i'm currently in hong kong airport and passing some time. just read some of my blog and the spelling and gramatical errors are terrible, and increadibly frequent. so sorry about that!
See you all soon! except those of you in australia... it'll probably be a while before i see you... soz
Monday, 21 September 2009
20th September (Hong Kong)
For my final day, I planned something purely to do what everyone should do when in China. The day trip was to Ocean world, a theme park right at the back of Hong Kong Island. It had rides and roller coasters, sea lions, dolphins doing back flips, Chinese crocs, a huge aquarium with sharks and rays and dragon seahorses, but these were all passing time before I got to see what I'd really come for. The park was split into two sections, joined by a scenic cablecar over the mountains. The second home was home to two adult giant pandas and their cubs, Le Le and Ying Yin. The cubs are two years old now, so are quite large now, but still around half the size of their parents. They were so cute. I had all day to burn, so I sat and watched them all for a while. It is well worth hanging about and waiting. I got to see all kinds of interaction between the bears and they really were very cute. Eventually it was time to go home though, and I returned to my hostel and cooled myself under my long awaited aircon.
Hong Kong is an interesting place, but five days is more than enough time to see it. I get the feeling this is the business man/ wealthy couples perfect get away for a short while as it boasts some amazing places to eat and shop, especially shop, but even then 5 days is all you would need. I had heard it was cheap in Hong Kong but not so, it is the same as NZ except for the night markets. Everyone has told me to buy electronics here, and yes, the choices are incredible with the greatest array of phones and cameras I have every seen, but at exactly the same price as in England. The Chinese are obsessed with their cameras though, completely smitten. Everywhere you go they have huge SLRs with amazing lenses, and all attached to tripods. Even for pictures of standard simple things they set up the tripod. They're also partial to preparing the tripod, setting a timer and taking pictures of themselves. It all looks very odd. Another thing I noticed was that anyone old than twenty refused to smile in a photo. It could be in a theme park or by the water front, they would stand in a line, hands by their sides and look bored for the camera. You'll be glad to hear that in none of my photos do I look bored... maybe a few, and if you're interested I'll be more than happy to show you them once I'm back home!
Well this is the end, hope you've enjoyed hearing the stories, I've tried my best to portray them as fully as possible but my writing skills aren't exactly the best, and when you're typing away like a mad man trying to save money in an Internet cafe they're bound to be full of repetitions and horrendous spelling mistakes. But if you look past that you'll see a series of amazing moments that I feel have shaped my life for years to come and have definitely set ablaze a passion for travelling that I believe will never go out.
Hong Kong is an interesting place, but five days is more than enough time to see it. I get the feeling this is the business man/ wealthy couples perfect get away for a short while as it boasts some amazing places to eat and shop, especially shop, but even then 5 days is all you would need. I had heard it was cheap in Hong Kong but not so, it is the same as NZ except for the night markets. Everyone has told me to buy electronics here, and yes, the choices are incredible with the greatest array of phones and cameras I have every seen, but at exactly the same price as in England. The Chinese are obsessed with their cameras though, completely smitten. Everywhere you go they have huge SLRs with amazing lenses, and all attached to tripods. Even for pictures of standard simple things they set up the tripod. They're also partial to preparing the tripod, setting a timer and taking pictures of themselves. It all looks very odd. Another thing I noticed was that anyone old than twenty refused to smile in a photo. It could be in a theme park or by the water front, they would stand in a line, hands by their sides and look bored for the camera. You'll be glad to hear that in none of my photos do I look bored... maybe a few, and if you're interested I'll be more than happy to show you them once I'm back home!
Well this is the end, hope you've enjoyed hearing the stories, I've tried my best to portray them as fully as possible but my writing skills aren't exactly the best, and when you're typing away like a mad man trying to save money in an Internet cafe they're bound to be full of repetitions and horrendous spelling mistakes. But if you look past that you'll see a series of amazing moments that I feel have shaped my life for years to come and have definitely set ablaze a passion for travelling that I believe will never go out.
18th -> 19th September (Kowloon & Lantau Island)
This morning I had a deserved lie in, and only left the hostel at 10:30. today I had planned a visit to a few markets. I took the MTR this time (bot too far to walk) to 'Monk Kok' terminal (the name did make me giggle just a little). There was a very good clothes market going on there, with replica watches, wallets, handbags and clothes, but I'd seen all this last night. I was heading on to more interesting markets. One was the largest fish market in kowloon where locals got their omega 3. You could buy all kinds of crazy things. Lobster, prawns, shrimp, lumpfish, frogs, squid, crab, turtles (is that legal?) and every size of fish possible. If you ordered a fish ( a foot long cod would set you back around $25) they would hand pick it out, cut it's throat, scale it and gut it for you in a matter of seconds. they were very professional. The next market was called the goldfish market. This was truly spectacular, with every shape and size of goldfish you could believe being sold by their thousands. As well as this there were massive coral displays with tropical fish and shrimp everywhere. In one store you could buy a twenty foot long tank full with live coral, hard and soft, and fill it with fish, shrimp starfish, the lot. It was stunningly beautiful and has given me a very real aspiration for the future, but I think owning live coral is illegal in the UK... The third market was the Bird Garden. This was less than good in my books. I had been so impressed with the other markets that I had high hopes, but the stalls here just made me sad. Birds were held in cages stacked on top of each other, barely big enough for them to spread their wings. Bird crap was everywhere, and even the parrots and love birds were packed into a 2ft cubed cages with ten or twenty in each. My heart broke completely when I saw a Macaw parrot at the back of a stall in a tiny cage, dirty as hell, completely mistreated with it's wing and tail feathers broken and bent. It wasn't good, so I left there pretty quick.
That night I walked down the 'Avenue of Stars', a Hollywood style boulevard where Chinese film stars have a start placed in the floor and print their hands. It all meant nothing to me until I saw Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Then I was excited. And for a small guy, Jackie has some massive hands! At 8 o'clock Honk Kong puts on a light and sound show by the water front, where twenty odd buildings join in with a light display set to music. It is described as Hong Kong's main attraction and is crowned the largest permanent light and sound display in the world by Guiness world records, but I wasn't that impressed. The music was fun though. The kind you would expect at a little kids singalong show in China, great fun to bob along to.
The next day, Lantau Island was on the agenda. It wasn't the best day to chose due to weather conditions: over 100 degrees and 86% humidity it was hell walking around I felt dizzy most of the day. The whole point of the trip was to see Po Lin monastery and a giant Buddah. It was all very cool. The Giant Buddah is surprisingly big, it really is a piece of artistic and engineering genius, sitting at 110ft tall. But, after a short while the heat got to me and I headed back to Kowloon for some airconditioning.
That night I walked down the 'Avenue of Stars', a Hollywood style boulevard where Chinese film stars have a start placed in the floor and print their hands. It all meant nothing to me until I saw Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Then I was excited. And for a small guy, Jackie has some massive hands! At 8 o'clock Honk Kong puts on a light and sound show by the water front, where twenty odd buildings join in with a light display set to music. It is described as Hong Kong's main attraction and is crowned the largest permanent light and sound display in the world by Guiness world records, but I wasn't that impressed. The music was fun though. The kind you would expect at a little kids singalong show in China, great fun to bob along to.
The next day, Lantau Island was on the agenda. It wasn't the best day to chose due to weather conditions: over 100 degrees and 86% humidity it was hell walking around I felt dizzy most of the day. The whole point of the trip was to see Po Lin monastery and a giant Buddah. It was all very cool. The Giant Buddah is surprisingly big, it really is a piece of artistic and engineering genius, sitting at 110ft tall. But, after a short while the heat got to me and I headed back to Kowloon for some airconditioning.
16th- 17th September (Kowloon & Hong Kong Island)
Hong Kong is described as the place where East meets West. It really is a clash of cultures with Prada stores facing Asian medicine shops held up with bamboo scaffolding. I'm not sure the clash is such a good thing but the tourist board seems to think it's worth promoting. It was all very confrontational as soon as I arrived in Kowloon district (the area recommended for budget accommodation). Everyone was grabbing my wrist telling me to come with them for a cheap room. I already had it in my head that I would go to a place called Chunking Mansion that was recommended to me, but I didn't realise that the place was made up of multiple hostels spread over several floors. It was a scrum to say the least with Indians Malaysians and Chinese people all fighting for my money. Eventually I went with a guy who looked local and got a good deal for a room. I had been told to expect to pay $200 but got $120 instead (HK$12.6 to the pound). I didn't have much cash when I arrived, only $40 from converted money in NZ, so I went to find an ATM. An Indian man offered me a tailored suit. I said no, but could he guide me to a cash machine. Hash? You want Hash, follow me. I gave up. HSBC is pretty prolific in Hong Kong, so I didn't have to look long. On the way I bought myself some beef noodles to go, paid for my room and eat watching BBC world news before sleeping.
The next day I was energised and ready to go. *:30 and I was out the door wondering what this new place had to offer, and at 8:30, not a lot. Nothing opens in Hong Kong until 11. My plan was already made though, I was to take the star ferry across to Hong Kong island, take the Peak Tram up to the Peak Tower Sky Terrace and look out over the city from the highest vantage point it had to offer. Then I would head back home and browse the night market. I hedged my bets and turned right out of Chunking Mansion. The pier was left. I took a ten to twelve kilometer detour around Kowloon province before finally reaching the star ferry terminal. I did get to see the real Hong Kong though, taking the back alleys and wandering through some pretty impressive fish markets. I finally got the ferry and saw Hong Kong city from the water. it is very impressive, such a compact city is a rare sight. Still not tired of walking I ditched the idea of the MTR (underground train). My navigational abilities were better this time, but still not perfect I walked through some very weird places, jumping between alleys full of food stalls and beggars to shopping streets and malls full of Versace and Louis Vitton. The main thing that strikes me about Hong Kong is it's obsession with fashion. Everything is about clothes. You don't earn a uniform, you buy it. If you want to be like your athletic heroes you buy the clothes. Sports shops sold clothes and shoes, never balls, bats, racquets or bikes. It felt like you weren't meant to do the sport, just look like you do.
Eventually I found where I was on the map and I was the opposite side of the Botanical gardens from where I wanted to be: the tram station. I am so glad I got lost this time. The gardens were incredible. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and completely free to the public. They had an amazing aviary with all kinds of cranes and parrots, including a Macaw. Then there was the primate area, boasting gibbons, ring-tailed lemurs, pygmy gibbons, emperor monkeys and an orangutan! I was awestruck. I came out the other side and (after a long search) caught the Peak tram. This consisted of a tram-cart attached to a cable pulling you up the mountain at a 45 degree angle by a counter weight system with a cart going down. At the top there were some fantastic views, both over the city and out to the South China Sea.
On my way back I caught the star ferry at night and watched the city light up at skyscrapers displayed their lights. It's the most photographed view by far. That night I sampled the night market, haggling for bargains and trying to suss out the actual price of items. I asked how much some Oakley sunglasses were. $90. I walk away. $70... $60... 50. They all stopped at 50. The glasses are worth 50. A silver necklace? $170... 100... 70... 50. That's where they all stopped. I didn't actually buy anything this first visit, you have to be economical with these things, sample the goods as it were. ;)
The next day I was energised and ready to go. *:30 and I was out the door wondering what this new place had to offer, and at 8:30, not a lot. Nothing opens in Hong Kong until 11. My plan was already made though, I was to take the star ferry across to Hong Kong island, take the Peak Tram up to the Peak Tower Sky Terrace and look out over the city from the highest vantage point it had to offer. Then I would head back home and browse the night market. I hedged my bets and turned right out of Chunking Mansion. The pier was left. I took a ten to twelve kilometer detour around Kowloon province before finally reaching the star ferry terminal. I did get to see the real Hong Kong though, taking the back alleys and wandering through some pretty impressive fish markets. I finally got the ferry and saw Hong Kong city from the water. it is very impressive, such a compact city is a rare sight. Still not tired of walking I ditched the idea of the MTR (underground train). My navigational abilities were better this time, but still not perfect I walked through some very weird places, jumping between alleys full of food stalls and beggars to shopping streets and malls full of Versace and Louis Vitton. The main thing that strikes me about Hong Kong is it's obsession with fashion. Everything is about clothes. You don't earn a uniform, you buy it. If you want to be like your athletic heroes you buy the clothes. Sports shops sold clothes and shoes, never balls, bats, racquets or bikes. It felt like you weren't meant to do the sport, just look like you do.
Eventually I found where I was on the map and I was the opposite side of the Botanical gardens from where I wanted to be: the tram station. I am so glad I got lost this time. The gardens were incredible. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and completely free to the public. They had an amazing aviary with all kinds of cranes and parrots, including a Macaw. Then there was the primate area, boasting gibbons, ring-tailed lemurs, pygmy gibbons, emperor monkeys and an orangutan! I was awestruck. I came out the other side and (after a long search) caught the Peak tram. This consisted of a tram-cart attached to a cable pulling you up the mountain at a 45 degree angle by a counter weight system with a cart going down. At the top there were some fantastic views, both over the city and out to the South China Sea.
On my way back I caught the star ferry at night and watched the city light up at skyscrapers displayed their lights. It's the most photographed view by far. That night I sampled the night market, haggling for bargains and trying to suss out the actual price of items. I asked how much some Oakley sunglasses were. $90. I walk away. $70... $60... 50. They all stopped at 50. The glasses are worth 50. A silver necklace? $170... 100... 70... 50. That's where they all stopped. I didn't actually buy anything this first visit, you have to be economical with these things, sample the goods as it were. ;)
Saturday, 19 September 2009
11th -> 15th (Paihia, Bay of Islands, Omapere and back to Auckland)
The bus trip was an easy choice for me, because it included a free boat tour of the bay of Islands that I wanted to do anyway, and the whole trip cost the same as the tour by itself! Weird. Anyway, Climbed aboard and low and behold three different people I'd made chums with got on as well. So it was looking good very quickly. We arrived in Paihia, the gate way to the Bay of Islands, and swapped onto the boat. Weather conditions weren't great but at least it wasn't raining. The boat trip was a sight seeing/dolphin watching/HOLE IN THE ROCK EXPERIENCE! That's right, a highlight for the Bay of Islands was a rock, with a hole in it. I asked the girl at the ticket desk what the fuss was about and she did say it was a big hole, but it wasn't incredible. At least they weren't trying to beef it up, calling it The Great Mysterious Portal Through Earth or something. Anyway, I never got to see the hole because it was too windy. And the captain warned us they hadn't seen a dolphin for a few days. So we did a short loop of some islands because the wind was too strong to go further out and then came back to shore. I went to sleep.
Hole in Rock:
At least it was a nice town though, and the hostel was really homey with a top quality kitchen and swimming pool. I spent most of my time in Paihia chatting away to various people and this continued well into the nightlife too in one of Paihia's two bars. It was a good bar actually, with a raffle going on one night where our table won 2 for 1 on: sky diving, bungy jumping, kayaking, fishing, sailing, paintballing and horse riding. Not a bad lot! Indoors was a safe place to be the next day as the heaven's opened. A group from Auckland on a weekend break arrived in the hostel. They were celebrating one of the girl's 21st Birthday, woot! so that fueled the evening's entertainment. Time was running short, weather was poor and I had to move on, so I caught the early morning bus across to the west coast: Omapere. This quaint little place was by far the best stop in the far North. A lovely old gal ran the hostel and provided us with anything we wanted, including chocolate cake :) The hostel was more of a home, and we were the only people staying there. A huge sitting room hosted a bountiful collection of games and puzzles, so we spent the morning exploring, followed by chess, checkers, jenga and jigsaws (we're so cool). That night we headed off to the beach to watch the sun set, and walked across the sand chatting to some local fishermen before heading back. We played some silly drinking games with cards and packed in for the night.
Morning broke through, and we hurriedly got ready for the day's excitement: bone carving. The whole day was about us as individuals. We were to design, cut and carve our own pendants, and we had all day to complete it. A lovely Mauri man called James collected us and took us to his house where we were introduced to his wife and grandparents before being seated in the workshop. We each had a cow's leg (meat removed) and a dentist's drill (James had bought them from a dentist friend). We drew our designs on the bone with pencil and got going. My carving was a traditional Mauri shaped pendant representing strength and leadership, engraved with another Mauri symbol for the joining of two cultures/peoples. Rather good idea thought. The scariest thing about the whole experience was how easily the dentist's drill went through bone. Seriously, it's scary! I am going to be very nervous when I go to the dentist now. the whole process took a long time. I finished mine in around 6 hours, but others took seven or eight. The whole process was very labour intensive and took incredible hand control but I was pleased with the end result. I get the feeling it gets a lot easier with practice. The whole experience though was incredible, just concentrating on the little piece of bone in front of you, not thinking about anything else. It was quite meditating. Everything was done in James's house and his wife cooked us lunch (lots of fish). They also had a 10 week old puppy that provided me with endless joy.
That evening we booked onto something called the Footprints Tour'. In short it involved walking through the forest and watching a Mauri guy sing to humongous trees. It was alright, but nothing special. especially seeing as the paths were public walkways anyway. It was ranked as the second best thing to do in NZ by the Lonely Planet Guide Book, but I wasn't that impressed. The trees were very big though. Trunks 17m in circumference.
Soon it was time to head back to Auckland, and I had a long night ahead of me. The bus back took six hours, so took up most of the day, so I only arrived in Auckland late afternoon. I grabbed some food and watched a few films with friends. I had befriended the owners of a hostel so they let me stay there with my bags until my flight that night. My plan had been to go out that night but a bit too much of the bone marrow dust had got lodged in my nose. I stayed up all night, to catch a 6 o'clock flight. It was necessary, especially with my watch alarm being so bad.
I was incredibly impressed with NZ, and al coming back for sure. I think next time I'm coming with a friend, or a group of friends, because NZ has to be done by campervan. There is not other equivalent way of doing it, camping is the best by miles. The only problem with it is it sucks the money out of you like a vacuum cleaner. This was mainly because I had no car, but it was still twice as pricey as Australia and multiple times more than Thailand. I've learned a lot in NZ, and I believe I have picked up a lot of secrets needed to enjoy the country fully; it's very easy to get sucked into the tourist trap and you have to spot the genuine from the unnecessary. Can't wait to come back, but for now, bring on Hong Kong!
Hole in Rock:
At least it was a nice town though, and the hostel was really homey with a top quality kitchen and swimming pool. I spent most of my time in Paihia chatting away to various people and this continued well into the nightlife too in one of Paihia's two bars. It was a good bar actually, with a raffle going on one night where our table won 2 for 1 on: sky diving, bungy jumping, kayaking, fishing, sailing, paintballing and horse riding. Not a bad lot! Indoors was a safe place to be the next day as the heaven's opened. A group from Auckland on a weekend break arrived in the hostel. They were celebrating one of the girl's 21st Birthday, woot! so that fueled the evening's entertainment. Time was running short, weather was poor and I had to move on, so I caught the early morning bus across to the west coast: Omapere. This quaint little place was by far the best stop in the far North. A lovely old gal ran the hostel and provided us with anything we wanted, including chocolate cake :) The hostel was more of a home, and we were the only people staying there. A huge sitting room hosted a bountiful collection of games and puzzles, so we spent the morning exploring, followed by chess, checkers, jenga and jigsaws (we're so cool). That night we headed off to the beach to watch the sun set, and walked across the sand chatting to some local fishermen before heading back. We played some silly drinking games with cards and packed in for the night.
Morning broke through, and we hurriedly got ready for the day's excitement: bone carving. The whole day was about us as individuals. We were to design, cut and carve our own pendants, and we had all day to complete it. A lovely Mauri man called James collected us and took us to his house where we were introduced to his wife and grandparents before being seated in the workshop. We each had a cow's leg (meat removed) and a dentist's drill (James had bought them from a dentist friend). We drew our designs on the bone with pencil and got going. My carving was a traditional Mauri shaped pendant representing strength and leadership, engraved with another Mauri symbol for the joining of two cultures/peoples. Rather good idea thought. The scariest thing about the whole experience was how easily the dentist's drill went through bone. Seriously, it's scary! I am going to be very nervous when I go to the dentist now. the whole process took a long time. I finished mine in around 6 hours, but others took seven or eight. The whole process was very labour intensive and took incredible hand control but I was pleased with the end result. I get the feeling it gets a lot easier with practice. The whole experience though was incredible, just concentrating on the little piece of bone in front of you, not thinking about anything else. It was quite meditating. Everything was done in James's house and his wife cooked us lunch (lots of fish). They also had a 10 week old puppy that provided me with endless joy.
That evening we booked onto something called the Footprints Tour'. In short it involved walking through the forest and watching a Mauri guy sing to humongous trees. It was alright, but nothing special. especially seeing as the paths were public walkways anyway. It was ranked as the second best thing to do in NZ by the Lonely Planet Guide Book, but I wasn't that impressed. The trees were very big though. Trunks 17m in circumference.
Soon it was time to head back to Auckland, and I had a long night ahead of me. The bus back took six hours, so took up most of the day, so I only arrived in Auckland late afternoon. I grabbed some food and watched a few films with friends. I had befriended the owners of a hostel so they let me stay there with my bags until my flight that night. My plan had been to go out that night but a bit too much of the bone marrow dust had got lodged in my nose. I stayed up all night, to catch a 6 o'clock flight. It was necessary, especially with my watch alarm being so bad.
I was incredibly impressed with NZ, and al coming back for sure. I think next time I'm coming with a friend, or a group of friends, because NZ has to be done by campervan. There is not other equivalent way of doing it, camping is the best by miles. The only problem with it is it sucks the money out of you like a vacuum cleaner. This was mainly because I had no car, but it was still twice as pricey as Australia and multiple times more than Thailand. I've learned a lot in NZ, and I believe I have picked up a lot of secrets needed to enjoy the country fully; it's very easy to get sucked into the tourist trap and you have to spot the genuine from the unnecessary. Can't wait to come back, but for now, bring on Hong Kong!
Friday, 18 September 2009
9th -> 10th September (Auckland)
Auckland was a very good city. It had just the right amount of everything, although it was trying too hard to be Sydney. As soon as I arrived I dropped my bags at a recommended hostel and headed out the the bars. Hands down the best nightlife in New Zealand, helped along by the fact that it's where most travellers start their journey in NZ so everyone's eager and fresh to the scene. Over the nights I was there I joined in with a pool competition, a spot of poker, a riske Boys Vs Girls competition for $150!! and a gratis poll dancing lesson thanks to a girl being a poll dancing instructor. There was also a spaghetti wrestling competition but unfortunately only girls were aloud to participate :( during the day I went on free organised tours which included walking in the harbour bridge (like the Sydney one but no where near as impressive) and watching a few people bungy jump from it. While in Sydney I did wonder how long it would be before someone would set up a bungy from the top of Sydney Harbour bridge but dismissed the idea due to boats passing underneath but it hasn't stopped the Kiwis! The tour was cool, got to see most of Auckland in a day. But I decided I'd seen Auckland and booked a trip up the northern peninsula, via the bay of islands. Ding ding, all aboard!
6th -> 9th September (Rotorua)
I was expecting the sulphur/egg smell to be stronger, if I'm honest, but it did hit you in waves. Sometimes it did become a bit over powering. The sulphur smell in the town is due to volcanic activity below ground. The surrounding area is full of hot springs, boiling mud and volcanoes. When we arrived we wanted a hostel with character. We saw a Base (eurgh) and moved on. A YHA, and moved on. Then we saw Cactus Jack's. I've attached a few photos for you to get an idea of what it was like. It prided itself on being "the only themed hostel in Rotorua". It was the only themed hostel I'd come across at all. But great fun, and full of the most prolific lay-abouts I've ever come across. They would spend everyday sitting outside in "The Bank" chatting, eating and smoking. Good fun to chat to though.
Once we'd settled in Rob and I met Gill and the three of us stuck together during my time in Rotorua. The first thing we did was white water rafting :D It totally rocked, but wasn't as scary as I though. I ended up jumping in on purpose for the fun of it. Our rapids took us over the biggest commercial drop in the world: a seven metre water fall. All the way down I was hoping we'd flip the raft but alas, we made a safe landing. The next day was a trip to 'Hell's Gate' so called because some author some time visited it and named it after some book he wrote. But enough trivia, it was basically a big collection of boiling mud-pits. Some hotter than others, some deadlier than others. One of the hot pools came quite close to the walkway so, being a man, I decided to touch it. Rob told me it was supposed to be 96 degrees C, and they're not lying. Same temperature as the stuff coming out of your freshly boiled kettle. It was really impressive stuff. There was even a mud spa for the women (and couples) to get pampered, and a free bit where you could dangle your feet in a tepid mud pool. I didn't really get what all the fuss was about with the healthy exfoliating water but I did enjoy playing with the mud.
That evening was a highlight for me. We went on a Maori experience with the Kamate tribe who lived just outside of Rotorua. Obviously they now lived the modern way with modern jobs, but they still keep to ancient traditions and have created a replica village for the experience. All of the traditions, practices, formalities and pass times of the Mauri were displayed and explained, and some of them you could join in with. After the greeting ceremony (which incorporated a display similar to the Haka) we were given a while to explore the village and experience some Maori traditions. I joined in with a game involving sticks and agility (I won, go me) and a training exercise for warriors. We were then given a music and dance performance in what would be their town hall, followed by a Hangi, a traditional meal cooked in the traditional way. It was a really good experience and would recommend it to anyone. I was amazed that the men and women still practiced the tradition of facial tattoos. I can just imagine the chief being a lawyer, turning up to court in a suit with his face covered in tattoos.
The next day we took a trip to Paradise valley springs to feed some trout and see some wildlife, which included a pack of lions strangely enough. It was a bit of a random day but fun none the less. Cactus Jack's had a free pool table, so we spent most evening playing pool with some drinks followed by a visit to the bars. There weren't many, but enough to have a decent night out. By this point I was running out of time. I had a week before I had to fly out, so I booked a bus to Auckland and bid Rob and Gill farewell.
Once we'd settled in Rob and I met Gill and the three of us stuck together during my time in Rotorua. The first thing we did was white water rafting :D It totally rocked, but wasn't as scary as I though. I ended up jumping in on purpose for the fun of it. Our rapids took us over the biggest commercial drop in the world: a seven metre water fall. All the way down I was hoping we'd flip the raft but alas, we made a safe landing. The next day was a trip to 'Hell's Gate' so called because some author some time visited it and named it after some book he wrote. But enough trivia, it was basically a big collection of boiling mud-pits. Some hotter than others, some deadlier than others. One of the hot pools came quite close to the walkway so, being a man, I decided to touch it. Rob told me it was supposed to be 96 degrees C, and they're not lying. Same temperature as the stuff coming out of your freshly boiled kettle. It was really impressive stuff. There was even a mud spa for the women (and couples) to get pampered, and a free bit where you could dangle your feet in a tepid mud pool. I didn't really get what all the fuss was about with the healthy exfoliating water but I did enjoy playing with the mud.
That evening was a highlight for me. We went on a Maori experience with the Kamate tribe who lived just outside of Rotorua. Obviously they now lived the modern way with modern jobs, but they still keep to ancient traditions and have created a replica village for the experience. All of the traditions, practices, formalities and pass times of the Mauri were displayed and explained, and some of them you could join in with. After the greeting ceremony (which incorporated a display similar to the Haka) we were given a while to explore the village and experience some Maori traditions. I joined in with a game involving sticks and agility (I won, go me) and a training exercise for warriors. We were then given a music and dance performance in what would be their town hall, followed by a Hangi, a traditional meal cooked in the traditional way. It was a really good experience and would recommend it to anyone. I was amazed that the men and women still practiced the tradition of facial tattoos. I can just imagine the chief being a lawyer, turning up to court in a suit with his face covered in tattoos.
The next day we took a trip to Paradise valley springs to feed some trout and see some wildlife, which included a pack of lions strangely enough. It was a bit of a random day but fun none the less. Cactus Jack's had a free pool table, so we spent most evening playing pool with some drinks followed by a visit to the bars. There weren't many, but enough to have a decent night out. By this point I was running out of time. I had a week before I had to fly out, so I booked a bus to Auckland and bid Rob and Gill farewell.
3rd -> 5th September (Taupo)
It was a lucky morning for me: I'd set my watch alarm to go off at 6.30 for the 7:30 bus, giving me an hour. Lovely. But my watch alarm is the most useless alarm ever made. You know that noise you make when you hold a sneeze in... sort of sounds like a big bug being squished... that's louder. So unsurprisingly I rolled over, casually looking at my watch at 7:15 and swore loudly. I caught the bus though. Clever me knew my alarm would probably fail it's purpose so I'd packed the night before. "Taupo here I come" I thought. I was really excited to be going there, I'd heard a lot of things about the place and they all gave great promise. Fishing (lots and lots), prawn fishing, kayaking, bungy, waterfalls and jetboating; it all looked great. And I had a whole day to enjoy it when I got there.
You remember what I said about Franz Joseph? Well Taupo is a lot bigger, it has around 40 streets instead of one, but it has the same population. It was impossible to find people! The shops opened ten or eleven in the morning and shut around 5ish; they usually had a siesta during lunch, leaving you with an hours in the morning and another in the afternoon to get stuff done. And the hostels were even worse: there were 4 people in my hostel, and two of them worked there. The Base Backpackers opposite us was packed out with school kids on a trip and that was it. I went to the i-site to try fishing but none of the boats were going out fishing due to lack of demand, unless I wanted to pay $300 to hire the whole boat for a few hours. Finally I managed to find some one, a German girl, and we headed on a kayaking tour. Unsurprisingly we were the only people going. The next day I decided to relax and have some more me time, so I went prawn fishing. It was a nice place set up in a prawn farm/restaurant and you fished for the day catching as many as you wanted. They even cooked your prawns for you at the end of the day. I took a few beers and a book and got settled in. Three and a half hours later it was closing time, no prawns. A group of Chinese guys had two buckets full, but I had none. It's not in my blood, clearly.
After the first couple of days Taupo got better. A bus load of backpackers turned up and finally I had some company. There was a beautiful long walk you could take to see a raging waterfall and a beehive with free fudge and honey tasting, so i did that, and finished the day with a very rude stand up comedy show in the evening. For the record, people are still quite sensitive about Michael Jackson. Those jokes didn't go down too well, tumbleweed style. On my last day me and a guy I'd been hanging out with for a while headed off to a natural hot spring and sat there for the morning, basking in the sun, every now and then getting up to swim in the ice-cold river. We decided to travel on together, and booked a bus to Rotarua; sulphur city.
It was a shame I didn't get to fish in Taupo, it was the main thing I wanted to do. New Zealand has some of the best fishing and game hunting in the world, and I wold love to come back and do it properly. It's going n my ever expanding to do list :)
You remember what I said about Franz Joseph? Well Taupo is a lot bigger, it has around 40 streets instead of one, but it has the same population. It was impossible to find people! The shops opened ten or eleven in the morning and shut around 5ish; they usually had a siesta during lunch, leaving you with an hours in the morning and another in the afternoon to get stuff done. And the hostels were even worse: there were 4 people in my hostel, and two of them worked there. The Base Backpackers opposite us was packed out with school kids on a trip and that was it. I went to the i-site to try fishing but none of the boats were going out fishing due to lack of demand, unless I wanted to pay $300 to hire the whole boat for a few hours. Finally I managed to find some one, a German girl, and we headed on a kayaking tour. Unsurprisingly we were the only people going. The next day I decided to relax and have some more me time, so I went prawn fishing. It was a nice place set up in a prawn farm/restaurant and you fished for the day catching as many as you wanted. They even cooked your prawns for you at the end of the day. I took a few beers and a book and got settled in. Three and a half hours later it was closing time, no prawns. A group of Chinese guys had two buckets full, but I had none. It's not in my blood, clearly.
After the first couple of days Taupo got better. A bus load of backpackers turned up and finally I had some company. There was a beautiful long walk you could take to see a raging waterfall and a beehive with free fudge and honey tasting, so i did that, and finished the day with a very rude stand up comedy show in the evening. For the record, people are still quite sensitive about Michael Jackson. Those jokes didn't go down too well, tumbleweed style. On my last day me and a guy I'd been hanging out with for a while headed off to a natural hot spring and sat there for the morning, basking in the sun, every now and then getting up to swim in the ice-cold river. We decided to travel on together, and booked a bus to Rotarua; sulphur city.
It was a shame I didn't get to fish in Taupo, it was the main thing I wanted to do. New Zealand has some of the best fishing and game hunting in the world, and I wold love to come back and do it properly. It's going n my ever expanding to do list :)
31st -> 2nd September (Picton & Wellington)
Arriving in Picton it was clear to me that I should move on. It was merely a port town, with a few hostels set up for anyone who missed the last bus of ferry and needed somewhere to sleep. The Lonely Planet Guide Book says "the ferry to Wellington takes you through some of New Zealand's most beautiful scenery, weaving between hundreds of little islands and sand banks before you reach the open sea." Well this may be true, but New Zealand has a habit of turning what is usually beautiful into the ordinary. Everything in NZ is stunning. There was barely one moment where I could look out to the horizon and not be mesmerised. So during the ferry crossing, I tried to look interested, but the scenery just looked normal to me now. So I slept.
It was a relatively fast crossing, only three or four hours. And the ferry drops you only a few kilometers away from Wellington city centre. I had chatted away to a couple on the boat who were travelling kiwis and they offered me a lift to town. The guy had just quit his job and fixed himself a campervan and was touring his home country, doing the odd bit of electrician work here and there. They dropping me in town and I walked to the first hostel and headed out immediately to explore. This was my first experience of the north island. In fact, I hadn't even read up on the north island at all. All I knew was that I had two weeks to get to Auckland. So I spent most of that late afternoon in the i-site working out where was good to go and what I could fit in.
The next day I had a bit of me time. Walking down by the harbour and waterfront, window shopping and finally headed off to the Te Papa Museum when it started raining, it was free after all. The highlight of the visit was a preserved gargantuan squid. It was horrendously big... eyes the size of footballs. Amazing to see. Looked like a Damien Hurst piece, suspended in formaldehyde. I liked Wellington, but not enough to stay there for any length of time. Everyone there was either passing through or desperately trying to get a job. I booked myself on a morning bus to Taupo and moved hostels to be closer to the station (the other one was around 2k away! Not walking that at 7am with a bag on my back). I wasted the night away playing pool and drinking cheap beer before getting a relatively early night.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
25th -> 30th August (Kaikoura and Hanmer springs)
After all that effort to get to Kaikoura, the weather turned up a gale. It was really howling. The trouble with that was that everything to do in Kaikoura was on the water, and the boats weren't going out in the weather, not even the big ones. So, I took out one of Adelphi Lodge's free bikes and rode around the town and down the coast to explore. There was also a seal colony and a cliff walk to the east side of town a little way out, so I stopped in there and spent the best part of the day walking around the bay taking pictures of seals and watching them as they swam. I headed back to the hostel for free soup and everyone else had done the same. Just walked around in the wind. It was no good, and the next morning was the same. i decided to skip town for a bit... see somewhere else for a few days then come back, so I hitched out of Kaikoura. After all that effort to get there it seemed mad to be leaving, but I knew I'd be back. Fanely had told me about a place called Hanmer Springs, NZ's largest natural hot spring. So I headed down that road towards Hanmer and was picked up pretty quick, by three twenty year old guys travelling around aswell. They pulled over and beckoned me into the back. It was an odd mix of people, one Kiwi, a Brit with a Brummy accent and an Italian. The Italian later told me the only reason why he stopped was because he thought I was a girl!.. He was a bit of a predator to say the least. I had to sit on their tent. Apparently it had blown over the night before and broke while they were in it. They had to wait until morning to work out what had happened. Still, we headed off to the springs, and chatted away all day chilling out in the hot waters. There was a bus full of Uni students from Auckland there as well, so we chatted to them until it got dark. One of their tents was still working, so they invited me to come join them and we drove off into the darkness and into the most remote area. we drove around 5min out of town, and then a further 20min out over this dirt track into the forest. It was a good thing these guys were trust worthy, and not that big! Before we left on our adventure we bought some chips and dip with sausages to cook on a bonfire and soon had a nice set up. The wind was still gale force but we were sheltered by the trees around us. We still had enough room for a fire though, and soon got the light and heat we needed. It was a really great couple of days with these guys and it was sad to say goodbye, but the Kiwi and I are likely to stay intouch and hopefully meet up next time I'm out here!
But, for now, I had to get back to Kaikoura, and unfortunately the other guys were going to Christchurch. They dropped me off in a little town on route and drove off. thankfully, this time I only had my small bag and it only took around 30min to get a lift. And yes, it was another guy named Nick. But this was the best nick of all, mainly because he lived in Kaikoura and had a boat :D We became pretty good friends on the journey up so we exchanged phone numbers and soon got in contact. He mentioned that he was playing in a band at the local pub that night, so I headed out and watched him perform. They were very good, for a small town band, and the locals definitely appreciated their efforts. Thankfully a lot of people came with me from the hostel, so I knew a lot of the people in there, but we soon got to know the locals. Phyllis joined us on our pub outing and she was soon beckoning everyone to get up and dance. She was a minx! Definitely got involved in the 70s... peace man.
kaikoura has been one of the best townships on my travels. And it filled a lot of firsts for me. The first time I'd caught and eaten a fish. The first time I caught and eat a crayfish (3 of them :D) and the first time I saw a whale. There were organised whale watching trips and we saw two, I went out on a charter fishing boat as well as Nick's boat and caught plenty of Perch and crayfish. Nick also spear-fished but I left that to him. On my last night I was very lucky. A football team from Christchurch had come to Kaikoura for their post-season celebration. A very rowdy lot and they were drinking like fish, but as an added bonus they provided me with booze for the whole night. Wahey! The party soon moved on to the beach, where I got a few free pies. Wahey! And we lit a bonfire to huddle around. A few of the footballers went skinny-dipping, but I didn't join them... not in that water. On the way back one of the footballers had had way too much whiskey and trying to look macho, tried to double scissor kick me in the head... or something to that description. If I had filmed that I would definitely be in for 250 pounds! He woke up wondering why his arm had been bleeding! They were a generous lot and treated me to a full cooked breakfast in the morning too. Waahey! So with a full stomach and a happy heart I headed on to Picton, to catch the ferry across to the north island
But, for now, I had to get back to Kaikoura, and unfortunately the other guys were going to Christchurch. They dropped me off in a little town on route and drove off. thankfully, this time I only had my small bag and it only took around 30min to get a lift. And yes, it was another guy named Nick. But this was the best nick of all, mainly because he lived in Kaikoura and had a boat :D We became pretty good friends on the journey up so we exchanged phone numbers and soon got in contact. He mentioned that he was playing in a band at the local pub that night, so I headed out and watched him perform. They were very good, for a small town band, and the locals definitely appreciated their efforts. Thankfully a lot of people came with me from the hostel, so I knew a lot of the people in there, but we soon got to know the locals. Phyllis joined us on our pub outing and she was soon beckoning everyone to get up and dance. She was a minx! Definitely got involved in the 70s... peace man.
kaikoura has been one of the best townships on my travels. And it filled a lot of firsts for me. The first time I'd caught and eaten a fish. The first time I caught and eat a crayfish (3 of them :D) and the first time I saw a whale. There were organised whale watching trips and we saw two, I went out on a charter fishing boat as well as Nick's boat and caught plenty of Perch and crayfish. Nick also spear-fished but I left that to him. On my last night I was very lucky. A football team from Christchurch had come to Kaikoura for their post-season celebration. A very rowdy lot and they were drinking like fish, but as an added bonus they provided me with booze for the whole night. Wahey! The party soon moved on to the beach, where I got a few free pies. Wahey! And we lit a bonfire to huddle around. A few of the footballers went skinny-dipping, but I didn't join them... not in that water. On the way back one of the footballers had had way too much whiskey and trying to look macho, tried to double scissor kick me in the head... or something to that description. If I had filmed that I would definitely be in for 250 pounds! He woke up wondering why his arm had been bleeding! They were a generous lot and treated me to a full cooked breakfast in the morning too. Waahey! So with a full stomach and a happy heart I headed on to Picton, to catch the ferry across to the north island
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