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Hey everyone bit wierd to be now writing my Blogs in a completley different country!!! Our nightmare of a time in Sydney airport continued as i left you last time our flight was delayed for another hour so we were in the airport for over 8 hours a long time!!! The flight was pretty gd for me anyway i managed to sleep for most of the journey with harry not getting much sleep to my knowledge. We arrived in New Zealand about 11.30pm there time 9.30pm our bodyclock time!! Got through baggage claim and customs all easy before we got the Super Shuttle into Christchurch City Centre. Then we got outside our hostel to find ourselves next to the beautiful Chirstchurch Cathedral. We checked in and the guy at reception was so friendly and helpful a lot more so than in Oz and the Uk. Hostel is quite nice in a 4 person dorm so that was quite gd. After a gd nights sleep we got up to some perfect weather and started to stroll around Christchurch and within 5mins we had spotted Josh the guy we had been with for bout 3 weeks seriously wierd just in the middle of
the square so we spent rest of day with him. It is a beautiful city as you will be able to see from the pictures!!! The city itself is very English and it reminds us a bit of Guildford or Chichester a bit. The weather came as quite a shock seeing we were expecting rain and our first 2 days were pefect sunshine with a nice crisp breeze a lot more refreshing than Cairns humidity!!! The whole of the first day literally was walking the city picking up information leaflets seeing what else was available in rest of New Zealand. In the evening the 3 of us went for a few drinks in the hostel bar with the American girl from mine and harrys room. She was actually really nice, Americans have not really always given themselves a gd first impression of thereselves so far on the trip but this has definatley changed my perspective because she was really nice and down to earth not boasting how brilliant her country was like the rest of them!!!!! There was also some entertainer who was pretty apauling and kind of got sympathy laughs of the crowd the highlight of his act was
sticket a flaming tampon down his throat nice!!! After that there was a bit competition to see who could win a 3 day car hire by winning a Rock, Paper and Scissor competition. It was pretty epic and there was one massive tall guy that me and harry were laughing our heads off at u might have had to be there but he was so competitive it was unreal his arm was nearly touching the cealing on the way up and coming down with such a ferocious stroke he absolutley loved it!!!!! Of course he went out first round to his dissapointment!!!!
Day 2 Me, Harry and Josh decided to travel up to Hanmer Spirngs. This is off there website i got lazy -
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa, just a 120 minute drive from Christchurch, offers the ultimate in relaxation. Nestled in the magnificent South Island high country, the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa has, for 125 years, attracted visitors seeking the benefits of its natural mineral waters and clean, clear alpine air.Set in a breathtaking natural landscape, surrounded by forests and mountains, the award-winning Thermal Pools offers visitors a wide range of
experiences, from soothing indulgence to exciting family fun. The Thermal Pools & Spa has nine open-air thermal pools, three sulphur pools and four private thermal pools, as well as a sauna/steam room. A fresh-water, heated pool and a popular family activity area, complete with water slides and water toys and picnic area, ensure the Thermal Pools & Spa offer something for everyone.The pools range in temperature from 33-42° Celsius, perfect for soothing away aches and pains or for just unwinding. The Hanmer Springs geothermal water is drawn from a bore adjacent to the Reserve complex, providing natural water of the highest quality.
As you can read its absolutly awesome. The 42 degree pool is as hot as any bath i have ever had, after spending 10 mins in it we were all sweating and actually feeling really drained they are so relaxing they make you really tired. The 37,38,39 degree pools are like the biggest best baths i have ever had in my life there amazing definatly worthwhile trip. Another thing to add is the scenery on the trip too the springs was just spectacular 2nd to none that i have had a chance to see!!! It really
is just a beautiful country, it all looks so untouched. I can not wait till the snow starts coming down when it will get even more spectacular.
I wrote that last section about a week and a half ago now i am writing to you having nearly completed the South Island and just had the time of my life on the Kiwi Experience.
It all started in Christchurch as we left the first day of bus driving with our driver LJ (Little John) who was a really decent bloke and up for a laugh. Anway he was our driver over to the West Coast to Westport. First we had a short drive down to arthurs pass where we walked to a waterfall that seemed spectacular at the time but the scenery i have seen since has easily surpassed that by a long way. After that we travelled the rest of the day passing through the Southern Alps which was really spectacular a word that you will hear a lot from me in this!!!
After this journey we arrived in westport at the hostel i can not remember the name of but i do remember
it was on of the favourites of my trip. Mainly because we had a massive room with ensuite kitchen a tv a fire we had the absolute works and to top it off i managed to blag the double bed oh yes!!!!! I had a brilliant nights sleep!!! Anyway that night was a quiet one something that has become a rariety in the last week especially having Barry around!!! Ill quote from him " Come on you lightweights just come for a quiet tequila" LOL something that has made all of us chuckle over our time in the south island. Anyway that night we just stayed in and got to know TJ, Fran, Ben and Mark quite well.
The next day was the start of our adventure with our New bus driver Smiley, im sure u can gather why hes called that even without seeing the pictures of him. This was to be the start of where 2 groups came together and gelled really quickly and had a brilliant time!!!
During that day we first off went to a seal colony and was some seals suprisingly enough well i was lucky enough to catch a couple
most people didnt see any!! Then after that we drove onto Pancake Rocks which you will be able to see why they get there name from the photo!! After that and a bit of lunch we headed on the 4th most scenic drive in the world unfortunatly the weather was not so good so it was a bit tainted but it was still amazing!!
Then we headed the short bus ride to greymouth which isnt really anything to shout about it was just a stop to get supplies for the night stop at Manapooah ( Not sure how its spelt) anyway we drove onto there and we found what looked like an oversized shed!!! with a few rooms around it which we were staying in!!! Ours stank of cats piss great!!! really nice!!! and the bar area was quite compact but really nice and cosy with the open fire. Anyway this is where every Kiwi experience bus stops off and has a fancy dress night and kind of a gelling session and gives people the time to get to know each other cos there is certainly nothing else to do within a 20mile radius. I personally was a
tiny bit sceptical at first but after the night i went away thinking what a brilliant idea cos now everyone knows each other so the bus is a bit more lively!!! The theme for the evening was Binbags yup Binbags we had to make our costumes out of them to the best we could which ended up being quite interesting!!! I didnt have a clue what i was going to be until i saw a pic of someone else that had done it and i went for it and decided to be a Nun. As you can see from the pic my outfit looks highly impressive well at least i think so and it is all purely made from black and white bin bags and celetape what an effort with a few helping hands here and there!! Harry's costume didnt quite go to plan to say the least!!! When you see this you will laugh well at least i did very hard his first plan of action was to dress up as a black and white teletubbie??? Random anyway he tried to go about this by blowing up different coloured binbags and sticking them to his body and as you
can see the final product was absolutly comical had me in tears. After his first idea he went to desperation matters with plan B he decided to be a Hoare!!! He stuck one of Frans skirts on made a binbag strappy top and some random things round hos ankles and we were off!!! The night was a really gd laugh and made a lot better by the fact that everybody had made the effort to dress up!!! There was many a story that i have since heard from that night that im not going to embarress anyone with by saying anymore!!!
Anyway after a pretty poor nights sleep being woken at 5.55am when the bus was not leaving till 9 didnt impress me but ah well!!! We headed further down the West Coast to a little museum where we found out what they did for work in New Zealand 30 years ago!! After that and some people trying possum pie we started out trip to Franz Josef which is home of the Franz Josef Glacier!! Anyway we got there and Smiley our driver set a load of us up to go paintballing at a near by sight for
a really cheap price so we did that. That was a brilliant laugh to be had by all and i was a little harsh i have to admit attacking people once i had got knocked out!! At least i had my chance to get some revenge!!!! After that it was a quiet night for me and harry and we just stayed up chatting to ben and mark for ages sharing travelling tales that we had picked up from our times away!!!
The next morning it was an early start for out full day glacier hiking up Franz Josef Glacier which i am so glad i did it was an unbelievable experience. I have never done anything like that in my life!!! It was Awesome!!! We spent the whole day climbing up the fastest moving glacier in the world fully kitted out with professional gear we all certainly looked the part. Our guide Dale decided to take us onto the side of the glacier that had not been walked on for over 3 years which was interesting as there were no tracks to walk on anywhere and he cut out these tiny little steps and footholes big enough for
his size 6 feet not quite for my size 12's. Throughout the day we went through stunning blue ice caves and up over and through the smallest crevasses. Many people fell over on the ice mainly Ian and Andy who just kept on falling which made us laugh a lot. As you can see from the pictures the ice is amazing and i reccommend anyone that comes to New Zealand to have a go at this because it is awesome!!!
After our epic ice climbing we had another quiet one and tried to catch up on some sleep before the early start in the morning. We started the day with an amazing scenic drive to lake mathison where we got an amazing picture of the mirror lake!!! Then after that we headed down to Wanaka a lovely little quiet town with only a small population. We had a really nice room and even had a bath unfortunatly i did not have time to take advantage of this luxery. We had tea played a few rounds of killer on the darts board between 7 of us and headed out to the bar across the street for a few drinks.
This was just another chance to get to know everyone on the bus a bit better!!
After that the next morning was spent a puzzle world a weird little place that everyone enjoyed that had lots of interesting rooms and attractions. There was also the big maze where you had to head to every four points of the maze and then find the exit which i eventually managed!!! Then we headed on another stunning scenic drive down to queenstown. Before that we stopped off at arrowtown a truely beautiful little town with bundles of character and it also has the reputation for having the best pies in New Zealand which pleased me and Harry, and yes i would agree the best i have ever had and harry also agrees and thats coming from the Pieman himself!!! There was also an amazing sweet shop there and i just could not resist a packet of strawbery sherberts!! After that we drove to the oringinal bungy site where we wathced some of the bus members jump off the bridge!!!! This was where everybody else had to sign up for the Nevis Bungy jump as well the big one!!! It was nerve racking
even signing up for it because you knew once you had paid that money was not coming back even if you didnt jump!!! Hannah and Marie-Claire 2 of 6 northerners we had become friends with had thought about doing it but they still were not sure so being the good guy that i am gave them the encouragement and the old once in a life time experience speach because i thought they would be missing out and only regret not doing it!!! So my powers of persuasion were still working and they both signed up to jump with about 18 other bus members!!! After we all signed up and started worrying how we were going to jump off a 134m platform we headed on into Queenstown which is renound for being the adventure capital of the South Island.
We arrived at our hostel dixcovery lodge where were staying next 5 nights was ok had strong smell of man in it!!! Then it was preperation time for the big night out ahead me sweeden jaime and harry went and got a crate of beers to share before we went out. Got our usual and now famous Pasta + Cheese
down us and we were off out. We started downstairs in the Altitude bar and continued drinking there before i noticed they had a horizontal bungy competition on to win a free Nevis Bungy Jump so i decided to go and enter that. Me marie-claire and 3 other randoms were in for the win!!! The aim of the game was you started at one end of the bar with a bungy jump around your waist and you had to run as fast as you could up the bar before the bungy got tight and then you really had to struggle to get the last 5-10m or so and grab a pint which was in one of those long glasses and then at that point you get flung back down the bar and you have to move your feet as fast as you possibly can or you fall over and you have to try and spill as little as possible and then down the drink as fast as you possibly can and the one with the quickest time won. I thought my only competition was the canadian guy competing which was to be right. He did well but on the way
back through half the drink down his top so i new i was in with a chance. I was so pumped up like properly pumped for it becasue there was $200 dollers riding on it and i had the whole of the bus cheering me on which was really cool!!!! I started off and i was trying so hard to win i had taken my shoes and socks off and rolled up my jeans to make it easier and i was flying until the bungy started stopping then it got harder and harder so i got down on to my hands and was really trying then i managed to grab it off the barmaid and started flying back!!!! I dnt think my feet have ever moved so fast backwards and then i managed to stop myself and started to down my pint i managed to do it in extra quick time as fast as i have ever downed one before!!!!!! 2mins later i walked over and stepped on a broken glass nightmare so started hopping around like a madman with blood dripping from my foot everywhere and all i was bothered about was whether i won or not the bouncers
kept trying to make me go and get it bandaged up but i wanted to stay and hear the results!!! I quickly ran put a plaster on it and walked back into the bar just as my name was being announced as the new horizontal bungy world champion everyone said i did really well and deserved to win which made me feel gd!!!! Then it sunk in a free nevis bungy awesomeeeeeeeee!!!! Unfortunatly i could not swap this or get refund so i had to do it twice but it is amazing so i didnt mind!!!! After that we quickly moved on to the world bar to find out who had won the pretend birthday!!! The idea was everyone put in $3 and smiley put in like and extra $40 and the winner pulled out of a hat would win all of the money a birthday cake and a card from everyone!!! So laura won and shouted everyone with Teapots which was cool i rekon i must have drunk half of them!!! I was the tester for her and had to try everyone telling her whether it had tequila in it or not!!! This got me drunk very quickly!!! They
were just a mixture of all sorts of shots and drinks in a teapot!!! A gd idea i thought!!!!! After that everyone was very merry and we all moved onto the dance floor into the early hours of the morning!!!! It was a top night to be had by all!!!
The next morning i woke up about half ten after getting to bed at bout 4.30am with the thought that i was doing the Nevis bungy in an hour and a half what a scary thought. We all got up stumbled out of the door and outside get get some fresh air!!! I had a shocking hangover and was not feeling to good like many of the group and we made it up the check in desk just up the street before we took the 40min bus journey to the jump site!!! As we sat there after check in and weigh in we watched a video of people jumping of Nevis which all made us worry a bit more!!!! Then we were off in our little shuttle bus to the site i was sitting near the front with harry hearing all of the storys from the driver and
how some japenese guy had actually shat himself on the trip before us!! That filled me with confidence. Once we got closer we started to go off road and though cattle stations and then up one of the scetchiest roads i have ever been driven on it was so narrow and such a steep hill and all that was one side of us was loose gravel and the floor i have to say this al added to the expericence and made it better. Then we got to the jump site and bus driver stopped and said so "Who's charles your lucky number 1 and first up" Yessssssssssssssss cos they did it heaviest first and i was carrying about 4kg of alchahol in my body!!! Ah well had to get it over with at some point. We all got harnessed in weighed ourselves again just to make sure and got carried out to the middle in a sketchy little gondola which also adds to the overall nevis experience!!!! We got out there and i started putting the further safety gear on and looked down through the glass in the floor just to make it even more scarier!!! Then i was told
to come and sit on the seat as they attached the bungy to me!!! I was trying to keep my calm as best i could but it was pretty tough!!! I then hopped off the chair started hopping towards the edge of the platform!! I took a big breath in before i reached the edge and then shuffled to the edge!!! They always advise you not to look down but i could not help it infact all i did was look down which all of you will see back home when you watch my dvd!!! Then it was the famous 5....4....3....2....1....BUNGY and off i lept as i freefalled to the floor at about 140kph its the most unbeleivable experience ever!!!! 8 and a half seconds of free fall till you bounce up!!! Just truely awesome. My highlight of the trip so far for sure!!! I bounced up once and then twice and then pulled the cord to put me upright and then the automatic winch came into pull me up!!! When i got back up the pod i just had the biggest grin on my face matched with the most amazing feeling inside me!!! All of the jumpers in our
group jumped straight away without trouble. Harry jumped a gd clean jump and loved it as well, and poor Hannah who i had pushed into doing it who was dripping tears at the edge bless her managed to jump of straight away!!! I think shes glad i persuaded her though as when she came back up she said it was one of the best things she had ever done and the same for Marie-claire im glad they enjoyed it!!!! Well that was Nevis it was Awesome!!!
The next day guess what Nevis again for me anyway at 10am this time with my free jump and it was still amazing but i personally think a lot better the first as i didnt have a clue what to expect and being first i also hadnt seen anyone do it!!! This time i was 5th and was there to encourage all the other randoms i met to do it!!!!
The rest of the day me and harry didnt really get up to much did some food shopping and walked around queenstown. We also booked the ledge bundgy which is only 47m but 400m above Queenstown as we got a
special offer on it seeing we did nevis the day before. We did that later that night and that was also really gd had an amazing view over queenstown up there and we also got to do running jumps. Harry attempted a flip but did not quite pull it off. I just went for some mad twist and stu went for a superman which looked good. Katie and Mc also joined us and enjoyed it as well. Later that night we went for a few drinks because it was Katie and Emilys last night with the bus as they were on a tight time shedule!!! I was planning to have a quiet one as we had to get up for milford sound at 6.30am in the morning but it didnt end up that way!!! At about 11pm harry went off to bed and i stayed and watched rest of Chelsea vs Man Utd in the bar and then as i left i got dragged by Fi and Katie up the street to the World bar literally dragged!!! Then Fi left straight as well grrrr!!! Anyway Katie bought me a red bull and vodka to liven up and i did!!! We
started doing some teapots with hannah and russel for a while and chilled out with stu, claire and there friend. At about 3am stu got kicked out for taking a phone off the wall which was pretty funny so then we all headed to the legendary FERGBURGER the most amazing burger i have ever tasted and seen and that opinion is held by eevryone that goes there truely awesome!!!! We stayed there for a while before i went to check the internet for the pompey score to find out we were winning 2-1 with 10mins left i was sitting there just saying come on come on come on for 10 mins straight with katie giving me some funny looks and the guys around me!!!! Then it happened the final whistle and we were safe and in the premiership for another year i was elated and so happy i could not believe we did it as earlier in the trip in Aus we thought we were down for sure a true great escape!!! Harry Redknapp = Legend
Anyway that was the end of that then for Milford Sound renound for being the most scenic spot in New Zealand. I
had only had 2 hours sleep when we got up not gd and then we had a 4 hour scenic coach drive down there stopping off at numerous photo stops along the way!!! It was a brilliant day and we saw some beautiful scenery!!!!! That night again we went for a few drinks and said our goodbyes to the Hannah, Mc, Fi and laura and all and also saw half of warratahs rugby union team which was cool.
I slept in til 1pm that day which was gd to catch up on sleep. Then after that we climbed up the steepest and hardest hill i have ever climbed it was really exhausting!!!! it took us about an hour of truely intense walking and once we were at the top we had a go on the luge track which i dominated harry at!!!! After that we went for a game of frisby golf which is held in the local park or gardens and is spent throwing a frisby at different baskets, targets and trees which was gd fun i manage to sneak a victory there as well!!!
After that we chilled for a bit before heading off
to Kareoke night which was great fun. Harry went to bed at about 10pm before it got started which didnt impress me at all but it was his loss as it was a top night out and a very eventful one!!! First of all me, barry and claire went up and sang total eclipse of the heart by bonnie tyler a true classic and we gave it everything with barry jumping on me in the corous giving the audience the show they deserved. After that it was a short wait before we all as a group sang Bohemium rapsody another classic and gd fun we also really went for it!!!!
Then it was time for barry to take the spotlight with some hilarious antics first the guy on the mike said asked if anyone liked david brent and if anyone knew the dance then i saw barry charge to the front and jump in stage infront of a packed bar and start doing the dance out of the office for about a min it had me in tears for ages!!!! Classic moment from the trip so far!!! Then he shared a lot of banter with the man on
the mike and even danced with him before finishing. After that he knicked a reggae hat and i started to give him a piggie back charging round the bar it was hilarious!!! Soon afterwards barry was asked to leave and we headed to Fergberger. After that we all headed up to there room for a chat. Didnt get to sleep till about 4am dunno if i can handle this for much longer!!!!
Next morning we caught the bus all the way up to christchurch a very long and boring trip. We are just chilling here for a couple of days before moving on up north.
Anyway this Blog has been truely epic and probably most fun one for me to write as i have had such a brilliant time in the south island. Def highlight of my trip so far!!!! hope everyone at home is doing well and having a gd time!!!! And everyone that im travelling with or have been that receives this enjoys it. Would love to get your feedback on it!!! Sorry if i havent been taking a while to email back i have just been to busy!!!!!
Thats all from me
All my love
Chaz x x x x
Then
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Giles
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Immense.
Les looks like such a ledge, im impressed by your creativity in making that nun suit chaz. Good to see you are still both dominating!!!