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Published: August 2nd 2010
Hello y'all! Hope everything is good with all of you and the weather is wonderful and not raining as it was here. Both Ed and I are loving New Zealand, but we should probably work chronologically and take you back to our last evening and full day in Sydney (which now seems like a lifetime ago!).
So we did go to the posh Indian I mentioned in the former blog and it did not dissapoint; first of all when we arrived the manager greeted us with two different tables reserved for us depending on our preference of either being seated in the cosy interior, or outside with the fantastic views of Darling Harbour; we chose outside and were greeted by a great view of beautiful boats, busy Sydney and a 'crackin' harbour' (Ed). The food was absolutely incredible we tried a vegetarian starter which surprisingly, was fantastic and we both really enjoyed, we also had Indian style ribs and two differents curries. I must admit to also splurging (courtesy of mut and vat - huge thanks) on a cocktail named 'Absolutely fabulous' which would describe the whole evening and the huge portions that greeted us.
Wow, travelling has really made us both appreciate eating out! Obviously, it happens very rarely but when we reach that stage of desperation Ed and I totally appreciate the chosen food. The next day we went whale watching out past Sydney harbour which was a pretty cold start to our last morning in Sydney; we followed a few humpbacks which Ed tried to photograph but I don't think that was too successful! It was really cool to seem these whales up close though and later on we got followed by a school of dolphins - they are so playful and streamline that they swam just in front on the boat for ages; so interesting and they were almost close enough to catch. Also, got pretty close to a few albatrosses which made me think of Grandad Jim's stories of the curse that would follow the sailor who killed an albatross! Overall it was a really good choice of trip and we managed to get back to the hostel just in time for the airpport shuttle bus.
Unfortunately, on arriving at the airport with three hours until our flight, we found out it was delayed by another three. I should probably mention at this point that my thumb was also beginning to become infected; on the blue mountains tour I caught my thumb nail on the door in the bus and it began to bleed which I tried to clean up but that (much like Ed's whale photography) was quite unsuccessful. It then became quite painful and infected but due to our constant travelling from one place to another we hadn't had time to visit a doctor. After a 7 hour bus journey to Queenstown we dropped our bags at the hostel and immediatley head for the medical clinic - after a few injections of local anaesthetic and de-pusing my thumb there was already serious improvement - now I'm just on antibiotics and absolutely fine 😊
Queenstown is awesome; its basically a skiing town which is centred around a huge, beautiful lake with snow topped mountains in the distance. We've walked around it, and although we have taken photos, it really doesn't do the surroundings justice! Once again, we've met loads of great people in the dorm we're staying in - including a group of girls from Guildford - and sealed the friendship with a pub quiz and the local bar. We had gender separated teams and the boys came second (admittedly they cheated the whole way through and then tried to deny it...boys, what can you do with them?!). But cheating is acceptable when two teapots of alcohol is then won (don't worry I'm allowed to drink on these antibiotics) - now 'teapots' of alcohol are literally just that - teapots full of cocktails mixes; its like an english teenager's dream!
But we had a relatively early night due to the early start the next morning - for, wait for it, skiing! Thats right I bullied Ed in to going skiing on the wonderful nearby (and relatively cheap) slopes, and he was amazing (he asked me to write that...). Seriously, Ed was fantastic had beginners' lessons all day and can now parallel turn (any skiers out there will get this) which is a pretty big deal. We both had lessons, I just had a morning session to remind me of the basics and to get my parallel turns good enough to go skiing in to the mist at the top of the mountain - and wow, what a sight, it got pretty steep at points but I went off with this really nice couple from the morning and managed to only fall over once! That was also on black slope (the hardest) which I accidentally ended up on... Basically we've both got the skiing bug now and Ed's currently considering whether he can afford to ski over his christmas holidays! Now we're both knackered as skiing is mentally and physically exhausting.
Tomorrow we leave Queenstown and our time here has gone so quickly! In the morning we're going horse riding on almost untouched terrain, so that should be pretty cool. Another first for Ed! Then we take the bus up to Christchurch, one night there, then fly to Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. This whole trip has gone so fast and we can't believe its nearly over; I'm so torn between wanting to come back to see people and continuing travelling as this trip has just made us realise how much of the world there is to see. Hope you're all well, if you're reading this leave us a comment! We'd love to hear how you are doing, love to everyone xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PS this title for the blog will only be funny to those who ever read 'Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging'. Apologies to the rest/most of you.
PPS isn't it ironic that i've got hurt and Ed hasn't?!
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Dad & George
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Sky's the limit
We’ve been without an Internet connection for a few days whilst we sort out that corner of the room, so have just read the last two blogs one after the other. Very impressed at much you’re packing in to your trip, but can certainly understand why you didn’t mention the sky-diving in advance as it would have freaked several people out !! You’ll have to compare notes on heights with Grandma; they’ve just come back from a two week cruise during which she completed a rock-climbing and abseiling session. Didn’t quite reach 16,000 feet - but apparently stunned the instructor when he asked her age (we’re waiting to see the video footage). Anyway, keep generating those lifetime memories and make the most of the remainder of your trip. We can’t wait to see the photos / hear all about it. Safe travels & lots of love.