Arrived back in New Zealand on 10th Dec and after a few days catching up with Jeanne & Howard, Amy, Sarah, Becky and the Helens I caught the 8am bus from Auckland to Wellington ... 10 hours and 50 minutes later and with the numbest bum on the planet I arrived in Wellington and after negotiating the red carpet from the Lovely Bopnes premier I arrived at the Cambridge Hotel where I spent the next 3 nights.
After a not so good nights sleep I headed into Wellington to investigate. First stop was an internet cafe to sort out stuff and then a fairly lengthy phone call to Lulu to also sort stuff out and catch up. Eventually headed off forTe Papa Museum which is huge and i had to go back the following day to finish it off.
Highlights from the museum were seeing the Colossal Squid not something I would like to bump into when diving but to be honest its not very likely as they live VERY deep and anyway I'm not sure human tastes very nice to them. Learning all about earthquakes and New zealand's history of quakes was interesting and was particularly pleased to read up on what I'm meant to do in the event of a tsunami ... better late than never I guess ;-)
Another highlight was seeing the Witangi Treaty display and the Maori Marae which I did the following afternoon.
That evening I did a Helen first and went to the cinema on my own and saw Amelia ...the film was ok but was a big step for me as I have always hated the idea of going to the cinema on my own. The following evening I was back at the cinema to watch New Moon ... I was on a roll.
So my last day in Wellington I walked through town to the cable car which I caught up to the Botanical Gardens and wandered round for a few hours, had lunch next to the Lady Norton Rose Garden which was beautiful I had forgotten what roses are meant to smell like and it took me straight back to my Gran's garden in Lancashire and making rose water as a kid.
Wandered some more after lunch in the gardens and then into town before hitting the cinema again (New Moon).
Thursday was up early to catch the ferry form Wellington to Picton ... the South Island finally. After 3 fairly pleasant hours on the ferry the last hour of which we were winding our way through Malborough Sounds we arrived in Picton. From here I picked up a float plane and met Gavin, Pam, Rachel and Peter who were also catching the float plane to Hopewell Lodge in the Sounds. Flight only took about 20 mins and that was because he went the scenic route (I think every route would have been pretty scenic if you ask me), not sure I'm too much of a fan of landing on water I have to say.
Wow is the only word I can use to describe Hopewell Lodge and its surroundings, it is like a little slice of heaven. Not only is the accommodation some of the best I have stayed in anywhere but being able to go and collect your own mussels, cockles and oysters straight off the beach to eat was amazing, sitting havng dinner looking out over the sounds, having some of the best food I have had in a long time cooked for you and being made to feel like you are at home I cannot recommend this place enough. We had aBBQ dinner the first night and then headed up to the main house when it got cooler where the wood burners was lit for us and we played scrabble listening to music and sipping wine ... so civilised.
After a slightly restless night on the top bunk (can't remember the last time I slept in bunk beds let alone the top bunk) where I kept thinking I was going to fall out. I headed out for a walk and to just enjoy the surrounding I was in, after an hour I turned round and walked back and pretty much I hadn't seen anyone on my journey other than a few cars oh and an old lady in a truck taking her dog for a walk ... yep she stayed in the truck and the dog ran in front ... genius, Lulu take note ;-)
Had lunch looking out att he most spectacular view and as I did the 'post' man arrived ... not like any postman I've ever come across not only does he dlever post but milk, cases of wine, groceries, he will delivery and pickup broken appliances for fixing and he also does the school run ... and our (British) posties are striking over what exactly?!?!?!?
The afternoon I sat back in the sun and chatted with various people, read my book and as Gavin rather eloquently put it 'this is better than being dead in a tsunami' (or something along those lines anyway) ... I did laugh, you can always trust a yorkshire man to say it as it is ... but without taking anything away from those that lost their lives, loved ones, homes and livelihoods it is true and I'm not sure how often we recognise when life is good and really take time out to 'smell the roses' so to speak.
Another fab dinner of homemade gourmet pizza which was so big it did me for lunch and dinner the following day. More wine and this time a game of Monopoly but a card game rather than using a board, again much hilarity as none of us really had a clue about the rules but were a bit beyond caring by the end.
The following day caught the float plane pack to Pciton with Gavin, Pam, Rachel and Peter again and after farewells I caught my bus to Christchurch and 5.5 hrs later with a 30 min stop in Kaikoura (don't panic I am seeing Kaikoura on my trip) I arrived in Christchurch and to the most revolting hostel I have stayed in to date which was a bit of a shock after the lovely Hopewell Lodge ... put it this way I would rather use the public toilets than the ones at the hostel .. YUK!! Luckily as soon as I got there I got chatting to a couple of Aussie girls and we headed to the pub where we got a little drunk.
The following day (Sunday 20th Dec) I showered and got out of the hostel form hell ASAP and spent the day having a good look round Crhistchurch. I got the tram round the centre which was fun and half way round The Sunshine Band got on board and sang/played You are my Sunshine which was great. I then decided to go on the Gondola which is actually a cable car but by the time I got there a storm had rolled in so my journey to the top was a little hair raising so I treated myself to a scone and a cup of tea at the top ... purely medicinal to steady my nerves you understand ;-)
Weather didn't really improve much up there so I braced myself and headed back down and by the time I got back into town I was freezing as I was in flip flops and shorts and it was raining so I headed for the cinema ... its my new home ;-) and this time watched Mary and Max which is an Aussie production and I was hoping it would be uplifting as its an animation about friendship ... hmmm its rather sad at the end is all I will say. The heavens had well and truly opened by the time I came out so I took a trip to the dark side and went to McDonalds before going back to the hostel from hell.
I moved rooms this day and whilst some things improved, I got a TV in my room and a double bed, somethings got worse ... squeaky bed in my room and the one next door (i'll let you imagine what I could hear), dirt and dust everywhere and still on the very busy main road.
Monday (21 Dec) and once again was up and at em early and into town and round the museum in the morning which was great. Learnt all about the Moa which was a big bird a cross between an ostrich and an emu that used to live in New Zealand but is now extinct, leanrt about how the British colonised Christchurch which is very like Cambridge but less bikes and also Scott left for the antartic from here so there is a big exhibit of everything from his last trip including exerts from his diary which was interesting and really sad, especially the last entry.
After lunch I walked around some more (I know Christchurch like the back of my hand now) and then I'm afraid once again I headed to the cinema, but you really can't understand how bad the hsotel was ... Julie and Julia this time which was great but made me want to cook in my own kitchen at home :-(
Tuesday (22 Dec) Again out quick and headed for the internet cafe in town where I wiled away a few hours before I met up with Charlie and Smed who I met in Raro. So good to see them!!! We walked and talked for a couple of hours before we gave up and headed to the pub - The Bog - and then som how ended up being true Brits and doing a bit of a pub crawl before going for a curry and eventually ending up in an Irish bar playing pool (badly) and sticking old cheesy songs on the juke box ... great night.
Release day arrived and I was up and out of the hostel before 10am and checking into my next hostel faster than you can say 'get me out of here' - Now staying at a place called The Old Country House which is a 20 min walk out of the cnetre but oh my god it is paradise in comparison. Couldn't check in straight away as was too early so headed into town and oh I don't knwo it had been a whole 24 hours so I thought why the hell not and I went to the cinema again ... Avatar this time which was amazing. So don't worry I've run out of things to see now ... well until boxing day when the new schedule is out ;-)
After that back to the hostel checked in properly and had a fairly quiet evening chatted to a few people, read my book and an early night.
So Christmas Eve ... doesn't feel a bit like it, we're having free drinks and nibbles at the hostel tonight which should be good and then tomorrow there is a free BBQ and drinks, think I've lucked out on the hostel choice for Christmas. I'm here until 28th when I am catching the Stray bus which will do a tour of the whole of the South Island. Before that I am doing the Trans-Alpine train journey from Christchurch to Greymouth and back on 27th and I think boxing day will just be a day of rest in between.
I will add photos to this eventually but the computers here don't have the program that compresses them to make the upload quicker so it will take too long but if you are desperate for hptos go to my Snapfish account and there are another 400 odd there for you too look at ;-)
So on that note I will love you and leave you. Hope you all have a very merry christmas and that 2010 proves to be a really happy new year for you all.
Lots of love
Hx
Highlights from the museum were seeing the Colossal Squid not something I would like to bump into when diving but to be honest its not very likely as they live VERY deep and anyway I'm not sure human tastes very nice to them. Learning all about earthquakes and New zealand's history of quakes was interesting and was particularly pleased to read up on what I'm meant to do in the event of a tsunami ... better late than never I guess ;-)
Another highlight was seeing the Witangi Treaty display and the Maori Marae which I did the following afternoon.
That evening I did a Helen first and went to the cinema on my own and saw Amelia ...the film was ok but was a big step for me as I have always hated the idea of going to the cinema on my own. The following evening I was back at the cinema to watch New Moon ... I was on a roll.
So my last day in Wellington I walked through town to the cable car which I caught up to the Botanical Gardens and wandered round for a few hours, had lunch next to the Lady Norton Rose Garden which was beautiful I had forgotten what roses are meant to smell like and it took me straight back to my Gran's garden in Lancashire and making rose water as a kid.
Wandered some more after lunch in the gardens and then into town before hitting the cinema again (New Moon).
Thursday was up early to catch the ferry form Wellington to Picton ... the South Island finally. After 3 fairly pleasant hours on the ferry the last hour of which we were winding our way through Malborough Sounds we arrived in Picton. From here I picked up a float plane and met Gavin, Pam, Rachel and Peter who were also catching the float plane to Hopewell Lodge in the Sounds. Flight only took about 20 mins and that was because he went the scenic route (I think every route would have been pretty scenic if you ask me), not sure I'm too much of a fan of landing on water I have to say.
Wow is the only word I can use to describe Hopewell Lodge and its surroundings, it is like a little slice of heaven. Not only is the accommodation some of the best I have stayed in anywhere but being able to go and collect your own mussels, cockles and oysters straight off the beach to eat was amazing, sitting havng dinner looking out over the sounds, having some of the best food I have had in a long time cooked for you and being made to feel like you are at home I cannot recommend this place enough. We had aBBQ dinner the first night and then headed up to the main house when it got cooler where the wood burners was lit for us and we played scrabble listening to music and sipping wine ... so civilised.
After a slightly restless night on the top bunk (can't remember the last time I slept in bunk beds let alone the top bunk) where I kept thinking I was going to fall out. I headed out for a walk and to just enjoy the surrounding I was in, after an hour I turned round and walked back and pretty much I hadn't seen anyone on my journey other than a few cars oh and an old lady in a truck taking her dog for a walk ... yep she stayed in the truck and the dog ran in front ... genius, Lulu take note ;-)
Had lunch looking out att he most spectacular view and as I did the 'post' man arrived ... not like any postman I've ever come across not only does he dlever post but milk, cases of wine, groceries, he will delivery and pickup broken appliances for fixing and he also does the school run ... and our (British) posties are striking over what exactly?!?!?!?
The afternoon I sat back in the sun and chatted with various people, read my book and as Gavin rather eloquently put it 'this is better than being dead in a tsunami' (or something along those lines anyway) ... I did laugh, you can always trust a yorkshire man to say it as it is ... but without taking anything away from those that lost their lives, loved ones, homes and livelihoods it is true and I'm not sure how often we recognise when life is good and really take time out to 'smell the roses' so to speak.
Another fab dinner of homemade gourmet pizza which was so big it did me for lunch and dinner the following day. More wine and this time a game of Monopoly but a card game rather than using a board, again much hilarity as none of us really had a clue about the rules but were a bit beyond caring by the end.
The following day caught the float plane pack to Pciton with Gavin, Pam, Rachel and Peter again and after farewells I caught my bus to Christchurch and 5.5 hrs later with a 30 min stop in Kaikoura (don't panic I am seeing Kaikoura on my trip) I arrived in Christchurch and to the most revolting hostel I have stayed in to date which was a bit of a shock after the lovely Hopewell Lodge ... put it this way I would rather use the public toilets than the ones at the hostel .. YUK!! Luckily as soon as I got there I got chatting to a couple of Aussie girls and we headed to the pub where we got a little drunk.
The following day (Sunday 20th Dec) I showered and got out of the hostel form hell ASAP and spent the day having a good look round Crhistchurch. I got the tram round the centre which was fun and half way round The Sunshine Band got on board and sang/played You are my Sunshine which was great. I then decided to go on the Gondola which is actually a cable car but by the time I got there a storm had rolled in so my journey to the top was a little hair raising so I treated myself to a scone and a cup of tea at the top ... purely medicinal to steady my nerves you understand ;-)
Weather didn't really improve much up there so I braced myself and headed back down and by the time I got back into town I was freezing as I was in flip flops and shorts and it was raining so I headed for the cinema ... its my new home ;-) and this time watched Mary and Max which is an Aussie production and I was hoping it would be uplifting as its an animation about friendship ... hmmm its rather sad at the end is all I will say. The heavens had well and truly opened by the time I came out so I took a trip to the dark side and went to McDonalds before going back to the hostel from hell.
I moved rooms this day and whilst some things improved, I got a TV in my room and a double bed, somethings got worse ... squeaky bed in my room and the one next door (i'll let you imagine what I could hear), dirt and dust everywhere and still on the very busy main road.
Monday (21 Dec) and once again was up and at em early and into town and round the museum in the morning which was great. Learnt all about the Moa which was a big bird a cross between an ostrich and an emu that used to live in New Zealand but is now extinct, leanrt about how the British colonised Christchurch which is very like Cambridge but less bikes and also Scott left for the antartic from here so there is a big exhibit of everything from his last trip including exerts from his diary which was interesting and really sad, especially the last entry.
After lunch I walked around some more (I know Christchurch like the back of my hand now) and then I'm afraid once again I headed to the cinema, but you really can't understand how bad the hsotel was ... Julie and Julia this time which was great but made me want to cook in my own kitchen at home :-(
Tuesday (22 Dec) Again out quick and headed for the internet cafe in town where I wiled away a few hours before I met up with Charlie and Smed who I met in Raro. So good to see them!!! We walked and talked for a couple of hours before we gave up and headed to the pub - The Bog - and then som how ended up being true Brits and doing a bit of a pub crawl before going for a curry and eventually ending up in an Irish bar playing pool (badly) and sticking old cheesy songs on the juke box ... great night.
Release day arrived and I was up and out of the hostel before 10am and checking into my next hostel faster than you can say 'get me out of here' - Now staying at a place called The Old Country House which is a 20 min walk out of the cnetre but oh my god it is paradise in comparison. Couldn't check in straight away as was too early so headed into town and oh I don't knwo it had been a whole 24 hours so I thought why the hell not and I went to the cinema again ... Avatar this time which was amazing. So don't worry I've run out of things to see now ... well until boxing day when the new schedule is out ;-)
After that back to the hostel checked in properly and had a fairly quiet evening chatted to a few people, read my book and an early night.
So Christmas Eve ... doesn't feel a bit like it, we're having free drinks and nibbles at the hostel tonight which should be good and then tomorrow there is a free BBQ and drinks, think I've lucked out on the hostel choice for Christmas. I'm here until 28th when I am catching the Stray bus which will do a tour of the whole of the South Island. Before that I am doing the Trans-Alpine train journey from Christchurch to Greymouth and back on 27th and I think boxing day will just be a day of rest in between.
I will add photos to this eventually but the computers here don't have the program that compresses them to make the upload quicker so it will take too long but if you are desperate for hptos go to my Snapfish account and there are another 400 odd there for you too look at ;-)
So on that note I will love you and leave you. Hope you all have a very merry christmas and that 2010 proves to be a really happy new year for you all.
Lots of love
Hx
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