Hello,
I'm back in the UK but thought I ought to finish off my blog, even if it is from rainy old Britain!
The last few days in NZ were really great. I finished off my holiday in the North in an attempt to catch some last minute sun (it's hotter up North in NZ).
As I mentioned, I did a pretty crazy trip to Cape Regina from the Bay of Islands. Basically most of the tours up there involve a twelve hour bus trip, which was highly unappealing. I hunted around until I came across Cape Regina Adventures who promised a personalised trip with camping; perfect, I thought. That night I met a bit of character called Marty. I mentioned said trip and he announced that he was running it. By the end of the conversation I'd got a cut price deal and he was picking me up at nine the next morning. Eventually he trundled up in an old Toyota camper van (the tour bus). Just one other punter and myself "piled" into the back and we were on our way. I was slightly concerned at this point but it was a bit late.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time. That day we went sea kayaking, caught some (big) fish and had a nice camp fire. Another character "Bushman Pete" as he called himself told some very tall stories about catching wild pigs, sharks etc. First thing in the morning we were woken up, fed some pancakes and told to jump off the harbour into the freezing water! Which we did and it certainly woke us up! After that Marty drove us to the 90 mile beach (which is actually 67 miles long) and then to the most northerly part of NZ. On the way back we went sandboarding. This time I actually managed to stand up! I don't have any photographic evidence of this as my memory card was full and replacing it on a sand dune was asking for trouble. You will just have to believe me!
After recovering from my little adventure, I decided to go on a trip called "The Rock". The Rock is the name of a big ship which a bloke called Pete made into accommodation, a boat and a bar rolled into one. I wasn't too sure what to expect but it turned out to be one of the best days yet. We (there were about 35 passengers) set off on the Monday and sailed out to some islands (in the Bay of Islands). Soon after boarding, we were told that there would be a shooting competition. The vegetarians out there needn't worry as we were shooting at a plastic duck bobbing around on the back of the boat. Anyway, I am only telling you about it so I can show off because I won - beating all the men too! Hooray!
After the shooting competition, we did some fishing. After my previous fishing lessons my technique had certainly improved and I caught eight! Admittedly, eight tiddlers but still not bad. The crew kindly cooked up our fresh fish, along with a few steaks for a nice big dinner.
Later on, we went night kayaking. Being on the sea at night is a little disconcerting, especially when the area you are in is a known Killer Whale spot! Luckily, we didn't get eaten by sharks etc but we did see some really cool algae which glowed in the dark when we paddled - it looked like thousands of little stars. Yes, I know algae doesn't sound that great but believe me, shiny glowing algae is ace.
The next day (we slept on the boat) we were graced with the presence of dolphins!! Again, I don't have the pictures as my camera battery ran out (who said digital was better than film?). These dolphins were different to the ones I'd seen before as they were bottle nosed dolphins – the largest you can get (minus Killer Whales if you are being pernickety). They were very beautiful.
Later on, we went snorkelling in a reef which was pretty cool, although I did have Steve Erwin's fate firmly in my mind when we were told about the many stingrays that lived there! After snorkelling, we swam to an island, where we relaxed on the nice white sandy beach, until it was time to head home.
To see pics of "The Rock" click here
After a fantastic time in the Bay of Islands, it was time to go back to Auckland and get ready to catch my flight home. I really didn't want to leave New Zealand. It was a brilliant trip and I met many wonderful people. I couldn't have wished for more.
It will be great to catch up with everyone in the UK in the next few days (I'm back in Cardiff on Monday), so I look forward to speaking to you all soon!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Glowing with joy
Hello,
I've been quite busy in the last few days! Firstly, I went down to Waitomo and did a 300ft abseil into some caves! It wasn't too frightening as there was nothing to give it much perspective (i.e. no people at the bottom, looking like ants). Once in the caves we saw some NZ glowworms on the roof. They looked like little stars but in actual fact the glowing bit is worm poo! They don't have a a bum hole so have to burn it up inside themselves, which is what all the tourist come to see.
To see pics of Waitomo Caves click here(Added later)
Arrggghh looks, like I only have 5 mins left on here but the last 36 hours have been a bit crazy. I'm up in the Bay of islands and have just been on a bit of an adventure in Cape Regina with some real life Steve Erwin characters!
Will tell you more soon!
Jo
ps. will someone stop me punning
I've been quite busy in the last few days! Firstly, I went down to Waitomo and did a 300ft abseil into some caves! It wasn't too frightening as there was nothing to give it much perspective (i.e. no people at the bottom, looking like ants). Once in the caves we saw some NZ glowworms on the roof. They looked like little stars but in actual fact the glowing bit is worm poo! They don't have a a bum hole so have to burn it up inside themselves, which is what all the tourist come to see.
To see pics of Waitomo Caves click here(Added later)
Arrggghh looks, like I only have 5 mins left on here but the last 36 hours have been a bit crazy. I'm up in the Bay of islands and have just been on a bit of an adventure in Cape Regina with some real life Steve Erwin characters!
Will tell you more soon!
Jo
ps. will someone stop me punning
Monday, February 4, 2008
Excitement is climbing to new heights
Hi,
The last few days have been quite exciting! I have done some very cool activities to round my Southern island trip off.
In Queenstown I signed up for rock climbing. It turned out I was the only one to sign up which was great as I got a whole afternoon's private tuition at a group price! I'm so pleased to have finally got to rock climb outdoors. As I was the only one there I got to do some harder, higher walls. It beats indoor rock climbing for sure and I would love to do some more when I get home.
After Queenstown, I had a brief stop in Christchurch (just a night out there really) and then headed up the East coast to Kiakoura, where I went whale watching and dolphin swimming.
On our whale watch, we saw two big old sperm whales. One breached (jumped out of the water) but i missed to get it on camera. It was a very cool afternoon - even if the weather was a bit crap! We couldn't get too close due to regulations but the Whales are pretty big so you could still see them.
I had a rough night in a hostel as we were staying in a room where someone had been sick the night before and it quite simply stank! I had nightmares and woke up in the middle of the night shouting "get me out" so was obviously disturbed!
The next day made up for the sick room as I swam with dolphins! One of my favorite days so far (in my life not just this trip). Amazing! Incredible! There were maybe 200 -300 of them and we swam right in amoungst them. One bopped me on the nose - I think I just got in it's way.
In the afternoon, another girl (Christine) and I went on a bike ride to the Peninsula, where there was suppose to be a seal colony. Unfortunately the seals were out in the sea enjoying the good weather but it was a lovely bike ride and walk anyway.
Better go anyway as I need some rest before going on a trip down Waitomo caves to see some glowworms.
See you soon,
Jo
The last few days have been quite exciting! I have done some very cool activities to round my Southern island trip off.
In Queenstown I signed up for rock climbing. It turned out I was the only one to sign up which was great as I got a whole afternoon's private tuition at a group price! I'm so pleased to have finally got to rock climb outdoors. As I was the only one there I got to do some harder, higher walls. It beats indoor rock climbing for sure and I would love to do some more when I get home.
After Queenstown, I had a brief stop in Christchurch (just a night out there really) and then headed up the East coast to Kiakoura, where I went whale watching and dolphin swimming.
On our whale watch, we saw two big old sperm whales. One breached (jumped out of the water) but i missed to get it on camera. It was a very cool afternoon - even if the weather was a bit crap! We couldn't get too close due to regulations but the Whales are pretty big so you could still see them.
I had a rough night in a hostel as we were staying in a room where someone had been sick the night before and it quite simply stank! I had nightmares and woke up in the middle of the night shouting "get me out" so was obviously disturbed!
The next day made up for the sick room as I swam with dolphins! One of my favorite days so far (in my life not just this trip). Amazing! Incredible! There were maybe 200 -300 of them and we swam right in amoungst them. One bopped me on the nose - I think I just got in it's way.
In the afternoon, another girl (Christine) and I went on a bike ride to the Peninsula, where there was suppose to be a seal colony. Unfortunately the seals were out in the sea enjoying the good weather but it was a lovely bike ride and walk anyway.
Better go anyway as I need some rest before going on a trip down Waitomo caves to see some glowworms.
See you soon,
Jo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
