Food on the move

We've been treating ourselves to a few days in cheap hotels and are rekindling those feelings of what it feels like to sleep on an actual bed with pillows. Not a blow up mattress, or a floor, or the back of a van but a real comfy bed.

However, food wise we've no cooking facilities etc. so eating out is the only way to go at the moment. A few pics of what we're surviving on until we pick up the car on New Years day and can get back into the camping groove.

 (Lush burritos and kit kats on steroids)

Sharks and Art and that...

The city centre of Sydney is much like any other we've visited really. In the CBD there are all the attractions/sites to see and the hustle and bustle of fighting your way through crowds of foreign people to get to them. I guess it's almost certainly a lot busier at the moment given that New Years eve is today.

The Sydney aquarium is awesome. No sign of any spiders or snakes yet but plenty of sharks...

 

Grand Sydney!

We have finally arrived in the beautiful and rather grand Sydney!  

After mastering the rail network early we walked to our accommodation based in the Olympic Park  grounds. It was like wondering through an Olympic dream, up-lit stadiums towering above us as we walked wearily through giant statues of running figures! It was quite a sight.

The MoneyShot...

Moving on to the land down under

Australia. Big place, big reputation, big adventure.

We have a rough itinerary jotted out which enabled us to book a couple of internal flights and sort out hire car rentals in advance to get some good deals. After speaking to several people about the hot spots in OZ and what to do whilst we're there we opted to skip on the west coast this time round and soak up all the adventures on offer on the east coast of the country.

As i write we are on board flying into Sydney where we'll spend the new year period in the city, joining an expected 1.6 million people by the harbour bridge to welcome in The new year.

Horses, Harley's and Heelkicks

I'm not a natural animal lover. I'm also not an animal hater but its just never felt in my nature to be comfortable around animals, a Neanderthal at heart I guess. But every now and then animal moments occur, brief moments that open the door to a more comfortable feeling and a voice that whispers "they're not all out to eat you Dean".

Today I had one of those moments with a horse called JJ. He belongs to Neil and Janine, and despite my constant badgering to Nay that "I'm not riding any horses when we visit your dads" Janine gave me a little talk about the way horses behave that appealed to my logical nature and I felt comfortable and confident enough to saddle up on JJ. 

Christmas Kiwi Style

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This was not my first Xmas down under, I was lucky enough to spend the Xmas of 2010 here a few years back. However for Nay, Jed and Annah a whole new experience was about to unravel.

It goes without saying that you’ll never get a white Xmas down here…but you will get turkey dinners, Michael Bublé, silly hats and moustaches…

Quackers

Made a couple of new friends at the campsite, Daffy and Donald...

3202 Steps just to get things started

Last time Nay and I came through New Plymouth Taranaki the super mountain was totally invisible behind all fog and clouds. True to form it was once again elusive behind the clouds and rain…but this time we were after a much closer look.

Forgotten Highway

Just south of Waitamo the number 3 coastal highway is the primary route down into New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki. Since its development the previous road that snaked inland down to New Plymouth has all but been forgotten about.

The Descent

One of the star attractions of New Zealand is the underground network of caves at Waitamo, and in New Zealand it’s a simple equation:


Underground dangerous wet caves = Black water tubing, waterfall climbing, abseiling and underground flying foxes. Simple.

Wet, wild and a big black fishy

Some suburbs of Auckland had recently been hit by a tornado about 2 weeks ago, but whilst we didn’t see any of the damaged areas the weather certainly hadn’t changed. Still wet and still windy but fortunately no more tornado's. So what to do in a city when its tipping it down? Well go to the pub of course! Not just any pub either, but the aptly named Father Teds for a game of pool and a massive lunch.

Hobbiton...

Quick subway pit stop for lunch then onto the Hobbiton set tour at Matamata to explore the shire. It was like all Annah's Christmas's had come at once. We saw bilbo baggins's little hobbit hole with the tree on top, the main party tree and village green where the hobbits throw a fireworks party for bilbo in the first lord of the rings film, the fellowship of the ring. 

The Luge...

Greeted by a drizzly wet morning in Rotarua the awesome foursome, as I've now decided we will call ourselves, we're again on the hot for something to get the adrenaline pumping. This morning that would be luge track racing down the hillside in Rotarua. 

Up the Creek with 7 Paddles

Hot thermal areas, bubbling mud pools and brightly coloured volcanic mineral waters make Rotarua one of very few places on earth where you can experience the power of mother nature so close to the surface. At 10:15 sharp we crowded around the thermal parks prize attraction “The Lady Knox Geyser” pronounced GUY-ZER not geezer, which is apparently an old man with two legs, or geisha an upper-class Japanese mistress.  

With a little assistance from some magical soap powder the Geyser soon began foaming then spouting its water high into the air. Sure enough the wind changed and we were treated to a special Geyser shower as the water rained down.

Running on empty…

From Napier it’s only about 90 minutes drive to lake Taupo. A quarter of a tank gets us about 100km…just after leaving Napier I spotted a road sign stating “Taupo 149km”…fearing a giant dent in my man pride I kept my mouth shut. About 50 kilometers later we passed an emergency fuel stop, but against a wave of protest I managed to protect my cash flow and convince my crew members we would make it. If it hadn’t been for a giant truck creating a much needed slipstream we probably wouldn’t have made it.

Napier Round 2

A drive that was supposed to take 2 hours...actually took nearer 5. Stopped off for emergency cheesecake supplies in a town called Woodville on route the cheesecake capital of NZ. Unfortunately wasn't much of a cheesecake but more of a crumbly base topped with whipped cream but nevertheless at 10am it was still worth it.

Arriving in Napier there is really only the city tour of all the art deco buildings worth taking a look at, but it does tend to be a case of once you've seen one, you've seen them all. A quick whizz round the town for a few snaps and then off to the holiday park to set up camp and indulge in a sausagey BBQ feast. 

The city is nicely lit up at night and so headed back out to the beachfront for a quick swim and mess around, when all of a sudden some crazy superhero guy appeared from the shadows. He started attacking Nay and Annah with a bright blinding light beam proclaiming to be "Photosynthesis Man" - the giver of light who aids dying plants in their time of need when the sun goes down...

Climb Little Hobbits

After catching the ferry back across to the north island the night before we collected Jed and Annah from the airport in Wellington and found just the right amount of time to squeeze in the compulsory holy Drexels brekkie.

There we spilled the beans that we had managed to book tickets to see the Hobbit on its release day at the embassy cinema in the evening. The embassy cinema is where the star studded world premier took place just under 2 weeks ago, and with the film shot in NZ and the director a Wellingtonian there almost certainly isn’t a more appropriate cinema in the world to watch the latest of Peter Jacksons creations.

On top of the world with a German Angel

From everywhere in Nelson and Tasman if you look westerly you can see a mountain range that dominates the horizon. These are the peaks of the Kahurangi National Park and the snow covered peak is that of Mount Arthur. At 1795 meters high it towers over the region and today was the day we would seek to conquer it.

In the absence of Nay, who perhaps wisely chose to go shopping instead, I would be climbing with Dad (new found adrenaline junky following his skydive induction), one of dad's good friends Ron and his son Jack.

Freefall on Video...

Finally got these sorted guys. Thought you might be interested... :-)  

Beauty vs. Danger

Incase you haven't seen, Auckland was savaged by a Tornado today killing three people. Thats right - A TORNADO.

If its not a volcano, an earthquake, flood or avalanche then it's a Tornado! There cannot be a single safe place in NZ. Dangerous it may be, but there's no thrill or excitement in life without a little danger :-)

Tele Kiwi Style

Over here you get all the usual stuff on Tele although it does seem to be X-Factor...on repeat...all the time. What is a little different, and perhaps its just because we're not used to it, is that the adverts seem to be generally much more entertaining than back in the UK. 

The Sunset Season

We've been treated to some incredible sunsets over the past few days. The pictures below are just taken from the garden at the back of the house across 3 separate evenings:

Santa's in town...

This time every year in Nelson the city hosts the annual Santa Parade. An excuse for everyone to line the streets for a precession of floats, knights on segways, motorbikes, giant inflatable pirates, super heros on skateboards and most importantly the man himself - Sir Santa Claus. As you can see we were ecstatic to see him on his awesome sleigh...

Its Dark Down There...

Just got our cheap underwater camera developed and thought we'd share some of the pics. As usual with these cameras most of the pictures are just a black blur but a couple are pretty neat.

Front Row Seats Anyone?

The sun has been blasting down for the last few days here as the weather has taken a massive turn towards sunshine (and sunburn) highway.

This morning we took a drive out to the A&P show in Richmond, which is a kind of country fair thing with agricultural suppliers selling tractors, a food market and lots of animals events like dog trials, cattle and pony shows etc.

We stumbled across an iconic kiwi activity upon hearing a rumble of noise from one of the farm barns. Inside was a raised stage with 4 blokes going hammer and tongs

Close(ish) Call!

Seems we missed being smacked bang in the middle of a volcano eruption by just 3 weeks. Not sure weather to be pleased or disappointed about that! Obviously I wouldn't be the first one signing up for a magma bath but to have been on the mountainside as it kicked off would have certainly been an experience to remember! 

North Island Phase 1

Arriving back in sunny nelson marked the end of our north island tour...the first part anyways! W'll be heading back up again in 3 weeks to take on the Waitamo Caves, Matamata Hobbiton village, climb Transkei and lots more. We collected some interesting facts/stats and thoughts along the way which we thought we'd share with you...

Upgrade with a twist

Arriving in Palmerston North we could virtually see the ferry home back to Nelson. Been on the road for 3 weeks and looking forward to relaxing a little. I'm sure that sounds stupid because you'll no doubt say that we're practically holidaying around the world, but it’s not always comfortable and is most definitely tiring and stressful at times when you're trying to find somewhere to park the van up at 11pm at night in a town you don’t know after driving for 6 hours surviving on the crumbs at the bottom of a cookie bag. 

Sneaky Taranaki

New Plymouth sticks out on the west coast of the North Island. The curved shape of the region is caused by a volcano named Mt. Taranaki. Maori legend has it that Taranaki had an affair with another mountain which was in a relationship with Mt. Rapheu. These mountains can be very promiscuous, in fact we've heard through the grapevine that there’s a kiwi author working on the release of 50 shades of rock...

A taste of home

South of Hamilton is the city of Cambridge. Food is a big deal to me. It looks good and it smells good then I’ll try and eat it. Picked up a tourist map when we arrived in Cambridge knowing full well from the lonely planet book that it is a popular town for English expats. Around the outside of the maps they have advertising spaces for local attractions and places of interest. I glanced around the page and what I spotted blew my mind. A simple advert plainly titled "Traditional Homemade Cornish Pasties".

The other end of the world...

We popped in for a flying visit to the Waitangi treaty grounds where the British and the Maori signed the Waitangi treaty to formalise the British occupancy of New Zealand. Reading into the history will show you that the two sides understandings of this agreement were very different, and over the next few decades much blood was shed in various wars for land and occupancy in the country.

The Poor Knights

The Poor Knights Islands are a marine reserve with pending world heritage status of the coast by Tutukaka in the Northland, and one of the worlds top 10 diving sites. We’d been tipped off about an activity called Perfect Day where they take you 24k’s out into the Ocean where the island is and let you Snorkel around the reserve.

T'aint so grim up north

Been a while since our last update, it’s pretty up north but once you leave Auckland facilities (particularly internet) get a bit sparse on the ground.

We arrived in Auckland aiming to catch the US election results roll in, but after a few hours of searching could find nowhere that would show it on tele. Only sports...typical.

Mountains, Mountains & More Mountains!

After rolling down a Giant hill in what can only be described as continuous body slam (Zorbing), we decided to take it easy and drive up to Tauronga. Pronounced To-ron-ga after miss pronouncing it to pretty much every Kiwi we had conversed with.

We arrived at our camping ground with a huge agenda and not the fun sort! Washing a billion loads of washing, filling 80 water bottles and a charging 12 different appliances with our one tiny adapter.

How do you like your Eggs in the morning?

Rotarua is apparently the most visited location in New Zealand. I get that, its a pretty unusual place. What I don’t get is how over 70,000 people can live in a town that constantly, in every nook and crannie reeks of boiled eggs.

Volcanic Quest

The next day stocked up with food water and other delights we headed for Tongariro National Park to conquer a Volcano! (You can guess who’s idea this was) Arriving closer we got a glimpse of the three mighty volcanoes dominating the landscape. All three of them are currently active volcanoes and the most recent eruption was back in August.

Taupo

After our trip back in time, The classic cars, Flappers and beautiful Art Deco buildings we decided to head on up to Lake Taupo. As the evening closed in we caught a glimpse of a phenomenal pink sunset engulfing the lake.

A few nights earlier we had met a Canadian couple that had “house swapped” their home with a Kiwi couple for a two-week holiday but were now touring the island in a camper.

Napier

Art Deco. Too be honest I don't really know what its all about, but Nay is a closet fan and so a walking tour of the Art Deco capital of the world was not to be sniffed at. Napier was demolished by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake back in 1931. At the time the townsfolk wanted to rebuild with a statement, and this was to be in the form of Art Deco architecture.

Below is a picture of the Port of Napier from Bluff Hill lookout. The next day a Princess Cruise ship pulled in and flooded the town with American and Australian tourists. It was weird watching the town

You say tomato and I say Te Mata

Checked in to Hastings for the night to climb the Te Mata peak before heading into Napier. Its only a baby by recent standards at just over 400meters but with some pretty impressive views over the Hawks Bay region from the top. 

On the way down caught a glimpse of what looked like the worlds steepest and most hair raising mountain bike track. We happen to know a keen

New Address

Just a quick one to let everyone know that we have set up a new postal address whilst we are out here in New Zealand. You can see it in the picture below...

It just happens to be the longest place name in the world and means "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees

Firestarter - a twisted firestarter!

Selected hardcore camping mode last night and headed to the base of mount Holdsworth 20k's from anywhere. A department of conservation campsite is out there and despite the rain we managed to start and epic campfire thanks to many left over maps and accommodation

Windy Welly

A one hour drive from nelson followed by a 3 hour ferry ride between the north and south island via the cook straight, landed us in Wellington. 

The capital city of New Zealand well known for its culture, affectionately referred to as Wellywood (homage to peter jackson) and also

The lost flip flop

Taking it easy has been the agenda for the last week. We've sketched out a north island route which will take us up the east side of the north, through Auckland and back down the west side in time for the world premier of the Hobbit in Wellington on the 28th of November. For the week around the premier the city will be renamed as

So...What did we learn?!

I think it is safe to say we learnt a few valuable lessons whilst touring the beautiful yet seasonal South Island. So here are a few facts, figures, learnings and sayings!! (Some more poetic than others)

To eat crayfish...

120 k's from Hanmer further up the east coast lands us in Kaikoura - known to locals as "a little slice of paradise". Before leaving Hanmer we took on one final activity, a 3 hour return bush walk to Dog Stream Waterfall. True to form it hammered down for the entire walk but the 45 meter free flowing waterfall at the end was well worth it.

Kaikoura was the name given to the area by the Maori, and means "to eat" (kai) "crayfish" (koura). Something we have always done when passing through here is go out and catch some, this time would be no different. We hooked up with a fishing charter run by Gerry and captained by our very own pirate Nick. He wasn't a real pirate, but he did genuinely have a wooden leg and no fingers....presumably lost in a fishing accident but out of common decency know one asked him how it happened, we just stared at it all the time...as you do...

The main catch was the bright orange sea perch, as is common in these waters. The oceanogrophy is unique in Kairoura and is one of only 3 places in the world that sits on an underwater continental shelf. This means the depth is approximately 200 meters just off the shore and then plummets straight down to over 1600 meters deep. This allows whale colonies to feed in the canyon and an abundance of marine life to thrive here. Naomi caught her first ever fish! In fact she went on to catch 3 FISH!

You get to keep what you catch on the charters and we were lucky enough to also pull up 5 crayfish which we drown in fresh water and froze to take home - DELICIOUS!!!

All around the area Seals are playing along the coastline. There is one special spot where they clamber over rocks up a stream and bathe in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. In the afternoon when we took a walk up there we were lucky enough to find 6 of them playing in the water. When we turned to leave there was a seal right behind us blocking our path...it seems that the lazy ones don't climb the river but prefer to take the easy route and walk along the tourist pathway! Its surprising how comfortable they are around people, although they will you give a nasty bite if you get too close.

You can't come to Kaikoura and not go out on a whale watching trip. Leaving from south bay the boat races out to where the shelf drops away and joins another spotting boat which was tracking a passing sperm whale. They dive for around 40 minutes, so the dive time and location is recorded and the boats return when the 40 minutes is up. There are a resident population of sperm whales but we were lucky enough to catch a sighting of 2 whales who were transiting through the waters. Sperm whales are the largest toothed predator on the planet, weighing up to and over 60 tonnes. Hugely majestic and awe inspiring when the blow hole spouts off in the distance and the boat pulls alongside to say hello. After about 5 minutes of re-oxyginisation the head drops, the back bends up and that awesome tail flies up into the air. Incredible. The tail of a sperm whale is referred to as "the hand of god", not because of any association with Maradona, but because if you were under it when it smashed down on you like a fist the next person you're likely to meet is the so called creator.

What an awesome place. I'll drop in some more pictures from Kaioura now to finish off this post: