New Zealand: South Island

We're currently in the South Island of NZ and loving it! The scenery here is amazing, much more extreme than the North. Its been great on the bus as it stops every now and then for some classic 'kodak moments' at some hidden places, and we can just sit back and not have to worry about anything! The drivers are full of endless info!






First stop on the South was the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park, where we got off the bus and stayed for 4 nights. Our first day there we took a tour of the park, first on a boat around the coast then back through the park on a minibus. It was a gorgeous day so the sights were amazing, and we made friends with a dolphin who followed us on the boat. We decided to stay an extra couple of days to do a kayak trip into the park, camp over for a night or two then kayak back. It should have been an awesome scenic trip but we got hit by rubbish weather - the kayak out was ok, but it rained most of the day so when we arrived at our site (by this time we had decided to stay in a 'hut' instead of camp) we were freezing cold and wet... Not very nice when you have no way of warming up and nothing to do! Had planned to do some walks etc but because of the weather we just stayed inside, ate cold pasta and played cards! The next morning we planned to kayak back but the weather was even worse, and we were advised not to kayak so ended up having to pay extra to get our kayak water taxied back! Turned out an expensive trip, and not very enjoyable, especially because I had a bad cold. Silly weather!




After Abel Tasman we headed down the west coast, stopping at the renowned Barrytown - a tiny little village where we stopped for a big booze up. Had a great night there, teaching everyone some classic drinking games and dressing up in random clothes - our theme was guys had to dress as girls, and girls dress as guys pretending to be girls; harder than it sounds! Also did some bone carving in Barrytown, where I made a gorgeous necklace in the shape of flame - I thought it would be suitable as it signifies heat and I've been constantly freezing in NZ!










We stopped at Franz Josef Glacier for 3 nights, which was amazing. I did a full day glacier hike which was great; we climbed up the glacier, and through small crevices and ice tunnels. We had clear blue skies which made the scenery amazing. I did manage to slip, depsite the crampons, going down one part of the glacier so I now have a big scar on my arm where I grated it against the ice - painful! Louis did ice climbing whilst I did the hike which he loved - definitely looked like more his kind of thing than mine - too much hard work!









After travelling down the west coast we headed inland to Wanaka, a beautiful little town on the lake, like a smaller version of Queenstown. Due to the good weather we finally managed to do our 15000ft skydive!!! It was amazing, and well worth the money! Wasn't as scary as expected, as you're so high up it doesnt seem real jumping out the plane - and we didn't have a choice as it was a tandem skydive, so we were more or less pushed out the plane. Have a great DVD and photos which I'll try put up some time - not very attractive though!


Next stop Queenstown! The adventure captial of NZ and our fav place yet! Theres so much to do here (so lots of money to spend), so we've had to limit our activities slightly. Its a beautiful lcoation, right on Lake Wakatipu and nestled between huge mountains. Spent four nights here, and between all the pubbing and clubbing (its also the party capital) we squeezed in some Luging (cheap and very fun), jetboating and..... the Nevis Bungy!!! The bungy was the best and scariest thing I've ever done! So proud I managed to do it! Theres 3 bungys in Queentown, and I figured if I'm going to do a bungy, may as well do the biggest! The Nevis is 134m and the 3rd highest in the world - we're now tempted to do the highest which is near Hong Kong. You jump out of a small jump pod hanging by cables over a huge canyon - a massive groundrush. I was actually less nervous than I thought I'd be, until they sit you in "the seat" - described to us as a cross between a dentist chair and a gyno chair, where they tie your feet together. The DVD is hilarious. As soon as I'd been I wanted to jump again - such an adrenaline rush. Needless to say, we partied it up that night!





From Queenstown, we spent a few days touring the South, first stopping at Milford Sound ( which is actually a Fiord rather than a Sound). The pictures we'd seen of Milford Sound looked amazing and everyone had hyped it up, so most of us on the bus signed up for a cruise into the Sound. Due to crappy NZ weather it was another waste of money as the weather was awful and we couldn't see anything - nothing like the pictures! Some of the waterfalls were pretty impressive but that was it. Bit annoying as would've loved to see it in nice weather, but we didn't have time to wait on the good weather.


From Milford Sound, we travelled along the 'Southern Scenic Route' along the coast, stopping at some random places in the middle of nowhere through to Invercargill. Apparently this is where all the sheep have been hiding! We've been told there is approx 10 sheep to every person in NZ, and by the look of this area its more! All you can see is sheep for miles! From Invercargill we headed towards Dunedin (named after Edinburgh); this whole area definitely resembles Scotland! No need to be homesick! Spent 4 days here to explore its delights such as the Speights Brewery and the Cadbury Factory, and have some messy nights out!


Now back in Queenstown for a few nights - possibly to engage in some more dangerous activities but will need to assess the funds first! Then we head up to Christchurch, stopping on the way to go White Water Rafting on Rangitata river, the best rafting in NZ apparently.


On the 4th we leave NZ and fly to Melbourne - hoping for some sunshine! If we like Melbourne we'll probably stick around for Christmas and find some work to top up the spending money (much needed!). Sad to leave NZ, but can't wait for the next leg!

New Zealand: North Island

Hello from South Island!

Think I finished the last blog in Auckland.....Auckland was quite interesting, but we really just used it as a place to get ready to start our NZ adventure - wouldn't exactly call it the classic New Zealand! We joined our first Stray bus to tour the North Island after 3 nights in Auckland. Had a fantastic crowd on the bus and two great bus drivers who made our first week amazing - so much so that instead of hopping off the bus in the North Island, we stuck with them until the South Island. It was a sad goodbye! Have been posting photos on facebook - the easiest option! I can post some pics on this thing, but it takes ages. I can send links to the albums but those without Facebook should definitely get in with the craze!

The North Island was amazing, although scarily similar to Scotland! Our first stop was digging hot water pools in a place called Hahei on the east. Crowds of people gather on the beach to dig a hole in the sand to sit in and watch the sunset! The water underground is heated by a volcano so very hot (sometimes bubbling) water comes out the sand when you dig holes - hence Hot water Beach! It was a great way to relax (once the boys had done all the digging), but the water was so hot that sometimes you had to run into the freezing sea to cool down. - Louis even tried to cook some mussells in a pool of water. That is definitely unlike Scotland!! Also did some beautiful hikes around this part - shocked ourselves by getting up at 5am to do a sunrise hike to Cathedral Cove - see piccies.

We stopped over at the surf capital of Raglan - apparently one of the few places in the world where you get a left hand brake. Chose to watch the pros rather than have a go ourselves - definitely prefer to save that for the warmer waters of Oz!

Probably the best part of the North Island was the Waitomo Caves, where we did the Haggis Honking Holes trip. It was amazing; pretty scary at times but worth it. We had to abseil down into the caves - 3 abseils, the first was about 20m and the second two were under a waterfall. Hard to describe but we basically just manouvered our way through tight caves deep underground for nearly 4 hours, squeezing through tiny spaces (not for the claustrophobic!) and jumping off ledges into darkness. Great fun!

We spent a night at a Maori centre (which was really a house) learning some Maori dances and songs - the Poi dance for the girls and the Haka dance for the boys (the war dance which the All Blacks do at the rugby). Also had a day each in Roturua and Taupo. Roturua was cool, but stunk of rotten eggs as it is the main area for geothermal activity (meaning more hot pools!). Louis and Phil, one the guys of the Stray bus, had a go at Zorbing - getting in a big plastic ball (the equivalent of a hamsters ball to a hamster) filled with soap and water and running down a big hill in it! Very funny to watch!

We planned to do a skydive in Taupo, but it got called off because of the weather - plenty more opportunities though! We settled for a very drunken night out at the local Irish pub for one of the girls birthdays - managed to win some free drinks through some drunken competitions, including the classic clothes swap! Was like being a student all over again!

Unfortunately we never managed to do the Tongariro Crossing in the National Park - apparently a very good hike but it often gets called off because of the weather. Luckily the lodge we stayed in had a spa pool and a log fire so we were sorted. Spent a night in Wellington with the Stray group - seems a very nice city, much better than Auckland, but we didn't hang around long.

Now its onto the South (and best) Island - we have about 4 weeks to spend here so plan on doing loads of adrenaline rushing activites, and will likely spend a lot of money....but its worth it!

South Island blog coming soon....

Love Heather xxx

The beginning!

Hey everyone!

Well, after 3 weeks of beautiful beach paradise we have reached rainy Auckland…..bring back the sun! To fill everyone in I shall start from the beginning….

We made it to Hawaii from Glasgow in one piece – unfortunately our luggage did not. What a way to start a trip! Luckily the bags arrived two days later – with some much needed clothes and soap. However, Louis’ bag was torn apart (literally) by bloody American airlines (I’m sure many of you have heard his rantings already), but he managed to get some compensation out of them to get a new bag and water bottle. His sigg bottle represents how bad the bag was trashed, it was almost bent in half! Anyway, the rest of Hawaii was amazing! We stayed at the same hostel for the first 5 nights, met a great group from the UK – the first guy we spoke to was a Scot! Saw Pearl Harbour which was very moving, did lots of snorkeling and saw some big turtles, a volcano hike, and managed to see most of Oahu. The island was actually really cheap to get around – managed to tour the whole island for $6. Saw some of the big surfing spots up at the North Shore, but unfortunately we weren’t quite in the big surf season yet so the waves were a bit mediocre. Had a short shot at surfing, Louis managed to catch his first wave, but we’re planning on saving our money to do a ‘Surfari’ trip in Oz so we can learn properly! On our last two nights in Hawaii Louis’ Mum and Dad had kindly paid for us to stay in a nice hotel for his birthday present – it was amazing, definitely the place for a little bit of luxury with a top floor balcony to watch the sunset!

Next stop Fiji! We had two weeks there and spent the whole time island hopping on the Yasawas and the Manamuca Islands. It really was paradise, especially up north of the yasawas. The islands we stayed ranged from being totally chilled out to party islands. Have made loads of good friends along the way already. The first place we stayed it was just us and 5 others – 3 of which were a family. That was very different to the notorious Beachcomber (very fun, from what we remember). Did a lot of lazing about on the beach, some great snorkeling, getting to know the locals, drinking Kava (made from ground root not the bubbly stuff), and being danced to and sang to. The Fijians are so friendly and most the Islands made a real effort to entertain you with ‘mekes’ (traditional dance), and songs – most islands we were met off the boat with all the staff singing a welcome song. I also went to visit a local school and village on one of the islands – its apparently rare to have their own school on the island, most kids get sent away if they can afford an education. The kids at the school were adorable, and they did little skits and sang and danced for us. Fijians are excellent loud singers!

One of the best activities in the two weeks was snorkeling with white tipped reef sharks out in the ocean. Was pretty scary at first, but they were friendly enough, although you got headbutted if you didn’t move out their way generally! The locals would grab them by the fin and throw them about the place (which we thought seemed a bit cruel, but the sharks didn’t seem to mind). Had a look for some manta rays a few times too, but unfortunately they’re out of season here at the moment – hoping to see some big ones in OZ. Also went to a small island where we swam around in a big underground cave, and had to swim a few meters underwater to get to one part of the caves which was pitch black – bit scary for a second when I tried to come up too soon and realized I was still stuck underwater!

Have to say, after 2 weeks there we were ready to hit NZ for some activity – too much relaxing can get tiring! So we are now in Auckland New Zealand. Having to get used to the coldness again – not quite prepared for it with all the summer clothes, but I’m all the skydiving etc will warm us up J. Here for a couple of days before starting our Stray bus trip on Saturday – bring on the adventure!

Hope everyone is well, get in touch with your goings on….Will put some photos up soon.

And Happy Halloween! – think we shall definitely miss celebrating the best night out in Glasgow!

Lots of love Heather xxxx