jd's blogspot

Bus picks us up at 8am. its teh same bus driver, so first comment is "Mrs Doyle, where are you, go on, go on, go on". he's off again!! heading south through the Thames Valley, again beautiful scenery, blue skies, rolling hills and countryside. on the way we go through a small town called Paeroa. its home to the famous NZ drink L&P. we pass the iconic giant 7m L&P bottle, but we are running late so dont have time for a photo. Apparently, its a photo that most kiwis have in their albums! Make our way down towards Waitomo. there is an Irish guy on the bus as well and my god, he just wont shut up. He talks non stop. Bloody irish and the gift of teh gab!! Get to Waitamo and there are some caves here which are full of glow worms. so decide to go Black Water Rafting through the glow worm caves. 10 of us get all kitted out in wet suits that are exceptionally tight. im afraid my boobs are going to pop out, cos they are completely squeezed into it!! get a cavers helmut with a light. a skin tight jacket and very fashionable white wellies!! nothing but high fashion for me!! hop into a van, its about a 10 min drive to the cave. then attempt to walk over a hill (very difficult when your colthes dont allow for movement!!) and through a field before we reach teh cave entrance.  walk inside the cave and keep walking for a few mins. we come to a stop where we have to switch our lights out - excellent! its pitch dark, but when you look up, there are hundreds of glow worms all lit up. its fabulous. it looks like there are hundreds of tiny fairy lights embedded into the roof of the cave. it really is spectacular to see. its like that all the way through the cave. time for black water rafting. we all have a big tire ring around us as  a floatation device. so we all turn backwards, get into our tires and form a human chain by holding the person's behind wellies. its still pitsh dark so we can see teh glow worms as we move backwards through the cave. its really cool. the water is freezing and occassionally you whack your elbow off the rocks cos you cant see where you are going. you can hear a waterfall in the background and im thinking, i hope they dont drop us over the waterfall backwards in the dark!! come to a stop anf can turn our lights back on - phew! ther is a small platform and you basically jump off it backwards while holding your tire around your bum. First two go and all goes well. now its my turn....... so I flop backwards and when my tire hits the waterit goes sideways. so i end up under teh water and my tire bounces up behind me!! but it was good fun. once everyone has done it, we all form a human chain again, except going forwards this time.  move along in the darkness - very cool in here.  get to one point where the guide makes a massive loud bang and says watch and see what the glow worms do??  Apparently, lod noises make the glow worms go to the loo really quickly - lovely, as we are all underneath them looking upwards!!   move along, further into the cave and get to another platform. lights back on. there is slide on the other side and it almost a straight drop !! its about 4.5m high. oh dear! I ask the guy is there any other way down? to my delight, he say no and before I know whats heppened, he pushes me off the platform! So no choice for me!! Shockingly, end up under the freezing cold water again!! from there we just walk out of the cave, back to dry land. have to say, it was pretty great, really enjoyed it. get back to the changing rooms and have to get one of the guys to pull my wellies off. the water in between my wellie and water socks have created a vacuum and I cant get them off. jump in the shower and then they give you soup to warm you up. teh photos are really great, so end up buying the CD as well. oh well, all par for the course!! bacl on the bus and head for Rotorua. Rotorua is a town where Maori culture and thermal activity combine to make it unique. the whole town smells of rotten eggs. its because of all teh sulphur in the thermal lakes and craters that surround the area. you get used to it, but can still smell it. check into hostel, but leave pretty quickly as going to the Tamaki Maori Village for the evening.  go to theri office and get an introduction to Maori culture. all onto the bus where the driver selects a "chief" for the evening. the chief must be male and we are his tribe. later on he will receive a peace offering from the Maoris and be welcomed into the village. get therr and it really beautiful. Set amongst a small forest. some very detailed carved pillars and posts around the area. we all stand around the outside and the 5 chiefs all stand forward to be in front of the Maoris that come out. teh first Maoris do teh Wero (challenge) and tehn the Powhiri (welcome ceremony). they do their chants and dances - really cool to see. lots of shouting and sticking their tongues out. teh artwork on their faces is brilliant, very intricate and detailed. I assume that back in the day, it would have been tatooed on. teh welcome ceremony consists of the Maori and teh Chiefs handing over a branch of teh silver fern. so the woman of teh village welcomes us all in and we are allowed to enter. the village is nestled amongst hugh trees, so it is quite dark in the twilight hours. there are hugh crackling fires and traditional Whare (houses). at each Whare, there are maoris demonstating differeent aspects of Maori life - how to hunt and cook, how to weave, how to tatoo using traditionmal tools and materials. its really interesting. move onto the Wharenui (meeting house) where we are welcomed to watch them perform traditional songs and dances which depict theor history and culture. they do teh Haka, traditional war dance to intimidate their enemies. its excellent. the traditional clothes are quite simple, but very colourful. then we move on for dinner. its cooked in the traditional Hangi style, which is basically your meal is cooked under the ground in earthen ovens. food is really good. get fish, mussels, lamb, chicken adnloads of veg. their sweet potato is different from what I was used to. its white, but tastes really great. Left teh evening absolutely stuffed. fantastic night and really interesting to learn soem Maori history and legends.

Up early, heading to the Coromandel Peninsula for 3 days. Get the ferry from pier 3 in Auckland. Bay teh beautiful - the water is so clear and tranquil. the captains gives a talk as we go and gives loads of info as we pass different things. teh views of Auckland are fantastic. after about 1hr, we pitstop at a small island called Waiheke (apparently a property hotspot!). get talking to a couple who live in Coromandel town. He fought in Algeria back in the day. he was really fasvinating, had met Degalle. they were lovely and gave us their number if we got stuck. get to Coromandel and get a connector bus into toan. the harbour in town is too shallow, so we dock about 10 mins away. Got some great views of Rangitoto, Motuihe and Waiheke islands from the boat. bus drops us off at teh hostel. its really nice and beat of all it has free laundry! its the small things you miss when you are travelling!! get some mountain bikes from the hostel and cycle in to town. I havent been on a bike in years and after about 10 mins, I can remember why!! my ass is hurting already!!very uncomfortable saddle - you would think that my ass had enough built in padding already, but no!! Cycle into town, and get some great fish and chips for lunch. taste teh famous L&P (lemon and Paeroa) drink - quite nice. then cycle up to the Driving Creek Railway. its one of the highest railways lines. its a small tourist train that goes above teh forest up to the "eyefull tower', a small viewing point that looks out over forest and teh Coromandel Penninsula. there is also a small pottery shop and a glass blowing place. its pretty cool. there is a small sculpture garden - has loads of weird shaped pottery sculptures. then head a bit further down the road to the Gold Stamper Battery. there was a gold rush here back in teh late 1800's. its a museum and it show you how teh whole gold process worked. its in a beautiful setting - surrounded by trees and a little stream. the whole town is lovely. cycle back to the hostel - have done about 10km on the bikes. its absolutely boiling hot, so realx in a hammock with a book for the rest of teh afternoon. Do laundry and chuck everythign in as its free!! later on watch teh program "Ugly Betty" - had been hearing loads about it, but hadnt seen it yet. quite good actually. head to bed, as another early start tom!

7th March 2007

get collected at 7am at teh hostel. we get the regular intercity bus, which also doubles as teh school bus!! get it to a twon called Thames where we will connect wiht the Magic bus again and then go onto Witianga. School bus takes us down along the Pohutakawa coast. road is very windy along teh coast. beautiful scenery. the school bus is funny. the bus is so packed (too many tourists today!!) and Andrew (driver) is a bit cranky and very serious. As more passengers get on, the kids have to get up and stand in the aisle. there are about 15 teenage boys standing in the aisle. its very funny listening to them chat. they have some ipods between them and start saying that the 80's music is soooooo old and that it was so long ago, well before their time!!they are slo discussin "hot Mary" (school babe, by all accounts!!) and her not so pretty little sister Emily!! its absolutely hilarious listening to them. Am having flashbacks of my days on the school bus! get to Thames about 9ish - have to go to school first! Magic bus isnt until 11. so go for breakfast and kill some time in an internet cafe.  Get the magic bus. teh bus driver is very funny and just takes the complete piss out of me! once he hears my name is Doyle, he starts off with the Mrs Doyle and father ted jokes. He then takes the piss out of my accent - he claims that im an imposter cos I speak like a Pom!! then he just goes back to the Mrs Doyle jokes!! Head on down towards Whitianga. take in some fantastic views along the coast.  head to Hot Water Beach. its a beach where you can dig a hole and hot water bubbles up to the surface, so you can sit in it. it looks really cool, but unfortunately teh tide is in and the weather is not great so dont get to do it.  move on and head for Cathedral Cove. Again some beautiftul scenery. go for a small hike down to cathedral cove. check out Stingray Bay on the way down. takes about 1hr and the views are amazing. there are cliffs jutting out into the sea, which is so clear and pure. its really stunning. move on and get to Whitiango for an overnight stop.

up early, as we have to be at the Magic office for 7.30am. Heading north to the Bay of Islands. Easy journey up - a few pitstops  along teh way. one town we pass through has a load of metal animals along the sodes of teh road!  get to a place called Dargaville where the road narrows on the way through teh Waipoua forest, which has thousands of Kauri trees. we stop and have allok at "Tane Mahuta", an enormous kauri tree which is 50m high and 17m in diametre. its just hugh, It means "god of the forest" in Maori, and you can see why. Driving through teh forest is incredible. the ferns grow up to 7m in height and look very exotic. really stunning to look at. Continue on and we come to a small town called Opononi. its where they first discovered that dolphins were intelligent creatures that liked to interact with humans. we watched a DVD, originally filmed in the 1950's, when it took place. its about Opo the gay dolphin, who appeared in the harbour one summer and started to interact wiht the locals. the driver says if it was filmed today it would be a complete piss take and once we watch it, we can see why. one, the title is "Opo, the Gay Dolphin"  which creates a general giggle amongst everyone. Two, they open the film with a map of New Zealand and literally shove a big black arrow in to it to point at Opononi on it - hilarious!! Three, they are talking about the kids swimming and having turns on Opo, but are saying "Johnny gets the ride of his life" etc. it continues like this for about 10 mins. so funny. oh how the use of language has changed over the last 50yrs!!!  the views from the back of teh place are amazing. its literally in the harbour - fantastic and its boiling hot. move on and come to our stop for teh night -Paihia. lovely seaside town, beautiful location. Its the gateway to the Bay of Islands. Hostel is really nice- pool and a hugh kitchen /living room. Each room has a sliding door, so really light and airy. Just as well, as its boiling hot!! there is a BBQ later on in the hostel next door. most people on the bus go. its NZ$12 for food and a beer, so may as well go. there is one of teh Super 14 rugby games on tonight. Auckland is playing the Highlanders - driver wants us to chant for the highlanders - they loose!! head off to bed as am going sailing tom.

3rd March 2007

Sailing today - excellent. Head up town first to get some breakie and eat down at teh dock side. climb aboard. its a magnificant sailing boat. there are about 10 of us, so we are all sitting and lying about on the deck. another beautiful day. sea is a bit wavey. but nothing major. sail over to Russell (original NZ captial city, back in the 1800's) and pick up two more people. then we help the skipper to release the sails, as we head out into open waters. I could really get used to this lifestyle!! Dad, could do with some donations in the bank account!!! Set out to sea and relax with my legs hanging out over the side. am at the front of the boat, when we hit a wave and it all comes in on me!! decide to move back a little after that!! sail for about 2.5hrs  - absolutely fantastic out here. at one point a few really big dolphins swim around us and start doing jumps. actually manage to get a proper photo of one of them, as opposed to the usual shots of water, cos I wasnt quick enough!! brilliant, and they are seriously big. Sail over to one of the islands - shockingly, as we are in the Bay of islands!!. anchor a bit off Roberton Island. there are two kayaks on board, so Emer and I kayak ashore. The others go ashore in a dingy. teh kayaks have glass bottoms, so you can see all the fish and rocks etc. its really cool and you can actually see things quite clearly. Kayak ashore and swap with one of the others for some snorkeling gear. snorkel around and through the rocks. its so cool. and it much warmer than the last time we went snorkeling!! by about 15 degrees!! there are loads of pretty coloured rocks and shells. loads of fish swimming around and some really cool looking fisk that are like circulare hedgehogs - really funky fish! then just go for a bit of a swim around the bay. the water is beautiful, really clear and a great green colour. head back ashore and have a picnic with the others. kayak back to the boat and sail back to Pahiia. on the way back, I get to skipper the boat for a while. its more difficult than it looks. the boat is very responsive, one tiny adjustment and the boat goes. Enjoyed it, but it was hard to concentrate control it on occassion. get back to Paihia about 5ish. absolutely fantastic day. get chatting toe two english girsl and after a bottle of wine the three of us decide to go out. go to a place called Saltys. A small bar with a tiny dancefloor. its 2 for 1 on drinks up to 10pm - happy days!! there is a kiwi hen night and the hen gets up on to one of the tables and starts doing the Birdie Dance!! and worse, she knows all the moves!! So dont know whether its a usual party piece for kiwi hen nights, or just this hen in particular!! Good laugh!

4th March 2007

Check out, but bus back to Auckland isnt until 1.30. so wander down town to see if i can find a phone that will accept incoming calls. Bloody hell, what a challenge! Wandered about for at least 30 mins, but most places were closed as it was sunday morning. Gave up after that and headed back to the hostel until it was time to get on the bus. no stops on the bus back, as we have done them on the way up. traffic was a bit slow moving, as it was sunday evening and everyone was heading back to teh city.

5th March 2007

couldnt get the ferry to Coromandel today, so kill a day in Auckland. get my hari cut a bit shorter. think its easier to control a bit shorter. none of the hairdressing shcools are open on a monday, so end up having to go to Tony & Guy. Oh well, am happy with it. Just veg for the rest of the day.

Arrive in New Zealand about 3.30am LST. Finally get through baggae reclaim & immigration. its the first country to ask me for proof of departure & onward travel, so i have to root out my tickets!! they x-ray all of our baggage after you collect for customs. so needless to say I have ticked "No" for teh "do you have any trekking boots/shoes" - really didnt want to join the "something to declare line"!! eventually make it to the main section of the terminal. go to info desk and find out that it buses in to central Auckland dont start running until 6am and a taxi will cost approx NZ$60. so we all decide to hang around until 6 to get the bus. there is free internet, so play on that for a bit. then about 5.30am, it appears that the shuttle buses have arrived and are outside. this american girl comes over to us and asks us are we heading into city centre and could she share with us. so thats fine, except she starts spouting a load of rubbish about hos it costs NZ$26 plus NZ$6 for every additional person. when we tell her that that makes absolutely no sense, including a kiwi woman who lives here, she walked off. outside, we all get into a little minibus. two other english girls are onboard as well. then the american starts going on about how expensive the departure tax is from Santiago to Auckland is. when we all tell her that we have all just been on that flight and none of us paid tax, she refuesed to talk to us after that!! stupid cow!! She left as soon as she could - clearly she is not used to being corrected!! get into city centre and we stay with teh two english girls in a dorm. they all go to bed but Im wide awake. so decide to go for a wander around town. find Qantas, Magic and a few other bits we need. check out the Skytower. its really cool. tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Auckland is a really nice city.  go to get my eyebrows waxed (properly this time!!!) Have arranged to meet the girls at 5.30/6 to go and see a Chinese red lion dance performance. its on at 6.30 and its free. its all part of teh celebrations for the Chinese new year - year of teh golden pig. Decide to go for a pedicure about 4.45 - so should only be about 1hr.  well, its definately been one of the best pedicures i have ever got, but she must have been really bored cos I left the plave at 7.15!! Seriously, a 2.5hr pedicure!!I was lying there thinking, god the two girls will be thinking that I just couldnt be bothered turning up to meet them! But my feet do look great!! go for food and tiredness is begining to creep up on me. all four of us are in bed and sound asleep by 9pm!!!

28th February 2007

up early and go to a breakfast place that has bagels with cream cheese and bacon - something I have missed dearly!!! head down to quantas & successfully manage to change all teh dates on our remaining flights. Brilliant and manage to get all teh dates we want. have to pay NZ$10 service fee, but its a lot better thatn the US$40 that LAN wanted!!  then head over to the Magic office and book our national pass around NZ. go for a wander around town and then finally get to get my hair cut. turns out the place is a hairdressing training school - explains why it is so cheap! decide to go for something a bit different and get it cut really short  with layers all the way through it. really like it. its the first time I can remember not being able to tie my hair up. head over to the Skytower to see teh Red Lion Performance - thankfully there is another free performance today!! its really cool. two guys are dressed in a fantastic red glittery lion costume. three guys are playing drums and simbles. its fab. the lion has to dance and climb up obstacles and finally jumps up to eat a lettuce. apparently the lettuce means prosperity. he does all sorts of acrobatic things - its really great. go for food and just watch tele for the rest of teh night. again all 4 of us are in bed by 10pm!!

1st March 2007.

Go for a free city tour with Stray. Another company like Magic. so we will have to pretend to be interested in their National Passes!! Get picked up and get a nice look at Auckland. First head over to the harbour bridge. its pretty impressive - like a miny version of Sydney harbour bridge. pitstop on the other side and get a good view of teh city and the harbour. its beautiful. the marina is massive - apparently, when its full it can hold 7,000 boats! some of the boats & yachts are amazing. Decide at that moment that I need to marry a millionaire!! the skyline is great and the skytower appears larger from this distance. our first stop before we went over the bridge is at teh skytower, where you can do basejumping off it!  you are attached to wires and cables and you basically throw yourself off the side of the tower!! the guide picks a name out of a hat and teh guy picked agrees to do it! he gets to do it for free so he saves himself about NZ$195. when you first jump off, they stop you and leave you dangle a bit so they can take your picture and then drop you the rest of teh way!  its insane, there is no way i will be signing up for it. im a chicken! Just thankful the guide doesnt have my name!! then we head up to Mount Eden - one of the volcanoes that overlooks the city. Auckland is surrounded by 48 volcanoes! Some of which are still active. Mount Eden is a sacred Moari site there are spectacular views over the city. it absolutely enormous - the size of the urban sprwal is incredible. I never realised Auckland was so big. It has a bigger population than the entire south island!!  Head over to the memorial Gardens next. Again the views are great. teh garden is beuatiful and very well kept. all teh flowers are very pretty.  great spot for a picnic. its in memory to the first Aussie prime minister of NZ. there is also a sacred Maori building here as well. you are not allowed to enter onto their land. it was one of teh first pieces of land to be returned to teh Maoris after the settlement of the 100 yr land wars with the British. the tipi pole thing(I will learn the correct Maori name for it!) is fab. cant really see teh detail, but the carvings are pretty impressive. head from there down to a small pub fo rlunch. tey teh apricot beer - surprisingly its very nice. we are supposed to go back to the harbour bridge to climb up it, but it is cancelled because of the wind - not really sure whether the guide is winding us up or not about it. but it doesnt bother me either way, I wouldnt have been able to do it anyway. head back into town  and sort my stuff out. I head up to the observatory deck on teh skytower to watch the sun set from the top. teh views are brilliant. the lift up has a glass bottom, so I have to avoid looking down at it or I will be out cold in a few mins!! Auckland is enormous. have a glass of wine while Im watching the sun set. its really beautiful. there are sections of teh flor that are glass - its mental, you can stand on them and see the street 285m below you!! the glass is 38mm thick , but it doesnt look like anything is securing it - nuts! the harbour is beautiflas the sun sets over it. really does give a great overview of the city. head back down and the tower is all lit up in green and purple. head back to the hostel to get ready to leave tom.  

 

 

Crossed the International Date Line, so teh 26th didnt exist for me!!

Actually have to get up early today. taxi is picking us up at 10am to go to the aiport. Flight from Puerto Montt to Santiago is at 12.30. its only 1.5hrs, so not bad at all. Again, we are the only backpackers on the flight!! this is what you call flashpacking!!!  arrive and just get a taxi stragiht to the hostel. taxi driver eventually finds it after driving around in a few circles!!. hostel is nice, has a pool and jacuzzi and a big kitchen. the dorms are nice as well. I have a top bunk, and my god, i need to use my best gymnastics moves to get up there!! there is no ladder and they are really high up. its also a challenge to get back down again. Emer laughs at me and says she fears for her life every time she sees my legs dangling over the edge in an attempt to get down successfully!!  get chatting to a few others in the hostel and after a few drinks we go for food and a few more drinks the decision is made that a nightclub is the way forward! finally go out about 2am. very small club, but good. in a trendy part of town!!  place closes at 4, so we all head for food and eventually make it back about 5am.

21st February 2007

stay in bed til about 12ish. get breakie and just chill out by the pool all day. realx all day and watch tele - I am making the most of unemployment!!!

22nd February 2007

Up early as we need to go to Qantas to change our flights. get metro to other end of town and find the qantas office. the woman says we can change them but will have to pay a US$40 fee. not going to happen, so we decide to wait til we get to Auckland to do it. Head back in to central Santaigo - very nice city. some beautiful buildings. go to the Santa Lucia park/hill. Wow, the park entrance is something else, very fancy. there are two enormous curved stair cases on either side. there are big fountains in the centre - really pretty. climb up and you come to a lovely cobbled street surrounded by trees and flowers - has a very french feel to it. climb up further to a viewpoint overlooking teh city. Very big city and you can see the mountains  in the background.  head back down abd wander around the city centre and plaza del armas. very nice and the cathedral is actually lovely. not as OTT as some of teh other churches here. has a nice feel to it as well. wander around the shops for a bit. go teh LAN to see if they will change our tickets -  they also want US$40. so dont do it there. We are supposed to be able to change the dates on all our flights for free, but they are saying that since the 5th feb, all changes will impose a service fee. so we will wait til we get to New Zealand and see what they have to say there. head back to the hostel and am outside chatting to some of the others when a guy comes over looking for his stereo for his salsa class. so I end up going for a free salsa lesson!! its harder than it looks - can get the feet fine but when I have to start shaking my hips and shoulders as well, it all goes a bit pear shaped!! I am dancing with a romanian guy who keeps telling me that my spins are wrong. Well I got them right when i did them with teh teacher!! was great fun, but decide to pass on the trip to the salsa class later on.

23rd February 2007

another day of just chilling out by teh pool. weather is boiling hot. do some blog updating and read a book. there is a BBQ tonight, so sign up for htat. Get chatting to a few Aussies and an Irish guy - have a few drinks and a good laugh. BBQ is really good - get chicken, sausage, pork and beef and tons of salads. one aussie guy is taking the p*%s out of Riverdance  and says when he went to see it, there was a pillar thing in his way so all he could see was their heads bobbing up and down!! his does an imitation of it and his actions are just hilarious.

24th February 2007

get up and head for internet cafe to do some more blog - am finally catching up!head back to the hostel and meet up with some of the others and go into town to watch teh ireland England 6 nations game. get to pub and its closed!!! but, dont worry, it opening in 5 mins! two of teh guys shout "come on England" and everyone laughs - they are seriously out numbered!!  have a good laugh and a few beers while watching the game. good game, but to our horror the coverage is lost for the last 10mins!! so we miss the end, but at that stage, we know we have won it. go for food and head back to watch the end of the France Wales game. head back to hostel and relax at teh pool for the rest of the evening. Typical, just as I get in to the pool, the sun goes in!! and its gets cold!

25th February 2007

get up and pack.  at least we dont have be checked out until 1pm - thankfully, most places make you go by 10am. Just relax by teh pool, again!! do a quick shop in the chemist - need to stock up on a few bits which will be much cheaper here and you can get them over the counter! I love South America!  Head for the airport at about 7.30pm, flight isnt until 11pm, but want to allow time if we have issues with our tickets again. check in - no available seats in upper class!! go through immigration - last Chilian stamp for a while! I go for a coffee and when I come back Emer is having a "it is him" conversation with one of the guys that we shared a taxi with. they are looking at a shop and trying to get a picture. it turns out that its Tom Jones. Not messing, its actually him. so we are trying to get a picture and its just not happening. so we decide that we are that sad that we will just have to go up to him and ask for a photo. so we follow him and finally catch up and ask for a photo with him. he is literally orange from going overboard on the fake tan! he has seriously been tangoed!! and close up, he has definately had some work done, if you know what i mean!! he kindly oblidges and poses fo ra picture - made our day!! I know, how sad are we, but who cares!  head back to the gate as its boarding time.  plane looks a bit small - no wonder its impossible to get seats on it! 13hr flight, so watch one film with dinner and take a sleeping tablet. out cold for 9hrs - how i love modern drugs! wake up and watch one more film over breakfast and arrive in Auckland. Shortest longhaul flight ever!!

Goodbye South America, Hello Australasia.