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Published: February 12th 2008
New Zealand: Christchurch We leave Melbourne feeling a little odd. We feel like we've hardly scratched the surface of Australia and plus we were enjoying Melbourne and we also said goodbye to one of our regular friends from the trip. New Zealand is a completely new start and we don't know how to feel about it...
The plane touches down in Christchurch and before we know it we are driving through miles of suburbs that look suspiciously like England. We unload (much to everyone elses amusement) at Jailhouse Accomodation. It looks a bit like a youth detention centre but the hostel website gave it great reviews and plus Joe is especially excited about staying in a disused jail...
Inside, we are thankfully given a key and led to our cell through the high ceiling communal area which still retains its prison-like appearance. The cell is actually pretty cosy. We have bunk beds which makes it even more like a proper cell but my cellmate is a friendly and nice looking fellow... There are actual bars on the window and the door is the original door minus the peephole where there's a mirror instead. The toilets have really cool
Is it a man, is it a ghost or is it super Joe?
Joe at the glow in the dark mini golf- excellent!barbed wire seats (covered with plastic of course, that wouldn't be comfotable at all!) and there's a line up wall painted in the lobby which we of course do silly poses in front of. All in all, the jail is pretty nice and certainly a different experience to staying in the infamous chain of 'Base Backpackers' where everything is pretty basic, unfriendly and so ordinary it hurts.
The only bad point about Jailhouse was the internet connection which was so slow that when I typed a message home, it spent about half an hour catching up with what I'd written! I had no choice but to wait there as the letters slowly materialised at a depressing crawl. So I hope you appreciated that message Mum! 😉
Theres a strong wind in Christchurch and I fear I won't have enough warm clothes for my time in NZ but the South island has pity on us and the weather is decent and good throughout! Joe and I take a walk into the town. When we arrive, we are again shocked by how English it looks. The guidebook had warned us but we were still surprised. It wasn't really as though
Joe with his prisoner number
Naughty, naughty, very naughty... they were all sitting around drinking tea but there was just a vibe of Englishness in Christchurch.
We were so hungry and needed to eat cheaply so I'm sad to confess we ended up in Burger King. The food wasn't amazing but it was cheap and we did get to watch a few boxing rounds in the process. As we ate, two adults had fights with teenagers just outside the restaurant! One woman and a younger girl gave each other a good punch! We couldn't believe it and hoped the rest of NZ wasn't so primal!
After a few days in Christchurch, we were ready to leave. Unless you have a car, there's not too much to occupy you for long. Our best trip out was to the Science Museum which was surprisingly informative and interactive. We also had a great time playing glow in the dark mini golf!
Now, after our stay in Christchurch, it was time for our trip on the Stray bus to begin. There are three companies that operate bus tours in NZ. The first Kiwi Experience is suitably dubbed the 'Chlamydia Bus' so we opted to keep out of that one.
In the jailhouse!
I knew I shouldn't have stolen those Koalas... Magic are apparently for a wide age group and were a possibility. But the people we met in Australia recommended Stray, a bus for those who want to party at times and be quiet at times. They also told us the bus does good stops to break up the driving and good drivers who give you lots of info. So we went with Stray and when our first driver, Cathy picked us up from Jailhouse, we were glad she was really friendly and told us lots about the areas we passed and gave us all the info we needed about our next stop, Kaikoura.
Kaikoura In Kaikoura, we were staying in a place which reminded me of The Shining a little but apart from the decoration, there was no other comparison! We were put into a 5 person dorm which was perfectly fine. We had three German girls in our room, 2 of whom spoke German the whole time and didn't make an effort to speak and one named Mona who joined us that afternoon to go seal Swimming. We had wanted to swim with Dolphins but it was all booked up so we thought we'd try the
Nikki with her prisoner number
It's never been this fun being in jail... seals instead.
We got kitted up in wet suits, life jackets and snorkels and jumped in a bus to go to the site. Our guide was pretty friendly and the group were all nice. Once we finally made our way through the rocks, water pools and seaweed, we all jumped in the water. We swam around and tried to tempt the seals into playing with us. However, they just wanted to keep sunning themselves and we had no luck. Only twice did a seal swim by, one coming very close underneath Joe and I. Yet, it was all too brief and the experience was more plain 'swimming' than 'seal swimming'. When we got out, our guide broke open some sea crustracean and offered us all some. It looked like sludgey milk but we gave it a go. Apart from very salty, it wasn't actually that bad! It did feel a bit strange on the tongue though.
Back at the hostel, we spent more time with Mona and went for a drink. As it turned out, we spent most of our time in the following week with Mona, sharing dorms whenever we could. Mona was good company and although
she is German, she hated most other travelling Germans! This is pretty funny as she gave most of them an evil glare whenever we passed a group of them. She only disliked them because most don't bother to learn or talk English to others who are travelling and therefore they appear rude and as though they are not interested. I don't like the way English has taken over the world but it's true that it's important to talk to others. If I was in a country where English was not spoken, I'd try to learn some of the lingo at least.
Abel Tasman National Park (Marahau) After a good time in Kaihoura, we head to the Abel Tasman national park. At Picton (where people get the ferry to Wellington), we acquired a new driver. This one was named 'Bagginz', partly because he looked very much like a hobbit and also because he had a tendency to lose luggage sometimes. At first I'm was a bit turned off by him in a sense, he was kind of loud, he constantly talked on the microphone, and he picked people out and made things up about them! After not very long
at all though, all these things were funny instead and I realised he just had a really strong personality. His talking on the microphone was VERY informative and intelligent, he answered every question and invited people up to talk to him whenever they liked. He was a great guide. Every new person who comes on the bus he invited up the front to introduce themselves to and say hello. Before I go up there, he told everyone I was a pole vaulting champion which later when we arrive in Abel Tasman, a Scottish guy asked me if I really was a 'pole dancing or pole vaulting champion'? Hmmm....
What we came to realise about NZ is that much of the beauty is seen whilst travelling. When someones asks us later where we recommend in NZ, we struggle to name actual landmarks because we simply enjoyed the mountains rushing by, the glacier lakes, the Pancake Rocks and blowholes, the greenery coupled with rocks, the clear cold lakes, the waterfalls and rapids. Luckily, Bagginz stopped at many of these places that we probably would have missed if travelling alone or with another driver, as the others weren't half as proactive as
I think I missed the water!
Kayaking around the Abel Tasman national park he was.
Anyway, in Abel Tasman we ended up at Old McDonalds Farm, which of course sparked off in Joe and I a few renditions of the old nursery rhyme and a comparison between English and German animal noises. There was an amazing sculpture area there with fascinating sculptures. The scenery was absolutely incredible, especially being right on the edge of the national park. We decided to kayak around the national park and signed ourselves up for the next day.
The group on our bus turned out to be a good bunch. Gradually everyone got to know each other and even if not the best of friends, at least everyone was familiar with each other for a week or so and that was a nice feeling. After being away for so long, it was nice to bump into people in the hostels or in the bar and just say hello to people. We obviously got on best with Mona but the rest of the bus were a good bunch and having a consistent driver, especially Bagginz, meant there was a good vibe on the bus generally.
So kayaking. I've never done it in my life! I had
Joe and I at Old Macdonalds Farm!
Old MacDonald had a farm, ei i ei i oh! no idea there was a steering mechanism in the back so Joe went in there but we did swap at points. I don't think I was the best steerer though! Kayaking in a 2 person kayak is difficult and it takes a while to get into the mode. Joe and I had to synchronise our paddling, which sometimes required a bit of verbal counting, especially near the end when we thought our arms might drop off! It was a strange and challenging experience, being in the middle of the sea with just ourselves to rely on to get to the next piece of land. Obviously we had guides too, two very friendly Canadian guys.
We stopped off at several beaches where we had a good splash around with the Joe's ball. There was also a paddle competition where you had to get the paddle around parts of your body without letting go. And I won! This meant a free beer when we got back, although I do't drink beer so it got passed onto Joe. Thankfully, he bought me an ice cream in return! I was proud of myself for doing the silly paddle trick and surprised to learn
how bendy I was.
I guess kayaking meant not too much of the national park was seen but still an enjoyable day. We did have a walk up to one of the peaks and got a good view on either side. At the last stretch we were all pretty tired and meandered our way back to the beach where we started. With a great sense of relief, we did make it eventually! I still have no arm muscles though but how????
Barrytown There was a stop on the Stray bus that seemed infamous with many people. We heard it from the people we met in Oz and there seemed to be a tone of laughter in the drivers voice eveytime he mentioned it and that place was Barrytown! After navigating our full bus down unbelivably windy roads with fantastic views across the sea, we pulled up outside a single building. Apart from this building, there were several houses and that was about the shape of Barrytown. The hostel was decent with the hottest showers on earth and a bar that proved to be the centerpoint of most of the night.
Barrytown is famous for one thing
and that is the fancy dress party. And for some reason, mainly a cross-dressing fancy dress party! The men dug in with great vigour, tarting themselves up with skirts, bras, fluffy tops, feather boas and even going so far as to give themselves fake boobs! There was a bit of competition going on there! The women mostly looked like 80s pop stars and gave themselves ridiculous moustaches. I went for a big handlebar moustache myself... It was a pretty funny night and definitely helped the bus relax around each other. If you've seen someone cross-dressing, it'd say that breaks down the barriers a little!
Franz Josef Going to Franz Josef really was one of the definite highlights of the trip. We decided we wanted to climb the Franz Josef glacier pretty soon after we arrived so this was a bit of a landmark on our Stray trip. Straight away, we booked in and had no choice but to do the gruelling 7-9 hour walk! We headed back to the hostel and got a 4 bed dorm with Mona and another girl called Rebecca. It was nice to be in a dorm with someone we knew and such a
small one as when you're in a bigger dorm with strangers, they generally have no respect and wake you up at 4am for however long they choose to chat loudly for!
Franz Josef was a great small place that took around 10 mins to walk around. Being from London, it's a pretty strange thing to be in a place SO small. In the whole of NZ there are only 4 million people whereas just in London there is about double that (or perhaps a bit less). The space and person ratio is ridiculous though in comparison! What was nice about NZ was that people had space and we began to understand why people must be so stressed in London, on the tube getting squashed in to and from work, small pavements, houses on top of each other and etc etc. In Oz and NZ there were a lot more outdoor activites too (probably helped by the weather) and I think that made people happier too.
Anyway, this massive glacier can't be ignored... We dragged ourselves up early and got kitted up in all the gear- waterproof trousers/rainjacket/walking boots/crampions (to help us walk on the ice)/hats and mittens! We
were also wearing quite a few layers already. We were driven up to near the base of the glacier but didn't realise about an hour/hour and a half of the walk was over horrible stones that were hard to walk on with our spiky crampions. That was the most tiring part! Especially at the end of the day! And also I needed a wee after 7-9 hours straight....
Finally reaching the glacier, our guide cut out stairs for us with a pick axe (if that's how you spell that...) which made the whole job a lot easier. Although the steps were often steep and hard to walk up in our big shoes. We had a 'Franz Josef shuffle' which was basically putting one foot behind the other to go up or down stairs, WITHOUT falling over!!! After a while, we picked up some metal sticks to help us balance ourselves and they made it easier too. Sometimes we climbed through really narror crevices with holes underneath so we had to shuffle along and use the crampions to dig into the sides. We also climbed in and through some ice caves which were amazing to see.
The most interesting
thing was how the glacier seemed to be melting but we were told by the guide it was actually expanding! Apparently it's one of the only glaciers to be expanding. It was beautiful to see, especially the further up we got, when the ice got cleaner and bluer. It was worth all the walking and I've realised on this trip that I actually like a good walk! Especially when there are amazing views all around or at the top. We've also done so much walking through cities which means we get a good feel for places and also work off some of the treats we can't resist!
Makarora Makarora was a bit like Barrytown but nicer. At this stop on the bus, there was only a hostel. Most of the ride there was spent debating whether I could manage to join Joe, our friend Mona and another nice girl called Barbara on a helicopter trip when we arrived. I thought I'd just go but kept wavering as I am petrified of heights! Although on this trip, we have realised that my fear of heights is more localised to man made places such as buildings/stairs/and perhaps planes, whereas I
am absolutely fine when I look over cliff edges and things like that. I think Joe thnks it should be the other way round but I can't help my own fears!
Anyway, I went to and fro and decided after we got the room not to go. But as I sat there for a moment I thought 'why can't I do this?' Lots of people do it and I would feel so stupid forever if I didn't go now, especially with this nice bunch. Still scared out of my wits, I ran after Joe and after discovering that it had to be 4 people otherwise the others couldn't go, I paid and there was no turning back...
We met the pilot who was a friendly guy and he understood my fears luckily. I strapped myself in VERY tight and held onto Joe and slowly we eased off the ground. I couldn't belive how small the helicopter was and at the same time, how smooth the movement seemed. We got very far up, over valleys and above mountains but looking down only sometimes felt scary. Perhaps we just had a really good pilot, I don't know but it felt
okay and after a while, I even started to enjoy it.
The best part and the part that inspired a little more fear in me again was when the pilot told us he wanted to say hi to the jet boat on the river below (which the rest of our bus were on). So he dipped down and flew just over everyones heads and spun round and swiped over them again. It was strange being sideways at a couple of points but kind of exciting too! It gave us and the rest of the bus something to talk about too later. All in all, the helicopter was fun and I might even consider another trip sometime. Most of all, I was proud for going, despite being VERY scared.
Later that evening, we all enjoyed a game of Petangue (or something like that, bascially a bit like bowles French style). Our driver got us started and about 6 or 8 or us had a great time swapping and having a go at hitting this tiny white ball with our big metal ones. Joe and I did quite well I think and we all had a good time which was
The Franz Josef glacier
It looks a lot smaller than it is! the main thing. Even later, we made it to the bar for happy hour and got in some drinks in time for the karaoke!
Now, I used to be against karaoke full stop but then I went to a private karaoke booth with a some of my friends a few times. And that was great! And once I went to a party where there was group of people I hardly knew and I got up a few times. But never had I done it in front of 20 people or so in a public bar! However, our bus were practically the only people in the bar and we all had a nice rapport so after only about half hour, Joe and I were up singing 'Miss Jackson', which we probably only know the chorus to but we find funny trying to keep up with. Later we sang S Club 7 with another guy, another classic. And we also lost Mona's karaoke virginity (we knew she'd crack!). At the end of the night, we had a good old singalong (with all involved who were left standing) to Bohemian Rhapsody. What else???
Queenstown On the bus to Queenstown, Joe
and I had another debate. This one involved whether he should thrown himself off a 43 meter bridge... Not literally, with a bungy rope attached of course! Kawarau Bridge just outside Queenstown is the original site of bungy jumping and is an amazingly scenic area. The Kawarau river is also clear and I could even see how it would be a beautiful sight to jump off a bridge at. Joe seemed pretty set on the idea but there was a little wavering. I myself was surprised he wanted to do it. I knew he wanted to so a skydive but that seemed different in a sense as most people say it deosn't seem that real when you jump out as there's so many clouds at first. But jumping off a bridge really requires telling your body to jump, something I could never do! But Joe seemed keen and I was pleased that after such a while, he could still surprise me!
When we got there, we watched a short film about the history of bungy. This didn't seem to help Joes nerves greatly but it was kind of interesting. They showed one of the founders, A.J. Hackett bungy jumping
off the Eiffle Tower in the late eighties which I vaguely recall hearing about. I had no idea bungy jumping was such a new activity. After this, Joe was whisked off with about 3 others from the bus and we were all left to hear about the safety of bungy. I think they were trying to literally rope more of us in!
Next we were all led onto the bridge to grab a spot to watch our jumpers. I personally didn't think the top of the bridge was the best place to watch so I went back to the viewing platform where I would be able to see Joe from the side and hopefully film it. A few people jumped off, two girls even going together and then I saw Joe being strapped in. He gave me a great wave and I felt my heart pounding hard as I watched him hobble towards the edge and get ready to jump. I was looking around for someone to almost scream at but everyone I knew was on the bridge!
Then Joe leapt off and flew downwards, almost feet first for a lot of it and the rope snapped. He
narowly missed touching the water and started to bounce around for several seconds. Later he described it as about 10 of the most expensive seconds ever. Once he was safely in the boat, I ran down to meet him. He looked like someone who has had their head out of the window of a moving car and when I asked him how it was, he says he doesn't know! Only when he watched the video inside did he start to remember it all and for several days later, he randomly exclaimed 'I can't believe I threw myself off that bridge!' Neither can I Joe, neither can I....
In Queenstown we stay in the Base as this is where everyone seems to be staying. Unfortunately this means 8 bed dorms and we no longer have Mona around as she stayed an extra night in Makarora. But we meet her later. The dorms are pretty basic but the hostel has the internet and everyone else is in our corridor so it's not so bad. Later we find out how horrible 8 bed dorms can be though because on at least 2 of the nights we were there, we got woken up
at around 4am by our dorm 'mates' (and I use mates very loosely) who stumbled in drunk, turned on all the lights and discussed things extremely loudly for half hour or more with absolutely no regard of anyone elses feelings. In Wellington, I decided we were getting a private room, I was so sick of thoughless people!
Queenstown was a lovely place. There was a nice waterfront, some alternative shops and pleasant people. It was nice to have our bus around for the first few days as we stayed on longer than them and no longer knew anyone! On the first night we went for a few drinks with everyone and our driver bought everyone a drink. The Chlamydia bus were extremely loud and we were once again glad of our choice in Stray. Our driver, Bagginz kept everyone entertained and told us all to go outside at 12am to watch all the people on the grass get soaked by the sprinklers! Of course we went but most people had moved away so he attempted to lure them back onto the grass with free drinks. Only some joined him but at 12am most of them still got wet because
they were sitting nearby. Hehe! It's mean but it was a warm night, no harm done. We moved onto another bar after that and Bagginz suspiciously disappeared. About 10 minutes later he returned, dressed as a turtle and holding a huge spoon! He was a mad bloke but we hadn't expected anything like that! Bagginz really was one of the things that improved our trip immmensely.
The next day, I woke up with a disgusting back ache! With little dancing and only a few drinks the night before, I had no idea why. We were meant to be going river boarding (a very taxing activity) but I couldn't even bend so we decide to put it off and in the end, we cancle, as I don't want it to recur. We bought some muscle relaxant and spent the day resting, hanging out with Mona and going on the internet. The next day, our bus leaves which is sad. We said goodbey to Mona which was even sadder as we all got on so well and had a great time. Thankfully, we were due to meet up with her again in Auckland! Still, this meant we knew no one on
our next bus which was a shame.
One of the best things about Queenstown was a place called Ferg Burger! A tip from Bagginz, we all of course tried it out. These burgers were really some of the best burgers I have ever tasted so if you get to go to Queenstown, you know where to eat! These burgers were massive and had excellent trimmings. We struggled to even finish them! Of course we went back again, no surprises if you had one honestly. I wish I could bring you all one back!
Because of the back injury and I think general tiredness from over a week of activites/dorms, we had a quieter time in Queenstown. We got our photos downloaded and I got a hair cut (no way as good as good as Arthur by the way Mum...). I really didn't want to mess my back up again. After many backpacker meals, we also cooked some veg for ourselves. It's unbelievable the difference it makes not having them!
On the last day we decided we were on slightly better form and took a gondola up to the Luges! I had no idea what a Luge was
Our bus driver Bagginz
He wasn't always dressed as a turtle... to be honest but for those like me, it turned out to be a go kart style thing which is easier to steer (a simple forward to accelerate and backwards to decelerate). The gondola took us high above Queenstown which I didn't enjoy much (my fear of man made heights again!) but the views up there were breath taking. Looking around at the mountains and scenery all through NZ, it all looks so Lord of the Rings-ish!
For the Luges, we also had to go on a chair lift which was a first for me. I was a bit shaky but the fun at the top made up for it. As a special backpacker deal we got 6 turns for a good price. First we went on the scenic route which turned out to be pretty steep and twisty in places! I kept wee-ing (vocally of course) over the hills and it proved a great rush! The advanced route was even harder though and some cocky blokes had a few falls. Not wanting to be like them, I took my time and only let myself go much faster after a few laps. It was great and so simple! Everywhere
in England should have one!
And that ended our time in Queenstown and the next day we decided to catch a plane from Christchurch to Wellington (as it was the same price as the ferry from Picton and saved us going to Kaikoura again). As you can probably tell from this mammoth blog, we had an excellent time on the Stray bus. With the right combination of the driver, other passengers, fun activites and amazing scenery- it was a whirlwind week of good times. Most of all, I still had the best companion at least!
So tune in next time for NZ-the North island adventure. Will another Stray driver ever live up to Bagginz? Will we manage to meet up with Mona in Auckland? Will we get to do the Tongariro Crossing although it's not on our ticket? All these questions will be answered alongside more irrelevent ramblings. Thanks for reading!
Love to all, Nikki xxx
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