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Published: June 24th 2010
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Hello I hope you are all well.
We have only just realised that we have not finished off the travel blog for NZ since arriving in Aus. I am now writing this at our friend’s house while Sam is at work. We are still homeless in the long term but are moving into a central flat share for a month this weekend. Sam is loving his new job and is allowed to keep his beard. I have temp work starting next week that I think will be extra clothes shopping cash as we can’t wait to look like non travelling humans again! (Impossible I hear you all say)
But back to the point at hand. Our last week in New Zealand was always going to be risky. We headed north from Auckland which is traditionally summer holiday tertiary so was always going to be troublesome in Autumn/Winter. Due to the torrential rain than got usto Auckland sooner than expected we hid out there at our friends for a few days. We then headed to Kaitai, one of the northern most townships and used as a base to explore Cape Reigna at the tip of NZ. We travelled up on buses all
day in the rain and arrived at this dreary town in an unenthused hostel/motel with no character. We started to regret the decision as even the bus driver thought it would be a waste of time to attempt getting out the next day.
However when we awoke the next day the sun was shining and we were picked up by a very friendly local tour guide and driven off for the day with 10 others. The 9-5 tour took us up through the national park to untouched coastal coves and beaches. The main aim is to see Cape Reigna at the tip of the country and its views and famous light house. Maori legend believe that this is the point that the spirits exists the land once a person has died. Many Kiwis make this journey as a final farewell to their loved ones and there was a family on the tour with us for this reason. Our guide was the last person to live up at the lighthouse before the area was shut down. The views were breathtaking s the photos no doubt show. There is a point in the ocean where the Tasman Sea and The Pacific meet
and collide with each creating an odd wave pattern and unlike anything we had seen before. It was definitely worth the trip. As we were getting back into the van the rain started again and we were relieved not to be the last group of tourists to turn up.
From this point we headed to the 90 mile beach, famous for being an untouched stretch of white sand beach and an official highway. Only in NZ would this be classed in such a way. It was beautiful though. At this point Sam will be annoyed he is not writing this blog as his descripton of the following would no doubt be in a lot more detail. Along the 90 mile Beach there are boundless sand dunes and part of the tour is to go sand boarding. So yes we threw ourselves off the top off the dunes. I think it is fair to say that everyone was a little freaked out at the top at how steep it was and yes everyone did grip on tight and slide gracefully down to the bottom at speed. That would be everyone accept me. I got three quarters of the way down and
somehow managed to fall off and roll the rest of the way. Sam assures me that I had sand everywhere, coming out of all areas of my face like the Samiad. I obviously was trying not to make a scene but there was no way of hiding it with an audience of 2 tour buses watching on. Nothing changes hey.
So a good day was had by all and we did avoid rain at all times. The next day we travelled south to Paihia which is used as the base for the Bay of Island tours. The Bay of Islands is a cluster of islands of the east coast of the northern lands with their own micro climate. We were not expecting much, especially after Kaitai, but it was nice. We stayed in a hostel ran by a crazy English woman and actually got some sun. We arranged to go out on a dolphin tour of the islands for the afternoon and sat down with the middle aged tourists once again. Unfortunately we did not see any dolphins or whales, as is usual, but we did get a bright afternoon and went through the islands to the hole in the
rock. It was rough at times especially as we had headed to the front of the boat for the best views but I think I proved that I only feel sea sick in especially bad conditions as I was fine.
The next day we headed to Russel a village across the bay. A German lady at the booking office for the tour and bus had taken a liking to us and gave us complimentary ferry tickets. Russel was the first landing points for Europeans in NZ and got a bad name for itself due to the sailors antics. However now, once again, it is a quaint historic village and perfect for Sunday morning ferry ride and some lunch. We had booked the last bus back to Auckland that night. So went for a wander toward the Whitangi Treaty grounds, the historic grounds were the Maori and Europeans first settled governmental differences. We mainly just sat down by the beach. It was nice chilling out as even though most of you out there will not believe us, it is tiring travelling none stop. We had been hunting for our last hit of Kumara (sweet potato) chips before we left NZ as
they are lush. It was not to be which was probably better for my waist line.
Then we were back In Auckland again with our friend Rachel. As we met Rachel and Lynne originally in Vietnam last year we went out for a Vietnamese meal before we left. Always a treat, I urge you all to check out Vietnamese cuisine as it is very good!
So New Zealand has been everything that we had expected. It is stunning, epic and many of the people are lovely. You have to seek out the heritage but where there is they treasure it. There are few roads and few person which is refreshing compared to back home but we have realised that we like people and the hustle and bustle of a decent sized city.
So now is time to give Australia a go. I must admit we have been here a week and I do not feel at all like I am in Australia as Melbourne is so multi cultural. We liked it as soon as we landed and saw advertising for exhibitions and gigs. It feels a lot more like what a European city feels like. There is a real feel
of history here too, more than expected. The city and suburbs are scattered with Victorian villas, some are tiny one storey bungalows. Now we just need to get settled so we can explore properly.
It is unlikely to be a while until we blog again as we have no idea how long we are going to stay in Aus. Until then keep us informed of all and keep smiling. Enjoy the Summer and think of us over here in the rain!!!
Lots of love
Laura and Sam
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Mam Gillett
non-member comment
glad to be back in contact!!
Just got your last blog today, good to get your news first hand again although I had most of your news and am aware that there are updates since then. N.Z.looked stunning, so glad you got to see it all before you left. So on to next chapter of your epic journey! Enjoy!! Love, Mam xxxx