Advertisement
Published: April 23rd 2009
Edit Blog Post
Dear all,
Its been ages since I last wrote, Matt has been and gone and we are heading off to Fiji in the morning. Anyway this is what we have been up to....
On our way back to Auckland to pick up Matt we went via Kaikoura. Our main reason for going back to Kaikoura was to see the Sperm whales as our previous trips had been cancelled as the whales were not around. We got up at six in the morning and went out on the 7am boat..but no whales! No dolphins either! Sadly our time had run out as we had to leave Kaikoura to get the ferry from Picton back to the North island. So no sperm whales for us....we will just have to come back to New Zealand!
After the ferry trip we took two days to drive the 650km back to Auckland and get to the airport to meet Dans brother Matt. He arrived safe but after a two day journey here he was a bit confused and jet lagged! We let him recover for one day and then we drove down to Rotorua where there is always plenty of adrenaline action going
on. We went 4 wheel driving round a mad course....down huge slopes, up hills, through mud etc. Then we went up a river on a jet boat at 85km an hour and doing 360 spins as we went.
The next day we were up early to go up the mountains on a gondola and then luge back down again. I took the gentle scenic slopes down and the boys raced down the steep fast ones! The day after that was zorbing and then Matt did a bungy jump! I had a good look at it but still have not plucked up the courage!
Next we went to a very volcanic area of New Zealand and saw a geiser erupt and went on a three km walk which went round a national park full of sulphur pools, volcanic craters and boiling mud pools. Very nice but the sulphur smell of egg was very strong!
Finally we all made our way up to Northland to do some diving. The diving was good, Matt was a little scared that there would be sharks but sadly we did not see any! After that we chilled for a few days before driving
back down to Auckland and dropping him back at the airport. Dan and I waved goodbye and then drove back up to Northland to do a bit more diving. I worked really hard for three days on my AI course and at the end of it I qualified as a PADI Assistant Instructor.
Tonight I am sat in a hotel room after spending a month in a camper van! We gave it back today and in the morning we fly on to Fiji. I thought that I would be very sad to leave New Zealand but I am ready for some sun as it is Autumn here now. Dan and I have loved New Zealand and after driving 5500 km in the van we have seen a fair bit of it. Its a great place and I recommend that you all come here...but my love affair with the country is over. I have come to realise that it is a beautiful place but its missing one vital thing....friends and family. The scenery is amazing but actually I think that England can be as beautiful.
We set out on this trip with two thoughts in mind...getting the travel thing
out of our system and maybe finding another place to settle. I think that we have come to realise that the travel bug will always be there and that we will always travel. But there is a difference between travelling and living somewhere. When you travel you get to see amazing places and then go home at the end of it! I don't see the point of living in a beautiful place if the people that mean most to you are not there to share it too.
But you know me....I could change my mind again tomorrow!!
Love to you all,
Wendy
xxxxxxxxxx
Love to you all,
Wendy
xx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.414s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 12; qc: 50; dbt: 0.1572s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb