Auckland - my last stop :(

Tuesday 24th - Thursday 26th January 2012

We arrive in Auckland late afternoon, so we just check in yet another awful hostel (I am ready for home now!!) thankfully it is just the three of us in the dorm which is nice J We just chill out as there is a Kiwi Experience evening at one of the bars in town which includes free food and drink, so naturally we are all heading there!

Another fun evening of Helen and I disco dancing and putting the worlds to right over a few rum and ginger ales - my new favourite drink!

I am so happy that my last few days are spent with Helen, Louise and Nella (girl from Bramhall).  As I originally thought I would be in Auckland on my own, but their plans changed slightly which meant we would all be in Auckland together - good times J

My last full day in New Zealand was spent sunbathing at Mission Bay beach.  Nella and I were keen to make the most of the beautiful blue sky and sunshine so we hopped on the bus to the beach just before midday.  Helen and Louise spent the afternoon exploring Auckland’s shops.

Nella is really lovely and will be nice to have a new friend back home when she returns from her travels.

It is such a lovely sunny day! I am so happy the sun came out for my last day as I was in desperate need of topping up the tan before I head home!!!

When our skin had had enough cooking time we went for a bite to eat and headed back to start getting ready for our last night together and the last night of my travels L We meet up with Julia (from the Kiwi bus, she lives in Auckland) for dinner and a few drinks and she shows us the nice non-backpacker bars which makes me very happy.  So much so, that I order a glass of pink champagne to toast the end of my trip, hehe J

We then hit the rest of the bars in Auckland for a fun night out!

Helen and Louise leave at 7am on Thursday morning as they head off to the Bay of Islands for a few days.  It’s a shame I didn’t extend my trip by just a few more days so I could have joined them.  But I guess the Islands aren’t going anywhere and it just means I will have to swing by NZ again some day J

It was really sad saying bye to the girls. I have had such a great time with them and so lucky to once again have made some fab friends on my travels.

Nella and I go for lunch on the harbour and then I grab my backpack for the last time and hop on the bus to the airport.

So my 8 weeks have finally come to an end – I have doubled in size, lost a few brain cells (or rather left my brain in Dubai!) and been tested to the absolute max by hostel living!!! However, I have had THE most amazing time. The whole 8 weeks have been so much more than I ever imagined!  I have made some great friends along the way, seen stunning views every day and experienced things I never thought I could/would ever do!!

I am very sad to be leaving this lifestyle behind and will miss it greatly, adjusting back to reality will certainly be interesting… But I am ready to go home and see my fabulous friends, who I have missed everyday on my trip, and of course go home to little Dot and John for those home comforts.

I am so pleased I managed to keep a log of my little adventure as it was certainly a trip of a lifetime, and one I will never forget!

Next stop - home J

Rotorua

Sunday 22^nd – Monday 23^rd January

We arrive in Rotorua about 6pm and check into Base Hostel.  Now up until this moment I have been happy with the hostels in NZ, however when we check in this place our room is literally like something straight out of Shameless!! Just awful and quite possibly my worst hostel for the entire trip…!

Once I am over my rant about hostels we just grab some food and a few drinks and have a fairly early night as it had been such a long day.

Monday morning we just chill out.  Not much to do in Rotorua so we just catch up on some much needed sleep then pop out to grab a coffee and lie by the lake soaking up with sun.

At 7pm we are picked up and taken to the Tamaki Maroi Village which is based in the Tawa Forest.

Once we arrive we are all lined up and greeted in the traditional Maroi way.  Three men from our buses are chosen as our “Chiefs” and they have to stand and meet the Maroi Chief before we can all enter their village.

Obviously this is all set up for tourists but it was a great insight into their lifestyle and understanding their heritage.  They had lots of small huts to explain the various activities that would take place in their villages, one of which is a stick game.  Helen and I got pulled out the group to take part – I won!!

After going round the little village they put on a show explaining their heritage and for the end dance they do the Haka, which was great to see!

We are then fed the most delicious buffet, all of which was made the traditional way in a “Hangi Pit” which uses hot thermal stones and  all the food is cooked underground in a large man made pit.  And the table of backpackers certainly got their fill J

It was a great evening, and so glad I went and learnt more about the Maroi life – Kia Ora J

When we got dropped back at the hostel, Helen and I met up with a few other girls from the trip and entered the pub quiz and won!! My age and knowledge of 90’s pop music definitely came in useful! For once I had something over all the 19 year olds ;-)

We are being picked up at 10am tomorrow to head to Auckland – my last stop!!

Waitomo

Sunday 22^nd January 2012

We set off at 7am and headed to Waitomo for the Black Water Rafting and search for Glowworms.  Quite an early start but the bus ride is a couple of hours so get the chance to have a quick sleep before heading 65 feet underground, eeeek….!!

I don’t think I really thought about what this activity would entail! When wet suited up and driven to the start of the caves we find a black rubber ring that would fit us and then told to jump backwards off a ledge into the water as once in the caves we will be doing this but off waterfalls…..!!! No matter how many water activities I have done over the last 8 weeks I have still not conquered my fear of water, so jumping backwards into a river was pretty scary for me, however I still did it!

We then head into the caves…..

I felt quite nervous on this activity, I even said it was scarier than the skydive…..! Such a whimp I know ;-) The caves were dark, wet and cold (oh and my head lamp didn’t work, so I had to stick close to Nella and Helen so I could see where I was stepping!).  But after the first jump off a waterfall we all float down the caves and are told to turn our head lamps off and look up! It was so pretty, all the glowworms, or rather their secretion (!!), was so bright and just looked like stars twinkling away! Not at all what I expected J and totally worth all my worrying!

We meander through the rest of the caves, walking and floating and keeping our eyes out for more sparkly glowworms.

The caves themselves were also very impressive and when I was calm and just floating along it was another fab experience to add to Ruthy’s travels!!

When out the caves we warmed up with some soup and then just had a wander in the town before heading to Rotorua.  My second to last stop before home L

Taupo

Friday 20th - Saturday 21st January 2012

I arrive in Taupo late afternoon and the sun is shining and bright blue sky J so nice to see as the weather hasn’t been great in New Zealand.

Before we get to the hostel we stop off at Huka Falls, which is quite impressive.  The flow of water is so powerful.

When we check in I meet a girl from Bramhall and we get chatting and I very nearly sign up to do a tandem bungy with her…….. But I just can’t find the courage to do it (or the funds to be honest) so I leave it.  Part of me really wants to do one but think I’ve done my extreme sports for this trip!

After checking in we head down to the lake to make the most of the nice weather.  The evening is spent in the hostel bar and their lovely garden.  The hostels in New Zealand have so far been really nice and I haven’t felt like a backpacker at all on this trip, much more Ruthy style ;-) We end up going out with a group of lads we meet in the bar, all from London and think I sound like I am straight from Shameless, which is a little concerning, hope my accent hasn’t changed on my travels…..!!? ;-)

Saturday morning is spent just chilling out, quick shop as we are going to make a salad for dinner!! I have five days until I am back home so thought I best make a start on shifting some of this holiday weight L

We then just chill out by the lake again and soak up the sun.  We meet a lad from Leeds who tells us about the hot pools so we head there with a few drinks.   It is basically a lake with a small waterfall and the water is flowing from the volcano which makes it ridiculously hot!!  Pretty crazy really, but yet again another beautiful spot, so we spend the rest of the afternoon just relaxing there J

Tomorrow morning we are getting picked up at 7am and heading to Waitomo to do the black water rafting and glowworm caving, should be good!

My Birthday in Windy Wellington

Thursday 19th January

We arrive in Wellington on Wednesday afternoon.  We had to get the ferry from Picton to Wellington which was a pleasant journey and a change from sitting on a coach.

Wellington is extremely windy, apparently it is called Windy Wellington which I never knew….!

Once checked in I go and find the other girlies as we are heading out for a few birthday drinks.  I got a nice surprise when I got to their room as James, one of the lads I have been with since the start of my NZ trip, had stayed an extra night in Wellington so he could join us for birthday drinks – a very nice surprise!

My Birthday

After a slow morning – skyped Mum and Heather J and opening my lovely cards that had been sent in my backpack - we are all up and head to a lovely restaurant for brunch, just what we all needed after last night.

We then head down to the riverside and hire two man trikes so we can go for a ride around the harbour – quite difficult when windy Wellington is really living up to its name!! All good fun though J

After the bike ride we head back and chill out for a bit before heading out to Wagamamas for dinner.  The girls organised a birthday cake and candles for me which was really lovely of them J

I have had such a fun birthday! Pretty amazing I have spent it in New Zealand but also with some really great people!!

We are on the bus at 7:30am tomorrow to head for Taupo.

Kaikoura

Monday 16^th – Wednesday 18^th January2012

Bit of info….Kaikoura means to eat crayfish (kai – to eat, koura – crayfish) or the full name Tamatea-pokai-whenua which was a great traveller who stayed here and lit a fire to cook a meal of crayfish!!

We arrive in Kaikoura about 7pm after a 12 hour bus journey L I thought these were a thing of the past…..

On my way here I have to plan the rest of my route with Kiwi Experience and also book my Whale Watching trip for Tuesday – exciting!!

I only have 10 days left and I have a fair bit to fit in – so my route is as follows:

Kaikoura

Wellington (capital city) and birthday celebrations!

Taupo

Waitomo – Black Water Rafting and glowworm caving

Rotorua for a Marori experience

Then my last stop – Auckland

On the way to Kaikoura we stop off at Lake Tekapo – the picture below says it all, just beautiful J there had been snow during the night (yes it is supposed to be summer here!!) but this meant Mount Cook looked even more spectacular covered in snow!  Mount Cook is New Zealand’s highest peak and the Marori name for the mountain is ‘Aoraki’ meaning cloud piercer.

We also pass through Christchurch where you do have the option to stay, but they are still experiencing aftershocks on a daily basis and there is very little left of the town centre and due to the number of aftershocks they keep getting they predict it is going to take 25-30 years to re-build.  I chose not to stop here this time.

Tuesday morning the girls leave for Wellington and I have got the day in Kaikoura to do my Whale Watching trip.  I am booked on the 12:45pm boat but when I arrive at the Whale Station they announce that the trip has been cancelled due to heavy winds and the Whales are too far from shore.  I am pretty disappointed as I have been looking forward to this trip since I booked it L but after a chat with the staff I book myself to go swimming with Dolphins at 5:30am which I am sure will be equally (if not more) exciting!  

An early start to go swimming with the Dolphins, but it was absolutely worth it! We jump on a boat and sail out to find the dusky dolphins.  After just twenty minutes we find a large pod of dolphins and as soon as the boat stops we can get in the sea and start swimming with them.  Little scared as involves me in the sea again and a snorkel on….. There were about 500 dolphins and they literally come right up to your face, swim underneath and around you.  As they are wild we can’t touch them just have to swim amongst them.  It was such a fab experience J

The bus picked me up at 9am and we headed to Wellington where we are meeting up with everyone and time to celebrate my birthday J

Queenstown

Thursday 12^th – Monday 16^th January 2012

We arrive in Queenstown mid-afternoon so I catch up on some washing and they have a sauna in this hostel so a few of us just chill in there.

The weather isn’t great, quite cold actually and I definitely do not have the wardrobe for bad weather!

The Kiwi Experience organises a night out - apparently tradition when you first arrive in Queenstown - all good fun and even more so now that I have got to know everyone and once again it feels like I have known these people far longer than five days J so lucky to keep meeting really nice group of fellow travellers!

On Friday morning a few of us head to Milford Sound which is a formation of pretty grand mountains that went undiscovered for the first 150 years of European discovery.  It also apparently isn’t a “Sound” which is a formation by the river, but it is a fiord which is the formation from a glacier, but the kiwi’s haven’t renamed it!!  The weather is really bad and I just had to put as many layers of clothes on as possible L Not exactly ideal going on a boat trip in this weather but on the way to the ferry we passed more fab views and waterfalls which actually look even more impressive in the rain!

The trip was good, not my best and not sure it is an 8^th wonder of the world, but still worth doing.  I think the bad weather just didn’t show the mountains in all their glory.  We didn’t get back until nearly 10pm as our bus broke down, so a pretty long day.

Saturday - the morning was pretty lazy and I finally managed to get more than five hours sleep so feeling human again! A group of us just explore Queenstown, the markets and also the infamous Fergburger, apparently the best burger in the world!! It is rather amazing, but a burger the size of your head is bound to be impressive…..!?

Sunday – feeling bit delicate from Saturday night but we head on the cable car to the top of Queenstown for some more amazing views!  I then catch up with Kate as she has been staying with family whilst here and soak up Queenstown for the last day.  We are getting picked up at 8am tomorrow morning to head to Kaikoura.

The weather in Queenstown has been pretty awful and I have never felt so cold during my whole trip, but it is supposed to improve as I move north – fingers crossed as I really do not want to be purchasing winter clothes out here!

We have also planned a night out in Wellington for my birthday J there are 6 of us which is great! Very excited to be spending my birthday in New Zealand, even if I am turning 29…..!!

Lake Wanaka - SKYDIVE!!!

Wednesday 11th January 2012

Once on the bus and heading for Lake Wanaka Josh, our driver, handed round a sheet for you to put your name on if you wanted to skydive at Lake Wanaka….. I knew I wanted to do one and Josh advised me that when the weather is good I should bite the bullet and do it then as if I wait for the next spot the weather could change and I could miss my chance!! So, the weather is perfect and Lake Wanaka is apparently a great place to do it, therefore all make good reasons for me to put my name down!!!

Kate also puts her name down along with a couple of lads I have met on the bus so there is a group of us all skydiving which definitely helps with the nerves and the build-up as we make our way to Lake Wanaka.

The bus journey is a few hours and Josh informs us we are doing our skydive at 4pm, so that gives us a good 6 hours to build on the nerves!

4pm arrives and before I know it I am in my boiler suit and being harnessed up! I could not believe I was actually going to do this – I have paid a little more and jumping from 15,000ft, because let’s be honest if I am doing it I might as well go as high as possible….?

Once we get to 12,000ft two people jump out and at this point the nerves really kick in, as they don’t so much jump, but get sucked out of the plane!!  We carry on to 15,000ft and we have to put oxygen masks on as the cabin isn’t pressurised.  James goes first, then Roel and I am the last one to jump!!

The freefalling is definitely the scariest bit as I just couldn’t get my breath and felt like I couldn’t breathe but as soon as the parachute opens and you are just flying above the earth, it is just the most amazing feeling, that combined with the views – it is by far one of the best experiences of my life and I felt very proud of myself for having the nerves to do it!!

Once back at the hostel we just caught up with everyone and had a few drinks to celebrate our achievement.

Up early in the morning as we head to Queenstown J

Franz Josef - Glacier Hike

Monday 9th January - Tuesday 10th January

We are up early and head for Franz Josef where I have booked to do the Glacier Hike on Tuesday.  En route to Franz Josef we stop off at some lovely view spots.  We are just surrounded by lakes and spectacular mountains, so calming when looking out the window J

I have made a friend called Kate, so I have a bus buddy and someone to enjoy the scenery with!

Takes just a few hours on the bus which is refreshing after Australia’s epic bus journey’s!  We check in a really nice hostel in Franz Josef and we then have the afternoon to just enjoy the little town.  The hostel has a hot tub which feels very luxurious for a backpacker!  After a little soak we go to get ready for dinner and the hostel has but signs up everywhere saying that the town has run out of water due to the lack of rain!! Crazy really, and the first time I have wanted it to rain since I have been on my adventure…. Backpackers need showers, haha!

Early night for me as been nearly a week since I have had a proper night’s sleep and I want to be full of energy for the hike!

Glacier Hike

After being given all our gear at the hiking centre we head to the Glacier about 10am.  We are spilt into groups and off we go on the hike!

There was a lot of ground to cover before we hit the ice, but when we did it was a strange feeling to be surrounded by such vast amounts of ice.  We had to walk through some really narrow crevasses that you could only walk sideways through, little bit claustrophobic but all add’s to the experience.   Once we got to the top we stopped for some lunch and then had the 3 hour walk back down, which was pretty tough going on our feet!

The hike was so much more than I ever expected and the guide told us that by June this year if more of the ice melts at the bottom they may have to stop the tours, so yet again one lucky Ruthy!

When we got back to the hostel we had free passes to enjoy the hot pools in the town centre – perfect ending to our days hiking!

Another fairly early night as we were getting picked up at 7:30am to head to our next destination, Lake Wanaka where I think I am going to do my Skydive……!!

New Zealand

Sunday 8th January

I catch my Tranz Alpine train at 8:15am from Christchurch train station.  I didn’t really think about this leg of my journey and just wanted to treat it as a chance to try catch up on some of my lost sleep for the next four hours. 

However, this soon changed as we pulled away from the platform…..  The views were just unbelievable and I was fixated to the window the whole four hours!!!  I had no idea what to expect from New Zealand, I knew it had some amazing scenery, but this was just stunning!  What a great start to my next adventure!

I arrive in Greymouth just after midday and the Kiwi Experience bus is picking me up at 2pm.  So I just grab some food bits from the shop and explore Greymouth’s little town.

The big green bus pulls up and I am feeling a little nervous about having to meet new people and make new friends again.  As soon as I get on the bus, the driver informs me of how the Kiwi Experience works.  They basically book you on your trips as you go along and they also book you in your hostels too – sounded good to me!

My first stop is at Lake Mahinapua and we stayed at a little old mans pub/hotel where we had a fancy dress party with a theme of “shock your mother” – we stopped at a shop so we could get some bits and I went as a pregnant nun……

The hotel/pub was a little random but the party was a good way for me to meet everyone and make some new friends.   It is a mixed bunch on the bus but I soon found a group of really lovely people. So, I am now all relaxed and ready for what New Zealand has to offer me over the next 20 days J

Last Day in Australia

Saturday 7th January

Last Day in Australia

I arrived in Sydney at 8am after my epic coach trip.  Said bye to my coach friend and headed to Base Hostel (where I had stayed last week) and they let me check my bag in and use the bathroom and facilities as my flight to New Zealand wasn’t until 7pm.

After living it up in a campervan for the last four days it was good to chill out at the hostel and freshen up and getting some washing done so I was all ready for adventure to New Zealand.

I then headed into Sydney and just enjoyed walking around the city for the last time.   Was nice just relaxing and soaking up the sun, I still really love this city I definitely would love to come back again.

I then met up with Claire who I met on the Whitsunday trip and sat in Hyde Park with her for a bit as there was a music festival going on.

It was then time for me to head to the airport for my New Zealand flight.

I was feeling very emotional as I flew out of Australia, was sad to be saying bye to life down under! I have really really loved my time here and met some lovely people and made great friends along the way.

My adventure in Australia has been so much more than I thought it would be – a very lucky, relaxed and happy Ruthy J

I didn’t arrive at my hostel in Christchurch until 2am (the hostel is a converted prison, very strange place and had quite eerie feel to it!) and I was getting picked up at 7am to catch the Tranz Alpine train to Greymouth where I start my Kiwi Experience.  I am majorly lacking in sleep, but feeling very excited about New Zealand!

Great Ocean Road - Wicked Road Trip

3rd January - 6th January 2012

We were up early, met Ross and headed to the Wicked office just outside of Sydney to collect our campervan.

I was so excited that I could fit this road trip in with the girls and also what a great way to spend my last week in Oz!

The campervan wasn’t exactly the best one I had seen and not what we had been sold by the travel agent!! But, we piled in and hit the road heading for Melbourne, which apparently when you ask an Oz for directions, is just straight – one straight road…….!

This one straight road took us 14 hours! We headed to the start of the Great Ocean Road and by the time we arrived there is was 2am and we had no idea where to park up for the night, so we just parked in a hostel car park and tried to get some sleep.  Sleeping was quite a squeeze - the next four nights were definitely going to be cosy!

Once we woke up we headed to a little lake in Torquay and had some breakfast.  The sun was shining and the view was just beautiful, this was definitely a good start to the trip.

I hadn’t driven yet so I got behind the wheel! This was so exciting just cruising down Australia’s most stunning coastal road in a campervan and with such great peeps – loved it!!

From there we hit the road (which was just one long straight road!) and visited a number of stops and when we reached Apollo Bay we found a campsite where we could park up for the night, felt much safer than the side of the road the previous night that’s for sure.  We had a little wander around the town then it was back to the campervan to cook dinner (well eggs, beans and noodles….!) then we tucked up in the campervan and played few games of cards.

We set off in the morning and visited a rainforest, saw koalas in the wild just chilling in the trees along the roadside and when we reached Princetown we parked up at a campsite.  This one was a little strange but again, better than the side of the road.  This campsite was right next to our final stop which was the Twelve Apostles.

Every stop just got better and better on this road trip but my favourite place had to be the Twelve Apostles, a very dramatic view and they almost didn’t look real – again another “Ruth feeling very lucky” moment!

We had to make the journey back to Melbourne on Friday afternoon as I was catching the overnight Greyhound to Sydney.

I was so sad to leave Amy and Jo, really wish I could have stayed with them in Melbourne and even carried on to Asia with them!! But I have a trip to Essex planned when then get back to the UK, which quite frankly is almost as exciting as going to New Zealand (TOWIE baby!!)

I made a friend on the Greyhound which definitely helped the 14 hours pass as quickly as possible, thank goodness that was my last epic coach journey!

Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd January 2012

Sunday 1^st January and Monday 2^nd January 2012

I have had a very chilled couple of days and start to 2012 –just enjoying Sydney and also getting sorted for the road trip to Melbourne.

On New Year’s Day and we all just caught up on sleep, washing and online action and then we headed to Hyde Park to catch the afternoon sun.

We planned a last night out on New Year’s Day eve as we are parting ways with Danielle and Chelle on Tuesday morning so we wanted to make sure we saw the New Year in with some Sydney disco dancing!

Monday was a very lazy day again, as we all were surviving on 3 hours sleep so was nice to just chill out and enjoy our last day together.  I also had to check out the hostel at 10am, but was staying / hiding in the girls room for one more night for free as the hostel was fully booked so we just hibernated for the day.

I sliced my thumb on my razor this morning and if you know me and blood that was not a pleasant experience, thank god Amy is a nurse and Chelle was armed with plasters, poor me!!

It is sad to be parting ways with Danielle and Chelle, they have definitely kept me laughing none stop since I got to Sydney.  They are now heading up the East Coast.

I am very excited to be picking up the campervan in the morning and going on our road trip! We pick it up at 9am and it should take us about 12 hours to drive to Melbourne.  We then start the Great Ocean Road drive on Wednesday morning and have to be back in Melbourne on Friday evening so I can catch the Greyhound back to Sydney ready for my flight to New Zealand on Saturday 7^th January!!

Sad to be leaving Sydney as I have really loved this city – but plenty more fun times to be had!!

New Year's Eve 2011

31st December 2011

We were all up and out by 9am, picnics packed and ready to find the perfect spot to bring in 2012!  Chelle had done her research and it was decided that Bradfield Park, which was across the bridge, would be the best spot for us.

The five of us plus four others from our hostel all headed down to the park.  As we set off the heavens opened!! We had our fingers crossed that it was just a shower and the sun would shine for us, as it really wouldn’t be much fun sat in the rain for 15 hours…..!

It did clear and by the time we got set up in the most amazing spot the sunshine appeared!  I really couldn’t believe how good our spot was J we were on a slight hill and looking directly at the water, the bridge and the Opera House.  We also had the most amazing view of Sydney’s skyline – it felt pretty surreal that I would be seeing 2012 in overlooking Sydney Harbour and witnessing  some of the world’s best firework displays.

It was a long day, but the sun was shining and I was in such great company.  The conversation and banter just flows with the girls so time soon passed.  Before we knew it the 9pm fireworks were in full swing, and to be honest they were pretty impressive and got us all excited for 12 o’clock J

The park was absolutely packed out and as the evening went on people were getting little anxious and pretty much do anything to try get the best viewing spot – but after waiting 14 hrs, we were definitely not about to be moved!

I felt pretty emotional after the 9pm ones, partly because I felt so lucky to be stood there and also excited for the start of 2012 and how amazing the start of my year already was!

The countdown began 10, 9, 8…… As soon as it struck 12pm the most unbelievable firework display began!! I took pictures and videos but they simply do not do it justice!! It was so much more than I ever thought it would be and the five of us just stood there in amazement throughout the display!

After the crowds dispersed we headed back to the hostel.  January 1^st at 1:30am and I am walking across Sydney Harbour Bridge – such an amazing feeling and I am very excited for 2012!!