I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth...

Though it probably seems that way. Not had that much to say and have had other things taking up my attention.

Of course I have been studying hard with the photography course, which is coming along very nicely! I had my result for my fourth assignment back today and I was pleasantly surprised just like with previous assignments - the mark was good but I was actually more pleased with the comments from my tutor which made me realise why I'm deserving of good marks :-)

As well as keeping busy with study I have been going through a bit of a reading blip. I enjoy reading but I find every now and then I go through a phase of reading one book after another until I'm burnt out and fed up of reading again. I'm not sure whether I've got to the burnt out stage yet or not.
It started about 2-3 weeks ago when Mr M and I went to Chatswood for shopping as we hadn't been there for a while. We popped into Dymocks and as usual he headed straight for the PC/Telecoms books. I milled about and went to find him just as he was heading towards me, we decided we'd seen enough and headed for the door. And there it was on the table looking up at me saying "I'm here! Buy me! Look at me! I'm here waiting for you", of course it was Paulo Coelho's new book!
I gasped upon seeing it then picked it up and hugged it before rushing to the counter to make sure that it was mine.
Then I realised that I hadn't been keeping up to date with his work as I usually know when his new books are out by frequenting his website, someting I hadn't done in about two years. I felt terrible that I had somehow betrayed my favourite author, particulalry when I realised that he had realsed another book before hand of short stories (I've still yet to go and track theat one down in the bookstore). But the reason I hadn't been so interested in his website was because the last book of his that i read, The Zahir just didn't thrill me they way that so much of his work had done in the past. Don't missunderstand, the Zahir is not a bad book as it is the story of Paulo Coelho of things that he has experienced in his life. But that book didn't give me the spiritual uplift that I love his books for. I much prefer his books where he is the storyteller rather than the subject.
The Witch of Portobello, his latest book, was very enjoyable but I didn't find that I was able to bond with the main characters that well, they weren't in depth enough for me. Or maybe it is that I have become a more cynical person and found the story harder to believe in than I would of a few years ago? All I do know is that I loved his books such as The Fifth Mountain (which was the first Paulo Coelho book I read), The Valkyries, Veronika Decided to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, Eleven Minutes, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Pilgrimage and of course The Alchemist (of which I have mixed feelings about it being turned into a film), pretty much his whole works! But if you are reading this and you know of his works that you may have noticed that I missed out the Manual of the Warrior of the Light. Again, a good book in it's own right but not for me.
And of course I don't have listed his book of short stories, Like the Flowing River. Only because I haven't read it yet.
Generally and for the most part I am a huge fan of him as an author.

After finishing the Witch of Portobello, I saw on the bookshelf a book that I bought the same time as when I bought Valantino Rossi's Autobiography, and of course that was more important to read! So I picked it up and started to read that. It had me gripped from the start and had so much action in it that I had a real film going on in my head, something that you would have expected to see the likes of Bruce Willis or maybe Mel Gibson in. It was called Vanish by Tess Gerritson. One hell of a page turner was that!
After I had finished that book (which didn't take me long at all), I decided to read Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe, another book that has been sat on the shelf that I've been meaning to read for a few years. I have previously read the Wilt series (just found out that a new one was released in 2004 and I haven't read that) which was laugh out loud funny and Porterhouse Blue, I'm glad to say also brought on the tears of laughter. Although I found the first Wilt book the funniest of all of the Sharpe stuff I have read. There is also Grantchester Grind on the bookcase that I haven't read bbut I may delay that as sometimes reading the next one straight away is not the best thing to do.

So after reading three books pretty much in succession I looked at what else I had but hadn't read yet. There it was sat on teh shelf gloating at me - The Lord of the Rings. The book is actually my brothers and he loved it. He also has the Hobbit and I thought it would be best if I read that first. Oh, did that book get the better of me, I don't even think I got to the end of the first Chapter and if I did it was an uphill struggle. I mentioned this years ago to my brother and he said that he struggled with the Hobbit and never finished the book but that the LOTR was much better. I tried reading LOTR about a year ago now but got bogged down by the prologue and other such stuff before you even get to start the first chapter. This morning I picked up the book again and flicked to the begining of the first chapter and marked the page with my bookmark. That is where I shall start my journey, and I may even start it tonight! Wish me luck!

New Zealand Part Two - South Island

Day 7 – Christchurch to Oamaru 03.05.07

We headed for the car hire company and picked up another Diahatsu Sirion as it suited us perfectly, a small car that was big enough for our two cases and was extremely economical on petrol. In essence, all you need for a road trip.
We didn’t see much of Christchurch but that was ok as we were heading back there to fly back to Sydney, we’d be back.
The drive from Christchurch to Oamaru was the most uninspiring of our journey. Maybe it is because the European Settlers decided to turn most of the natural landscape into agrable land on the South Island, but it was very boring. The trip to Oamaru was approximately 3 hours and I fell in love with the place as soon as we reached the town.
Oamaru is a town that has some lovely sandstone buildings and I was pleased to find the one and only motel that we were stopping in for the entire trip was extremely nice. Our host at the motel was very friendly and asked if we were here to see the Penguins. Penguins? We were actually stopping at Oamaru to go and see the Moreaki Boulders but Penguins are good! She showed us on the town map where we could watch the Blue Penguin colony which you had to pay to enter as well as where the rare Yellow Eyed Penguins were which we could watch for free. I still don’t understand why there is a reserve which does its best to look after the preservation of the Blue penguins and yet the Yellow Eyed, which is dying out has nothing. Hey ho.
We decided to head for the Moreaki Boulders first as that was the main thing we wanted to see and when we arrived Mr M was not impressed! You see the Moreaki Boulders are exactly that, Boulders. They are all spherical and the majority of them are in the sea, gracefully poking out. I loved it but the weather could have done with being a bit warmer and brighter. I took quite a few photos of the boulders but it was a struggle as my hands were absolutely freezing! I found the whole experience of seeing the Boulders quite spiritual but all Mr M could say was that I took him to see some rocks. However, he was quite intrigued that they were all round.
After literally freezing certain body parts off, we headed back into town to book in for the Blue Penguin colony watching before heading to the beach to watch the Yellow Eyed Penguins come in at dusk. We waited and watched the sea along with many others to see if we would be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the rare Yellow Eyed. I had my camera primed ready and took a few pictures of the beach from the cliff top we were waiting on. Then I turned the lens to the 300mm max and looked at the beach in closer detail. Sure enough I spotted something. There camofalaged in amongst the seaweed and driftwood was a seal! I excitedly tapped Mr M’s arm and showed him, then I scanned some more of the beach and saw another! I love seals.
We stood shivering from the cold when suddenly someone said that they could see a Yellow Eyed in the sea about to come in. We watched patiently and scanned with our cameras, sure enough, there it was. After a little bit of time swimming around it came onto the beach and headed for its nest. It was so cool to see such a beautiful and now rare species of penguin. Happy that we had seen one we decided to head back and warm up before the early evening event of watching the Blue Penguins.
I was so cold that I called into a shop in the town to buy gloves and a beanie and a beanie as well for Mr M. After making our purchase we headed to the colony and drank warm tea while we waited for the penguins to arrive. I looked out to the rocky shore that the penguins would climb up and saw…. another seal! We sat down in the seated area while the guide told us about the penguins and that they will be unsure about climbing up as the seal was there. Fortunately for them, the seal was a fur seal and not the leopard seal that will kill them in the wild. We waited for the night sky to come over and then I saw what would have been the most amazing shot, the moon was out and full, we had the rocks to the left and the sea lapping onto them. It was so gorgeous and I would have loved to have captured that scene. It wasn’t to be. The penguin colony asks you not to use cameras, so we left ours in the motel. Gutted!
Never mind, we were here to witness the penguins coming home. Our first sighting of a Blue Penguin though wasn’t coming home but heading down to the sea. It was clearly unsure what to do with the seal there but soon hopped down the rocks, tentatively passed the seal and happily hopped on down to the sea. With that we saw some more penguins come from the sea. A group of them looked up the rocks and saw the seal and then it looked like they were talking to each other, trying to work out if it was safe or not and who should go first. More penguins arrived and also stopped, then two decided that they wanted to get home and ventured up the rocks. They got closer to the seal and then stopped, almost as if to have a chat. “How was your day?” “ Awful, I was stuck in a meeting most of the day. Yours?” “Not as bad as yours by the sound of it. Well, best get on home. The missus will have a fit if I’m late again. Fancy catching up for a beer later?” “I’ll let you know. See you.” And with that off the one waddles up the rocks, slowly past the seal and then across the road to head for its nest.
The group by this time had decided to give it a go. The started up the rocks and then stopped before one braved it and carried on going. When I was watching them I had the tune to Mission Impossible in my head LOL It really was like that. In the end all the group managed to get up past the seal and head home. After seeing one group get back we decided that we too would head back as even though we had beanies and I also had gloves, we were still freezing and my backside was going numb from the cold.
That evening we headed to Fat Sally’s in town for food. It was recommended by our host at the motel so we thought we would give it a go. It was a pub/restaurant that had a great atmosphere that you could feel as soon as you entered. Everyone was happy and friendly and it was nice and warm! We were seated at a table and given the menu. The one thing both of wanted to have while in NZ was lamb. We ordered two lamb dishes as our mains and I had a starter of oven baked Camembert and Plum jam. The starter was sooo good and I hoped the main would be equally as nice. The dishes came out and my eyes nearly popped from my head, the plates were huge! We had been told that the servings were generous and that it was good hearty food and the lady at the Motel was spot on. We tucked in and the first mouthful was enough. It was absolutely stunning! The lamb had been done in a sort of mint breadcrumb and the mash was so creamy. If that wasn’t made with NZ butter I’ll be very surprised. I’ve since had cravings for Anchor Butter LOL
Even though the starter was very good, it was the best choice that I made as it meant that I couldn’t finish my main meal but Mr M made sure it didn’t go to waste J
With our stomachs full with delicious food (which was the best value and best tasting NZ tucker of the whole trip) we headed back for bed.


Day 8 – Oamaru to Lake Wanaka 04.05.07

Another early morning start to head off to our next destination. Fortunatley, the drive to Wanaka was much more pleasant than the one from Christchurch to Oamaru and we arrived in Wanaka for the early afternoon. The hotel we were staying in was on Mount Aspiring Road and looked like it was quite a new development. The room was spacious and very nice, with wood panelling on the one wall and ceiling. Plus it had the extra bonus of a radiator. Mmmm, snugly!
We headed down to the Lake to take some pictures before deciding to take a drive to Mount Aspiring. We headed off and got about half the way there when the road conditions changed and we saw the sign that pretty much said if you don’t have a 4x4 you’re screwed! Bugger! We had no choice but to turn back. I looked at one of the brochures I picked up and realised that we weren’t that far from Queenstown, which we had wanted to go and see but to have stayed there would have meant doubling back on ourselves to continue on with the rest of our trip. We considered driving to Queenstown and headed back to the room to get the touring atlas. We guesstimated that it would take probably 3 hours each way and while we had the time that we could have pushed it into we instead opted for a well deserved kip. It was about quarter to three in the afternoon and we were tucked up in bed fast asleep.
We awoke around six thirty and freshened ourselves up before heading to the hotel bar and restaurant. It was a combined room and it was all done out in wood panelling and has a lovely open wood fire. It was gorgeous and It was as good as the Swiss Chalet that I have had pictured in my head for many years. For some reason, I would love to do Christmas in a wood chalet with a real fire and snow outside, doesn’t necessarily have to be in Switzerland. This hotel bar and restaurant was the closest I had come to and all I needed was snow outside but you can’t have everything.


Day 9 – Lake Wanaka to Fox Glacier 05.05.07

The drive to Fox was very nice and I spotted something on our touring atlas that sounded very intriguing that we were going to travel through – The Gates of Hasst!
I’m not sure what I was expecting but what we got was an Iron bridge over some fast rapid water running over a lot of rocks. It was actually very impressive and we stopped to walk under the bridge to take some photos and then up onto the bridge to take more. It had started to rain and by the time we got back to the car both of us and our cameras were quite wet. We turned the heating up in the car to warm up and dry off and continued our journey on to Fox Glacier.
We were staying at the Fox Lodge and I was pleased to see that it was all timber. We were shown to our room and it was another wood chalet style – I loved it! We dropped the bags off before heading into town to take a look around. Fox is a very small township that is very quaint and the town is pretty much on the main road in a blink and you’ll miss it style. But the main reason we were there was to see the glacier.
We had already agreed that we were going to do a hike on the ice but it was a question of which one. I had never been in a helicopter before so we opted to do the Heli-Hike.
We called into the guiding lodge and asked about booking for the next day. The weather wasn’t very nice so I didn’t get my hopes too high as the weather could stop us in our tracks. We booked on the 9am Heli-Hike and provisionally booked on the 1pm in case the weather was bad for the morning. As a back up from that we considered doing the half day hike in the afternoon should the 1pm Heli-Hike get called off due to the weather.
Now all we could do was wait until morning to see what the weather would give us.
It was a nice day but we headed down to Lake Matheson for a look around. We didn’t get far when we realised that we could get very wet as the drizzle was threatening to turn into full blown rain. We headed back to town and bought some rain proof jackets. Now we were cooking with gas.
We decided that even though we had protection from the rain, we would give the Lake a skip as it was very over cast and instead would head to the Glacier for a look.
We parked the car in the car park provided and walked the track to the terminal face. We hadn’t long left the car park when we reached the top of a hill and there, in front of us, was the biggest piece of ice I have seen with my own eyes. I was aghast at the sheer enormity of it, there in the valley was what looked like a huge river of water that was heading straight for us but had been frozen in time.
When you drive up to the car park, you see signs that tell you that the ice was this far down in such a year. It’s incredible to see how far it has receded and then you learn that it is now advancing. The ice is always moving as there is running water underneath that is the Fox river. At the terminal face we could hear the ice cracking and breaking off which is why there is a barrier for peoples safety and warning signs to tell you not to go beyond unless you are with a guide.
We took more photos of yet another natural wonder and headed back to the car. We decided to drive to Franz Josef which is the next town over from Fox which also has a glacier. As we reached a twisty corner section of road we saw a crane winching a coach from the drop of the corner. We wondered if there had been anyone hurt, how it happened and what those poor people must have gone through. We carried on our journey and headed for the Franz glacier terminal face. You might think that once you’ve seen one, why go to another but the glaciers, though essentially the same are very unique. They have different forms and the terminal face of Franz is a lot further to walk to. As time was getting on we opted to head for the viewing platform instead as it was nearer. What I noticed about the town of Franz Josef and the glacier there, was that it is much more touristy than Fox. I was glad we opted for the latter.
We headed back to Fox and passed the steep twisty corner which was now clear. When we reached town we asked at the local store if they had any information and I was surprised to learn that the accident had happened several weeks ago. The reason the coach was only now being pulled up was because they had to get a crane from Christchurch. We also learned that fortunately, no one had been seriously injured.
We decided to go for another drive and this time drove past Lake Matheson to head for Gillespies Beach. It wasn’t really the right weather for the beach but when we got there we realised that it wasn’t a real beach. As in, not one you would go and sun bake on. The beach was covered in large pebbles and huge chunks of driftwood and the cloudy, windy weather was churning up the waves. It was actually very nice.
That evening we headed to the local bar for food and beer.


Day 10 – Fox Glacier 06.05.07

We headed down to the guiding lodge to hear if we would be flying. The clouds were low but it was a much nicer day. After much deliberation we finally heard that the pilot was happy with conditions and we were good to go.
We headed through the back to get waterproof trousers and jacket before heading on to the quaint old bus to be taken to the heli-pad. Once there we were given hiking boots and thick socks before being given a briefing on helicopter dos & don’ts. One last check with the pilot and we were confirmed for the final and last time that we would be taking off. We were split into two groups and the first group headed for the helicopter and then left for the glacier. In the meantime we were arranged in to a seating plan and I was given the one seat in the front because I’m short – woo hoo!
I was so excited to be in a helicopter and I had a grin from ear to ear that made me look like the Cheshire Cat. The ride to the ice was amazing and then came the really fun part, walking on the ice in hiking boots. I got out and walked across to where the first group was waiting and just as I got there I did my Bambi impression – legs everywhere! Fortunately one of the girls grabbed my arm and I didn’t fall. Once we were all grouped together again we were given crampons to attach to our hiking boots. I managed to get myself in a right knot with those but fortunately the guide could see I was struggling and gave me a hand. Once we had those on we all felt much better as we now had more grip on the ice. Then we grabbed a stick with a metal spike at the bottom to give us extra grip and stability when walking and off we went in single file following our expert guide.
Hiking on the ice was one hell of an experience and I did end up on my backside, it was inevitable really. It wasn’t too bad, just a small slip really. The guide had used his pick to make steps in the ice for us to get down this one small hill and I thought my crampon had gripped but it hadn’t. My foot slipped and I ended up sat on one of the steps. All I could do was laugh!
We were guided to two stunning ice caves that we went into. They had a spectacular blue colour to them and we were all in awe at their beauty. We then carried on our hike and Mr M out did me on the fall as he also didn’t get a sure footing with his crampon and slipped. Unfortunately, he fell on his side in a puddle of muddy water but was thankfully ok but slightly dirty. The next incident involved the girl who had saved me from my Bambi moment, she had got some ice in her eye from the pick and was suffering from blurred vision. It turned out that she was a nurse but her eye was still giving her trouble when we arrived back into town. I hope she recovered ok.
We changed and headed out to the local bar to drink and recount our experience before heading to a little restaurant not far from our lodge and then going to bed.


Day 11 – Fox to Greymouth 07.05.07

We headed back to the guiding lodge in the morning to buy a few souvenirs including some Fox’s Glacier Mints which were attached to a little poem to raise money for a local community centre. I just couldn’t resist them! As it was a nice morning we headed back to Lake Matheson and walked around the Lake. We had hoped to be able to see Mount Cook and Mount Tasman reflecting in the Lake but we still has cloud cover L We did manage to get some nice shots of the glacier from the Lake though. We were both a bit disappointed in Lake Matheson because for most of the walk around the lake you don’t actually see it, instead the pathway guides you through the rain forest and gives you sneak peaks at what you are missing. That aside, it was a pleasant mornings walk even though my left thigh was hurting from my slip on the ice.
We left the lake to make it to Greymouth in time for the early afternoon and soon set about heading for the attraction that was on our list to see – Pancake Rock Geysers!
It was a little drive out from the town of Greymouth but we eventually got there. The rocks were like ant hills and between the rocks you could see the sea. The sea waves would push it into the rocks and explode out of some of the holes and craters. Sometimes with a lot of force and other times just giving a slight spray. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we headed back to Greymouth to have food before turning in for the night.
We looked around the town at the restaurants trying to decide what we wanted to eat. We decided to go for Indian and went to Priya. I saw on the menu that they had shrimp as well as doing Korma curry. I asked if it would be possible to get a shrimp korma and after the waiter checked with the chef I was told it wouldn’t be a problem. My curry was totally stunning and Mr M thoroughly enjoyed his as well. We’ve never had such a good curry in Australia or during our time in New Zealand until this one. It turned out that they also had a restaurant in Franz Josef and they also have one in Timaru, a town before Oamaru. At least we managed to find one of their magnificent restaurants and had a curry that was good enough to rival back home in the UK. How I miss a good prawn korma!


Day 12 – Greymouth to Christchurch 08.05.07

Off we went on the last leg of our journey back to Christchurch. The drive took us through Arthurs Pass where we saw a cloud on the floor! It was a beautiful clear blue sky but there was a big, long, fluffy white cloud that looked like it was on the valley floor. It really isn’t surprising that the Maori call New Zealand Aotearoa as it means land of the long white cloud!
We got in to Christchurch around midday and checked in to the hotel before jumping back in the car to go to the gondola which was just out of town. We took the ride up to the top of the mountain and looked out over Christchurch before heading back down and checking out the city. We went on the tram and saw loads of different sculptures. I like art cities, probably why I also like Melbourne. There’s always so much to see, well there is if you like art.


Day 13 – Christchurch to Sydney 09.05.07

We had the morning to look around some more and buy a few essential purchases such as All Blacks tops and more importantly my birthday pressie. I had nothing in mind for a birthday present and was happy just to have my birthday in NZ but Mr M had other ideas when he saw my face light up at the sight of a NZ blue pearl necklace. Of course I liked it, it was blue but it had so many other colours also shimmering away and was set so lovely in a silver twisted pendant, I liked it because it was so different. We didn’t have much time and it wasn’t long before we had to go to the airport. Our holiday adventure in New Zealand was over, it was time to go back to Sydney.

New Zealand Part One - North Island

Day 1 – Arrive in Auckland 27.04.07

Auckland was, I must admit, a bit of a disappointment. No offence to people who live in Auckland, but the city just didn’t do anything for me. It was ok but it felt like I could be anywhere, it had no real personality. It probably didn’t help that on the first night we ate at a place called The Loaded Hog down by the waterfront. I’d previously seen the menu and the food sounded good but I should have realised why no one else was eating there. The food was the worst I’ve ever experienced in my entire life, no word of a lie! We both ordered steak at about $28NZ each with wasn’t cheap. It looked very fancy when it came out but the test was in the tasting. The amount of meat you got was quite a chunk but then you realise that most of it is fat and gristle, and for a medium to well steak it was looking closer to being medium to rare. In short, the meat was terrible so I decided to just eat the pumpkin and kumara mash and the wilted spinach. OMG! I can someone fuck up that as well! All I could taste was oil. I love pumpkin, it’s probably my favourite veg along with fresh broad beans and I’ve enjoyed sweet potato before as well as spinach, yet it all tasted so revolting. I couldn’t eat it. Mr M managed to swallow some of it down but he clearly didn’t enjoy it either. I ended up at Burger King having large fries – Yum!
However, although the food was bad the people can be very friendly. After an afternoon walk and getting our bearings, we called into a pub which I think was called The Red Lion. It was Friday after work so it was a bit busy but we managed to get a small table that was big enough for just the two of us. It wasn’t too long before a strapping guy in what I remember was an All Blacks top, came and parked his beer on our table. After a while we made eye contact and exchanged pleasantries before nattering away about our trip and where we were going. He was a lovely and friendly young man who happened to work in the travel industry and gave us a few suggestions on things to see and more importantly taught me how to pronounce Rotorua. I do like to be able to pronounce names correctly, particularly when in a foreign land.


Day 2 – Auckland 28.04.07

It was my birthday and after the disaster of the night before with food, we wondered what was best to have for a birthday meal. In the end we opted for an Italian, it has been known that you can fuck up a good Italian meal but it is very rare. We went back to the waterfront to a lovely restaurant which had good food and excellent wine. In all a good night.
During the day we went to the Sky Tower to gaze upon Auckland. It’s quite cool as the clouds in NZ are amazing so as well as good views you get to see some lovely cloud formations. We saw the Museum from the tower and decided to head for that next.
What a walk! The Museum is a fair trek out from the City centre and there are probably easier ways to walk there instead of the very steep street that we chose to hike up. We finally reached The Domain, grounds which the museum is in and headed towards a map to figure out where we had to walk to now. The map looked to be taking us a long way round so we opted to go over the grass hill. There are the two of us hiking up this hill and when we reach the top, we see the Museum straight ahead – hoorah! Then comes the part of getting down the hill, fortunately it wasn’t to steep and the grass wasn’t too damp so I didn’t end up falling on my behind even though I thought it would happen. Across another field, and there is our goal of the Museum. The field was a little muddy and it wasn’t until we reached the other side that we saw the notice that said they had sprayed Round-Up on there. Oh well, not going get any weeds growing on our shoes then!
The Museum was very good and I could have spent much longer in there but time was running short. They had a lovely section on Maori history along with artefacts as well as a beautiful memorial for the soldiers on the top floor and when the sun hit the glass stained windows the pictures on them jumped in to life with glorious colour. It really is a fantastic Museum and with hindsight, there must have been a bus service going out there. It is well worth a visit if you are in Auckland.
We walked back down to the City, stopping at a pub to refresh ourselves with a well earned beer. Which reminds me to look and see if I can get Tui here in Sydney as that was a lovely drop of ale.


Day 3 – Travel to Rotorua 29.04.07

The drive from Auckland to Rotorua was very picturesque even though it wasn’t a particularly nice day. We made good time and got to Rotorua around 1pm. The main thing we wanted to see was the thermal waters and the nice young chap who we met at the pub in Auckland told us to go to Hells Gate! Intriguing!
But first we headed to the thermal waters of Waimangu. A lovely park area where you could spend hours walking around. The steam coming off the waters was very impressing as was their warmth when I put my fingers into a little stream. The one section has a body of water that looked like a bright blue lagoon. It made you want to go in but the fear of knowing you’d burn you skin off was enough to banish that notion at first thought. We had hoped to walk to the 3rd and final bus stop but time was against us again so we headed back early so that we could also get to Hells Gate.
So why go to two parks offering the same thing I hear you ask? Well, there is actually quite a big difference in these to parks. Waimangu is government owned and operated and is very much like walking around a national park, only there are bodies of lovely thermal waters everywhere that you just can’t help but be amazed by. Hells Gate on the other hand is Maori owned and has more Maori traditions involved, every day at about 1pm they give a demonstration of cooking with the thermal waters where you can actually eat the food. I would have adored to have tried some traditionally cooked Maori food but unfortunately we didn’t get to the park until about 4.30pm. Hells Gate was given its name by George Bernard Shaw although the real name for the area is Tikitere. After visiting Hells Gate, I can see why Shaw named it so. Maybe it was the fact that it was very overcast and late in the afternoon but it did seem eerie and yet peaceful. I still wouldn’t fancy walking around there on my own though. But we were happy with our Hells Gate experience plus we got to see some boiling mud! If you are into Spa’s and getting pampered and happen to be in Rotorua, you could pop into Hells for a nice mud spa. Something I would have loved to have tried but sadly didn’t have the time L At least I managed bring a face pack of Mud back with me, although I haven’t tried it yet.


Day 4 – Travel to Wellington 30.04.07

We got up very early as we had a 6 hour drive to the Windy City of Wellies, sorry, Wellington. The drive was surprisingly nice and we were making excellent time. We went over or through Lindis Pass, past Lake Taupo and we had hoped to see Ruapehu but the weather wasn’t nice. We were heading down hill on State Highway 1 towards the little village of Waiouru, then Mr M notices flashing lights in the mirror. Should we be like Thelma and Louise and try to out run him? We were in a rented Daihatsu Sirion, I don’t think we would have got very far. We did the proper thing you should do in such a scenario and pulled over. And then I realise why we have been making such good time, we had been speeding! 125Kph in a 100Kph zone – Busted! Please sign here, please deposit $230NZ to the nearest Westpac within x amount of days. What made me chuckle though, was when the policeman realised we were Brits he said “I had a feeling you would be, it’s usually you guys who we do for speeding here, I think your speed limits are higher than ours”. Mr Plod was actually very nice and pleasant and we first thought that the fine was to be paid on the spot. I delved into my bag for my purse so Mr M and I could put funds together and pay it, when the nice Mr Plod said that we could pay it at the bank as they weren’t allowed to take cash. To which I said that it was a shame as it would have made good beer money. Then thought I probably shouldn’t have said that but he had a sense of humour, laughed and sent us on our merry way reminding us to keep to the speed limits as we had a lot more driving to be doing in NZ. We stopped at the petrol station in the town when Mr M said to look behind. It thought it was going to be the policeman again but instead the clouds had lifted just enough to see a snow capped mountain that looked remarkably like Ruapehu! Turns out it was.
After a few more hours of driving, we made it into Wellington for early afternoon and spent the rest of the day getting our bearings for the next day and having a general look around. Unfortunately, it was raining but we found an Indian restaurant and decided to go there for dinner as it wasn’t very far.


Day 5 – Wellington 01.05.07

One of the main things I wanted to see in the lovely City of Wellington was the Fur Seal reserve. We drove to the Quarry which was by the beach front and took a look around to find out what the score was here. Hmmm, a sign that says it’s a 3 hour walk there and back and that there was no cars allowed beyond that point. Ok, so we should take water. There is nothing near the start of this walk apart from sea and houses so trying to find a shop was out and I didn’t want to waste time in heading back. Luckily we had several water bottles in the car of which some still had water in. After pouring it all into one bottle we had almost 500ml of water. That should do us. We pulled our fleece jackets on, grabbed the camera bags and set off. It was looking doubtful that we would see and seals as the season is May – September if I remember rightly, and it was literally just the beginning of May. I had hope that I would see a seal but also had the realisation that I wouldn’t. Nevertheless, it was a lovely walk around the shoreline and very quiet, We finally saw two other people who were heading towards us, they had already made it to the reserve area and told us that there were two out there. I was so excited! We headed up the hill and stopped at the crest to look out and see if we could spot them. It wasn’t long before Mr M said that he’d seen one and pointed me in the right direction. There on a rock was a wild fur seal sunbaking! It was such a thrill to see and I eagerly snapped away with the camera. After walking around and awing at the natural beauty we were witnessing, we headed back up the crest of the hill we were stopped to see of we could see any that side. At first Mr M was sure that there wasn’t any there and started walking down, I kept looking and sure enough spotted another one! I showed Mr M where it was and again the cameras started clicking away. I’m sure I don’t need 30+ images of seals but I just couldn’t resist it.
We walked back around the shoreline to the car satisfied that we had came and seen what we wanted.
We still had the afternoon and went into the City to look for the cable car. As we had walked a fair distance we stopped for a bite to eat to keep us going before arriving at the Cable Car. It’s kind of like a funicular railway that stops at the University before carrying up the hill to the Botanic Gardens. It’s not a long journey but it is very pleasant but it was getting late and the light was fading so we headed back down to the City.
We walked back to the hotel and noticed that the Welsh Bar, which we had seen the night before but was closed, had lights on and appeared to be open. We, couldn’t not go in could we. It was incredible! It turned out that they are closed on Mondays so it was lucky that we had two nights in Wellington. I noticed the food menu and drooled at the thought of Faggots & Peas and then I saw it, never before I have I seen it on a menu this side of the world – Curry & Chips! The Welsh Bar must be heaven on the other side of the world. That was it, food was sorted for that night. Unfortunately, the lad behind the bar wasn’t too keen on cooking so I was left gutted that I couldn’t have my taste of home L We had no choice but to go elsewhere for food but we decided that we’d go back for one last drink later and to sign the guest book. We headed for a Chinese restaurant across the road, but by the time I ordered I was feeling awful with major stomach cramps. I’m still not sure what caused me to be ill but I hardly touched my food, even though it was nice, and ended up in bed my 10.30pm. And then I was gutted again as I really wanted to go back to the Welsh bar, but it was pretty obvious to look at me that I wasn’t going anywhere.


Day 6 – Wellington to Christchurch 02.05.07

We had an early evening flight to Christchurch and I still wasn’t feeling very well. Mr M suggested that we fly back to Sydney but I was adamant that we weren’t going to miss our holiday. I headed for the chemist and after popping a tablet, started to feel a little better. Due to my illness, I didn’t want to do anything strenuous, actually all I wanted to do was sleep, so we spent the day driving around the outskirts of the City and making sure we knew our way to the airport. We stumbled across a reserve park and parked up to go for a walk, we saw a nice winding road on the bottom of the hill where we where and decided to try and find it. After driving through a lot of housing estates we decided to head back towards the City and just drive about. Sure enough we stumbled on to the lovely windy ocean road that we had seen and drove along that twice, taken in the beauty and splendour of the outskirts of Wellington before we had to head for the airport.
Our flight to Christchurch was delayed and by the time we reached the hotel we had enough time for a quick snack and a glass of wine before heading to bed. Tomorrow we had to be back on the road!