New Zealand

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My first impression of New Zealand is how very much like England it is. The cold, damp, drizzly weather; the stodgy food (fish & chips, pies, white sliced bread); the expensive, fizzy beer; the brick buildings (though there are wooden ones too); the same buses, the same shops … It takes me a while to adjust to all this, and quite simply, I miss Asia…


But I later learn that most of that is just Auckland, the capital, and that other parts of New Zealand are completely different!


The way I want to see the country is as independently as possible. So I post ads online and in hostels to find travel companions. But it is low season and nothing I find works out without spending a lot of time in Auckland. So, begrudgingly, I book a tour bus, choosing Stray as being slightly more mature than Kiwi Experience or Magic Bus.


And so it is that I begin a 3 week tour to see New Zealand’s north and south islands. But it is not what I see that is most amazing but what I do…


In Waitomo I go caving. I’m dressed in a wetsuit with a harness and a helmet and taught how to abseil and rock climb. We do 4 abseils (including 1 down a waterfall) and 2 climbs and it is really good fun!


In Taupo I do a skydive from 12000ft (3700m). Although I’ve never been keen on doing a bungy jump, a skydive has always appealed to me, and this one is a bargain. We’re shown a demo video and I get nervous but it’s too late, I’m already signed up. I put on a dive suit, get strapped up and I hop onto a tiny propeller plane. The plane climbs quickly as my tandem jumper briefs me on the jump. It’s cold and noisy. And then it is time. The door opens, I swing my legs out and under the plane and suddenly we’re in the air, falling at 150ft per second. What have I done? Why would I do this to myself? It’s so counter-intuitive, against the human survival instinct to throw yourself out of a plane. But it’s an unbelievable thrill and an amazing sensation and the view over Lake Taupo is awesome. I have no sense of falling, my senses are overloaded. Freefall lasts 45 seconds and then the parachute is released and I’m flooded with relief. And then I actually start to enjoy the fall. With expert precision the tandem jumper lands us back at the airfield and it’s all over, one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life


In Tongariro National Park I walk a 17km trek over Tongariro Crossing. The crossing is ice-capped in winter so we’re kitted out with crampons (boot spikes) and ice-axes and taught how to trek over snow and ice. It’s a reminder of my trek in Nepal but this is actually technically more demanding. It’s a good walk though, with stunning views over the national park. We have lunch near the peak, opposite the red crater, and then slide down the other side, ruining a National Geographic photo shoot. It’s an awesome day out, a tiring but exciting 8 hours, and another day to remember.


The south island is something different again. It is stunningly beautiful, and places like Abel Tasmin and Franz Josef are picture postcard perfect. The north island was lots of fun and I had a good group on my bus. I got used to sharing dorm rooms, the only affordable accommodation here, and I really like the driver/guide, Kathy, who takes us to all the interesting places and sorts everything out for us. It is easy travelling, but after half a year on the road I’m grateful for it.


The drive down the west coast of the south island is lovely. In a country the size of Japan, there’s only 4 million people, and only 1 million of those in the south island (1 ½ million are in Auckland). As a result, everywhere feels deserted and the place is mostly untouched by man. The climate is also different, a much sunnier, crisper cold than the damp greyness of the north. But the south isn’t just beautiful, it has great activities too!


At Franz Josef I try ice-climbing. So, once again it’s on with the waterproofs, harness, and crampons. We walk 3 hours up into Franz Josef glacier and we’re taught how to ice-climb, which is a bit like rock climbing but on ice, using ice-axes and your crampons to scale the wall. We practice our technique on a 10m ice-wall, and it’s tough but I’m pleased I can manage it. Once we’re all fairly confident, we move further up the glacier to find a higher wall. Our guide chooses a 25m climb. This is a much bigger challenge, and requires a lot more concentration and effort, especially the last few metres to the ridge at the top. But it’s so worth it for the view and for the sense of achievement. After each climb we abseil back down, being careful not to catch ourselves with our ice-axes as we descend. After a long day climbing, we end the day by walking through blue ice tunnels and caves back down the glacier and to the plains below.


Then we continue on south, past the mighty Mount Cook, and on to Queenstown. Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world, the home of the original commercial bungy jump, and also the home of an old friend of mine who went travelling around the world 8 years ago and never came home. We lost touch and only recently got back in touch through facebook. So Neil (some may know him better as Thrash or Thrasher) and I go out for a beer and chat and reminisce about old times and Manchester and Gip, and I tell him all about my travels and he tells me all about his life in New Zealand. He really likes it here doing all the outdoor activities, hiking, mountain biking, skiing etc. I can't blame him for choosing Queenstown as a home, it's a lovely setting in the mountains with just so much to do!!


From Queenstown, I visit a few places in the very south of the country. Firstly, Milford Sound, which I had heard was amazing, but the weather is like a Bank Holiday Monday in the UK (i.e. rainy & cloudy) and so it is extremely disappointing. We see very little through the mist and the choppy waters make it unpleasant to be out on the boat. A great shame. Next stop is Stewart inland, and this is a much better experience. Four of us hire a car and drive round the island and do short walks into the national park. We go to the Observation Rock, at the south of the public part of the island. Assuming I don't go to Antarctica (or Argentina or Chile) then this is probably as far south in the world as I will ever go in my life. From here I'll be heading north again for a while...


After all this countryside it is time for a city and another old friend. On the way to Dunedin, we stop to see sea lions relaxing on a beach and further along the coast we watch a group of 10 yellow-eyed penguins coming in from the sea. Cool. Then we reach Dunedin, a large town on the south east coast, where I leave the tour group and stay with a friend from Prague, and ex-Synovate colleague, Julie. I spend a couple of days with her and her boyfriend and his 2 kids, and they look after me really well and it is nice to do normal things with the family after all this time travelling. We go for a cruise in the harbour and we see some huge albatross (at 3m long they're bigger than people!) and visit a Maori exhibition at the local Museum.


Then back in Queenstown, I meet up again with Neil, and we spend a day in Wanaka Mountain biking. It is much tougher than I imagined. The tracks are really steep and it takes all my effort and concentration to stay on the bike as we hurtle downhill at breakneck speeds. But Neil shows me some tips and I practice and as the day goes on I improve and even start to enjoy it! And the views up in Wanaka are amazing, so it's another great day out.


My final stop in NZ is Christchurch. With a nice symmetry, it is a very English city, just like where I started in Auckland. But this also means that it is not so interesting for me, and so already I am focusing on my next stop, Australia.

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