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I know it's been a few weeks since my last lot of photos but have an afternoon to kill so thought I'd indulge you lucky people.
After a few days back in Buenos Aires, I took the long flight from Santiago in Chile to New Zealand - crossing the international date line which meant the 5th May 2005 didn't actually exist for me (not intentional Kaz my dear!).
After arriving about 4am I took a bus straight from Auckland to Tauranga - a large (by NZ standards) town in the north of the North Island, to see Jules first off. After a night on the piss - which made me ill all day the next day as I was recovering from a dodgy tummy and a bit out of practice - I spent a few days here before hopping in the van to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. Very beautiful. We stayed in a kiwi-fruit orchard for a few days with Jules' mates before I up'ed and headed out on my own again.
Next stop was Rotorua and the geysers and thermal areas. Initial reaction was to the smell of the place, which I was warned about in all
the guide books - it really hums of rotten eggs! Due to the sulphur being emitted from the thermal activity or something. Went on a few walks but didn't go to any of the big attractions as to be honest, it seemed similar to stuff I'd seen 3 times over in South America already.
Next up was Lake Taupo. Main reason for being here was the famous Tongariro Crossing - a full day walk through the national park encompassing volcanos and other wonderful sights... But it was rained off for a week by the time I got there. Which was to be the theme for the next few days... I did walk to a pretty waterfall but again after Iguassu...
After this I went to the east coast to a town called Napier. This is a famous Art Deco town after being levelled by an earthquake in the 1930's and also is a major wine production area so plenty to do... But it pissed down again. Really hard. Little did I know after leaving after one day that this was a real bad ass storm that caused floods back up in the north in Tauranga....
So, onwards
Hot water beach...
Those people are digging holes in the sand cos - you've guessed it - the water it hot.... to Wellington. This is the capital of NZ and I liked it here. Although I only spent 2 days here my love of cities is evident again. Didn't do too much apart from walk around (and get some much needed laundry done!) but it seemed like a nice place. Lovely setting on a bay.
Next to the South Island. The ferry trip was like a little trip in itself. Even saw a whale in the distance, although no camera to hand. Very nice vessel. When I landed in the south island I headed immediately for Christchurch, the largest town/city on the south island. I really liked it here. People say that it's a very "english" place and I can see the influence but is that such a bad thing?! Cool little boutiques, coffee shops, quaint tram that rolls about. I will return to fly back up to Auckland so will have a nose around the Botanical Gardens then.
After Christchurch, I headed over to the west coast and first stop was Franz Josef glacier. I didn't manage to get to Patagonia etc when I was in Argentina (although I will at some stage...) so was really looking forward
to seeing it. Was booked on a half day walk on the glacier, which didn't sound too bad, until people kept going on about how hard it was.... Started to get a bit nervy - and the FA Cup final didn't help...
Flippin TV schedules. There was 3 of us up at 2am to watch the game, good 90 minutes then nip off outside for a fag before extra time to be greeted on my return my birds running around in bikinis... Only 2 hours scheduled for TV so had to endure the internet and refresh button for the extra time and penalties... Still, worth it though... Will bring a smile to my face for weeks to some...!!
Back to the trip. The glacier walk was amazing - the first "wow" since I started in NZ. Was a bit of hard work climbing rocks to get to the ice and my thighs are feeling it today but well worth it. Highly recommended.
Which brings me here to Wanaka. I small place about 1 1/2 hours from Queenstown and all the extreme activities that offers (although don't expect me to be jumping off of bridges or out of
Me walking a beam up in the air...
Visited a high ropes/circus training/acrobatics thingy and walked and swung very high up! planes...) Nice little place but I'll have a proper look around tomorrow.
So thats about it for now. Home in 3 weeks, where has the last 4 months gone....?!
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