Christchurch – A Pop Up City

Kia Ora for the final time from New Zealand,

The final bus journey of our trip! After the final 9 hour slog, with our path being blocked off by hundreds of sheep, we arrived in Christchurch and checked into the brand new YHA hostel. It was a really beautiful hostel and our room was lovely, much better than the previous hotel which had cost almost three times the price! As it was evening by the time we arrived, we headed out to the local pub for some food and wine before getting an early night.   

 The next day, we were up early as we only had one full day to explore the area before catching our flight to Fiji the next day. So, after a cup of tea, we headed out. In 2011, Christchurch was hit by a fairly big earthquake which devastated the city and killed 163 people. Unfortunately, due to political arguments and lack of direction, the city is still pretty much in ruin. Everywhere you look, you can see construction works and buildings being pulled down and, for those who had seen the city in its former glory, they said it was a mere shadow of what it once was.   

   

  

       

However, out of disaster has come some amazing ideas and the creativity and art scene has really come alive in the city. We visited the YMCA where they were hosting a graffiti art exhibition which spanned across the entire city. At different stops, you could view the most spectacular murals and stunning art work, all created on the canvas of the wreckage. We were able to see a lot of work by Banksy which was fantastic considering it was all free of charge and there was a t-shirt exhibition, documenting the trend of taking art work onto garments. It was really interesting. I even got asked for ID to see one of the t-shirts that was deemed inappropriate for under 18’s. Clearly travelling hasn’t aged me. It definitely was extreme and far too graphic to describe on here. 

    

  

     

 Another really cool, creative trend to come out of the earthquake is the Re-Start shopping mall, where all of the shops are now based in shipping containers. Although it appears to be a temporary measure to allow businesses to continue, it was actually a really novel idea and would be great as a permanent structure. We also visited the cardboard cathedral, made from cardboard tubing and a memorial in which there were 163 different, white, empty chairs set out to remember those who died in the earthquake. It was a very moving sight seeing the different types of chairs including baby seats and school chairs. It made us realise how lucky we are to live in a country that does not suffer from such devastating natural disasters. 

    

  
  On the way home, we walked along the river and through the beautiful botanic gardens, stopping at a lovely cafe for a fresh lemonade, and headed back to the hostel to do the last of our washing and pack for our trip to Fiji. 

That evening, our last night in New Zealand, we had booked ourselves a dinner on the Christchurch tram. Running since the 1920’s, the tram restaurant is a small, intimate, moving restaurant which takes you around the centre of Christchurch while you enjoy a luxury 4 course meal. It was so beautiful. Everything was incredibly retro and authentic and the food was absolutely fantastic! It was simply the best way to finish our New Zealand adventure!  

   

  

  

    

   Unbelievably, our trip to New Zealand has now come to an end and we have loved every second! New Zealand is a stunning country and probably one of my favourite places ever! However, we are now very excited to see the sun again and enjoy some time lazing by the beach in Fiji! 

See you all in two weeks!!!!

    

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Queenstown – If I Told You To Jump Off A Bridge Would You Do It?

Kia Ora,

Thankfully, only a 2 and a half hour drive this time around, which  absolutely flew by! We arrived in Queenstown safe and sound and were even dropped directly at the door to our hotel by our bus driver.  We had chosen to stay in a hotel this time as we really wanted somewhere with a bath and fancied something a bit more luxurious. It did have a bath but the rest of the room was extremely basic and actually had less facilities and atmosphere than most of the hostels we have stayed in. Never mind, it’s only a place to sleep.

We set off to look around the town. Queenstown completely surpassed all of our expectations. We thought it would just be another busy town with the typical, touristy clatter but actually it is a beautiful town, surrounded by mountains and, although obviously still touristy, it still has an authentic charm to it. After a wander and collecting lots of leaflets, we stopped for dinner in a nice pub with a roaring fire. This is what we had missed when travelling in the hotter countries. 

The following morning, the hotel got even better (said in a sarcastic tone.) Startled, we jumped out of bed to the sound of something blasting against the windows of our room! I ran to the door to see what it was, pulled it open and was blasted in the face, while still in my pyjamas, with a freezing cold hose!!! Not impressed! The man, who had done the blasting, look pretty terrified as I screamed and shouted at him over the top of the noise of the hose! I am not a morning person at the best of times lol! 

After having recovered from my hose ordeal, we decided to catch the gondola up to the top of one of the mountains. The view from the top was amazing and there was a lovely cafe and little shops up there but the best bit of all was still to come. The Luge! We helmeted up and caught an additional chairlift even higher up the mountain. It was so high! Once up there, we were given little carts each and taught how to accelerate and brake and then we were off! Whizzing down the mountain on tracks designed to really test your driving skills and your nerve. It was awesome! We ended up going twice – once down the starter track and then once down the expert track which included jumps and everything. I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did but it is definitely something I’d do over and over again. 

   

   After all of that excitement, we went to the cafe for a mulled wine and a cake to warm up before heading back down the mountain. From the bottom, we walked around the lake to get some amazing views of the mountains surrounded by cloud and mist, it was really spooky and on the way back through we went to a local Thai restaurant for dinner. 

   

   Our last day in Queenstown was a very exciting one, as Tom had booked to do his bungee jump! Considering he is quite scared of heights, this was a pretty big step and I was very impressed. We met the transfer bus and bounced our way across the windy roads to reach Kawarau Bridge, where the bungee started. Where better to do your first bungee jump than where the first ever commercial bungee jump took place? From there, everything moved very quickly, forms were signed, hands were stamped and within 10 minutes I was on the viewing platform and Tom was making his way across the bridge. I actually think, if possible, I was more nervous than him! My hands were shaking and I felt sick to my stomach. It was like I was about to jump! 

  

 Reaching the centre of the bridge, which stood 47 metres high above a river, Tom was strapped into his harness and the bungee cord was tied around his feet. Full of excitement and nerves, I watched as he crept his way forward to the edge of the bridge, a very surreal sight from down below. After a wave or two and I’m sure a few deep breaths, he dived off the edge and was soaring through the air! He bounced up and down a few times before being collected at the bottom by a boat and rushing up the stairs with a huge grin on his face. He loved it and I was very proud of him! 

After such a brave event, Tom treated himself to a haircut whilst I did some souvenir shopping and we grabbed lunch at the famous Fergburger. Judged by many to be the best burger in the world, Fergburger had a line of people queuing outside from its opening at 9am to it’s closing at 3am! While maybe not the best burger in the world, as we haven’t tried them all, it was a pretty fantastic burger and they were huge! So huge in fact we couldn’t even think about dinner that evening so we headed back to pack our stuff and prepare for our long journey to Christchurch the next day. 

   

 Queenstown has been a huge surprise and, if we were to live anywhere but England, which we won’t – don’t worry we are coming home, it would probably be Queenstown. Beautiful scenery, a bustling town and so much fun to be had!  

 

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Wanaka – The Sky’s the Limit

Kia Ora, 

Arriving in Wanaka, after another 6 and a half hour bus ride, we checked into our YHA hostel and settled in before heading out to explore. The YHA hostels have proven very good along our travels and this was no exception. We ended up with a twin room due to availability, but I think we both enjoyed having a bit of space to ourselves after living in each other’s pockets for 5 months. 

The best thing about the hostel was it’s location. We could actually see the lake from our bedroom window, well if you really twisted your neck. Lake Wanaka is such a beautiful place, with crystal clear water, snow topped mountains reflected in the water and a quaint high street with cute cafés, boutique shops and fire warmed bars. Being there in autumn made it, if possible, even more beautiful with trees surrounding the lake, wearing their pink, red, orange and yellow leaves.  

  

 We planned our next couple of days in Wanaka before the shops began to close and then headed to The Spice House for a warming curry. I went for the house speciality of venison curry which was absolutely delicious! Sorry Bambi 😦

The next morning, I woke with a stomach full of butterflies. The previous day, I had enquired about a skydive but due to an oncoming change of weather predicted in the area, it was unsure as to whether or not any skydives would be going ahead. They asked me to call the next morning, which I did, and within 15 minutes they were picking me up and whisking me off to the airport. I didn’t even have time to get scared which was definitely a positive. Before I knew it, I had signed my life away, was kitted out in a jumpsuit and harness and was waiting to board the plane.  

  

 I was introduced to my tandem jumper Chris, an English guy from Sussex (what are the odds?) and the camera man, Barney, who was a complete nutcase. They explained what to expect and what to do and, after waving goodbye to Tom, we boarded the plane. I was last to board and right at the front! The view was spectacular from the plane but it seemed to take forever to reach the 12,000 feet and the whole time, Chris and Barney are joking that we aren’t going to make it and trying to set me up with a German guy behind us. No thanks! It was very strange and the German guy seemed to get the complete wrong idea and persisted on winking at me throughout the flight. 

In a rush of karma, the German guy had a sudden panic of fear and although I was meant to jump first, which I was quite nervous about, he ended up going first as I think they were scared he was going to bottle it! Definitely not a good way to make a good impression on someone. Thinking back though, I think the scariest part of the entire experience was watching him just drop off the edge of the plane. It was terrifying and much worse than actually doing it myself! My turn was up! Id be lying if I said I wasn’t scared and feeling sick! I kept telling myself that loads of people do it all the time. It didn’t help lol! 

Barney climbed out first and balanced himself on the side of the plane so that he could film my jump. Then Chris slid us over to the edge of the plane door. Head back, legs tucked under the plane, rock once, rock twice and OMG I’m falling from a plane at 200kph!!! The free fall lasted for 45 seconds but felt more like 45 minutes. In that time, I think I went through every emotion possible! There was no time to actually think, just waves of emotion come over you. It’s madness but incredibly exhilarating. 

Following the free fall, the parachute was deployed and we began floating through the sky. The view was incredible – I couldn’t have asked for a better place to view from the sky. It was such a surreal feeling, just sitting in a harness, thousands of feet high, looking around. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. As the wind was so strong that day, we ended up spending quite a bit more time in the air than planned but even despite the extremely tight harness, I wasn’t complaining. After a while, we came into land and made it safely back down to earth to greet a very relieved Tom.  

  

   The rest of the day is a bit of a blur as the adrenaline just took over my body. We went for a lovely walk around the lake and decided to cook that evening. A celebratory dinner of pie, mash and peas. Perfect! 

The following day, we woke up to torrential rain and I was so pleased that I got to do my jump the day before. We had planned to go hiking but it was far too wet and we were advised against it so, after brunch, we walked to Puzzling World! A place where everything isn’t what it seems. Unfortunately, everybody seemed to want to be puzzled that day so it was extremely busy. There was a mega maze where you had to fine each of the corners which was crazy! The average time was something like 2 hours to complete! The hardest bit was finding the exit afterwards! We got completely lost but it was great fun. They also had a hall of holograms and a room where everything was on a tilt and so you felt like you were falling. It was incredibly weird. 

  

   To continue our day of wet weather activities, we went to the Paradiso cinema to watch the new Avengers film. The cinema itself was awesome, with sofas, beanbags and even a car that you could sit in to watch the film. They even delivered food and alcohol to your seats! We enjoyed a couple of beers with the movie and then got a pizza on the way home to finish off our day. 

After getting our washing done, packing for the millionth time and catching up on some tele, we were off to bed and ready to head out to Queenstown the next day. 

Fingers crossed, the rain will stop.

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Franz Josef – Ice, Ice Baby

Kia Ora, 

Still feeling rather achy from our hike in Nelson the previous day, we had to endure a 10 hour bus journey to get to our next stop of Franz Josef. Not only was it a long journey, but we had the most annoying driver ever who insisted on telling awful jokes and said “Yeah” after every single word! He also stopped continuously along the way to either drop something off or pick something up! “We just want to get there!!!”

Finally, after a lot of fuss, we arrived in Franz Josef and checked into our next hostel. Chateau Franz, a lodge style hostel, was to be our home for the next few nights. Our room was rather strange, with pink painted walls, red curtains and doors, a broken toilet and a shower that completely flooded the room, it wasn’t the best place we’d stayed but once we got used to it and settled in, it soon became quite cosy and it had an amazing view of the mountains. The hostel made fresh soup every night which was free to guests. An amazing gimmick, we thought, until we saw the queue! It seemed the offer of free soup had been spread far and wide and every backpacker for miles was queuing up for the complimentary grub. We decided against joining the cattle and wandered into town to find a nice cosy pub with a fire for some stew and red wine. Absolute bliss! We are officially glampackers! 

  

   

On our first full day in Franz Josef, we treated ourselves to a lie in and grabbed brunch at another pub in town. After curing our hunger pang, we booked onto the next shuttle bus and, after being forgotten once, we were dropped off near the base of the Franz Josef glacier. Words cannot express how beautiful this place really is! A camera just cannot capture how breathtaking the scenery is and how peaceful you feel when you are there. 

Feeling brave and energetic, we started off our afternoon with the 2 hour hike right to the base of the glacier. On the way, we passed magnificent waterfalls and areas where you could see how much the glacier had retreated in recent years. It is actually quite terrifying when you compare photographs from just 5 years ago to today, the ice has melted so much and the glacier has moved back by about 2km! It is scary to think in another 5 years people will have to walk for another half an hour each way to be able to even see the base! 

   

   

While staring in awe at the ice, we sat down on a rock and enjoyed a picnic with a view before walking back and joining another walking track. After clambering through the trees and across spectacular rope bridges for about 4 hours in total, the heavens opened just in time to cool us down before our lift back to town arrived. That evening, we grabbed a Thai for dinner and started to get excited for our adventure the next day. 

  

 

The following day, after breakfast, we made our way down to the Glacier Base Hub to check in for our Heli-Hike expedition. We were fitted with all the gear, boots, jackets, socks, hats, gloves and waterproof packs and given a short safety briefing before setting off. To get to the Helipad, we had to walk through a temperate rainforest, one of only 3 in the world that sits at the base of a glacier, which was pretty impressive in itself but nothing on what was to come! 

The helicopter was finally in sight, we were so excited!!! I got to sit right in the front with the pilot which was awesome and meant I got amazing views as we soared over Franz Josef and straight towards the glacier. We loved the helicopter ride, it was so much fun and at times you felt like you could almost touch the scenery because we got so close! But even that couldn’t compare to the next part!  

  

   

The helicopter landed directly onto the ice and we skidded across to meet our guide Pete, an English guy from Nottingham, what are the odds right?!? We began by attaching crampons to our boots so that we were able to walk on the ice without slipping and then we set off on our ice hike! In just a few minutes, Pete spotted a hole in the ice which he thought would be perfect for us to squeeze through and get an experience of ice tunnelling. He went through first and set up a secure rope line to stop us falling right down through the ice, and then we followed through one by one. The hole was only just big enough to squeeze through so it was quite claustrophobic and you could only slide through on your back one way and then you had to twist your body round to get through a corner and out. It was pretty mental now I think about it! 

  

   

The hike across the ice was just so beautiful and again it’s something that a camera just doesn’t do justice too, but we definitely gave it a go with all of our posing on the ice. We climbed over and through ice crevasses and caves and saw huge chunks of ice, standing at 30 metres high! It was truly an unforgettable experience and one of our favourite days to date.  

  

     

Once we had landed safely, we were treated to a visit to the hot pools, included in the price of our trip, which was just the perfect way to end an awesome day and the first bath we’ve had in ages.

Onto Wanaka next to create even more memories. I didn’t think my memory could fit this many in! We really are having the time of our lives!!! 

 

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Nelson – The Centre Of New Zealand

Kia Ora,

Over the course of our travels around New Zealand so far, everyone has said, “Get to the South Island as quickly as possible!” So, leaving a few days earlier than planned, we headed down south on the Picton ferry and hopped on a bus to get to our first stop, Nelson. 

In Nelson, we stayed in a lovely hostel called Almond House backpackers. We had a shared bathroom with the rest of our floor but this wasn’t an issue as it wasn’t peak season. The common area had a small fire and glass walls so that you could look out onto the garden and the mountain view and our room was nice and roomy with another great view of the mountains. 

After settling in and dropping off our bags, we went on the hunt for food. Trip advisor has been amazing on this trip as we have been able to find recommended places to eat and stay at the touch of a button. Following the good reviews, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at a cool vegetarian cafe with a retro feel and an English waitress. Their menus were placed in old vinyl sleeves and they had live music every evening. The food was delicious too.  

 

On the way back to our hostel, we stopped off at the bottle shop to pick up some wine. It was 1 bottle (750ml) for $15 or a box (3 litres) for $20. Surely it’s a no brainer?!?! The box it was! We headed back to the hostel to play some cards and enjoy a glass of wine and we soon found out why it was so cheap! It was only 5% alcohol and tasted like Apple juice. It was insanely sweet! Bleughhhh!!! We left it in the hostel fridge with a note for people to help themselves. No one did. 

The next day, we headed out in the morning to Monty’s market, a local market apparently. However, it was much more like a car bootsale so Tom was very happy. We ended up buying some new playing cards, as by now ours have pretty much disintegrated, and a penguin Russian doll Don’t ask! After a tasty lunch at the local cafe, we popped in to see the jewellers where the One Ring from Lord of the Rings was made. Sadly it was closed when we got there so we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bikes. 

Free bikes were available from our hostel so we took advantage of this and cycled down to the local park where The Centre of New Zealand walk started. Nelson is the centre of New Zealand and we were able to climb up the mountain to reach the very centre where there was a monument marking this exact point. The views of the mountains were stunning but the climb was extremely steep, so by the time we had climbed down and cycled back, we were pretty exhausted. Tom cooked us spaghetti meatballs, using up the rest of the spaghetti we had saved from a previous spag bol, and we skyped friends and family before heaving ourselves into bed with very achy legs.  

  

  

On our last day in Nelson, we booked ourselves onto a cruise and hike tour of the Abel Tasman National Park. After a 2 hour transfer from our hostel, we boarded the boat and cruised around the beautiful coastline of the park. Along the way, we stopped off to see the fur seals playing on the rocks, the baby ones were so cute and playful, and we then made our way up to the northernmost tip of the park’s coastline. On the cruise back, we got off the boat at Medlands Bay to begin our 4 hour hike around to Anchorage beach. We hiked up the mountains, over rope bridges and through dense bush along the way and we stopped for a picnic of leftover spaghetti meatballs on the end of a pier. It was a beautiful walk and we got to take some amazing pictures of the views along the way. Luckily, it was a wonderfully sunny day too so we did not have to compete with the weather which was nice as we had heard some horror stories of people that had gone out a few days before us.  

  

         

Thankfully, the boat arrived back on Anchorage beach to pick us up at the right time and drove us back to the mainland. After a rather shaky skype session with my nan and grandad, we headed out for a drink in the local pub and grabbed a takeaway fish and chips to take back to the hostel. Exhausted, we devoured our food, packed our bags ready to leave tomorrow and fell asleep midway through a sentence. 

Nelson has been our first stop on the South Island and if this is what we can expect along the way, we are very excited for the rest of our journey.  

 

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Wellington – Painful Politics

Kia Ora,

The drive down to Wellington from Napier was 6 hours of picturesque, snow covered mountains, wind farms and long, winding roads. Great for snapping up a few photos but not so good for travel sickness.  

 

We checked into our hotel, The Setup – a cute little self-contained apartment, and headed off into town to do a food shop. As we had a kitchen in our apartment, we were able to cook breakfast and dinner most days, saving us pennies for extra trips and things to come. So, that evening, we got our washing done, Tom cooked us sausage and mash and we polished off the bottle of wine we bought on our wine tour, while watching a movie. Perfect. 

The next morning, Tom the chef cooked us bacon bagels and we enjoyed a cup of tea before heading out into Wellington town. We started by visiting the Te Papa museum, vote one of the best museums in the world and you could really see why. It was fantastic, with interactive displays and activities, they are the only museum to have a giant, colossal squid on display. They also had an earthquake simulation where you went into a house and, using hydraulics, they created the same feeling as if you were in an earthquake. It was really scary.    

 

Next up, we took a stroll up to the famous Cuba Street with it’s bustling, bohemian style cafés, bars and boutiques and we grabbed a tasty lunch at a Parisian style cafe. Following lunch, we walked across to the cable car station and headed up to the observatory where we were able to  catch the last showing. It was fascinating learning about the star constellations in New Zealand and we were able to see some star formations that we would never see from the UK sky.    

 

On our final day, after breakfast, we headed back up the cable car and went to explore the botanic gardens. We visited the Tree House centre and Lady Norwood’s Rose Garden with beautiful roses of every different colour and shade. Arriving back in the city, we walked across to the Parliament building which Tom had studied as part of his architecture degree. It was a fascinating looking building from the outside but whatever you do, do not go inside! I lost an hour of my life which I will never be able to get back thanks to the “free tour!” “Let’s go in,” says Tom, “It’ll be cool to see it from the inside,” says Tom, “It’s free,” says Tom. Well, all Tom has been saying since is sorry lol. It was the most boring tour I have ever experienced in my life! The tour guide was incredibly dull, the people on the tour had clearly been forced to go on it too and we spent majority of the hour looking at paintings along a corridor. “This is a painting of our oldest Prime Minister,” pause, “This is a painting of our youngest Prime minister,” pause, “This is a painting of a Prime Minister that had a moustache” pause! Kill me now! Not only do I not have a particular interest in New Zealand politics but I definitely don’t have an interest in random paintings of men with moustaches!  

 

Tom, who also found the experience painstakingly boring, felt rather guilty for insisting we went on the tour and treated us to a Wagamamas for dinner and an ice cream on the way home. He is forgiven :-).

We are off on the ferry tomorrow to start our tour of the South Island. We are very excited as we have heard some amazing things. The tide has been incredibly rough though and they have had to cancel a lot of crossings so fingers crossed for a smooth one.

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx 

 

Napier – It’s Wine O’clock 🍷

Kia Ora,

After arriving safely in Napier, we checked into our YHA hostel and made our way into town to explore and book a wine activity for the next day. Tom had The Shire as his treat and now my treat was to come. There were thousands of leaflets to choose from, all offering similar style tours and tastings and, after ‘much deliberation’, we booked a half day wine tasting tour with Hawkes Bay Scenic Tours. 

Up early, John, our tour guide for the day, picked us up from our hostel and began by giving us a brief history of the area. We were the only two people on the tour that day so we felt like royalty being chauffeured around. Napier is a truly fascinating place. In 1931, Napier was rocked by an earthquake that killed 256 people and completely levelled the town. Areas that had previously been underwater, had risen by 8 feet and the main river was redirected, completely changing the layout and appearance of the town. As it was fashionable at the time, the entire town was rebuilt in the Art Deco style, making it it look completely different to everywhere else we have visited in New Zealand so far. Due to the change in land state following the earthquake, the soil and ground is now perfect for harvesting grapes, meaning Hawkes Bay, the area in which Napier sits, is now known as the wine capital of New Zealand.  

 

On our tour, we visited three very different wineries and got to sample a fair selection of wine at each stop. Even for me, it seemed strange drinking wine at 10am but hey, “When in Rome.” On our second stop, Church Road Estate, we were given a guided tour of the working winery and we got to sample some wines direct from the fermentation vats and the oak barrels. Some of them tasted disgusting as they had only just started their process. We were also given a food match tasting session where we got to sample a variety of wines alongside some mouthfuls of recommended, paired food. Both the food and wine were delicious and we ended up purchasing a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc as it was so good!  

  

   

  

 

Note: At time of writing the Sauvignon Blanc has been drunk.

Along the journey, we stopped off for lunch at a chocolate factory, I know what you’re thinking, John knows me so well, and we enjoyed an iced chocolate drink which was simply heaven in a glass. It was pretty much a glass of melted chocolate. Mmmmmmm. 

On the way back to the hostel, John took us to see some of the local vineyards and let us pick and taste the different grapes. It was amazing to taste how different they all were, even though they looked exactly the same. Did you know that the juice from a red grape is actually clear? It is the skins of the grapes that give red wine it’s colour.  

  

 

After a fantastic day, drinking wine and eating chocolate, John dropped us back at the hostel and we went out to the local Irish pub to sit by the fire and warm up. We are not used to the cold anymore and, even according to the locals, it has been abnormally cold here for this time of year. Later that evening, feeling luxurious after a day of swirling and sipping wines, we went for a delicious, romantic meal at a restaurant called Mint. I had Ox cheeks and fillet steak and Tom had a duo of lamb for main and for pudding, Tom had Tiramisu and I had a vanilla poached pear, stuffed with while chocolate ganache and coated in dark chocolate. It was soooooo good!!! And amazingly cost us less than a rubbish Thai we grabbed the night before. 

Feeling very full, we trudged back to the hostel to pack and get ready for our early departure to Wellington the next day. 

I think it’s safe to say that, with it’s chocolate and wine, Napier has been a highlight for me. Luckily, in Wellington, we have a kitchenette, so we can hopefully retrieve some of our budget back after a luxurious few days.

Lots of love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Rotorua – Mmmm eggy :-/

Kia Ora,

So, following an 8 and a half hour bus ride and a coffee stop in Auckland, we arrived safely in Rotorua late afternoon. Rotorua is a town you can definitely smell before you can see it. Due to the geothermal activity, geysers, mud pools and thermal springs, Rotorua has a strong smell of sulphur throughout – or a rotten egg smell to you and me. It is gross, but thankfully you do get used to it and it’s not as bad in some areas. 

On arrival, we caught a cab directly to our hotel – Silver Oaks Geyserland. It was a very strange hotel, looking more like a dark motel from a slasher movie. None of the added facilities worked – the pool was freezing and filthy, the “hot tub” was apparently out of use although I don’t think it had even been in use, the restaurant and bar were “closed for the winter”, even thought it was autumn and the spa seemed to be a locked shed. The room itself was a good size but you had to walk through the bathroom to get to the bedroom and there was a strange door leading straight into next doors room. However, it was cheap and we ended up with an amazing view of the geysers and mud pools from our balcony. That night, after grabbing some dinner in town, we moved the spare bed over to the window and sat and watched the stars and the geysers with a bottle of wine. Perfect. 

The next day, we spent the morning and afternoon at Te Puia, the area behind our hotel containing the geysers and mud pools. We saw the world famous Pohutu geyser which erupts, on average, once or twice an hour and the water jets can reach heights of up to 30 meters. It really is amazing to see and something neither of us had ever experienced before. The mud pools were also fascinating to watch and there were areas of boiling water and land, which the people would use to cook their food underground.    

   

Later that evening, we had booked onto a Maori cultural evening experience. An old style, school bus picked us up from our hotel and drove us to Tamaki Maori Village. A chief was elected on the bus and, on arrival, was formally greeted and presented with an offering to ensure us safe passage within the village. Luckily, this offer was accepted and the Hungi was performed. The Hungi is the Maori greeting of a firm hand shake and then touching, nose to nose, twice. If you touch three times however, you have to marry the person!   

We were warmly welcomed into their village and divided into smaller groups to walk around and experience their culture. First up, was Maori games and Tom was selected / pushed by me, to play one of the stick games against other members of the group. He ended up winning the game and received a commendation from the chief. Next, we found out about their clothing and materials and then we moved onto their fitness regime. It is very important to the Maori culture to stay fit and agile so that they are always prepared for battle, so they complete a variety of circuit training activities. I was chosen to race against other members of the group in a ladder jumping activity.    

 

After that, we went to an area where we found out about the Maori tattoo tradition. Traditionally, Maori tattoos were done by using a chisel and continuously carving into the skin and letting it heal before adding the ink colouring and finally, courterising the skin with burning coals! It must have been absolute agony! And the worst thing about it? Most of the tattoos are on their faces!!! The final area in the village was where the men learned a section of the Hakka and the women were able to have a go at the Poi. 

  

 

Following our village tour, we were taken to see our Hangi meal of lamb and chicken being removed from the ground, where it had been cooking for 3 hours on the hot rocks. Whilst they prepared the remainder of our meal, we were treated to an amazing cultural performance of dancing, the Hakka, the Poi, singing and even a love story. It was fantastic! Once the show had finished, we went to the dining area to devour our delicious Hangi meal. It was absolutely delectable. There was carrots, new potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, fish, mussels, lamb, chicken, sauces and gravy and you could eat as much as you wanted! There was even pudding afterwards of pavlova, peaches and cream. We stuffed ourselves to the brim and washed it all down with some zingy Maori punch! Delicious!!   

 

On our last day in Rotorua, still feeling full from our Maori feast the night before, we skipped breakfast and instead grabbed a packed lunch and ventured out onto a tour of Hobbiton – The Shire from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. At first, it all seemed rather naff – the shop was tacky, the bus driver with his commentary was really annoying and clearly WAY too into Lord of the Rings but, as soon as we arrived at The Shire itself, the magic begun.    

 

It was such a beautiful place and was so well looked after. The hobbit holes were of all different sizes, carved into the hills. Some the height of your leg, some big enough to stand in. Even the fruit and vegetables growing in the surrounding gardens were all real. Even for someone who is not particularly into the films, like me, it was still such a magical experience. At the end of the tour, we paid a visit to The Green Dragon Inn and sat by the fire with a pint of beer and cider, marvelling at each and every intricate detail that had gone into creating such a marvellous setting.    

       

New Zealanders are extremely proud of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit franchise and, with places like this to visit, you can start to see why. I think I’d like to live in a hobbit hole. 

Tomorrow, we are off to Napier – the wine capital of New Zealand! This could get messy!

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Paihia, The Bay of Islands – A Whale of a Time

Kia Ora from Paihia,

After an early start and a 5 hour bus journey, we arrived in beautiful Paihia in The Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. We were staying at the Tanoa Paihia Hotel and although it had reviewed some pretty bad reviews we gave it a chance due to it’s low cost in comparison to other hotels in the area. It was lovely! We had a Swiss chalet type lodge room with an amazingly powerful shower and it was less than a 5 minute walk from town. We checked in and got settled, went for lunch and planned the next couple of days at the tourist centre. 

On our first full day, we caught the ferry across the water to Russell, a historic colonial town. We visited the oldest church in New Zealand, Christ Church and it was still covered in musket holes from past conflicts. We also went for a pint in the oldest pub in New Zealand, The Duke of Marlborough. 

  

   

For lunch, we thought it would be lovely to get some fish and chips and walk to the beach on the other side of the Island to eat them. It didn’t look far on the map, so we grabbed our grub and set off. Well, what the map failed to mention was that it was the other side of an extremely steep hill. Our legs were killing us by the time we reached the other side, so we were very grateful to find a little bench just off the beach to enjoy our lunch. 

    

  

Just after lunch, we were looking out to sea, watching the boats, when, unbelievably, we started to see Orca whales surface for air. We just couldn’t believe we were seeing this off the beach! They were huge! It was such an incredible moment that neither of us will ever forget. We began to climb some nearby rocks to get a better view and realised that it may be possible to return to the town around the rocks as opposed to tackling the huge hill again, which neither of us were very keen on doing. We climbed, and climbed and climbed some more until we realised that we may have underestimated how far from the town we actually were. As the tide started to come in and wash away some of the easier paths, we started to regret our decision. Luckily, we worked well together and after 3 hours of rock climbing, bum sliding, cliff traversing, cave squeezing and quite a few cuts and bruises, we arrived back at the town and we couldn’t have been happier to see people again! It was a huge achievement but, over another celebratory pint at the pub, we realised how scary and dangerous it had also been. We were incredibly proud and relieved that we had made it back in one piece. 

   

     

On our last day in Paihia, as it was raining, we decided to visit the Waitangi treat grounds where the treaty between the native Maori people and the European invaders was signed, to allow the Maori people and the settlers to live together in peace. We saw the huge war canoes that are still used each year on Waitangi celebration day and we got to experience some elements of Maori culture at the workshops. I learned basic Poi, which is balls on the end of string that are swung around to a beat, and Tom learned the art of Rakau, which was basically waving a stick around in an aggressive manner. It was great fun. 

    

   

Following lunch at the cafe, we started another one of Tom’s famous underestimated walks. A few kilometres to the waterfalls through the forest he says! Well, 3 hours later, we emerged from the forest and mangrove swamps, at the Haruku waterfalls. The falls were beautiful and worth the walk, luckily for Tom, and we were able to climb and sit right on the edge of the tumbling water. 

   

     

The way back, was a different direction to the way we had came,  as rather than heading back to Waitangi, we were now heading directly back to Paihia. We started to walk and it soon became apparent that the majority of this walk was along a busy highway with no pedestrian pathway available. We spotted a man pulled over on the hard shoulder and we decided to ask if there was an alternative route back to town. Unfortunately, there wasn’t but kindly, the man offered to drop us into town on his way through. We were so grateful as it turned out to be quite a treacherous journey back even in a car! We arrived back safely and went to the Italian for dinner and a large glass of red wine. 

The Bay of Islands is a lovely place to visit and we have most definitely had an adventure here. Up next, Rotorua!

  

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx

Auckland – A Kiwi Adventure

Kia Ora (Hello in Maori)

Our New Zealand adventure has begun and it all started in Auckland. Just a 2 and a half hour flight from Brisbane, Auckland is one of the larger cities of the Northern Island. On arrival, we caught the airbus from the airport which happened to stop just outside our hotel, The Park Regis. Perfect start!

The Park Regis was quite a strange hotel with a sauna in, what appeared to be, a cleaning cupboard and rooms with only a tiny window up near the ceiling. However, our room did have it’s own kitchenette area meaning we could prepare our own breakfast, saving us a few pennies at least.

On our first day, it was Good Friday, meaning lots of places were closed and it is law in New Zealand that you are unable to purchase alcohol on religious days unless it is consumed alongside a meal at a restaurant. As I’m sure you can imagine, there were people everywhere ordering a side salad and 2 bottles of wine, or a small portion of calamari and a pitcher of lager. It was hilarious. We settled down in a Belgium style pub and enjoyed a hearty late lunch with a few drinks to wash it down. A very good, Good Friday. 

The next day, we decided to catch the bus to Mount Eden and hiked up to the summit to see the amazing views of Auckland city. It was so beautiful and luckily we had chosen a nice sunny day for the trip. The sky was as clear as glass and we could see for miles, picking out key aspects of the city’s skyline. After making our way back down to earth, we treated ourselves to a cider and a beer in a local pub while listening to some live music, before heading back into the city. It is so nice to be able to pop into a pub again! 

   

   

Eating that evening proved quite a challenge, as everywhere was packed out for the Easter weekend. Nearly all of the places we tried had at least an hour and a half wait! Feeling hungry and rather defeated, we wandered around some of the more obscure back streets and settled on a Mediterranean, alfresco style cafe to satisfy our hunger. It wasn’t great but it filled a hole.

Easter Sunday arrived and we were off to the Easter Fair!!! We woke up early and Tom made bacon bagels and coffee which we polished off in bed before catching our bus to the show. The weather wasn’t ideal as it was absolutely pouring but, armed with our raincoats and emergency ponchos, we ventured out regardless. The Easter Show was so much fun! They had a circus, an old style fairground with games and rides and even a petting zoo. Tom won an angry bird on a hoop throwing game and I got to pet the piglets and lambs. We treated ourselves to hotdogs and donuts for lunch and enjoyed them while watching a stunt FMX show. Not a great idea, as I nearly choked a few times when the bikes came incredibly close to crashing! I don’t know how they do it, my stomach was in knots just watching!  

  

   

We made our way back to the city and watched the sun set over the harbour. At one end of the pier, there was live jazz music being performed in an area set up with giant Jenga and Connect4. We couldn’t resist! After losing terribly to Tom, 3 times, at Connect4, I finally won a game and decided it was time to leave while I was on a high. We grabbed some take away food and a bottle of wine and chilled for the remainder of the rainy evening in our hotel watching movies and catching up with friends and family. 

  

   

On our final day in Auckland, we caught the ferry to the Island of Waihake, just off the coastline of the city. The ferry was incredibly windy, and, by the time we had arrived, we both appeared to have 70s style perms! Waihake was beautiful and thankfully it was another refreshing, sunny day. Continuing with our theme of walking on this adventure, we completed the 3 hour coastal/scenic trek, over the cliffs and into the bays of the Island. It was well worth the achy legs the next day, finding secret caves to explore and completely isolated beach areas to relax on. Due to it’s volcanic nature, all of the sand in the area is black, making the bays even more striking. Lunch was a toastie picnic on the beach before heading back to the mainland.  

  

   

That evening, Tom treated me to a visit to The Crab Shack. Even though he hates crab, he knew I’d been fancying it ever since I had seen the restaurant across the harbour. It was sooooooo good! I had a whole 1kg Nelson Paddle crab, soaked in garlic and chilli butter and served with fries to myself. It was delicious and the perfect treat to end our visit to Auckland. 

Off to The Bay of Islands next to continue our Kiwi adventure. We are loving New Zealand so far!

Lots of Love, Leanne and Tom xxx