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Published: February 25th 2010
I'll start off where I last left you which was in Waitomo, from here I headed to a place called Taupo on 10th Feb, which just so happens to be situated on Lake Taupo and I think its the biggest lake in New Zealand from memory?! Anyway when we were on the coach heading towards the town the driver announced that all those who were booked on to do the skydive would be leaving straight away, before I knew it I was at the Freefall centre being persuaded by the clever sales DVDs to indulge in the full package which includes the DVD and photos of the jump and a t-shirt.........jazzy but not cheap at a cost of 200 pounds (still no pound signs on these keyboards!!) Julie was also doing the jump which meant I had a friendly face beside me but she was more scared than me........I was super excited! We got kitted out in the red jumpsuits and harnesses and had to wait around for a while until the weather started to clear, unfortunately that day the clouds were well and truly covering the lake so it was never going to be that spectacular but its one of
the cheaper places to do it so I wanted to take the opportunity while I could! All of a sudden they were ready for us and we all piled into the little plane, I was last in and you know what that means..............first out! I was quite glad of this because it meant I didn't have to wait around for the others!
We climbed up to about 12000ft and before I knew it the guy I was doing the tandem with sorted out the harness and opened the door, the DVD camera dude got out first then all of a sudden we were out!!! The first few seconds are indescribable, I think it did cross my mind 'what the f**k am I doing' as we were spinning around but as soon as we leveled out I tried to make the most of the freefall bit as it only lasts about 45 seconds!!! It was mental, it was definitely the best thing I've ever done and it was a complete adrenalin rush............the DVD is hilarious and the pictures are truly unflattering coz my face is all squished by the force of the wind - it was so strong I felt
like my arms would snap!!! Within no time the camera guy disappeared and the guy pulled the chute and we flew upwards as it opened, things soon calmed down after the freefall and we spiraled down to the ground, my ears popping like crazy as we did! I tried to take in as much scenery as possible but I was on such a high it was difficult! I'll no doubt show you all the video and pics when I get home so I won't go on anymore but it was amazing and I was buzzing the rest of day.........although I did have a bit of a come down in the evening and had to have an early night!
The following day still in Taupo, I had signed up to do the Tongariro crossing, this is supposed to be one the best one day walks you can do in New Zealand and the views are amazing but it was just my luck that on the day I did it the weather was total pants!!! Now this is a 19km walk (about 12 miles - I know check me out 'the adventurer'!) and it took us 6 hours to do, if
the views are as good as they say then I'm sure all the effort is worth it but I did feel a little peeved that all I got to see was cloud, mist and rain for the majority of the day! It was pretty strenuous and most of the first 2 hours were up hill! Its actually a volcano that you climb and its amazing how much the landscape changes as you walk, one minute you are climbing rocks, the next walking through sand and then a rainforest?! Madness! As you come over the top of the volcano its a big struggle to stay on your feet as you have to walk through scree which is a bit like sandy pebbles but its really loose and you could slip at any time, the wind and rain did not help and the drops either side (although hardly visible which may have been a good thing?!) looked pretty treacherous!!! As we did the last 2 hours the weather cleared slightly and the views were pretty spectacular then finally the last section was walking through the rainforest, past the streams and waterfalls, this ended up being my favorite bit coz it was much
warmer and downhill is a hell of a lot nicer than uphill! I'm glad I did it and feel it was a big achievement but the weather was a let down plus I felt the effects in my legs the next day........big time!
Our third day in Taupo was a chill out day which I really needed, although Julie and I did go with Emily as moral support when she did her bungy jump which was pretty exciting........we felt as though our bungy needs were fulfilled through her therefore no need for us to indulge (skydive yes, bungy no!) I just did boring stuff like washing (yawn!) the rest of the day but it was nice to have a chill out after all the activity of the last few days! The following morning (Valentines Day!) we were due to catch the bus to the next stop called River Valley. When we arrived the driver asked if anyone was willing to volunteer to bypass River Valley and head straight to the capital city Wellington. As I mentioned before because the buses were so busy there were too many people wanting to travel that day and were on a wait list
for a seat so I suggested to Julie and Emily if they wanted to be the volunteers and they were happy to! River Valley, as you can guess from the name (surprisingly), is all about water sports, horse riding and more activities etc! Well I'd had quite enough adventure the last few days, I didn't fancy the cold water again and as most of you know I'm not a horsey-type so felt like it would be a good skip! It turns out the dorms were a bit grim there anyway so I don't think we missed much but the down side was we had a 6 hour coach journey to contend with! The Kiwi Experience paid for us to catch the Intercity bus which is effectively like National Express and it was certainly different to what we'd been used to! I was happy to listen to my iPod and relax though so it wasn't too bad until we stopped to take pics of Mount Tongariro............
When I got off the bus I was accosted by a freak!! I was minding my own business and all of a sudden this guy with massive afro hair was stood next to me
asking if I could 'confirm what the white stuff was on top of the mountain?' ..............errr snow? It was the way he spoke that bothered me, then he started telling me his life story..........his name was Nate, 19 and from Brisbane - he then asked if at the 'next refreshment stop, perhaps we could meet and chat some more seeing as we were both travelling alone?' Luckilly Emily and Julie were so concerned for me they did a good job of helping me avoid him for the rest of the day! Apparently when I got off the bus to take photos he actually ran towards me and did a kind of skip as he approached me............we nicknamed him 'My mate Skippy Nate!' I wish I'd got a photo, he was super odd and it’s hard to explain without a visual!! We arrived in Wellington safely and had no further weirdo encounters but it was v chilly and windy compared to where we were so that was a bit of a shocker........apparently Wellington is known as the 'Windy City!'
The following day we headed to the museum in Wellington which was free........bonus! It was so good, I had the best
The snow capped Tongariro!
Where I meet my mate Skippy Nate!time wandering round all day looking at the different exhibits, I'm not usually a museum kinda girl but this was really interesting and my knowledge of New Zealand increased massively after my 5 hour........yes 5 hour stay there!!! I even saw a replica copy of the Waitangi Treaty I was telling you about in the last blog! Oh yeah my spelling continues to be abysmal, I can't spell Maori either, its spelt with an 'o' not a 'u'............come to think of it isn't Mauri some dodgy chat show host a bit like Jerry Springer?! Anyway note to self - must try harder with spelling in future! We had a fab time (Emily, Julie and I) but as we were leaving we almost bumped into my mate Skippy Nate!!! It was most traumatic having to try to get past him, so we dived into the museum shop to avoid him and managed to leave him boring the poor girl on the information desk who looked almost as bewildered by him as I had the previous day! Emily and Julie have discovered its all fun and games being friends with me! Lol!!!
The next day the weather was much nicer than
it had been the previous day, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped so I met Emily at the cable car in the centre of the city and we headed up to the Botanical Gardens. We walked though the lovely gardens, it was very pleasant I had a fab afternoon and some of the flowers were just amazing............there were beautiful lilies and a whole garden of roses, there must have been over 50 varieties - I took lots of photos which I will no doubt wonder why I took so many of them when I get home but the were soooooo pretty! Emily was staying with a friend of her sisters whilst in Wellington and it just so happened that he worked at the national archive centre where the actual Waitangi Treaty is kept so later on we went to meet him and got to see it for real and not some fake in the museum, I felt very privilege! The next day it was time for me to leave the North Island and head down to the South, I had a great time in the North and it had been spectacular in terms of the scenery and
the adventures I had already encountered but from all accounts the South Island is even more amazing than the North...........so far is has not disappointed! I had to catch a ferry early in the morning and it took 3 hours crossing the Cook Straight and travelling through the Marlborough Sounds. It was a lovely journey and the views were stunning. Although the weather was pretty cloudy, the South Island is known to have a cooler temperature than the North but I've been really lucky and only had one day of rain and even that was mainly on the bus!
I'll leave it there for now but there’s still another week to catch up on! I did meet up with Emily and Julie a few nights ago but have been on my own most of the time! I met a couple from Hull called Laura and Phil and they've been keeping me company the last week and I'm off to Queenstown tomorrow which I can't wait for because everyone raves about how wonderful it is...........and that’s not just because of Fergburger (yet to sample this but those of you who know what I'm on about will no doubt be excited
for me?!!) I'm really getting used to this travelling malarkey, the rucksack is still super annoying but its good to stay in one place for more than one night as it means I don't have to lug it around so much! I feel a bit like a student again at times having to make my tea in the communal kitchens at the hostels mainly eating pasta, noodles and peanut butter on toast?!! Its cheap and cheerful though coz I've spent a fortune on doing all the various activities.............so much in fact that I'm planning on changing my flight dates to home a bit earlier coz the 'wedding fund' is rapidly disappearing?!
I'm having the most amazing time seeing all the places I've only dreamt of before but it does get quite lonely at times. I'm at the stage now where I'm used to eating alone, walking round alone, having coffee on my own, even going to the cinema on my own and I have to say it’s very liberating! It would be nice to be sharing these experiences with someone else plus I'm missing a certain someone more than I'd imagined which makes it really hard 😞 I've been
told that Australia is even more expensive than here so I've decided cut out a week there and I'm not sure of the rest yet but its looking like I'll be home early April as opposed to May 1st............crazy I know, that mean its potentially only 5 weeks away!!! I'll update you all fully once I've had my flights confirmed but the Easter holidays are causing problems in terms of flight availability back from Thailand so its all up in the air right now?!
I've tried about 5 times to put photos on here but every time I try it crashes the internet but I'll have another go later one coz I know you all keep asking to see them..............believe me there are plenty of them too, why change the habit of a lifetime hey?! Hope all is well Brit-side, keep me posted on what you're all up to...........it still feels odd to think you're all half way round the world coz New Zealand has become so familiar, can't remember if I mentioned this before but it does feel like home from home at times!
Solo Simmons signing off xxxx
PS - Bargain of the day -
After deciding against bringing my Australia Lonely Planet guide with me I soon regretted this as books here are extortionately over priced, it would have cost over 30quid for one when at home it'd be less than 15 - big mistake! So I've been scouring the second hand book shops and today I managed to get hold of one for 25p - that’s right 25p!!! So chuffed and the woman almost let me have to for free too but that would have just been wrong!
PPS - Sorry its such a long blog again but you know my stories are never short!!! Hope I'm not boring you all?!
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Allie
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Exciting
I'm very excited that you're home on 6 April! Can't wait to see you n don't worry about the Tongariro crossing - you can borrow my photos! We'll have to get our meal out arranged x