After our short flight across the ditch we arrived in Auckland. Corinne (Ryan's sister) came to rescue us from the airport as we were staying with her and Shon (boyfriend). The countryside and scenary on the way to Te Awamutu (TA) was beautiful. As we had arrived on a Friday it would've been rude not to go out to Corinne and Shon local The Redoubt! Needless to say we had a great time and enjoyed catching up. The next day we went biscuiting in the Waikato river. To clarify this was nothing to do with edible biscuits! Attached to the back of the boat is an inflatable that is pulled along at high speeds and as you can imagine clinging on for your life is not optional! Absolutey loved it, until Shon tried all his tricks, and then some, to flip me off!! Such good fun! Afterwards we had a cheeky BBQ by the lake and this was a really nice day.
That Sunday Corinne drove us up to Hahei which is on the Coromandel Peninsular (incredibly beautiful) to meet our kiwi friends (who live in London) Alan and Rebecca. We were staying with their family and friends for a night before starting our road trip. We walked out to Cathedral Cove (used in the film Narnia) and went 4 a swim in the sea. That night we had a barbie and got on the beers (surprise, surprise)!
Monday was the start of our road trip to the south of the north island. The five of us (Alan's brother Malcolm decided to join us) jumped into Alan's Grandma's small car and headed down to Whangamata. On the way we stopped at Hot Water Beach where there are several hot springs under the sand and you can literally dig your own spa hole -or jump in someone else's. This was a very different experience and is a fine example of the variety of natural wonders in NZ.
We arrived in Whagamata at Alan's Dad's (Keith) batch in the arvo and were excited to check out the local beach. The beach at Whanga was yummy and we went straight in for a refreshing swim. We spent the following day on the beach and walked over to an islet off of the main beach. We tried to snorkel but the water was quite murky, when we returned to the beach the boys had a body surf/surf. Later that afternoon Alan, Malcolm and Ryan
set off on a mini fishing trip. A few hours later they returned with a few Snapper, Gurnard and Trevailly -que the fish BBQ! Yum! The next morning we said our farewells and headed south to Castle Point.
The road trip to Castle point was very cool, we stopped at Huka falls this was beautiful. The water was SO blue! We drove passed/around lake Taupo and along the desert road the scenary was so different! We could see Mount Ruapehu and I believe that this was used for some of the filming of Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. We stopped again in Taihape which is home of the Gum Boot throwing competition (held in March this year so we missed it)! We continued on for a few more hours through the countryside, past some wind farms, past Masterton and we finally arrived in Castle Point.
We were staying with Raewin and Curla (Rebecca's Auntie and Partner) in their village pub and hotel (The Whakataki Hotel) The village is tiny and there is a permanent population of 16 people! That night after sampling some really tasty food we went out to meet Rebecca's cousin Lindsey and friends who were having a bonfire. We drove around the coast past the deserted holiday homes to meet them. A few drinks (and hours) later the rain came so we went back to the hotel.
The following day we popped out to Castle Point beach and watched the boats negotiate their way out of a small cove -v clever. We walked around the cove, went for a refreshing (very cold) swim and then decided to walk up Castle Rock. On the way to the track we walked past a Seal which was fab but, they stink! The view from the very top of Castle Rock was stunning. Well worth the walk.
We returned to the Pub to help set up a Marquee for the Battle of the Babes (BotB) fishing competition weekend. The BotB is a local tradition, ladies from all around the area come along to compete and drag the men out to help them with the gross bits! Unfortunately we were leaving the next day so we missed out on the action! D'oh!
Later that evening we walked out to the lighthouse in Castle Point and read about the Maori legend/origins of Castle Point. I really enjoyed it here and if you ever get the chance you should visit -it's one of the nicest places we went to!
Reluctantly waving goodbye to Castle Point we were back on the road to Wellington, the final destination of our road trip with Alan and Rebecca. It didn't take too long to cruise through the small villages and countryside and before we knew it we were in Wellington. We said our farewells to Alan and Rebecca at the airport and we are looking forward to catching up with them when we get back to London. Thanks again to all for such a good trip!
We took a flight from Wellington down to Christchurch to catch up with our friend and former colleague from Forest Hill, Hayden. We took the bus into central Christchurch and as the city has been closed off it feels a bit strange and eerie walking around. It is so sad to see the damage that the earthquake caused there. That night we picked up Amber (Hayden's girlfriend) and Megs and we went out to Pegasus for the More FM Vineyard Tour gig. We saw Tiki Tane, Aloe Blacc and a little bit of the John Butler Trio before the gig was rained off. It was bloomin' cold so we were sad it finished early but we were greatful to be out of the rain. That night there was apparantly a tremor but we didn't feel it as we were either in the car, or had had too many beers!
Hayden had a cricket fixture on
the Sat so we borrowed his car and drove out to Hamner Springs. Hamner Springs looks a bit like a ski resort as it is surrounded by an Alpine forest and has a small little town. After spending the day lounging around in natural hot springs we returned to Christchurch to get ready to go out. Hayden and Amber's friend Candice was heading back to London, so we were out for farewell drinkies. We met quite a few of Hayden, Amber and Candice's friends and family who were all very lovely and made us feel very welcome. After too many drinks and late night nibbles we said goodbye before we went to sleep as we were on the 7am bus out! Ouch! It is important to add that Hayden went to bed before anyone else because he cannot handle his drink!!! Just kidding!!
We just about managed to get onto the bus armed with a sleeping bag and a couple of litres of water. We were taking the bus along the coast up to Picton. Although we did not see very much of the south island I thought that this part of the coast was stunning. I saw many Seals sunbathing on rocks and long stretches of empty beaches. We stopped at Kaikoura which is a beautiful little seaside town. After eating our pies on the beach we were back on the bus. Heading through the Marlborough region we saw heaps of vineyards that covered the hill sides and valleys.
After arriving in Picton and freshening up we took a hire car out to Blenheim to visit the wine region (hair of the dog)! We stopped at Framingham winery and tried their very tasty variety of wines. We learnt about the history of the region and a little about the winery. After finally choosing a bottle of Classic Reisling we ventured round to the Vines Village which is a small shopping area (like a converted barn) and also to a chocolate factory where the choccies are organic and hand made. Yummy! We took a brief road trip around Queen Charlotte Drive and checked out the stunning Marlborough sounds before returning the car. Loved our mini Rd trip!
We took the ferry over from the South island back to the North island to meet Ryan's friend Gary (Dave) in Wellington. Gary took us up to Mount Victoria view point and there wasn't any wind! Wellington is known as the windy city so we were all pleasantly surprised. Needless to say stunning views from here! We walked
around the Harbour before heading back to Gary's place. The following day we were flying up to Hamilton to stay with Corinne and Shon
again. We spent the day at Te Papa Museum of NZ. I really recommend visiting this museum to everyone. Very well thought out with fab displays and a great way to check out Maori history and culture.
We arrived back in Hamilton and the four of us went out for Valentines dinner. Yum! Corinne and Shon took us Zorbing in Rotorua which was so much fun! Absolutely loved it! Shon said that we were the fastest down! That arvo we all chilled out at the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua, the spa baths look out over Rotorua Lake. The lake has a high sulphur content which makes the water an odd colour not to mention that odd eggy sulphur frahrance!
Later that week we went to Waikato caves to black water raft. This was great fun -apart from the sexy cave wetsuits and boots you wear! Tubing along an underwater river in a cave looking up at glow worms (species native to Aus and NZ only) has to be one of my favourite experiences on this RTW trip. That night we went out to the Redoubt and drank too much!
That Saturday we went up to Mount Maunganui (The Mount) and dropped Corinne and Shon off at a wedding. We spent the day on the beach and the evening in the Salt Water Pools -natural hot spring baths before heading back to TA.
During the rest of our stay at TA, Ryan went Pig and Deer hunting with the boys (and he shot Bambi). I went to help out at the farm with the Milking and managed to escape relatively poo free!
We spent a day fishing at Thames on the Coromandel, we caught a King Fish and a few decent sized Snappers! I was the Yellow tail champ although we didn't keep them which was fine with me (caught a few Snapper too)! There were also a few Kingy's that got away.....
Ryan managed to sneak in a couple of games of Basketball and I played Netball for the first time in years! Such good fun!!
Ryan drove me out to Matamata to see Hobbiton -home of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings movies and the main set for the new Hobbit movie. As it was SO expensive I went alone, it was really cool to wander around listening to the soundtrack (Music Geek) and I enjoyed the stories the guide shared with us.
It was really nice to chill out wth friends and family, not to live out of our packs, stay in the same place and eat home cooked meals before hitting the road again. I really loved NZ, it is such an incredible place. I'm really looking forward to heading back one day to explore more! If you haven't been to NZ -get saving and get there!!!
