The last few days

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Hi everyone,

It doesn't seem very long ago since we were sitting in Kathmandu writing the first blog, so I can't quite believe this is my last!

Since I left Mount Cook I've managed to pack quite a few things in to my last few days of NZ. The last morning in Mount Cook I walked the Hooker Valley Trail to give myself one last chance of a good view of Mount Cook. I walked up the valley for 2 hours despite it being cloudy, as I was hoping the weather might clear. As I was walking it seemed clear the clouds were there to stay! However, about 5 minutes before I reached the viewpoint over the Hooker Glacier and glacial lake the clouds seemed to be lifting, so I gave myself 20 minutes before I had to turn back (bearing in mind I had a bus to catch) and sat down to wait. The clouds seemed to be clearing gradually and I kept getting tantalising glimpses of the point of Mount Cook, and then about 15 minutes after I'd sat down they suddenly lifted completely and I had the most perfect view - it was amazing!! I think it made me appreciate the view all the more as I'd had to wait so long to get it! So I got the bus back to Tekapo feeling very happy, and to improve matters even further it turned into a really nice day so I got beautiful views over Lake Pukaki on the way and also finally saw the mountains ringing Lake Tekapo when I arrived there.

I met the new Magic Bus people in Tekapo and we all set off the next day for Christchurch. The day had dawned beautiful again and there were lovely views of the mountains, but as we approached Christchurch it turned really rainy (again!!). A few of us stopped off at the International Antarctic Centre on the way into Christchurch. This is where a lot of the research of the Italian, NZ and US Antarctic Surveys goes on, and they have a visitor centre there too. The centre was really interesting and very informative, although perhaps directed more at children as it was all very simplified! They have a storm simulation chamber in the centre, so we donned overcoats and boots and stood in the room for about 15 minutes, starting with a temperature of -8C and dropping to -16C with the windchill during the storm - it was very cold!! I don't know how they stand it out there! The highlight of the centre though was the blue penguin rehabilitation area. They collect all the injured and disabled blue penguins from the wild (that would otherwise not have survived) and bring them to the centre. They're so cute!! Blue penguins are the smallest of all penguins and they're really comical, always fighting each other and generally providing lots of entertainment. We stayed for feeding time and saw them all grabbing the fish from each other!! The cutest one had to be Elvis, as she's completely blind so can't move around much (although the other penguins are really good and try and prevent her from falling in the water when she goes too near the edge!!), so she had to be fed separately - very sweet! We arrived into Christchurch around 3pm and as I only had one night there, I quickly got out for a walk around the city. The first thing I noticed is that it's very English!! All the streets are named after English cities (I was staying on Peterborough Street, there were Cambridge and Oxford Terraces, Gloucester Street, Worcester Street, Hereford Street, Manchester Street...the list goes on!!) and they have a river called the Avon! The river has lots of sweet little bridges on it and they go punting too, so it really reminded me of Cambridge!! I had a look round the Cathedral, which was very impressive, and climbed up the bell tower for a good if rainy view over the city. Then I had a bit of an explore around town seeing lots of the historical buildings (though obviously not as old as most of ours) and ended up in the Botanical Gardens. These are very pretty and there were even some flowers starting to come out - although it's been raining, it seems a lot warmer now and lots of people are talking about Spring already being here.

The following morning I got the bus to Kaikoura, a bit further up the coast. With all the rain that we've had recently (well on the East Coast anyway), there have been loads of landslips on the roads so the road to Kaikoura was actually closed while they're cleaning it up. But being New Zealanders and much more prepared for inclement weather than we are, they get round this by opening the road every hour on the hour (weird system but it works) so we managed to get through. Kaikoura is very beautiful, as it lies on a thin strip of land between the coast and the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges, which are up to 2700m high and were snow covered when I saw them. I had a full day in Kaikoura, which is very famous for whales and dolphins, but, not being that fussed about wildlife and not wanting to pay all that money for a boat trip, I decided to do the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway instead. I visited the Department of Conservation Office and found that part of the track was closed due to a landslip, but thought I might as well do as much of it as I could as the day was absolutely beautiful and very hot, perfect for a walk. So I set off, first walking along the esplanade and then up the beach when I got to the Peninsula. The beach is made up of limestone and siltstone, which can get very slippery when the sea has just been over them, so I was looking at my feet for most of the time. I'd been walking like this for a while when I suddenly heard a loud growl, and looked up to see a large seal only a few metres away from me!! He seemed quite angry and I couldn't pass him, as he was right up at the top of the beach and they say never come between a seal and the sea (they're quite scary!!). So I decided I had to get back to the road, but unfortunately where there had been dry land between the beach and the road before, there was now a marshy lake full of stagnant seawater, so I ended up wading across this to save aggravating the seal (I had to wash my socks thoroughly that night!!!). I eventually reached Point Kean, which is at the tip of the Peninsula, where there is a seal colony (I think this one was an escapee!) so had a good look at them all basking in the sun, from a slightly safer distance this time. Then I carried on around the coast, with beautiful scenery of the coast on one side and the mountains on the other, including old Maori Pa (fortifications) sites, until I got to the part of the track that was closed. I thought I'd have a look at the landslips so carried on, and they didn't seem too bad apart from in one bit where the whole track had fallen down the cliff, but after a bit of scrambling I managed to get through so I completed the loop, which was much better than having to retrace my footsteps. I got back to the town mid-afternoon and spent the rest of the time reading on the beach - it was that hot!

The next day it was time to say goodbye to South Island. I got the Magic Bus up to Picton to catch the ferry, stopping a couple of times on the way. The first was to see more seals (!!) and the second was so we could do the Ohau Stream Walk up to a waterfall in the middle of the bush. The waterfall was really pretty, but when we reached it, there were about 20 baby seals playing there and jumping in and out of the water! It was an amazing sight (although unfortunately too dark for any of my photos to come out). We carried on and reached the ferry terminal around lunch time so in plenty of time for our 1.45pm ferry. The crossing was very calm again (but I still managed to feel slightly sick!!) and we saw dolphins jumping in the sea in front of the ferry!! I got back to Wellington around 5pm, came back to the same hostel and met up with Laura from Derby who I met here before - she's been working here while I've been travelling. So we went out for dinner and a drink and then I had an early night, feeling very tired after all the travelling (and the sea sickness!). I ended up with another full day in Wellington because of the way I managed to book my buses, so the next day I decided to walk up to the Mount Victoria Lookout, which is supposed to have good views over the harbour. But lo and behold I woke up to find (you've guessed it!) it was raining quite heavily! I decided to go up anyway but got quite wet, and with all the rain the path had become very slippy, especially in the really steep parts. I could see quite a lot from the top though, so it was worth it (I think the view must be fantastic on a clear day). I thought I'd take the road down, even though it was a bit longer, as I though it would take less time as it wouldn't be slippy. However, I kept taking 'short cuts' as I got fed up with the road and managed to end up on the wrong side of the hill and had to walk all the way round it, so it probably took longer in the end!! In the afternoon I walked to the the Parliament Buildings and went on a free tour, which was really interesting. They took us all round Parliament House, the Beehive (see picture!) and the Parliamentary Library. We saw the committee rooms where they decide on the first reading of any bills (where incidentally any member of the public can go and be part of the decision making if they wish - very democratic!) and also the chamber where Parliament sits, which was similar to the House of Commons but much smaller! I finished up the day with a visit to St Paul's Cathedral (built in 1998), which is quite ugly from the outside but very atmospheric inside, and Old St Paul's (the main church before the new one was built), which was much nicer. My last night in Wellington was spent having drinks and eating pancakes with Laura and some of the other people I met in the hostel, including Andy from Little Eaton who went to Ecclesbourne (for the non-Derby people, that's my old secondary school!).

Saturday saw me getting up very early to catch the bus from Wellington to Taupo. Typically the day was absolutely beautiful, it would be on a day when I'm sitting on a bus! The journey was very scenic though - although the views aren't quite as grand as in South Island, they were very pretty, especially when we reached the volcanic plateau on which Taupo sits. Taupo is located at the edge of Lake Taupo, which is the largest lake in NZ and fills a caldera that was formed around 27,000 years ago during a huge eruption, far larger than that of Krakatoa. I arrived in Taupo in the early afternoon and booked into a hostel which isn't particularly nice (they don't seem to have any nice accommodation here!). I enquired at reception about skydiving, thinking I might give it a go, and the lady said she'd ring them up for me to check if they were flying today ... 10 minutes later I was sitting in a van on my way to the airport!! It all happened very quickly! When I reached the airport I was feeling quite nervous but everyone was really nice and I met lots of people who'd just done it and said it was amazing, So, then it was my turn. My skydive partner was called Henk (from the Netherlands) and was lovely, really trying to put my mind at rest. He'd done over 13,000 jumps before, so that was reassuring! We went through a few instructions and I put on my very attractive blue suit and harness, and then before I knew it we were in the plane. The plane was absolutely tiny, but we still managed to cram 14 people in, with all of the jumpers sitting in the instructers' laps so they could attach us at the right moment. I could see really well out of the windows, and because it was such a beautiful day, we could see right over to the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park, which were snowcapped - Tongariro, Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings!) and Ruapehu. It was quite surreal, as I kept thinking how beautiful the view was but at the same time I was petrified, especially as we were the only one's jumping from 12,000 feet - the others were all going up to 15,000. When we finally got to the correct height, Henk opened the door to have a look at the wind and judge when it was best for us to jump - it was absolutely freezing! Then after about 30 seconds I had to sit on the edge of the plane, with my feet out over the edge, and realising just how high up we were!! I had a few butterflies!! The next thing I knew, Henk had pushed us out of the plane and we were falling - it was soooo scary!!! My stomach was going a bit crazy for the first few seconds but it settled down. I felt like I couldn't breathe the whole time though, as the air was rushing up at me!! The freefall lasted about 45 seconds, but it felt like no time at all. When we started slowing down after Henk opened the parachute, I couldn't believe it was already time for the parachute to be opened!! After that it was a more sedate few minutes of gliding down to the ground, with a bit more time to look at the amazing views of the mountains. Henk let me control the parachute for a while too, so I got to do a few turns! The landing was actually really smooth, much better than the one when I went paragliding! Skydiving was an amazing experience - now I want to do it again!!

Anyway back to the more mundane things, on Sunday I decided to do a long walk out to the Huka Falls and Aratiatia Rapids. These are both on the Waikato River, which starts from Lake Taupo and reaches the sea near Auckland, making it the country's longest river. The steepness of the river's gradient, and the fact that it frequently passes through narrow gorges, mean that there are lots of hydroelectric power stations along its length (along with all the geothermal power stations that are here because of the volcanic activity). The first part of the walk, to the Falls, followed the river, which is a bright blue colour because the water is so clear. The Huka Falls occur in one of the narrow gorges, where the river is forced into the narrow channel and rages through the rocks, ending in a waterfall. The waterfall is not that high but the sheer volume of the water coming through makes it pretty spectacular. The rest of the walk was through farmland and pine forest and came out at the Aratiatia Dam, just above the rapids. Before the Dam was built, the rapids were "the most spectacular in Australasia", but now they are just a mass of boulders with a stream of water running through. However, three times a day, the power company opens the gates of the dam and floods the rapids. I managed to turn up just as they were about to open them - it was pretty amazing seeing all this water suddenly come in and fill up the channel so quickly! I walked back along the other side of the river and managed to get some fantastic views of the snowcapped volcanoes under the bright blue sky.

That evening I met up with Simon and Lauren (my cousin and his girlfriend) and we drove to Turangi, as we wanted to do the Tongariro Crossing the next day. This is part of one of NZ's great walks, and traverses the volcanoes, passing between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - it's supposed to have some amazing views. The day dawned beautifully, not a cloud in the sky, so we drove to the start of the walk, stopping along the way to get crampons. It's advised not to do the walk in winter without a guide, so we wanted to be prepared. We started the walk around 8.45am and walked on the flat for a while, with amazing views over the mountains, especially Ngauruhoe. Then we reached the first ascent up to South Crater where it started to get really snowy and steep so we put on our crampons and started up. It was pretty tough going, and as we were going up, the clouds rolled in incredibly quickly and suddenly we couldn't see the mountains any more! At times we could only see the snowpole in front and that was all we had to guide us. We got to the top and found a guided group there, who had decided to turn around as conditions were getting worse and it was really windy. One of the guides told us there was no way we'd be able to carry on as we'd get blown off the ridge so we should turn back. However, being slightly foolhardy(!), we decided to carry on and see how it went. It was very snowy and slippy in places but not too bad. Then we came to a part where you have to traverse a very steep slope, where the snow was really soft and kept slipping. If we'd fallen we'd have gone straight down the cliff!! Simon was quite happy to go across but I was very scared. I had to summon up quite a lot of courage to get across but I made it eventually!

We then walked more on the flat for a while, without seeing anything, and then started up Devil's Staircase, which is the ascent up to the top. We found the way by following the snowpoles, which were quite well marked at this point, and made it up to Red Crater, although again, we couldn't see anything. It was amazing up there though, we felt completely alone as we knew no one had come up behind us, and it made it quite eerie not being able to see anything. When there are no views it definitely makes you appreciate other things, like all the icicle formations on the rocks. From the top we descended slightly and then the weather began to clear a bit, so we had some amazing views of the Sahara-like landscape looming out of the clouds - very mysterious. We could also see the Emerald Lakes, which weren't very emerald in colour as they were frozen over. There were a few areas where the volcanic activity had melted the snow, and steam was escaping from the ground. In places this had melted huge holes in the snow, so I'm glad we didn't fall down any! We managed to see across to Lake Taupo as well before the clouds came rolling back in. It was at this point that we started getting worried as the snow poles disappeared and we thought we might have to turn back, as we really couldn't see a lot, it was starting to snow and the wind was howling round us. But just at that moment, the clouds cleared again and we saw the route - phew!! I really didn't want to have to go back across the steep slope again! The clouds stayed down for a while but the snowpoles guided us, and most of the descent wasn't too bad, although there was another traverse across a steep slope which I didn't like much! We made it down to a hut for a very late lunch, as we didn't want to stop up there on the mountain, and the clouds cleared enough for us to get a pretty good view again. After that the snow fizzled out and it was pretty much plain sailing to the finish. I had a fantastic day but I have to say it was rather challenging. Simon told us after he'd been worried quite a few times, so I'm glad I didn't know that up there, as when Simon gets worried it means things are quite serious!! We visited some hot pools in Turangi on our way back to Taupo - very nice to ease the aching muscles!!

On Tuesday I got the bus from Taupo to Auckland and stayed with Simon in the hut. This morning he drove me to the airport and now I'm sitting in the departure lounge. I really can't believe my trip has come to an end (well, only a 31.5 hour flight to go!!). It's been a fantastic experience, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, and also to a cup of proper Yorkshire tea and real Marmite!! Hope you've enjoyed reading, see you all soon!

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