There and back again (Wellington to Auckland)

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Wellington to Christchurch

Oops I was a bit delayed in getting this uploaded! So where did we leave it, ah yeah leaving Wellington…

Another week, another mad bus ride with the Kiwi Experience :o)

Ok this time it was all about the South Island and our trip was as follows:

Wellington – Kaiteriteri - Westport - Greymouth/The Poo Pub – Franz Josef – Lake Wanaka - Queenstown – Christchurch

Kaiteriteri
After an early start in Wellington the day after the All Blacks regained their world champion’s status we, hungover, jumped on the ferry for the 3-hour crossing to the South Island. Now doing this ferry early in the morning with hangover was a bit of risk and though it was a little bumpy I’m gad to say we made it across with no un-pleasenteries! So it was a 2-3 hour drive and then we landed in Kaiteriteri. Quite simply one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and it was actually warm and sunny when we arrived so Helen and I dumped our bags and grabbed our bikinis to sit in the sun and even have a paddle in the sea :o) It was a lovely golden sandy beach and quite frankly I could have spent a week there! There was a hostage situation involving 34 seagulls and 2 ducks (I told Helen not to feed the bloody birds!) but after a diversion we managed to make it out unscathed!

Wesport
After a relaxing morning sat on Kaiteriteri beach again we headed off to Westport. We managed to see two seals on the coast in the pouring rain on the drive up which was a little disappointing! Not really much to report here as we all spent the night at the hostel relaxing, we’d all been warned of tomorrows onslaught and decided to take it easy on ourselves!

Greymouth/The Poo Pub:
So we head off in the morning and after a lovely scenic drive we arrive in Greymouth. The fancy dress theme is reviled as ‘anything but clothes’ and we all have two hours to find stuff to make a costume, naturally we all fled off the bus and raided the charity shops and the supermarket! I managed to find time to book my return flight from Christchurch to Auckland and then it was back on the bus to our fancy dress/BBQ evening. I should probably mention at this point that the Poo Pub is a Kiwi experience legend. The pub is run by Les whose know 89 and cooks up a lovely BBQ before watching us all get smashed in his little pub in the middle of no where with no phone signal! It has the worst beds I have ever slept in yet it is quite simply one of the funniest/drunken nights on the bus tour! So after we all don on bin bags/bed sheets/plastic bins (!) we all spend the night getting trashed! I need to give credit to my fellow bus riders as we all really went for it with our fancy dress theme; you got to check out the photos on facebook for this one!

Franz Josef:
Another early start…another hangover to deal with. The bus is very quiet and chilled as we make our way through the Mountains to Franz Josef. The stories of last night start to surface which results in some embarrassing faces and lots of giggling! Franz Josef is a lovely little town that is just in-cased in the Mountains, some beautiful views especially when the sun sets! I managed to have a good wonder round and get some good photos although by this point I had come to realise that the photos I took never do the views any justice out here! I just can’t seem to capture the amazement of them! They really are breathtaking views down here! Helen also made a friend in Franz Josef, a rather lazy ginger cat who liked to chill out with us while we tried to navigate through the NZ TV channels, a rather amusing half an hour!

Lake Wanaka:
After being in Franz for two nights we headed off to Lake Wanaka, such a beautiful place. I really enjoyed walking around the lake and taking in the views on that evening, it was just so peaceful. After the manic days on the bus it was just so nice to sit in the sunshine and relax down by the lake with the Mountains sat on the horizon. It was one of those places where you sit down and just think. What did I think about? I thought about how much of a miracle it was that I somehow organised myself to get out of the UK and over to this beautiful country!

Queenstown:
Finally we head towards one of the main attractions, Queenstown! After spending the more in puzzling world we had a short bus drive to New Zealand’s party town! Firstly we arrived at the AJ Hakit bungee site where we learn the history of bungee jumping and how it originated right here in New Zealand! We watch/encourage a few of the jumpers off the 43m jump off the bridge well most of the bus signs up for the massive 134m Nevis jump the next day…I don’t sign myself up…as I’m here for a year I want to leave this for another time but I will be back in Queenstown and I will do the Nevis!! So we finally roll into Queenstown for the last two nights. I met some really great friends while staying in Queenstown and as it was Halloween I helped the boys get dressed up and head out on the world famous Big Night Out Queenstown pub-crawl. As I was leaving the next day I decided to give that particular pub-crawl a miss as it has a reputation for being quite a night…but like I said I’ll be back…This was also the place where me and Helen parted again :o( I will miss Irish…

Christchurch:
So after the fun of Queenstown we have an early start and a very long 8-hour bus ride to Christchurch to catch my flight back to Auckland. I spend most of the day asleep on the bus having been awake until 4am due to my drunken roommates. We don’t see much of Christchurch as it is still trying to rebuild itself after last year’s earthquakes. The CBD of the city is a complete no go area as half of the buildings have collapsed and more need to be knocked down and rebuilt. It’s a little sad really to see a town in this state but they are getting back on their feet. So we finally reach the airport and it’s a 4-hour wait for my flight. I just get away with the bag allowance and I’m kinda impressed with myself that I managed to sneak 14 kilos in my hand luggage although standing at check in trying to not break my back took some effort! Before I know it I’m up in the air once more heading back to where I started. It’s a very quick hour flight and the in-flight entertainment provided by the two old gentlemen next to me passes the time quickly!

So we landed back in rainy Auckland and after a rather bumpy first week back the sun is now shining, I have a tan (sort of!). Summer has finally arrived in New Zealand and I am still completely confused by all the Christmas displays in the shop windows, it feels like it’s July not November!!

So no more travelling for a little while! I have decided that I will be going back to both Wellington and Queenstown as I have unfinished business there haha! I guess I kind of wanted to give myself something to look forward to over the next 11 months like doing the Nevis bungee and the WETA studio tour! There's also the Bay of Island part of the tour that I'm yet to complete (saving that for a hot sunny weekend!) and of course a trip to Hobbiton now filming has finished!

But now its time for me to find somewhere to live, that isn’t Emilie’s and Claire’s couch, and get a job for a few months….

Wish me luck!!

Amy
x

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