Well it was an early rise....5am to be precise....packed up my trusty car.....bumped into a few late night (early morning) drunken souls.... and said farwell to Christchurch. I watched the sunrise over the mountains at Kaikoura and then stopped to have breakfast at the seal colony. Still recovering from the night before the night before (getting old you know!) I managed to have a wee nap at Picton before boarding the ferry. And who should I meet on the ferry....Nat and Paul! They seem to get everywhere! Anyway, I managed to tear them away from Knight Rider and we went out [View Full Entry]

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After a final drunken night...and losing badly at a quiz night....it was time to say farewell to Mr Kevin! Tears were held back (just for a change on my behalf!), a quick hug and "see you later" then we went our seperate ways :-( Alone again but in a backpacking world I headed back to Foley Towers, my home for the next couple of weeks. Determined not to wallow and miss Mr Kevin I joined in with the backpacking chat and met some other lone travellers. With only a day or so to start the job hunt I was soon catching [View Full Entry]

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Packed up and all our worldly belongings wedged into my trusty little car, Kev and I said farewell to our friends..and Auckland...and set off on our adventure south. With a long journey ahead...and lack of stereo (sorry Kev!)...we entertained ourselves all the way to Tongariro National Park where we stopped for the night at a ski lodge backpackers. After having dinner, watching a spot of TV, saving a poor frog that lost its way, it was time for sleep as another early start was on the cards. We continued our trip south and decided to go via Wanganui for lunch and [View Full Entry]

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With the travelling bug in my system and the reality that perhaps I need to get a job I decided...why don't I do a road trip down to Christchurch with the aim of finding work on the south island. Such a good plan. And then to top it all Mr Kevin's flight out of NZ was from Christchurch too....so a road trip we planned! With one week left in Auckland we had to make the most of it! First up St Patrick's Day. With the great intentions of going to see U2 on St Patrick's Day (yes I was lucky enough [View Full Entry]

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....having said my farewells the night before I waited patiently for the bus in the early hours...back on the road...travelling alone. We pretty much headed straight through to Taupo where I decided to jump off and attempt the sky dive or the Tonagariro crossing again....only to my dismay that crappy weather once again stopped any fun! Trying to entertain myself in the town that I'd already spent exploring the week before I headed to the tourist info in search of the cinema (always a good rainy day option!). And that's when luck struck! Who was to be enquiring about the same [View Full Entry]

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Another great plan of Kathryn's....that went wrong! Recruiting fellow drunken traveller Ian, to get up early in the morning to "Go and see the seals...what an adventure!" didn't quite go to plan. Knocking on his door at the early hours...forcing coffee and toast down his neck and getting all excited about our adventure I was suddenly brought back down to earth to hear that "they've got pups at the mo and no-one is allowed near them!" So much for my adventure. Anyhoo....Ian humoured me and agreed to a bit of sight seeing around Wellington.... ...first we took the Cable Car up [View Full Entry]

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From Taupo we headed on to the wonderfully named Whakapapa (note that locals tend to say "F" instead of the "Wh"....so childish I know!) Anyhoo...on the way we stopped to check out the Craters of the Moon...did the compulsory walk around the track and "ooh'd and aah'd" as appropriate. In fact I think most of us just wanted to get back on the bus and snooze (typical backpackers!). Then we stopped at a waterfall where our crazy driver and some of the lads decided it would be a great idea to jump off into the freezing water below....ice melt off the [View Full Entry]

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After leaving Rotorua our trip took us to Taupo. On the way we stopped at Huka Falls...not really a waterfall more like a thunderous mass of white water....a 100m wide river compressed into a 15m gulley...so i've been told. A lot of water. Not something you'd like to fall into. Anyway, we rushed on in hope of doing our skydive today...picked up in a white limo and driven to the air field to find that the weather was turning. Three people got to jump (including Ames and Asha) while Paul, Nat and I looked on. The winds picked up to 26+ [View Full Entry]

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After our extended stay in Raglan we set off for Rotorua via Waitomo Caves.... ...now here's the thing... I decided it was time to face my fear and head deep under ground! Kitted out in our rather attractive wetsuits and white gum boots (wellies to you and me) we treked across the fields a bit like the Thunderbirds towards the caves. All was going well...wading and crawling through water, a wee tea break to warm up and look at the glow worms, fondly known as "cannabilistic maggots with shiny shit" and then floating along on rubber rings enjoying a rendition of [View Full Entry]

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After Hahei we headed across to the west coast to the surfing town of Raglan. I think this has to be one of my favourite places in NZ and I've only seen about 20% of the country so far! The town just has this chilled out feeling where anything goes. We stayed at Karioi Lodge- a really funky place set in the bush with hammocks and decks that look out over the rugged west coast... and the meanest chef who puts on some amazing homemade food! First up.... Surf School! Joined by my American buddies we took on the waves! And [View Full Entry]

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