New Zealand ........HOW MANY SHEEP? PART DEUX!!!

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PART DEUX!!!

So we left you on tenderhooks about us going to see my old uni mate Ross, now me and Ross were good mates at uni we got into a lot of trouble and were generally very naughty, but i havnt seen him since graduation like 3years ago so it was gonna be a bit weird. We pulled up in the town and i rang the old boy up so he could come and meet us and follow him back to his place, when we got back to his it was just like old times. He took us out to a spiritual mauri mountain bout 10k out from the city centre and we had a walk around, then we went to the bottleo got some grog and some food and headed back to his. We cracked open the beers fried up some steaks and set about some drinking games. After a case of beer we were well on our way and waiting for the taxi to arrive which didnt arrive until after midnight, so we had sunk all the beer in the house! We got into town hit a few more bars until Ross could barely stand so no surprise when we got turned away from the nightclub. So we headed for some grub on the corner, when we got in there Ross tried to rugby tackle some chick which ended up with him on the floor under a table lol anyway he stood up and i pulled down his trousers and pants lol the manager didnt see the funny side tho and neither did the police so they bundled him into the back of the wagon and he was arrested for drunk and disorderly. We went around to the police station to make sure he was ok and offered to give statments but didnt need them, so we jumped in a taxi and headed home.

Day 7

We awoke a bit fuzzy at 7am to a banging on the camper, it was Ross he had been let out and wandered down to say hello.....yeah thanks mate! lol when we all got up Ross was still in bed and we had to make a move because we had a schedule to keep so i woke the old boy up and said goodbye then we headed off on our merry little way. So we headed for the east cape to try and catch the first sunrise in the country the next day. We headed for Gisbourne then went north an hour to Tolga bay where Captain Cook used to recieve his supplies. We found this little campsite right on the beach next to a pier, and we were the only people staying there was really nice and secluded to just sat and had a drink and cooked up some dinner.

Day 8

The next morning we got up and had a stroll along the beach and up the pier, then headed off again. We made our way to Taupo which is famous for its huge lake, I believe its the biggest in NZ. We booked into a campsite and then headed for a hot spring pool. This place is fed by natural hot spring water and has 3 or 4 pools with a big slide in it. The water was so warm it was lush and especially as Taupo is close to the mountains its colder than most parts. When we got back to the campsite Katie jumped out of the van and was greeted by a duck that promply chased her back in! lol This guy became known as Henry and all he wanted was some bread!

Day 9

We awoke the next morning and when i opened the van door who was waiting there yes Henry quacking away wanting his breakfast! we set off early as we had a lot to do, first off we headed for Huka Falls a really lush waterfall, then we were off to the Geothermal Wonderland. This place was immense its a huge mass of land that is constantly affected by geothermal activity, there are geysers, caves pools, allsorts of mad stuff with different colours everywhere caused by the levels of different chemicals being released. We spent ages going around checking all the different places out, they also induce an erruption from a geyser called Lady Knox which is a pretty special event to watch. The Painters pallette is the main thing to see though, a thermal pool with an orange and yellow ring around the edge makes a pretty special picture!
After the wonderland we headed for Rotorua where we went to do some lugeing. Ross had suggested it to us before his brush with the law. You go up a gondola to the top and they sit you in these little carts and set you off down these race tracks down the mountain now this is dangerous as hell if you really go for it i nearly fell out twice, but proper good fun!
On the way back up the chair lift for our secong run i realised katie had been wearing her helmet on back to front thankgod i got a picture of it! lol So after the luge we headed for a campsite and bedded down for the night.

Day 10

From Rotorua we headed for the Hobbitton film set where they filmed all the shire parts for the lord of the rings trilogy. We arrived late and had to wait an hour but was totally worth it, a guide takes you around all the original set and explains what happened where things were and everything. Katie was loving it! Plus they are renovating the set to get it ready for the start of filming the Hobbit. The price we paid included a farm experience as the set had been filmed on the Jackson farm estate and just been left that way, the farm was still fully operational they use sheep to get the grass that short and perfect for the shire look. Anyway after the tour we were taken to a shed where a guy showed us how to sheer a sheep, then let out 5 baby lambs and we fed them with milk bottles, something Katie had wanted to do since we arrived in NZ. After this we headed for Waitimo caves. these caves are famous as they are covered in gloworms, a guide takes you through the caves and explains about the stalagmites and stalagtites then takes you right down onto a boat where you are taken through a pitch black cave with all the gloworms. This was funny for two reasons firstly the guy was steering the boat by use of a network of ropes in the pitch black and kept bumping into everything. And secondly Katie got bumped by a stalagtite and it looked like a gloworm had pooed on her jacket, i laughed for hours!!! Once i had finished laughing at katie we headed for Whakapapa (pronounced fuckapapa lol ) childish i know, this area is a ski field, so we found a campsite here and bedded down in the freezing cold weather!.

Day 11

We got up at 7am, dressed washed and up the mountain by half 8, i didnt sleep the night before because today is SNOWBOARDING DAY!!! we got up the mountain parked the car and got our tickets, we paid $300 for 2 full lift passes, board and boots hire, plus jacket and pants hire, 130 pounds for the lot absolute bargain! We started off on the learners slopes so i could go over the basics with katie again, it took about 2 hrs before she had grasped both turns and was linking them again. So we went right to the top and had some lunch then came down again. I didnt know but they were red/black runs so Katie spent most of the time sliding down on her heelside. When we got half way it became easier and we spent all afternoon on the same run, katie learning her turns and me just messing about jibbing and buttering with the natural jumps and kickers. We finished about 4pm and headed out of town to somewhere a bit warmer for the night. We ended up at Waganui only about an hour out of the mountains, so we crashed there the night.

Day 12

Today we were heading for Wellington, when we got there it was even bloody colder..................result is the further south you go the bloody colder it gets!!! So Wellington, we parked up and had a wander around, we were desperate to have a crack at the blog as we hadnt touched it since arriving in NZ. So we got to an internet cafe and sat down for 2 hrs, to realise we had hundreds of pictures to go on! got absolutely nowhere. So we headed out of town to get some shopping and figured we may as well get the ferry that night, so we booked it up and went to the ferry. Shame we didnt really get to see much of Wellington but we were on a tight schedule and we needed the time in the south island. We got the late sailing of half 6, and after a rough start it calmed down and we settled in for a lovely 3hr cruise, we couldnt wait to get off the other side!

Anyway the South Island is a different story so until next time!

Scott & Katie

The Happy Campers!

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Comments

[Aerogers]

Hi Scott and Katie, you don't know me but I've enjoyed reading your blog. My husband and I are getting ready to follow a similar itinerary to you guys...we're leaving the US next month, backpacking China, SE Asia, Oz, and then have 12-month work visas for New Zealand!! It's nice to know we're not the only couple out there doing something like this'; unfortunately, most Americans are very close-minded when it comes to seeing the rest of the world. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog and thanks for paving the road!! - Amy and Jeremy

[TeamHandsome]

Hey guys good on you, and trust me you wont be on your own there are hundreds of couples travelling we have met loads of them! have fun and keep your blog updated!