friday.  We passed through ‘Charters Towers’ – Queenslands second largest city which was referred to in its heyday as ‘The World’.  We then got to Hughenden and stayed the night here.  As we left Hughenden on Saturday 30/09 we saw Kronosaurus Korner where they have a giant dinosaur with its mouth open which you can sit in.  They have found many fossils in these parts to indicate that many dinosaurs roamed these areas – they now cover even their bins with dinosaur feet.  Funny really.  For lunch we stopped at ‘Julia Creek’.  This was very eerrie.  All i could hear was the sound of me biting into my sandwich and chewing.  Very quiet town.  We ended the day in Mt Isa.  Apparently you are only an Aussie when you have visited here.  Janine and I walked to a lookout point and watched the sunset over the town.  We also met a guy in a hat and boots who told me he was a ‘real’ cowboy and did a pretend shoot with his gun.  That was quite funny too.

On Sunday 01/10 we went from Mt Isa to Camooweal.  We had lunch here in a cafe that charged extortionate prices because it could.  They had books for sale saying ‘1 book for 3 dollars or 2 for 6 dollars’.  What a saving!!  We went on to pass ‘Georgina River’ and then reached the border and passed into Northern Territory.  We stayed the night at Tennant Creek where in the evening we watched some aboriginal people play some music and sing.  On Monday 2/10 we reached Katherine.  On the way we say a bush fire – Janine was asleep and missed the whole thing.  The next day we finally arrived in Darwin.  We passed ‘George Creek’ where we took a ‘ten minute scramble’ as the guidebook said, to a waterfall.  It was so hot I felt like jumping in the falls.

We are now in Darwin.  Our hostel has two swimming pools and it is such an intense heat here so yesturday we just lounged on the beds by the pool and cooled off by swimming.  We have booked all of our trips down to Adelaide now and we leave on Sunday for those.  

Monday 25th September 2006

Ok I am really not a happy bunny.  Just checked my blog and I have this notice leaping out at me:

“Maybe you noticed that your blog is missing posts dating back to August 17th? Or that your blog ain’t here anymore. Well, after doing this for 3+ years we have had a series of server errors and the database that was storing all the blog entries was wiped clean. The most recent back-up that we’ve been able to restore is from August 17th. All our daily back-ups between August 17th and now are missing for the moment. We are still working on finding a more recent back-up. If we do not find it, I am not sure if there is anything we can do. We are truly sorry about this.”Ok so something funny is going on….I was sure i had written since I left New Zealand but it appeared not and now I know why!! Got lots to catch up on then havent you!! I’ll keep the recap brief as I know some of you have already read about Sydney and Coffs Harbour (yawn yawn I know):

Thurs 17/08: Sydney – left New Zealand for Sydney and the next day we visited Sydney Tower and Oz Trek.  The tower is the highest point in Sydney and has 360 degree panoramic views.  The Oz Trek is a simulation ride – a bit touristy.  On the Saturday we walked around Paddy’s Market, I bought some new trainers as mine had all fallen apart and Janine bought some sunglasses which she later will lost in Coff’s Harbour.  That evening we sampled only one of Sydney’s clubs – ‘The Gaff’ and ended up stopping off at ‘Hungry Jacks’ on the way home.  This is actually “Burger King” but Oz have kept the original name for it – weird.

Sun 20/08: Coffs Harbour – We arrive here and the next day we go whale watching.  Janine has a go at being skipper on the way back and we get to see whales and dolphins jumping around and spraying water – the sun is shining!!.  That night we enter a local pub quiz with our hostel and meet Kyle, Helen and Leanne who we later travel on with.  We win some booze as we win one of the rounds – yay!  On Tues 22/08 we commence our PADI open water dive course.  This is one of the most amazing and best things I have ever done.  I love it!  The first day is all theory and I begin to find some brain cells – after all I havent used them in a while.  I have a medical and pass  The doctor comments that I have very “clear ears” – whatever that means!  On day 2 of the course we have an intense pool session from 08.30am – 1.30pm.  It feels so odd to have bubbles running up the side of my face but I get used to it.  We have to do 8 lengths of the pool any stroke in as much time as possible – Im first – yay!  On day 3 we go for 2 dives in the morning at Mutton Bird Island and it is incredible.  We practice our skills in the water and in the afternoon I pass my theory test.  No celebrating though as need to have a clear head for the next day where we completed our two other dives at South Solitary Island and received our certificates.  We are now qualified scuba divers.  We got to see a turtle, baby sharks, blue gropers, lots of different types of fish etc – amazing!  I even managed to have my first diving injury.  A lady flicker her reg hose in my eye and it came up all red – its fine now though!  Ha!  On Sat 26/08 we visited Coffs Harbour’s main attraction – ‘The Big Banana’.  Our tour guide looked like Johnny Depp (Janine loved this) and we had a tour of the plantations and went for a toboggon.  Thrilling!  On Sun 27/08 we had a walk around Coffs Harbour and left later that day for Byron Bay.  Our new friends Kyle, Helen and Leanne joined us.

Mon 28/08: Byron Bay – It is here that we get to stay in ‘The Pentagon’, a tipi/tent type style of accomodation – pretty cool.  We have a walk around the town which is pretty small.  The place is very hippy like and chilled out.  Good to relax here even though we never make it to the beach – it rains the whole time.  When I say rained – I mean torrential downpours all day and night.  It is here that we come accross the first hostel that does not provide cutlery or plates/general kitchen equipment – a fad that lasts pretty much up the whole of the east coast of Oz.  That night we watch a talent show in our hostel and then head out for the town.  We go to a few places and end up at ‘Cheeky Monkeys’ – a bar where you can dance on the tables – I say no more.  It is here that on the next night Janine gets thrown out.  So funny!  Tues 29/08 we go on ‘Jims Alternative Tours’ and visit Nimbin.  This is a place where they sell marijuana fairly openly on a street that is not even the length of Bromley high street.  Kyle, Janine and myself had a fun day here and on the way home stopped off at a protected forest where we ate macademia nuts and fruits before visiting the Minyon Falls.  The bus to get us to Nimbin and back was an adventure – leaking and playing crazy music. So fun!  On Weds 30/08 I make and paint my own didgeridoo.  I also learn how to play the didgeridoo and create my own design.  I then paint, wax and varnish it.  Is the world ready for my musical sounds just yet I ask?

Thurs 31/08: Surfers Paradise – This is meant to be literally a paradise for surfing and yes it would be if it wasnt raining.  Still as we have now left Helen and Leanne and we have only Kyle for company, the three of us are not complaining as we get upgraded from a dorm room into an apartment.  We have our own kitchen (WITH AN OVEN – this is dramatic!) and two DVD players and TVs – we are in luxury.  We are so excited we buy junk food – use the oven, rent 3 DVDs and chill out all night.  Love it!  The next day we walk around Surfers – have a little paddle on the beach, admire the high rise buildings for such a dainty place and head to Brisbane.

Fri 1/09: Brisbane – We wander around this delightful city.  Many people have strong conflicting opinions about Brisbane.  They either love it or hate it.  I love it.  As the three of us are wandering around we stumble upon the University there and can hear live music – we go to investigate and end up seeing INXS that evening.  Truly amazing.  They rocked.  Sat 2/09 we visit Brisbane’s man made beach and we are there at the time of The River Festival – a festival which celebrates the river running through Brisbane.  That night we watch the fireworks that have been put on for everyone on the South Bank (literally like London’s) and then head out on the town.  We bump into some locals who take us to a dire place which plays hip-hop and techno music.  We stay there just long enough to encounter party streamers and poppers explode all over the floor – we make a quick exit after that.  Sun 3/09 we visit Brisbane’s Chinatown and Kyle leave early the next day.  We are sad that he has left so we cheer ourselves up on Mon 4/09 by cuddling a koala at the Lone Pine Koala Santuary.  We see all sorts of birds and animals here – our koala is sooo cute!

Tues 5/09: Noosa – It is raining here.  We visit the cinema to see ‘Thank you for Not Smoking’ as there is really not much else to do here. We do go on a little walk though – exercise exercise!

Thurs 7/09: Hervey Bay – pronounced Harvey Bay, this is where our Fraser Island adventure begins. The next day we spend some time on the beach – horray it is sunny! – and then at 3pm go to meet the rest of the Fraser Island crew. We meet our group. We are with 4 irish girls, Natalie, Donna, Lol and Mimi and 3 guys called Nathan, Russ and Rory and one guy who is travelling on his own called Steve. We go shopping for our supplies – ie. food and alcohol for the trip and then the next day we are off. Saturday sees us lost the map of the island and tide times within the first hour of being there. I lose my Ray Ban sunglasses (im so not happy about this), Rory loses his ipod and watch that night and Donna loses her flip flops. The sand is definitely a thief. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world. It is definitely a sight to see. We visit Lake McKenzie which is beautiful and we go swimming here in the sunshine. We cannot swim in the sea, despite having to drive on the beach and it being so tempting, because of the sharks – not a good look apparently. We also visit Eli Creek on the first day and camp on the beach. We get our meat out to cook and it is all frozen so we decide to cook beans on the gas stove, which explodes into flames and nearly catches the tents alight.

The next day I am woken up by a ranger shaking my foot and asking me to get up. We all get up and out of our tents despite the hang-overs and are reprimanded quite rightly for leaving beer cans (might I add that Janine and I didnt drink beer that night) all over the camp site. He let us off a fine thank goodness. When we have all recovered, we drive to the champagne pools in our 4×4. We get stuck in the sand a bit – all fun digging us out – and then we head to Indian Heads where we climb to the top and see baby sharks, dolphins, whales and turtles swimming around. Russ shows me later that he can pull the key out of the ignition whilst we are moving – there is something wrong about that me thinks! We visit the ‘Maheno Wreck’ – a shipwreck on the island – pretty rusty but impressive and then we camp down on the beach for the night. We are supposed to be inland and not on the beach this night beacause of the tide times the next day but we didnt get in-land on time. The next day, Monday 11/09 we drive through salt water with our fingers crossed hoping that the car company wont notice the salt crystals and make it back to the ferry despite it pouring with rain, me nearly being sick and having to sit in the front, and nearly running out of petrol. We also discover that the handbrake doesnt work properly and the car still moves forward. Love it!

Tues 12/09: Agnes Water/Town of 1770 – This town is sooo cute and small and lovely. It is chilled out here and warm and sunny so we head for the beach here and take part in Scooteroo Tours. Yes, that’s right, I have overcome my fear of scooters from Crete and I ride a chopper (a mini Harley Davidson). Dad eat your heart out thinking your cool on your monkey bike – you just wait until you see the pics of me on my bike!!!! They are soooo cool and I have the best time. We rip it up around the island and then stop for potatoe wedges and watch the sun set on the town.

Thurs 14/09: Rockhampton – This is the beef capital of Australia (Gemma went here – hoorah!). We have the best steak here but in the town there is not much to do here. They have statues of bulls everywhere here.

Friday 15/09: Mackay – pronounced like it rhymes with ‘die’ – we take a bus to the ‘Dreamtime Cultural Centre’ and learn all about aborginal and the torres straight culture. I learn how to throw a boomerang here. Impressive! We also get a free bus around the town here and visit the Artspace centre (art gallery) and the beach and marina – very pretty.

Sun 17/09: Airlie Beach: This is where we began our Whitsunday adventure. We checked into a hostel that doesnt provide pillows or sheets or blankets of any description and if you do want them you have to pay extra – sleeping with my hoody as a pillow is greeeat! This hostel in fact is sooo good that the kitchen has no cooker or stove so you cant boil water….this means we have to buy dinner and all our food – not the cheapest option. Still, only one night in this delightful hostel and then the next day we went to meet the people who were joining us on our sailing adventure around the Whitsundays and collect my snorkell of course. So, 25 girls on board this boat and 3 men (1 who was gay and 2 who had girlfriends with them) – great! On the day we boarded the boat the sun was shining and the water glistened – beautiful. The 3 day, 2 night affair was on board The Pride of Airlie. We got going and sailed to South Molle Island. This is a lovely island and resort. As we checked into our dorm and had dinner and drinking games on the first night by the time i got to bed i was thinking it was great here – until one of the Italian girls in my room pointed out a cockroach and George to the rescue had to calm her down and chase this silly creature around the room. Eventually the other Italian girl bashed it to death with her flip flop. Nice!

The next day we sailed to White Haven Beach where Janine and I did a dive. We went to about 5/6 metres so not very deep and the visibility was pretty poor as lots of sand was being churned up but we saw some amazing fish and it was good for us to get back into diving and get our confidence up. It was the first time we had dived since qualifying. White Haven Beach has silica sand. You can clean your silver jewellery with it – probably good for exfoliating too but i didnt try that. After White Haven we got taken to a little spot for a bit of snorkelling. I have never seen such big coral and the amount of fish swimming around was phenominal. Eventually we had buffet lunch and headed back to our resort where Janine and I headed straight for the luke-warm spa. Just as we had started to relax after about 5/10 minutes, about 15 of the other guys (ok well mainly girls i know) turned up – there were so many of us in this little tiny spa – needless to say two of the men in the spa loved it! That night we had dinner and played some drinking games and I thought i would enter one of the games. I declined on the limbo dancing but took up the challenge of the box game. This involves picking up a cardboard box off the floor but with your teeth and hands behind your back. Your knees are not allowed to touch the floor. Everyone gets a go at lifting and after each round someone cuts a layer off of the box to make it lower. Eventually you are left with one square of cardboard on the floor. Somehow – i won!!!! Nice bottle of champagne for me thank you very much!

The next day we got taken to a sand bar where I went snorkelling and saw the biggest turtle. I followed it as it swam along slowly flapping its little arms and legs – so cute! As we headed back to the dry land of Airlie beach we sunbathed on deck – it was the hottest day. Back on dry land and we checked out the lagoon at Airlie beach. An artificial lagoon but wonderful to cool off in, splashing around and nicer than the beach.

We leave Airlie Beach and take a bus to Townsville where we caught a ferry to Magnetic Island. This island is beautiful and on Fri 22/09 there was a big full moon party with lots of different DJs playing and dancing all round. Tim Deluxe from the UK played. Very fun.

Sun 24/09: Townsville – We took the ferry from Magnetic Island back to Townsville and put all our bags into a big locker. We explored Townsville for the day, mainly lying on the beach, and then caught a late bus to Cairns where we are now. Ours Cairns adventure begins.

Tuesday 15th August 2006 

This is our final stop in New Zealand which is a real shame.  I have really enjoyed every moment of it here.  At the moment we are in Christchurch which is the second largest city in New Zealand.  We fly out of here on Thursday so we don’t have long left.

Christchurch has a gondola (which we havent been up as we went on one in Wellington and Queenstown and we are feeling a little gondolad out).  It also has a massive Cathedral in the aptly named Cathedral Square, which is where our hostel is located.  Christchurch also has a tram system which I have been dying to get on since we got here.  We got on it today for $12.50 (which is just over four pounds – i cant find the pound symbol on this keyboard its stupid!!).  This ticket lasts for two days and you can hop off and on when you like and go round and round as much as you like.  Needless to say after the second time of going round (this took all of about 15 minutes) i wanted to get off.  I was cold too….had a bit of a saga with my fleece….

Saga of the Fleece:
When I was staying with Brooke, Clint and Austin in Auckland Brooke took me to Kathmandu (a kiwi outdoorsy type of shop) so that we could buy some warm clothing.  I bought a fleece.  Along the way i bought a beanie hat (they are all the rage here! – You look weird without one) and when i was in Paihia a guy gave me his black gloves because he was off to Fiji and didnt need them there obviously.  Well, those delights all ended the other night when I went to a club and someone stole my fleece with my hat and gloves in it.  Nice!  So now i’m freezing in Christchurch trying to wear all my clothes at the same time and still look human.  I don’t want to buy another fleece because we are off to Aus next and I dont think i will need one there.  Oh the delights!!

……….The other cool thing about the tram is that the driver gives you a bit of a commentry while it goes around – i am sure this gets a little repetitive if you go round more than twice too.  The other attraction of Christchurch is punting on the River Avon.  Janine and I did this the other day.  The man dresses up in a silly suit and hat and just takes you down the river for half and hour.  It is quite relaxing and must be gorgeous in the summer with all the pretty tress lining the river.  I fell asleep on the way back to the boat shed – that relaxing! 

Today Janine and I were out looking for a place to get some food and we wandered accross the Copenhagen Bakery and Cafe.  Now you might be thinking – doesnt sound very kiwi like to me – but haha….this place sells a gold award winning gourmet vegetable pie – and kiwiland is famous for its pies – so I had one – and boy it was delish!!  The best pie ive ever tasted.  It had REAL vegetables in it too.  Not like the rubbish we get at home.

Christchurch is quite good for nightlife, especially at the weekend.  There is Manchester Street (whenever I say this i have to put on a mancunian accent) and the place we are calling ‘the stip’ although i am sure it has an official name.  These bars stay open way later than ours at home tend to and they dont really get going until later too.  There is no smoking anywhere inside in NZ so i am getting used to coming home and not smelling like a cigaratte myself – it’s quite refreshing.   Just dont leave your fleece out of sight.  I can just see my parents tutting away at this – i never learn do i? 

Here are just a few things I love about this place…..
“Sweet as”
“Parks”
“Bro”
“Ay” (used at the end of every sentence!!)
“Heaps” (used for lots or loads)
Pies!
Fush and Chups
The cleanest beaches
Skydiving
Bungy jumping
Hot chocolate in bowls served with marshmallows
Walking on ice up a glacier
cafes

Pumpkin
Sheep
Kumera
The chocolate (it tastes amazing here – and they call their bars different names eg. Perky Nana, Moro (thats basically a mars bar), Pinky.
Hokey Pokey ice cream (honeycomb)

………..the list goes on……………………….

Monday 7 August 2006

I am now in Dunedin. It is New Zealand’s second city after Christchurch (which I am heading to soon). It is home to NZ’s first university so it has lots of young people walking around and a vibrant cafe culture feel to it. Dunedin is also Celtic for ‘Edinburgh’ reflecting its foundation by Scottish settlers.

It is here that we have visited the Cadbury chocolate factory – and before you all scream at me – there is no sign of salmonela here thank you very much!! We were able to see how Cadbury make and produce, box and sell their chocolate and confectionery. Of course, the only reason we go is for the free chocolate – and yep we got loads of it – which I have already consumed! Yummy!!!

Yesturday I went on an Elm Wildlife tour on my own. It was pretty amazing. A shuttle bus picked me up from my hostel and took me to the peninsula where I was lucky enough to spot a Royal Albatross flying around. Apparently it is very rare to see them at this time of year and this is the only mainland breeding site for them so it was very special. I was also able to access a walking track accross private farmland to a beach where I walked past Hooker Sea Lions and viewed Yellow Eyed Penguins coming in from the sea and up the slopes. I couldnt believe that I got to see the penguins waddling up the beach. When they say hello to each other they lift their heads right up into the air. I also saw NZ Fur Seals and Spotted Shag birds which were building their nests on the side of the cliff.

My body is still aching from the snowboarding but I am recovering.

Thursday 3 August 2006

Since I last wrote we have been on a day trip to Milford Sound.  It is fiordland and it is beautiful.  The mountains are unbelievable, covered in snow and surrounded by greenery with trees and the lake.  Janine and I have also visited a kiwi and bird park so we have now officially seen a kiwi.  They are such strange birds. They have enormous beaks and their nostrils are at the end of their beak.  They do not have a tail and they have very small wings which are useless – they do not fly. 

We also took a gondola ride up Bob’s Peak to see the magnificent view of Queenstown, The Remarkables and Lake Waketipu.  I cannot begin to describe the views…it is unlike anything I have seen before.  It is such a beautiful world that we live in. 

On Tuesday I did my first ever bungy jump.  I did the Nevis high wired bungy.  It is 134m.  I caught a shuttle bus which takes you along a dirt track up to the bungy jump.  I then got into my harness and took a cable car accoss to the platform which you jump from.  At this point I was so taken aback by the scenery and quite nervous.  The cable car is obviously unsteady which doesnt help but I kept my cool.  The view is of barren mountains, a slight reddy colour and when you look down there is a stream – very shallow.  As you watch people jump it looks like they will crash into the stream but actually when you do the jump you are not really near the water.  It came to my turn and I sat in the seat where they take a picture of you and ask you if you have any final words – as if it could get any worse.  The chair reminded me of the sort of chair i imagine people sit in when they are about to be given a lethal injection.  A dentist’s chair type of thing.  Just to make you feel even more comfy of course.  Then the guy puts the elasticated bungy cord onto your feet and explains that when you jump up for the second time you need to pull a cord at the bottom of you left leg.  The releases the ropes slightly so that you can sit up at the end of your bungy and be pulled in sitting upright.  So i’m now worrying about pulling cords.  I hobble onto the ledge which I am about to jump from and I need to make sure my toes are over the edge.  Now everyone that I’ve spoken to so far says ‘dont look down’ but how is that possible when you have to make sure your feet are off the ledge!!  I look down – its amazing….the guy is talking to me but I dont remember or really hear what he is saying…I just focus on diving out so that I get a smoother bungy.  He counts down…’3, 2..1…….’  I dont hear the rest…I’ve dived out (I’m diving like I used to dive for the 25m breaststroke for Kent) and I can feel cool air on my face and a feeling of complete freedom.  I then start falling and I’m scared.  Only now am I thinking – what am I doing this for.  It seems to last for ages and then I bounce back up and I am grateful to be alive but then I fall back down again and I let out a massive yell because I feel like I’m going to die….then I bounce back up again and I start worrying about pulling this stupid cord attached to the bottom of my left leg.  So i’m pulling, yanking and praying it will work and that I am strong enough to pull the cord.  It works and suddenly I am sprayed around and Im sitting upright.  Now i’m focusing on the pain in my crotch….not pleasant….so I start thinking about the view and the scenery and about how I have just done the most exhilirating and craziest thing ever.  Worse that the skydive – ten times over!  The pain, the view, the pain, the pain, the view…….thank goodness the platform…and I’m back on my feet on a (not stable but swinging) platform but that will do.  I then start feeling dizzy and I’m told that all the blood vessels around my eyes have burst – looking good!  I still can’t believe I jumped!!

Yesturday I went on the Shotover Jet.  This is a jet boat ride over the Shotover River Canyons.  It is pretty cool, you get a bit wet and you think you might crash into a rock or two but it’s fun. 

Today I went snowboarding!!! This has to be one of the best things I’ve ever done.  I loved it.  I had two lessons, one around 10 o’clock and one around 2 o’clock.  By the end of the day I could snowboard down the slope without falling over.  I am so proud of myself! Looking good in my rented snowboarding stuff – snowboarding is defo all about style.  I fell over loads and my bum is killing now but I soon got into our hostel’s free hot spa when I got back.  That helped!  The view from the Coronet Peak mountain was great….I would love to do more snowboarding and master a few turns – yeah!

I ache now…..think New Zealand is wearing me out!!  So much fun!

Friday 28 July 2006

We arrived in Queenstown this evening so tonight we are planning to PARTY!!!  This is the town fit for a Queen….it is very cool here.  I have booked my Nevis bungy….just have to decide when I want to do it now….ooh my knees are shaking just thinking about it!  We are also planning on trying a bit of skiing – since we are surrounded by mountains full of snow – seems logical.

Since I last wrote I feel like we have been on a whirlwind tour of New Zealand down the west coast of the south island.  Janine and I nearly missed our ferry from Wellington to Picton (north to south island) as we slept through our alarm…..not good – we just about made it frantically dressing and jumping into a cab. 

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.  It is a fairly big city and good to go out and drink coffee in – it is pretty trendy to be seen drinking a flat white (that is a latte) or a bowl (yes a bowl!!!) of hot chocolate whilst soaking up the culture by day….then at night you can soak up more of the culture in the various bars, pubs and clubs.  Janine and I even managed to find a place that gave ladies free champagne for a couple of hours – well we couldn’t refuse that could we. 

Whilst we were in Wellington we did walk past all the parliamentary buildings, take a ride on the cable car and then walk down through the botanical gardens.  We also went to Te Papa – this is a museum – a touchy feely one which i liked as you could push buttons.

It’s safe to say i liked Wellington.  The International Film festival is on there at the moment so we went to see two films – ‘Brick’ and ‘Shortbus’.  Both were excellent – I had my ‘film and drama’ hat on when i viewed them though looking at all the continuity and editing features – so interesting and great to see unpolished films for a change.

We also watched New Zealand play South Africa in the rugby – obviously the All Blacks won (I think my teaching skills are pretty good as Janine has grasped the game now).  We even managed to squeeze in a Mac’s beer (pronounced Max) at their brewary on the harbour front – so relaxing! 

The ferry over to the south island took us to Picton where we then caught a bus to Nelson.  We visited Abel Tasman National Park here.  We got a coach to the edge of the park, then a boat which took us through the park and then we walked for 4 and a half hours (13kms) from Torrent Bay to Marahau.  We saw some pretty beautiful scenery and stopped for lunch on a beach.  Amazing.  

The next day we headed to Greymouth (this is pronounced like two words – ‘grey’ and ‘mouth’ like the feature on your face).  As we travelled here we stopped off at a place called Cape Foulwind.  This is named as such because when Captain Cook found the place there was such a strong and gusty breeze he found it hard to get into the bay.  Pretty funny.  We also stopped at the pancake rocks.  The rocks really do look like layers and layers of pancakes.

In Greymouth there is not that much to do.  We stayed one night and busied ourselves by going on a Monteith’s brewary tour.  What better way to spend the evening than tasting the local delights.  They have lots of different flavours of beer and showed us around the brewary.

From Greymouth we headed to Franz Josef.  Here there is a big big glacier which I climbed up.  I thought it would be much more exhaustive than it was.  The sun was shining though – it was beautiful.  I never really understood how people could climb up ice – now i do!  I also tried possum pie – New Zealanders find them a pest so they are quite happy to sell it.  Tasted a bit like a turkey pie.

Tuesday 18 July 2006

Woo hoo!! Yes I have jumped out of a perfectly good plane at 12,000 feet for no apparent reason and it was truly AMAZING! I have to admit I did feel a little nervous before I put my dangling legs out of the plane but once I had jumped I really did think I was going to die – perhaps! All I could see was white. I kept my eyes open and screamed my head off. I couldn’t hear very much as my ears had gone long before on the plane ride up to 12,000 feet.

Free falling is so amazing. You feel like you are flying so fast and the wind could take you anywhere. Then when the parachute goes up the wind is not as forcefall and you can really take in the world below you. I could see the lake in Taupo, green fields and Taupo airport. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Landing was pretty fun – I was hoping not to break my ankle and managed it somehow. I kept my feet up.

Skydiving is one of the most wonderful and scariest things I have ever done.

Sunday 16 July 2006

In Rotorua we went zorbing. This consists of jumping like superman (or superwoman in my case) into a very large plastic ball filled with, thankfully, warm water. Janine and another girl we met at our hostel called Susie jumped in the ball aswell. You then walk (or fall in our case – and everyones case) down a hill. Completely insane and very funny – I couldn’t stop laughing.

After the zorbing we went to the luge. You begin by getting on a gondola which gives you a 180 degree panoramic view of Rotorua. The gondola takes you to the luge which is a gravity ride on a 3 wheeled cart. Once you have sped down the track you then return to the top of Mount Ngongotaha via a double seated chairlift. As I was riding down the mountain we had thunder storms and it rained so hard. We must be mad.

On the way to Taupo from Rotorua we stopped off at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. I think I went a bit overboard with the pictures here as there are only so many thermal pools you can look at – they all tend to look the same – but I was amazed by the colours in the rocks and the massive craters.

Today we had planned to go sky diving but we got picked up and arrived at the centre and we were unable to jump because of the winds. Hopefully we will get a chance to do this soon though. It’s a waiting game!