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Published: February 10th 2009
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WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH YEAH YEAH
Pretty much all I said on the skydive - you can see the vid on youtube, there's no sound due to the music rights but still a good laugh . .
Funny As Bro . . . Awesome!
Kia Ora
Am loving New Zealand . . got to Christchurch and spent the first couple of days looking round the city and went on a dolphin spotting boat out in Lyttelton town - spotted some Hector dolphins and the captain explained the way they catch fish and how they navigate through the water using the click sound - the click sound sends out a sound wave and a vibration comes back which tells them the size and shape of what’s ahead, and they feel it through their teeth on the bottom of the jaw. . . they have eyesight just like ours and generally eat and play surfing most of the day. . it's a good life! Backpackers am in is cool - at a place just outside the centre called the Dorset, better than some hotels I've stayed in and good mix of crowd. Christchurch itself is quite small but has
a decent centre and I'm right by a park so went for jog!
Had a day out to swim with Hector Dolphins on the coast in a place called Akaroa - coach journey down was my first real site of the landscape here and it is great as the roads snake into the mountains and all you can see is the rolling pale green hillsides, dotted with pine tress all around . . Akaroa is a beautiful little town which was first colonised by the French and has loads of French cafes and restaurants. . . with an amazingly blue bay area. Got dressed up in a wet suit and went out looking for the dolphins with about 8 people on board . . spotted a few but didn't look like they wanted to play - went further out into the sea and we all jumped in and formed a big circle with 2 metres or so between us - we then all started blowing down our snorkels and make clicking sounds under water . . the dolphins will only come over if they think you are going to entertain them! One person in the group has a couple
of stones and taps them underwater - was getting cold out in the sea but then one dolphin swam between us all . . next thing ya know they start coming from all angles and everyone in the group started making noises down the snorkels and clicking fingers under water furiously!! A pod of about six kept coming and swimming through the gaps between us - was exhilarating to be in the middle of the sea with them! Whoever had the stones or making the most noise and the dolphins would swim in a circle around them. . was funny to watch and when the dolphins have a look at you out the water and blow their spout in makes you laugh! The Hector dolphins are the smallest dolphin and have thin skin so you can't touch them, they don't bob out the water like the bottle nose dolphins but to be in the sea with them and watch about 15 dolphins darting in and out and running circles around you is one of the best things I've ever done . . quality.
Met a great girl from San Francisco on the boat called Rachelle - we were both
buzzing after being with the dolphins and had some food together. Got on really well and she was driving so got a lift back with her . . this is the perfect place for a driving holiday - the scenery and roads are made for driving along and taking it all in. Met up with Rachelle and her mate Belinda from the Netherlands - Christchurch has a great square with bars and a few bands playing, got a bit drunk and had a laugh - the photos with the cross above my head was taken by mistake, was funny so we all got taken with it - had a good night and stumbled to the backpackers about 3am . . .
Jumped on a coach to Queenstown which is near the south coast (not wise starting at 7am after being on a night out) - and it was an 8 hour journey but with loads of stop offs and we took in the tallest mountain in NZ - Mount Cook. Again, it's a pleasure to sit back and take in all the scenery . . sheep everywhere. . must have taken at least a hundred photos on the way
down, it's like a mixture of Scotland, Wales and Switzerland, but more dramatic with the size and formation of the clouds. Learnt a bit about the history on the way as well . . Dutchman Abel Tasman was the first European to find NZ and that’s where it gets its name, he was scared off by the Maori though and good old Captain Cook came round a 100 or so years later and circumnavigated the place, claimed it for England, said hello to the Maori, named a few places and then set off and claimed Australia . . The Maori where here 100's of years before and came down in six massive canoe type boats from Polynesia . . will get more of an understanding of the Maori culture and their history on the North Island. .
Queenstown is a picturesque town and after a couple of days I wanted to live here! Lake Wakatipu in the centre is surrounded by mountains and it's just a great setting. All the main adventure stuff is down this way and I've been out on the jet boats and parasailing - then I booked the skydive! WOW haha what a buzz!!! One
of the best things I've ever done - got the video and photos and I'm glad I did as it's an excellent reminder and something to buzz off in the future . . . was a bit paranoid the night before but was psyched up driving there and actually doing it was fun and not scary at all... Had a couple of nights out with some Danish backpacker lads and a funny lad Alex from Ipswich - all the bars and restaurants are great and there’s a really good atmosphere round the place . .
Am in backpackers The Black Sheep and the worst thing is . . people snoring! Don't get a very good night sleep sharing with four people, don't know how people go in 8 or 12 sharing rooms . . would be a nightmare. There's generally a good mix of age and type of people from all over and it's easy to strike up conversation. Enjoying thinking about adventure trips I want to do and some day’s just chill down by the lake, no worries . . as I have a bit of time on my hands I do think about people back home and
. . . Rebecca. .
Will be taking in the west coast over the next few days going around the fiords, glaciers and then making my up to Abel Tasman national park and Nelson in the far north of the south island - will get out and do some Whale spotting when I get to a place called Kaikoura - hopefully. . .
Aotearoa . . . Land of the long white cloud - Maori name for NZ
Human Population 4.3 Million (3.8 Million Backpackers)
Sheep Population 45 million (Didn't believe it at first but I do now!)
E noho ra
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