Interesting Stats

The adventure in New Zealand has come to an end, but I thought you might be interested in some statistics from the holiday: -

Countries travelled through: 3
Places visited in New Zealand: 16
Distanced travelled by car: 4,500 km
Hours spent in car: 45
Postcards sent: 85
Species of animal seen: 100
Books read: 5

Some places we played brain train (not including motels)
1. Pancake rocks
2. Boat on lake Te Anu
3. Cruise ship terminal in Milford Sound
4. Cruise ship on Milford Sound
5. Ferry to Wellington
6. Auckland Airport
7. Airplane somewhere over Pakistan

Greetings from Singapore!

Hi all. Just a quick note from Singapore. It is 7.20am here, the sun has just risen and it is already 26 degrees! I really like Singapore airport. They have free Internet, really friendly staff (their English is better than mine!) and everything is easily sign posted. I am feeling totally messed up in my time lines. It is 11.20pm at home, 12.20pm in New Zealand, 7.30 am here and I don't know whether I should be doing stuff or getting ready for bed. The first leg of the journey out Auckland went well. We left at about 1.10am in the morning (NZ time) and both the monster and I were exhausted after our exciting day so we got lots of sleep. It took us about 9 hours to get to Singapore. It is mad to think that it took us as long if not longer to drive from Wanaka to Kaikoura and the driving was more difficult, we couldn't sleep, we weren't plied with food, drink and hot towels and there weren't toilets in the car. We have to board our plane to Heathrow at 9am Singapore time. I don't know what time we get into London, probably about 4pm and then on to Dublin due to arrive at 7pm. It is great that our baggage has been checked all the way through (we were 5kgs over the limit - all those pressies!) and we have our boarding passes for the two connecting flights. Looking forward to seeing everyone back in the emerald isle soon. Ps, Michele - the days of Peleg is really good, meant to tell you earlier.

Tiger Wrestling

The monster and I had a fantastic day today. We drove for about 2 1/2 hours to Whangerei where Zion Gardens are located (if you have ever seen the programme the Lion Man you will know what they are like). The weather was a bit dismal and I was really stressed because of the early start and having to get to the place on time. It is a big cat park in rolling green hills - reminded me of the wicklow mountains - with about 40 big cats; leopards, lions, tigers, cheetahs and a baboon. A lot of the animals have been rescued from zoos and circus' and all of them are part of a breeding programme which hopes to reintroduce the animals offspring to their native habitat. Our guide was Ash, who was visiting the park from Johannesburg to see how the lions he had hand reared from cubs were getting on. He was very friendly and informative. The best part of the day was meeting Karli, the tiger. Ash and another keeper led her out on a lead (chain collar and rope lead) and the monster and I got lots of time to pet her and get to know her. She liked us so much she decided to play with the monster. She was just like my little cat Fudge. When the monster tickled her tummy, she rolled over and grabbed the monster's leg, knocking her off her feet. It was all in play however, and she was quickly pulled off the Monster. It was a fantastic experience. She was so soft, I just wanted to cuddle her, but I was respectful of her size and power as well. Drove back to Auckland and straight out to the airport. Waiting to go home now. We also got to tickle a baboon who had been rescued from riding a bike in the circus. Her name was Foxy. She was really friendly. That was really cool too.

Auckland at last

Stayed in a beautiful hotel in Wellington and celebrated the Monster's birthday in style with lots of delicious room service. Had an early start yesterday and were on the road by 8.30 (including a 30 minute detour through the city of Wellington - the Monster thought I was lost, but it was all planned out!!! :)) Driving to Auckland was fine, it was all flat highways and loads of towns. It was raining and the countryside is lush green fields, I felt I had been teleported back to Ireland. I don't like the North Island very much. It is very different in population (much more populated), scenery (not as dramatic) and people (still friendly, but much busier). We took it in turns driving and hit Auckland at the evening rush hour. It was like being on the M50 but I didn't mind sitting in traffic because at least we only had another few miles to go rather than another couple of hours along twisting mountain roads. Our hotel is Sky City, in the Sky City Tower in the centre of Auckland. It is the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. It has casinos, lots of restaurants, spa, theatres, luxury cinemas, the sky jump (14 second free fall jump and there is no mattress to land on, but you are attached to a harness) and shops. Weather here is warm and overcast. We both had a long lie in - we are exhausted after our three days of travel - and then wandered around the city, had something to eat and did some shopping. The city is very busy and reminds me of Dublin. It is a total shock to my system. I haven't seen so many people in a month and I'm not used to the fast pace and the sheer mass of humanity.

The end is nigh

It is so sad that our adventure is nearly over - i dont really want to post what may be my last comment for this adventure.

Our room in Wellington was really lovely - the beds were soooo comfy. But all to soon the alarm clock went off at 7.00am on Thursday morning and we had to get up. We planned to leave at 8.00 in order to get a good start to the driving - we were slightly behind target when we got the car started at 8.30am. Wellington city is enormous and it took us ages to get out and on to the motorway. As we drove along i was overcome with the similarly to IReland. It was raining alot and the fields on each side of the road were the same as the fields at home - in fact it felt like driving to Dublin (before the motorways bypassed the towns). We stopped for lunch at 12.00 and then i took the wheel. Unfortunately the new car didnt have an MP3 plug so instead we sang songs as we drove along - including some Christmas ones. The time passed quickly and shortly after 8 hours we made it to the hotel. We had noticed that the travel agent had booked us in for the wrong nights so i was worried that would be homeless last night - but thank God the holy souls came to our rescue and we had a room for the night. We were both exhausted so we got room service and watched tv. This morning we got up late and have been doing some shopping for the last few hours. ( FOR SIMONS EYES ONLY: i got some Christmas pressies - will fill you in next week)

We check out of the hotel tomorrow and our flight is sunday morning at 1.10am. We havent fully decided what we will do yet but it will involve packing. We had to buy another case today as our stuff has mysterious grown.

Anyway toodle doo for now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONSTER

As the Monster already posted, we had a marathon day yesterday driving from Wanaka to Kaikoura. We took it in turns to drive (5 hours each) along twisty, winding roads that were often bordered by a steep cliff edge on one side. It was so nice to get back to Kaikoura. It is a beautiful place. The room in the White Morph Motel wasn't as nice as our first room, we mightn't have liked it so much if we had stayed there first off. It made it easier to leave this morning. We got a great welcome in the White Morph Restaurant. They wanted to hear all about our adventures and asked if we had met the rich dairy farmers. They had their Christmas decorations up and it looked very festive. Today is the Monster's birthday, and unfortunately we spent most of it travelling. The weather in the South Island was hot and sunny, about 23 degrees. It is the first time the Monster has had a hot sunny day on her birthday and it is the first day off she has had on her birthday for a while (excluding weekends). We popped out to the seal colony before we left Kaikoura and lots of seals came over to say happy birthday. It was lovely. Then we hopped in Yari for the last leg of our journey in that wonderful car. It took about two hours to Picton, which makes 3400km we have travelled in Yari since getting the car on the 12th November. It took 3 hours to cross to the North Island, Wellington being our port of call. The crossing was fine, but they had the world's most boring television programmes on to entertain us. Wellington is very different to what we have encountered before. It is a big city, much more like a European city and very populated. We have probably seen more people tonight than we have in our entire stay in the South Island. I prefer the south island so far. We managed to get rooms in a swanky hotel (got a last minute cancellation thank God) and we are both feeling really tired. On to Auckland tomorrow. We'll leave early in the morning because it is another 10 hour drive, but probably on motorways and stuff rather than twisty roads.

Its a record

Thanks for the good wishes for the jump and Birthday. I hope everyone is well - we will be home soon!!!

Yesterday was a record breaking day - we spent 10 hours driving from Wanaka to Kaikoura - we had expected it to take 7 hours but were misinformed. We had one 5 minute break and stopped twice for petrol. We were so happy to reach our destination that we were laughing and giggling out loud in the restuarant - we were getting loooks.

We are now in Picton waiting for the 2.25 Ferry to Wellington to go. 3 hours on the sea - i hope it wouldnt be like the whale watching boat.

so long for now xxxx

special love to Woozer, Rags, Janna, Fudge and Blueberry.

Well Done Wanaka

Another beautiful day here by the lake. Easily 30 degrees. We sauntered down to the lake and dipped our tootsies in the water. It was cold, but very refreshing and really really lovely. There were loads of little boys swimming in the crystal water and diving off the pier (all shouting as they dived into the cold water). We fed the ducks and gulls again today, one bread roll each. The ducks nibbled by jeans and caught the bread in their bills like dogs, while the gulls flew right in front of me, hovering in the air, and took the bread from my hands. They nipped the Monster's fingers, but they only took the bread from me. It was a lovely experience. Wandered around the town and had drinks in a shore side cafe. Moving on to Auckland tomorrow. First leg of the journey is a seven hour drive to Kaikoura, then over night there and head on to Picton the next day, cross to the north island and spend the night in Wellington. Then another 7 plus hour drive to Auckland, where we spend our last two days. The Monster has pledged to do the jump from the sky tower in the city and you know, I might do it with her! So, probably won't be blogging til we reach Auckland. See you then!

Food in New Zealand

Wanaka is lovely, it is so nice in fact that it does tempt us to laziness unfortunately. We walked down to the lake today. It is about 28 degrees, a dry heat with a clear blue sky. Heaven. There were loads of people swimming in the lake and boating, I was tempted to jump in, it looked so lovely. If I had my cossie and my boardies with me, I might have given it ago. I had some bread and fed the ducks and gulls while the Monster took some photos. The gulls were amazing, they caught the bread in the air and the ducks would have taken it from my hand, if I had given it to them! They were fickle creates however, and left me for someone else with bread when my supply ran dry. There were loads of people with dogs as well, having fun splashing in and out of the water. It is a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

A lot of people have asked about food over here, so I thought I would write something about it. There is a lot of meat, as can be expected. Mostly lamb and venison and some beef (not great quality in my experience) as well as lots of fish and lobster (they call them crayfish over here) and not great vegetarian selection. There are a lot of Asian restaurants, a couple of Italian and then the rest of NZ cuisine, which is a bit like Irish/English food. The quality varies. In the smaller towns you get helpings fit for an army of sheep farmers, and even in the cities the helpings are large. We have found a few very nice places and the rest have been average. Another good thing about Wanaka is that we have our own kitchen and the monster is very good at cooking!

Tofpot

Hi Tofpot - i hope you havent forgotten me. I hope valpot and docpot took pictures of you having a bath. If so can you ask them to send it to us. Have you grown at all ? has your hair got long? i will be home really soon to give you lots of hugs XXXX

Milford Sounds (29/11)

The only things to do in Milfound Sounds is to walk or go on a cruise. So we decided to go on the nature cruise. Checkout time in the morning was the unsocialable hour of 8.30 we off we went to purchase our ticket to the 10.30 cruise. Once this was done we went back to the cafe and had brekkie. We arrive back and parked in the top car park beside where the boats take off. We parked there because there was no one else there despite being sign posted for buses only. It was really wet and cold .... not good for holidaying. We jumped on the boat and off we went. The guide was really funny and told us lots of infor. Apparently it rains 200 days a year in this place. It really is beautiful - i wish that we had seen it in the sunshine. We stood outside for a bit and braved the elements - took some snaps. We saw lots of waterfalls on the mountains. At a distance we saw seals, dolphins and penguins. Inky had left her medicine in Queenstown so on the boat trip back in we started talking about our next trip and how we could pick up her stuff. After chatting for a bit we both decided we wanted to go back to Lake Wanaka,to the warmth and our lovely apartment. So after the boat trip we went out to the car to get the relevant numbers. The car park was now packed with buses - including behind yari - we were in trouble.....we were boxed in and there was no way out. I thought about running away and letting inky sort if out ( i think she had similar thoughts). We were blessed and God came to our aid - the bus driver was still in the bus to our left - i politely asked him if he would move for us and he did - we escaped Thank God. After 4 hours of driving, stopping for food in Te Anu, stopping in Queenstown we made it back to Wanaka and to our apartment.

Wednesday 28th November

We left Queenstown today and started the drive to Milford Sounds. We were told it was five hours drive. The plan was to stop in Te Anu in order to go to the glow worms. We made it to Te Anu in time to catch the 2.00 trip to the glow worm caves. It was quite warm in Te Anu. The first part of the trip was a 30 minute cruise. The lake looked really calm so i wasnt concerned. It actually was a really smooth trip and i enjoyed it. Once we got to the location we were split into groups. We were in group number 3 . While we waited to go into the cave not only did we see a video on the glow worm but we were also attached by sand flys. Really annoying. After a few minutes our turn came. We had two guides in our group - one was experienced and the other was training. In order to get into the cave we had to bend down really low - this went on for a few feet - not very pleasant. I had forgotten what it was like to be in a cave - its very dark and i get a tiny sense of clausaphobia. If anyone had this fear i would recommend that they never go into a cave. Anyhoo i controlled my tiny fear and proceeded onwards. We werent allowed to take pictures which was a bit disappointing as some of the views were amazing. The cave was quite small with lots and lots of fast running water. There were some mini waterfalls which were good. I really admire the man who found this cave. After walking on see through steel walkways we came to the place where the boat was. It was a little rowing boat - we all jumped in and off we went to see the glow worms. The lights were completely turned off so that we could see them to the full effect. They were really amazing - lots of tiny green pin head dots every where. Every one was really quiet so it was like being by yourself in the dark. It was awesome. Once the boat trip was over we headed back to the cabin to wait for everyone else before we got back the the boat to the mainland. We arrived back about 4.00. We went for something to eat ( didnt really like it) and we started off towards Milford Sounds.

I had expected Milford Sounds to be like every other place we had visited so far - small town with lots of places to stay - well we were in for a surprise!!!!. Milford Sounds is basically a port for crusie ships with two places to stay and one place to eat - it does not even make village status. We went to the first place to look for accommadation - they were full up except for an emerency room - he asked us to check the other place and if no joy to come back. So off we trotted in our little car to the other place - full up. We went back to the first place again and we given the emerency room - it was fine except it didnt have a tv. We wandered off to the cafe for dinner. It is the first time that i got a glass of wine filled to the top - and it made me tipsy. The food was nice and we went back to our room and went to sleep.

Jet boat and Rafting

Tuesday was certainly a busy day. Our first adventure was the mountain descent from our motel into Queenstowns. The descent wasnt too bad - it was the ascent that I wasnt looking forward to. Queenstown is absolutely freezing - the sun shines brightly but the wind blows strongly. It has an icy feel to it. The gondola was fun - when you look at it from the ground it looks like it goes at a snails pace and goes up very steeply but in reality it goes quite fast and the incline is not at all scary. It only took 15 minutes round trip. The most difficult part was getting into the car - which kept moving all the time.

We had to check in by 12 o clock for the jet boating - we were in plenty of time. A bus collected us at about 12.15 and we were delivered to the jet boating location. It only took a few minutes. As soon as we arrived we were given a waterproof jacket and life jacket - pics were then taken and we hopped into the boat. Inky was very brave and jumped in no problem. We choice the seat behind the driver - an after thought it was probably going to be the driest place. There probably was 8 - 10 people on the boat. Mike was our driver. After more photos we were on our way. It was fun - speeding down the river spinning around in 360 degrees on the spot - getting wet from the river spray. The river was a milkly blue and the water was really cold. My face was really cold too after driving around for a few minutes at 50km per hour. Spadracially Mike would stop the boat and tell us abit about the place. Like a nugget of gold (sold for $30k) was found in the last 5 years in the river. The miners build a tunnel in order to divert water so that they could look for gold in a particular place. He showed us the end of the tunnel - the rafters (thats me) come out of the tunnel at the end of the trip. I know Inky will describe it better than me - am feeling inarticulate today - bit brain dead!!! It must be too much relaxing.
At the trip we went into the shop an our photo packs were ready - we got one each. There are cool. We also came across a wall of fame - it pics of the famous and other note worthy people who took part in the trip. My favourite was George, a man in his 90's who took the trip. He looked old and frail but you could see his spirit was alive in the way he stood determinely. ( it brings back memories of Dadas spirit and determination). I am so inspired by George - what a man - please God i will have spirit till the end to live life to the full and try out new experiences. OVerall i would rate this activity with 8/10. I loved it.

Inky got the bus back into town and i wandered over to the rafting place. It was in the same location. After a while everyone was gathered together and given a brief briefing. I felt like billie no mates coz i was on my own anyway i cant let that stop me from doing what i want to do. We were all given wet suits and rubber shoes to put on. Off we went to the dressing rooms. While i was struggling into the figure hugging rubber suit i started talking to a girl called Mary from Kilkenny. She was really nice and was on holidays with her boyfriend Rob. They were travelling around for three weeks in a campervan. I hung around with them - it was great. Once changed we were given an outer rubber jacket to wear, a red waterproof to, helmet and life jacket. We all got onto buses and off we went. The guide on my bus was called Clive. He is american, reminded me of Bruce Campbell and told the stupidest jokes ever, however he was very nice. The road upto the start of the rafting was really bad - one side was rock face anad the other side was sheer cliff. The road was dusty and narrow. ( Docpot and Hoofpot- it was worse than the road in Crete to the Samarian Gorge). Some people were having canaries on the bus but i wasnt. If it was that dangerous they wouldnt drive us up. When we got to the top we were split into groups. Each boat took 8 people - so 7 tourists and a guide. Our guide was Clive. There were two australians at the front of the boat, then two dutch, then Rob and me and finally Mary and Clive at the back. We had paddles - photos were taken and off we went. I had visions of paddling continously for a couple of hours however that wasnt needed. We paddled when we needed to correct the direction of the boat or went we were going over the rapids. Each person sits on the sides of the boat and secures feet under the inflated tubes in front and behind. Clive was a very chatty guide and talked constantly. He also was excellent at instruction. The rapids started small and got bigger. We travelled 15km and it went in a flash. Just before the final rapid - the biggest and called Jaws - we found a little Paradise duckling swimming on its own in the water - heading towards Jaws. We managed to get it - if hadnt it would have died. Mary had responsility to look after it. It was so beautiful and chirped all the time. I promised a mass for the Holy Souls if I didnt fall out of the boat. It is a risk given the activity we were doing. I didnt mind falling out - it was getting back in that i was worried about. We made it through Jaws and our final trick was going through the tunnel and then the final rapid. We made it through without any mishaps. After that Mary let me hold the duckling - soooo cute. It struggled to be free and chirped all the time. Several other ducklings have been rescued over the years and have done well. All in all this was a fantastic trip - 10 out of 10. The rapids were a bit tame - would have loved if they had been bigger.

I got back into town about 5.30 and met up with Inky. We went into an Italian restuarant for dinner. The owner was totally cat mad and had surrounded the entire place with cat pictures, cat books, cat toys etc. The food was nice and we enjoyed it. While we were still drinking our coffees she gave us the bill - i dont know why she wanted us to leave - there were only two other people in the restuarant.

We went back to the motel and more or fell asleep.