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Published: December 15th 2006
Hey Peeps! It’s me again! Welcome to the next episode of my journey…
Now, I don't know who came up with the name's for the two islands that make up New Zealand but they are pure genious! Welcome to..... "North Island"!
After a very windy 3 hour journey from Picton to Wellington on the top deck of a ferry, we arrived in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city! Wellington is known as the windy city! If the ferry trip is anything to judge it by - it certainly lives up to it's name. Wellington seems like a pretty cool place and has a lot of character! It has a good cafe, arts, and cultural scene. The city is very compact and is focussed around the harbour and its surrounding hills. Nice!
Having checked into the hostel it was already early evening so I made the most of the day and headed up on a walk to Mount Victoria. It was a nice walk up some hilly streets and through the green belt forest that was used in the filming of Lord of the Rings. Some big trees here and its easy to imagine which scenes were filmed here. Up
The jump!
What an amazing feeling!the top there were some great views of Wellington and the harbour. Definitely worth the walk up!
I decided to leave straight away the next day as I would be returning on my loop back down to the South island. An early start for me and a very long bus ride up to Taupo, passing the Tongariro National park on the way. Some nice looking volcano's here! On arrival we headed to the very blue and fast flowing Huka falls for a bit of a walk and some exploration.
Taupo is a smallish town situated next to New Zealand’s largest lake - Lake Taupo. This massive lake is actually a giant volcanic crater full of water! Again a quick stop here as I will be back. Just enough time to explore the town and view the lake on this cloudy day!
The next morning I moved onto Auckland via some bubbling volcanic mud pools! Another long drive but some cool scenery to be seen on the way! Lots of lush green rolling hills and more sheep! I arrived in Auckland in the afternoon, checked in and headed out to explore. Auckland is both a region, and a
city which is situated between the Waitemata and Manukau harbours.
My journey started on Queens Street, Auckland’s commercial hub - lots of high street shops, high rise buildings and offices. Oh yeah, and a massive Santa Claus on one of the buildings that looked rather creepy! If I was still a kid I would be scared!
The structure that dominates Auckland’s skyline is the Sky tower which is part of the Sky City complex. It is 328 metres tall, making it the tallest in the southern hemisphere. Often referred to as "the city of sails" there are many sailing boats and yachts scattered around the harbour. There are also some nice little bars and restaurants surrounding the harbour mainly with high prices! The city of sails also has its own harbour bridge - not quite as striking as Sydney's but a nice bridge none the less! My evening walk was pretty nice as the sun was setting on this fine evening! Whilst I didn't find Auckland overly inspiring, it did have some nice areas with splodges of character. It’s a lot bigger and more spread out than the other cities in New Zealand and as a result seems
to lack that warmth I've felt in other places!
For dinner I couldn't resist free sausages at the hostel, followed by a dry Weetabix eating competition. I didn't win but came close. Eating dry Weetabix is not easy without a drink - especially when you've just had 4 sausages. Oh well. I will have to get practising! If only it was a jaffa cake or grape eating competition!
Another early start and a bus journey up to Pahia and the Bay of Islands. Pahia is a rather appealing little seaside town and is the main entry point to the Bay of Islands. The weather is really hot up here - it feels like a different country. The whole place and in particular the landscape seems so different from the New Zealand I've experienced so far. It's a lovely place though! Me likes!
Having checked into the hostel and after a tasty burger from the beach house next door, I headed to the small harbour for a boat trip around the islands on a vessel known as "The Excitor". And very exciting it was!! It was basically a passenger powerboat!
We sat down, put our seatbelts on
PeterPopper and Volker
Upside down - It's a long way up! And down come to mention it! and zoomed off at high speed as music blasted from the stereo. This is definitely the fastest boat I've ever been on. It went about 45 knots - whatever that means! As we went out into the ocean it made mince meat of the big wave's jumping over them and achieving lots of airtime. When the bloke said that the boat could fly I thought he was joking! We headed out to a place known as "the hole in the rock". It's not hard to work out what the hole in the rock is! We went through it in the Excitor and then into a big cave known as 'Cathedral Cave' due to its shape! Lots of massive fish to be seen here and apparently this area is popular with sharks! There are some lovely little islands and bays and some great coastal scenery in the bay! A fun trip and a good way to see the islands at speed! Exciting!
After an afternoon of beer and barbeque I headed out to some bars with some people I met at the hostel. I ended up staying out pretty late, nearly loosing some stuff but made it to bed eventually
Wellington Harbour
From Mount Victoria with all my possessions. Lucky again!
After little sleep I then had to get up at 6.30am for my trip up to Cape Reinger at the very top of the north island. I managed to get a bit of shut eye on the bus before our first stop for a walk in the forest. Extremely big Kauri trees here both in diameter and in height - impressive stuff. It would be pretty hard to climb up one of these but probably pretty fun. I was too hung over though and don't think there was time! We then continued up the coast with some beautiful views on the way. After a stop to get supplies we drove up to Cape Reinga, and walked up the hill and cliff top for some more spectacular views. This is the point where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific! I couldn't see exactly where they met though - maybe they should build a wall to make it clearer!
After basking in the sun at the lighthouse and observing the Magic Maori tree from a distance we got back on board for a quick journey down to Tapoputopus Bay - a lovely little
Mt Victoria - Wellington
Kids on the hill as the sun goes down bay around from Cape Reinga! I went in for a swim with Andy and as we got a little way out, a pod of bottle nosed dolphins came up to us and started swimming with us. These dolphins where really big compared to the dusky dolphins in Kaikoura! They also seemed really inquisitive and friendly and just liked hanging around with us in the sea. It was pretty cool - they were surfing in the waves next to us and doing flips! Sweet!
After lunch on the beach and drying off in the sun we headed to some massive sand dunes near by to go sand boarding. They were pretty big dunes with an 80 metre slope and it was pretty tiring climbing up in the heat! However, we were rewarded with the chance to slide down on body boards which was pure one hundred percent fun. The aim was to reach the flooded area at the bottom and skim across the water! I had quite a few goes! Loved it.
Heading back south we drove along 90 mile beach in the bus. It's not actually 90 miles long though - it’s more like 90km! Weird! On the
way back we stopped for some amazing fush n chups! That's fish and chips in English! Possibly the best I've ever had. Yes... I think so. Yum!
We then had another stop at this old guy's fruit stall for some pretty perfect kiwi fruits and oranges, (They didn't have any strawberries!). We arrived back in Pahia for around 7.00pm. It was then time to meet up with the crew, Sam, Bas, Andy and the Irish' to head out to some bars. Perfect! A top day!
Whilst the Bay of Islands is very popular due to its natural beauty, it also has historical significance for New Zealand and in particular its Maori people! Adjoining Pahia to the north is Waitangi, the site of the signing of the treaty on 6th February 1840 between local Maori chiefs and representatives from Queen Victoria's government.
Basically they signed this treaty so that the English peeps would show the Maori's some respect and help them out a bit, and the Maori’s wouldn't eat the English peeps. Something like that anyway!
And so, I hired a bike without breaks, rode over the bridge and checked out this historical place they named Waitangi!
The Waitangi National Reserve has a beautiful setting overlooking the Bay and its islands. I learnt a little about the history of New Zealand’s when those white goblins also referred top as "the English" came to New Zealand and basically tried to take over the place, and about the signing of the treaty. The treaty signing house once owned by a brit named James Busby still remains, and a Maori meeting house complete with Maori carvings and a war canoe is present for viewing pleasures. An interesting little morning to be had here by good old me. Thank you please.
Having discovered that I could pedal backwards to brake the bike, I rode back over the bridge and into the tiny little town of Pahia. I met Bas and Andy at the beach and just sat about, ate ice cream, ate a burger and just chilled out on the beach! Pahia is a pretty relaxing place! It's easy to do nothing here and just sit about! In the afternoon we took the bus back to Auckland! I was pretty tired out after a fun weekend. Might as well go to the cinema and watch Borat! Brilliant!
When the
Santa Claus - Auckland
It certainly doesn't feel like Christmas! next morning light arrived it was time to head south again. Our first stop was Mount Victoria, one of Auckland’s old volcanic cones with 360 degree views of Auckland! We then drove across the forested hills of the Coromandel peninsular crossing the Kopu ranges. On the east coast of the peninsular we stopped at a place called Cathedral Cove. It was a 45 minute walk to access this beautiful beach but it was definitely worth the walk. We then continued on to Hot Water Beach. Digging your feet into the sand you come to water just below the surface that is extremely hot. This is water that has been geothermally heated due to the activity deep below the surface. At times it was too hot and burnt my feet! Good job the cold sea water was a few inches above! Unfortunately the tide wasn't far enough out to dig our own thermal pool in the sand but it was still pretty neat!
My sleeping quarters for the night was a very nice hostel in Whitianga, (Mercury Bay). The old folk that owned it cooked us up some tasty spag bol and served us cold beer in exchange for gold
coloured coins. Perfect!
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow! When tomorrow arrived I did not go to see Annie the musical but went on a journey to that place they call Rotorura. An early start and a compulsory stop in Whangamata for pies and other food supplies. We then continued on to the historic Karangahake where we did a scenic walk through some old gold mining tunnels, over suspension bridges, through the gorge, and besides the Ohinemuri River. An enjoyable walk, a change of scenery and a good way to burn off some of that energy I've got from all those baked goods I've been eating! Loving the pie's here! Everywhere we stop seems to have a pie shop!
We then continued on to our smelly destination of Rotorua, nicknamed "The Sulphur City". Rotorura is New Zealand’s most lively geothermal area with bubbling mud pools, geysers, and hot springs, giving off a very eggy smell caused by the sulphur! Lovely!
Rotorua also has one of New Zealand’s highest populations of Maori people and is the perfect place to learn a bit about Maori culture. On arrival we went to the Maori village centre to have a taster
for the evening’s events. They told us of how the early Polynesian settlers who first came to New Zealand called the country Aotearoa, meaning "Land of the Long White Cloud". It is a name by which New Zealand is quite often known. We learnt about these people who became the Maori's and how they lived the lands. After sampling some strange tasting foods it was time to give them the dollars they were after and leave...
We headed straight to the luge track for lots of racing run! The luge track here is slightly better than the one in Queenstown and has a choice of 3 different tracks. We had great fun racing down this, although some people were injured. Oh well. I love the luge! Immense fun!
After checking in to our hostel we were picked up in a bus and taken to Tamaki Maori Village for a cultural show. The whole experience was supposed to represent Maori culture before the Europeans came. We had to choose a chief from our group who would represent us. We chose this guy called Adam. On arrival these people in full Maori gear came out and did some sort of
crazy war dance like the Haka - that weird thing the All Blacks do at the start of rugby matches. We were told we had to respect them and not smile or laugh. It was hard not to. Apparently someone got head butted the other week for taking the piss out of them. They were pretty big scary looking monsters so I just laughed in my head. Adam then had to give them an offering to show we are friends and touch noses with them before they let us into the village. Nice.
Inside the village there were more Maori dudes doing other crazy stuff - dancing, playing games, Poi. We were then invited into a performance house where they put on a show. It was pretty good - they did some dancing, singing, Poi and finished with the Haka. Pretty funny! Especially when you have the English translation of the Haka in your head!
It was then time for a traditional Maori meal - A Hangi feast! A Hangi is a meal cooked underground on hot rocks. There was loads of lamb, chicken, fish and veg and unlimited supplies so I stuffed myself. Yum! I did doubt
the authenticity of the apple pie and custard and Pavlova dessert though. Maybe they invented it?? I'm not so sure!
The evening was pretty touristy and a touch tacky but you just have to accept the fact that they are just trying to teach you a bit about Maori culture and make loads of money from the tourists that go there! It was a good night anyway and the food was mint! Nice one mate... nice one!
The next day I felt like hiring a car... so I did. It was really cheap and was an automatic so was easier than driving the luge go karts! After picking up some food supplies I headed about 30km south of Rotorua to Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland. I spent a good few hours looking around this natural wonderland with its craters, blowholes, boiling pools, hot springs and colourful steaming geothermal lakes. There's some pretty amazing stuff to be seen here and lots of lovely sulphur smells to keep your nose happy! :-)
Now a trip to New Zealand wouldn't be complete without a trip to Hobbiton now would it! A 70km drive north west of Rotorura and I arrive at Matamata
which has been gifted with the name - "Hobbiton". The location for Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings is a sheep and cow farm a few miles away from Matamata and is set in beautiful countryside with rolling green hills perfect for Tolkien's hobbit world. It was a pretty interesting trip and our guide told us about how the place became to be Hobbiton and the efforts Peter Jackson went to create Tolkien's magical world. The Hobbit Holes partially remain in the hillside but there are no Hobbits or furnishings to be seen. I went to Bag End, into Bilbo Baggins' house and to the party field and the party tree where Bilbo vanished. It was pretty cool and very interesting with the stories that were told! Top trip! It was then a lovely scenic drive back to Rotorua for me in my petroleum powered go kart car ship! Zooooooooom!
The next morning we headed west to a small village called Waitomo, famous for its underground cave network and its glow worms! On route from Rotorua the bus stopped at the Whakarewarewa forest for a 2 hour walk amongst the giant redwood trees. These were really really big. Impressive
trees! Amazing forest! Lovely fresh air!
After leaving the forest it started raining heavily, and continued to do so all the way to Waitomo. On arrival in Waitomo we stopped at this slightly random place where we were treated to an Angora Rabbit shearing demonstration! They tied the rabbit up in this strange stretching devise which looked more like something out of an animals nightmare horror movie! They then began to shear the poor thing with sheep shears! It was rather amusing, especially with the ladies commentary!! The big Angora rabbits where pretty cute though and extremely fluffy - that's until they were shaved anyway!
We then checked into a really nice YHA hostel, and I was lucky to get a double bed and en-suite bathroom. Luxury! It was still raining but we went on a nearby walk to a place called Mangapohue also known as 'natural bridge'. There are some great rock formations here created by the water wearing away the limestone. We wanted to do another track but it was flooded so we just walked back to the hostel along the road. Nice bit of exercise anyway!
I then had one of the worst pizza
experiences ever! It was expensive and was possibly the worst I’ve ever had. First they brought me the wrong one so I had to wait another half an hour. Then the disgrace for a pizza arrived. An undercooked, fatty, greasy, disgusting mess. I forced my self to eat half of it. I wish I didn't. I had to drink a bottle of wine to take the pain away. Now I may not have located the best pizza in the world yet, but I may have found the worst. YHA Waitomo. Lovely hostel - shame about the pizza! I guess that's one of the disadvantages of being a pizza lover! Every so often you have these nightmare experiences that make you loose hope of eventually finding that perfect creation that dreams are made of!
The next morning it was time to head underground and to go caving. There had been concerns that the caving trip might be cancelled due to the rain but they said it was OK, so at 8.00 in the morning we were picked up and taken to the Black Water Rafting Office where we put on a wetsuit, rubber boots, some strange caving shorts and a
Tapoputopus Bay
If its good enough for the dolphins its good enough for me! helmet with a light.
I wasn't sure whether I would like it underground in small spaces but I wasn't that worried. More excited I guess - I had heard great things about this! We headed a few miles out of Waitomo where we practiced some abseiling. We then began our adventure by abseiling 30 meters down through a small passage in the ground which opened up into a bigger cave space. The bloke told me I should go for speed - so I did. Great fun!
Once we were all down we walked through a small cave area where there were stalagmites and stalactites. Good stuff! We continued on to a point where we were attached to a line for the flying fox! We switched off our helmet lights so that it was pitch black then jumped off an underground ledge into the unknown. I'm not sure how far we travelled down the zip line underground but it was great fun. We found ourselves further underground in another cave system where there was an underground river beneath a high ledge. It's a mad world down there! It's a mad, mad world!
After some cakes and a hot
drink we picked up a car inner tube, put it beneath our bums, turned our lights off again and jumped off the ledge into the water below. It was extremely cold! We then floated around the underground river and cave network in our inner tubes marvelling at the hundreds and hundreds of glow worms that lit up above us like star constellations in the sky. A beautiful sight. After playing a few games and playing about in the river to warm ourselves up we ditched the inner tubes and carried on by foot.
As we continued on down the river, the cave got smaller and the water flowed faster! It was like being in the Goonie's but loads better! As the water flowed faster we laid down on our backs and let it take us through this crazy underwater world. There were some bits that we had to slide down and others where we had to carefully navigate through fast flowing water and dodgy ledges!
It was then time for some hardcore caving and we had to go through some parts where there was only a small gap of air between the roof of the cave and the
Sand dune
Amazing, fun. Brill! Cool banana's! water. There had been lots of rain so the water levels were high and the water fast flowing. We basically had to lie down with our head up and nose touching the top so that we could breathe. Every so often it would open up into these little underwater pools with waterfalls. I looked everywhere for the treasure and on many occasions I was expecting to see Sloth and Chunk appear... but they didn't! Hey You Guys!!!!
The final part and probably the hardest bit involved climbing up and through gushing waterfalls to get higher and out of the cave system. It was difficult, especially with the fast flowing water in your face as you attempt to climb up through the small gaps. The rubber boots certainly helped! About 4 hours after entering the caves we emerged from a cave waterfall in the middle of some lovely countryside. Amazing! We took the van back to the office where we had warm showers and soup! This really was fantastic. I would love to do it again, and would recommend it to anyone - unless you are claustrophobic that is! It’s an amazing world down there!
And then it was
time for my return to Taupo and its beautiful lake. We hopped on the bus for the journey to Taupo arriving in the late afternoon. On my previous trip to Taupo the weather had been slightly suspect so I was hoping for some sunny rays this time. Fingers crossed kids!
Now, I had been considering jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane for a while now and thought that this would be a perfectly good time to do it. Whist the thought of doing it scares me, it also excites me, and when you have people with you that are also considering doing it, it makes it slightly easier. We were dropped off at the airport in Taupo and went into the skydiving office. There are a number of different heights you can go from and I thought if I'm going to do it I might as well do it from the highest possible so opted for 15,000 feet. I also decided to get some photos and a video of my leap. There were a lot of people there so we had to wait a while before we could put our jump suits on. This gave us plenty of
time to get nervous and for the adrenaline to flow. There was Me, Neil, and Gerri who were doing the 15,000 foot jump plus three others we didn't know. As I watched other people falling from the sky I started to wonder whether I had made the right choice - yes. This will be scary shit but I know it will be worth it!
I met the guy that I would be jumping with - Volker, and he checked my harness and that everything was OK. After some brief instructions it was time to get onto the small plane and sit in rows squashed up against each other. I was nervous, excited, but had got myself ready for this crazy jump. As the plane approached the start of the runway we had some bad news! There was a massive storm cloud coming our way so we had to turn back. Gutted! Skydiving was cancelled for the day! Shortly after, there was a rain storm so it was probably better that we didn't jump.
Slightly disappointed we headed back into Taupo to check in. After a trip to the supermarket, a trip to the golden arches, and some time
observing the beautiful orange skies over Lake Taupo I headed to the pub with Neil, Gerri and some other peeps. I tried to get an earlyish night but only managed to get a couple of hours due to people coming in and out, people snoring, and people making noise. The joys of dorm rooms!
I awoke at 5.00am and got my day pack ready, for today I would be going on a trek in the Tongariro national Park. The 18km Tongariro crossing is considered to be the best day trek in New Zealand. I had been looking forward to this for a while! The walk is very weather dependant and I had spoken to many people who had had a disappointing walk due to thick cloud. On this day however, the sky was clear. It was not the land of the long white cloud but the land of the clear blue sky! Perfect!
There were quite a few of us from the hostel doing the walk - Me, Neil, Gerri, Tess, Tom, and a few others. Despite only having a few hours sleep I was excited and raring to go. After an hour's bus ride we arrived at
the Tongariro National Park, a volcanic area with 3 main peaks -Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. The Ngauruhoe Volcano has had recent fame due to its involvement in Lord of the Rings movies - It was Mount Doom! There were some clouds near the tops of the mountains but otherwise the visibility looked good and the sun was shining! It was however pretty windy in places. We began the walk through some volcanic scrublands and crossed a number of springs. As we began to climb a steep rocky area it became evident that it had snowed the night before. This meant that it was quite icy and slippy but the whole place looked that little bit more spectacular! After a pretty tiring climb we could see Mount Doom in its full glory with its distinct symmetrical conical shape. We crossed the south crater and marvelled at the beautiful scenery. We were really lucky to get the snow but it was very cold up there especially on the fingers!
We continued on up the red crater ridge which had a thick snow covering. As we climbed higher the views got better and better. At the top of the ridge we looked
over the red volcanic crater and the lakes. It was pretty windy at the top of the ridge with a steep drop below. As we began to climb down from the top of the red crater we were rewarded with the most magnificent sight! The Blue Emerald Volcanic Lakes, surrounded by volcanic, snow covered peaks. There were also a number of hot volcanic springs giving off sulphur steam which added to the whole atmosphere. Coming down was lots of fun as the terrain was loose volcanic gravel - I pretty much jumped and slid down! Loved it!
After crossing the central crater and passing the beautiful blue lake we came around the other side of the mountain where it was less windy. We could see Lake Taupo in the distance. Great views! After some lunch at Ketetahi hut we continued down a part which was not good for the knees - lots of uneven steps. Eventually after 6 and a half hours and 18km of walking we arrived at the finish point slightly ahead of schedule. At this lower altitude it was a lot warmer so we just relaxed on the grass for a few hours until the bus
picked us up to take us back to Taupo. This walk really is amazing! One of my best experiences!
On the way back the driver dropped us off at the skydiving place so that Me, Neil and Gerri could try again. It was probably better that we waited as the sky was now much clearer making for some better views. With rather sunburnt faces we went through the same process of the previous day, put our jump suits and other gear on, and let the adrenaline flow. I had the same guy as yesterday - Volker. Sweet As!
When it was our turn we boarded the plane and sat on the small bench. We were practically sat on each others laps. As we took off I started to contemplate what I was about to do. The views from the window were immense! We got pretty high and Volker told me we were at 3,000 feet! Shit I thought... We're going up to 15,000! It took a long time to get up to height and the dodgy plane journey was certainly an experience! After 12,000 feet we were given oxygen until it was time to jump!
Volker made
sure I was attached properly and told me what to do when we jumped. Then, the small plastic sheet they called a door went up and all of sudden I saw the first people jump out. It was crazy seeing them plummet towards the earth! Then, shortly after Neil went out with his bloke. Then, it was my turn! I put my head back as instructed as we shuffled towards the door. Some crazy things were going through my head! Volker sat on the edge with me hanging out of the plane, I had a split second to look at the camera woman and then all of a sudden we were leaving the plane!
With my eye's and mouth wide open in astonishment we started to fall - that first feeling you get when you leave the plane is one I will never forget. It's not a stomach dropping feeling but one of immense euphoria and adrenaline charged excitement. It really does take your breath away! As we somersaulted I saw the plane above me as I was upside down in the air! Amazing!
A tap on the shoulders and I put my arms out for the freefall
Auckland City
View from Mt. Victoria position! What a feeling! It’s really hard to describe in words because I’ve never felt anything like it before but it’s an intense and insane feeling as you are plummeting towards the earth. The view of Lake Taupo and of the Volcanoes I had just trekked through was out of this world! I could actually see the curvature of the earth from this height! Out of nowhere came the camera woman - As we fell I shouted with excitement! It was immense! I made some faces and stuff for the camera and then all of a sudden the parachute shute opened above us! "How was that?" he said... "Amazing!" "Fu*!*@ng Amazing!"
The parachute trip down was a completely different experience. You obviously don't get that immense freefall feeling but it’s pretty cool as you float down, spinning and turning and admiring the spectacular views! As we approached the ground I put my legs up and we came to a perfect stop! Wow! The whole experience was pretty surreal but I know one thing... I loved it!
** Check out the video if you so wish. There's mine, Neil's and Gerri's on there plus a couple of other peeps
Cathedral Cove
Lovely little beach so it's a bit of a long one! Despite being the 3rd to jump they stuck mine at the end so if you fast forward to the last jumper- thats me! The camera woman seemed to take a while to get to me but got some cool pictures as I was leaving the plane so its all pretty safe. Like a house. Enjoy.
I was pretty pumped up for the rest of the day, and the next! That evening we had a pretty yummy tasting pizza. Oh, the joys of good pizza! It was slightly challenging as it had loads of jalapeno's but a very good pizza none the less! We then went out to some bars to drink grog and celebrate! What an amazing day! Unvbelievable!
The next morning we left Taupo and headed south. After another walk in the Tongariro National park to the Terenaki falls where we had lunch, we continued on through some green hilly landscapes and to an adventure lodge called River Valley. Unsurprisingly River Valley is situated in a river valley! The Rangitikei River to be exact! As well as offering grade 4 and 5 white water rafting it is possible to
Cathedral Cove
View from the cave explore the beautiful countryside on foot or on a four legged animal known as a horse.
I've never been horse riding before but thought I might as well give it a go. Give it a try before you die! There were about 6 of us who did it - we were taken to the stables a couple of miles away and given some horse riding gear to wear. As it was my first time I was given a slowish horse to start with - Chesnut. After the initial fear of not being able to control the thing I started to enjoy it. We went through some lovely farmland with lots of sheep, lambs and plenty of deer! A girl with a faster horse got scared as her horse kept going a bit crazy and running fast so for some reason I had to swap with her! It was harder to control and Fred certainly liked going at the front and faster but I got on OK. It was also slightly scary when Suzanne’s horse ran off and she was thrown off! The scenery here was really beautiful, especially with the low sun shining off the rolling hills on this
Hot Water Beach
Dig those feet in kids! marvellous day! I enjoyed the horse riding - despite the sore bum and testicles when it runs fast!!! Painfull!
Back at the lodge we had a roast dinner and beer before eventually going to bed in the 16 bed dorm room with 8 people next to each other on one long bunk! Thank god for my ear plugs!
The next morning we put wetsuits and helmets on and got into a van. We were taken 18km upstream to start our white water rafting adventure. There were 3 different rafts that went down with 8 people in each. It started out reasonably easy with some small rapids but got progressively harder! We had to jump into the cold water to show that we could handle swimming through rapids if we were to capsize. Top fun! As we got further down the river we were faced with some grade 4 and 5 rapids including some waterfalls! Our instructor was really good and told us what to do. Some of the rafts capsized going down but we managed to escape that! However, he made sure we went in a few times and we stopped to jump in the river from a
high rock which was pretty fun but extremely cold! The rafting lasted about 3 hours. Great fun and worth every penny! We finished at the lodge where there was a warm shower and tasty Panini’s waiting! Nice! Cheers guys!
After lunch we had a long drive back to Wellington! After checking into the hostel we headed out for some drinking and said goodbye to a few people. A late night, but I didn't have to be up too early the next day!
For my final day in Wellington and on the North island I decided to explore the city some more on my two slightly sore legs! Wellington is a nice city to walk around - it has some interesting, shops, cafes, and buildings and is reasonably compact. After doing a walking tour I headed to Te Papa - New Zealand’s biggest and best museum. It’s a pretty interesting and futuristic place in a modern building. Some interesting stuff on the geography and geology of New Zealand and of its Maori culture. And best of all - it was free!
Finally, I spent the evening walking around the harbour and admiring the Victorian buildings terraced up the
steep hills. I like Wellington - It is an inspiring city and has a good feel and atmosphere about it! It’s a colourful, vibrant, attractive place!
Well guess what folks - that's the end of my journey on the north island. Tomorrow I am heading back south.
I've done some pretty amazing and mad things here to say the least, and have seen some pretty spectacular scenery!
Good times!
Over and Out for Now
See you soon
PeterPopper :-)
4 pages of lovely photo's on this one - enjoy!
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Martyn
non-member comment
WOW
I've just watched your skydiving video popper, it looks absolutely insane, I espcially loved the bit where you covered your eyes while the ground was rushing towards you at a thousand miles an hour or whatever it is. I want to do it now, will you teach me?