Jul 2006

Yet another rushed update on what we've been up to for the last two weeks in Rotorua, Wellington and Kaikoura (aka since we left Auckland)....

Rotorua was INCREDIBLE! Our hostel was dirt cheap and still had 2 thermal spas and an outdoor heated pool (it is winter for some of us, remember)! Had a nice little kitchen and actually cooked a meal for the first time since we left England which was lovely! Only problem was that the kitchen light didn't work so we had to make sure we cooked while it was still light outside!

First day we went to Kuari Park which is filled with bubbling mud pools and steaming lakes! It was really cool but it did smell like rotten eggs! Then that evening we did a Maori cultural evening which involved going to a village, watching them do traditional singing and dancing and then a traditional hangi meal (that's food cooked on hot stones underground for 4 hours)! Very nice!

For the next two days we just hung out and went for long walks round the lakes and enjoyed the sulphurous air! We spent Saturaday shopping for costumes for the hostels 80s night! Was great fun and we made our costumes for about $10 and we got 4 free pints which was nice!

Sunday went out for Sunday dinner at an English pub which was a bit disappointing cos it turns out kiwis can't make Yorkshire puds! I miss my mum's roast dinners! They actually put sugar on the carrots and didn't serve brocolli! I wanted to go and teach the chef how to do it properly but Andrew wouldn't let me!

Monday was EXTREME day and we went whitewater rafting on the Kaituna river which had the highest waterfall that it is legal to go over on a raft! It was only an 18ft drop but it's enough to submerge the entire 5ft raft vertically! Slight problem was tho, that our raft capsized under the water and some of us (me) got trapped under the boat while some other (Andrew) got thrown clear! It was a very very scary few seconds...I couldn't breathe and my feet were still in the raft and I had to unhook myself and swim up to the raft (still under it) and hold my head in the small bit of air under the seats while the lovely men righted the boat to get me out! It was such a rush!!! We got some pics from them as well! which if you're lucky I might send with this if my time doesn't run out!

I can't wait to do it again! But we won't be again here...just whale watching, glacier hiking and horse riding to go now I love this country! I can't wait to come back again!

We got to Wellington yesterday after an 8hour coach ride and we hung out and played free pool in the hostel bar went to the Te Papa museum where there's a Lord of the Rings exhibit! Woo! We saw the original costumes from the films, the actual scale model of Minas Tirth they used to film the scenes from afar and loads of props and stuff...we spent 5 hours in the museum! We totally lost track of time there, it was so facinating!

We were only in Wellington for 2 days after a day spent travelling but to be honest, there's not that much to do so we were pretty glad we'd decided to cut it short. On our second day we visited the houses of parliament and did the tour which was fun but even better was the fantastic Indian restaurant we found for lunch! $10 for curry, rice and naan plus Andrew's introduced me to this drink called Mango Lassi which is mago juice, yoghurt and buttermilk....now I'm a total addict! Yum!

Travelling from Wellingotn to Kaikoura was fun! All transport in New Zealand is brilliantly intergrated so it completely takes the hassle out of making connections. We got on the ferry at 8am and they asked us if we would be transfering to the train (which we were) so they said they'd put our luggage on to it for us. We didn't have to think about it at all which was fantastic! The ferry took 3 hours but we occupied ourselves with sleeping and listening to our ipods, taking time out occasionally to poke fun at the huge group of American "ambassador" kids on there with us! Geeks and freaks, the whole lot of them - one from each state apparently!

The train was very nice, much better than Connex! It took us along the coastline, past the mountains which was gorgeous! Andrew spent much of the journey outside on the observation car taking photos (some of which are on our weblog now) but I opted for warmth and just watched from my window!

Kaikoura (which means Kai - food & Koura - Crayfish in Maori) is a cute little town...only one proper pub and that didn't seem to open until 4pm Not that we're alcoholics but we have had beer either in a pub or in our rooms every day since we've got to New Zealand (and thinking about it, everyday in Fiji too!) We're going for a record but I think I'm getting podgy from it so I've started on the low fat Subway sandwiches!

We only stopped in Kaikoura for 2 nights so we could go Whale watching! It was SO COOL! They told us we'd be lucky to see 2 whales but we saw 5 sperm whales and a whole pod of about 50-60 dolphins too! It was totally brilliant! And neither of us puked from sea sickness either which I class as a result!!

Our room was pretty cold there so we were glad to be moving on to Christchurch (which is where we are now) and there first thing was to have crazy hot showers to get rid of the lingering cold! We moved on at the right time too because according to the telly yesterday, Kaikoura have a warning of 30cm of snow! Wouldn't wanna be in that!

Yesterday was gorgeous and warm so we went to the botanic gardens and just walked around the city. It is really English and it's nice to feel at home! Had a nice curry out again (but only because I wanted that mango drink!) and walked around the Catherdral too like the good Catholic girl I am!

We're glad we did that yesterday because today is grey and overcast and peeing it down with rain! That's why we're sheltering in an internat cafe and running out of time too! So, I must dash once again! I gather by Wimbledon on the tv that the weather is gorgeous so for once we are slightly jealous of you guys while we're in our jumpers, hats and gloves but I hope you're all enjoying it!