Coles and Clayts

Same day, different continent.... 13th May 2009 Now, we realise that on our previous blog we had an entry for the 13th May, but as 'today' ended a mere 43 hours after it started, we felt it deserved another entry! Yes, like Marty McFly, today we went back in time; from being 11 hours ahead of the UK in NZ, we are now 8 hours BEHIND the UK. So, we landed at San Francisco airport - after another very bumpy flight - just after midday. With our suddenly very heavy bags, we made our way onto the BART train and headed to Union Square, a short distance from our accommodation and the first real bed for over a month! Including time spent giving fingerprints and retina shots at the airport, then maneuvering our way through customs, ... read more

5th May 2009 In high spirits, we loaded Nev back up and left our camp site in Taupo to visit the local Huka Falls, which is an area where the Waikato river narrows from over 100 metres wide, to only 15 metres wide, causing scarily fast rapids (nearly 220,000 litres PER SECOND!) From one extreme to the other, we left the crashing rapids and headed north to what's known as 'the hidden valley', the tranquil Orakei Korako; reputedly one of the best geothermal parks remaining in the world. After a short boat across Lake Ohakuri, we strolled around active geysers, boiling mud pools, one of only 2 geothermal caves in the world (where, brilliantly, bathing jewelery in the pool restores it to its former glory!), and some awe-inspiring prehistoric landscape. All the while the land steamed ... read more

25th April 2009 A long days drive! We set off from our beach resort and headed first to Cape Foulwind (they have great names for everything over here!) to visit the local seal colony. Apparently we are here at a great time as the pups are being nurtured toward independence, which meant we got to see them 'running' around and playing with each other! Despite their great comouflage, we got to see huge numbers which was cool. Leaving the west coast, we headed in-land along Buller Gorge, which would - in various forms - take us(eventually) all the way to the east coast. Concerned about fuel we called into the township of Murchison where we stocked up - us and Nev - before carrying on south east towards our destination for the night, Hanmer Springs. Hanmer ... read more

The thrill seeking edition...! 17th April 2009 After waking from our second night in Neville, in Cromwell, we got back on the road and headed towards the infamous Queenstown - adrenaline capital of the world! Another scenic drive took us towards the Kawarau Bridge bungy jump (the worlds first). Finding it too hard not to stop in, we pulled over and watched, with butterflies in our stomachs, as people hurled themselves 43m down into the river below. As Hayley has a partially torn knee ligament we decided to consult the staff about whether she would be able to do a jump. It turned out that it would be unlikely she would be allowed to attempt the feet attaching style, but luckily (for Daniel!), set 400m above the centre of Queenstown is 'The Ledge' which is 47m ... read more

A new city, a new country, a new continent. We aren't going to lie to you, hearing English again, recognising all the fruit and veg on sale and understanding a menu isn't something we have been overly excited about. There has been something both fun and terrifying about being in places where you really are an outsider and it almost feels as if our 'travelling' has been put on hold. But we are sure we are just readjusting to being proactive within a community - rather than just allowing situations to happen - and that once we are over our jetlag, these hardy travellers will bounce back with some adentures to share! Because we have been here for a week we have tried to condense everything to keep it from being too long. Needless to say ... read more