New Zealand - Extremities
Day 158: Monday August 23rd 2004. Arrived at Auckland airport at 1am. My connecting flight to Queenstown was not until 7am, so I tried, unsuccessfully, to sleep in the airport. I got on the plane and practically passed out with exhaustion. The plane then stopped at Christchurch, and I had to wait for the next plane to Queenstown, which was delayed due to bad weather. My temper was starting to fray, I was so exhausted. The plane landing in Queenstown was a little hairy, taking two attempts and a lot of swinging about - the pilot got a round of applause when we landed! I booked into Queenstown YHA by the lake and slept like a log.
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| Lake Wakatipu |
Day 159: Tuesday August 24th 2004. Spent the day resting, finding just enough time to sort out some snowboarding equipment, lift pass and shuttle pass for tomorrow. Time to hit the slopes! Queenstown is utterly beautiful, amazing scenery.
Day 160: Wednesday August 25th 2004. Boarding day 1. Coronet Peaks. Snow: over a metre's base, a bit icy. My snowboarding boots turned out to be the most uncomfortable footwear I have tried in my life! Then, during the afternoon, I developed a migraine. I decide shooting down the slopes with only half my vision was a bit daft, so I took an early bus home. Back to bed, more sleep.
Day 161: Thursday August 26th 2004. Boarding day 2. Coronet Peaks. Hired some boots at the resort - much better. spent the day just getting my 'boarding legs' back. Good day.
Day 162: Friday August 27th 2004. Boarding day 3. Boarding at the Remarkables. Much better slopes than Coronet. Pushing high downhill speeds all day.
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| The Remarkables |
Day 163: Saturday August 28th 2004. Boarding day 4. Started pulling some small jumps off the learner ramps. Much fun, progress made.
Day 164: Sunday August 29th 2004. Boarding day 5. Still working on those airs - getting better.
Day 165: Monday August 30th 2004. Hooked up with Paul from Cairns and his mate Den today. Went back to Coronet Peaks, and tried pulling air off the big ramps. I landed short on the first go, jarring my knee. I landed one on the second attempt - it's all about having enough speed. On the third go I landed short again - agonising! I couldn't straighten my leg for the rest of the day, but had a good one anyways, pulling my first 180 degree hops and generally belting down the mountain faster than before. When I unclipped from my board at the end of the day I found that I couldn't really walk properly anymore!
Went out for a few beer in the evening, and had a good run of the pool tables beating the Kiwi's at their own (very weird) pool rules.
Day 166: Tuesday August 31st 2004. Woke up still with my leg incapacitated. I went to the doctors to find that it's just a bruised cartilage - I'll be back on the slopes in no time... Managed to cash in my lift pass and hire gear, which saved me some cash. Very reasonable these Kiwis. Aaron finally arrived from Australia, and we went out drinking and comparing photos of Oz.
Day 167: Wednesday September 1st 2004. Had a quiet day recovering, doing washing etc. Booked up for the Jet boat tour and the Canyon Swing tomorrow.
Day 168: Thursday September 2nd 2004. The jet boat tour was cancelled due to bad weather - we'll just have to wait for the weather to clear up. The canyon swing was sweet - you had to jump off this 115 metre (355 ft) cliff over a rocky river wearing a harness attached to a swing. They recon you get up to 150kph (about 100mph) and pull 3Gs at the apex of the swing.
There were four of us - I went first, doing the 'fall backwards' jump, as this was supposed to be the scariest! The others then had their goes. Once you had done the first jump, subsequent jumps were a lot cheaper, so I did another two. The second one involved being dangled upside down by your ankles, arching your back and getting a real ground rush as you hurtled towards the river - it was definitely the most scary. Man did that one put a grin on my face! Aaron then had another go, tipping off backwards strapped to a chair.On my last go I made an attempt at breaking the record for the most number of somersaults on the way down. I managed to pull 5, but the record was set at 7. Loadsa fun!
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| Backwards | Chair tip | Somersaults |
Day 169: Friday September 3rd 2004. My knee seemed to be pretty much better and the weather was perfect - fresh snow and bright sun, so we hit the slopes with Paul and Den. Aaron had a couple of lessons, whilst I practiced going backwards (fakie). I tried a couple of jumps off a rock, but my knee complained, so it was back to backwards downhill and little jumps. Paul had a bit of a major stack, landing heavilly on his back after going 'legs up' on a high rail slide. Aaron's lessons finished around 3pm, so I took him up the top of the mountain for a couple of runs.
Day 170: Saturday September 4th 2004. Despite a turn in the weather, we all went back up to the Remarkables. The wind was howling, and it was hard to see. Well, that's my excuse for running into a big lump of icy snow at speed and twisting my ankle anyway! I had a go at another couple of runs, but it was no good - early apres ski was in order! I spent the evening watching telly with an ice pack round my foot. Luckilly 'Star Wars' was on, and there were a few people there to keep me company.
Day 171: Sunday September 5th 2004. Boring day, waiting for my ankle to heal. Ho hum. Went out for Thai in the evening.
Day 172: Monday September 6th 2004. Another day waiting around. Practiced guitar. Went out for Paul and Den's last night in the evening.
Day 173: Tuesday September 7th 2004. Took the gondola to the peak overlooking Queenstown. Took some photos and had a few goes on the downhill luge up there. Lots of fun, no injuries. Afterwards we went out on the 500 horsepower Shotover jet boat.
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| On top | Queenstown |
In the evening we ended up playing endless games of pool, where I bet on a game for the first time. We won. Later on we entered a pool competition, but got knocked out in the second and third rounds. Very late night in the end.
Day 174: Wednesday September 8th 2004. Started planning what to do next after Queenstown. Played mini golf, very badly!
Day 175: Thursday September 9th 2004. Went to the 'Triple M' bar for the 3 dollars for two pint deal. Very messy.
Day 176: Friday September 10th 2004. Got the bus out of Queenstown down to Invercargill, NZ's southernmost city. Stayed at a really homely backpackers and basically spent 24 hours recovering from the rigours of Queenstown!
Day 177: Saturday September 11th 2004. After walking for hours through Invercargill to get to a good hitching spot, I got a ride to Balclutha. Barbera, the lady who picked me up, had to stop en-route and do a shift at the dairy farm where she worked. I ended up spending the afternoon getting covered in cowshit whilst going out on the back of a quad bike to round the herds of cows up for milking. Well off the beaten track!
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| Rural NZ | Covered in it | Barb |
Once we got to Balclutha that evening, we wnet out for some food. Despite my protests, Barb insisted on paying for everything, as I was the guest in her country. These Kiwi's are really a sound bunch.
Day 178: Sunday September 12th 2004. I got talking to a couple called Steve and Sarah who had stayed at the same campsite as me. They were also heading for Nugget point and Cannibal Bay and took me along with them. Nugget point was stunning, but we could only see Seals dotted around on the shoreline from way above.
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| The Nuggets |
We then drove over to Cannibal bay, where we got really up close to some Sealions. The largest ones were 400kg (i.e. about 900 lbs) - big fellas. They had a way of letting you know when you got too close! It was awesome to see them in their natural habitat, with no fences, guides or anything - they were just there, on the beach.
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| Noisy | Playing | Playing | Chilling |
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| Walking | Chasing | Roaring | Playing |
Steve and Sarah dropped me off in Owaka, where I hitched a lift with a lady and her 3 kids back to Balclutha. From there I hitched a lift to Dunedin and checked into a backpackers which was actually a converted church. Dunedin, for the record, in Celtic for Edinburgh, and the Scots influence was apparent everywhere, right from the kilts of the school uniforms to the way the locals use words like 'wee' when talking about small things. A city not without character.
Day 179: Monday September 13th 2004. I took the wildlife tour to see some Penguins, Seals and more Sealions. We also went Albatross spotting, but it was a no hoper, what with it being the wrong time of year for them nesting. We drove up to the Otago peninsular (spectacular views, much like the Scottish mountains).
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| The peninsular |
Once we arrived on this private farm, we went for a walk down to a beach full of Fur Seals. At first it was hard to tell the difference between the Seals and Sealions I'd seen before, but the Seals have a pointier face and the largest weigh in at less than half the Sealions at 185 kg (i.e. about 400 lbs). The weather was overcast, and we were not allowed to use flash photography, so some of the pictures are a bit blurry...
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| Poser 1 | 10 month pup | Poser 2 |
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| Frolicking | Poser 3 | Asleap |
From the seal beach we walked over the hill to see the Penguins and Sealions. There were two kinds of Penguin - the very shy Blue penguin and the not so shy, but rather rare, Yellow eyed variety. The Yellow eyed Penguins, like most birds, mate for life, and are actually forest birds. The area we visited was being re-forested to provide natural habitat for them, and the numbers were growing very fast.
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| Pair at twilight | Yellow eyed | Pair preening |
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| Blue penguin by infra-red | Dozing | Blundering (see below*) |
*A classic moment was when a juvenile Yellow eyed penguin came out of the sea, up the beach and towards a sleeping Sealion. As he got closer, an easy meal for the Sealion seemed more and more likely. Just as the Penguin got close, the Sealion lazily flapped a fin, accidentally alerting the Penguin to his presence. The Penguin just turned tail and pegged it down the beach faster than I thought a Penguin could move! You probably had to be there, but it was hilarious.
Day 180: Tuesday September 14th 2004. Spent the day updating the website before going on the Speights brewery tour in the evening. Was a very interesting tour, learnt the origins of the word booze and the word skol.
Day 181: Wednesday September 15th 2004. Caught the bus up to Christchurch to meet up with Caroline. In true Irish form, we went out and got very drunk.
Day 182: Thursday September 16th 2004. Just about got enough energy up to go out for some breakfast. Watched DVDs for the afternoon. The DVD stopped working 5 minutes before the end - that's what I get for buying cheap DVDs in Bali...
Day 183: Friday September 17th 2004. Organised a car rental relocation deal from Christchurch to Picton - free rental, but had to pay for the fuel. We stopped en-route to swim with dolphins, which was an absolutely amazing experience, despite the 9 degrees above freezing water. It wasn't so much watching the dolphins as actually playing with them - the favourite game was to swim in a circle on the spot as fast as possible, whilst the dolphin swam around you, keeping eye contact with you. At one point I had around four dolphins playing at once. The dolphins themselves were Duskys, the most acrobatic of the dolphin family. I took a few pictures with my underwater camera, I'm hoping one or two will come out, but the dolphins always seemed to loose interest and swim off whenever I tried to frame a shot. Afterwards I tried to take some pictures from the boat, but the dolphins moved too quick for my camera to focus. I got these shots of the dolphins surfing the pressure wave at the front of the boat:
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| Dusky Dolphins | |
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After we got back to Kaikora, we had hot soup before continuing on to Picton, where we booked into a lovely backpackers called 'The Villa' - nicely set out and very helpful.
Day 184: Saturday September 18th 2004. Returned the car and got on the ferry to the Wellington on the southern end of the North Island. It occurs to me that not only am I halfway up New Zealand, I'm six months - halfway - through my trip, and halfway around the world, for that matter... I just wish I had half my money left!
We arrived in Wellington and caught up with Danielle and Craig, mates of Caroline's. Went clubbing, NZ style - was excellent to have a bit of a blow out - wicked!
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| Danielle and Caroline on Mount Victoria |
Day 185: Sunday September 19th 2004. After-clubbing recovery day. Went out for Indian in the evening and watched a DVD in the evening. Thanks again to Danielle and Craig for their hospitality - nice one guys, really appreciated!
Day 186: Monday September 20th 2004. Hired a car for only $29 per day - about a tenner. We said our goodbyes to Danielle and Craig and drove all the way from Wellington up to Taupo. Had a quiet night after all the driving...
Day 187: Tuesday September 21st 2004. I found a skydiving place that allowed solo jumps, but it was too windy to jump - foiled! We started our drive up to Rotarua, stopping at the 'Craters of the Moon' volcanic area on the way. It was a weird place with steam coming out of the ground (fumeroles) and pools of bubbling mud.
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| Fumerole | Bubbling mud pool | Volcanic flora |
After the Craters we continued all the way to Rotarua, where we booked into a hostel with a volcanic spa, which we took full advantage of. Rotarua, like Queenstown, has a Gondola and Luge centre, so we played big kids for the afternoon.
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| Gondala and Luge | Luge |
On the way out for dinner, we bumped into Aaron, which just goes to show how well trodden the backpackers trails really are! We had a couple of drinks together, and by the time we went for some food all the restaurants were shut. Bugger.
Day 188: Wednesday September 22nd 2004. Activity day - Zorbing in the morning - great fun, rolling down a hill in a huge plastic ball filled with warm water! Definitely good for a giggle. In the afternoon we went to Hells Gate, the aptly named mud pools, fumaroles and spa just outside Rotarua. Had a very relaxing afternoon walking around the very smelly sulphurous park and lazing in the mud pools and spas. Felt utterly relaxed afterwards and had an early night.
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| Zorbing |
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| Bubbling sludge | 'Map of Australia' shaped sulphur pool | Sulphur halo | Spa |
Day 189: Thursday September 23rd 2004. Drove from Rotarua to the Bay of Islands. It was miles, and took all day! The temperature up here is much warmer, which is a welcome change! Drank lots to celebrate!
Day 190: Friday September 24th 2004. Chilled day.
Day 191: Saturday September 25th 2004. Dived the wreck of the "Rainbow Warrior", the Greenpeace ship sunk by the French Secret Service in 1986. Although we were diving in 15 degree water, it was awesome. We also went for a second dive just off the coast, making my first sub-tropical dive ever! Excellent day. I didn't ahve a camera, so I nicked this picture off the internet... It wasn't quite as clear as that when we dived it, but you get the picture.
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| Rainbow Warrior (photo: Ian Skipworth) |
Day 192: Sunday September 26th 2004. A quiet day - went for walks in the ancient Kauri forests, was beautiful.
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| Kauri forest | Kauri Tree |
Day 193: Monday September 27th 2004. Caroline and I drove down to Auckland and checked in just in time for Caroline's flight.
Was heaps of fun travelling with you Caroline! Right then - Met Aaron at the airport and started trying to work out the time differences, flight times and date as we are about to cross the international date line. The upshot is we should end up having two Monday the 27th of Septembers, but with added jetlag on the second one!
So ends New Zealand - sweet as bro! Loved it, and will be back - the friendly people, the amazing scenery, the wildlife and of course the penchant for adventure and adrenaline sports - all good.