Last Tour of North Shore

Today we had a drive around Auckland and the North Shore as a last chance to the area. Firstly Liz drove me to Mount Victoria for the view, then Devonport which is across the water from Auckland and is a nice, art deco feel quiet town which is also very seasidey and posh. This seaside element was felt first hand when Liz sat in some seagull poo whilst we were admiring the view on the docks. After a fish pie we finished up in Takapuna and walked the long beach there. The weather has turned and although it is still warm it is very cloudy and overcast. This is allowed as I only have one full day remaining. My tan had better not fade before I get home though or there will be hell to pay.

Tomorrow I am going on a day trip inland (by train again) with Liz to see some caves and possibly a live kiwi!

I can't believe I go on Wednesday! It is just as well that is also a recycling day as the bin is overflowing. It is quite an achievement for Gaz, Liz and I to fill it so quickly. I can't think why it is so full of bottles and cans .... gremlins in the night must be filling it :)

Last Weekend

After a day slobbing around Brown's Bay and stealing the libraries Internet connection to download a couple of TV shows for the weekend I went round Sophie and Eve's for dinner and drinks and catch up on the last dozen years or so with Soph which proved interesting. The view from their lounge window is a pretty amazing panaormana of Auckland and I am very jealous. Eve got called away to some emergency party (oh the hectic lives of the young and glamourous) so Soph and I went to a local English pub which was a bit odd as it could have been in my home town.

Soph's life unfolds like a TV drama and would make a cracking yarn. Fingers crossed her semi autobiographical screenplay is a success.

When it was getting late, I was driven back to Liz's who was the only one up and continued to chinwag. I'd had a fair bit to drink when the picture was taken, which is why I am easing into today gently.

Sadly I did not win the lotto.

Private Island

Not satisfied with an almost deserted beach yesterday, Liz took me to Waiake Beach today which has a little island in the bay. I wanted this island for myself so I waded out and staked my claim. I envisioned levelling off the top and building a citadel on the top connected by a drawbridge, which I can close off when people annoy me. I bought a New Zealand lottery ticket today so it's possible!!

People must have been stalking us, or we were setting a trend, because the beach soon filled up with fishermen and sunbathers. I kept a close eye on my island but nobody dared cross to it in the time we were there. I swam in the sea, which was really warm (I have photographic evidence), lounged about and finished my book.

After a late liquid lunch, Liz and I picked up Anna and went to yet another beach called Rothersay Bay where we beachcombed until hunger meant we had to leave for the shops. Cheap pizza tonight; my economy drive over the last few days is paying off. I can splash out now on the last few days.

I really don't want to leave; today has been idyllic. Fingers crossed for that lottery draw tomorrow!

Castor Bay

Another day, another beach. Wow, it's a hard life. Was chauffeured further along the Auckland coast to Castor Bay which was almost deserted and very pretty for a stroll, photo ops and generally being a tourist. Liz and I bought books and spent a couple of hours sunbathing and reading succumbing to the heat before collecting Anna and a friend from school.

I played them at Cluedo and did not let the fact that my opponents were 8 year old girls get in the way of claiming a sound victory. A win is a win.

While walking around Browns Bay later, we bumped into a friend of Liz’s and she asked when I went back home. I was a bit stumped as I didn’t even know what day it was. That is a sure sign of being 100% in holiday mode. Sadly I was informed I have just a week left; I shall try to push that to the back of my mind.

The sun has just set so evening TV shall now begin and a bottle of wine or two opened.

Early Summer

The forecast was correct; today has been a total scorcher. Not a single cloud. Today, Liz had a day of relief teaching so I was left to my own devices. I was just getting up as Gaz returned back from his slacker half day teaching at 11am-ish and headed to the beach to catch some rays while he watched cricket.

Not wanting to overdo it I lasted 2 hours on the baking Browns Bay beach before wilting and heading home for an inside break. I also volunteered to cook tonight because I figured Liz would be exhauted after her one day of work a month (rolls eyes) so bought stuff for a mega healthy chicken and veg stew. I have been eating so much crap, especially on my South Island jaunt (MacDonalds, pot noodles etc) that I needed something containing a vitamin. Food was dead easy to cook and went down well. I can officially slack for the rest of the evening.

It is half seven and it is still blazing sun so this bodes well for tomorrow when Eve will be driving us somewhere new for a beach day and sea swimming.

Shopping, Flopping and Milford

Yesterday was a bit overcast, warm but cloudy, so I did pretty much nothing except go to the local mall with Liz and stock up on food and booze. It was a pretty gloomy day so we all lounged and watched junk TV. This was just what I needed to reset my brain after seeing so much awesome over the last few days. I have been introduced to "Lindauer", a NZ produced sparkling wine which is IDENTICAL to proper champagne which is $8.99 a bottle because there is a wine glut over here. I am obviously doing New Zealand a massive favour by drinking this.

Today again was gloomy. Liz and I picked up Eve and went to Milford purely because it has the same name as a village close to where I live. The Milford here is a tad different as it has a really wonderful sandy beach as well as some rock pools which I investigated with Eve. After we had been there a short while the weather did a total U-Turn in the space of 10 minutes (totally wierd) and the clouds went, the sun came out and it became imperative to sunbathe. How handy that we were on a beach when this miracle happened.

Whilst Liz and Eve sunbathed on some decking I explored a bit further and found a deserted cove. I christened it "Dan's Bay" and thus it shall always be called. The picture of me is at Dan's Bay. I recommend a visit, but you must pay me a tithe cos it's mine.

After picking Anna up from school it was still a scorcher so I resumed sunbathing in the garden to build up a bit of resistance, because the looking at the forecasts it is sun for the next 4 days. More Lindauer will be consumed tonight I suspect.

Christchurch - Done!

How great to get up at a normalish time! I had to check out by 10am but got up at 9.30am so actually felt rested. I then began to wander the streets on Christchurch laden with rucksack and laptop bag. First stop was the Botanical Gardens, which were deceptively large and actually very pleasant. There were some mega trees which looked prehistoric and it was nice to stroll around in such a chilled out place in the middle of a city.

Christchurch is very wierd, in a good way. There are some parts, particularly due to the architecture, which makes it look like an English city, like Oxford. Not surprising, as that was the intention (it is even named after one of the colleges of Oxford I think) but it feels strange walking around, and is very different to everywhere else in NZ so far.

Next up I got cultured and went to Canterbury Museum which was full of interesting things which appeal to me, like fossils, rocks and a mummy. I even took a picture with a stuffed Kiwi. It still counts though! My IQ went up by about 3 points just by visiting.

Finally I exlored an open air market, and a street with performers (including a fire juggler) and stalls. I have totally run out of cash, so I changed the last of my pounds. I now have 200 dollars to my name which I must try to eke out for a few days. Things are pretty expensive here, a pint is about 4 pounds, for example.

After going around some tourist shops I returned to the Internet Cafe for an hour before I have to get the shuttle to the airport. This is good as I needed to research exactly how to get back to Liz and Garys, a small detail of the trip I had left off. I think I have it sorted now!

I definitely feel like I have done a lot in the 4 days of this mini-trip and have lots of pictures to prove it; but I am looking forward to a chilled next few days in Auckland. I am keeping fingers crossed for beach weather as that is just what I need right now!

TranzAlpine

Went to bed at 9pm shortly after blogging yesterday as I was so tired. Aircon in the room kept me awake for a bit though and I was too addled to figure out if I could shut it off. It was like a ghost breathing over my face, yuk. I set my alarm for 6am this morning, but it decided to go off at 7am. Thanks phone alarm, you are officially crap. This meant I missed a free shuttle to the train station and had to get a taxi setting me back $20.

Today was a ride from Christchurch on the East Coast, up through Arthur's Pass in the Alps and ending at Greymouth on the West Coast going over lots of viaducts and the 7th longest tunnel in the world.

Not really in the mood for another train journey and with the day looking a bit gloomy the train set off through more fields of..... sheep. Oh lordy. On my carriage were also 16 loud American cyclists delivering loud monologues about their lives, friends, travels, likes and dislikes to those around them, trying to outshout each other. I learned far more than I needed to about several. the saving grace were the Japanese couple opposite me, who also lived up to their national stererotype by being small (lots of foot room!), polite and quiet and spent most of the time taking pictures out the window.

Just as the scenery was getting good it started to rain and the mountains became obscured by haze. The ride was 224km long and I wasn't enjoying it. On went the headphones and out came the PSP. I was due to get off an hour from the final stop at Moana by a lake for a few hours until the return but the guard took pity and said it was a crap day so I should just ride to the end and back. Bless him because sitting 3 hours in the rain would have driven me into the lake with rocks in my pockets.

Greymouth was grey and rainy so I went to the Jade Museum (killed 10 minutes) and then the pub until it was time for the return journey. Same old rain until Arthur's Pass half way and then it cleared and I could finally see stuff. Pretty spectacular it was too, going over the viaducts. This last two and half hours salvaged the day and put me in a much better mood.

I am now in an Internet cafe; I have given up on the terrible hotel wifi speeds, and this is about 4 times as fast so is tolerable but still not amazing. I will stay here for an hour then get some dinner.

The best news is that I have no early start tomorrow. Hooray!!! I shall explore Christchurch on foot at my leisure. The flight back to Auckland is not until evening so I should get to see most of the city, which I am really looking forward to!

More trains - Christchurch

The five hour train journey to Christchurch was far, far more entertaining than the 12 hours on the North Island, helped by the fact that it was not 12 hours long and I had started on the beer. Oh, and the air conditioning broke (much apologising from staff but I loved it; aircon is evil). The scenery was far more varied; there were huge vinyards, some salt flats, much of it was along the coast so got to see cliffs and beaches as well as some fur seals basking on rocks. Needless to say, as this is New Zealand so in addition there were fields of sheep and random mountains coming out of nowhere to surprise you.

Sat opposite me was a young Canadian chap who was somehow immune to the "leave me alone" aura I usually ooze from every pore and started yapping on about stuff. He was a typical backpacker, didn't have any plans or a timetable and didn't even know where he was going to get off. When he suggested it might be the first stop, Blenheim, I encouraged this and told him it sounded like a fun place as I wanted to use his seat to rest my luggage and for him to go away. He got off, took one look at the place and got back on, so I had to make conversation on and off for the next hour to Kaikoura which he decided was more him. To be fair, Kaikoura looked amazing from what I saw; mountains on one side, beaches the other, the seals, plus I tooks some great shots out the window.

Arrived in Christchurch about 7pm and the place has a different feel from the other major cities in NZ so far; it is definitely younger and more cosmopolitan. I even passed a group of Hari Krishnas outside the cathedral followed by some Japanese folks dressed like manga characters. Hotel is also very modern and funky but is severly let down by slow internet. 30kbs download speeds just don't cut it when I still have so much to grab. Have decided to stay in for the rest of the night after eating dinner in the city; nice big flatscreen TV in the room to amuse me. Also, am not quite mustering up the enthusiasm for yet another day on trains tomorrow: 8am - 6pm, but with a 3 hour stop by a lake in the middle. If I hadn't already paid I would probably sack it off.

Ferry Across the Thingy

Another early start. This might be why I am shattered now and it is only 8.30pm. Got the ferry from Wellington which took about 3 hours and as soon as I hit the South Island the skies turned bright blue and the sun was blazing. It looked mega tropical. Before arriving at Picton, the ferry (it was a massive 1600 person ferry, I was expecting a tiny thing for some reason) passed through Marlborough Sounds, which is the first picture. Parts of it could have been from Lost. Lots of seemingly uninhabited forest and small beaches. This is a good place to go dolphin and whale watching on a small boat, but I didn't see any from the ferry.

The whole trip was so sunny and relaxing that I didn't want to kill any noisy children or fat Germans in the vicinity for a whole three hours. Well, I did, but it was fleeting.

Picton was even prettier. It is nestled in a bay and looks how I imagine some rich glitzy place like Cannes or Monaco would be, helped by the palm trees and expensive yachts. I was only here for an hour, so I had a walk round, ate lunch and a beer in a cafe by the habour and waited for the train. Loving the South Island so far.

To Wellington

I got the REALLY early bus into Auckland to catch the train to Wellington to see more of central North Island. The train ride was 12 hours long over 681km going through the middle, downwards of the entire North Island.

It was really relaxing and very beautiful scenery, marred only by a family with four feral children (who really needed haircuts) whinging about lack of food and just generally moving about in my peripheral vision. To be fair they finally settled about 3 hours from the end; I think they might have eaten the smallest child or something and were letting it digest, or more likely they were just bored and sleeping.

12 hours was a bit too long really. The first 6 hours to National Park, where we had a nice stop, was really interesting; everything looked different to the sides of New Zealand I had seen before. Lush open plains, dramatic mountains, Jurrasic Park-esque tropical forests and fields upon fields of sheep and cows.



From National Park to Wellington it was more of the same. I had become hardened to the wonders passing me by and I got distracted by my new Nintendo DSi (bought to replace the one I lost on the plane, but a newer model... yay for gadgets) and music. At about the time the feral children were having their snooze I was pretty sick of montains, fields and sheep.


Arriving at Wellington I had a brief look around town (is is basically Auckland v2.0 - similar layout and a port city too) and got to my hotel with unlimited Internet. My hosts have a measly 3gig download limit so I am using this opportunity to download tonnes of TV shows I have missed. The Doctor Who special is 15 minutes from completing as I type this!

Tomorrow is a ferry to the South Island and a train to Christchurch where I am spending a couple of days.

Auckland .... Done!

Full day in Auckland from 11am-6pm taking the bus so Liz can have a drink; I had two things I wanted to tick off: Bay boat tour and going to the top of the Skytower.

Shortly after arriving Liz and I got the boat tour tickets then had lunch while we waited, annoying the first waiter after being seated by ditching the place for a cheaper twenty dollar deal next door. The waiter was a midget too, which made me guilty (like tricking a child) for 5 minutes before I was distracted by free wine at the new place. Had proper seafood which was a real bargain.

Was forced to neck a pint in 2 minutes when we realised the time and legged it for the boat but made it in time and as an added bonus I did not throw up. The boat tour was ace which included a stop over on the volcanic Rangitoto Island which dominates Auckland Bay and I had been dying to stop off at and I nicked a volcanic rock as a souvenir.

Skytower was next as the weather got clearer; going right up to the top and seeing miles all around of the North Island and a great chance for photo opportunities. Was a great laugh and we got to see loads.

When we got home I taught Anna 2 variations of standard patience with her new cards then settled down with wine. Tomorrow will be a lazy day as I need to get up the day after for the start of my epic solo trip to the South Island.

Lots of pics today so I am going to try and figure out how to post more than one at a time.... this may not go well!

Hitting the Beaches

Today, whilst Gaz was at work and Anna was a school, Liz and I hit the beaches of the North Island around Auckland. It was bright and warm, but cloudy so I figured I wouldn't catch the sun. We did 4 beaches, a park and managed lots of walking.

When we got home I felt a bit funny so needed an hour's sleep. When I got up I started to get comments on how red I looked and thought "yeah yeah" and settled down to an evening of beer and TV, with Eve popping over to be sociable. Finally I saw myself in the mirror and was shocked that I looked like an angry raspberry. Apparently a bit of cloud cover is not sufficient protection from the sun and I probably had mild sun stroke. Hopefully it will tone down and go brown rather than peel and return to white.

Tomorrow we do Auckland city proper. Have driven through it several times but have yet to stop and see the major sights; so a trip up the skytower, a boat trip and hitting the shops is on the cards.

Planning Ahead

Today, after more time beering it up in Auckland I spent ages planning a 4 day tour involving the South Island. This will be by myself so its a bit scary. I loved researching it and most of it will be by train!! I figured I might have avoided trains for 3 weeks but it was not to be.

Here is what I am doing:
1. Auckland to Wellington by train. 12 hours!!!! But you get to see much scenic shit.
2. Ferry from Wellington to Picton. This is my adventure to the South Island. I asked Liz what is good to see on the South Island and it turns out she has nver been! 5 years and never been to South Island! It turns out that I, the tourist, am doing a research trip for whhat they might want to do later.
3. Picton to Christchurch. I am going to spend 3 days in Christchurch, so that is my time on the South Island..
4. On one of these days I am taking a train from Christchurch to Moana, return. This is a great tour of north half of the south island.
5. I am flying back to Auckland at the end.

I am amazed with my bargain hunting skills cos I have managed to do this all on the cheap online; basically I get 4 days in the South Island including hotels, travel and flights for cheaper than what was quoted in the guide books.

Anyway, this will be happening next thurs to sunday. It is all booked and paid for!

Full Day 1: Auckland and Mission Bay

Got up to another overcast day. Gary convinces us it will be sunny by 3pm. Yeah right. I do a backlog of blog posts and We go into Auckland seeing the city, hitting some nice gardens and ending up in a restraunt by the beach in Mission Bay for lunch overlooking Rangitoto Island which is a volcano and apparently makes an intersting climb. Auckland has a really brilliant skyline dominated by the Skytower; a dinner at the top is planned for one day. Just after getting back about 3pm the clouds begin to clear and I finally get some fabled NZ sunshine; leading to a sunbathe on the patio and beer drinking. I totaly have to eat my words disbelieving Gary - should always trust the native. Everything looks totally different in the sun and I now feel suitably burned.

Much sadness! I discover I left my Nintendo DS on the plane. Bah! It is ancient and I want one of the new ones, but even so... very inconvenient. It had all my fave games and saves on the card; more gutted about losing that than the DS itself.

It's ace that is doesn't get dark until nearly 9pm; it is dark by 5 back home.

After Arrival

After getting home, having a shower (my god, it felt great after 36 hours of travel) me and Liz set off to sort our lives out and do a bit of shopping. I needed sunglasses (I really pushed the boat out and spent $10) and a EU-NZ plug convertor so I could use my laptop (hence why I am a day late in updating after arriving) plus food. I got 2 bottles of Bombay Saphire gin and and some free beer (yes, free! The best kind!) at duty free so needed tonic.

A drive round the area was really cool, there are beaches and sea everywhere but it was still somewhat overcast. When Gary got home from work we started boozing and catching up properly. A bit later, Sophie and Eve came over and it was just like being back at Uni. It was decided that I am the reason behind everyone relocating to New Zealand, tracing it all back! All because I had a computer and am a nerd and I set my ex-Uni landlady Sophie (Liz's Sister) up with up someone online which through complicated events led her to move to New Zealand, Liz visted and eventually met Gary and decided to live here too. So I am responsibe for a whole families emigration and a marriage! I should have charged a fee really.

After probably drinking too much I had a early night and slept 12 hours, finally knocking any chance of getting jet lag on the head.

Arriving in NZ

By the start of the last leg, a 10 hours from Brunei to Auckland I was really tired and wanted sleep. As soon as I was on the plane I settled for sleep and could feel myself drifting off. But no! Stewardess comes round with hand wipes (argh, that surgical smell again); 5 minutes later with headphones for the in-flight entertainment (my screen was broken again - I am so glad i bought lots of stuff myself); then later with peanuts, then later with dinner. It was only after a couple hours that things got quiet again and the interruptions stopped and I got some sleep, about 5 hours worth. Totally uncomfortable. I woke up feeling refreshed with a few hours to go and no sensation in my right arm, which wasn't right again until just before we landed.

By the time the plane landed I felt as if I had been travelling for a week. However, there was no luggage or customs drama (well, a minor panic from me over the legality of cashew nuts, I eventually binned). We didn't even crash once so that was really once.

I was met by Liz and Eve (picture), it was great to see familiar faces and given a bleary eyed drive home, where mostly all I could think about was how much my feet stank. Weather was a bit gloomy and my first impressions of New Zealand was that it looked a bit like Cornwall.

Brunei

Brunei was a real culture shock and not really what I was expecting. I had about 6 hours of tours around the main city including some temples and museums, a visit to a market, the water village (buildings on stilts over the water) and a view of the royal palace.

It was HOT and humid but although parts were very pretty and interesting my lasting impressions will be of a fun-free, Islamic dictatorship and a strange pervading surgical smell. Also the place is pretty small, and I got to see loads (and be lectured at length to by the tour guides) so I am now officially an expert on Brunei. The 10 hours basically went by pretty speedilly. Some Brunei facts:

* Everyone really loves the Sultan, in quite a scary way; he has special escalators which only he can use etc.
* The country is really rich because of oil
* Because it is rich there are no taxes to pay, they have a NHS and benefits and 60% of the poulation are employed by the government.
* You are not allowed to do anything which may be considered enjoyable as it is probably illegal.

Flight: Heathrow - Brunei

Amazingly I got up and made my flight with zero hassle. Flying with Royal Brunei was a little bit wierd. Before taking off the flight was blessed with an Islamic chanting prayer which went on for ages. This was a novelty the first time, but because of the various stops (Dubai then Brunei) by the time it got to the third time the novelty had worn off. Also a booze free airline!

I got a window seat from Heathrow - Brunei so had a wonderful view. On the TV screen in front of my seat a little plane icon charted our progress but after 10 minutes of playing with the screen trying to get a movie playing I had broken it so I got a bit disorientated what I was seeing out the window. I am pretty sure I saw the Alps, it was getting dark around Turkey then I saw a really pretty sunrise over India. China was very odd; lots of flat fields with incongruous mountains cropping up randomly without purpose. The person next to me was a nervous 18 year old and slept a lot so between that and my occasional "don't talk to me" death glare I was left alone to enjoy the scenery, play games, read and do puzzles. It was a looooong 16 hours at the time and was glad of the uber brief stop in Dubai (20 minutes walk around the airport) half way so I could stretch my legs.

Finally we landed in Brunei for a 10 hour stop, which I was really looking forward to as it was a proper foreign land!

Miracle!

I have managed to finish packing and shut my suitcase without denying myself anything! Liz's food package is interspersed through my clothes and I discovered that the lid of the suitcase holds quite a lot of clothes. I take back all the swear words I was launching at the suitcase yesterday; it has done its job. Hand luggage is somewhat bulky now, but i dont care.

As an aside, I apologise if your power is fluctuating right now but I need it. The national grid has been rerouted to my flat to charge: Digital camera, PSP, Nintendo DS, Phone, Power Pack, Laptop, Shaver and iPod. It is vital I have these things or I will die.

My new joy is my solar powered Power Pack which will give an extra 5 hours charge to my various peripherals, very important for my flight and even more vital if I crash on a desert island. I will be the most entertained crash survivor in the the world ever as it can charge all my gaming stuff from its panels. I am also packing mini cheddars, Pringles and cashew nuts, so if I do crash I will not only be entertained, but well fed. Sadly I cannot pack a machete, which would be useful in a whole host of ways; I don't think I can hunt wild boar with a PSP and a menacing glare. Fingers crossed for the whole no crashing thing then.

New Zealand 2009 Blog Begins

On Weds 11th November I am off to New Zealand for 3 weeks to visit Liz, Gary and Anna (plus Sophie and Eve). Wednesday is the day after tomorrow; and on Wednesday I have to leave home at 6am. So today I panicked a bit and figured I had better sort out some last minute details, like packing and generally sorting my shit out.

Thankfully in an uncharacteristic fit of organisation a week or so ago I did manage to sort out travel insurance, get travel money and check passports and travel times were viable.

I am now reeling from the trauma of an hour (!!!!) of ironing and packing. I still have a load in the washing machine I need to bring. Whilst waiting for the last lot to finish in the dryer I tested shutting the case. No chance of that! This silly roomy looking suitcase is totally un-Tardis-like and barely has room for Liz's food parcel and batch of clothes No1. It most definitely is not shutting on the above + laptop + more clothes. Now it *might* close if I ditch the food parcel and transfer some clothing to hand luggage but that would be a little bit bastardly. I shall ponder this dilemma. Not sure I can survive without laptop.