Flying solo

This week has been a very mixed bag, which I guess is good when you are travelling, and the challenges of travelling alone have become more obvious to me. This is by no means a bad thing, it is important for me to get used to going solo and i was prepared that the beginning of the trip was going to test me. 

One day which I was challenged was the day after my last blog post in Surfers Paradise. I woke up without really knowing anyone in my room and went downstairs in the hostel for some breakfast and to attempt to plan Thailand, which I have decided will be the next part of my trip. I spent the rest of the day looking around town and sunbathing in the hostel. It was challenging because it was a day that I really realised I was alone but I must admit it was quite nice to be able to relax and not have to worry about anyone else.

On the 7th I caught an early coach to Brisbane and after having some toasted banana bread (my favourite australian dish). I headed to my hostel which was located in the centre of the city. Well actually, it was more like a ghost town when I arrived, much like the cities in New Zealand, it seemed to be too big for amount of people who were there. I decided to visit the town and went for a walk around the main shopping area where i stopped to watch some live music for a while. I then crossed to the Southbank, which could have easily been the Southbank in London, with its large grey concrete theatre building and giant ferris wheel. Here, I had a look around the museum, which featured an especially interesting exhibition about aboriginal history and culture.

That evening Ali arrived from Byron Bay and, after a loud aussie voice echoed through the halls of the hostel on the rusty old tanoys offering free drinks for woman, we decided to visit the bar under the hostel, the aptly named Down Under bar. We ordered our gin and tonics and sat admiring the incredible aray of dance moves being performed on the dance floor, getting stranger and stranger as the night went on. It really was phenomenal. After a couple more drinks we decided to hit the hay as we had a nig day ahead of us.

This 'big day' was Australia Zoo day! We had decided to get the 11am train but when we went to buy our tickets the trian line employee behind the plastic window told us that we were travelling a bit late to see the zoo and that we would have missed all the good feedings etc by the time we there. This of course was devastating to hear, but we had no choice but to go because we couldn't go any other day. We got on the slowest train I have ever experienced but seemed to make it to the zoo way before the ticket man said we would. Once inside we were relieved to find there were loads of things to see. First of all was the koala introduction, which was a zookeeper telling us fact about koalas and then a chance to stroke of the older koalas, which was extremely exciting for me and Ali who had fallen in love with the animals already. 

Next up was the crocodile feeding, where a man risked his life to give this 7 metre croc a snack. Whilst doing so he was sharing important information about how not to get eaten by a crocodile in Northern Australia, which really brought home how wild and dangerous this country can be. I also was amazed to find out that crocodiles can live for a year without eating and have not really evolved for 64million years!

 We then decided to go and feed the kangaroos who were in an open enclosure which you could walk through. These kangas were so used to having humans around that they were all lying around but I did manage to catch a couple of them bouncing around. As well as all of this we also had time to see snakes, giraffes, rhinos, tigers, dingos, Tasmanian devils and turtles. I challenge you to go to a zoo and not become a child again, it was all so exciting! 

The next day started ff much less exciting with a trip to the pharmacy to buy some earplugs after a boy in my dorm room had kept me awake during the night with his snoring. I caught the afternoon coach to Noosa and was picked up by a minibus which took me to my hostel. The hostel was fully booked so I ended up sharing a double room with a German girl named Anna. So many travellers here and either German, English or Swedish! I met two other German girls while I was making dinner and spoke to them for a couple of hours about our trips etc. I told them that I was a bit worried about the bush camp I had booked myself onto the next day because I had been reading the reviews and it looked pretty bad. I decided that I would still go and see for myself and went to bed thinking about all the terrible things that the bush camp could hold.

The next morning I was picked up from Noosa coach station by a very friendly, enthusiastic Australian called Alan, the man who ran the bush camp. I soon found out that my whole minibus was full of British people including Ashleigh, Abby, Alex, Joe, James, Scott, another James, Zoey and Josh and from one German girl called Sophie, which was reassuring and we got on straight away. After visiting a supermarket and off licence we drove to the camp away from the beach and into the woods. The camp was basic but functional with a fully working kitchen, TV room with hundreds of films, dorms, a games room and a fire with giant logs around it to sit on. 

We played beach ball, which I was awful at and then it started to rain heavily for about 10 minutes. After making dinner (I bbq-ed some salmon that I had bought in a panic at the supermarket and for which I got rightly taunted about around the fire) we decided to have some drinks. We sat round the fire for a while with the other people who had arrived before us and stayed up pretty late talking and drinking even though we all knew, in the back of our minds, that we would have to wake up early to go on our canoe trip at 8:30am the next day.

The next morning was a bit of a struggle but I managed to get out of the bunk bed, have my breakfast, make a a sandwich and make it to the canoes on time along with the rest of my bleary eyed group. I was in a canoe with a German called Mark and an Italian called Andrea and, mostly due to them I must admit, we made a pretty efficient rowing team. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the rope swing that Alan had directed us to. We canoed through the Noosa Everglades which is pure Australian nature, dry nearly bare trees and plant life I did not recognise and strange birds and widelife making up the soundtrack of our trip. At the rope swing I was dying to get into the water so I swam in the river with most of the group. Some people decided to brave the dangerous looking rope swing but just floating in the river was enough for me. After lunch some of us decided to go and explore the surrounding area a bit more and so went for a walk through the landscape which was so different to any landscape I have been in before, dry cracked earth, long grass and dead-looking trees, which actually turned out to look quite beautiful (my camera had no battery for the trip so unfortunately I have no photos to go with my description). 

Our journey back from the rope swing was less fun as we were rowing against the tide amd the wind. It seemed to take much longer than the way there but in reality it took only half and hour longer. I showered in the surprisingly bice showers and watched a couple of films in the TV room before dinner and a bit more drinking. We met the new group of people who had arrived that day which was nice because every one seemed to be there to have a good time and really friendly. Another late night ensued and the surrounding woods were so loud with the bird calls and whi knows what other animals that it was difficult to sleep so the next morning I did not feel rested at all. I talked to a few of the girls also staying there while I ate breakfast and then watched a movie before it was time to get the minibus back to Noosa. I felt absolutely shattered so when I returned to my hostel and I fell straight into bed for a nap. I woke up to make a really disappointing dinner and spoke with a few people in my room but then slept again for the first full nights sleep I had had in ages.

In the morning I travelled to the beach and met up with Ali again as we are doing pretty much the same route and nearly the same time. We walked along the coast admiring the skilled surfers and the gorgeous landscape then looped back through the woodland. 

Jj

At one point we nearly jumped out of our skin when a huge water dragon rustled a bush next to us as ran up a tree. We arrived back and had some fish and chips in a restuarant on the beach, which has to be one of my favourite beaches so far. There was so many surfers everywhere and at one point a group of 12 year old came and made me feel very inadequate when they showed off their surfing skills. 

In the afternoon I said goodbye to Ali (although I would be seeing her the next day) and caught my coach to Rainbow Beach. On the coach I met up with Mark and Andrea again by chance and it was nice to have someone I knew for the journey. 

I arrived in the evening to my hostel, which seems really nice. Once again unpacking my bag and preparing myself for whats to come which is my 3 day trip to Fraser Island, riding along in a 4X4 and seeing what the island has to offer! All the people I have spoken to about this trip have said it is a definite highlight so I am really looking forward to it! 

Even though this week has highlighted some of the challenges of going it alone and I really enjoying my time in Aus and have so much more to look forward to! I mean, I am in paradise, so can hardly complain!

Thanks for reading x

Flashpacking?

This morning there was an article on facebook about how backpacking has changed from hippies with no money to young people 'flashpacking' (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2934455/How-budget-travel-evolved-hippies-original-backpackers-flashpacking.html) 'RUBBISH!' I shouted as I pushed myself backwards from the shiny iMac computer and retreated to the open plan, snow white kitchen to make myself an nespresso coffee. Ok, truth be told, I have been forsaking the simple, modest hostel life for the past week enjoying luxury while I can. 

The luxury accommodation I am talking about is a far cry from Kings Cross Hostel, the place I was staying when I last wrote a blog post. Not that this hostel didn't have its positives. After I wrote that post we went to a bar called Goldfish on the main road in Kings Cross. It was not good and so we decided to move to our usual bar, The World Bar, where we met up with some of Georgies friends. That night I can honestly say I danced the most I have ever danced. At one point, people around us stopped dancing, watched us and started cheering us on. After we left, Catherine checked her pedometer and it showed that we had done 8,000+ steps in the short time we were there! 

On the 26th the country celebrated Australia day marking the anniversary of the first ships landing in Sydney from Portsmouth carrying the prisoners who were to be the first European settlers. I had been told that Sydney was the place to be on Australia day so I had readied myself for the occasion by going to the local supermatket with Catherine and Georgie and purchasing temporary Australia Day tattoos and a metre high inflatable kangaroo which we named Dave. That morning, however, we woke up to find that it was raining, really raining, with no sign of blue skies to be seen. Despite the weather we were not going to waste Australia Day so we got a bus into the centre of the city. There was live music, street events and market stalls all set up for the event, but the rain made everything look soggy and sad. We made our way to a pub in The Rocks, the oldest part of the city, and had fish and chips. The pub also had a rooftop bar so we decided to share a jug of cider and hope the rain would clear up. It didn't. We went back to the hostel to find people celebrating there and joined them for a while until we decided to admit defeat and get some sleep. 

The next day was also wet and gave us the chance to realise how tired we were. We retired downstairs in the hostel to a dark basement fitted with huge sofas and bean bags and a large TV screen. This was a room were time stood still, it could be any time outside and you wouldn't know. Georgie, Catherine and I made a batch of cookies for the hostel, well mostly for us but when we couldn't fit any more in our mouths we eventually shared them out. Georgie's university friend Ali arrived at the Hostel that afternoon fresh off the flight from the UK, but surprisingly awake and friendly. That evening we thought it would be fitting to spend our last night at The World Bar with people from the hostel, another night full of dancing ensued and ended with pizza then bed. 

The 28th was my last day in Kings Cross before I moved on with Georgie and Catherine to Lennox Head near Byron Bay. Our check out was at 10am but we hung around the hostel all day which was nice as we had got to know a number of the other travellers staying there. We went out for dinner with some of the girls who were staying in our room then said goodbye to the hostel and the people we'd met there. We got a taxi to a budget hotel near the airport and after watching some rubbish TV went to sleep for a couple of hours before we had to wake up again for our flight.

We woke up to the view of Krispy Kreme, Mcdonalds and KFC outside our bedroom window. We caught the shuttle bus to the airport and had a uneventful passage through the airport. The flight itself only took an hour and seemed to be over as soon as we had got comfortable in our seats and completed a couple of levels of Crossy Road, an insanely addictive game Catherine had downloaded onto her ipad especially for the journey. We arrived at the tiny airport in Ballina and met Ken, the man, friend with Georgies dad who was kindly lending his home to us. He drove us to Lennox Head and gave us a quick tour of the small seaside town, which had coffee shops, restaurants, bars, surf shops and a small supermarket, everything you could need. We then drove the short distance to his house which was up on the hill overlooking the bay. I stepped inside and was instantly drawn to the windows that made up the far wall of the main living space. The view was incredible! 

The whole house was incredible, clean, stylish, open plan. I had to restrain myself from running around and jumping up and down with excitement. Upstairs was made up of a large living space with a giant white leather sofa, TV, iMac, dining table and a beautiful, very organised kitchen. The garage was also upstairs which had surfboards, body boards, snorkels, bikes and a car, all of which Ken said we were free to use whenever we'd like. Downstairs there was another small sofa area, with a collection of wine, which we were also free to drink. Ken's room was spacious with a HUGE en suite fitted with a stand alone bath tub and a giant shower, and down the corridor was a  laundry room, drying closet, bathroom and two double rooms which we would be using. The beds were so comfortable with fresh white fluffy duvets and dreamy pillows, and AIR-CONDITIONING! 

We went for a walk down the beach then I had a shower, which was heavenly after the rubbish showers at the hostel and a quick nap to freshen up. When we woke up we met Kens friends who were joining us for dinner. We had fresh prawns for starters and oven cooked snapper for main with apple pie, ice cream and raspberries to follow. During the meal Ken brought out some sparkling chilled Shiraz, which sounds so wrong but was soo delicious, probably the nicest wine I have ever had, and god knows how much it cost. We said goodbye to Kens friends and Ken who was going away on business for 6 weeks early the next morning and then slept very well in our new home.

The next couple of days were spent enjoying what Lennox Head has to offer. On the first day we walked 5 minutes to the deserted 7-mile beach and spent the day sunbathing (as much as three pale girls from England can) and body boarding. The beach is beautiful but absolutely covered in beached jellyfish, not poisonous ones we had been assured by Ken but they scared us a little bit anyway. 

The following day we visited Lake Ainsworth, which was the other side of town to us and right next to the beach which is strange for a fresh water lake. This wasn't the only reason it was strange though, the water in the lake is a deep brown colour, just like coca-cola due to the tea trees that grow around the edge of the water. That day it was very hot and me and Catherine cycled along the beach to the lake.

By the time we reached the lake I was so sweaty that I got straight in the water and could practically see the steam come off me. Georgie joined us and we spent the day lying in the shade (much needed after a day in the sun the day before) and swimming in the lake. 

The next day we decided to venture out and visit Byron Bay which is the main backpacking area nearby. It was another sweltering day and there was a monthly market on that day. We wandered sround the stalls, which were mainly selling jewellery or clothing from india, local produce and delicious food. Unfortunately the heat meant that staying outside in the still-aired marketplace was almost impossible so we went and found a shaded cafe and had lunch. We then walked through the past shops trying to sell the surfer lifestyle until we got to the beach. I could not resist the sea so I waded through the warm, crystal clear water until I was neck deep. I soon found out why surfers like this beach. Every so often the waves would become huge. At one point I found myself tumbling underwater for what seemed like an eternity after a particularly massive wave. 

We caught the bus home and watched the Australian Open mens final, Andy Murray vs. Novak

Djokovic (bad luck Murray) and then Georgie and I watched 12 Years A Slave, an outstanding film.

The 2nd of February was a rainy day in Lennox Head and sonwe decided to watch the Superbowl and introduce Georgie to Game Of Thrones. We walked into the town to get some ingredients and made an incredible spag bol for dinner, splashing some of the red wine Ken had left us into the mix.

The following day we had decided to use walking along the coastline to a place called Boulder Beach. The walk took us on a path along the beach, clifftops and finally on the pebble beach (just like home). The wind was relentless at the top of the cliff and being able to see the beach from that angle was really impressive. Due to the wind, the sea was really hitting against the land in a spectualar fashion, sending sprays of salt water flying in every direction. 

We walked back into town and bought some salad for lunch then watched some more Game Of Thrones (Georgie was already hooked at this point) and then Django Unchained, a slightly different cinematic approach to slavery that the film the previous day.

For my last day with the girls we travelled in the car to a town called Nimbin, picking up Ali and her friend Jo on the way. The town was inland and in the middle of nowhere. Famed for its relaxed policies and hippy way of life, the town definitely liced up to expectations however, I was surprised with how quiet it was as lots of backpackers I have spoken to knew about it. We bumped into a couple of people who had been staying at Kings Cross which was strange. I have a feeling that might happen more as I travel up the coast, as it's a popular route for travellers to take. After snooping around all the shops and seeing enough insense sticks to last me a lifetime we visited the candle factory and bought Ken a beautiful hand made candle as a thank you present and head back to lennox head in the car. 

 

Ali and Jo got the bus back to Byron Bay, where they were staying and Catherine, Georgie and I got ready to go out for our farewell dinner in Lennox Head. We chose to go to a BYOB pizza restaurant and brought two bottles of white wine with us (courtesy of Ken of course). The pizza I had was out of this world! Half had giant juicy garlic king prawns and the other half was a deluxe vegetarian pizza with goats cheese and macadamia nuts. DELICIOUS. We bought a tub of ice cream to take home with us from the restaurant and ate it with a bit more wine while we reminised about the two weeks we'd known eachother (what a bunch of girls!)  we then watched another episode of GoT, which was even more fun after a bit of wine, before hitting the hay. 

This morning I got up early to take advantage of the great shower for the last time and had my last coffee from the nespresso machine. Georgie and Catherine were kind enough to give me a lift to Byron Bay for my coach at 8:55am. They are lucky enough to have slightly more time than me to travel up the coast and a more flexible schedule so they are staying in Lennox for a couple more days, unfortunately for me. As we stood, waiting for the coach a guy our age came up and asked georgie if she recognised him, he turned out to be the ex boyfriend of Georgies good friend, what are the chances! The coach arrived and I said goodbye to the girls. I have had an incredible and hilarious last couple of weeks thanks to them and can't believe how well we got on (probably because we are all as crazy as eachother) and it was really sad to say goodbye to them, but I suppose I will have to get used to making friends and them leaving them as this is my reality for the next 10 months! If Georgie or Catherine are reading this, we pinky promised to go to Ireland in 2016, now it is written down on the worldwide web so it will have to happen (neigh)! 

The coach journey to my next stop, Surfers Paradise, went quickly and it was pretty imoressive seeing the skyscrapers appear in the distance, right next to the beach.  I quickly found my hostel, Backpackers In Paradise, which is a nice hostel with a lot of outdoor space including a swimming pool and a courtyard overlooked by the hostel dorms. I put my stuff in the extremely stuffy room (no more aircon for me) then decided to visit the famous beach. I attempted to sunbathe but it was so windy that the sand blew over the beach and onto my skin which was surprisingly painful so I gave up and had a look around the town. There isn't much here apart from shops and bars but it is nice to be in a backpacker place again and hopefully meet some more travellers.

 Tonight I might have a drink with some people from the hostel, but making that first move and introducing yourself, especially when a hostel seems quite established, like this one does, is always a bit nerve-wracking. 

So back to backpacking it is then. I have said goodbye to luxury, which I was incredibly lucky to get in the first place, and am preparing myself for the familiar feeling of sweating while I sleep, being woken up by music and having to share a kitchen and bathroom with lots and lots of people. It's still bloody exciting though! 

Thanks for reading x

Wonderful Land of Oz.

G'day from Australia! What a surreal thing to write, and since being in Sydney I still haven't quite got my head around being here. Every time I see the opera house or harbour bridge, I have to pinch myself, I'm really here! 

The last time I wrote I had just said goodbye to my family in Tauranga, New Zealand. The three days I spent there were, thankfully, brilliant. The girls I shared my dorm room with in the hostel were really welcoming and from all over the place, America, Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland....On my first full day there I had a well-needed relaxing day which was made up of reading, napping and a trip to the supermarket. Later in the afternoon one girl called Aoife, from Ireland, convinced me and Emily, from America, to make use of the hostels free bike rentals. Although the bikes were basically falling apart we managed to cycle to Mt.Monganui, which is a bustling beach resort town, with lots of lovely looking restaurants, beautiful holiday homes and a gorgeous scenery including the mountain and two popular beaches. It was a far cry from Thames, where I had originally planned to stay, and I was relieved to see I had chosen the right place. The next day I decided to have a more productive day and set myself the task of climbing the mountain. The climb turned out to be a sequence of seemingly endless steps and by the time I arrived at the summit I was thankful that the incredible views allowed me to sit and stare at them for a prolonged period of time, giving me a chance to catch my breath and reduce the shiny redness that my skin had adopted. 

After spending a while taking in the views from every side of the summit and watching a paraglider fearlessly shoot off into the sky I started to climb down and, after taking a slight wrong turning made my way back to the town where I treated myself to a frozen coke (only $1!)  and got the bus back to the hostel. That evening I sat with Emily and we watched a New Zealand film called Boy, a coming of age, indie film about a 12 year old Maori boy. It was nice to see a local film as we had had very little chance to meet many locals and really see what it's like to live in New Zealand. It is also on my bucket list to watch a local film in every country I visit, so far so good!

My final full day in NZ was spent lazing about in the hot salt pools which are located at the foot of the mountain with Aoife. We sat and enjoyed the sunshine and met a man called Rod who gave us some really valuable tips for our travels. It is amazing that as soon as you mention you are travelling to people everyone has personal experiences and advice to share with you. Finding out about where to go, where to avoid, what is worth the money and places that are off the normal route is surely a great part of backpacking and people, as always, are more than happy to share their opinions with you. That evening I re-packed (crammed) my bag and sorted out my online check-in, which was a bit nerve-wracking. The girls from my dorm then decided it would be nice to go out for some drinks at a bar down the road where there was some live music. 

The next morning my alarm rudely interrupted my sleep at 7am for my coach to Auckland which left at 8am. As this was the only coach all day I had to wait in a shopping centre in Auckland for a few hours before I made my way to the airport. 

It was weird to be suddenly alone again, I got a repeat of the feelings I had had sitting on the bench after my family had driven away 'I can't believe I am in new zealand', 'What am I doing?' and 'Come on Emma, you can do this' flicked through my mind as I got steadily more nervous about my first plane journey alone. I arrived at the airport with PLENTY of time to spare and went straight through security, skipping the check-in desk thanks to my nifty little hand luggage backpack. My plane set of at around 18:30 local time and landed in Sydney at 20:00 local time, 11 hours ahead of the UK. The flight was nice enough, Emirates is a great airline and the countless films available in the seat screen helped time go quickly. Although it was an uneventful flight I found that my hands were shaking when I came through arrivals. I jumped on a DOUBLE DECKER train from the airport to Kings Cross and when I exited the train station I was met by a mirage of neon signs and scary looking bouncers. Turns out that Kings Cross is Sydneys 'red light district' and full to the brim with strip clubs. It didn't help that I had no idea which direction the hostel was in and therefore had to walk back and forth, up and down the main strip a few times before I got my bearings, passing the same dodgy looking bars again and again. Luckily when I did find my hostel my first impressions were good with really friendly staff and fellow travellers. The hostel is called Kings Cross Hostel and turns out to be in a really great location in the city, regardless of all the neon signs. The main downfall of the place is the lack of air conditioning meaning that sleeping in a 12 person dorm is pretty stuffy.

The next morning I met three girls from Surrey (small world) who were staying in the same room as me. Catherine and Georgie, who were travelling in Australia together and another Catherine who was travelling alone. We spent the morning watching the Lego Movie, which I LOVE and then me and Catherine (who was travelling on her own) decided to go and do the free walking tour of the city. It started in the centre, near the cathedral and ended at Circular Quay which is near the Opera House. 

We learnt a lot about the first settlers from Plymouth and the convict history which seemed even more apt as Sydney will be celebrating Australia Day on the 26th of January, marking the anniversary of the first settler ships arriving. After a day walking around we decided that we deserved a cheese and wine evening on the roof of our hostel with the other Catherine and Georgie and this was the first time I saw the bats. From a distance, they look like eagels soaring towards you, then, as they get closer, you start to wonder whether dogs here have wings, but then you realise they are bats. Huge bats. Huge fruit bats flying over the city at dusk like a scene from a horror film. It makes you remember, that even though you are surrounded by English, shopping centres and Opera, this is a tropical land. This is far away from Brighton. As if to emphasise this we also watched lightning flash in the distance, a tropical storm. After the cheese and wine, we heading on to a local bar and danced like lunatics for a few hours before bed.

Over night there was a monsoon style rainstorm which hammered down on the pavement outside of the window but by the morning the heat from the sun had dried most of the street. I did some boring stuff in the early afternoon like buying a sim card and some suncream then met up with Catherine and Georgie and crossed Habour Bridge to the Olympic Pool. This may seem like a strange thing to visit when in a large, famous city but this is a public swimming pool with a twist, the location. The pool is situated right next to the river, practically under the bridge with a view of the opera house, skyscrapers and Luna Park, a 1940s theme park right next to the pool.

We stayed there for a few hours, paddling and lying in the sun until we got very hungry and made our way back to the hostel, picking up a pizza and garlic bread on the way back. 

The 22nd was the day I got to go to the famous Bondi Beach, a bus ride away from our hostel. The weather was beautiful and Georgie, Catherine and I lay on the beach like local aussie girls soaking up the rays. We must have forgotten that we are all pale English girls though because not one of us got away with the sunbathing without burning some part of us. I was a bit disappointed that there were no shark warnings while we were there but there was a warnings for jellyfish however the sea was too inviting and the weather to hot to stay out of the water. We went to the big Westfield mall on the way back and had banana bread and coffee on the top of the mall with a view over the city. That night we were convinced once again to go out for a drink with people from the hostel, which was really fun and good to meet other people staying the hostel. 

On the 23rd, partly due to a hangover and partly out of pure laziness I did absolutely nothing. Thipe main highlight of the day was that we made cookies and watched the Baz Lurman film 'Australia' which means I can tick off watching an Australian film from my bucket list too! 

The 24th was much more productive as I decided to got for a walk on my own around the botantical gardens, which are absolutely huge and full of amazing plants and exotic birds. That evening I met with Georgie and Catherine and did the first cultural thing of the trip so far. We watched our first opera show. The Sydney Festival is going on at the moment in the lead up Australia day, meaning that there are lots of events and performances going on around the city. One of these events was a free opera performance in a open green area next to the botantical gardens called The Domain. We met with some family friends of Catherines and enjoyed the breathtaking talent of the singers and musicians, surrounded by hundreds of other people all with picnics and wine. The sky darkened, bats flew overhead and lightning could be seen in the distance during the performance which added to the drama of whole experience. It was a really special part of my trip that I won't forget and I am filled with amazement for the singers. 

Today has been another lazy day, taking advantage of the roof terrace in the sun and trying to plan what I am going to be doing as I travel around Australia. I am heading to Byron Bay with Catherine and Georgie next and we are staying in the house of one of Georgies dads friends, which will help with the budget and will mean not having to share a room with 12 people anymore. Woohoo!

My time in Aus so far has been brilliant but I have only seen Sydney and soon I will be travelling from one place to another, something that involves planning and organisation.... so we'll see how that goes!

Thanks for reading :) x

The end (and the beginning)

And so it begins. Today I watched my dad, sister and cousin drive away in our snail shell of a campervan as I stood on the side of the street with my hand luggage sized backpack and some washing machine powder they had kindly donated to me. I am in New Zealnd, the furthest land mass from home, alone. Well not quite, but we'll get to that.

First of all I have a lot of catching up to do. These last few days have been pretty hectic and it's been impossible for me to dedicate enough time to write anything. This is mainly due to the fact that last week marked a huge turning point in our trip, both physically and metaphorically. We reached our most southernly point and turned back on ourselves. After Oamaru we started heading back north steadily towards the unescapable end. We also hit a turning point with the way we acted, we became a lot more reflective and nostalgic, discussing what our favourite part of the holiday WAS, what we would miss about New Zealand and whether we would come back (ummm....yes.) So you can see why I haven't been able to write for a while, we've been too busy cramming as much in as possible.

The last time I write we were in a DOC camping site in between Christchurch and Kaikoura. After ravelling in the dark up and down winding trails to the site that evening we woke up to find that it was actually quite a beautiful place. We spent the morning walking along the stoney beach, discussing what we thought was the cause of the tiny holes in the rocks, which as you can imagine got quite heated. After agreeing to disagree we packed the van and heading up the coast yo Kaikoura where the clouds and also decided to go. We booked to go swimming with the local seal colony the next day then rebelliously set up camp on the side of the road before going to the local irish bar for a drink. The bar had a live irish/kiwi band playing which was very surreal and we met a group of travellers from Birmingham who had been living in Melbourne for the past 3 years. We talked excitedly about the joy of skydiving for a long time, seriously, you should do it!

The next day the seal swim was cancelled due to the conditions so we decided to reschedule it for the next day and walk to see another colony nearby. When we got the there there were lazy seals slumped over rocks in every direction, they were so well camoflaged that I nearly walked into one. 

We walked along the rock pools and coastal tracks to the edge of the reserve where Oli climbed a very steep hill (because Bonnie said he couldn't) and Bonnie, dad and I took the longer more scenic route up. That evening dad treated us to the local dish of freshly caught crayfish which me and Bonnie devoured, getting every last piece of meat out of every corner. We then had three games of pool in the pub which went progressively from very enjoyable to slightly stressful, anyone who has witnessed me playing competitive team games recently will understand. 

On the 9th we finally managed to swim with the seals. The weather was beautiful when we woke up and we walked to the seal centre to get changed into our attractive and very flattering wetsuits. The seal colomy was a short minibus ride away and when we got there we were lead onto a bright yellow speed boat with a skipper who had been taking out seal tours for 28 years. We zoomed over to a group of seals and jumped overboard. There weren't huge numbers of seals in the water but when I did spot them I was amazed with how easily they glided through the water and howfast they could swim away. I had a great couple of minutes with one seal who swam underneath me, did a some corkscrew turns and looked at me with wide puppy-dog eyes. It was great to see the lazy lumps we had seen the day before tarnsformed into slick, beautiful swimmers. 

After lunch we had to leave Kaikoura and head further north as we were booked onto the ferry to the north island the next evening.  We drove up some familiar roads, including the dust mountain tracks that we had broken down on all those weeks ago and camped at Robin Hood bay, the bay we had stopped off at on our first day on the south island. 

The next morning I woke up sweating as the sun had transformed our van into a sauner. We sat outside in the sun and soon got talking to our neighbour who was an American who was living with his British wife nearby and every so often brought their spacious caravan to the bay, and I couldn't blame them. He asked my dad 'so, when are you emmigrating?' which, just in case you didn't know dad, is an idea I am completely happy with, I will be happy to come a visit you here any time. We walked along the beach, enjoying the warm sand under our toes and then had to leave this little paradise to get to Picton in time for our ferry. Oh, and have time to sample some of the local wine of course!

We passed through Marlborough on our way to the ferry port, an area famed for it's brilliant wine. It wouldbe rude not to stop really. So Oli, Bonnie and I decided to go for a quick wine tasting around a couple of vineyards. The whole affair started pretty distinguished, discussing the fruity undertones or dryness, but by the end it all tasted pretty good. I don't fully remember the journey to the port but there was a lot of giggling and loud singing and at one point I said 'In wines defense, it does taste really good.' The ferry crossing was nice and calm but I did not enkoy it at all. Do not go on a ferry after drinking lots of wine. We arrived in Wellington late and Oli's friend Shaun kindly let us crash at his house again.

During the day in Wellington we decided to visit the WETA studio workshops, which is where films are made, including of course Lord Of The Rings. After looking around what was essentially a LOTR gift shop we went for lunch at a local cafe called The Larder and had a delicious brunch (if you are ever in Wellington, I seriously recommend it). We left Wellington and heading back up to Lake Taupo, this time greeted by a beautiful sunny day and a stunning sunset over the lake. Dad also got interviewed by the lical newspaper, The Taupo Times, so keep an eye on their website for the story about the hairy british guy. 

The following day we were treated with more scorching weather and we drive further north to Rotarua. We stopped at a place called The Thermal Wonderland which is a strange, almost alien place with high levels of natural thermal activity which results in bubbling mud, plumes of steam, huge pools of bright colours and the overwhelming smell of egg (sulphur).

At points, the mixture of strange surroundings and extremely hot weather, I felt like I could have been walking in the surface of Mars. As if this wasn't enough heat for one day we then decided to visit a place called Kerosene Creek, a natural hot water river which had been recommended to us. We arrived there and I was desperate to get into the water to cool down but when we got to to the water we soon realised that this was not a place to cool down. The water was so hot, it was painful to get in and I only managed to get up to my shins before I bottled out. Dad however, fully submerged and pretended that it didn't hurt. 

That evening, at my request, we found a cool lake to camp by and I had a much needed evening swim, I felt so hot that steam could have come off my skin when I got into the water. We had fish and chips and watched the sun set by the lake. We sat outside until the sandflies got too much of a nuisance then went to bed.

The morning of the 13th was a luxiourious one for me and Bonnie. We spent it in one of Rotaruas many spas and had a 'relaxation massage' which was heaven after sleeping in the van for a month. Although I could have laid on the massage table forever the next activity was well worth getting up for. We were going to Hobbiton! After ajourney through rolling green pastours we got to the set and were taken on a tour around by a British lad called James. We saw masterfully detailed hobbit holes and learnt some crazy facts like the fact that it was two people jobs and couple of weeks before filming to walk from a hobbit hole to the washing line and back again every day in order to make a natural path in the grass and that the tree above Bilbo's house is fake and each leaf was painted and stuck on individually by students. However, they got the shade wrong for the season they were meant to be filming in so Peter Jackson made one woman repaint every single one! Throughout the tour Oli and dad were churning out the lord of the rings themed puns with the tour guide to the point that it just got ridiculous, you really can't take a male Naef anywhere! The magical tour ended in The Green Dragon, the shires pub where we were given one free pint of proper cider (which my dad greatly appreciated). 

After geeking out at Hobbiton we headed to The Coromandel Penisula, the arean of New Zealand that is where kiwis go for holidays. Our first stop was the Hot Water Beach, a beach where you can  dig a hole in the sand and instantly have a natural hot tub. When we arrived it was evening time and the beach was full of people so there was nowhere to dug a hole that would be hot or the only areas that were left were where it was too hot to dig. We ate our dinner and watched like hawks for people to leave the their hot tubs. Oli began trying to dig in the boiling hot areas and ended up burning his feet and me and dad decided to go and battle against the gigantic waves in the sea. Finally we got a spot as the sun was going down, next to a large group of brits on the Kiwi Experience and a small group of locals who we ended up talking to. We left in the dark and headed  to the nearest Top 10 camping site. Naturally at the end of a holiday, funds are running low, so dad aksed me and Bonnie to sit on the floor of the camper and hide under a towel so that he didn't have to pay for us. This was nerve racking to say the least, especially when dad started a full conversation about the campervan to the man in the gate and oli kept doing the most suspicious smile possible. We were smuggled in sucessfully and our prize was a lovely hot shower.

We explored The Coromandel more the next day, going to Cathedral Bay. A strenuous 40 minutes walk lead us to a beautiful bay with a cave that lead to anothe beautiful bay. We rested in the shade of the tress and listened to the waves crashing until the temptation to get into the sea was too much. The waves here, just like at Hot Water Beach were huge and you had to fight your way past them. We then lay around some more and relaxed in preparation for the walk back. 

After this relaxing day our goal now was to find somewhere for me to stay before my flight to Sydney, somewhere for my family to leave me. We went to Coromandel Town but it was far too quiet and so we looked on the map and saw a place called Thames which looked quite big, surely there must be stuff to do there, when we artived at Thames we quickly realised it was a ghost town. Even the barman at the bar we visited admitted it was dead. However, by this point it was far to late to go anywhere else so we parked in a car park and slept.

We were woken VERY early by a knock in the window. A man from the council had recieved a call and was comi g to give us a fine for camping in the wrong place. Damn. To top it off we then accidently ran over and left one of our camp chairs, not a good start to the last day together. 

Thanks to my facebook friends recommendations we decided to drive to The Bay Of Plenty and that I should be left in Tauranga, a sea side town that is the commercial centre of the bay. We arrived here quite early and had lunch, but I couldn't fully relax because I knew what was soon to happen. I checked in at a hostel called Habourside Hostel but before we went our seperate ways we went for a stroll along the beach in the sunshine and had an ice-cream. And then it was time to say goodbye. After lots of tears and hugs and sentimentality I watched my family drive away. I walked to a bench by the habour and tried to de-puff my eyes and get my head round my situation. Now, at the beginning of this post I spoke about not really being alone. That is because I have met the people I am staying with in my hostel and there are so many people travelling alone! I am alone, but not alone! Everyone so far has been very welcoming and friendly and that's all it takes for me to not feel scared anymore but excited, very bloody excited! I am at this hostel for 4 nights and I hope to climb the nearby 'mountain' and enjoy the beach before my flight on the 19th.

Thank you again for reading :)

X

Emma Naef, ADVENTURE GIRL

Hi again,

Wow this week has gone fast and a lot has happened, the first of which is that it is a whole new year! Happy New Year! Unfortunately our last day of 2014 started off with a disappointent. The rain continued to get worse over night and when our alarm went off at 6:45am we awoke to the sound of what seemed like a tropical monsoon pelting down on our little tin van. This meant that our Franz Josef glacier tour was cancelled. In a desperate attempt to get onto a frozen river we drove to Fox Glacier and waited there only to hear that their tours had been camcelled too due to the weather conditions. This bad news however had a silver lining as it meant we could journey onto Queenstown earlier than we had originally planned and would get there well before the countdown for new years rather than rushing to make it in time. On the way to Queenstown the weather perked up and the clouds gave way to beautiful sunshine. The last part of the route was through an area called the Crown Range which has to be the most beautiful part of New Zealand I have seen so far, and that really is saying something. Rolling hills covered in bushes that from a distance look like fluffy bean bags and purple and yellow foxglove flowers flew past until we turned a corner which exposed a view over mountain ranges, fields and a lake with Queenstown nestled in the distance.

It was one of those views that a photo cannot do justice to. You will just have to visit it yourself to find out! We wound down the roads into Queenstown and found that lots of people had had the same idea as us. The car parks were packed with people all in town to celebrate. We luckily found a parking space on a road just out of the centre and made our home there. Oli, Bonnie and I got ready for our evening (I even put some make-up on! Something I haven't really been doing for the rest of our trip) and left the campervan, our transformation from campervan dwellers to new years party people much like the Clark Kent/Superman transformation. We headed to a bar called Monty's while dad had a well deserved nap and met with some of Olis friends. Dad joined us later on and a live band filled the venue with covers of sing-a-long favourites. To my dads joy the bar stocked Aspells cider (although, only in small bottles so he was forced to buy two at a time!). We met some New Zealanders who had originally been part of a bar crawl but had decided it wasn't there scene and ended up staying in Monty's with us. We counted down the new year next to the lake and watched the fireworks a whole 13 hours before the UK would be doing the same thing. We called it a night after dad realised he had misplaced his mobile phone and the night was drawing naturally to a close. We walked back to the campervan in the freezing cold with dad stopping every so often to give a high five or shout 'WOOOO 2015!' at strangers. 

The next morning, perhaps feeling more delicate than normal, we moved the van to the campsite we were booked into for the next couple of nights. Luckily a couple of minutes walk away from the site was one of the top attrations of Queenstown, the skyline. We queued and headed up the mountain in a 4 man gondola to a glass building at the top. The view over Queenstown was, unsurprisingly, incredible.

The weather was perfect and clear and the lake was ridiculously blue, how could I not fall in love with this town? Up at the top, along with a restaurant, was a luging track. Luging, as it turns out, is rolling down a hill on a teatray with handlebars and after the initial fear of rolling down a hill on a teatray with handlebars subsides it is actually quite fun. I even ended up getting a bit competitive by our third and final run.

After this excitement we headed back down in a gondola, which absolutely terrified Oli, and made our way to another exciting place, Ferg Burger. Most people who I have spoken about going to New Zealand with have mentioned Ferg Burger. It is a small burger joint in the town centre which serves a large variety of HUGE, delicious burgers. We arrived and were greeted by a very long queue (even at 4pm) which a smiling waitess, whose main job it seemed was crowd control and suncream distribution for the customers in the queue, told us would take 20 minutes. I must admit that at some point (around the 15 minute mark) I wondered whether it really would he worth it, we had be warned the would be an extra 30 minutes wait time after we'd ordered too. It was worth it, oh yes it was worth it. I had the Bombay Chicken burger and as well as it being bigger than my face it was absolutely mouth-wateringly yummy. Another positive to Ferg Burger was that we had tracked down my dad's phone and luckily the woman who had it was in the queue at the same time as us! 2015 off to a very good start! After a quick walk by the lake we returned to the campervan and slept. 

On the second day of 2015 we treated ourselves to a relaxed start with a lie-in. We then drove a short distance through the mountians and past the vast lakes to a small town called Glenorcy where we set off on a walk around the surroundings. We walked over marshes, through woodland and in meadows and met a great little three-legged dog that we named Oscar/Colin.

The 3rd of January 2015 is a day I probably won't ever forget. It's the day I jumped, head first, out of an aeroplane. Luckily dad had booked us onto one of the early falls from the sky so we had little time to contamplate what we were about to do. We arrived at the skydive centre in the town at 9am and were briefly briefed on what was about to happen and then put in a minibus and transported to the 'dropzone'. The Rolling Stones 'Hey You (Get Off Of My Cloud)' was playing in the bus which seemed very fitting. We arrived there and were greeted by our hostess who quickly informed us that we would be on the first plane going up. We were to,d to visit the toilet and then to go straight into the hanger to get ready for the dive. In the hanger there was lots of people working on packing away the parachutes properly and skydive instructors walking around looking confident and generally cool (how could they not look cool!). We were given our dive suits, put into our harnesses and given silly hats and some gloves. Our instructors introduced themselves to us, mine was called Wesley and he was just the right balance of friendly and serious. Too friendly and I would have worried about his professionalism, too serious and he would have made me more nervous. Speaking of nerves, I should tell you that at this stage I was not really very nervous at all, something that surprised me. Everything was happening so quickly and effeciently around me that I didn't have much time to be scared, also he whole situation was so ridiculous that it had taken on a sort of dream like quality which resulted in me either smiling like a goof or staring off into space. The instructors then led us off to the little rickity plane and I just walked straight on, they didn't have to drag me or anything. We all sat on the floor of the plane lap in lap and the plane took off. We climbed higher and higher, the town, lakes and mountains getting gradually smaller amd smaller below us. We climbed for about 20 minutes and I felt serene, the last emotion I was expecting to feel. My body must have been releasing chemicals to keep me calm in such a stressful situation, some sort of primative survival technique. Even when we reached 15,000 ft, they opened the door and I watched people fall out into the abyss before me, including my little sister, I felt calm. Wesley shuffled us towards the open doorway and sat on the edge with my dangling off the side of the plane. This moment is a bit blurry in my mind but I do remember seeing the landscape far below me, tilting my head back and then siddenly falling and somersalting out of the plane.

How can I describe that? Oli said that I would have fun trying to write about this but it is pretty impossible. I can describe the noise, nearly deafening air whooshing past as we hurtled downwards reaching freefalling speeds of up to 200km/h. I can try and describe the views, a complete birdseye view of what has to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet, the instructor turning us 360 so I could have a complete paroramic of the mountain ranges below (BELOW!?). However, I don't think I can describe the feeling. Euphoric comes pretty close. What I can tell you is that my heart was racing somewhere inside my chest but I wasn't payibg attention to that, and my face was probably stretched to unusual lengths trying to fit in my smile and that when the 60 seconds free falling was over I had really never said 'that was absolutely amazing' more earnestly in my life. I may even never say the word 'amazing' again because I know very few things could actually justify it after I chose it to describe skydiving. This probably sounds a bit over the top, but hold your judgement until you try it yourself. After the parachute was pulled there was sudden silence and my eyes must have been wider than they've ever been as we paraglided down, taking in those views for the last time and feeling the adrenaline pumping. When we landed I thanked my instructor very enthusiatically and ran over to Bonnie. As I ran I heard a 'wooOOOOO' getting gradually louder and realised that it was Oli coming into land. We all ran into a hug and my familys smiles matched my own huge grin. Our instructors were already heading back into the hanger for their next dive, they do up to 10 dives a day! We were all buzzing as we took our suits off and left the hanger and all I could think was 'I want to it AGAIN!'. Dad had managed to release some of mums ashes just before his jump so Mum got to do the dive with us!

 

^ a picture says a thousands words!

The rest of that day we spent feeling dazed and a bit invincable. We had a HUGE pizza (a day of extremes) and then packed up the van and drove back up to Fox Glacier, after we decided to give the glacier one more shot.

And luckily the glacier bet paid off and our trip was not cancelled. To continue our extreme adventure holiday, the glacier trip included a helicopter trip onto the ice which was brilliant (just like James Bond) however, I did have to fight the urge to jump out half way through the flight. As we approached the glacier it was pretty impressive, then I spotted these tiny little dots below us and realised they were people, the glacier was ginormous! We landed next to the group of people and were given 'crampons', metal grips for our shoes to help us walk on the ice. We walked for 4 hours, past a large waterfall which fed the river underneath the glacier. Our guide cut steps into the ice with a pick axe for the more difficult parts of the walk and we walked down into ice caves where everything glowed blue. 

At the end of the walk the clouds started to roll in and we got back in the helicopter back to the town. The walk was well worth the drive back on ourselves, it was so different to anything else I have ever done. We then drove all the way back towards Queenstown to a posh little lakeside town called Wanaka and camped up in a nearby area called Albert Town.

The following day we had a surprisingly active day, Dad, Bonnie and I hired bikes and went for a 16 mile mountain bike ride by the lake and Oli managed to beat his record and run 10k in under an hour, which was probably helped by the fact he has given up smoking during the holiday with the help of an e-cigarette :). It seems we may have become an adventurous adrenaline-junkie family since the skydive! We left Wanaka that afternoon and moved onto Oamaru. When we got there it was overcast, raining and deserted. It was how I imagine a town would look after a zombie apocalypse, shops all closed, a few cars on the road and the only people on the street moving slowly with their heads down. It's fair to say Oamaru didn't make a very good first impression.

But first impressions can be wrong as the next day we explored what the town had to offer. The first thing to explore of course was the Whitestone cheese factory, where we watched some bored looking, vaguely pissed off men work in the factory and tried a selection on the cheeses in the factory shop. YUM. 

The town also turned out to have a Victorian section where we found lots of galleries and boutiques. It was home to the Steam Punk HQ building too. Steam Punk is an art movement which is inspired by a mixture of science fiction and Victorian influences, which doesn't make any sense but makes for some pretty cool stuff to look at. The building had lots of creepy statues, interesting projections and strange installations. The best part, in my opinion, was a bit called the Infinity Portal. It was a room with all the walls covered in mirrors and lights hanging down from the ceiling, making it look as if the lights went on forever, in every direction. 

Right now I am sitting in the campervan at a campsite next to the sea which took us hours to find. As far as I'm aware we are near Christchurch and/or Kaikoura. Tomorrow we are letting ourselves relax and hopefully I get a lie-in (no alarm set)! 

My 2015 has so far has been full of adventure and excitement and is a great way to start my year travelling. Only 10 days left with my family until I am on my own on the opposite side of the world! Ahhhhh. 

Thank you for reading again! 

X

 

From Beach to Glacier

Before I left the UK I was convinced that one blog post a week would be a good amount. Not too often that it would start to annoy people and not too sparse that it would end up missing things out however, I have realised that a lot can happen in one week exploring New Zealand, a country I am falling more and more in love with by the minute. I would write more often but because so much is happening it is hard to find a time to sit down and write, but here I am sitting in the campervan in the shadow of Franz Josef Glacier finally being able to type some things up. 

Last time I wrote a post we were in Nelson enjoying beautiful weather (and company). The next morning we woke up early (but not as early as originally planned, classic Naefs) and began our journey to Takaka, where we would be spending Christmas. As with any journey here, it is hard to get from point A to B without stopping somewhere amazing along the way. In this case there were two places that could not be driven past, the first being Hawkes Lookout and lookout point that gave spectacular views across the scenery to the sea.

The next stop was the delightfully named PuPu springs. Despite the name this really was a worthwhile detour. An area famed for its spirtual importance for the Maori people (which is unsurprising when you see its beauty) it is found close by to Takaka centre. We were lead around the site by a winding path that took us through woodland, over babbling brooks and finally to a open pool of the clearest natural water I have ever seen. That day was an especially hot one and so the signs reminding us that there should be 'no taking or contact with water' were almost impossible to abide by. 

We arrived in Takaka and found our accommodation, The Rocks, which was a great little open plan cabin with a double bed (which Bonnie and I shared, naturally) and a fold out double sofa bed (for the lads). That evening we ate at the restaurant in the accommodation and were pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was!

The next day, in true christmas eve style we had a huge lie-in and relaxed until the afternoon when we finally decided to get outside and have a look around the town. Firstly we stopped in at the i-site (information centre) and the woman behind the desk warned us that the town was very 'hectic' that day. Takaka, as it happened was extremely quiet compared to the 'hectic' we are used to at home. Some shops had a bit of a queue at the till (shock horror)! The town is full of little hippy shops selling lots of Indian products, organic food shops, tourist souvenier shops, cafes and galleries, lots and lots of galleries! Oli was espeially affected by one gallery which hosted a painting called 'Turquoise' which was composed of squares of different shades of blue and would cost you 1,500 NZ dollars. He still gets angry if the word 'turquoise' is mentioned now, 6 days later (and I would not be surpirsed if this is a reaction that will continue for many years to come). That evening we thought it would be a good idea to have our dinner at one of the many beautiful becahes nearby (they don't call it the Golden Bay for nothing) so we packed the van and headed for Liger Bay. This idyllic plan however was spoilt by the extremely aggressive seagulls, so we ended up sat in the camper eating our meal, looking out longingly at the beach instead.

CHRISTMAS DAY ARRIVED. And although the setting was not at all festive (even if we did put some tinsel in the room and bring a little tree with us) Santa still managed to find me and Bonnie and provide us with a stocking full of chocolate, some strange New Zealand chocolate, but chocolate none the less. We all jumped in the van and tooted along to Patons Rock beach wearing santa hats and singing Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You as we went. The weather, once again, was stunning as we walked along the beach attracting some attention with our Yule tide hats, including a friendly, enthuiastic German girl. The day was spent mostly relaxing. We had a BBQ with salmon, potato salad, sausages, vegetable skewers and haloumi, we went swimming in the not-so-freezing sea and had the traditional afternoon christmas nap, this time in the sun instead of in front of the fire. We ended our time on the beach by spreading some of mum's ashes into the sea. I know she would have loved this holiday, the campervan, the sun, the exploring are all much like the holidays in France we used to have when we were growing up so it was nice to take time to remember her in this beautiful setting. We went back to the cabin and skyped Sally and Alice, who had just woken up on Christmas morning and rang Grandmere and Grandpere to wish them a Merry Christmas!

On boxing day we got up early to skype the rest of the Naefs, who were in the middle of watching the doctor who christmas special and then left the cabin and drive to Motuaka, a town which a national survey found was the number one town that Kiwis would like to live in the whole of New Zealand. Once again the drive there was breathtaking, lots of winding mountain roads which exposed incredible views and managed to throw me and Bonnie around in the back of the campervan quite a bit. Dad had rented a bach (the word Kiwis use for a holiday home, small house thing) right by the beach outside of the town for Oli, Bonnie and me to stay in while he rented a motorbike and did a little tour of his own for three days. When he left on the bike the first day the three of us walked into town (a task that took a lot longer than expected) to help us decide what we would do to amuse ourselves while dad was gone. We went to the local i-site and with the help of a lovely lady called Sheryl and much umm-ing and ahhh-ing booked the activities for the next couple of days. We walked back to the bach after lunch at a cafe and not long after dad returned too. The bike he had been using that day was having trouble starting but luckily he had booked to use a Triumph Bonneville (the motorbike my sister was named after) for the next two days.

The 27th was the day we had booked to go on a walk 12km down the Abel Tasman coastline from Anchorage to Marahau so we started the day by getting a coach from Motuaka to Kaiteriteri beach. From there we jumped aboard a water taxi to Anchorage.

When we arrived at Anchorage the trek started straight away, without a warm-up the path lead us straught up steep hills, the plus side being that we were able to enjoy views right from the start. We kept a good pace during the walk as we passed through parts that could be mistaken for rainforest, over rivers bubbling down the hills and onto white sand beaches, some completely empty and others with people sunbathing, swimming, sailing and doing watesports on the unbelievably blue sea. 

We reached Marahau just as our legs began to ache and ate some well deserved wedges at the cafe there. Bonnie and I had a look around the outdoor gallery across the road from the cafe which boasted large carved wooden statues of Maori figures, traditional jewellery and many other interesting items. We caught the coach home, feeling absolutely knackered and frustratingly burnt our pizza in the unworkable oven. Luckily no amount of burnt pizza or aching legs could ruin the great day we had just had.

Getting out of bed at 7am for kayaking the next day was understandably challenging but we managed it. We caught another coach from Motuaka to Kaiteriteri this time with a great coach driver called Mark who doubled as a tour guide for the local area. He told us about points of interest such as a lake nearby which had the best underwater visibility in the world. He taught us about local trade like the fruit growing business which grows a new hybrid of apple and keeps it under red awning while it grows to protect it from hail but also help it to grow evenly and turn red. He informed us that Moutaka gets more that 2,300 hours of sunshine a year and my favourite fact, that sandflies, the horrible biting insects found in the south west, according to Maori legend were created by a goddess from the spirits of warriors to keep people moving and to stop people staying anywhere long enough to have the chance to destroy the landscape. We arrived at Kaiteriteri beach once again and grabbed a coffee to help ease the early start. We were then given an introduction to the kayaks and headed off up the coast to a landmark called Split Apple Rock, which was a huge boulder just off the beach which had somehow been split down the middle making it look like a cut open apple. We explored the caves on the beach then Bonnie and I swam over to the rock, meeting a very friendly seabird along the way. We managed to climb up to the rock, even if the rocks did cut our hands and feet a little bit (worth it). 

We swam back to the beach and had our sandwiches with Oli and headed off in the kayaks back down past Kaiteriteri beach to a bay just a bit further on. On the way back to Kaiteriteri I swapped with Oli and took the single man kayak which turned out to be much harder than I had expected. I am sticking to blaming the kayak for this because the rudder was stiff (it's not because I am weak at all! How dare you!). Back on the beach, after spending some time sunbathing, we bumped into Zoe and Rex which was really lucky as Rex was due to be staying with us at the bach that night in order to go on his two day kayaking trip the next day. We got home, debated dinner and watched rubbish films on TV. Dad returned from his bike trip, which he seemed to throughly enjoy, dressed head to toe in waterproof yelow clothing (what a dude) then we all watched some more episodes of Rick and Morty (which I highly recommend) and went very easily to sleep.

Rex left for his trip before we woke up and dad went to return his bike while we packed up our stuff. The campervan wouldn't start (classic) so we had to get a jump start but then we were on our way to Hokitika.

 When we got there we went straight to see the Hokitika gorge which was gorgeous (pun intended) however was completely overrun by sandflies who would bite at any given opportunity. We found a campersite nearby, parked up and made fajitas. That night we went to see the glow worm dell which was a part of woodland with hundreds of glow worms. They were mesmerising but the experience was slightly runined by some people using torches and believe it or not FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY to take photos of glow worms! I learnt that glow worms were actually larvae, they glowed to attract prey and that they would sometimes turn to cannibalism, not so innocent after all!

Today we visited the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika which houses some native animals of New Zealand including eels (aged between 80-120 years) and kiwis which turn out to be one of the cutest animals in the world. The Centre as a whole had a bit of a makeshift feel to it, the fish tanks looked fragile and some of the information about the animals were printed out on low grade A4 paper but that just added to the charm of the place!

We left Hokitika after agreeing that the Tree Top Walk was way too expensive and headed to Franz Josef. As we neared the snow-topped mountains there was a moment when the road was surrounded by palm trees but we could see snow in the background, this country really is four countries in one. Tomorrow we are booked to go up to the glacier in a helicopter but when we went to the glacier info centre at Hokitika they told us it was unlikely to be happening because it is forcast to rain, which would be massively disappointing as it is something we have all been looking forward to. This evening we went to some hot pools and are now parked up at the campsite with the unwelcome rain pitter pattering on the campervan. Fingers crossed the weather improves for our glacier walk tomorrow! 

Another long post, (it was light when I started to write this and now it's pitch black) but I hope you enjoyed it! 

Thanks for reading!