What a Kiwi Experience! California next...

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I'm starting to write this blog entry as I enter the 22nd hour of travelling, getting from Auckland to San Francisco is a bit of a mission with all the stopovers. On a side note, whilst waiting in LA I found these amazing snacks which are green pea baked crisps - wasabi flavoured! God bless America, they are a delight. Anyway back to the last part of New Zealand. We left Queenstown for the final time on the 7th January and said a few goodbyes as our group was starting to disperse which was sad, but inevitable. The first stop on the way up was in a really quiet little town with a huge lake, unfortunately I spent most of that day in bed as my cold really came out that day (self inflicted) and I think I just needed a couple of days to sleep and rest. We drove up the East coast and stopped in Christchurch along the way which had a very peculiar feel to it as it still hasn't really recovered from the earthquake a few years ago, with many buildings still under construction. Apparently it used to have a number of high rise buildings and locals say it has a completely different feel to it now which is really sad. Ironically there was a mild earthquake the day after we left, it wasn't a bad one just some rumbles.



One of the best stops on the way up was in Blenheim which is one of the most prolific wine regions in New Zealand. We decided to hire bikes and do a bit of a spontaneous group wine tasting tour directed by team leader - Lynsey. She was in her element, leading and drinking, two of her favourite things to do. We managed to fit in 5 vineyards and 1 brewery, some of which were free entry or just a few dollars. The area is very well known for its white wines and we tried some really great Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays. Wine tastes so much better when you don't buy the cheapest bottle Tesco Express has to offer! I also tried some Pinor Noir which I hadn't had before and I really enjoyed it, a light red wine but not a rose. Needless to the say the cycle home was an interesting one, with everyone feeling a little tipsy from the wine tasting. We did have 2 falling off the bike situations but nothing too serious and fortunately not on the road! Thankfully George took up my offer of him towing me which involved me holding the seat post and him cycling us both along. In hindsight a little bit dangerous but great training for George! To finish the day off, a steak dinner was prepared and very appreciated, I still can't believe how cheap steak is here. Sweet potatoes and limes are made of gold though as they are ridiculously expensive!!



We eventually made our way up to the North island and Lynsey and I decided to stop for 3 nights in Taupo as we liked it when we stopped there on the way down. For the first time in about a month we were alone, as everyone else continued up to Auckland. We spent a lot of time reflecting on the past 6 weeks in New Zealand. Throughout the conversation we were smiling as we have had so much fun with the people we have met along the way and I was having one of my 'I can't believe my luck moments' when I remembered the beautiful places I've been to in New Zealand. We also spent some time walking by the lake and just catching up with emails and admin! On the last day in Taupo we spent half the day laying in the sun reading, it was bliss. Although I read another James Patterson crime story; based around Alex Cross, problem is they are all based in San Fran which was unsettling!! I enjoyed these days to chill because I knew when we got to Auckland for the weekend it was going to be a busy time as a few of us had bought tickets to go to a music festival; Big Day Out, which was incredible! Snoop Dog, Arcade Fire, The Lumineers, Pearl Jam, Deftones just to name a few. I did manage to lose the boys I was with for around 3 hours in the evening but it didn't matter as everyone was in such good spirits I just found a group of people and carried on!! I found the boys at around 10pm in time for Major Lazor who did an awesome set to close the day. Very funny day from start to finish especially with the creative ways to sneak alcohol in to avoid the grossly inflated drink prices at festivals. My favourite was the fresh loaf of bread which had the middle scooped out and in the breads place was a hip flask, a night in the freezer jammed it shut. They didn't suspect a thing!



The next day I met up with my friend Suze, who I played netball with in Bath. She has been living in Auckland since April and I was staying with her for a few days until I flew out of New Zealand. Her place is on the North Shore, which is about 20mins out of the city centre and has beach one side of the road and her lounge doors open onto a lake. Such a gorgeous place to live. We went to the city for dinner and drinks on Saturday as it was the last time the remaining 8 of us from the bus would be together. We spent the next day laying on the beach sun bathing, gossiping and napping. I'm glad I took advantage of that day as my last two days in New Zealand saw some horrendous weather including a cyclone. In a way it was good to have some bad weather as I had a lie in for the first time in a really long time. No one waking me up, a comfortable bed and when I eventually got up no having to wear flip flops in the shower. Simple things. It was really good to see Suze and her flat mates were also really nice and they made me feel very welcome. New Zealand were playing England at netball on my last day and we lost, gutted!! Poor Suze got a bit of stick from her NZ netball team. We'll get them in the Commonwealth Games?! It was time to leave and Suze dropped me at the airport in the evening where I stayed the night as I couldn't be bothered with the faff of getting to the airport for 5am the next day. Fortunately, the tennis was on and there was a $10 magazine deal so my evening was sorted. 2&1/2 hours sleep on a booth in the airport Burger King was probably not my best preparation for 25hrs of travelling but c'est la vie.



4 flights, a huge carbon footprint and my new favourite snack later I arrived in San Francisco. What a beautiful looking city with so many famous landmarks. I was shattered from the travelling so being a tourist started the next day. And tour I did, I would have loved to have measured how many miles I walked as I was out from 11-6pm stopping only once for my jam sandwiches without butter (stupid budget). I managed to see Downtown San Fran with its Chinatown, Union Square and numerous Piers. All of which I did alone as my room mates were not the most lively which was a shame. Whilst walking I saw the ferry for Alcatrez so decided to head there the next day. On my way home from my day of walking was the eye opening vision that is the Tenderloin district where I was staying. I can safely say, I have never seen such a concentration of homeless people in any place I have visited around the world. Most of whom looked as though they had been sleeping rough for years, on drugs and some talked to themselves as they lay on the pavements!? It was so sad to see that this was the standard of living for some people in one of the worlds most affluent and powerful nations. This area was ok in the daytime, however, after dark it was a no go area!! 3 out of the 6 nights I stayed there I heard gun shots. The first time it actually woke me up as the orange flash of the shot lit up my window. Near the end of my stay there was another situation around 2am where there was 5 police cars with guns drawn and a guy stood with a massive gun in some kind of stand off. All viewed through a window, wasn't actually outside! It sounds horrendous but you simply stay away from that area at night, as actually they are more concerned with each other in their gangs than annoying the average person. Maybe I should have thrown more money at my accommodation but now I've left (with all my possessions) I'm glad I stayed there and experienced it as it opens your eyes to the various ways some people have to endure life, we are so lucky to be able to actually live it. For many of them its purely survival from one day to the next. We can send people to the moon and American companies will pay millions and millions of dollars on 30 second commercials in next weekends Super Bowl, but still American people are existing like that?! Blows my mind. I could sit and debate for hours how you fix the situation but I simply can't fathom what the answer would be.



Anyway, back to Michelle the tourist and Alcatrez! Great place, the prison is still standing with the cells in tact. One of the slogans about the prison was something like 'if you break the law you go to prison, if you mess up there you go to Alcatrez.' The conditions looked pretty unforgiving as you can see from the pics. I have attached one with the cell where the guy managed to dig his way through the wall using a spoon! Apparently they escaped but it's suspected they died when they tried to swim across to San Fran bay, others believe they are living the life in South America?! How annoying if they did die, "yes we broke out of America's top security prison but oh wait this water." The next few days led me to bike/hike with a cool guy I met in the hostel, talking politics over our pancakes after an hour of this we decided to head out. He rode his BmX without any brakes and I plodded along with my miss Honey looking hire bike!! We spent hours riding around the city and headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge for sunset which was really beautiful. On Sunday afternoon we randomly ended up in a park called Delores Park where people were relaxing, hula hooping and all doing all sorts of cool things. We ended up eating lunch at this cool Mexican place which was proper little cantina, my nachos were yummy. It was fun hanging out with JD as he's always up for an adventure and will talk to anyone so we went to some cool places I may not have visited alone. He also introduced me to a food sensation I'd never had before: the Corndog, jury is still out on that one. My last evening in San Fran and we decided to head to a free comedy night at a quirky cafe (bit likes Karens cafe from one tree hill) where local comedians would try out new material. I was very pleasantly surprised as it was really good! The first girl was average but they got better and better with the last women making me belly laugh as she was so dry and was funny without even really trying.



That was the end of San Fran and the free all day pancakes and free 9.30pm beers! I managed to hitch a lift with some Danish people from the hostel who were also heading to LA. I arrived at Hermosa beach and instantly fell in love! Amazing beach, weather is great, volleyball courts everywhere, waves to surf and no guns. I got changed and went for a run as soon as I arrived , it's so easy to be motivated to exercise in this environment. After chatting to some people in the hostel I've managed to get myself on a sailing boat tomorrow afternoon as one of the guys who stays here owns one. His name is Randy and he works at the post office, older gentleman with a wicked plait! He usually just asks people in the hostel to come and crew for him as his boat is a 24ft yacht. Also managed to gain a wetsuit and board to surf with in the morning plus nice room mates who can shut the door without slamming it!! What a great day.

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Photos

Nice cars I believe
People were taking pics so I copied

Building from ghostbusters
Not in New York as we are led to believe!!