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Published: March 30th 2008
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Wow, time is totally flying and I can't believe how much we're fitting into each day. Since the last time I wrote, we've ventured down to the south island where the climate is slightly cooler, I've been bitten to death by sandflies, have made many new friends and am enjoying the spectacular scenery (amongst many other things). I spent my final day in Taupo doing the Tongariro Crossing with Craig. We were the only ones who managed to get up for the early start following a rather heavy night, so that was an achievement in itself, but the crossing is 18.5km long and very challenging. (For more information go to [url=http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/ Tongariro crossing site ). It took us six and a half hours, and though tough, the views made it worthwhile. The skies were so clear that we could see a mountain 250km away from the top, and we admired the peak of Mount Doom (but refused to climb it as it was a further three hours literally on your hands and knees!). It was a knackering but rewarding day and I definitely slept well that night!
From Taupo we went to River Valley, stopping off at Tongariro National park for a picnic by
a waterfall. The hostel we were staying at was in a very secluded spot with it's own little golf course and a variety of activities. We had a really good night there, playing games and drinking a wee bit before sleeping in the 'orgy room' - a dorm for as many people as possible without individual beds, just wooden slats. From River Valley we made our way to Wellington, again stopping off at various towns along the way. Wellington was not what I expected of a capital city; there were no sky scrapers or traffic and hardly any people, but then I guess it was easter weekend. As it was the capital I decided to spend an extra day there (as did many of my friends which was cool). I did a lot of walking about with Beth, and we got the cable car up a mountain and walked back down (not very exciting!). We were staying at Base hostel, and it was a bit cramped and disorganised, but the bar was fun (priorities!)!
After a three hour ferry crossing we arrived on the south island on Tuesday and headed straight for a winery. Being on the kiwi bus,
we managed to do some free wine tasting, but I preferred the selections of olive oils and bread, yummy! We were staying in Nelson that night in a sweet hostel called the Prince Albert Lodge. It was really homely with a good atmosphere which made up for the small rooms and poor kitchen facilities. I liked Nelson - it was a sleepy town where everything closed at around 4pm, but was very beautiful. I got up early the next morning to go to Abel Tasman National Park with some friends. We left the rest of our bus which was a bit upsetting, but the trip was amazing. We spent the first day walking in brilliant sunshine, admiring the clear blue seas, white sands and tropical plants. We stopped for lunch at some waterfalls in the middle of nowhere which were pretty unique, before arriving at our campsite, Bark Bay. We hired all the camping equipment but brought our own food (instant noodles and chocolate!!) which was fun. We watched the sun set from the beach and lay in our sleeping bags looking up at the stars and the milky way - an amazing experience (though I managed to fall asleep
and get bitten by sandflies 😞)! Unfortunately we awoke to the sound of rain the following day, but out kayaking trip went ahead and in fact the weather was pretty perfect as the rain cooled us down but didn't hamper our views of the scenery. We spent the whole day kayaking and I was knackered! The boys decided they had to go together so I was with the instructor (a blessing in disguise!), but I still worked hard, honest!
After another night in Nelson, we went to Westport, stopping for lunch at Lake Rotoiti which was stunning. We winded down the Buller gorge on the way to our hostel and arrived late afternoon, in time for some shopping for dinner. It was absolutely pouring so we all opted for a night in, and spent the evening getting to know each other ( it was a new bus load of people). I really enjoyed the break from activities and time just to chill and get boring things like washing done. There's a really nice group of people on my bus who I'm really happy to be spending time with. The next day we had a bit of a lie-in (we
left at 9.30am!), then started the drive along what's meant to be one of the most stunning coastal roads in the world, State Highway 6, but unfortunately it was too cloudy for us to appreciate the views!
Last night was one of the best nights of my trip so far. We were in Lake Mahinapua, staying in a hostel in the middle of nowhere and had a dressing up party. The theme was 'bad taste', and we had time in the nearest town to get costumes for as cheap as possible. I went joint with Beth and Hannah in horrendous shirts with leggings - we thought we looked terrible, but some of the other outfits were shocking! A brilliant night! After a long drive we arrived in Franz Josef today, and I'm looking forward to hiking on the glacier first thing in the morning.
Thank you for all your e-mails and messages, I really enjoy reading themand I'm so sorry I haven't replied to everyone!
All the best, Hats xxx
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