My Route
Monday, 17 September 2007
The End
Cairns was cool and got to see the Barrier reef which was swish. Saw a turtle and loadsa fish. Then flew home via a million airports but am now back in the G. Had a quality time and enjoyed almost every minute of it.
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth)
Landed in the morning after leaving Chris and Pie in Queeny as Pie wanted to ski and Chris had met a Canadian chick. Spent the rest of the day asleep in a nasty hostel. But did wake up in the afternoon and went down to the harbour to see the bridge and the opera house.
The next day I met up with Will at his uncles house and spent the next couple of days chilling out and visiting the city. The other two arrived on Sunday and we had a barbecue and some brews with the family and then Jom's friends came over for a drinking sesh.
We then picked up our useless camper van. We went out with Angela, who was in our dorm room in Queenstown and had a good time a Jom's gig. Then we drove up to the Blue Mountains after visiting Manly and Bondi beaches. Up in the Blue Mountains we met up with Will's mums friend who let us stay in her house and visit the national park from there. The weather was not great but we did get to see lots of Kangaroos, which was cool. When we got back and took Will to the airport Chris decided he was bored with Australia and he went back to New Zealand.
Me and Dan took the camper and went down to Jindabyne so he could do some more skiing and we then went on to Melbourne which was a nice city. We then drove the Great Ocean Road which was very beautiful and a challenge for the Camper van. We then trekked all the way back to Sydney in one day - 1000km, where we were allowed to stay in the Hirsches house again. We did nothing for the next two days except take the Camper van back and have this great Italian meal with Will's aunt. We then boarded a plane for Perth.
In Perth we were welcomed by Dan's second cousins Lauren and Ashley who we were going to live with while their parents were away in England. We spent this last week just chilling out making use of their movie theatre room and watching lots of Family Guy and Futurama. We did go out with them a couple of time but were both quite happy just to rest after all our travelling. Were now off to have a barbecue with Frosty, who we met on the Kiwi Experience and then hes going to drive us to the airport, from which we will fly to Cairns.
The next day I met up with Will at his uncles house and spent the next couple of days chilling out and visiting the city. The other two arrived on Sunday and we had a barbecue and some brews with the family and then Jom's friends came over for a drinking sesh.
We then picked up our useless camper van. We went out with Angela, who was in our dorm room in Queenstown and had a good time a Jom's gig. Then we drove up to the Blue Mountains after visiting Manly and Bondi beaches. Up in the Blue Mountains we met up with Will's mums friend who let us stay in her house and visit the national park from there. The weather was not great but we did get to see lots of Kangaroos, which was cool. When we got back and took Will to the airport Chris decided he was bored with Australia and he went back to New Zealand.
Me and Dan took the camper and went down to Jindabyne so he could do some more skiing and we then went on to Melbourne which was a nice city. We then drove the Great Ocean Road which was very beautiful and a challenge for the Camper van. We then trekked all the way back to Sydney in one day - 1000km, where we were allowed to stay in the Hirsches house again. We did nothing for the next two days except take the Camper van back and have this great Italian meal with Will's aunt. We then boarded a plane for Perth.
In Perth we were welcomed by Dan's second cousins Lauren and Ashley who we were going to live with while their parents were away in England. We spent this last week just chilling out making use of their movie theatre room and watching lots of Family Guy and Futurama. We did go out with them a couple of time but were both quite happy just to rest after all our travelling. Were now off to have a barbecue with Frosty, who we met on the Kiwi Experience and then hes going to drive us to the airport, from which we will fly to Cairns.
New Zealand - South Island
A bit overdue this one. On 23rd July we took a boat across to the South Island. On our first day we headed towards Nelson, stopping for wine tasting and eating mussels, yum. That evening we had beer tasting, more yum and climbed up a hill that is supposedly the centre of New Zealand. We have a new bus and some new people.
Our second day took us to Westport where we took a jetboat ride up a river coming very close to several angry looking rocks at 60mph, whilst in a river gorge.
The next day took is to lake Mannipua, where the infamous poo pub was located. It's run by this 82 year old guy and is in the middle of nowhere. We all got dressed up in bin bags and partied all night. It was awesome.
After that, feeling a bit groggy, we bussed down to Franz Josef via a seal colony. Me and Chris discovered a hot tub at the hostel we were staying at and everyone spent most of the evening in that. The next day we had our glacier walk, one of the highlights of the trip. The walk lasted all day and we climbed up through the ice cliffs and crevasses. Spent most of the time pretending we were miners, chipping away at the ice with the pick-axes we were given. Had a great day up in this surreal world of ice and snow. Spent the evening in the bar and watching DVDs. A savage day all in all.
The next day I managed to throw Chris's ball in the river and jumped in after it but didn't catch it and got very cold in the process. We also visited this random outdoor centre where we watched a video about people catching deer by jumping on them from helicopters. All decided I would be most likely to attempt it. Today we arrived in Wanaka, almost at Queenstown.
We awoke the next day to great news that the weather was finally good enough for us to Skydive. So we piled into a minibus and headed off towards the airfield. I was in the first plane. Three of us, complete with the instructors we were tied to all crammed into this little propeller plane and travelled up to 15,000 feet. Then we all jumped out! I was last so had to watch the other two fall away from me at 200mph before I got to do the same. I sat on the edge of the plane and looked down to see the earth unroll before me for miles around, then fell out. The first feeling is leaving your stomach in the plane and you falling backwards for a few seconds before you flip over, your stomach catches up with you and you begin to feel the pressure of the wind on your whole body. You then free fall for 60 seconds although it feels like 20. You can hardly breathe and your eyes start to water before the parachute goes up and you realise your a lot lower and are sitting in a big chair in the sky. Now there's hardly any forces acting on your body and you just glide down and have a little chat with your instructor. Finally you circle around the airfield and eventually come in for a nice landing on your arse. Has to be the best experience ever.
Later that day we hit Queenstown, this would be our home for the next nine days. Spent the first two days chilling out a met some amusing girls in our dorm. After a few days in Queenstown I decided I hadn't had enough adrenaline and did the Nevis Bungee jump, with two of the girls from our dorm. The Nevis is a 134m dive off a cable car in the middle of a canyon. So I found myself in a another minibus going up to the top of this gorge. The jump itself didn't scare me and I wasn't scared until I had jumped, and realised about half a second later that this was a bad idea. On the way down I felt crazily full of adrenaline but have to admit that it was the best feeling in the world when I felt the bungee cord pull tight and I knew that I hadn't died.
The next day we travelled down to Milford Sound which I was really looking forward to and is regarded as one of the natural wonders of the world. The sound itself isn't actually a sound, its formed by a glacier and so has huge towering sides that reach up into the sky. Its too big to describe or show in photos but was truly mesmerising to be in. Saw some awesome scenery on the way down to Milford as well including lots of Lord of the Rings shots.
The next three days I spent learning to Snowboard up at the Remarkables ski field and had great fun doing it but managed to knacker my knee on the second day and had to sit that afternoon out. But still had an excellent time.
The last day in Queenstown I spent relaxing before I travelled to Christchurch.
Christchurch was not very exciting but I did get to see the Simpson's movie and chill out before getting two hours sleep and heading to the airport, where I flew to Australia.
Our second day took us to Westport where we took a jetboat ride up a river coming very close to several angry looking rocks at 60mph, whilst in a river gorge.
The next day took is to lake Mannipua, where the infamous poo pub was located. It's run by this 82 year old guy and is in the middle of nowhere. We all got dressed up in bin bags and partied all night. It was awesome.
After that, feeling a bit groggy, we bussed down to Franz Josef via a seal colony. Me and Chris discovered a hot tub at the hostel we were staying at and everyone spent most of the evening in that. The next day we had our glacier walk, one of the highlights of the trip. The walk lasted all day and we climbed up through the ice cliffs and crevasses. Spent most of the time pretending we were miners, chipping away at the ice with the pick-axes we were given. Had a great day up in this surreal world of ice and snow. Spent the evening in the bar and watching DVDs. A savage day all in all.
The next day I managed to throw Chris's ball in the river and jumped in after it but didn't catch it and got very cold in the process. We also visited this random outdoor centre where we watched a video about people catching deer by jumping on them from helicopters. All decided I would be most likely to attempt it. Today we arrived in Wanaka, almost at Queenstown.
We awoke the next day to great news that the weather was finally good enough for us to Skydive. So we piled into a minibus and headed off towards the airfield. I was in the first plane. Three of us, complete with the instructors we were tied to all crammed into this little propeller plane and travelled up to 15,000 feet. Then we all jumped out! I was last so had to watch the other two fall away from me at 200mph before I got to do the same. I sat on the edge of the plane and looked down to see the earth unroll before me for miles around, then fell out. The first feeling is leaving your stomach in the plane and you falling backwards for a few seconds before you flip over, your stomach catches up with you and you begin to feel the pressure of the wind on your whole body. You then free fall for 60 seconds although it feels like 20. You can hardly breathe and your eyes start to water before the parachute goes up and you realise your a lot lower and are sitting in a big chair in the sky. Now there's hardly any forces acting on your body and you just glide down and have a little chat with your instructor. Finally you circle around the airfield and eventually come in for a nice landing on your arse. Has to be the best experience ever.
Later that day we hit Queenstown, this would be our home for the next nine days. Spent the first two days chilling out a met some amusing girls in our dorm. After a few days in Queenstown I decided I hadn't had enough adrenaline and did the Nevis Bungee jump, with two of the girls from our dorm. The Nevis is a 134m dive off a cable car in the middle of a canyon. So I found myself in a another minibus going up to the top of this gorge. The jump itself didn't scare me and I wasn't scared until I had jumped, and realised about half a second later that this was a bad idea. On the way down I felt crazily full of adrenaline but have to admit that it was the best feeling in the world when I felt the bungee cord pull tight and I knew that I hadn't died.
The next day we travelled down to Milford Sound which I was really looking forward to and is regarded as one of the natural wonders of the world. The sound itself isn't actually a sound, its formed by a glacier and so has huge towering sides that reach up into the sky. Its too big to describe or show in photos but was truly mesmerising to be in. Saw some awesome scenery on the way down to Milford as well including lots of Lord of the Rings shots.
The next three days I spent learning to Snowboard up at the Remarkables ski field and had great fun doing it but managed to knacker my knee on the second day and had to sit that afternoon out. But still had an excellent time.
The last day in Queenstown I spent relaxing before I travelled to Christchurch.
Christchurch was not very exciting but I did get to see the Simpson's movie and chill out before getting two hours sleep and heading to the airport, where I flew to Australia.
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