The New Zealand and Samoa Journals
Here are all the updates from our travels in New Zealand and Samoa :
~ Slander -stu ~
~ 10/07/2002 -Julia ~
~ Kicking up a Stink -stu ~
~ 19/07/2002 -Julia ~
~ 27/07/2002 -B ~
~ 28/07/2002 -Julia ~
~ On the Rocks -stu ~
~ Three Green Bottles Sitting on the Wall -stu ~
~ 12/08/2002 -Marie ~
~ Home Sweet Home -Julia ~
~ Lemmings -stu ~
~ Slippery When Wet -stu ~
~ 19/08/2002 -Bhav ~
~ 03/09/2002 -SAMOA, stu ~
~ 04/09/2002 -SAMOA, Marie ~
~ 25/09/2002 -SAMOA, Bhav ~
It's another finger-blisterer for The Chane. I really do recommend a cup of tea before this one. Either that, or phone your ISP and ask for a discount. #Guy.
Neighbours night was in fact bloody great. I'm so glad I went - the whole place was filled with excited young girls. Two of the most excited and definitely the most drunk were our very own Jools and Mer - they gave it large style on the dance floor, which soon became just the floor... Harold was quite a funny character as well, but I'll let the others fill you in on all the details. They are far more educated (as was everyone else there) with the ways of Ramsey Street.
And there you have it, conclusive proof that out very own long-haired loon is not gay.
Within the next few days I had arranged to meet up with an old friend from AT&T, Lyle. He's now happily married and living in Sydney - this meant sorting out a night bus back so I could be there on the Friday night. During my trekking about Melbourne I got stopped by a man warring a black suit. He ran up from about 20 meters behind me with this deeply serious expression on his face. Have you ever had the feeling that someone is going straight for you but carried on walking anyway hoping the nutter would run past. It was like that - but he did not go past, he grabbed me by the shoulder and span me round.
After a few seconds of staring into my face he pulled a badge from his pocket, flipped it open, and said 'homicide'.
OK, I take it back, someone start the Starsky and Hutch porn music, he actually said 'homocide'.
Seriously - my heart jumped and my stomach knotted up. A strange reaction probably fueled by watching too many cop movies, but the situation was exactly that - straight from an episode of Colombo. The stupid thing was, I had done nothing wrong Ebut for some reason I just felt guilty. Fortunately he explained that I looked just like a wanted criminal currently avoiding their long arms just before I broke down and confessed all. I ended up getting filmed for some sort of criminal freak show. The copper got on the blower and within seconds of my agreeing to participate a black car pulled up, three guys got out and we took over a near by hotels conference room for my 2 minutes of fame (much to the managers annoyance). Lets hope I dont end up on any wanted posters by mistakeE
Or the front cover of a seedy video. Sorry Stu, this is getting too much! Men chasing you, homocide, hotel conference rooms. Are you sure it was a black suit, and not pink.
Lyle and Elizabeth (Lyles recently added better half) are in good health, living and working in Sydney. We went out to the Casino and rambled on for hours about old work stuff (probably boring poor old Elizabeth) - it bought home just how out of touch Im getting while travelling. I have some serious study to get down to on my return if Im going to be employed by anyone. Perhaps I should just become a professional traveller and start charging people for access to the web site. Im sure you would all be willing to pay a 50 pound a month subscription. The next night I was invited out to a house party with someone I met previously at my old haunt in Kings Cross. As it happened I ended up out on the town with 7 other girls - if I can keep that sort of record up theres no way Im coming home #;@>
New Zealand Begins :
Flying into Auckland was like going on holiday again again again again again - for the others especially as theyve been in Australia longer and without a break. We settled in right away and sorted out a hire car for 6 weeks - at only 19 bucks a day, thats an absolute winner. The car, however, is a bomb. We have named her Rusty Clunk - for the obvious reasons. She has no go, but there is just enough boot space to fit all our packs in and a radio cassette that we can plug our tunes into so its all good...
The Skytower in Auckland dominates the skyline by almost doubling the other buildings in height. Jools, Bhav and I took a trip to the top for a birds eye view of the city - I cant believe that the CN Tower in Toronto is almost twice the height of this tower. Were already considering a travelling tangent into Canada to take a look while around Chicago in a few moths time. I have to admit though - we are over two thirds of the way through travelling and it seems like there is still so much to do it would be impossible to get it all done. CursesE
Three days after getting into Auckland we managed to hit the road and travel up to the Bay of Islands. The drive was as stunning as the bay itself - rolling lush green hills, waterfalls and thick forest line the roads north of the city. First stop was Goat Island - I could not wait for this one.
It's all too easy. I had to lie down for five minutes after reading this. The man in the 'black' suit must be following Stu in a helicopter by now.
An island run by goats!!! I was curious to whether the goats would welcome us into their society or see us as unwanted outsiders. To my utter disgust I found not one goat inhabiting the island! It was Monkey Mia all over again - Goat Island is a Marine reserve. Fish. Again.
Sorry - but down under is just wrong this time. Goat island should have goats, not bleeding fish. Monkey Mia should have bloody monkeys, but what does it have? Sodding dolphins. Nothing wrong with fish and dolphins - they should just be in Dolphin Mia and Fish Island.
During our stay at the Bay of Islands (which is a bay full of islands thank god)
And not, um, fish AND auberguines then? Damned uncomfortable to sleep on, and they go funny in the sunshine.
we checked out the first town of New Zealand, Russell. In its hay day it was home to whalers and escaped convicts - brothels and crime was at the top of the menu and it earned the nickname of The Pacifics Hellhole'. Quite a contrast to the quaint little town today with great views and a laid back atmosphere.
The Bay of Islands was where New Zealand first became New Zealand, a treaty was signed there between the Queen of England and the Maori chiefs of the island. Of course the English were soon pissing the locals right off and so war broke out - there was a big problem in keeping the Union Jack flying as somehow guards kept falling down dead and the flag pole chopped down. In the end they (or we?) had to make one out of cast iron.
Another little fact that may make you smile, the Dutch first discovered New Zealand Ebut after the two crewmen that were sent to shore were killed and eaten, little interest was shown in returning! The tribes dotted around the island believed that eating your enemy (aside from being the ultimate insult), granted you their strength and wisdom - and sure enough the first muskets made there way into Maori society. Maoris themselves are regarded as the indigenous owners of the two islands now called New Zealand, they are in fact Polynesians that paddled over in giant canoes! This is what Ive been told anyhow - seems incredible to me, but judging by the crazy face tattoos they were sporting Id believe anything they told me.
On our way back down the west coast we stopped at 90 mile beach. Wow, 90 miles of sand and surf... NO!!! Bloody 64 miles of it. What is wrong with these people??? Nice enough beach, it just has a slanderous name. I found it hard taking enjoyment from a beach that boasted about being bigger that it actually was and so stabbed a jellyfish through the middle with a stick and chased the girls round to cheer myself up.
Although New Zealand appears an extraordinarily beautiful place, with many wonders for me yet to discover, there are a few misconceptions. Kiwis are regarded as some of the friendliest people in the world and I whole-heartily agree - But this is only true until you put them in a car, at which point they become inpatient, hot tempered psychos. No wonder New Zealand has previously been the worlds third most dangerous places to drive while taking in the views on, Im So Big and Great Beach. I watched a family out for a midday drag race on the sand. In the 10 seconds they were in view I watch them almost roll the car twice! Still to come for me in New Zealand is snowboarding, bungee jumping and sky diving - this however may prove less life threatening than a quick drive to the supermarket.
I must dash now - take care all, missing ya
stu
Hello all - how is everyone?
Just enough time for a very brief update on our NZ adventure so far. Just before we left Auckland, we visited the Sky Tower which dominates the city skyline being almost double the other buildings in height. Bhav, Stuart and I took a trip to the top for a birds eye view of the city ? the monitors up there tell you what the weather outside is doing and apparently the strongest winds they've ever had are 170km/h.........strong stuff I thought, until I saw that the 170km/h winds were THAT day.....i.e. when we were up there!!! The glass bottomed floor was scary enough, but that gem of information did nothing for my confidence!!! The views of Auckland were pretty good though and you can see the various hills and volcanic sites that Auckland is built around and on........greenery mixed with high rise buildings - very different to Sydney.
After we left Auckland (with our v cheap hire car, although it has to be said that hills are not it's strong point, so perhaps we didn't grab ourselves such a bargain!!), we travelled up to the Bay of Islands. The drive was as stunning as the bay itself ? rolling lush green hills, waterfalls and thick forest line the roads north of the city. First stop was Goat Island ? Stuart (the saddo) could not wait for this one, but unfortunately, there was not a goat in site! Oh well - the views were good!!!
During our stay at the Bay of Islands (which is a bay full of islands surprisingly!!) we checked out the first town of New Zealand, Russell. This quaint little town has the oldest NZ wooden church and is also home to the first NZ pub (they call them hotels here) to get it's liquor licence. We walked to the top of the Flagstaff Hill lookout - a pretty steep climb, but worth it for the view of all the islands. It managed to stay sunny and dry for most of the day too which, we have found, is quite unusual for this time of year.
On our way back down the west coast we stopped at 90 mile beach, which is actually just 64 miles!!! Marie and I walked for a while, before noticing the boys had sloped off and were "taking a rest" on one of the many sand dunes. Unfortunately the beach is not that clean (well, it is by UK standards!), because people are able to drive their 4WD along this beach for fun. It was also covered in dead jellyfish, which Stuart decided would be fun to spear one through the middle with a stick and chase Marie and I down the beach with.....not funny!!! We then drove on, stopping briefly at Tane Mehuta - NZ's biggest Kauri tree with a girth of 47 feet and about 2000 years old. It was a pretty big tree, I assure you!!!
A few days later we drove around the Coromandel Peninsula and I am now sure that NZ is the most hilly country and has the most bends in the world - it's pretty scary stuff at times!! We finally ended up in Hahei which has natural hot water holes - the water underneath the beach is heated naturally by local volcanic sources and if you dig deep enough you can make your own hot water bath!! Something which Stuart and Bhav did, whilst I stood there giving directions!!! They dug so deep that I was afraid of losing them, but unfortunately, there was no water to be found where they were digging. Thus, we "stole" an empty pool and the boys stripped off and got in, whilst I was more modest and just dipped my feet in!! The water can reach 64 degrees C....I'm sure it was much hotter that day as we nearly burnt our feet on one side of the pool. It's very strange to sit in the pool with it being really cold outside, so that you can see the steam coming off the water. Goo
We have now arrived in Rotorua - home of boiling mud and shooting water geysers!! It's a bit smelly at times (think rotten eggs!), apparently due to sulphur or something like that!! We are going to go and see some of these amazing water holes and also maybe take a bike ride through the forest, but today we are just lazing around. Amazing how tiring spending a week driving in the car can be!!
So, that's it from me for now. Hope everyone is ok.....I will write again soon.
Love, JULIAxx
My last update left off back in Auckland after a journey up the northern peninsular. We were soon off again on our way south east and around the cape of plenty towards Haitai. Another days driving made us want to stop somewhere for a few days rather than always being on the road. We found a cracking lodge/guesthouse in a small village called Haitai near Hot Water Beach. The beach lives up to it's name, to my delight you can take a spade out with you and dig big hole that will eventually fill itself with fresh thermally heated water (at around 60 degrees it could burn if you're not careful).
This is the theory anyway - Bhav and I dug for a blistering 30 minutes (literally our hand were in tatters from our dodgy borrowed spades) and succeeded in nothing more than creating a very large hole. Plan B went into action and we stole someone elses pool that was already dug out about 50 meters down the beach. Jools, B and I relaxed in the steaming water until the sun set and then came the task of getting out of a steaming hot pool into freezing winds. I was sneezing for the next two days...
Also in the area was Cathedral Cove, another beautiful secluded beach that takes about 45 minutes to trek to. Haitai would be an excellent spot in the summer - it's still stunning to look at in winter, but when you're all wrapped up like a dam Eskimo it's a little harder to appreciate. The girls still made the most of it by carving out there names in the sand, to which I promptly added a rude suggestion underneath to amuse myself. Apparently my timing was bad as I got a rather nasty impression I was antagonising the girls at the wrong time of the month. Women hey - can't live with them, can't talk to their breasts every third week of the month.
On top of all this Marie was not too well - the old travelling flu was taking it's toll on Skippy but she did not complain other than the odd curse at the end of a sneezing fit. Foolish if you ask me - give me a cold and I'll be squealing about it for weeks, might as well make the most of it... Mer is now 100% I have to say - she saw me preparing the vodka jelly for Julias birthday bash the other day and almost burst with excitement.
What a tangent - sorry, where was I...? Ahh yes, from Haitai we moved on down to Rotorau. This is the smelliest place on the planet - I've been to a few places that come close (Bangkok sinks to number 2), but this one takes the whole biscuit barrel. Rotorau is full of these thermal pools, which are just small ponds - but boiling hot and as smelly as sin. Every time you get near one it's like having rotten eggs thrust up your nasal canal. I was quite looking foward to relaxing in our hostels thermally heated spa until I clocked on that it was a stink bath. Backpackers are smelly enough for gods sake... Needless to say Bhav and I just sealed ourselves into the pub during the evenings, drinking 6 dollar jugs of export gold.
We all had a small outing to a place called Hells Gate during our stay in the Rotorau area. This is a collection of thermal water and mud pools that happily bubble away 24/7 - quite an impressive sight, and an outstanding stench of eggs. By now I had learned that it was in fact sulphur causing the unbearable pong, but it did not help. If Hell is half this smelly then I've got some serious praying to get down to...
That day the girls challenged Bhav and I to a maze contest - first team to visit all corners and return through the correct exit were to be deemed world champions. HAHAHAHAHhahaha. Girls. In a maze. HAHAHAHAhahaha. What were they thinking!!?? After suitable AMAZING the girls (get it) Bhav and I carefully showed them where absolutely everything was and how you get there for the rest of the day.
We moved swiftly on to Toupo stopping at the Lady Knox Geyser (Wai-o-tapu).This oversized ant hill shoots water 50 feet into the air at 1015 exactly every morning. A natural mystery it is not however - a thoroughly bearded Kiwi chucks a load of soap suds into the Geyser at 1013 to induce the 30-40 minute eruption. Marie and I decided that marketing foretold the time of eruption as after the hour and a half walk that follows, everyone is ready for lunch and in the coffee shop attached.
On the walk we passed yet even more smelly pools of bubbling mud and water - there was even a dramatic hot water waterfall. Each pool we passed had it's own little story and unique look. Sulphur, silicon, charcoal, cryptonite, photosynthesisene and floroformine give the pools different colours. One large lake was a bright green, another was a luminous yellow - the sort of colour urine turns when you've drunk too much WKD or Aftershock.... or is that just me?
Toupo - I had been fearing this place since the East Coast on Oz. Toupo = Sky Dive.
The fear. . . like never before
Bhav and I have had this planned for a while - Julia was also jumping with us and I looked foward to the constant teasing. Unfortunately my own fear prevented me from enjoying any of it - in fact Julia was probably the most enthusiastic of the three of us (sickening). For the first time in my life I read a book cover to cover. Anything was preferable to reality while we waited for the weather to let us jump. An entire morning and half of the afternoon past before we got the all clear.
BONZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII - the experience is undescribable. Of course from the moment of take off I was quite calm, resigned to the knowledge that the only way down was via.... well, thin air. Bhav had to jump first - poor bugger, he was the one to hang out of the plane the longest. I had the esteemed honour of being last, here is what I did (and what I was thinking)...
walking to the plane (shit - it's that dude with the camera again, try and smile, try and smile. OH JUST PISS OFF WILL YA)
pose for the camera (is that thing taking measurments)
At that moment the roar generated from the planes open door almost turns into silence in comparison. Your whole body is hit by a cold, biting wind - but this is not caused by air hitting you, you are hitting it.
Landing was a doddle, mainly because Tamo did all the work. Tamo was the guy strapped to my back, nice enough bloke - but I could have done without his huge coughing fit just before we jumped. After a quick view of our embarrassing jump video, we got the driver to drop us straight at the pub. Guinness me up landlord...
Julias birthday was looming close now. Mer, B and I had got her present sorted out - but for the record I would like to point out that she did not make it easy. Every time Bhav and I tried to make an excuse to do some shopping she insisted on joining us. At one point she was going out the day before her birthday to buy exactly what we had got her!! We fed her some crap about having to move on quickly and the shops being shut to stop her - but bang went our opportunity to buy the last few things we needed.
In the end though it almost all went to plan. The plan being to get up on the ski slopes of Turora for the day, then have a meal and drink ourselves into puddles that evening. Unfortunately the night before it belted down with snow - I was up all night bunging snowballs at strangers. At one point I got a semi naked girl in the face, 1-0 Chaney. It did not however get her to move her arms from protecting her chest... 1-1.
That morning we woke to blanket snow and closed roads - no skiing today, but the next day was promised to be a right cracker. I think the snowboarders call it Powder. That last sentence will prove to you how little I know about snowboarding, to top it off I have practically no sense of balance. To be honest - I as curious to how I would perform on the slopes.
Julias birthday quickly and quite naturally switched to plan B. Getting drunk all day. We dashed out early to bunged a few more snowballs, put together a snow rendition of Bhavnit and made it back in time for home made pizza and vodka jelly. I even had time to get Marie to taste the snow - a nasty old school trick. Probably banned these days I guess...
In the evening we had Mexican food out - then drank until suitably trollied in a cool bar with an open fire. The main thing I remember is a fight that broke out behind us. It was Forrest Gump'tastic. Someone just walked over and preceded to punch this poor chap as many times as he could in the face before he got pulled of. Apart from that - it's a little blurry.
We're now in Wellington awaiting our (bloody expensive) Ferry to the south island. I'm not confident of getting there however - I've never believed in Ferries.
take it easy, stu...
Hello all - how is everyone?? We have had a very busy week so I thought it was time I updated you all.....ready??!!!
I last wrote from Rotorau, which is an incredibly smelly place due to all the sulphur from the thermal and mud pools. It was a really nice town (hey, it has a Starbucks, so I was happy!!) and we spent a couple of days relaxing there and visiting the nearby thermal "parks". Oh and doing a bit of mountain biking through the forest.....well, let's just say Marie and Stuart did, whilst Bhav and I took the "scenic" route down the road!!!!
Firstly in Rotorua, we went to Hell's Gate - a very spooky place with steam and mist everywhere - you feel like you have stepped onto a sci-fi film set!! It is a collection of thermal water and mud pools that are very impressive, just very smelly indeed!!! They all have odd names like Devil's pool which makes the place even spookier!!!
After our visit there, we stopped at a nearby 3D wooden maze............it was a girls vs. the boys challenge and yes, I am happy to congratulate the boys on their success.........and yes, I did get my just desserts by falling down the steps when looking over the tops of the wooden fence trying to see how to get to one of the turrets. I now have a very attractive green/purple/blue/yellow* (* = delete as appropriate depending on how many days after the event) bruise the size of a small house (no lie) on the side of my leg and a fairly manky graze on my arm. We felt we deserved out trip to Pizza Hut in the evening to eat as much as we could, to make up for our loss/for the boys to gloat!
The next morning we were up early to get to Lady Knox Geyser at Wai-O-Tapu. This looks like a mini volcano, and it shoots water 20 metres into the air at 10.15am every day. Clever you may think, until you find out that they put washing powder in it "to help nature along"!! Apparently there used to be a prison nearby and they found out that washing powder has this effect when washing their clothes in the geyser one day......don't think they had any clothes left by the time they finished experimenting though. Quite an amazing sight though. Afterwards, we went for a walk around the rest of the Wai-O-Tapu area and saw a lot more thermal and mud pools. This time, the chemicals in the ground meant they were coloured.....one waterfall and lake was coloured "spearmint green" (thanks Marie!) due to the collodial sulphur in the ground (yep, I read the leaflet!). The Champagne Pool was coloured orange/pink at the edges due to the gold and silver elements in the water and After the walk, we headed onto Taupo - our sky diving destination!!!
Oh yes, bring it on baby!! I would just like to point out here that whilst I was initially scared, on the actual day we went to jump, Bhav and Stuart were like big wimps and I was the only one well up for it!!! The weather was very windy that day, but eventually at 3pm in the afternoon we got to jump. Mum - do not read this bit..... considering you are jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet, there really is limited safety information. Just tuck your head back, and er, jump.
The jump itself was absolutely amazing........it takes 25 minutes to get to 12,000 feet and once at that height, they open the shutter on the side of the plane and you just fall out. The only scary bit is seeing how fast people fall out of the plane. Bhav was first (!!) and then me and Stuart followed. Firstly, you free fall for 45 seconds and I can honestly say I have never been so cold in all my life!!! It was excellent though!! Then the parachute comes out at about 5,000 feet and you cruise down for another 3 - 4 minutes taking in the pretty amazing view.......and finally make a soft landing - all safe and sound!! We have a video of it, so watch out, I shall be boring you all with it when I come home!!!
We went to the pub in the evening for some much deserved beer drinking.....although it has to be said that for someone that didn't actually do the jump, Marie did an awfully good job of "celebrating", being the most drunk out of all of us and dancing on the tables with some very strange blokes!!!
The next day, we set off for Ohakune, where we were hoping to go skiing. On arrival, it suddenly seemed to turn to 0 degrees C - it was literally freezing!!! We spent the afternoon trying to keep warm and trying to sort out ski's for the next day.
And then it was MONDAY!!! And yep, it was my BIRTHDAY!!! And, hang on a minute....there's snow outside. It's July - that's not right!!!! Unfortunately, there was a blizzard up on the mountain and also avalanche warnings, so we couldn't ski that day, so instead we went to a nearby field and had a snowball fight and made a snowman. Snow on my b'day is something I've definitely never had before!!!
Stuart made us all lunch and then they produced a cake, champagne and chocolate cookies (in addition to the fab NZ rugby t-shirt they bought me - thanks guys!)...what a result!! After lunch, it was all downhill.....we ate ourselves sick on the cake and cookies and then started on the vodka jelly Stuart had made. Somehow, I ended up eating the most due to the dice game we were playing.....hmmm, I think they might have been set me up there!!!! After drinking the champagne, we set off for the pub.......a bit of a trek, but the log fire inside the pub made up for it.
The next day we discovered an excellent hangover cure - get up early and head out to the ski slopes. The snow storms the day before meant the conditions were just right for a day of skiing and snow boarding, so after being kitted out, we headed up Mt Ruapehu to the Turoa ski slopes. I skiied, the others boarded (Stuart's first time and a bit of a natural, I reckon) and we just had a lot of fun going up and down the beginners slope. After lunch, I ventured up the cable car lift to the top of an "easy" run......the ride up was very eerie - there is literally no other sound than the cable car mechanism going round. At one point we stopped and I nearly panicked and fell out. However, once at the top, I managed to get down to the bottom in 8 minutes, with no broken bones, no damage to other human life and no avalanche warnings. And I even went back up to do it all again - nutter!! I had a really good day and think the others enjoyed their boarding too - a great way to end
On Wednesday, we headed off to Wellington (the capital city of NZ)and we arrived to find more rain. We are here for a few days before heading off to the South Island - can't wait to visit the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers and maybe do some climbing - it's all action here!!!
Well, I'll sign off now and let you get on with your working days (hee hee!!). Take care everyone and write soon.
Love,
Dear All,
So its been nearly four weeks in the land of the Kiwi birds and a lots
appened... So get your hearing glasses on, crack open a couple of cold ones
and prepare to be dazzled....
On our flight from Sydney to Auckland we were graced with the presence of the
Ozzie Soocer team, the Socceroo's who were playing New Zealand in the Footie.
Travelling economy class... maybe that why they lost 1-0, like they did in the
Rugby and the Kiwi's have enjoyed rubbing it in.
Auckland as a city has its delights... Like the Sky Tower, the tallest in the
Southern Hemisphere which we climbed (Okay got a lift...) to get an aerial
feel of the city. It look more industrial than some of the other cities down
under but as you peer further over the landscape you get a feel for the true
Kiwi experince... not far into the distance you will see green hills and
mountains.
Anyways We decided to hire a car to see us through our travel in NZ. Arise
Rusty Clank... a shit heap that drink more oil than a fish that drinks water.
Its faults aside it does the job... and off we set up North...
Passing Goat Island (No Goats) and Hen and Chicken Island (No Hens or
Chickens) we ended up in Pahia, set in the Bay of Islands. Here we excperince
the tyipcal Kiwi Hostel... Chilled out, Open fires and spectacular views...
Here Me and Marie met Peter the Jock... He had Mer and I in stiches... and I
truely think it was just the accent. The day after we took a ferry to Russell
(NZ first town). We climed to a lookout to view the Bay of Island. Russell was
also where I experinced Pool Kiwi style. They have some wierd rules where
there are no 2 shots... you can lose a match by just not hitting the black
ball. The crux of the story is that I won... but I havn't got a clue how. With
another World Championship wrapped up it was time to move on ...
Overnight we stayed Kaitai. Stu and I got drinking with a barrell-load of
girls and were quite amused at how drunk they were so early... only to
discover that all of them were barely 16...
The morning after was spent admiring 90 mile beach... its actually only 68
miles long... and in the winter seems to be place for Ragheads to take their
dragsters out on to the beach and do some wicked driving acrobatics...
They have great Public loo's down under. In Rawene, you locked the door... and
perched on the throne and you were greated with sooting Piano music. and when
it comes to the wipe... there were electronic dispencers... Quality!
Having done the North of the North Island we moved south toward Cormandal
Pennisular... Here we took in Thames, Corrmandel before stopping off in Hehei.
We had heard rumours of a Hot Water beach in the Viccinity, where you can
construct your own hot water pool. Bascally you get a spade... get your
kiester down to the beach and start digging, and the hole should start to fill
with thermally, volancally heated water. Stu and I dug like madman for an
hour... and created two massive craters... but they just would not fill. So we
done what any self respecting Men should do... Jumped in one that had been
made earlier. It was awesome. The water was truely hot... in some parts too
hot. We chilled in our pool and watched the sun do down. Hehei also house a
place called Cathedral Cove... I can only summarise that as Picture postcard
stuff.
From Hehei it was on to Stinksville... AKA Rotorua. As soon as you get there,
there is a stench of rotton eggs... (or a really bad gruff). Rotorua is an
area of huge Thermal Activity, which leads to all kinds of Shooting Spouting
Geyser and smelly Steaming pools. Around Rotorua you can visit a number of
themed parks like Hell Gates and Waitopo Wonderland where you walk around,
smell and view differant Craters, pools stemaing awayand smelling like the
night before was Guiness and Curry night. We also saw Lady Know Geyser erupt
at 10.15am... but its so presise because a David Bellamy type person set it
going at that time every day which his magic bag of Daz Automatic....
Rotorua is also a place for cool sporing activity... you can do some Mountain
biking... which we did... and set up contest to see who can find there way out
of Mazes quickest, the boys or the girls... Bascally by the time the girls had
got out of the maze... me and Stu and had been waiting for a while... in fact
the sun had gone down... Vampires had come out to play... and Stu and I had
beards the size of Belguim.
And Taupo...In Febuary a couple of Dutch girls had told me about doing a Sky
Dive here. Apparantly the most popular place in New Zealand to do it... I was
well up for it... But its a differant story when its booked.
The night before the jump a few of the Hellcats at the Hostel challened me to
a Monopoly duel. I was totally out of my league against a fellow Harrow boy,
Sameer.. who thrashed me in the game from Piller to Mayfair. But apparantly
he's done some kind of school project working out the probilties of every
aspect of the game... the sad blighter... (I'll be starting that project when
I get back if anyone wants to sponser me).
They day of the jump was a challening one as the it was cancelled three time
due to heavy winds and me and the loo were intimate partners that day. Stu
seemed to forget about things by reading all day and Jules was annoyingly well
up for it and not wimping it all.
Before we knew we were doing our 25 minute flight to 12,000 feet. By a typical
twist of Fate I was the one to jump first and me and my tandem guy Roy perched
over the edge for what seemed a age.... and then whamo... you are plunging....
at a speed that I don't know. Right into Lake Taupo.. The first thing Roy say
to me when the Chute has opened is... "Welcome to my office"... all I can
think is.... thank the lord that Chute just opened...
Once the Shute kicks in its a gentle decent to the ground. It was a truely
awesome experince (I'll be doing it again one day...) The scariest part is the
second perching over the edge of the place... after that its just a pure rush
with Freefall... and the gentle descent down...
The evening was spent celebrating in Taupo in the Holy Cow pub. Marie who
didn't jump did a great job of celebrating anyways and started some kind of
fisticuff's cherade with a bouncer... I just hid...
After Sky Jumping we moved on the Okuhune, Gateway to Mount Rapehu for Julia
Birthday. Ideal for Sking and Snowboarding, the mountain had erupted only 5 0r
6 years ago... we hoped that it stayed unerupeted for our time there.
Unfortunetely we couldn't hit the slope for Julia birthday (and went the day
after...) so instead we got trashed on Vodka Jelly, Mexican and had a throghly
good night!
From there we arrived like a frieght train in Wellington, the capital for our
ferry over to the South Island... (Bloody Expensive.) Wellington as a capital
City struck me as tiny, but was funky with some cool cafe's and bars. Me, Stu
and Mer went for what seemed like a bargain Curry, until we realised it was
gonna cost us three times what we thought it would... must learn to interpret
per Person correctly. A lot of food was doggie bagged up that night... The Ta
Papu museam in Wellington is really really good... and best of all its free...
Friday was spent drinking in the Fat Ladies Arms... where they had X - Rated
night... Stu and I got concerned when all we could see were loads of old men
and George Micheal being played on the Video Jukebox... but before we knew it
was rammed with load of your girls and me and Stu were smiling again.
Anyways from Wellington the 2 hous ferry crossing (BLOODY EXPENSIVE) took us
to Picton, and we headed for Kaikora. Home for Sperm Whale watching.
Apparantly they frequent the area as its a good place to get some takeaway
grub.... Stu, Julia and I headed off with Maori Comapny of there super speed
jet boats to see if we could spot a few Sperm Whales. We were lucky as we
spotted around 5 of them and a family of Killer Whales Its amazing that a year
ago I couldn't have even imagine myself doing stuff like I have done in the
past nine months (its only stuff you see in on the Discovery Channel) ... but
it is out there. I think I may even watch Free Willy 2 and 3... I loved those
Whales so much!
Onto Franz Josef... Site of one of two Glacier formation in New Zealand , The
other is Fox. You can do hikes up the glacier, and we all did a hike. It was
hard work... Equipped with Ice Axes it felt like we were starring in our own
Verticle Limit movie. The Ice Axes were used for carving steps and walking
along... but too be honest it was just as much fun to vandalise the ice and
carve things like THFC rule...
Jaya our guide gave us advice on correct Ice walking practice... I couldn't
get the hang of any of that and slipped and slided everywhere. But it seems
that I was having a better time of it than Stu, who kept glaring at his feet
and thus losing the correct track and just like the Pied Piper had a heap of
people just following him. Jaya got quite frustrated by it... and I thought it
was a Bloody good larf.
Last night was spend in Arthur Pass, at Motor mouth Jan's place. Mer shaved my
head again but halfway through the Clippers packed up and me strangly having a
Beckham Mohican.. after much Whining Stu turned the power back on and Marie
made me look recpectable again.
So New Zealand... All I can say so far is that I love it. Every day you go
somewhere and just the sights that you see on the way pick you up and send you
into a great mood even if you wern't 100% to start with. The People are
friendly and there is a buggerload to do. There is no Maori/ NZ people tension
here like the Aborigine/Aussie tension in Australia and there just is just a
relaxed chilled out way of life. Today we arrived in Christchurch where we
will stay before hitting Queenstown. Three weeks left in New Zealand before
our Somaon adventure begins. Rusty Clank has had to traded in though... we'll
try and get a new name for a our new Motor tonight over a couple of drinks.
Missing Everyone loads
Lots of Love
Bhav
Hello all - hope everyone is ok. Time for a quick update......
When I last wrote we were in Wellington and we spent a couple of days there seeing the city. We all went to the Te Papa musuem which is one of the largest museums, is free (you'd never get that in Britain!) and modern and hi-tech. There are four floors of exhibits and a lot of info about the volcanic and earthquake properties of NZ....as NZ sits right on top of old volcanoes and bang smack in the middle of two moving contintental plates, it's an erruption waiting to happen. If it can just wait til we've left though, I'd be grateful!!!
On the Saturday, we got the ferry across to Picton - the start of the South Island. Literally as soon as we got off the boat, the weather changed and it was a beautiful sunny day. Since then we've only had 1/2 day of rain here on the South Island, and it's the middle of winter. Yes it's cold (the car iced up last night!!), but not rainy like a British winter.
From the ferry port, we drove to Kaikoura - home of whale watching. This is the best place you can see whales as the waters are brimming with food for them, so Stuart, Bhav and I went on a trip on the Sunday morning. It was another (!!) early start, and despite the weather being good, the sign at the check in point said "conditions today may cause motion sickness". Hmmm, that put my mind at rest - not!! We started on our trip and oh my life, was the sea rough. It didn't look it from the shore, but we were moving up and down and all over the shop......until eventually we saw the first of our sperm whales and the boat stopped, meaning the man-overboard danger stopped!
The sperm whale is absolutely huge and literally just lays on the surface for a while until it decides to dive back down for food. At this point it does it's famous tail flip and sends water splashing everywhere. After spying a few sperm whales, we were lucky enough to see some killer whales - the Free Willy type. These came right up to the boat for us and they were in a group of about 10. They were much more active than the sperm whale, and so I think all my photos will just be there tails going back into the water - too quick for me! It was a really good trip though and I think we all enjoyed it despite the crashing waves!!
After lunch, Marie and I borrowed some bikes from the hostel (which, incidentally had free cakes and sandwiches from the bakery every day in the afternoon....result!), and drove up to the nearby Seal colony. We were really lucky to see a baby seal with about 3 other adult seals and got to within 50 metres of them. We then walked along the clifftop and the scenery was amazing.....the sea was a brilliant blue and you could see more seal colonies on the rocks the further you walked.
On Tuesday we arrived in Franz Josef village - this is where one of the rare Glaciers is - only 3 like it in the world (i.e. you can walk on them) and 2 of them are in NZ. Bhav, Marie and I decided to go for a bit of a walk in the afternoon and after a suggestion from the hostel owner, set off. Hmmmm, seems he must be a bit of a fitness freak, as the walk up was pretty darn steep......the views at the top may well have been excellent, but all our huffing and puffing meant we were more glad to see a seat at the top of the hill, than the views!!
The next day, we went on the Franz Josef Glacier Climb. We set off with the guide and had to walk 45 minutes to even get to the base of the Glacier!! All the while, carrying our spiked boots, wet weather gear and lunch (most important!). The walk there was a hike in itself, with ladders, ropes and rocks all over the shop. At the bottom of the Glacier, we changed into our boots and started the trek up the ice. Yet again the weather was amazing, so we had brilliant views of both the Glacier and the valley it used to cover (only 250 years ago, we couldn't even have stood in the car park as it was covered by the Glacier). The walk up wasn't too bad, but at one point we had to go down to come back up and it was then that I started to get a tad worried about the climb back down. We had ice picks and spiked shoes, but still I could see me breaking bones in my attempt to get back down!! So, after a few hours of climbing, Marie and I decided to go back down with the half day group and leave the boys to carry on up the mountain (fools!!). And yes, I was right - the "walk" back down was every bit as scary as the walk up! But thankfully, we made it down in one piece and spent a leisurely afternoon drinking tea and soaking our muscles in the spa....it's a hard life!!
Once the boys got back from their climb, we headed straight down to the pub for a much deserved beer!!
On Thursday, we drove over to the other famous Glacier - Fox Glacier. Before we got there we stopped at Lake Matheson and walked around it. This lake reflects the peaks of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook in it on a sunny day, and if you've ever seen a picture of lake in NZ with mountains reflected in it, it's a pretty sure bet that it was Lake Matheson. Luckily we had a sunny day and so the reflection was really good.....just like the postcards.
After some lunch, we headed onto Fox Glacier, but after all our activity over the past few days, we just drove to the viewing point. It looked much whiter than the Franz Josef Glacier, but it was pretty similar apart from that.
And so today, we arrived in Christchurch. Tonight we are hitting the pubs to "suss out" the town - well it would be rude not to, it's Saturday!!!
Well, that's all for now - will write again soon.
Take care and write soon.
Love,
Wellington is an enjoyable city, and in a good location. This is
what people tell me anyway - to be honest I stumbled upon an arcade
that had Warcraft3 and did little other than play games and eat
take out food for two days. Those of you reading that are not aware
of what Warcraft3 is all about - you are the lucky ones. I would
tell you, but you will probably buy a copy and then end up failing
exams or loosing your job. All you need to know is that it is an
addictive and very time consuming computer game... Still - at least
they did not have a special on Championship Manager.
The Ferry dropped us off in Picton and after a spot of lunch we
headed down the East coast of the South Island towards Kiakoura.
I digged out the Gameboy and started playing Advanced Wars to calm
my Warcraft craving. This I imagine is about as affective as those
patches you get to quit smoking... It was like exchanging your Ferrari
for a Fiesta and then going for a long drive down an empty road.
Kiakoura is a small town about half way between Picton and Christchurch.
It was a center of activity for whalers in the past - but now instead
of slaughtering the whales, boats head out full of tourists to observe
and take pictures of them. These whales must think we're all nuts!!
We were extremely lucky to get a beautifully clear day and even
though the wind was up it was still ok to head on out with the camera
and binoculars. We soon spotted Top Notch, a sperm whale so called
because of a odd lump on his back. As for sperm whales being called
what sounds like a bad joke, it's because when you crack their heads
open you'll be inundated with large amounts of white goo. Some mindless
idiot way back thought this must have something to do with the animals
reproductive system and hence named them sperm whales. Apparently
storing your luv fluids inside your head was considered quite normal
back then, whether male or female...
Top Notch was raising his tail and then slamming it down hard on
the water - not looking to pleased about something. The boat we
were on was just meters away so with any luck I'll have some good
pictures to paste in here soon. He carried on for about 10 to 15
minutes before eventually diving, this would be the last we would
see of him for a while as he can hold his breath for the better part of an hour!!..
A family or Orcas (Killer Whales) also graced us with their presence
for quite some time, swimming around and under the boat. I think
there was five of them, one being huge and another just about a
meter long. As they were around, we did not see any dolphins - but
there was a few seals splashing about nearer shore. Between spotting
whales a chap sat at the front of the boat educated us with the
use of some very cool computer equipment. He showed us a graphical
representation of the bay which was true to life. A 3D model of
our boat was zooming around the screen as we zoomed around the bay
in a conveniently real boat. This got me thinking about Warcraft
again - soon I was shivering, cross eyed and saying "jobs done", over and over...
After Kiakoura we moved on to Greymouth and then down to the Franz
Josef Glacier. Bhav and I took a guided walk up the glacier. Mr
Jones would be proud of me - I remember bits and pieces of what
he taught me at school in those long Geography leasons, but I never
imagined that I would actually get to climb one. This glacier is
one huge slab of ice that can move up to 2 meters in one day!! It
has calved out a valley between two mountains which cross a fault
line and widens as it nears the sea. The fault line has opened up
huge cracks in the earth between the Australian Indian plate and
the Pacific Plate - therefore you have to watch your step while
walking or you may up on your own journey to the center of the earth...
Looking at the sides of the valley you can pick out where the ice
has been years ago from where the vegetation starts to grow thicker.
The fault lines are easy to spot all the way up the mountains as
waterfalls hundreds of feet high flow down into the valley below.
Our guide gave the group the lowdown on how to avoid sliding back
down to the terminal face by making use of our spiked boots and
ice pick axe. We would have looked very cool if it were not for
the waterproof trousers - still, Bhav and I managed to get a couple
of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon style fights going...
Full Size Version of Bhav getting his foot stuck under a boulder of ice... (hehe)
The walk itself was not as energy zapping as I thought it would
be. The mental stress of placing and stamping down every footstep
on the 6 hour hike was a far greater worry. It was not long before
I had figured out to avoid standing on the blue ice - and jumping
was right out of the question. At some points we were walking through
gaps no wider than myself and at other points we would be able to
see the entire valley beneath us. Bhav, not being the most adept
walker in normal circumstances, was at one point hanging on only
by the wrist strap which attached him to his pick axe. Fortunately
he had managed to get the axe deep enough into the ice before taking
the hard and slippery ride home.
We got talking to a couple of Irish girls on the trek - Suzanne
and Sue. After a while we figured out that Sue had in fact graduated
from the same university as us, at the same time. Another travelling
coincidence to add to our ever growing list - we also figured out
that she would have served us our beers while we were drinking in
the union during the first year. You would have thought with the
amount of time we spent in the place we would have recognised her,
but it was 7 or 8 years ago... (dam!!!)
After a few drinks with our new friends and a good kip we took a
trip out to Fox Glacier about 20 kms south of Franz Josef. There
we walked round lake Lake Matheson which sits happily at the base
of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook. We also took a sneaky peep at the glacier
- but with no real inspiration to climb another one. Although my
muscles were fine, my feet were not. Somehow I had managed to cut
them while getting into the spa after our Captain Scott style trek. Idiot...
Julia has to fly out of Christchurch on the 30th, she is very excited
about seeing Mum again - she's been dancing round and grinning all
week. To get her on the plane in time we started heading to Christchurch
via Arthurs Pass. In the middle of New Zealands South island there
is nothing but huge mountains - to get from East to West or West
to East you must drive round or take this road. Arthurs pass is
a small village in the middle of the mountains that offers some
great tramping and has a near by ski slope. To get there we drove
so far up that we eventually ended up in the clouds!! This made
the place perhaps one of the coldest we have ever stopped at, but
fortunately our lodge had a nice open fire to sit round. The next
days journey was a little scarey at first, icey roads leading down
steep slopes with a cliff edge to the left and falling rocks on
the right. There was of course the obligatory Kiwi driver two feet
away from our rear bumper for a lot of the time... Our car was
also making a worse noise than normal after being thrashed up the
slopes the previous day, burning oil and starting to stall in the cold...
During our stay in the village Julia and I took a walk out to the
Devils Punchbowl Falls - quite a steep and rocky walk, but definitely
worth it. The falls were huge and surrounded by thick forest - the
forests trees housed many birds including the curious Kray. New
Zealands unique wildlife is mostly made up of birds - and when walking
anywhere around trees you can here all kinds or weird and crazy
songs. You would not believe the noises these things can make!!
Funny how it sounds quite therapeutic to the human ear, but in bird
talk it afflictively, "OI - this is my tree, so sod off". Or at
certain times of the year, "Check out the feathers on that bird!
Hello sweet thang, fancy getting down and jiggy?".
Bhav was in a bored mood - from discovering there was no TV and
nothing to do in town which didn't involved exercise there was no
cheering him up. I thought I would brighten up his mood by flipping
the fuse switch to the plugs Marie was currently using to shave
his head - for some reason Bhav didn't laugh...? He was left with
a fetching Mr T haircut, all he needed was 10kg of gold hung round
his neck to finish the look off... shutup fool, aint paying for no haircut!
We're now in Christchurch... Last night we checked out the cities
pubs and taught a few bar maids what a Harvey Wallbanger was. I
was most upset when returning to find the kitchen was shut (my turn
for a strop) - entirely the hostels fault that I did not get up
until noon due to a nasty hangover... We were celebrating the last
few nights with Julia by giving here the traditional drinking send
off, and this has got me thinking about home again. I have no idea
what to do when I get back and that is something to mull over during
the next few months. It definitely feels like we are on the home
leg of our journey now - a few weeks here, a couple in Samoa and
then the long drive home across the States. No rest for the wicked
- oh, apart from the sun drenched beaches of Samoa... (hehe)
bye bye - stu...
~ Three Green Bottles Sitting on the Wall -stu ~
The time had come for Julia to finally take the long ride home.
We dropped her off at Christchurch airport in our nice shinny new
car, watched her walk through customs and out of our travels. It
was a sad moment, but we knew that it was what Jools really wanted...
Just before she walked across the point of no return she handed
me a note, which I read aloud to the others. It was a nice farewell
note and came lovingly with a large bag of M&Ms, but the last few
sentences gave up all of Julias world Championships (including the
rare 10 pin Bowling WC) - Marie was now the lucky owner. Of course,
Bhav and Marie were arguing like school children the second I finished
the note. I could not help thinking Julia had done that on purpose... (-did you??)
We left Christchurch after dropping Julia off and headed for Dunedin.
An old town apparently with strong Scottish ties and a healthy University
student population - this of course means cheap booze and food!!
Dunedin is the Celtic word for Edingbrough and the place is pretty
dam cold - I could not see any other indication of any links to
Scotland, but what more do you need. It was a long and fairly boring
drive compared to most of the other journeys in New Zealand. This
may have been because our new wheels had one less passenger giving
a strange feel to the car, but I think it was probably because Bhav
and Marie were bitching on at each other about World Championship
stipulations. We managed to swap the car in Christchurch the day
before as the old one was making a terrible noise and drinking oil.
Now we have a new Toyota Corolla with central locking and electric
windows!! - travelling in style...
I'm not sure if the world championship thing has ever been fully
explained. Bhav is the guru on the rules and regulations of all
games played during our travels, and at times I have been declared
Yatzee or Chicago poker world champion. The other night I did manage
to secure the crazy golf WC in incredible style and grace! There
is a strong suspicion shared by myself and the girls that B makes
these rules up as he goes along, but speaking to the man on the
subject would have you believing that there is a giant stone alter
upon which the rules are permanently engraved - complete with human
guard and sophisticated 24 hour laser activated protection system.
We stopped at Shag Point just before getting into Dunedin. Guess
what - we did not see any shagging, but I have learnt not to put
any faith into New Zealand place names now... What we did get to
see however was some wild seals close up. I managed to creep up
within spitting distance of one lounging around on a rock. Slappy
caught site or smell of me though and I had to stop before he/she
swam off. Once it got used to me however it did not seem quite as
worried and allowed me to slowly continue my approach. Unfortunately
there was no way to get on the same rock as the sea was very rough
and I don't believe any seals would bother rescuing a dum tourist... That's purely a dolphins job.
Another resident of Shag Point was yellow bellied penguins - but
we did not see any close up. There are a few more spots to catch
site of the coolest of all birds (yes, even cooler than ducks),
and hopefully we'll have more success there.
We picked a place to kip down in Dunedin out of the Lonely Scaremonger
- a old hospital turned hostel. Good rooms and facilities but totally
haunted - there was even a separate guest book for reporting spooky
encounters. One entry described how an English girl got thrown out
of bed twice during one night by a mysterious force in room 10.
Of course we had not read this before being checked into room 10,
Marie instantly started to brick it... (so did I) Honestly - the
place was creepy, but Zak the cat was always kept close by to give
us pre-warning of any ghostly presence.
We spent a couple of nights in the town which we soon learned was
home to the Speights brewery. Speights is one of the better beers
I've tasted in New Zealand, and we found a cool little cafe that
served up handles (about 3/4 pint) for around 3 dollars - which is less than a quid!
After a couple of nights of trying to relax in our old hospital
beds we moved on towards The Catlins. This is right down south,
not a lot of people - but a hell of a lot of sheep. They were everywhere,
as we drove down the "Scenic Southern Route" towards Te Anau the
landscape looked like it had a bad case of dandruff. There was the
odd concentrated spot of soon to be slaughtered sheep stood in the
mud surrounded by a red marked fence. Occasionally you would see
a few walking down the road as if trying to hitch a lift out of
there - I guess after a while at least a few of them would figure it out.
We had two main stops while traveling round the south, one was in
an old farm cabin, the other was at a camp site in Manapouri. The
first section of our journey took us round the Dunedin peninsula
where we had another failed penguin spotting experience but caught
some great views none the less. We stopped at a couple of short
walks leading into the forests waterfalls. These were beautiful
and the trees were buzzing with bird life, but unfortunately the
plant life were so thick none of my pictures have come out.
The farm cabin was just funny - it was like camping out in Liz (our
old van, RIP). No running water, a long very dark walk to the toilet
facilities, animals roaming around everywhere and more drafts than
you can shake a whole tree at. We had another character staying
with us that night - Danny mark 2. Danny is my Parents cat at home
in High Wycombe and there can't be too many cats like him - but
this one not only looked like Dan, but had the personality to match as well.
I don't know why, but Bhav must give off fear vibes or something.
Both this cat and Dan can sense that he is uneasy around animals
and therefore proceeds to terrorise him all night. It was hilarious
to watch, especially when B was trying to pour a saucer of milk
- never have I seen such an original rendition of the River Dance,
complete with squealing and bouts of swearing...
The second leg took us to Manapouri., on the way we took a walk
to Jacks Blowhole. An hour walk through very English looking fields
(full of sheep) rewards you with a huge hole that interconnects
with the sea. It may sound silly - but it was very impressive. The
sea shore appears to be a good kilometer away, yet there is this
huge section of earth missing that has waves crashing into it every
few seconds. Jack must have had quite a shock when he stumbled upon
this as the whole of it is very well camouflaged. I just hope he's not still down there...
Manapouri was a very picturesque place situated right next to a
giant lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. We spent the night
in the "Dolls House" at a camp site. A strange two floor cabin that
looks like a miniature house from the outside, and was on the inside
also! Everything you need, just enough room - it was great. It even
had a fake chimney you could climb up and check out the lake views from...
Our trip on the Southern Scenic Route ended in Te Anau, touted as
a mini Queenstown - it was nothing like it. We only used this as
a base for one night before heading up to Milford Sounds in the
Fjord lands. Nothing wrong with the place - it was just dead, probably kicks off during the Summer...
Milford Sounds is a 90 minute hard drive literally through the mountains.
Before you leave you must check to see if you need snow chains and
what the avalanche forecast says. We were lucky - it had rained
in the morning before brightening up into clear blue skies for our
trip. This is especially lucky because Milford gets 11 meters of
rain a year - that's more than the Isle of White! The road took
us via a 1.2km tunnel that cuts through a mountain, very steeply.
The road followed the river all the way into Milford stopping to
take in the views whenever the Avalanche zones ended...
We took a boat ride out into the Tasman sea and back again. The
Fjord is a huge valley that has been cut out by a glacier 10s of
thousands of years ago. Along the edges you can see where different
glaciers have cut through the rock and the scars they have left
from the boulders that came down with them. Rain forest grows on
all of the mountain sides giving a possibility of not only a snow
avalanche but a tree one as well. Fresh water falls from spectacular
heights down into the sea and our boat maneuvered into a cove where
one was smashing down on the water. Doing this gave us a much better
idea of the sheer size of what we were looking at - it seemed that
the valley walls were only a short swim away. They were in fact
about a kilometer away and upon the rocks where the water meets
the cliffs you can find seals and penguins coming in to mate or
feed. Again, I did not see any penguins!! I'm beginning to wonder
if it's all a big roes to bring in the visitors by the New Zealand to
urist board.
Currently I'm in Queenstown - it was our next stop after Milford.
This place is certainly one I could spend a lot of time in. We have
already been here as long as anywhere else in New Zealand and we're
planning on staying a little longer. It is the home of Adrenaline
Sports - the Bungy was born here, you can sky dive, Luge, hand glide,
hop scotch, fly a jet thingy, white water raft, jet boat... the list is never ending.
Bhav and I are trying to persuade Marie to try a bungy jump out.
She is considering a 47 meter ledge jump from just above town -
but B and I decided, if you're guna jump you might as well take
the 132 meter Nevis plunge from a cable car. Why we think this I
can not say - perhaps we have just lost all of our senses. Not sure
if I'm looking forward to this or not - it always seems like a good
idea when I'm drunk. Perhaps that's the key - just get smashed before I go...
Bhav, Marie and I tried out the street Luge the other day and I'm
happy to say that I Michael Schmachered it all the way. World Champion
Luge goes to Chaney!! World Champion of spectacular crashes does
however go to Bhav (who else). The poor guy is having a bad few
days of it, something Steve (Dumass) can relate to...
After our serious safety talk that showed us how to steer, brake
and place the cart in park we tried out the scenic run. Marie got
off to a good start but I was always catching her. Somehow she slipped
past a kid and finished in first place as I hit her traffic. B came
in an unhealthy third appearing to struggle with the controls...
The second round we took the scenic route again and we all got off
to another great start. Bhav was in front until the first bend where
he mysteriously vanished from my view. After this first bend I realised
that my brakes were as useless as Andy Cole in a penalty shoot out
- soon I was coming up to a bend without way of slowing! Fortunately
Marie was just ahead, so I used her... As she went crashing out
my Schumey tactics paid off in double - my legs had become dislodged
in the contact and I realised that it was them that was blocking
my brake bar. I coasted home to an easy win with my legs dangling
out of the sides, Marie managed to limp in second and Bhav somehow
smashed into a wall and hurt his finger.
Round three meant the fast run - or black run in ski banter. I picked
out a cart where my legs would not block the brakes and we all lined
up. GO!! I got off to a flier and left the others in my dust (or
flakes of ice). It did get a bit risky for a few moments as I aired
my cart - fortunately it's quite hard to roll the things and after
a few wobbles I was back on track.
Round four and Bhav this time took the lead. He obviously had a
new tactic as there was no catching him... After the second bend
Bhav was a good 5 meters ahead of myself and Marie was close behind.
It was then we found out what Bhavs new Tactic was, suicide... He
went down the 45 degree slope that leads into a hairpin at the breakneck
speed (where I had previously aired my cart) - he almost did just
that!! Straight into the barrier he must have been propelled at
least 2 meters into the air before bouncing off the wall himself
and rolling into the middle of the race track. Mer and I drifted
passed him watching the different expressions of pain crossing his
face before taking the number one and two spots. Bhav was left to
dodge the string of Japanese tourists that were just behind us...
Oh how I wish I could have seen that.
So the final round was delayed for a quick stewards inquiry into
what went wrong. Eventually concluded was that Bhav had not paid
the slightest bit of attention during our safety talk and had in
fact been using park instead of the brake. This had the unfortunate
affect of locking the wheels rather than slowing them - case closed. Verdict - stupidity.
That's about it for now - I'm just about to grab a Subway before
booking this insane bungy jump (if it's not to expensive). If you
want to see more have a look at :
http://www.ajhackett.com/nevis.htm
Last night I was out partying with a group of friends we've been
drinking a lot with in Queenstown. It was Sams birthday and we had
a large amount of Cosmic Teapots - I did not feel so bloody cosmic
this morning but it was an excellent night out. If I'm able to bend
Bhavs arm into developing one of his camera films you might see some pictures .
take care all of you - stu...
Well the lads have done a storming job of updating you on our comings and
goings, but especially now that Julia has left I feel that I should give you
a lady's (or in this case my) version of our adventures.
We arrived in Queenstown early last week and I think we all immediately
decided that we would be staying for more than a few days. Our first
afternoon was spent sat out in the sunshine of the beer garden of the local
Irish bar, where we pondered what daring stunts we were about let ourselves
in for.
I chose to do the rather tame jet boating which was good, but i hadn't
ventured on quite how cold it was gonna be, and when it came to getting out
of the boat, I managed a pretty undignified waddle not disimilar to a
demented duck, anyway in order to defrost my joints a quick return trip to
the Irish bar was in order.
The luging at the top of the Gondola was great fun and not as easy as any of
us imagined it to be, I think Bhav can vouch for this after his spectacular
crash and roll half way down. Stuart came out World Champion of both the
luging and the mini golf that we'd played the night before, so me Bhav were
left pondering how our tactics could be improved to ensure that a double
victory such as this could not happen again.
Coming to Queenstown, it seems to be almost compulsory to a bungy of sorts,
(I can say this now that I have done one). The boys put on their brave boots
and opted to do the Nevis (the biggest one in NZ at just over 130 metres
high), the bus journey to the site was pretty amazing in itself, and I don't
think the boys had realised quite what they had let themselves in for until
they looked out at the cable car stranded half way across a revine,
fortunately (or not) it wasn't even possible to see the bottom of the valley
from the top where we were stood.
Still, both the boys did us proud and from where i was stood it seems that
they had no hesitation in their jumps whatsoever, and both lived to tell the
tale (which i am sure they will tell time and time again). The afternoon was
spent with me deciding "shall i or shan't i", after a couple of persuasive
beers at one of the local bars I decided to do the Ledge Sky Swing (a kind
of bungy crossed with a giant high swing), the lads decided to give me some
moral support by doing the ledge jump as well. I decided to do it at night
as i figured the less i'd see the better. On the cable car in the way I had
serious doubts but was coached through them by my trusty co-jumpers - thanks
guys.
I was the last to jump and it involved being suspended in a harness for a
half a minute, 45m above the ground whilst the bungy guy explained what
strings i had to pull and ropes i had to attach, (and believe me I double
checked a fair few times), I finally made the fall of faith, with my eyes
closed and screaming like a witch.
With all of us having finally done a bungy (of sorts), we spent the evening
in the bar celebrating our survival and reliving all the moments, that was
until the alchohol had made those previous moments kind of blurry in our
memories, as so we just drank for the sake of it..
We've now left Queenstown and are heading back up North, after a stop in a
pretty non-descript place called Hasst, we made our way up to the Pancake
Rocks, and were ready and waiting the next day when the mighty blowholes
erupted at lunchtime and performed for about 20 minutes. We are now in
Nelson and are catching the ferry over to Wellington tonight, where we've
got a few days to get back up to Auckland.
Hope that all is well back in Blighty, and hi to everyone.
Well, it's nearly two weeks now since I've been home and I can't believe how
quickly it's gone. Trying to catch up with everyone here at home has kept
me pretty busy, but I've still managed to find time to go out for a few
beers!!
I flew home from New Zealand on 30th July and I have to say, the flight was
pretty much as bad as I imagined. 3 take off and landings, 24 hours in
the air, one sick child, leaks springing from the overhead baggage
compartments and a request for a medically qualified person in the middle of
the night, over the tannoy. I'm definitely going first class next time!! We
did have cool game consoles and mini Magnums for dessert though, so there
were some consolations!!
Arrived home to see my Mum beaming at me from the Arrivals gate and then
nearly flooding the place with her tears. Mum and Dad were the only people
who knew I was coming home, so after seeing them, we made a mad dash back to
Luton to catch my sister before she went to work. As we drove up to her
house, she spied me and again, there were more tears!! The look on her face
(and the hug I got) were totally worth making it all a surprise.
I spent the rest of the week basking in home comforts 2 (yes, TWO!!!!)
towels in the shower instead of one (normally damp, as it hasn't dried
properly from the day before!).a luxury menu (something other than pasta,
onion and carrot)E.a whole wardrobe to choose what to wear from (rather
than whatever was at the top of my rucksack)oh the joy of living in a
house again!!
Since getting home, everyones first words to me have been what are you
doing here?! rather than nice to see you!! That could be something to
do with the fact I have taken to just turning up on peoples doorsteps and
giving them the fright of their life, but it's been good fun! I still
haven't managed to see everyone since getting home it's a full time job
trying to meet up with everyone again! but I'm getting there. It's really
good to see all my old friends and family again. I sometimes can't believe
I was away for 8 months as everything seems so normal here. But then again,
a lot of things have changed (like my sister has a large bump in her
stomach!) so Im still getting used to all that. I miss the other three
loads but hope they are still having a whale of a time. It will be weird to
sit here and read their updates when I know I was with them only a month
ago!!
Well, this is my last update for the website (www.roadtrip2001.net), so
thanks to everyone for reading about my adventures and look forward to
catching up with you all soon. Colonial/Karyn/Sherry - make you sure you
keep in touch!
Bye!
JULIAx
P.S. In response to Stuarts last update, I'd just like to say that yes, I
did give all my world championships to Marie on purpose (sorry mate!). The
thought of Bhav having a near hernia trying to win them all back is making
me laugh even now!!!
The body is a complex thing, chemical reactions generated by the
brain can bring on a variety of feelings and emotions. These reactions
are triggered mainly by either our senses, memories or instinct.
Our senses can tell us when there is danger and generate the emotion
of fear. Fear in turn pumps the body with adrenalin that heightens
the senses and increases strength and awareness. Memories build
our lives, the more you have the older you are. They can produce
emotions and assist our instincts into making correct assumptions.
Our instincts, however dulled by modern day life, are still very
much alive. Instinct allows you to make decisions based on a gut
feeling and can, like memories, produce emotions that are appropriate for any given moment.
So why the bloody hell did Bhav and I spend 160 dollars on the longest
bungy jump open in New Zealand? Who knows - but we did. We eventually
drank enough booze and made the decision, Marie who was having none
of the idea booked in as a spectator.
We awoke the next day, realised what we had done and spent the next
few hours in preparation on the toilet. When the time came we made
our way down to the A J Hacket office in the center of Queenstown.
A short queue of nervous backpackers and holiday makers were standing
in line ahead of the scales - each person waiting to be branded
with there weight on one hand and some sort of evil code on the
other. After everyone had made use of the toilet, we eventually
jumped aboard a 4wd minibus that was taking us to Nevis - the mother of all jumps.
A very quiet 45 minute smooth drive to the jump site soon became
a bouncy uphill fair ground ride as we neared Nasty Nevis. The 25
strong group strolled over to the cliff edge next to where the thick
steel cables where bolted into the face. The drop was so immense
you could not actually see the bottom and the cable car from where
we were to jump from was also a good distance away - everyone formed
another queue outside the toilet before putting on the harnesses.
Weight determined the order of the jumpers - but a group of girls
wanted to watch their friend jump so lot number one was winched
out to the cable car with them and Bhav included. The rest of us
watched from the viewing platform as the first bloke jumped - unfortunately
the harnesses we were waring prevented any more mental preparations being done in the toilet.
When I arrived at the cable car with my group Bhav was sitting in
the chair of doom being strapped up. He looked nervous, but resigned
to his fate at the same time. The chair looked like the one off
of mastermind and had a video camera pointed at it beaming live
pictures back to base where Marie was watching - unbeknownst to
us. After a few minutes of pulling up the previous victim, and a
fair few muttered swear words from B - he took the undignified waddle
to the jump platform, limp with fear. 5 4 3 2 1 - he was gone, no
pause, no begging for mercy.... he just jumped. The pressure was now on me to hold my nerve.
Bhav soured through the air with grace, it felt like an age before
he was back in the cable car - but when he arrived he was happy
to be alive, and shivering. Watching him jump doubly brought home
what I had to do soon after and now I could now see the river on
the distant valley floor. Everyone who jumped came up shaking -
probably a mild form of shock mixed with the freezing wind. The
jump master pulled Bhav in like a piece of frozen meat at the butchers
- B could not release the cord that swings you from the bungy dive
position to a nice comfy sitting one. The poor guy had been left
dangling upside down the entire time. That is as white as I have
ever seen Bhav - but fair play. It is a bloody long way down.
My jump did not come around for ages - I watched jumper and jumper
and heard scream after scream before my turn arrived. Since travelling
I have lost quite a bit of weight which meant I was the last bloke
to dive, even the East Asian guy went before me. The screams where
like nothing I have ever heard, they were of sheer mortal terror
- the involuntary release of noise caused by extreme shock.
As silly as it sounds, my stomach turns just thinking about this
next part. I took my place in the chair and decided the only way
I was going to get through this was to get angry with it. Growling
I lunged towards the jump platform determine to throw my self off,
there was nothing else in my mind.
This is where my plan fell apart - standing there with my arms outstretched
my mind just emptied completely. A picture was taken of me at this
point and I'm in some sort of weird trance. The jump master started
counting, my entire stomach knotted up and all of my muscles tensed.
5
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... and I leapt into the air like a salmon swimming upstream. There
was a thunderous noise of air rushing past my ears and the ground
was speeding towards me - it was easy to forget about the thick
bungy rope attached to my feet. 8.4 seconds later the latex cord
pulls at my ankles and sends me rocketing back up towards the cable
car - the ground rushes away and I suddenly realised how bloody
cold it was. A second was spent almost motionless in mid air before
I plummeted back down, now I was really enjoying myself. Another
bounce and I released the self righting cord to swing myself upright.
Taking a moment to wave at who I hope was Marie, I just took in
the views for a while and relaxed... Soon I was back up in the cable
car feeling like I could do it again - which I did, that evening...
Marie had to listen to Bhav and I prattle on and on about jumping
and eventually it must have got to her. She started thinking about
the Ledge Bungy, it was 47 meters and you could do it in a swing
harness. All you need to do is pull a cord, sit tight and go for
a ride - this sounds a little easier than throwing yourself off
to Marie... Bhav and I saw that she was pondering and jumped into
action (get it). We agreed that we would do the standard bungy with
her and then hassled Mer into the nearest pub to get some beers
down her. A few jugs of beer later we're in the Hackett office booking
the night jump for that evening.
The ledge is 400 meters above Queenstown and there is a 10 minute
cable car ride to the top. It was pitch black by the time we got
to the top and Marie started bricking it quite badly in the cable
car once she got a glimpse of the jump site. Bhav and I again exchanged
a glance and jumped in with reassuring comments and pats on the
back - another job well done as the tension seemed to ease once
the bungy ropes were out of site. As we waited on Maries metal preparation
outside the ladies toilet Bhav reminded me that we actually have
to jump as well. With all this focus on Marie I had forgot my mental
preparation and there was no more time!
Sam met us at the viewing point and took some pictures for us as
we relived the jump horror. Honestly it was a lot easier the second
time, a combination of having done it before, the darkness and the
shorter jump made it almost easy. Marie was the last to jump, we
all watched as she was strapped into her harness and dangled over
the edge. She looked the picture of calm and out of nowhere just
pulled the cord - a tremendous shriek that could have woken the
dead echoed its way through Queenstown. It would not surprise me
is people at the bottom of the cable car heard, thought sod that, and went back home...
Marie seemed a little rattled afterwards, but after a few beers
we had all made our piece with gravity. Apparently there is a 300
meter jump in Colorado being built - stupidly we made a pact to
do it if it was finished by the time we get there. Something to look forward too...
That was our last night in Queenstown - we've been moving back up
North towards Auckland ever since. On the way I plan to stop at
the Waitomo caves and try my hand at some caving - they have these
strange glow worm things which I just have to see...
Take it Easy,
So, after the bungy jumping we had to move on. Our Ferry to the North Island was leaving on the 13th and we had to catch that or face the huge cost of booking another one. We decided on a route up the West Coast, through a small nothing town called Hast, back past the glaciers and up towards Nelson. Not a lot to report to be honest as we were mostly driving through each day. The only things to note really is a Puzzle World and the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki
Stuart Landsborough created puzzle World and this guy has more sandwiches in his picnic basket than the average Jo, Billy or Susan. A small fee got us entry into a frustrating maze and a building full of optical illusions and other strange oddities It was a good laugh but it does have to be noted that Marie stole the World Championship Maze Navigation from Bhav and I although I have my doubts it was totally legit as she has not rubbed it in one bit yet
The Pancake Rocks are another one of these interesting rock formations created by the sea eroding away at the land but this one remains a mystery. No one can come up with a provable theory as to why the rocks around the 20 or so minute walk from Punakaiki have the appearance of stacked pancakes. The sea dramatically blows through holes in the rocks at high tide creating quite a noise as it appears to erupt. While we were there the wind was up therefore making the sea extremely rough that night I though I would take a drunken walk down onto the beach from our hostel. Not a good idea, in the pitch dark I somehow managed to tumble head over heals down into the sand not realising there was a rather sizable drop before getting down onto the beach.
We stayed in a place called Nelson the night before the crossing, a great place to be during the summer as it has some spectacular beaches to relax on but during the winter the place is quite dull. After Wellington we moved back up to Wanganui and then onto Waitomo to see the caves.
Bhav and Marie were not fussed about seeing the glowworms and definitely did not sound up for any rock climbing or wading through freezing water for some strange reason. I love caves and could not wait to get stuck in. For 85 NZ bux I signed up for a black water rafting trip which basically included a short absail and rock climb, some black water rafting and a visit to the glow worm cave.
In a group of six, we got carted off to a section of farmland that was owned by a local. We got kitted up in some smelly wet suits, some fetching white wellies and a homemade hardhat. Yes - we looked like evil henchmen out of an old James Bond Movie. The absail down was easy enough a rope is thread through a harness and you use your thumb against a sort of clasp type contraption to control your decent. In turn we all dropped down into the fast running black water and in turn we all started moaning about how cold it was. I have no idea what the point in the wellies were as the water was up to my waist in places, completely filling the boots and making walking very difficult. There was no way of knowing if your next step would be on your level, 3 foot deeper or 3 foot higher and for 20 or so minutes we all stumbled our way up stream into the darkness.
When we eventually got to an opening we all sat down on our big lorry inner tubs and turned off our hat lights. The cave ceiling had small green glowing specs dotted all over glow worms! They are in fact a type of maggot that hangs down strands of err, sticky stuff. They then get busy glowing to attract insects trying to escape the cave once an insect is stuck the maggot puts the kettle on and lays the table. Just after our guide explained all this to us in the eerie darkness he must have slammed his inner tube down hard on the water creating an ear-shattering boom. The American and Australian girls only stopped screaming once they realised that the whole cave had now lit up like the Milky Way above us. It was quite a shock to see so many maggots there were up there, I quickly stopped gorping at them and shut my mouth.
Once we had finished trying to spot the fattest worm we switched on our helmet lights and jumped into the river on our tubes. We had about an hour of fun shooting down the stream, around the small rapids bouncing of the wall and each other. Two tubes where burst and one wellington boot was lost, but fortunately these were the only casualties. Our rock climb to the top was easy enough for me, after the bungy jumping I have no fear of heights what so ever. This probably played a small part in me falling off of that ledge a few days earlier I must stop that before I get drunk and decide to just walk off a cliff.
The day after we moved onto a university city called Hamilton and then to Auckland where I am now currently typing away at this PC. We fly out on Tuesday evening to Fiji before catching a connecting flight to Samoa where we are to spend two weeks before returning to Fiji. During our stay Bhav will have the esteemed pleasure of spending his birthday in a tropical paradise bring on the cocktails and hulas. After a day in the Fijian capital we are off to LA where my parents, my sister and Bob the boozer will be joining us for a week or so (old school chum, Hi everyone!!!). Itll be my Birthday when we reach Las Vegas and its going to be a storm. We are all booked into Circus Circus, the biggest hotel in the world that sports its own giant casino and theme park. BRING IT ON.
Last night I met up with Chris Hollard and his brother. I worked with Chris before leaving the UK and it was great to catch up with him again. Chris met us in the Globe bar next to our hostel by which time Bhav and I had a few drinks and were pleasantly enjoying the evening. Marie had downed the better half of a bottle of Vodka and could not stop asking everyone about Hitlers Dog. The Skippy snap strikes again, at eight thirty! Later in the evening she became strangely obsessed over a portable radio we picked up free with a Pizza in Hamilton the girl had gone nuts. Just to top it all off, she did not have any hint of a hangover - yet I woke up feeling like I had swallowed a cactus.
This may well be the last update for some time as I doubt Samoa will have any internet cafes. As of Tuesday I will also be without the trusty mobile phone which also acts as my watch, calendar and alarm clock. Its going to be hard enough trying to figure out all this date line nonsense without constantly having to ask everyone the date and time (we arrive in Samoa before we even leave!!??) but once all these flights are out of the way time matters not again.
Anyway I must dash to the shop now so I can pick up some Strepsils before they close. Chris cheers for an excellent night out, stay in touch!
Take it easy stu.
Hello all,
In Christchurch, it finally came to saying good-bye to Julia. She had been
with us for eight months, and for all of us it was a sad moment when she
boarded the plane for the long journey home. This left Stu, Marie and myself
to continue on to parts unknown for the rest of travels. Jules... you will be
sorely missed... See you soon!
Parts Unknown started with Dunedin. Student Capital of New Zealand, and home
of the Cadbury's Factory and Speights Beers. On the long drive up we stopped
at Shag Point... Unfortunately there was no shagging here... just Seal
frolicking in the sea... pretty cool too. We saw one that seemed to be close
to giving birth... we waited and stared and then realised that all it was
doing was breathing... Budding Steve Irwin's we are not....
In Dunedin we stayed in a Converted Hospital. It seemed to have a haunted feel
and after conversations with Marie and Stuart I started to feel a little
uneasy in the place... there were reported ghost sighting in the Guest book...
luckily the Arc Cafe was close by, and at $3 a pint we spent a lot of our time
in there.
From Dunedin we drove along the Otago Peninsular taking in the views on the
Fantastically beautiful land we have been traveling. After a while you really
start to take New Zealand beauty for granted. You travel and travel and all
the time you see scenery that is simply breathtaking... unfortunately its a
victim of its own high standards, as after a few weeks you do become immune to
it. Not a bad thing... I'd rather be driving the Kiwi roads than the stuck on
the M25.
On the way to our night stop we took in Jack Blowholes..., which involved
traipsing up a hill and avoiding some of 44 millions sheep that reside in New
Zealand. Cute things sheep... especially when they run away from you... if
only they knew of my own fear of all things animal. Later that evening we went
to Nugget Point to view Penguins. Unfortunately there were none about... and
with our time in New Zealand at an end it seems that we have missed out on
that front.
That evening we stayed in Papalowai. We were looked after by Farmer Giles who
seemed to be a few sandwiches short of picnic. In the morning we took in two
Waterfalls, Matai Falls and Papagangoanwanispicilli Falls (Okay I forgot the
name of the second falls but it was something like that).
We headed toward Invercarsgill, probably the further south we have been in New
Zealand, before passing Monkey Island (No Monkeys) and finishing up in
Manapouri. Here we stayed in what can only be described as a Dolls house...
but were treated to views of Alpine Peaks and glistening Lakes. We
moved on to Te Anau, in preparation for our trip to Milford Sounds... one of
the most popular tourist attractions in New Zealand. The most popular way to
explore the region is to take a boat out... where you sail through the many
peaks into the Tasmin (the sea that divide the Ozzies and Kiwis). Again an
unforgettable day of Peaks, Waterfall and Wildlife.
Queenstown... Adventure Capital of New Zealand. Marie had been here before and
had foretold us of its wonder. And after spending a week there I had to agree.
You couldn't get bored there, there about 1.3 million different activities to
do there (estimated). And there is an active nightlife where Cosmic Teapots
are all the rage. Anyways, day one resulted in us working out what we wanted
to do... and day one meant a trek up with the Cable Cars to see Queenstown
from over 400 meters at the top of one its Peaks. Our competitive streak led
to an Indoor Mini Golf tournament that evening... it seems my abilities in World
Championship combats are waning... as Stu ran away with the title... but I ran
away with the Chupa Chups... and well.... everyone is a winner.
Up there you can do this type of Luging. Basically this is a kind of Go
Karting down a track, which is sloped. All the cars have a break and neutral
lever, and me Stu and Marie decided a Formula One Championship would be
commenced over five races. The end result was Chaney winning all five
races...Marie and I finish joint second... and me realising that I really
should listen to Safety Instructions. I ended with a badly jarred thumb in one
crash and a screwed back from another. Basically I hit a wall full pelt...
flew out of the car... smashed my head on a wall (thank god for Crash
Helmets), bashed my back on the track and then dance like a loony to avoid the
Cars that were hurtling down after me. I knew Pain was imminent and thus
hopped around on the hard shoulder... found 50 cents on the floor and was
smiling again. I had been using the Neutral Lever to brake... for 4 races... I
guess I deserved all the pain for my idiotocy.
We hooked up with Sam and Jon, to celebrate Sam birthday... we crawled around
Queenstown; various bars... Winnies Bagoes, The World, Frasers and the
Red Rocks. Queenstown bars have the Apr? Ski feel to them... and we made sure we
experienced all that even if we didn't do a minutes skiing while we were
there.
And then Bungee jumping... This was to be my stupid activity in Queenstown.
(if you discount the Luging). And I figured if you were going to do one you may as
well do the biggest one in New Zealand. The Nevis... 134meters. 8 Seconds of
free falling into a Canyon. No Worries I figured. Stu and I after much
deliberation and putting off the inevitable took the plunge and booked the
thing. It was an uneasy nights sleep. The drive to jump point was
spectacular... in a 4 x 4 Mini Bus up a steep cliff edge. It was funny as soon
as the bus stopped there was mad stampede by all the jumpers straight to the
Loo's. With the Nevis Canyon Jump you are transported to a Cable Car that has
been positioned in the middle of the Canyon. From the viewing ledge I
instantly started to brick it. Once in the Cable car my anxiety increased
tenfold. It has a glass bottom and from there I saw my Bungee companions leap.
It done nothing for my state of mind. It finally came to my turn. You are sat
down in what can only be described as a Dentist Chair. My fear was
intensifying by the second. I was being explained about a Cord that needed to
be pulled after I had jumped which would allow me to be lynched up in the
upright position. But nothing was going in really... All of this bit was
being videoed... and I was swearing for England. And then... its time to jump.
I honestly had a couple of moments of second thought... on video it looked
like I was crying... this was certainly not the case.... and having waddled to
the edge... and with the encouragement of Stu and the fellow Bungee'ers, I
jumped... and that's it... I have little recollection of the fall.... just
so much fear that I was overcome...and the immense relief when the Bungee Cord
kicked in and you knew you were safe. Next thing I know I am being pulled back
in the Cable Car with everyone laughing at me. I had been to scared to pull
the cord to put me upright. I was lynched in like a meat Carcass in a Butchers.
Stu was there to welcome me in, he was to jump a little later. I stood there
shivering for ages after it was over. It was one of those experiences that was
cool to do... but well happy when it was over.
Anyways the sensible thing would have been to leave it at that... Call it a
day on the old Bungee jump for a while. But the bastards offered a second jump
at $50 at the top of Queenstown... the Ledge bungee... you really couldn't say
no. So me, Stu and Marie took the gondola up in the early evening for our
second jump of the day.
Marie finally gave in and also decided to do the Sky Swing... a type a Bungee
where instead of jumping.... you pull a cord and then drop. She had been
adamant that these high octane, high altitude jumping things were not for her.
but taking our hats off to her... she braved it... but when it came to the
crunch... you could tell nerves had engulfed her. For once me and Stu put
our supportive hats on... and she managed to get over her nerves and made the
plunge. The Screams could be heard 400 meters below in Queenstown... Again I
think she appreciated doing it but wasn't sure whether she do it again
(besides there was no $50 special offers on this one). My jump this time was a
lot easier... jumping into the night sky, with a much smaller leap... it was a
lot more fun this time... I hear that they are opening a 300meter Bungee in
Colorado... A pact has been made between me and Stu to do this one... a pact
made under the influence, and sitting here reliving the memory... let me tell
you... never make a pact under the influence... pure lunacy....
After Queenstown it was a week long trek back to Auckland for our flight to
Samoa. We stopped in Puzzleworld in Wanaka for more World Championship
Shenanigans... Marie emerging victorious in our Maze war. With one night
stopovers in Haast, Punikaiki, Nelson (Mike, nice little town... (didn't
really have too much time to explore), Wellington, Whanganui, Waitomo Caves,
Hamilton and finally Auckland it seems that since Queenstown we have been
constantly traveling and not taking it much of anywhere we have been.
Highlights included the Pancake Rocks in PuniKaiki, with it spurting
Blowholes.
A converted Bus/TV/Video room in Nelson. Stu saw some Glowworms in the
Waitomo Caves which sounded awesome. I was lazy and the rock climbing involved
put me off and I missed out on that one.
And back in Auckland where it all started. Last night we hooked up with Chris
and Richard... two of Stuart old Workmates. Marie gobbled an entire bottle of
23% Vodka (described as a "General Alcoholic Drink"), and the result was
predictable.... but as always hilarious. Skippy Snap number 678 of our
travels... and possibly one of the best...
And so we are off to Samoa. Looking forward to a bit of R and R before the fun
and games of LA and Vegas.
Take Care
Lots of Love
Bhav
We left New Zealand for Samoa feeling the travelling bugs lure again - unfortunately I was also feeling another sort of bug. My head cold did not mix to well with varying air pressure and the entire time I spent in the air it felt like my brain was trying to escape the pain in my ears by bursting through my right eye socket.
When we arrived in Fiji we had only a couple of hours before catching our connecting flight to Apia in Samoa. Fiji's airport is horrid - one huge queue is set up for all outgoing flights and it took us the two hours we had just waiting to check in and board the plane. Once on board I enjoyed another dose of pain overload before we touched down in Apia in the early hours - this was what we like to call Groundhog Day. The short flight from Fiji to Samoa took us over the International Date Line, and therefore we ended up arriving before the time we had even left New Zealand forcing us to re-live the entire day . . . ? ?
A Taxi dropped us off at the Seaside Inn after about 40 minutes riding from the airport in a cab. We chatted to a man and his father that were just sat over the road enjoying a Valima - Samoa's best (and only) beer. After a some warm welcomes I grabbed myself a cold shower and hit the sack - exhausted from all those dam airports.
Over the next few days we just relaxed and explored the Capital City (small town by any Western Standards) of Apia. Apia is where it all happens and is the only Town on the two islands of Samoa that carries any weight in population and size. A collection of bars and restaurants, one posh hotel, a few guesthouses, a government building called Samoa 2000, two banks (with cash machines thank you very much Lonely Planet), two markets and one air-conditioned McDonalds. On Sundays everything is shut down in Samoa, there is a strong Christian community (that includes just about everyone) here and the day of rest is taken very seriously. Some fishermen that ignored the bible and worked the seas on Sundays were even blamed for the eruptions from Mt Elietoga. Of course McDonalds is open though - and the Big Mac comes out almost picture perfect! Truly the best McDonalds in the world so far for me.
Other foods on offer around town all included fish in some way - it's not easy here for a strict Vegetarian like Bhav. The fish is however some of the best I have ever tasted, it's just a shame that nearly everywhere seems to insist on deep frying everything. Some places did have pan fried options and the Tuna dishes are something else. Marie, Bhav and I treated ourselves to the first civilised sit down meal we have had in ages. This was truly turning into another holiday within a holiday! The only drawback of eating loads of fish, is the inevitable effect it has on my gasses - Marie and Bhav had had to completely clear the room on a number if occasions now.
We all picked ourselves up some bright flowery Samoan shirts to ware around town - they rock. especially under a UV light. I found this out when B and I took in a few drinks in the locals RSA club. Not a tourist in site, just the Samoans doing what they do best - singing and dancing. It's in their blood; I have not met a tone deaf Samoan yet. We enjoyed watching with a few beers but did not have the courage to join the dance floor due to our musical ineptness. There is some weird eighties feel to Samoa sometimes. Casio keyboard solos, visor hats being worn upside down, bright coloured clothes. At one point during the night they started playing a game, the name escapes me now, but it was basically musical statues. They loved it, and so did we.
The island we flew into was the smaller of the two in Independent Samoa called Upolu. To explore the whole island we decided to hire a car for the day - which is more than enough time to circle the island that is no more than 80 km long. Only a few roads go inland from the coastal road, as there are mountains dotted around the center. Every 5 or so kilometers we would pass through a village, slowly as the speed limit is 25 mph in populated areas and 35 outside of them. The roads are lined with brightly coloured plants and curvy palm trees blowing in the breeze. Each village is kept completely pristine, much pride is taken in peoples homes and gardens. Pigs and chickens are kept in all the villages, but as each village is basically one big family there is no need for hedges and fences. There is little order to the villages lay out and all the livestock is free to roam around the village - for some strange reason their favourite hang out is the bloody road. This makes driving a l
ittle tricky, especially at night - Samoan children, that are apparently devoid of all fear, also enjoy playing around the roadside. We had heard a true story that took place on the larger island of Savai'i that involved an accident when a driver hit and killed a child. The driver carried on up the road never to be seen again, but a short time after an Australian tourist pulled up and tried to help the child. Unfortunately the villagers did not realise this and stoned him to death mistakenly - family here is everything.
In our little 4x4 Suzuki we bounced around the island trying to ignore the check engine and brake lights flashing on the dash. We found a small cave that I took a dip in with a selection of slithery fish and hard shelled crabs. It was apparently possible to swim 4 meters down and through into another cave - but I could not even see my hand two inches away from my face and after fondling the cave walls underwater for 10 minutes finding nothing but crabs and slime I gave up.
The heavens opened up as we moved on from Piula Cave Pool and we drove slowly on to a small family owned (as everything is out here baring the banks and McDonalds) beach resort. Here we got a spot of lunch and met up with the self proclaimed Adventure man and his tour group. Adventure Man is an American that takes tourists around the islands showing them the sights. A thoroughly good idea, but a completely stupid name.
The next stop was some waterfalls at Falefa, of which I have seen many during the last 10 months. This was probably the most tropically dramatic standing over 100 meters high surrounded by rainforest. Not a bad thing to stumble across while exploring your back garden. Further round we drove watching the kids play in the rain, taking dramatic run ups and sliding through the mud and huge puddles that had been created in a matter of minutes by the heavy rain. Everyone we passed gave us a friendly wave and cracked us a cheery grin. Most of the kids would yell 'bye bye', at us - and we'd yell it back.
The last major stop on our little exploration was at Papase, and their sliding rocks. It is not in fact the rocks that do the sliding however - you do. Three waterfalls are all conveniently lined up in a row, each with a long steep drop into the pool at the bottom. The majority of the rock is smooth and very, very slippery making the falls the perfect natural waterslide! When we arrived it had just stopped raining and the waterfalls were going some - it was getting dark and we were the only people there. Bhav and I, still relishing our bungy jump victories took the plunge and it was one hell of a ride. The water builds up behind you once sat at the top of the falls and eventually it just takes you down with it, the landings are completely undignified, and the screams were probably quite obscene - but who cares.
After our trekking around the humid Town and stressful driving tour of the island we started planning what we really came here to do - nothing. The only problem was, where is the best place to do nothing - well let me tell you. It's called Manase and can be found on the North coast of the larger island of Savai'i. We set off to the Ferry terminal and looked at our feet during the long and choppy boat ride across to the connecting wharf. After the busses all left without us we haggled a guy down from 50 to 30 Tala (around 5 to the UK pound) for a cab ride to Manase. The cab only broke down twice and on arrival we were greeted by the family and given fresh coconuts to quench our thirst. Shortly after explaining the whole 3 single people and one vegetarian thing again we were introduced to our home for the next 7 or 8 days.
They call them fales (pronounced falays) and they are basic beach huts made from timber, bamboo and palms. Certainly large enough, included sleeping mats, a light and mosquito nets - it was all we needed. Breakfast was served at 8 and dinner was at 7, lunch was usually a bag of crisps bought from the worlds most trusting shop. You just trundled in, took what you wanted (including beer) and wrote down your purchase in a book. The bill will be totaled up when you left, which is when you wanted - no need to book how long your staying. Just pay before you go. I heard that some places don't even charge a fixed amount, they just ask you to be fair in what you pay them when you leave.
The sea was never more than 10 meters away and is the true classic interpretation of paradise. About knee high for up to 5 meters out and turquoise to look at from the shore. The next stage was about belly button depth and navy blue in colour - great for swimming. The final stage was a very dark blue in appearance and was where you could find a beautiful coral reef extending its way all along the beach. Fish of all shapes and sizes swam around the coral, some hard to spot, some bright as the sun. Although I did not see any, there were a few shark sightings - but only little harmless ones. I did manage to find some huge rays - an ozzy guy told me they were Eagle rays and quite rare to spot. Mixed in with the coral, a collection of clams sat surrounded by sticks. The sticks were there to protect them as they are becoming quite rare - protecting them from what I am not sure, but this is what I was told. The clams were bigger than rugby balls and if you waved your hand over them they slammed shut as hard as bear traps.
We did manage to mostly accomplish exactly what we set out to do - which was get tanned, play a few games of catch or piggy in the middle with the spare juggling ball Dumass gave me, and drink much Valima. The meals were spot on and we never ate the same meal twice in 8 days - even Bhav was well looked after. Marie missed all but one of her breakfasts and each time I would be asked, "Hello Stuart, where is the girl?". Samoans never forget a name it would seem (aside from Mers..?), which often embarrasses me because I can't hold a name in my head for five minutes.
We spent a lot of time with a couple of Australian dudes (best way to describe them). They were probably the most stereotypical ozzies I have ever met, even after months on end travelling through their country. Spokes and Junes got us playing some cricket with the Samoan style bat (Kirikiti) - great fun improvising with a bat that has three sides, some flat, some curved, is completely top heavy and over a meter long. The two were well traveled, full of great stories and had just begun another trip, which will take (from what I can only guess) well over a year to complete - good luck fellas!!!
One of the first questions you are asked when in a foreign country is, "where you from". In Samoa - if you answer, "England", the immediate response is, "ahhh, medical student". This confused me for a while, but the answer is simple. 99% of the Brits here that are under the age of 21 are medical students on their year out. Rich kids living it up under the pretence that they are studying - and good on 'em. They are a good bunch with a bad reputation of being far too noisy out here - there are not many TVs on the island and I guess not many Samoans have seen an episode of Ibiza uncovered yet.
During our stay we managed to get two helpings of a Fia Fia night. This is a Samoan celebration that involves the family dancing for visitors - something that would definitely feel weird when invited round to your mates back home, but out here it's the norm. The whole family gathers and puts on a show, the women take front stage with graceful hand and feet movements, all smoothly in time with the gospel type signing generated from brothers and sisters from behind them. While the women gracefully glide up and down the sand, eldest brothers scream and dance like their pants are on fire. The fellas would fly around the stage in a frenzy of dancing - jumping into trees, throwing themselves on the floor for the women to stand on, all in all they look totally crazy. The best bits were the self abuse dances where the men would repeated slap themselves almost like they were being attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. All of this would go perfectly in sink with the music or drum.
The costumes were bright and traditional - many of them have tattoos that must have taken weeks to create. Even the small kids would get in on the act - the best of which was an 8 year old little guy that had the crowd going the most. He was doing the fire knife dance with pole almost as long as him, either end lit, spinning and throwing it with tremendous skill. A hard drumbeat gave him some momentum and he would finish in style by placing the burning stick on the soles of his feet and waving to the crowd (which is just the dinner table, but a crowd none the less). Bhav and I had caught some of the fire dancing in Apia while some sort of competition was going on - they were professionals and all in the twenties. This kid could match them all.
We watched people come and go at Tanu Beach and after a while we realised that there is only so much nothing you can do without starting to feel guilty - so we started planning a tour of the new island we were on. A hire car was out of the question so we signed on for a tour with a French couple (bro and sis). A German trio had set up a small business a little way down the beach offering scuba diving, scenic flights and, conveniently, driving tours of the island. On the tour we stopped at 4 spots worthy of mention - a turtle conservation pool, Lava Fields, Olemoe falls and the Taga Blowholes. We also stopped at a Banyan tree, which we climbed and got some good views of the surrounding area and Pea Pea caves. There we saw a few bats and a pineapple.
The turtle pools were filled with natural spring water and there lived 11 turtles that enjoy lounging around in the water almost as much as I do. We were allowed to get in and swim with them, which was as cool for a refreshing dip as much as it was cool to be able to play hide and seek with the turtles. Next was a long drive through the black lava fields that ate there way through villages between 1905 and 1911 - mercifully quite slowly allowing the people to escape. It is quite a tarnish on the otherwise picturesque landscape, but serves as a hard reminder that the volcano is still very much active.
The next stop was a lot more fun, Olemoe falls has a great fresh water pool at its base where you can swim and dive in from various angles. It's the only waterfall I've been to so far where I have managed to get round the back of and watch the water drop. It seemed quite busy there - a popular spot for the locals to lark about in as much as a tourist destination, it was good to watch others dive in first so you know you'll not become a permanent resident of the pool.
Taga Blowholes are the most impressive in the world according to the sign outside the gate. Samoan tourism is still in it's early stages of development where most people hope it will stay and therefore you'll usually just get kids asking you to pay a couple of tala to enter an attraction or an old guy half asleep on a bench. The guy at Taga makes his money by throwing in coconuts just before the wave hit - his timing is spot on and the coconuts are launched hundreds of feet into the air. Perhaps they are the best, the sea was not a particularly rough and it looked pretty impressive to me.
As with Upolu, Savai'i is kept spotlessly clean and the roads are lined with decoration such as rocks, coral, flowers and post boxes. The last one being a major oddity as there is no Samoan Postal service. Manase, where we were based has been voted "Prettiest Village in all of Samoa", three years running. Where the Lava has turned forest and villages into lumps of black rock, vegetation have been slowly working its way back and trees have sprouted from between the rocks. As we neared Manase on our tour we went past the last piece of land before the dateline - hence the last place on earth, and where you can see the last sunset.
Bhav turned 25 during our beach holiday and Marie and I were determined to make it a good one for him. Not really a beach and countryside kinda guy, I think he as worried he might just snooze the day away. Unfortunately it fell on a Sunday - which meant that not a lot, if anything, would be going on. Marie and I did discover that the Uma was happening for lunch at a place not far away from us. Uma is traditional Samoan food, a variety of dishes - all of them were very meaty indeed. It was the only choice however and I booked a table, asked them to sort out some wine and a cake for him. The bosses wife was very excited about the prospect of making a cake - she had not done so in years she told me. Worrying I though, tremendous I said. The next task was to convince a local Samoan that Vegetarians are actually real people and not just made up by the press or something. There was the boss man, two of his daughters and his wife all asking me how someone could live like this - to whi
ch I just had to shrug. There would have been no way of convincing them. The looks on there faces when I explained that this also included fish was one of utter disbelief, but they said no worries and insisted that he would not pay a thing!
The next day we woke and I told Bhav not to eat too much breakfast as we had a little surprise for him - we walked down the beach and joined the communal table with some others we had met a few days previous. It was only 1130am when we started our food because it was Sunday and the idea was to eat your self stupid and then sleep it off until dusk. I loved that place..
Anyway - we all tucked in and Bhav was handed a plate of veggies, which I thought was a bit lame. Thinking I might be able to order him an omelet or something, out came the surprise dish. Lobster. Not really an animal, not really a fish - they thought they had cracked the vegetarian riddle. I did not know who to feel sorry for, Bhav for having to watch us eat his gorgeous lobster (which was free and obviously had been prepared with a great deal of love and care) or the boss man who insisted on sitting with us so there was no way to palm it off without his knowing. The rest of the table certainly did not seem to mind as it was quickly demolished along with the rest of the buffet style feast.
B did seem to really enjoy his veggies and wine, we stole a bottle for later and I was relived to find the cake a roaring success. Perhaps baking a cake is like riding a bike, it was as gorgeous as it was huge. We got him a T-shirt, "We almost Signed Rivaldo", was pasted in big letters across the front - and a watch so he can get rid of the dodgy fake he bought in Thailand that keeps resetting itself. We drank our fair share that evening and watched Skippy snap (Marie going cross eyed and generally loopy through excessive boozing) - which is guaranteed to make anyone smile.
The days that followed were more of the same - lazing on the beach, eating and drinking too much (although I think that might have just been me) and going for the odd swim. Bhav decided he could not wait to find out what the Spurs scores were any longer and headed back to Apia a day early than Marie and I. He really wanted to see if Morientes had signed from Real - he hadn't, now I know what to get him for Xmas. Marie and I followed him a day later, we finally got to use some of the famed busses which are converted lorries that pump out Raga music and covered in pictures ranging from symbols of Christ to joint smoking sharks. We have seen quite a few because we actually changed busses three times before getting out of the ferry terminals car park with no idea as to why.
That same night we all went to a Tevaka concert in Apia park, the first of it's kind in Samoa. A large stage with full on sound and light system had been erected for the event. Tevaka were just finishing their tour of Europe and many in the band originate from the Polynesian islands. The lead singer was a Samoan himself and they put on a great show of traditional dancing and music. The crowd was obviously not used to these big events and did not know whether to sit or stand for most of the time. Occasionally someone would start to dance but would then be on the bad end of a load of flying water bottles. Tevaka soon sorted things out by getting everyone up and dancing - it marked the start of a week long festival in great style.
Samoa has been a great experience and I recommend this as a holiday destination to anyone, it is about a Polynesian as it gets. The culture is well preserved but also mixes well with the west. It is all at an end now for us, we fly back to Fiji tonight and then to LA on the 5th. This means crossing the dateline twice in as many days - the consequences are baffling. Ten months of travelling has left my brain strictly stuck in simple mode. Anything requiring any serious thought is ignored or avoided completely - barf barf. Trying to figure out the time was bad enough when crossing time zones, but date lines are RIGHT OUT.
Poor Stu, can't even manage his favourite 'date lines' now. I think it's because his fingers are so blistered from all that 'typing', eh readers, eh? *bang*
Well after all our hard months of travelling we have finally treated
ourselves to a little holiday and given ourselves the chance to get away
from it all and just chill for a while, and there can be no better place to
do it than Samoa.
After a pretty dodgy plane landing into Samoa, we managed to get a taxi to
our hostel in the capital city of Apia, we quickly settled into our beds
after what had been a pretty long day of airport hopping.
Whilst the boys had a wonder around town I took a stroll along the beach
front for a bite to eat, on my return i had managed to score an invitation
out for the evening, and found the taxi driver that i had had a quick chat
to ten minutes before, back at the hostel waiting for me. Yep, friendly is
an understatement, the Samoan culture is one of a kind and I soon learnt
that the best bet is to just say Yes, when asked if I have a husband, and
simply explain that you can't see him but he is just around the corner....
two phone calls later and i think the taxi driver had got the message...
Having spoken to various people we discovered that the best way to tour the
island would be by car, so we grabbed ourselves a funky little jeep and set
off; keeping in mind that they all drive on the right hand side of the road,
(or if they get a little tired simply along the middle in the hope that they
are less likely to veer off the road altogether should they decide to take a
little Siesta en route).
The Samoan people are a genuinely friendly and welcoming culture, and this
could not have been more obvious than as we drove through the small villages
throughout the island, where children will come running out of their homes
and give you a wave, a huge smile and maybe a little dance to go with it.
After spending a few days in Apia we decided to split our time between the
two islands, so our next stop would be a ferry ride to Savaii, the slightly
bigger but quieter of the islands. The ferry trip takes about an hour and we
were greeted by a fleet of Samoan buses, with blaring music and dukes of
hazard style horns - unfortuanately a quicktrip to the ladies by me meant
that we missed the bus to our resort, so instead we had to resort to a taxi
to Tanu Beach. Two break downs later, a severe case of carbon monoxide
poisoning and a car that i think was shortly to make its fateful trip to the
great car heaven in the sky, we arrived at the village of Manasse, and were
greeted with Coconut Milk and Bananas by our hosts at Tanu Beach. This place
is a picture of paradise, we managed to get ourselves a beach front fales
(Samoan style house) surrounded by palm trees, white sands and the clearest
of blue seas and coral.
Our days were spent sun bathing, sleeping, eating and drinking and when we
were feeling really energetic we even indulged in the odd game of frisbee,
followed shortly of course by a quick rejuvenating kip.
The coral on the beach was pretty amazing too although i couldn't quite make
it out to the clams after a run in with a evil eyed sea snake resulted in a
mad dash back to shore and some dodgy coral scratches; although the chances
of me out swimming it are probably in line with Elvis singing Happy Birthday
to Stuart in Vegas......
Our original plan was to stay there for 4 maybe 5 days, well 8 days later we
decided that we could not put off leaving for any longer and unfortunately
it time to bid farewell to Tanu Beach and all the great people there.
We spent the last few days in Apia, basically waiting for our flight to
Fiji, during which time we went to a Samoan Pop Concert (and a surprisingly
good one at that), and then to the opening of the Teuilla Festival,
unfortunately for the boys they missed the parade of the Miss Samoan
contestants (and I'm sure the girls were dissapointed to have missed them
too), but have recruited the photography skills of Tom to get the best shots
for the contest on Tuesday.
We are now in Fiji staying at a luxury hotel and have spent the afternoon
sipping Gin & Tonics by the pool, sounds great yeah, but I really don't
think that anything can beat the serenity and beauty of Tanu Beach, which
has so far been the favourite place of my travels to date.
To quote the great Jerry "Till next time, look after yourselves and each
other"
love Marie
Yes, I'm as shocked as you are, I was beginning to think Marie was a figment of my imagination!
Samoa - Laid Back is not the word for this place of paradise so far from home.
The speed limit here is 35mph around the whole of the Island, and that really
Sums things up. Things are done at relaxed walking pace and the traditional
relaxed, respectful and peaceful Samoan way of lives on despite the place
being touched with Western influences.
We arrived in Samoa late four weeks ago and were presented with a number of
Taxi options, before the Friendly Napoleon ushered us into his car and drove us to
Apia. After a look day we were all ready for bed but within seconds of
Observing the Wharf outside the Seaside Inn (Our B and B) we were being
Welcomed to Samoa by a couple of Old Dudes, offering us a beer.
The next morning we wondered into town. Their City Centre is basically a tiny
Place with a McDonalds, a few markets, the Samoa 2000 building which is the
only dominant figure on the Sky Line. After a while exploring, and spending a
few minutes with local kids who showed me their impressive fishing techniques,
I made the long walk back to my Hostel. After weeks in the New Zealand chill,
I was a sweaty mess when I got back. The weather is Samoa was quite punishing,
hot with little breeze.
To actually see Samoa we decided to hire a Car to get us around the Island. To
circle the island we would need a day. The ride itself was great. The
Villages have Fale's (traditional Samoan house), which are colourfully
painted.
Every local and Child will wave at you as you drive pass them, the majority
seem really pleased to see us tourists cruising around the Island in our
Suzuki Jeeps. You have to be careful though, as the your trip will be slowed down by
the Pigs, Cows and Chickens who also chill out on the middle of the Road. Most
villages are just an extended family, and this leads to open house a great
deal of trust.
We managed to see a couple of Waterfalls, one of which was tropically
spectacular, called the Papapapai Falls, which plunges 100meters into a Gorge.
Other Highlights Piula Cave Pool, where you can swim between one Cave Entrance
and another. Stu gave it a good go of getting from Cave entrance to the other,
but couldn't find where the two were
connected. And finally the highlight of Samoa according to the Lonely Planet.
Papasee Sliding Rock, better the Disneyland apparently. Here there are three
naturally formed rock slides which if you are brave enough can be used to
slide into a deep freshwater pools. Stu opted to be the Guinea Pig and slid
into all three making sure the water wasn't too deep (or too shallow), and I
gave it a bash afterwards. I don't think I was at all graceful in my slide
into the Pools, but with Marie as the only audience it didn't really matter.
The next day was spent resting before Stu and I ventured into town. There was
Fire
Throwing Contest going on where the true Zinedine Zidane's and Ronaldo's of
the Samoan's Fire throwing worlds were pitting their wits against each other.
While they were impressive they were not able to compete with a Fire thrower
we
would see later in the week. Later we wandered over the RSA Club, a local
Samoan club with a live band. They played songs such as Eminem and other
western classics with a Samoan twist. There was even a point where there was
Musical Statue's Contest going on. Me and Stu watched in interested
bemusement. We have joined in too, but we were been joined be Pipi, an
excessively drunk Kiwi/Somaan who insisted on chatting to us, which was pretty
cool. The Samoan loved to chat but sometime I think things are lost in th
etranslation. We met one guys who claimed he was a teacher, and the proceded
to say 2+2+2+2+2 equal 4... I know my maths is bad, but even I could tell
there was something amiss there... Not just a Hat rack....
Having fully explored the Island of Upola, it was time to experience the other
main island of Samoa, Savaii. We opted to stay in Manase, at the Tanu Beach
Fales. Our trip over included a Ferry ride, and a Taxi journey where the Taxi
broke down on three occasions ( the driver calmly hopped out with his his
plyer, fiddled with a few things and off we went again - no need for the AA
out here). Traditional Samoan Beach Fale's involve staying
with an extended Samoan family, where you stay in a wooded hut supplied with a
mattress and Mosquito net. Our Hut was right on the beach, you would basically
awake to the beach being a couple of footsteps away. Completely clear blue,
warm and if you ventured a few meters out there was a area Coral to explore.
At the beach Fale's you were provided with Breakfast (Including Papaya which
is now my number one tropical fruit) and dinner. Being Vegetarian it seemed no
problem for our hosts who managed to rattle up some cracking dishes for the
seven days I was there. Whilst there we must some cool people. Special mention
to Spokes'y and Junior, two Aussie's just beginning their travels, who were by
far the most Aussie blokes I have ever met (and I lived in their country for 7
months). Frequently using world like Dunny, Arvo and Feed they could have
easily
have stared with Alf Stewart in Home and Away, and entertained us with many of
their stories, including Junior's experience of meeting Mike Tyson in Vegas.
Good luck with youra travels guys. Also there was Tom from Camden who has
promised to send me some pictures of the Miss Samoa Pageant which I missed...!
Tanu beach was also the setting of my Birthday. Being a Sunday there wasn't a
lot to do. In Samoa the tradition is to get up and go to Church, before
sitting down for an early lunch and then sleep for the rest of the day.
However, Stu and Marie managed to hook an invite to an Umu lunch. Having got
there it was obvious that a special effort had been made for my birthday. I
was served with a plate of Veggies, and the Coup de Gras... A Stuffed Lobster
grinning back up at me.... all well and good, except I'm a Vegetarian. It
appears that although Stuart had ensured that our hosts were aware of my
Vegetarianism, Lobster probably wasn't considered meat... however most of our
table gobbled up the Lobster, and there was none wasted. I was treated to a
home Cooked Banana Cake (I later chatted to the lady who cooked the cake and
she told it was the first time she had baked for year). The Cake was great,
and it was great way to celebrate my birthday. It was here that it really hit
home at how easy it is easy it is to take your friends for granted. Stu and
Marie had made such an effort to make it a special day, and for me that meant
so much... Thanks Guys.
(However one of my presents was a "We nearly Signed Rivaldo" T- Shirt.... VERY
FUNNY.....!
Our days at Tanu Beach, consisted of getting up, having breakfast, sleeping,
getting up, splashing in the Sea, Lunch, Afternoon sleep, evening game of
KiriKiri with the Aussies and the rest of the Residents of Tanu Beach, Dinner,
and then a few Drinks before bed. It was a hard life. KiriKiri is the Samoan
version of Cricket. Virtually the same but the Bats are huge, and there a
tales of these being used a little too aggressively in disagreements.
Anyways we felt that we should explore the Island, so along with Marie and her
Brother (a pair of French friends), we arrange a tour with a German guide to
take us around the Island. This included a trip to swim the Turtles. This was
pretty cool for me as the water was shallow and I was able to swim with them,
however I couldn't really see very well, until I inevitably bumped into one
and let out a girlie yelp to humiliate myself abroad again. Next we moved on
to Olemo Falls, which was a spectacular place to have a swim. Here the local
were having fun, making enormous dives off the Rocks into the Freshwater
Pools, Stu gave it go too, but bottled doing the biggest jump. I was assigned
picture-taking duties. It was hard swim to the Waterfall, Marie tells me that
it took quite a Stroke to get there due to the Current. From here we moved
Tago Blowhole, describe as the best Blowholes in the world. They were pretty
impressive. You can take Coconut Shells up to the Hole and if you chuck them
in at the right time, they will explode out 100s of meters into the air. With
an air of predictability, it didn't quite work out the same with me. My
Coconut didn't fly, but the Blowholes, did mange to leave me completely soaked
as they sprayed their fury all over me. Later we watched one of the Local do
it right, and his coconuts were flying all over the show. Lover Leaps is place
where it is said that a woman and her daughters jumped off after the death of
her husband, and upon hitting the water below the turned into a Shark and
Turtle respectively. it rumoured they still circle the area now ( a cool
Story). Anyways we stopped here and took in the view, before heading down to
the spot of the Last Sunset in the World. Our Final two Stops were a Banyan
tree which you climb and can actually stay at overnight, giving an awesome
view of Rainforest around you, and some Caves which were frequented by Bats.
After a busy day of exploring it was nice to get back to Tanu Beach, where
dinner was waiting for us.
While we are at Tanu, the family treated us to Fia Fia night, a traditional
Samoan entertainment night. All the ladies in the family dance, while the guys
dance in a crazed manner which I assume is a sign of the crazed lust and love
they feel for their partners. The Children got involved too and one of the
Kids done a Fire throwing show, that was as good as the Pro's that Stu and I
had seen days earlier. He was only eight, and managed to spin his wand of fire
non-stop for over 5 minutes... It was really impressive. The thing I loved
about the Fia Fia night, was it was all done in such a good mood, it wasn't
forced. The family were all proud and happy to show us their show, and at the
end me, Stu and Mrr couldn't stop smiling as it has just put us in a fantastic
mood! It was also filmed by German TV Crew, who are making kids TV shows about
Polynesia, and involved their bird Takapu being involved in a manner of
hilarious situations, watch out for it!
Anyways as the week came to a close, I decided it was time to go back to
Upola, Spurs has played two games and I was non the wiser to the score. I
arrived back and discovered we were Top of the League (Who needs Rivaldo), and
my smile was wider....!
On our penultimate day in Samoa, we scored some tickets to see Tevaka,
Polynesia Finest band in the National Stadium. A mix of traditional chilled
out rock music, it was a brilliant gig. The Samoan people slowly started to
get into the swing of concert, and with some of the more popular songs people
were getting up and having a dance. You had to be careful with the lesser
songs though, as getting up and dancing would result in you being pelted with
a barrage of bottles, and crowd laughing at you.
As so the time to leave Samoa had finally arrived. Sadly it was the day of the
start of Annual Tavilla Festival. We managed to catch one show where the
traditional Samoan folk singer gave a session, which was great to hear.
Samoa. I think we all agreed it was one of nicest places we have been. The way
of life here is just fantastic. Chilled out, a real sense of respect for one
another and family is paramount here. You can came here alone and not feel
lonely, the Samoan people will not allow it. Long may the traditional values
stay in place, and the innocence and beauty of the place should never die.
Anyways after the peace of Samoa, the final leg of our travel approached. The
USA... LA.... Vegas... We stopped over in Fiji for a night, before the flight
into LA...
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sit down for take off (this is it Stu, no way out now - try and relax)
0-12000 feet (oh bugger, oh bugger, oh bugger)
shuffle to the front (shit, my boxers are half way up my arse)
get on your knees (don't look down, don't look down.... @#@#!!)
grab hold of brace and put head back (Mummy)
Unbearable pause (... is that a sparrow)
fall out (AHHHHhhhhh..... Weeeeeeeeeee)
JULIAxx
JULIAxx
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Stu
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