….the wind, cutting like knives, and the sky filling with clouds as THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BUS looked up at MT. DOOM!
Just an extract from the latest adventure I have been having in New Zealand! So sorry for the complete lack of comms thus far but I have to say its been all go since I arrived in NZ.
Got into Auckland on the 5th May and spent a few days there just getting things sorted, it was really strange to be back in a big city again, especially after the beach life in Fiji…slight culture shock at all the noise and bustle.
I didn’t waste any time and got myself a spanking new camera, was not sure what to get but in the end I opted for a Nikon D50, digital SLR. It was a bit of a big decision really because it is such a large camera, not a happy snappy model like my previous one, but I have to say it is one of the best decisions I have made…the pictures it takes are stunning and I really don’t mind lugging it about when I see the results.
Anyways, after a couple of days in The Big City I decided to book myself onto one of the bus tours which go round NZ. I was torn between two companies, Stray and Kiwi Experience…it was a tough decision because everyone I met who did either said they had a great time, but in the end I went for Stray just because they go to a few more places than Kiwi and all the reports I heard about Stray were great where as there were a couple of not so great ones about Kiwi.
So I got the Stray “Max Pass” which basically covers the north and south islands of NZ and starts and finishes in Auckland.
I left Auckland on the 9th of May and my first stop was the Bay of Islands, right near the North-tip of the North Island. The journey up there was great and Spike, the bus driver, was a star…we stopped off at loads of nice places on the way and met a real live Kiwi (bird) as well as a talking Tui (called Woof Woof, after his dog-mimiking ability…crazy). Stayed in a quiet little town called Paihia for a few days and from there went on a day trip to Cape Reinga where we got to see 90-Mile Beach (which is really only 67 Miles 
) and went dune-boarding - basically flying head-first down sand dunes on a little body board….which is sooooo much fun! 
I also spent a day on a huge racing catamaran called The Edge, it was such an amazing trip, made all the better by the wind, which took us to 20 knots and had us hanging on to the trampoline (the mesh in between the hulls) as waves crashed over the ship…got quite scared but couldn’t stop laughing either, a great day out.
I tried to get to dive the Rainbow Warrior wreck but sadly the weather got worse over the next couple of days and the dive boats weren’t going 
So then it was back down to Auckland for one night and some much needed laundry-duties…then back on the road the following day and down to Hahei where we spent a night just round the corner from Cathedral Cove - a huge rock cavern which looks like the archway into a cathedral. I dont remember too much of that evening, thanks to a little too much gin (which I have sworn off for good now….I know, I can hear my family saying “yeah right, thats what you said the last time”…but now its the truth!)
From Hahei we drove down to the West coast and to Raglan, with a great hostel set in the jungle with its own basketball court and “Flying Fox” (zip-wire)….had some good fun on that!
The next day took us down to the Waitomo Caves where some of the bus peeps did some caving whilst the rest of us went to see….wait for it….a rabbit-shearing session! yes you are reading this correctly, I saw a huge fluffy rabbit getting shawn for its wool. They were Angorra rabbits and apparently if you don’t shear them they die from heat exhaustion, and their wool is really soft so makes great knitwear…pure madness, see the pics to believe.
The same day we travelled further south and inland to a really smelly place called Rotorua, this is a town which was built on top of a geothermal zone and hot springs and mud pools bubble up all over the place…letting off sulphurous odurs as they go - the place stinks of rotten eggs! There were quite a few cool activities to do in Roto but my budget wouldn’t allow them all….I did manage to go Zorbing ( < follow the link to find out ), which was FANTASTIC, sooo much fun and I'm tempted to set my own up when I come home, I can imagine flying down axe-edge on one of those! We also spent a day wandering round a Red Wood forest, which was really cool too and very much different to the one I went to in the states - its crazy here but all the forests look like tropical rainforests, even though its only 12degrees or so. Had a good couple of nights in Roto, cooked some nice meals and had a good old party too, if you can get over the smell its a pretty nice place
From Roto we drove to Taupo, this is one of the extreme sports captials of NZ and quite a few people did the skydiving here, I on the otherhand opted for a nice walk to a waterfall....not like me to avoid the death-defying drop from 12,000ft! 
The next day we left Taupo and embarked on one of the hardest walks I have done yet, the Tongariro Crossing. We were soo happy to be able to do it because it was closed for over a week because of snow but luckily the day we arrived there it opened!
The crossing is where they filmed Mt. Doom from The Lord Of The Rings, it looked a little different with snow on top but it was still a fantastic site, probably the most perfect-looking mountain you can imagine! The hike took us over 7 hrs and got really scary at points but it was well worth it, the view from the top was amazing (while it lasted) and the scenery changed after every turn, such a spectacular experience. That evening we spent the night at a great hotel at the foot of the mountain and had a much-needed spa bath and a huge meal...rump of NZ lamb...yum! 
So from there we travelled down to Wellington, spent a night there and said goodbye to our good friend Matty who we were leaving behind. Stayed at the Wellington YHA, which was really nice and went out on the town - I didn't spend too much in Welly because its on my route back, so I will stop over there for a few nights then.
The next day we took the ferry from Welly to Picton, a really enjoyable ferry ride through the islands and bays of the south island, there was even a pod of 30+ dolphins which swam past....nothing at all like the Dover/Calais crossing
We didn't stay in Picton, instead carrying straight on to Abel Tasman national park. This is one of NZ's best national parks but unfortunatley it was really raining the day we were there so we didn't get to do much, I think its more of a summer place so that will just mean I have to come back again!
We then headed down to Barrytown, on the West coast, where I had an amazing day making my own knife from scratch - starting with steel bar, brass and some wood, and finishing with this little beauty...
After the knives were finished we drank moonshine with Robyn and Steve, the owners, and had a good giggle. That evening the drinking continued and ended up with fancy dress…which saw me dressed as a lady and dancing on the bar…not sure if the pics of that will be going on here! hehe!
After Barrytown we stayed at a small township at the bottom of the Franz Joseph glacier, from there we took a 3-quarter day hike up the glacier itself, armed with all the right gear of course, including crampons. We started at the bottom of the glacier and made our way up ice steps, ladder bridges and through really tight ice crevices - no prizes for guessing who got stuck, i’m really gonna have to lay off the steak!
A great day was had by all and followed up by a well earned dip in the hot-tub and a few beers.
Then it was off to a small lakeside town called Wanaka, me and the girls (Frida - Swedish, Laura - Scottish, Lisa- Irish and Yvette - Irish) got our own little chalet-type place with its own kitchen, bathroom etc at The Purple Cow for only NZ$26! Bargain! Stayed here for a few days and went to Puzzle World….a very frustrating place by all accounts, I got completely befuddled by the maze and had to take the emergency exit! The slanting rooms were fun though.
We also went for a night at the flicks to see The Da Vinci Code, a distinctly average film when compared with the book, but it was all made up for by the cinema which not only had big comfy couches but even a converted Morris Minor you could sit in to watch the movie…not to mention the nicest freshly made cookies at interval time - perfect with a glass of milk! yum!
The final day in Wanaka we hired a car, a little Micra, 1000cc auto…called Morag. We took her for a bit of a spin up to the air-strip where Lisa, the brave little soldier, did her first skydive….and Laura, camerawoman extraordinaire, pressed pause instead of play as she came in to land. Doh! After that we drove up to a grand little place called Have A Shot, where I shot clay pigeons, .22 rifles, archery, mini-golf, and the driving range. A fun packed day finished off with a lovely Carbonara prepared by Laura, and we were in bed by 9.30pm. zzzzz.
The next morning I returned Morag to the hire company and we went for a short “hike” up one of the local mountains before setting off on the Stray Bus for hour and half ride to the alpine/lake resort of Queenstown.
And this is where I am now, finally catching up with the past months’ news, we have had a good couple of days here already, the first night we spent in an Pog Mahones, an Irish pub where we thought we’d have a few “quiet ones”….the next day we went white water rafting nursing our guinness hangovers which were pretty much cured anyway after the death-defying drive just to get to the rafting start-point…possibly the most dangerous road I have ever seen called Skippers Canyon, and I was lucky enough to be sat next to the window! eeek. The rafting was great though and even featured rafting through a pitch black tunnel, left from the gold rush days. We nearly capsised at one point but our team held it together, keeping our composure we averted the danger with a strong back-paddling technique. A hot shower and sauna was just the ticket to finish the day.
Had a few farewell drinks last night with the girls as they are on a bit tighter schedule to me and have to keep moving where as I plan to stay in Queenstown for a while yet…praying for the snow to come!
The rest of the Stray crewe have all moved on and it was very weird to be without them all, however me and another lad, Nathan, are both staying around for a while so i’m not completely alone again! We’ve already had a day doing some extreme mountain-biking round Ben Lomand mountain - a great day full of adventure and funny incidents, including Nathan falling off a cliff and into a bush and me getting a flat tyre and a pump that didnt work properly. After 7 hrs we made it back and indulged in a world famous Ferg Burger, possibly the best burger you’ll have in the world!
So now you should all be up to date, its taken me a good 9hrs to get all this together with my pics so hope its worth it for you guys! its a bit of a long one but time has been flying by and i’ve been making the most of it!
TTFN
x
The Land Downunder