Hello there,
I'm now in the Blue Mountains and have discovered more free internet access (courtesy of my friends at the local library). Haven't got much time so this will just be a short one for now:
Wednesday 28th February Continued
The flight to Sydney was delayed for 30 minutes because they had catered the wrong aeroplane. Whoops. Otherwise it was an uneventful flight (I sat next to two miserable middle-aged people who didn't speak a single word to me for the whole flight) with okay food (a pretty good traditional Kiwi pie*) but less good wine than on the flight from Perth to Auckland (an ordinary Australian Shiraz/Cabernet [not a good mix] as opposed to a good NZ Pinot Noir).
On arrival there was a huge delay with the luggage (I thought that maybe they had loaded that onto the wrong plane too), but luckily it turned up eventually. I went through the Red Channel, as I had some herbs and spices that I wasn't sure if I could bring into the country or not. (Un)fortunately the customs officers were so busy with the huge queue at the green channel that I was able to walk straight through, unaccosted. I did feel a bit guilty (what if my dried oregano was harbouring some nasty disease?), but was too tired to go back and rejoin the mammoth queue.
I phoned the hostel for my free pick-up and was a bit miffed to hear that they had no record of my booking. Grrr. Luckily they phoned across to their sister hostel (just down the road) and there was space for me there. Breath collective deep sigh of relief.
They told me to get a shuttle bus, which they would then refund me for on arrival (which was nice). It would have helped if the shuttle bus driver had spoken English (I thought people from the Indian subcontinent all learnt English at school) and knew more than one street in Sydney. He had one of the passengers reading a map, while he struggled with a shot gearbox and the Sydney traffic.
It was certainly a memorable journey. The poor elderly Dutch chap on board was less than comfortable with proceedings. He didn't have a clue where he was going (other than the address), so was completely in the dark (in the dark), in a sardine-like taxi, surrounded by people speaking a language he didn't understand. Still, after much driving around the city and finally grabbing the map to find out exactly where we were/where I wanted to be, at least I ended up in approximately the right place (leaving the poor Dutch chap to fend for himself - and feeling a bit guilty in the process). Well, I say I ended up in the right place... It would have been the right place if the first hostel had honoured my booking. Grrr again. Luckily, the guy on reception was very friendly and pointed me in the right direction of hostel number deux. I was just around the corner. At approximately 9pm I had arrived.
The hostel seemed quite nice (if a bit larger than I had imagined) and the other people in my dorm were really friendly. These included 2 Dutch architecture students and a Landscape Architect from Italy. More of them later... I was zonked and so it was an early night for me.
*That's a pie made in a New Zealand style, not one made from an endangered flightless bird.
Thursday 1st March 2007
Well, it turns out that said Italian architect (Roberto) is from Trapani in Sicily (been there!) and went to university in Reggio di Calabria (been there too!). He's in the process of doing a PhD about Australian Landscape Architecture, so is on a rather cushy "field-trip", jetting around the continent. So, we've got quite a lot in common, and hence lots to talk about. The two Dutch Arcitecture students (Rob and Lissete) are on a semester-long exchange and are also really nice, interesting people. I think I've been really lucky, as the rest of the hostel seems rather more of a party-crowd (with all the wit, intelligence and intrigue that that suggests).
It was my first full day in Sydney so I spent most of it getting my bearings (on foot). In the morning I went to the Botanical Gardens, via Wooloomooloo Harbour (great name!) and then continued around to Circular Quay and The Rocks. I went into the Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was a really interesting exhibition by Paddy Bedford (a contemporary aboriginal painter), and some rather-less-interesting modern guff. The whole area is lovely, from the botanical gardens, around the quay (shitty modern architecture aside) to the rocks (interesting fragments of colonial architecture and nice higgledy-piggledy character, squat beneath the harbour bridge).
In the afternoon, I walked in the other direction, towards the suburb of Paddington. It's a lovely area of old Victorian terraces. All wrought iron verandahs and balconies. I bought tickets for a screening at the Chauvel Cinema the following evening. An art house flick called Old Joy, soundtracked by Yo La Tengo, with the band themselves doing a question and answer session afterwards. I thought it would make a nice change from the usual backpacker-type stuff. All in all, a nice afternoon's walk, around a lovely area of the city.
Well, my time is up. The library bell has just been rung (like being in an English pub)! I guess I should learn not to waffle so much, as I have only managed to do two days and am still over 2 weeks behind. Teacher's report: must try harder.
Best wishes for now,
James xx
Friday, March 16, 2007
Quicky from Katoomba
Hello there,
I'm now in the Blue Mountains and have discovered more free internet access (courtesy of my friends at the local library). Haven't got much time so this will just be a short one for now:
Wednesday 28th February Continued
The flight to Sydney was delayed for 30 minutes because they had catered the wrong aeroplane. Whoops. Otherwise it was an uneventful flight (I sat next to two miserable middle-aged people who didn't speak a single word to me for the whole flight) with okay food (a pretty good traditional Kiwi pie*) but less good wine than on the flight from Perth to Auckland (an ordinary Australian Shiraz/Cabernet [not a good mix] as opposed to a good NZ Pinot Noir).
On arrival there was a huge delay with the luggage (I thought that maybe they had loaded that onto the wrong plane too), but luckily it turned up eventually. I went through the Red Channel, as I had some herbs and spices that I wasn't sure if I could bring into the country or not. (Un)fortunately the customs officers were so busy with the huge queue at the green channel that I was able to walk straight through, unaccosted. I did feel a bit guilty (what if my dried oregano was harbouring some nasty disease?), but was too tired to go back and rejoin the mammoth queue.
I phoned the hostel for my free pick-up and was a bit miffed to hear that they had no record of my booking. Grrr. Luckily they phoned across to their sister hostel (just down the road) and there was space for me there. Breath collective deep sigh of relief.
They told me to get a shuttle bus, which they would then refund me for on arrival (which was nice). It would have helped if the shuttle bus driver had spoken English (I thought people from the Indian subcontinent all learnt English at school) and knew more than one street in Sydney. He had one of the passengers reading a map, while he struggled with a shot gearbox and the Sydney traffic.
It was certainly a memorable journey. The poor elderly Dutch chap on board was less than comfortable with proceedings. He didn't have a clue where he was going (other than the address), so was completely in the dark (in the dark), in a sardine-like taxi, surrounded by people speaking a language he didn't understand. Still, after much driving around the city and finally grabbing the map to find out exactly where we were/where I wanted to be, at least I ended up in approximately the right place (leaving the poor Dutch chap to fend for himself - and feeling a bit guilty in the process). Well, I say I ended up in the right place... It would have been the right place if the first hostel had honoured my booking. Grrr again. Luckily, the guy on reception was very friendly and pointed me in the right direction of hostel number deux. I was just around the corner. At approximately 9pm I had arrived.
The hostel seemed quite nice (if a bit larger than I had imagined) and the other people in my dorm were really friendly. These included 2 Dutch architecture students and a Landscape Architect from Italy. More of them later... I was zonked and so it was an early night for me.
*That's a pie made in a New Zealand style, not one made from an endangered flightless bird.
Thursday 1st March 2007
Well, it turns out that said Italian architect (Roberto) is from Trapani in Sicily (been there!) and went to university in Reggio di Calabria (been there too!). He's in the process of doing a PhD about Australian Landscape Architecture, so is on a rather cushy "field-trip", jetting around the continent. So, we've got quite a lot in common, and hence lots to talk about. The two Dutch Arcitecture students (Rob and Lissete) are on a semester-long exchange and are also really nice, interesting people. I think I've been really lucky, as the rest of the hostel seems rather more of a party-crowd (with all the wit, intelligence and intrigue that that suggests).
It was my first full day in Sydney so I spent most of it getting my bearings (on foot). In the morning I went to the Botanical Gardens, via Wooloomooloo Harbour (great name!) and then continued around to Circular Quay and The Rocks. I went into the Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was a really interesting exhibition by Paddy Bedford (a contemporary aboriginal painter), and some rather-less-interesting modern guff. The whole area is lovely, from the botanical gardens, around the quay (shitty modern architecture aside) to the rocks (interesting fragments of colonial architecture and nice higgledy-piggledy character, squat beneath the harbour bridge).
In the afternoon, I walked in the other direction, towards the suburb of Paddington. It's a lovely area of old Victorian terraces. All wrought iron verandahs and balconies. I bought tickets for a screening at the Chauvel Cinema the following evening. An art house flick called Old Joy, soundtracked by Yo La Tengo, with the band themselves doing a question and answer session afterwards. I thought it would make a nice change from the usual backpacker-type stuff. All in all, a nice afternoon's walk, around a lovely area of the city.
Well, my time is up. The library bell has just been rung (like being in an English pub)! I guess I should learn not to waffle so much, as I have only managed to do two days and am still over 2 weeks behind. Teacher's report: must try harder.
Best wishes for now,
James xx
I'm now in the Blue Mountains and have discovered more free internet access (courtesy of my friends at the local library). Haven't got much time so this will just be a short one for now:
Wednesday 28th February Continued
The flight to Sydney was delayed for 30 minutes because they had catered the wrong aeroplane. Whoops. Otherwise it was an uneventful flight (I sat next to two miserable middle-aged people who didn't speak a single word to me for the whole flight) with okay food (a pretty good traditional Kiwi pie*) but less good wine than on the flight from Perth to Auckland (an ordinary Australian Shiraz/Cabernet [not a good mix] as opposed to a good NZ Pinot Noir).
On arrival there was a huge delay with the luggage (I thought that maybe they had loaded that onto the wrong plane too), but luckily it turned up eventually. I went through the Red Channel, as I had some herbs and spices that I wasn't sure if I could bring into the country or not. (Un)fortunately the customs officers were so busy with the huge queue at the green channel that I was able to walk straight through, unaccosted. I did feel a bit guilty (what if my dried oregano was harbouring some nasty disease?), but was too tired to go back and rejoin the mammoth queue.
I phoned the hostel for my free pick-up and was a bit miffed to hear that they had no record of my booking. Grrr. Luckily they phoned across to their sister hostel (just down the road) and there was space for me there. Breath collective deep sigh of relief.
They told me to get a shuttle bus, which they would then refund me for on arrival (which was nice). It would have helped if the shuttle bus driver had spoken English (I thought people from the Indian subcontinent all learnt English at school) and knew more than one street in Sydney. He had one of the passengers reading a map, while he struggled with a shot gearbox and the Sydney traffic.
It was certainly a memorable journey. The poor elderly Dutch chap on board was less than comfortable with proceedings. He didn't have a clue where he was going (other than the address), so was completely in the dark (in the dark), in a sardine-like taxi, surrounded by people speaking a language he didn't understand. Still, after much driving around the city and finally grabbing the map to find out exactly where we were/where I wanted to be, at least I ended up in approximately the right place (leaving the poor Dutch chap to fend for himself - and feeling a bit guilty in the process). Well, I say I ended up in the right place... It would have been the right place if the first hostel had honoured my booking. Grrr again. Luckily, the guy on reception was very friendly and pointed me in the right direction of hostel number deux. I was just around the corner. At approximately 9pm I had arrived.
The hostel seemed quite nice (if a bit larger than I had imagined) and the other people in my dorm were really friendly. These included 2 Dutch architecture students and a Landscape Architect from Italy. More of them later... I was zonked and so it was an early night for me.
*That's a pie made in a New Zealand style, not one made from an endangered flightless bird.
Thursday 1st March 2007
Well, it turns out that said Italian architect (Roberto) is from Trapani in Sicily (been there!) and went to university in Reggio di Calabria (been there too!). He's in the process of doing a PhD about Australian Landscape Architecture, so is on a rather cushy "field-trip", jetting around the continent. So, we've got quite a lot in common, and hence lots to talk about. The two Dutch Arcitecture students (Rob and Lissete) are on a semester-long exchange and are also really nice, interesting people. I think I've been really lucky, as the rest of the hostel seems rather more of a party-crowd (with all the wit, intelligence and intrigue that that suggests).
It was my first full day in Sydney so I spent most of it getting my bearings (on foot). In the morning I went to the Botanical Gardens, via Wooloomooloo Harbour (great name!) and then continued around to Circular Quay and The Rocks. I went into the Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was a really interesting exhibition by Paddy Bedford (a contemporary aboriginal painter), and some rather-less-interesting modern guff. The whole area is lovely, from the botanical gardens, around the quay (shitty modern architecture aside) to the rocks (interesting fragments of colonial architecture and nice higgledy-piggledy character, squat beneath the harbour bridge).
In the afternoon, I walked in the other direction, towards the suburb of Paddington. It's a lovely area of old Victorian terraces. All wrought iron verandahs and balconies. I bought tickets for a screening at the Chauvel Cinema the following evening. An art house flick called Old Joy, soundtracked by Yo La Tengo, with the band themselves doing a question and answer session afterwards. I thought it would make a nice change from the usual backpacker-type stuff. All in all, a nice afternoon's walk, around a lovely area of the city.
Well, my time is up. The library bell has just been rung (like being in an English pub)! I guess I should learn not to waffle so much, as I have only managed to do two days and am still over 2 weeks behind. Teacher's report: must try harder.
Best wishes for now,
James xx
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
It rains, even in Australia (which fittingly brings to a close my entries for New Zealand)
Well, we finally have a rainy day here in Sydney (my last full day, natch) and I'm back on the computer to try and update my blog. Only now do I discover that the main state library (5 mins walk from my hostel) had free e-mail all along (blogging is classified as e-mail, it would seem - and is therefore blocked on certain computers). It was right under my nose. And to think I had been walking for half-an-hour each time I wanted to use a computer for e-mail/blogging. D'oh.
It is also really quite cold too (for Sydney at least - that means low 20s) so it's quite nice to be inside for a change. He goes...
Friday 23rd February 2007
It was a quiet morning in Napier (I'm not sure the town does any other sort of morning). I walked to the beach and around the town... still enjoying the sunny (and warm!) weather, popping into the library to avoid the midday sun and catch up on the news (courtesy of every available regional newspaper in New Zealand - they don't really do nationals here, like they do at home). I also started researching my trip to Sydney and even managed to book a hostel at the first attempt.
After lunch I went back to the beach to lounge around in the sun. It's just a shame that the currents off the beach make swimming dangerous, as it was so hot that a dip in the brine wouldn't have been out of the question. Alas, I had to make do with paddling and getting covered in salt spray from the huge breakers pounding the shore.
I had an interesting evening chatting to a trainee wine-maker from France. He was a really nice chap who spends his time following the seasons (and the sun) around the world. So far he has worked at wineries in France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. And I think he's heading to South America next winter... Nice work if you can get it, although by all accounts very poorly paid and really difficult to find without a huge chunk of experience behind you.
Saturday 24th February 2007
It had rained overnight and although it had stopped by the time I woke up, it was still overcast. It was therefore a morning of internet and laundry (that classic backpacker combination - I'm surprised no-one has come up with an internet launderette [interneterette? launderinternet?]).
In the afternoon I was hoping to have taken one of the hostel bikes (of the cycling variety) to go and visit some of the vineyards in the Hawke's Bay area. Unfortunately all the bikes were already in use, so I had to content myself with a walk along the coastal promenade instead. The weather was a bit duff (as was some of the heavy industry along the shoreline). All in all, a rather dull walk (apart from being menaced briefly by a fierce-looking dog), but still, nice to be out in the fresh air.
I was rather pooped come evening, so it was a quiet night. Shower, food, bed (well, the latter should read "roll-mat-in-tent" - which I am rather afraid has developed a slow puncture, judging by the apparent hardness of the ground come morning).
Sunday 25th February 2007
My final day in Napier was one of pootling. I read the Sunday papers at the library in the morning, had a leisurely lunch and then went to the beach in the afternoon. The weather was once again warm and sunny, so it was nice to enjoy it and take it easy.
The only excitement of the day came in the evening, when upon entering my tent I caught my head (ever so slightly - I'm sure it was no more than a gentle bushing) on the door frame, which somehow resulted in one of the tent poles snapping in two. Ooops. I was just debating what to do (luckily it was dry and no rain was forecast - so I'd have been quite happy using my tent as an over-sized bivvy-bag), when an oldish English couple (who had been around the hostel whole time, but who I'd so far largely managed to avoid) came to my rescue. They mustered some parcel tape and a section of aluminium piping from somewhere, which they used to brace the broken pole ("he's an engineer you know"). They were very kind, albeit in a weirdly-nervy, slightly-patronising and very-odd-looking kind of way. He looked like a cross between Mr. Law and Lord Lucan (read: most odd), with a 'tache (massive) that was bigger than his shorts (minute). Very short shorts really should be outlawed by all governments (there's an election winner if ever there was one). If they take objection to a dirty tent at customs, then surely they could easily confiscate a pair of indecently short shorts.
Monday 26th February 2007
I spent the morning packing up my stuff (discovering in the process that my tent repair kit contained a section of aluminium tubing specifically for the repair of snapped tent poles. D'oh). It was once again hot and sunny... bolstering Napier's claims of being the sunniest place in the country (and most of the populations' claims that February is the best month for settled weather).
The afternoon's bus journey was rather boring (it didn't really look much different in reverse) and it got progressively cloudier as I approached Wellington. The bus driver kindly dropped us off at the hostel, however, which saved a 20 minute walk laden with bags.
It was quite late when I arrived in Wellington, and my empty-belly-situation was compounded by the fact that upon entering my dormitory I was talked at for about 45 minutes by an Indian student with an impossibly strong accent ("say it again"). I finally made it down to the kitchen just before 9pm and was rewarded for my patience with a fantastic haul of free food. Yay.
Tuesday 27th February 2007
More free food this morning (departure points are always good for reaping what other people have cast asunder prior to leaving) This included a barely-started bottle of $20 Pinot Noir and assorted other goodies. Yay again, with knobs on.
I went to Te Papa in the morning (New Zealand's National Museum), where I was only really impressed by the art-gallery section (including an especially beautiful work made from disassembled fruit crates - and no, I'm not being sarcastic). The building itself is a monstrous postmodernist mish-mash (talk about over-egging the pudding). If they were aiming for the Guggenheim-effect, then they must be sorely disappointed. Still, I suppose it could be seen as an interesting commentary on contemporary New Zealand (although even through my overly-critical eyes I wouldn't go quite so far as to call New Zealand a "monstrous post-modern [post-colonial] mish-mash").
After that amount of culture (yawn) it was time for a boozy lunch, courtesy of a couple of glasses of the free Pinot. Yum.
I spent the afternoon reading on the beach/waterfront (more sun - hooray) before meeting up with Victoria in the evening for a goodbye drink in a couple of Wellington's nice bars.
Wednesday 28th February 2007
I went back to Te Papa in the morning (only really because they offered free luggage storage there, whereas the hostel would have charged $3). And free newspapers too - bonus. I had a closer look at a few of the exhibits and wasn't really all that impressed by very much. Bah humbug!
I then got the bus to the airport and completed the final leg of my journey through New Zealand. Goodbye Kiwiland, Australia here I come...
Well, that seems an appropriate place to leave it for now. Just two weeks in Sydney to update (which have flown by - and have been filled with all manner of good things) and I'll be there. I might even make some further headway later this arvo, but want to head out and get some fresh air right now (since it appears to have stopped raining - unless it is waiting for me to poke my head out of the door before emptying down, that is).
Cheerio for now,
James xx
It is also really quite cold too (for Sydney at least - that means low 20s) so it's quite nice to be inside for a change. He goes...
Friday 23rd February 2007
It was a quiet morning in Napier (I'm not sure the town does any other sort of morning). I walked to the beach and around the town... still enjoying the sunny (and warm!) weather, popping into the library to avoid the midday sun and catch up on the news (courtesy of every available regional newspaper in New Zealand - they don't really do nationals here, like they do at home). I also started researching my trip to Sydney and even managed to book a hostel at the first attempt.
After lunch I went back to the beach to lounge around in the sun. It's just a shame that the currents off the beach make swimming dangerous, as it was so hot that a dip in the brine wouldn't have been out of the question. Alas, I had to make do with paddling and getting covered in salt spray from the huge breakers pounding the shore.
I had an interesting evening chatting to a trainee wine-maker from France. He was a really nice chap who spends his time following the seasons (and the sun) around the world. So far he has worked at wineries in France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. And I think he's heading to South America next winter... Nice work if you can get it, although by all accounts very poorly paid and really difficult to find without a huge chunk of experience behind you.
Saturday 24th February 2007
It had rained overnight and although it had stopped by the time I woke up, it was still overcast. It was therefore a morning of internet and laundry (that classic backpacker combination - I'm surprised no-one has come up with an internet launderette [interneterette? launderinternet?]).
In the afternoon I was hoping to have taken one of the hostel bikes (of the cycling variety) to go and visit some of the vineyards in the Hawke's Bay area. Unfortunately all the bikes were already in use, so I had to content myself with a walk along the coastal promenade instead. The weather was a bit duff (as was some of the heavy industry along the shoreline). All in all, a rather dull walk (apart from being menaced briefly by a fierce-looking dog), but still, nice to be out in the fresh air.
I was rather pooped come evening, so it was a quiet night. Shower, food, bed (well, the latter should read "roll-mat-in-tent" - which I am rather afraid has developed a slow puncture, judging by the apparent hardness of the ground come morning).
Sunday 25th February 2007
My final day in Napier was one of pootling. I read the Sunday papers at the library in the morning, had a leisurely lunch and then went to the beach in the afternoon. The weather was once again warm and sunny, so it was nice to enjoy it and take it easy.
The only excitement of the day came in the evening, when upon entering my tent I caught my head (ever so slightly - I'm sure it was no more than a gentle bushing) on the door frame, which somehow resulted in one of the tent poles snapping in two. Ooops. I was just debating what to do (luckily it was dry and no rain was forecast - so I'd have been quite happy using my tent as an over-sized bivvy-bag), when an oldish English couple (who had been around the hostel whole time, but who I'd so far largely managed to avoid) came to my rescue. They mustered some parcel tape and a section of aluminium piping from somewhere, which they used to brace the broken pole ("he's an engineer you know"). They were very kind, albeit in a weirdly-nervy, slightly-patronising and very-odd-looking kind of way. He looked like a cross between Mr. Law and Lord Lucan (read: most odd), with a 'tache (massive) that was bigger than his shorts (minute). Very short shorts really should be outlawed by all governments (there's an election winner if ever there was one). If they take objection to a dirty tent at customs, then surely they could easily confiscate a pair of indecently short shorts.
Monday 26th February 2007
I spent the morning packing up my stuff (discovering in the process that my tent repair kit contained a section of aluminium tubing specifically for the repair of snapped tent poles. D'oh). It was once again hot and sunny... bolstering Napier's claims of being the sunniest place in the country (and most of the populations' claims that February is the best month for settled weather).
The afternoon's bus journey was rather boring (it didn't really look much different in reverse) and it got progressively cloudier as I approached Wellington. The bus driver kindly dropped us off at the hostel, however, which saved a 20 minute walk laden with bags.
It was quite late when I arrived in Wellington, and my empty-belly-situation was compounded by the fact that upon entering my dormitory I was talked at for about 45 minutes by an Indian student with an impossibly strong accent ("say it again"). I finally made it down to the kitchen just before 9pm and was rewarded for my patience with a fantastic haul of free food. Yay.
Tuesday 27th February 2007
More free food this morning (departure points are always good for reaping what other people have cast asunder prior to leaving) This included a barely-started bottle of $20 Pinot Noir and assorted other goodies. Yay again, with knobs on.
I went to Te Papa in the morning (New Zealand's National Museum), where I was only really impressed by the art-gallery section (including an especially beautiful work made from disassembled fruit crates - and no, I'm not being sarcastic). The building itself is a monstrous postmodernist mish-mash (talk about over-egging the pudding). If they were aiming for the Guggenheim-effect, then they must be sorely disappointed. Still, I suppose it could be seen as an interesting commentary on contemporary New Zealand (although even through my overly-critical eyes I wouldn't go quite so far as to call New Zealand a "monstrous post-modern [post-colonial] mish-mash").
After that amount of culture (yawn) it was time for a boozy lunch, courtesy of a couple of glasses of the free Pinot. Yum.
I spent the afternoon reading on the beach/waterfront (more sun - hooray) before meeting up with Victoria in the evening for a goodbye drink in a couple of Wellington's nice bars.
Wednesday 28th February 2007
I went back to Te Papa in the morning (only really because they offered free luggage storage there, whereas the hostel would have charged $3). And free newspapers too - bonus. I had a closer look at a few of the exhibits and wasn't really all that impressed by very much. Bah humbug!
I then got the bus to the airport and completed the final leg of my journey through New Zealand. Goodbye Kiwiland, Australia here I come...
Well, that seems an appropriate place to leave it for now. Just two weeks in Sydney to update (which have flown by - and have been filled with all manner of good things) and I'll be there. I might even make some further headway later this arvo, but want to head out and get some fresh air right now (since it appears to have stopped raining - unless it is waiting for me to poke my head out of the door before emptying down, that is).
Cheerio for now,
James xx
Friday, March 02, 2007
Sydney
Well, so much for keeping on top of the blog. It's been a couple of weeks, so this may well come in stages. But internet is free at the library here in Paddington, Sydney, so I shall keep coming back until I'm bang up to date...
Friday 16th February 2007 Continued
After leaving The Bug, I got the bus over to Picton, which is, in the words of a travel-brochure writer, nestled at the base of the Malborough sounds. The weather clouded in as we drove into the Sounds, but before then it had been a glorious day (typically spent for the most part on the internet or in a bus).
I was staying (in my tent) in a place called The Jugglers Rest. I was a bit apprehensive about the atmosphere of such a place, thinking that it would be like a small Sidmouth Folk Festival, full of fire-breathing vagrant-types and juggling crusties. I couldn't have been more wrong, however. It was great.
In the evening when I arrived some Japanese were making tempura for everyone at the hostel. I guess it was rather lighter than your average fish and chips ("fush and chups" in the local dialect), but it isn't far off and there was so much of it that by the end I definitely had deep-fried belly.
Still, it was a very pleasant evening and there were certainly some interesting characters at the hostel. These included a precocious American daddy's girl (educated in a posh Boston private school, but now looking to make it on her own as a photographer/writer in Texas), a middle-aged pschotherapist from England (think Shirley Valentine/Anna Ferris' Mum on a voyage of self-discovery), and an odd couple from the Isle of Wight. Both of the latter were in their fifties, although she looked old enough to be his mother (and kept making comments about how she couldn't understand why people thought that was the case). They have been cycling round the world for the last few years and either brought psychicatric issues with them, or developed them as a result. Fascinating stuff.
Saturday 17th February 2007
Set off early on a long walk (making sure I got away ahead of the Isle of Wighters, who were planning the same route). My outing took in a great look-out on the hill behind Picton and then I followed the track out to The Snout (a promontory sticking out into the Malborough Sounds). It was a clear, sunny day and the views were wonderful.
It was quite and eventful day. I stubbed my toe on an eroded wooden step (bending back the nail, and spitting it so much that it bled - nice - but luckily not enough to require a plaster) and had a picnic sitting on rocks at the very end of The Snout. There were so many Cicadas flying about that two got trapped behind my glasses and several more flew into my ears, nose, neck, hair, etc. It was enough to cause a mild outbreak of maddness (waving arms, shouting randomly into the air, walking along bent double with my arms over my face and my hands over my ears...). So that rather took away from the pleasure of walking through the bush. But still, with hindsight, you tend to forget about the little things and concentrate on the good aspects (sunshine, views, the smell of the tea-tree bushes, wild-flowers).
Back at the hostel I compared notes with the mad English couple (she had also stubbed a toe and had trouble with the beasties - they were surprised they hadn't seen me!) and then made a spinach curry and accompanying dahl. This was washed down with a nice Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, courtesy of a friendly (and for once, not too opinionated) Israeli.
Sunday 18th Feburary 2007
I had a nice relaxing morning at the Juggler's Rest, packing up my tent, picking pears from the tree and enjoying the sunshine (again - summer's finally here it would seem). Finished the curry for lunch (and felt pretty stuffed - I really should learn how to cook for one).
The Ferry ride over to Wellington was beautiful. Gorgeous views of the Sounds, and then right down the coast (to the Kaikoura Mountain Range behind). I managed to scrape my shin on one of the raised thresholds on the boat (nice sharp metal edge - I should sue). More blood, but not on a scale comparable to Mum's two horseshoe slices. There must be something in the genes!
The approach into Wellington was also most scenic. Another nestled settlement (aren't they great?), which gives it a compactness you don't often get in New Zealand.
Victoria (friend from Scotland, via Western Australia) was there to meet me at the ferry terminal and we walked back to her house. Or, rather, the place where she is staying. It is a student house, shared with umpteen others, but I was lucky enough to have a room (and bed) to myself, which was a rare luxury on this trip (having a room to myself, that is - I have been lucky enough [or not!] to have a bed to myself throughout my travels).
We then went out for a drink and something to eat. It was lucky that I wasn't so hungry (thanks, curry!), as I ordered a gormet hotdog and got the smallest sausage in the world on the thinest single slice of sliced white bread I have ever seen. It was quite comic, but not wholly satisfying. Luckily Victoria's selection (Portobello mushrooms and salad) was huge, so I was able to share some of that too.
Wellington seems lovely (quite quiet on a Sunday night, but with a friendly, slightly bohemian atmostphere and hills rising up all around).
Monday 19th February 2007
Still sunny. Amazing weather, in fact. Something feels amiss! Everyone kept telling me that Wellington is nice, but the weather is always rubbish. Well, not on this occasion.
In the morning, I walked up to the Mt Victoria lookout with Clay (great 360 degree views) and then back down, to the beach, for a swim. I didn't really expect to be swimming in Wellington, so it was a pleasant surprise. The man-made beach was a bit like crushed builders' rubble, but the water was clean and there were plenty of fish and starfish, so it can't be too polluted.
In the afternoon, I bought stuff for a picnic and wandered up to the Botanical Gardens. It's a beautiful spot and the contours (very up and down) make it seem even bigger than it is. Nice plants too. The golden evening light was amazing (lots of photos) and I walked miles, weaving a circuitous route back through the city.
I collapsed into bed soon after I got back, before Clay and Victoria had finished work (they've both got bar/restaurant jobs, so work odd hours).
Tuesday 20th February 2007
Even warmer today. Not even sunnier, but only because that would have been impossible. Wellington looks lovely with a backdrop of clear blue skies. Who'd have thought it?
I spent most of the day in the garden and on the beach. It was Victoria's day off, so it was nice to have some company for a change. And nice to be swimming in the sea again (only a hand-full of times during my whole 3 months in NZ).
In the evening I went with Victoria and one of her housemates (a dreadlocked fire-stick waver - he should've been staying at The Juggler's Rest!), to a little bar called Havana. It was a sweet little place - right up Carolyn's street, with a Latin American theme throughout.
Wednesday 21st February 2007
Up early to get the bus to Napier. Rather a boring journey (although the first bit along the Kapiti coast is quite scenic, and there is a section through a little gorge about half way). It is also cloudy for most of the journey (that's more like it).
Luckily the sun was back out by the time I reached the Hawke's Bay area (the sunniest part of the country, apparently, although about 3 other regions make the same claim).
Spent the afternoon wandering around Napier and getting my bearings. The Art Deco architecture isn't quite as unified/coherent as I might have imagined, although there are some nice buildings dotted around and the town generally has a pleasant atmosphere. It also has a massively long grey pebble beach (backed by rows of Norfolk Pines), although the many warnings about the undertow rather disuade me from taking a dip.
I found half a ready roasted chicken for $2.99, a huge pumpkin for $1.20 and assorted other bargains (including a nice bottle of Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir for under $10). I love Pak & Save.
Thursday 22nd February 2007
I walked to the beach in the morning and made further forays into the town, in an attempt to spot Art Deco details. Still lovely and sunny. The tall palm trees in some of the parks (along with the sun and occasional bit of Spanish Mission architecture) remind me of San Diego. It's almost enough to make you believe the hype.
After lunch back at the hostel I went on a mammoth walk up to the Botanical Gardens (there is a huge derelict hospital next to it - occupying a prime site on the top of the hill, with views all around - surely a major development opportunity), over to the harbour and up to Bluff lookout. All quite interesting, but the centre of Napier is by far the nicest part for wandering around. The rest tends towards "boring suburb" and the port area is heavy-industrial, rather than marina-chic.
The hostel isn't the friendliest I've been in (lots of long-termers working in the vineyards and orchards of Hawke's Bay), but it only costs $11 a night (in my tent) and has everything I might need (which is basically a well-equipped kitchen and reasonably clean bathroom).
Well, I had better leave it there for now, as my time on the computer is almost up (and blogger has been causing me no end of troubles on this computer - I'm not even going to attempt to spell check). I'll try and make further updates later in the week, although there is so much to see and do in Sydney that I am finding it difficult to curtail my wanderings and stay indoors on the computer. I clearly need to find somewhere more boring to stay!
Friday 16th February 2007 Continued
After leaving The Bug, I got the bus over to Picton, which is, in the words of a travel-brochure writer, nestled at the base of the Malborough sounds. The weather clouded in as we drove into the Sounds, but before then it had been a glorious day (typically spent for the most part on the internet or in a bus).
I was staying (in my tent) in a place called The Jugglers Rest. I was a bit apprehensive about the atmosphere of such a place, thinking that it would be like a small Sidmouth Folk Festival, full of fire-breathing vagrant-types and juggling crusties. I couldn't have been more wrong, however. It was great.
In the evening when I arrived some Japanese were making tempura for everyone at the hostel. I guess it was rather lighter than your average fish and chips ("fush and chups" in the local dialect), but it isn't far off and there was so much of it that by the end I definitely had deep-fried belly.
Still, it was a very pleasant evening and there were certainly some interesting characters at the hostel. These included a precocious American daddy's girl (educated in a posh Boston private school, but now looking to make it on her own as a photographer/writer in Texas), a middle-aged pschotherapist from England (think Shirley Valentine/Anna Ferris' Mum on a voyage of self-discovery), and an odd couple from the Isle of Wight. Both of the latter were in their fifties, although she looked old enough to be his mother (and kept making comments about how she couldn't understand why people thought that was the case). They have been cycling round the world for the last few years and either brought psychicatric issues with them, or developed them as a result. Fascinating stuff.
Saturday 17th February 2007
Set off early on a long walk (making sure I got away ahead of the Isle of Wighters, who were planning the same route). My outing took in a great look-out on the hill behind Picton and then I followed the track out to The Snout (a promontory sticking out into the Malborough Sounds). It was a clear, sunny day and the views were wonderful.
It was quite and eventful day. I stubbed my toe on an eroded wooden step (bending back the nail, and spitting it so much that it bled - nice - but luckily not enough to require a plaster) and had a picnic sitting on rocks at the very end of The Snout. There were so many Cicadas flying about that two got trapped behind my glasses and several more flew into my ears, nose, neck, hair, etc. It was enough to cause a mild outbreak of maddness (waving arms, shouting randomly into the air, walking along bent double with my arms over my face and my hands over my ears...). So that rather took away from the pleasure of walking through the bush. But still, with hindsight, you tend to forget about the little things and concentrate on the good aspects (sunshine, views, the smell of the tea-tree bushes, wild-flowers).
Back at the hostel I compared notes with the mad English couple (she had also stubbed a toe and had trouble with the beasties - they were surprised they hadn't seen me!) and then made a spinach curry and accompanying dahl. This was washed down with a nice Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, courtesy of a friendly (and for once, not too opinionated) Israeli.
Sunday 18th Feburary 2007
I had a nice relaxing morning at the Juggler's Rest, packing up my tent, picking pears from the tree and enjoying the sunshine (again - summer's finally here it would seem). Finished the curry for lunch (and felt pretty stuffed - I really should learn how to cook for one).
The Ferry ride over to Wellington was beautiful. Gorgeous views of the Sounds, and then right down the coast (to the Kaikoura Mountain Range behind). I managed to scrape my shin on one of the raised thresholds on the boat (nice sharp metal edge - I should sue). More blood, but not on a scale comparable to Mum's two horseshoe slices. There must be something in the genes!
The approach into Wellington was also most scenic. Another nestled settlement (aren't they great?), which gives it a compactness you don't often get in New Zealand.
Victoria (friend from Scotland, via Western Australia) was there to meet me at the ferry terminal and we walked back to her house. Or, rather, the place where she is staying. It is a student house, shared with umpteen others, but I was lucky enough to have a room (and bed) to myself, which was a rare luxury on this trip (having a room to myself, that is - I have been lucky enough [or not!] to have a bed to myself throughout my travels).
We then went out for a drink and something to eat. It was lucky that I wasn't so hungry (thanks, curry!), as I ordered a gormet hotdog and got the smallest sausage in the world on the thinest single slice of sliced white bread I have ever seen. It was quite comic, but not wholly satisfying. Luckily Victoria's selection (Portobello mushrooms and salad) was huge, so I was able to share some of that too.
Wellington seems lovely (quite quiet on a Sunday night, but with a friendly, slightly bohemian atmostphere and hills rising up all around).
Monday 19th February 2007
Still sunny. Amazing weather, in fact. Something feels amiss! Everyone kept telling me that Wellington is nice, but the weather is always rubbish. Well, not on this occasion.
In the morning, I walked up to the Mt Victoria lookout with Clay (great 360 degree views) and then back down, to the beach, for a swim. I didn't really expect to be swimming in Wellington, so it was a pleasant surprise. The man-made beach was a bit like crushed builders' rubble, but the water was clean and there were plenty of fish and starfish, so it can't be too polluted.
In the afternoon, I bought stuff for a picnic and wandered up to the Botanical Gardens. It's a beautiful spot and the contours (very up and down) make it seem even bigger than it is. Nice plants too. The golden evening light was amazing (lots of photos) and I walked miles, weaving a circuitous route back through the city.
I collapsed into bed soon after I got back, before Clay and Victoria had finished work (they've both got bar/restaurant jobs, so work odd hours).
Tuesday 20th February 2007
Even warmer today. Not even sunnier, but only because that would have been impossible. Wellington looks lovely with a backdrop of clear blue skies. Who'd have thought it?
I spent most of the day in the garden and on the beach. It was Victoria's day off, so it was nice to have some company for a change. And nice to be swimming in the sea again (only a hand-full of times during my whole 3 months in NZ).
In the evening I went with Victoria and one of her housemates (a dreadlocked fire-stick waver - he should've been staying at The Juggler's Rest!), to a little bar called Havana. It was a sweet little place - right up Carolyn's street, with a Latin American theme throughout.
Wednesday 21st February 2007
Up early to get the bus to Napier. Rather a boring journey (although the first bit along the Kapiti coast is quite scenic, and there is a section through a little gorge about half way). It is also cloudy for most of the journey (that's more like it).
Luckily the sun was back out by the time I reached the Hawke's Bay area (the sunniest part of the country, apparently, although about 3 other regions make the same claim).
Spent the afternoon wandering around Napier and getting my bearings. The Art Deco architecture isn't quite as unified/coherent as I might have imagined, although there are some nice buildings dotted around and the town generally has a pleasant atmosphere. It also has a massively long grey pebble beach (backed by rows of Norfolk Pines), although the many warnings about the undertow rather disuade me from taking a dip.
I found half a ready roasted chicken for $2.99, a huge pumpkin for $1.20 and assorted other bargains (including a nice bottle of Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir for under $10). I love Pak & Save.
Thursday 22nd February 2007
I walked to the beach in the morning and made further forays into the town, in an attempt to spot Art Deco details. Still lovely and sunny. The tall palm trees in some of the parks (along with the sun and occasional bit of Spanish Mission architecture) remind me of San Diego. It's almost enough to make you believe the hype.
After lunch back at the hostel I went on a mammoth walk up to the Botanical Gardens (there is a huge derelict hospital next to it - occupying a prime site on the top of the hill, with views all around - surely a major development opportunity), over to the harbour and up to Bluff lookout. All quite interesting, but the centre of Napier is by far the nicest part for wandering around. The rest tends towards "boring suburb" and the port area is heavy-industrial, rather than marina-chic.
The hostel isn't the friendliest I've been in (lots of long-termers working in the vineyards and orchards of Hawke's Bay), but it only costs $11 a night (in my tent) and has everything I might need (which is basically a well-equipped kitchen and reasonably clean bathroom).
Well, I had better leave it there for now, as my time on the computer is almost up (and blogger has been causing me no end of troubles on this computer - I'm not even going to attempt to spell check). I'll try and make further updates later in the week, although there is so much to see and do in Sydney that I am finding it difficult to curtail my wanderings and stay indoors on the computer. I clearly need to find somewhere more boring to stay!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Last post from The Bug
Back again (again). This will have to be the last post for today, as I've got to go and get my bus in just over an hour. Fingers crossed I don't get a queue of people forming behind me this time (the two computers have been really busy this morning).
Tuesday 13th February 2007
Got a lift over to The Bug in the morning with Eric, a (very) typical Frenchman. We're talking polo-necks and Gauloises here (okay he smoked ordinary cigarettes, but I'm sure that's only because he couldn't get hold of proper Gauloises here). And he was having problems "wiz zee wimin" in his life. I didn't see a beret, but I bet he had one tucked in his rucksack. And there were lots of onions in the hostel (it was said that someone worked on an onion farm, but I bet it was just that Eric's onion necklace had broken).
Anyway, we arrived at The Bug and it was a great little place. Really clean, single beds, free (fast) internet, extremely helpful owner (from Oadby, Leics - thinks he might have gone to school with you, Lydia*) and generally lovely, friendly atmosphere. I decided to make full use of the internet and ended up spending most of the day uploading my photos. It wasn't quite as fast as I had initially thought. Still, I got it done and it was a very liberating feeling to have a clear memory card once again. It was just as shame that I had missed a sunny afternoon in the process, but, oh well, it was nice to look at the blue sky out of the window.
I dashed into town afterwards for a quick shop-up and then proceeded to make a nice hearty soup, thus reminding me of Saturdays at home (I'm trying to whittle down my food bags and have discovered a surplus of pulses, which obviously need to be used up - I can't just give them away!!!).
*ASWM, courtesy of Small World Moments Inc.
Wednesday 14th February 2007 (Valentine's Day)
Happy St. Valentine's Day, lovers. I decided that in the absence of a paramour, I would continue a love affair of a different kind and visit some more wineries...
But before that (and before lunch) I had a mooch around Nelson city centre. I really quite like it here. It doesn't have much in the way of sights, but the tree-lined streets are nice and it has a friendly buzz about it.
After lunch I borrowed one of the hostel's free bikes and headed south to the Nelson wineries, most of which are located to the south and west of the suburb of Richmond. I followed the old railway cycle track for much of the way, which was pleasant in a suburban-sprawl kind of way. Once I got beyond Richmond (20km), it was rather more interesting, as I had got out into the countryside, with kiwi and appley orchards, fields of pumpkins and the occasional vineyard.
Wine-growing is done on a much smaller scale here than in Marlborough, but there was still a good range of wines (the best ones are usually white - it just doesn't seem to be warm enough for reds other than Pinot Noir, and this summer is heading towards being a complete disaster). The usual free-tastings were on offer and most places seemed really happy to have a potential punter and someone who is genuinely interested in wine (the school holidays are over and there wasn't a soul about).
The bull**** must have been working nicely because one chap asked me if I worked in the wine trade! He was really generous with his measures (they all were), so once again I was drunk-(well, almost)-in-charge-of-a-bicycle. I didn't cycle under the influence for long though, because I got about 5km and promptly discovered a rusty nail had gone right through my rear tyre. Bummer. I had a long 15km push ahead of me...
I had been pushing for over an hour (still nearly 10km to go), when a friendly Kiwi family stopped to ask if I needed any help (they wondered why I was pushing my bike along the flat). Luckily they had a puncture repair kit and proceeded to help me fix the tyre (well, truth be told, the chap did everything for me while I chatted to his wife). I was very grateful, as otherwise it would have been a rather late return and a very late dinner (I had bought everything I needed for a curry and wasn't relishing the prospect of cooking/eating at midnight). It also allowed me to get back in time for the hostel's Sangria and Snacks evening (in celebration of Valentine's Day), which was most welcome after the exertions of the day. And then it was time for bed, as I had a 6am get-up the next day for a trip out into the Abel Tasman National Park.
Thursday 15th February 2007
It wasn't even light when I got up (the mornings are getting dark as autumn approaches), but it was warm enough in spite of the clouds. The owner of the hostel had kindly offered to drop me off at the bus stop and I was able to get the bus over to Abel Tasman without a hitch. Well, the bus broke down half-way, but the driver managed to get it going again and we arrived in Marahau to a scene of organised chaos. Well, I'm assuming it was organised. After several minutes of standing around like a lemon, I found out where I needed to go and got the water taxi I was supposed to be on (no-one was quite sure if it would get them to their anticipated destination, but it was worth a try).
The clouds had melted away by this point (9am) and it was shaping up to be a scorcher. Yippee.
It was a great little boat ride up along the coast (a small boat with a massive outboard - Dad, you'd have loved it). We even saw a little blue penguin swimming on the surface, only a few feet from the boat, which was great as I'd only seen yellow-eyed ones up until that point.
I got off at Bark's Bay and was all set to walk the 20km back to Marahau. There was a sweet old English couple on the boat, who were worried about making it back to the bus in time. I tried to reassure them that it would be absolutely fine (the estimated times they give are usually wildly over-estimated), but they were right Mary-Annes and decided that they'd like to spend the whole day worrying about it anyway (and I thought I was a worrier!!!)*.
The walk was absolutely beautiful. The sea was looking a gorgeous shade of greeny-blue under the bluest of blue skies and there were loads of golden beaches, inlets, tidal channels, etc. to add to the scenic splendour of the place. I was able to stop a couple of times to swim and it didn't feel all that cold (it might even have been approaching 20 degrees). The water was quite clean (not quite Mediterranean clear, but pretty good) and it was great to be able to dry off in an instant after getting out. Proper summer-holiday-type-stuff at last.
I was exhausted when I got back. The 20km, plus side-tracks and swims, all under the heat of the sun, had really taken it out of me. My 2L of water had been woefully inadequate, so I was dehydrated too. Still, it had been well worth it, as finally I have found somewhere in New Zealand that I would like to come back to!
*they actually made it back in time for the second-to-last bus (the one I was booked on to), as they had been so busy worrying I don't think they stopped once during the entire walk.
Friday 16th February 2007
Had a lovely long chat to Mum and Dad (the BBH phone card works out so cheap), and then spent the rest of the morning benefiting from the free internet here at The Bug. It will be a shame to leave this place as it has been easily the best hostel of my trip so far.
I'm just about to get a lift (again from the kindest hostel-owner in the business) to the bus stop, from where I'll be getting the intercity to Picton. From there I'll get the ferry to Wellington on Sunday and after a bit of time there and in Hawke's Bay, my New Zealand Odyssey will have come to an end. Hopefully I'll get the chance to update this thing again before then, but in the meantime, best wishes from Kiwiland and goodbye for now.
James xx
Tuesday 13th February 2007
Got a lift over to The Bug in the morning with Eric, a (very) typical Frenchman. We're talking polo-necks and Gauloises here (okay he smoked ordinary cigarettes, but I'm sure that's only because he couldn't get hold of proper Gauloises here). And he was having problems "wiz zee wimin" in his life. I didn't see a beret, but I bet he had one tucked in his rucksack. And there were lots of onions in the hostel (it was said that someone worked on an onion farm, but I bet it was just that Eric's onion necklace had broken).
Anyway, we arrived at The Bug and it was a great little place. Really clean, single beds, free (fast) internet, extremely helpful owner (from Oadby, Leics - thinks he might have gone to school with you, Lydia*) and generally lovely, friendly atmosphere. I decided to make full use of the internet and ended up spending most of the day uploading my photos. It wasn't quite as fast as I had initially thought. Still, I got it done and it was a very liberating feeling to have a clear memory card once again. It was just as shame that I had missed a sunny afternoon in the process, but, oh well, it was nice to look at the blue sky out of the window.
I dashed into town afterwards for a quick shop-up and then proceeded to make a nice hearty soup, thus reminding me of Saturdays at home (I'm trying to whittle down my food bags and have discovered a surplus of pulses, which obviously need to be used up - I can't just give them away!!!).
*ASWM, courtesy of Small World Moments Inc.
Wednesday 14th February 2007 (Valentine's Day)
Happy St. Valentine's Day, lovers. I decided that in the absence of a paramour, I would continue a love affair of a different kind and visit some more wineries...
But before that (and before lunch) I had a mooch around Nelson city centre. I really quite like it here. It doesn't have much in the way of sights, but the tree-lined streets are nice and it has a friendly buzz about it.
After lunch I borrowed one of the hostel's free bikes and headed south to the Nelson wineries, most of which are located to the south and west of the suburb of Richmond. I followed the old railway cycle track for much of the way, which was pleasant in a suburban-sprawl kind of way. Once I got beyond Richmond (20km), it was rather more interesting, as I had got out into the countryside, with kiwi and appley orchards, fields of pumpkins and the occasional vineyard.
Wine-growing is done on a much smaller scale here than in Marlborough, but there was still a good range of wines (the best ones are usually white - it just doesn't seem to be warm enough for reds other than Pinot Noir, and this summer is heading towards being a complete disaster). The usual free-tastings were on offer and most places seemed really happy to have a potential punter and someone who is genuinely interested in wine (the school holidays are over and there wasn't a soul about).
The bull**** must have been working nicely because one chap asked me if I worked in the wine trade! He was really generous with his measures (they all were), so once again I was drunk-(well, almost)-in-charge-of-a-bicycle. I didn't cycle under the influence for long though, because I got about 5km and promptly discovered a rusty nail had gone right through my rear tyre. Bummer. I had a long 15km push ahead of me...
I had been pushing for over an hour (still nearly 10km to go), when a friendly Kiwi family stopped to ask if I needed any help (they wondered why I was pushing my bike along the flat). Luckily they had a puncture repair kit and proceeded to help me fix the tyre (well, truth be told, the chap did everything for me while I chatted to his wife). I was very grateful, as otherwise it would have been a rather late return and a very late dinner (I had bought everything I needed for a curry and wasn't relishing the prospect of cooking/eating at midnight). It also allowed me to get back in time for the hostel's Sangria and Snacks evening (in celebration of Valentine's Day), which was most welcome after the exertions of the day. And then it was time for bed, as I had a 6am get-up the next day for a trip out into the Abel Tasman National Park.
Thursday 15th February 2007
It wasn't even light when I got up (the mornings are getting dark as autumn approaches), but it was warm enough in spite of the clouds. The owner of the hostel had kindly offered to drop me off at the bus stop and I was able to get the bus over to Abel Tasman without a hitch. Well, the bus broke down half-way, but the driver managed to get it going again and we arrived in Marahau to a scene of organised chaos. Well, I'm assuming it was organised. After several minutes of standing around like a lemon, I found out where I needed to go and got the water taxi I was supposed to be on (no-one was quite sure if it would get them to their anticipated destination, but it was worth a try).
The clouds had melted away by this point (9am) and it was shaping up to be a scorcher. Yippee.
It was a great little boat ride up along the coast (a small boat with a massive outboard - Dad, you'd have loved it). We even saw a little blue penguin swimming on the surface, only a few feet from the boat, which was great as I'd only seen yellow-eyed ones up until that point.
I got off at Bark's Bay and was all set to walk the 20km back to Marahau. There was a sweet old English couple on the boat, who were worried about making it back to the bus in time. I tried to reassure them that it would be absolutely fine (the estimated times they give are usually wildly over-estimated), but they were right Mary-Annes and decided that they'd like to spend the whole day worrying about it anyway (and I thought I was a worrier!!!)*.
The walk was absolutely beautiful. The sea was looking a gorgeous shade of greeny-blue under the bluest of blue skies and there were loads of golden beaches, inlets, tidal channels, etc. to add to the scenic splendour of the place. I was able to stop a couple of times to swim and it didn't feel all that cold (it might even have been approaching 20 degrees). The water was quite clean (not quite Mediterranean clear, but pretty good) and it was great to be able to dry off in an instant after getting out. Proper summer-holiday-type-stuff at last.
I was exhausted when I got back. The 20km, plus side-tracks and swims, all under the heat of the sun, had really taken it out of me. My 2L of water had been woefully inadequate, so I was dehydrated too. Still, it had been well worth it, as finally I have found somewhere in New Zealand that I would like to come back to!
*they actually made it back in time for the second-to-last bus (the one I was booked on to), as they had been so busy worrying I don't think they stopped once during the entire walk.
Friday 16th February 2007
Had a lovely long chat to Mum and Dad (the BBH phone card works out so cheap), and then spent the rest of the morning benefiting from the free internet here at The Bug. It will be a shame to leave this place as it has been easily the best hostel of my trip so far.
I'm just about to get a lift (again from the kindest hostel-owner in the business) to the bus stop, from where I'll be getting the intercity to Picton. From there I'll get the ferry to Wellington on Sunday and after a bit of time there and in Hawke's Bay, my New Zealand Odyssey will have come to an end. Hopefully I'll get the chance to update this thing again before then, but in the meantime, best wishes from Kiwiland and goodbye for now.
James xx
Marlborough and Nelson = Wine
Back again after just a short wait (phew). Let's hope I can get it finished this time...
Saturday 10th February 2007
The day of the Wine Marlborough Festival had arrived and in typically perverse manner, I had decided not to go. I didn't much fancy jostling with 10,000 in a field, listening to rubbish music (the line-up sounded awful) and having to pay $3 each time you wanted to taste a wine (on top of the $35 ticket price). What a rip-off.
Instead I decided to visit a couple of wineries which were (just about) accessible on foot from Blenheim. Someone had said they might not be open if they were represented at the festival, but I thought it was worth a shot (and it would be nice to have a bit of a walk anyway).
The first (just before lunch) was a horrible experience. The woman was a right sour-faced cow. Downright hostile in fact. I felt really uncomfortable AND I had to pay $2 for the "privilege" of tasting 3 unexceptional wines. What an awful place (I noticed she was all sweetness and light with punters in the poncy-looking restaurant attached - two-faced so-and-so!).
After going back to the hostel for lunch I had almost talked myself out of going to the 2nd winery of the day. It was further out of town and I was worried that I would get a similar reception there. I'm glad I persevered as it couldn't have been more different from the morning's experience. The lady at the Cellar Door was lovely. Very welcoming and happy for me to taste all of their wines for free. And what tasting measures. It was more like half a glass of each, and I was actually (quite unlike me, I know) forced to tip some of the remainder of each into the spittoon. I had had a huge lunch as was feeling a bit bloated. Still, the wines were rather nice
I decided to walk the long way back into town and visit another winery en route. I wish I hadn't bothered as it was much further than it appeared on the map and turned out to be closed when I got there (boo). It was also getting quite cold in the wind (a Southerly blast after yesterday's Fohn) and I felt really tired. In fact, I was totally overcome when I got back. I had to lie down in my tent and actually felt sick for a while (not the wine, surely? Maybe I had overdone the lunch or got a chill in the wind). Still, I read for a bit and had an early night, in the hope that I would be fit for the wine Odyssey which was to come...
Sunday 11th February 2007
Luckily I felt fine when I woke up. Perhaps I was just overtired... Anyway, I was glad I felt better as I had booked myself a ticket on the "Wine Down" bus tour, a new venture for this year's Wine Festival. Basically, there were a series of shuttle buses offering a hop-on hop-off services around most of the wineries for the day.
I caught the bus at 11am (no-one seemed to know quite what was going on but I found myself on a bus heading out to the vineyards at least). I had a plan of missing the first couple so that I would be ahead of the crowd. This worked a treat as in most places I was by myself and got the full attention of the people at the Cellar Door.
It was a lovely sunny day and some of the wineries had lovely settings. Most people were really friendly (my first [miserable] Marlborough tasking experience must have been a one-off). I was chatting to one of the owners who had been on a cycle tour around Devon last year and was particularly taken with Beer (even if she thought the cycle back out was a bit much!). It's another small world moment...
I visited 9 (nine!) wineries in total and didn't have to pay for a single tasting (bonus). There were some really nice wines. Cloudy Bay was a particular highlight although that might have been because I was already a little bit tipsy by that point! There were also more reds on offer than I thought there would have been. I think some of the wine-makers are getting a bit fed up with Sauvignon Blanc, so are experimenting with other varieties in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. I can't say I was overly impressed with anything other than the standard whites (SB, Reisling and Gewurtz) or the odd Pinot Noir, but it was very interesting nonetheless.
Luckily, I managed to get the last bus back to Blenheim and was back in plenty of time to get the bus over to Nelson. I even slept on the bus (a first for me) and woke up with a bit of a headache. I wonder why! First impressions of the hostel weren't all that promising (there were a lot of long-termers working on the nearby orchards and my dorm was an absolute mess), but I was only there for two nights so was sure I'd be able to put up with it for that long. I had intended to spend a couple of days relaxing on the beach (it was 100m from the hostel) before moving into the city of Nelson itself for a further three days.
I got chatting to two older Australian women (I've now got a place to stay up the coast from Sydney, if I want it) and a nice chap from America (who works for Scripps* in San Diego!), so it was a nice end to what felt like a mammoth day!
*as a captain of an oceanography vessel, so I guess Claire won't know him.
Monday 12th February 2007
It was a miserable looking day (drizzly and grey) so the American chap I had been speaking to the night before asked if I wanted to join him on a drive out to Farewell Spit and Golden Bay (he had a hire car and would be glad of the company, he said). Given that I was planning a day on the beach (the forecast had been good... but as usual they got it wrong) I jumped at the chance.
On the way out we stopped at a couple of viewpoints to look at the clouds (he is a keen Paraglider - probably friends with Craig! - and was even more disappointed about the weather than I was) and then had lunch at Mussel Inn on Golden Bay. The Mussel Chowder was good, washed down with a delicious black beer that is made on site.
As we headed west along Golden Bay it began to brighten up. The beaches on the bay were more grey than golden, but the setting was lovely with the mountains rising up on 3 sides. We then proceeded to Whararaki Beach (a lovely spot), Cape Farewell and Farewell Spit. The latter looks more impressive curling round on the map than in real life, but it is difficult so see the full extent of it from the land. Still, there were some nice spots on the way and it had a real end-of-the-road kind of feel to it.
We got back quite late (it was a long old drive from Nelson) and ate some of the nice nibbles that the kind Australian ladies had left behind (olives, caviar [!], feta, various other cheeses), with a bottle of wine. Got into a bit of a debate about the war in Iraq and war in general, which was a bit much after such a long day. He was rather forceful with his opinions, which became grating after a while. Oh well, it is interesting to hear (and dismiss!) viewpoints other than your own...
More people waiting to use the computer. I'm writing too much! Back later...
Saturday 10th February 2007
The day of the Wine Marlborough Festival had arrived and in typically perverse manner, I had decided not to go. I didn't much fancy jostling with 10,000 in a field, listening to rubbish music (the line-up sounded awful) and having to pay $3 each time you wanted to taste a wine (on top of the $35 ticket price). What a rip-off.
Instead I decided to visit a couple of wineries which were (just about) accessible on foot from Blenheim. Someone had said they might not be open if they were represented at the festival, but I thought it was worth a shot (and it would be nice to have a bit of a walk anyway).
The first (just before lunch) was a horrible experience. The woman was a right sour-faced cow. Downright hostile in fact. I felt really uncomfortable AND I had to pay $2 for the "privilege" of tasting 3 unexceptional wines. What an awful place (I noticed she was all sweetness and light with punters in the poncy-looking restaurant attached - two-faced so-and-so!).
After going back to the hostel for lunch I had almost talked myself out of going to the 2nd winery of the day. It was further out of town and I was worried that I would get a similar reception there. I'm glad I persevered as it couldn't have been more different from the morning's experience. The lady at the Cellar Door was lovely. Very welcoming and happy for me to taste all of their wines for free. And what tasting measures. It was more like half a glass of each, and I was actually (quite unlike me, I know) forced to tip some of the remainder of each into the spittoon. I had had a huge lunch as was feeling a bit bloated. Still, the wines were rather nice
I decided to walk the long way back into town and visit another winery en route. I wish I hadn't bothered as it was much further than it appeared on the map and turned out to be closed when I got there (boo). It was also getting quite cold in the wind (a Southerly blast after yesterday's Fohn) and I felt really tired. In fact, I was totally overcome when I got back. I had to lie down in my tent and actually felt sick for a while (not the wine, surely? Maybe I had overdone the lunch or got a chill in the wind). Still, I read for a bit and had an early night, in the hope that I would be fit for the wine Odyssey which was to come...
Sunday 11th February 2007
Luckily I felt fine when I woke up. Perhaps I was just overtired... Anyway, I was glad I felt better as I had booked myself a ticket on the "Wine Down" bus tour, a new venture for this year's Wine Festival. Basically, there were a series of shuttle buses offering a hop-on hop-off services around most of the wineries for the day.
I caught the bus at 11am (no-one seemed to know quite what was going on but I found myself on a bus heading out to the vineyards at least). I had a plan of missing the first couple so that I would be ahead of the crowd. This worked a treat as in most places I was by myself and got the full attention of the people at the Cellar Door.
It was a lovely sunny day and some of the wineries had lovely settings. Most people were really friendly (my first [miserable] Marlborough tasking experience must have been a one-off). I was chatting to one of the owners who had been on a cycle tour around Devon last year and was particularly taken with Beer (even if she thought the cycle back out was a bit much!). It's another small world moment...
I visited 9 (nine!) wineries in total and didn't have to pay for a single tasting (bonus). There were some really nice wines. Cloudy Bay was a particular highlight although that might have been because I was already a little bit tipsy by that point! There were also more reds on offer than I thought there would have been. I think some of the wine-makers are getting a bit fed up with Sauvignon Blanc, so are experimenting with other varieties in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. I can't say I was overly impressed with anything other than the standard whites (SB, Reisling and Gewurtz) or the odd Pinot Noir, but it was very interesting nonetheless.
Luckily, I managed to get the last bus back to Blenheim and was back in plenty of time to get the bus over to Nelson. I even slept on the bus (a first for me) and woke up with a bit of a headache. I wonder why! First impressions of the hostel weren't all that promising (there were a lot of long-termers working on the nearby orchards and my dorm was an absolute mess), but I was only there for two nights so was sure I'd be able to put up with it for that long. I had intended to spend a couple of days relaxing on the beach (it was 100m from the hostel) before moving into the city of Nelson itself for a further three days.
I got chatting to two older Australian women (I've now got a place to stay up the coast from Sydney, if I want it) and a nice chap from America (who works for Scripps* in San Diego!), so it was a nice end to what felt like a mammoth day!
*as a captain of an oceanography vessel, so I guess Claire won't know him.
Monday 12th February 2007
It was a miserable looking day (drizzly and grey) so the American chap I had been speaking to the night before asked if I wanted to join him on a drive out to Farewell Spit and Golden Bay (he had a hire car and would be glad of the company, he said). Given that I was planning a day on the beach (the forecast had been good... but as usual they got it wrong) I jumped at the chance.
On the way out we stopped at a couple of viewpoints to look at the clouds (he is a keen Paraglider - probably friends with Craig! - and was even more disappointed about the weather than I was) and then had lunch at Mussel Inn on Golden Bay. The Mussel Chowder was good, washed down with a delicious black beer that is made on site.
As we headed west along Golden Bay it began to brighten up. The beaches on the bay were more grey than golden, but the setting was lovely with the mountains rising up on 3 sides. We then proceeded to Whararaki Beach (a lovely spot), Cape Farewell and Farewell Spit. The latter looks more impressive curling round on the map than in real life, but it is difficult so see the full extent of it from the land. Still, there were some nice spots on the way and it had a real end-of-the-road kind of feel to it.
We got back quite late (it was a long old drive from Nelson) and ate some of the nice nibbles that the kind Australian ladies had left behind (olives, caviar [!], feta, various other cheeses), with a bottle of wine. Got into a bit of a debate about the war in Iraq and war in general, which was a bit much after such a long day. He was rather forceful with his opinions, which became grating after a while. Oh well, it is interesting to hear (and dismiss!) viewpoints other than your own...
More people waiting to use the computer. I'm writing too much! Back later...
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Fast free internet in a great little hostel in Nelson
Hi there,
I'm back again, this time with an update from The Bug, a wonderful little hostel in Nelson (R.I.P.), with fast free internet and some time spent sheltering from the rain in which to write this nonsense (actually it stopped raining as soon as I had finished writing this sentence, and it is now a couple of days later, but I will leave it in there for the sake of completeness).
I have also uploaded all my photos, so, for a gander at those, go to www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth5, www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth6 and www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth7. And now here goes with the blog part...
Tuesday 6th February 2006
We moved up the road to a different hostel, as there were various irritating things about the previous one (such as pushy-down taps which soaked your crotch every time you washed your hands or cleaned your teeth, and a severe lack of good pans/knives in the kitchen). And the new one had a swimming pool, which was a major plus.
In light of the swimming pool (heated!) and good weather, we spent most of the day lounging around it and swimming in it, which made a nice change after the unseasonable weather and prevalence of cold water around these islands. It's lovely to be able to swim for more than 10 minutes without losing all feeling in your extremities.
A good deal of the day was also spent cooking. My goodness how we've eaten/cooked whilst we've been travelling together. I think I have put on at least half a stone. They really like their meat and cheese, those Swedes! And potatoes. I'll mention no names, but this brought to mind a certain individual not too far from home. Although, to give them their dues, they were adventurous (desperate/hungry) enough to consume anything I offered up.
Mathias finds it hard to go for more than a day without meat of some description (even eggs and dairy aren't good enough substitutes for him!) so if my cooking failed to deliver on that front, it was ham for breakfast instead. I think I'll go back to a meat-free diet for while after I say goodbye to them... Still, it has been nice to profit from the good quality (and cheap) meat that New Zealand has to offer.
It had become progressively more humid during the day and by evening there were some torrential thundery downpours.
Wednesday 7th February 2007
In the morning we set off early to walk around the Kaikoura Peninsula. It was a misty murky start and had clearly rained more overnight. There was that nice post-thunderstorm freshness in the air (without being cold, though, which made a nice change). And luckily the cloud began to burn off as soon as we started walking. It just left some beautiful strands of vapour hanging around the mountainsides. Which meant that the views were gorgeous.
And the walk continued in that vein. It was absolutely beautiful. The white limestone reminded me of the Greek Islands, but there were loads of seals on the rocks and sheep in the fields (not very Greek, that). I especially liked the southern side of the peninsula and the little village/harbour over there. All with the Kaikoura Range as a backdrop. Lovely stuff.
We walked quite briskly (the Swedes and I have that in common) and so were able to get back in time for lunch. This was followed by an afternoon around the pool (more swimming in the warm water - looking forward to more of that in Oz). The weather was again kind as it stayed sunny until about 5pm, and then it clouded over and there were more thundery showers.
Thursday 8th February 2007
Last day with the Swedes today, so enjoyed their company before heading off on my lonesome...
We spent the day in a fairly relaxed manner, wandering around town, cooking lunch (stuffed jacket potatoes - a minor triumph, against the odds) and messing around in the pool. It was a funny day weatherwise, starting off wet, clearing up around lunchtime (hot and humid) and then raining again from late afternoon onwards. Still we have been quite lucky of late and have been glad of a heated pool that you can use in all weathers (I quite nice swimming in the rain)
I ended the day with a sauna, although it was a bit too hot, even for me (the thermometer said 80 degrees - can that be right?). Too long in there and I would have come out a spit-roast.
Friday 9th February 2007
Said goodbye to the Swedes (hopefully I'll be able to go and visit them in Sweden, or they can come and experience the delights of Sidmouth, parents willing[?!]) and got the bus up to Blenheim. The weather had cleared up again and was really warm. It was a beautiful bus ride, with the road sandwiched for the most part between the ocean and the mountains. Saw plenty of seals frolicking in the sea (there were hundreds of the blighters), various surfers enjoying the large swell (but probably not enjoying the freezing cold water) and vast fields of kelp swishing in the waves.
The mountains softened towards Blenheim, with vineyards starting to appear on the plains and the dried grass giving the unusual pointy hills a golden glow. There were also some bright pink salt lakes, which I was annoyed not to be able to get a photo of, as they looked stunning set against the gold grass and bright blue sky.
It was really warm on arrival in Blenheim (a Fohn wind, I reckon - excuse the lack of umlauts) and quite a sweaty trek to the hostel. "The Grapvine" seemed quite nice (I had a good spot for my tent in the garden). There was hardly anyone around so I was able to make lunch and do my washing in peace. I was very impressed with the presence of a grape vine, from which I was able to help myself to some lovely grapes (Gewurztraminer? They were almost spicy!), and lemon trees. More highlights of the free-food variety.
The hostel was beside the river and there was a nice walk alongside it from there into the town. It was market day (and the build-up to the Wine Marlborough Festival) so there was a nice bustle and generally pleasant atmosphere in the warm afternoon/evening sunshine.
Spent the evening chatting to various people from the hostel (most of whom are working on the vineyards), so was able to re-assure myself that even after spending a month travelling with the same people, it is always easy to meet new people in hostels...
Damn, someone else is waiting to use the computer, so I will have to leave it there for now. Hopefully I can come back later and finish this off before I need to get the bus over to Picton this afternoon. Otherwise, it may be a few days before I get back up-to-date.
I'm back again, this time with an update from The Bug, a wonderful little hostel in Nelson (R.I.P.), with fast free internet and some time spent sheltering from the rain in which to write this nonsense (actually it stopped raining as soon as I had finished writing this sentence, and it is now a couple of days later, but I will leave it in there for the sake of completeness).
I have also uploaded all my photos, so, for a gander at those, go to www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth5, www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth6 and www.picasaweb.google.com/sidmouth7. And now here goes with the blog part...
Tuesday 6th February 2006
We moved up the road to a different hostel, as there were various irritating things about the previous one (such as pushy-down taps which soaked your crotch every time you washed your hands or cleaned your teeth, and a severe lack of good pans/knives in the kitchen). And the new one had a swimming pool, which was a major plus.
In light of the swimming pool (heated!) and good weather, we spent most of the day lounging around it and swimming in it, which made a nice change after the unseasonable weather and prevalence of cold water around these islands. It's lovely to be able to swim for more than 10 minutes without losing all feeling in your extremities.
A good deal of the day was also spent cooking. My goodness how we've eaten/cooked whilst we've been travelling together. I think I have put on at least half a stone. They really like their meat and cheese, those Swedes! And potatoes. I'll mention no names, but this brought to mind a certain individual not too far from home. Although, to give them their dues, they were adventurous (desperate/hungry) enough to consume anything I offered up.
Mathias finds it hard to go for more than a day without meat of some description (even eggs and dairy aren't good enough substitutes for him!) so if my cooking failed to deliver on that front, it was ham for breakfast instead. I think I'll go back to a meat-free diet for while after I say goodbye to them... Still, it has been nice to profit from the good quality (and cheap) meat that New Zealand has to offer.
It had become progressively more humid during the day and by evening there were some torrential thundery downpours.
Wednesday 7th February 2007
In the morning we set off early to walk around the Kaikoura Peninsula. It was a misty murky start and had clearly rained more overnight. There was that nice post-thunderstorm freshness in the air (without being cold, though, which made a nice change). And luckily the cloud began to burn off as soon as we started walking. It just left some beautiful strands of vapour hanging around the mountainsides. Which meant that the views were gorgeous.
And the walk continued in that vein. It was absolutely beautiful. The white limestone reminded me of the Greek Islands, but there were loads of seals on the rocks and sheep in the fields (not very Greek, that). I especially liked the southern side of the peninsula and the little village/harbour over there. All with the Kaikoura Range as a backdrop. Lovely stuff.
We walked quite briskly (the Swedes and I have that in common) and so were able to get back in time for lunch. This was followed by an afternoon around the pool (more swimming in the warm water - looking forward to more of that in Oz). The weather was again kind as it stayed sunny until about 5pm, and then it clouded over and there were more thundery showers.
Thursday 8th February 2007
Last day with the Swedes today, so enjoyed their company before heading off on my lonesome...
We spent the day in a fairly relaxed manner, wandering around town, cooking lunch (stuffed jacket potatoes - a minor triumph, against the odds) and messing around in the pool. It was a funny day weatherwise, starting off wet, clearing up around lunchtime (hot and humid) and then raining again from late afternoon onwards. Still we have been quite lucky of late and have been glad of a heated pool that you can use in all weathers (I quite nice swimming in the rain)
I ended the day with a sauna, although it was a bit too hot, even for me (the thermometer said 80 degrees - can that be right?). Too long in there and I would have come out a spit-roast.
Friday 9th February 2007
Said goodbye to the Swedes (hopefully I'll be able to go and visit them in Sweden, or they can come and experience the delights of Sidmouth, parents willing[?!]) and got the bus up to Blenheim. The weather had cleared up again and was really warm. It was a beautiful bus ride, with the road sandwiched for the most part between the ocean and the mountains. Saw plenty of seals frolicking in the sea (there were hundreds of the blighters), various surfers enjoying the large swell (but probably not enjoying the freezing cold water) and vast fields of kelp swishing in the waves.
The mountains softened towards Blenheim, with vineyards starting to appear on the plains and the dried grass giving the unusual pointy hills a golden glow. There were also some bright pink salt lakes, which I was annoyed not to be able to get a photo of, as they looked stunning set against the gold grass and bright blue sky.
It was really warm on arrival in Blenheim (a Fohn wind, I reckon - excuse the lack of umlauts) and quite a sweaty trek to the hostel. "The Grapvine" seemed quite nice (I had a good spot for my tent in the garden). There was hardly anyone around so I was able to make lunch and do my washing in peace. I was very impressed with the presence of a grape vine, from which I was able to help myself to some lovely grapes (Gewurztraminer? They were almost spicy!), and lemon trees. More highlights of the free-food variety.
The hostel was beside the river and there was a nice walk alongside it from there into the town. It was market day (and the build-up to the Wine Marlborough Festival) so there was a nice bustle and generally pleasant atmosphere in the warm afternoon/evening sunshine.
Spent the evening chatting to various people from the hostel (most of whom are working on the vineyards), so was able to re-assure myself that even after spending a month travelling with the same people, it is always easy to meet new people in hostels...
Damn, someone else is waiting to use the computer, so I will have to leave it there for now. Hopefully I can come back later and finish this off before I need to get the bus over to Picton this afternoon. Otherwise, it may be a few days before I get back up-to-date.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Christchurch and Kaikoura
Tuesday 30th January 2007 (continued)
Well, after updating my blog and eating lunch, we left Oamaru on the bus to Christchurch. The journey was uneventful and rather dull compared to most of the other journeys so far. You could see mountains in the distance, and we crossed the odd braided river (one of which must have been about 1km wide) but otherwise it was a flat, boring ride across The Canterbury Plains.
First impressions of Christchurch were good, however. The river and gardens looked very English (nice English, that is - we're not talking Bradford here - especially in the evening sunshine) and it generally had a nice feel to it. There is also a free bus which does a loop around the centre, so it meant our walk to the hostel wasn't as far as it would otherwise have been.
The hostel also seemed promising. Located in a nice quiet part of town, close to the park and with a nice garden and terrace for sitting outside. The room had single beds (as opposed to bunks) and the kitchen was well equipped. And who should we bump into (again), but Penny and Dave! It was their last full day, so they were able to relieve themselves of their remaining food and make 3 people very happy indeed. Oh, and the "free food boxes" were also stuffed full of goodies. Bonus. Our food bags were bulging. I got the impression I was going to like it here.
It was a warm evening so we were able to sit outside to eat dinner - a first for New Zealand?
Wednesday 31st January 2007
Another sunny day. What's going on? Does the approach of February herald the start of summer? Usually by August at home it is already feeling autumnal. We were even able to eat breakfast outside in shorts and t-shirts... and that hasn't happened many times so far in New Zealand. Nice.
We spent the morning exploring the centre of town. I then booked a few future bus tickets at the i-site, as I wanted to sort out the remainder of my time in New Zealand. Tomorrow is the start of my last month and I wanted to make sure I had time to see everything I wanted to see. I was also thus able to get some extreme saver tickets, which allow you to go anywhere on the intercity network for $10. More bargains = happy James.
After returning to the hostel for lunch (and the now obligatory free-food-check or FFC), we went to the Art Gallery. It was nice to have a cultural afternoon for a change. We got free tickets for the Giacometti exhibition, so it was big feet and skinny bodies ahoy. There were some nice pieces but it was rather a small selection and I would have felt a bit cheated if I'd paid the usual $14 entry. The rest of the gallery also seemed a bit second rate compared to the building itself. I guess New Zealand's general lack of culture also extends to their galleries. Still, they are able to write "art criticism" (aka bull****) with the best of them. Some of the modern conceptual stuff had the most unbelievably poncy commentaries. Complete tosh, mostly.
Another al fresco dinner completed a good day... and I've been sleeping really well lately (I finally seem to be getting used to staying in shared rooms... although, of course, it helps not having someone tossing and turning in a bed 2 feet above your head).
Thursday 1st February 2007
So, I'm now into the fifth calendar month of my travels. At some point during early Feb I'll reach the halfway point of my travels and then it'll be homeward bound... (sort of - albeit in a hopping-back-to-Australia-first kind-of-way).
It's hotter than ever today. My first sweaty breakfast since Australia and a languid morning stroll into town to use the internet, book tickets for an excursion to Akaroa tomorrow, buy a Frisbee ($2 in the "It's a $2" shop for an afternoon in the park) and do some food shopping at Pak 'n' Save. It's the biggest Pak 'n' Save of the trip so far (much excitement) and much the best selection of wines I've seen since my last visit to Waitrose. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. There wasn't anything much from outside of Australia or New Zealand, but at least Oz wines were represented by more than just Hardys, Banrock Station and Jacobs Creek. It sure beat most of the provincial supermarkets. I got a nice looking bottle of Australian Shiraz and a couple of Pinot Noirs for around the $10 mark, one of which was from Central Otago (these usually command a $20/$30+ price tag). Christchurch is proving to be bargain city. Maybe that's why I like it so much (that and the weather!).
Lunch on the hostel's fine terrace (we were actually forced into the shade) was followed by an afternoon excursion to the park. On the way out we bumped into the hostel's gardener. She was lamenting how no-one picked any of the veg she'd been growing in the garden, so we got chatting and said how we'd been looking at the rhubarb the day before and wondering if we could get away with pinching a bit under the cover of darkness (we had assumed that it was the owners private patch). She said we were welcome to take anything we fancied, so our eyes lit up at the prospect of fresh broccoli, runner beans, cabbage, lettuce and rhubarb. Great stuff.
It was lovely to lounge in the park for the afternoon, playing a bit of Frisbee and generally enjoying the warm sunshine. It reminded me of the occasional hot days we get in England. You know it is fleeting so you really make the most of it (and the parkland surroundings were so English it was like being transported back home).
Made a nice rhubarb crumble in the evening (it was huge!) and got several compliments about my kitchen skills (thanks Mum!). One girl asked if I was a professional chef as she always saw me cooking nice stuff. I guess most people just don't make the effort when they are travelling (I couldn't believe it when the gardener said we were the first people to take an interest in the veg patch for over a year). It was a really balmy evening - perfect for sitting outside - and it made the wine taste even better than usual.
Friday 2nd February 2007
It was an early start to catch the bus for our day-trip to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. Typically, it was fine when we work up (06:45), but had clouded in by the time we got on the bus. It was also freezing cold - such a huge contrast from the night before (I later read that it is quite common to have a cold southerly blast immediately after a hot northwester).
The drive over to Akaroa was nice, although the dull weather (and mist hanging around the hills) meant that the views weren't as good as they should have been. The Banks Peninsula is an amazing place - the way it juts up from (and contrasts to) the Canterbury Plains means that it seems more remote and otherworldly than it actually is.
Akaroa prides itself on it's French heritage. Although in practice this means little more than French Street Names, touristy shops (with French names) and smelly toilets (I hope this isn't bringing back bad memories for anyone, Mum). Still, it is a nice little place and if you block out the American tourists, it makes for a pleasant day trip.
We went for a ramble behind the town in the morning and discovered an apple tree for scrumping - much to my delight. We also found a plum tree, but the fact that it was in someone's garden (and we could hear voices) meant that our plunderings were limited.
It was nice countryside and there were occasional views across the inlet. It was also freezing cold and when we sat down for our picnic lunch it began to rain (an icy rain, that I could swear had sleety bits in it*). We scoffed as much as we could and then beat a hasty retreat to a cafe to warm ourselves up. It was just as we went in that the sun came out, so we were able to transfer ourselves to the sunny terrace and hang ourselves out to dry.
From then on it was a lovely afternoon. Akaroa looked beautiful in the sunshine - the water was blue (rather than the grey of the morning) and we even spotted dolphins playing offshore. We were lucky to have the sun we did because it was raining by the time we got back into Christchurch and, judging by the puddles the following morning, continued to do so for much of the night.
*this is probably an exaggeration, brought on by the first stages of hypothermia, but it was damn cold and if we had stayed there much longer I wouldn't have been able to feel my legs below the knee.
Saturday 3rd February 2007
It was a cool start (breakfast indoors today), accompanied (as so often in New Zealand) by Solid Gold FM (a radio station which only plays music from the 60s and 70s - it's nostalgia galore here [inventing a past they don't really have]). It strikes me, whilst listening to Suspicious Minds, how much Elvis and Cher sound alike. Odd.
After this fascinating discovery I decided to have a wander around the botanic gardens. Emelie and Mathias wanted to go clothes shopping, so it was nice to have a bit of time to myself. The gardens were lovely (again, very English - herbaceous borders, rose gardens, a hot house, cactus display, etc.) and it began to warm up as lunchtime approached.
After meeting up for lunch back at the hostel, we decided to head back to the park for another afternoon of Frisbee and lounging in the sun. It wasn't as hot as before (cool breeze) but it was just right for running around like an idiot after the Frisbee.
Sunday 4th February 2007
I had another look around the botanical gardens in the morning (this time with E and M), taking in the bits that I hadn't seen on Saturday. Similar weather (fluffy white clouds in a mainly blue sky with a cool breeze)... giving me the impression that Christchurch is a nice sunny city, with lovely gardens and a generally pleasant atmosphere. It will be a shame to leave (especially the free food bins and the hostel's veggie patch), but leave we had to.
The bus left in the afternoon (after a leisurely lunch and a final harvest to take with us!). It was a scenic ride up to Kaikoura, especially the last 20 minutes or so, where the road hugs the coast. After the plains around Christchurch, the mountains rose up impressively and the sky had cleared to set them off nicely in the evening sunshine.
On arrival (still in the evening sunshine) Kaikoura seemed like a nice little town, although the hostel wasn't particularly great (this was probably in contrast to Dorset House in Christchurch, which was particularly good, but we decided to move to another one for our last 3 days anyway - one which even boasts a swimming pool, so we're hoping that the sunny weather continues).
Monday 5th February 2007
Sunny again and the hostel seemed better this morning (must have been overtired yesterday!). Spent most of the morning sitting/lying on the pebbly beach (could have been Branscombe, but for the black stones and the lack of a stricken cargo vessel offshore). Nice to be by the sea again. Had a paddle (still freezing) and threw stones into the water (my arm still aches from Frisbee!). Kaikoura is certainly a nice place to be when the sun is shining.
Had a long lunch (enjoying the uncrowded kitchen - there were so many people the night before) and then came here to upload my photos (absolutely useless - so slow) and update my blog (more success with that one, although Gmail won't allow me to be logged into different picasa and blogger accounts simultaneously). There's actually free internet at the hostel (the reason we decided to stay there), but you can't use USB and it is so slow it would almost be quicker to use Royal Mail.
So there we go, I'm now back at the hostel to use the snail internet to upload this (I hope it works okay). Just had a nice beef stew (sat outside in the sun, which was nice - well, until it went down and got a bit too chilly) and will shortly be going to bed (it's been sunny today and I've got that tired "fresh air" glow which should hopefully lead to a good night's sleep.
Hooray - I'm back up-to-date again (and only a short delay this time). Maybe I can keep on top of it now that I am getting back closer to civilisation. Or maybe not. We shall see...
Best wishes,
James xx
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Asylum Diaries (AKA The Ryan Saga)
I think I'll cover the days spent in the asylum as one entry. I didn't do a great deal of sightseeing while I was there. It was more about simple pleasures, bumping into old acquaintances and one "big news" story that tended to dominate events. So, here goes:
Wednesday 24th January 2007 to Saturday 26th January 2007
We had had a phone call from Ryan on Tuesday, saying that Emelie was getting the bus to Dunedin (from Te Anau) on Wednesday, whilst he was going back to work in Christchurch in order to make some money to cover his car repairs (it was more expensive than he anticipated). He asked us if we would mind picking her up from the station. We didn't and just assumed that things between them had cooled somewhat. Not really all that surprising for Mathias and I - things had begun to seem a bit strained in Milford Sound.
After a game of tennis and a cycle ride in the morning on Wednesday (sunny but cool), we picked her up and went back to the Asylum. Some other people had arrived at the hostel, three of whom I had met previously (Penny [Taunton] and Dave from Christmas in the Cat's Pyjamas and Chris [Bournemouth] from the Lion's Den in Coromandel). It's still a small world and always rather nice to see familiar faces, especially being so far from home.
We all went to see the penguins further up the coast in the evening, and thoroughly enjoyed such a close encounter with these amusing little creatures (it was bloody freezing, mind).
It was the next day that things took a turn for the strange (as you might expect for a lunatic asylum). I had a quiet day of washing, internet-messing and general lounging, while a few of the others drove into Dunedin to go to the Art Gallery. Having already been I decided that a repeat visit wasn't necessary. Meanwhile, yet more people arrived who I had met previously. This time it was Faye and Paul from The Pickled Parrot in Paihia. Given that it was such a small hostel it seemed a bit weird to recognise almost everyone staying there. It made it seem all the more homely and it was great to sit in the large open plan living area (complete with lovely wood-burner, huge palm tree [which touched the ceiling and must have been about 4m wide] and nice comfy sofas) chatting with the other guests.
Upon their return that evening Emelie discovered that her credit card was missing. Initial thoughts of carelessness soon turned towards thoughts of "slimy" Ryan being the prime suspect. The more we thought about it, the more things didn't add up. A bit of amateur detective work the following morning (before we went to the police station to report the matter) revealed that he had two different number plates (one given to one of the hostels we stayed in and another to the garage where the car was being repaired). The wonderful power of hindsight also made me realise just why he had suggested I move from my tent into the spare bed in their dorm. Luckily, I never gave him the satisfaction of doing that - even being cold in my tent was preferable to sharing a room with him. So he wasn't just being friendly after all. And thank goodness I always keep my credit cards attached to my hip.
Anyway, Emelie cancelled her card immediately and discovered that someone had already used it to the tune of $2000. Ryan seemed to be a fast-worker in more ways than one. It's fair to say that I never particularly liked the fellow, but I must admit it didn't cross my mind that he would be a bona fide criminal.
The police (in a quaint local station - talk about Heartbeat - this must be where NZ gets it reputation of being like the UK in the 1950s!) needed documentary evidence so this meant further phone calls back to Sweden and 2 subsequent visits. I think Emelie was glad to have some moral support and someone who could help explain events in plain English (it must be really hard doing something like that in a second language). In the meantime Mathias also discovered that he also had a credit card missing. And this is where it starts to get interesting...
It turns out that when Ryan offered to drive us to the starting point of our afternoon walk in Milford Sound, it was just so that he could have a good rummage through the stuff in their room. Somewhat foolishly, Mathias had left his spare credit card in his bag, which was in the room, and this must have been when Ryan took it. He had clearly told us all a pack of lies and I'm just glad that, being the old cynic I am, I hadn't trusted him from the outset (although I did feel a bit foolish not having suspected the criminal element earlier). What was really shocking, though, is that Ryan had been using Mathias' card to pay for things that him and Emelie did together in Te Anau. He even checked into the hostel in Te Anau using Mathias' surname. Either he was looking for the thrill of living so close to the edge, or was too stupid to cover his tracks. It's a shame that Emelie had been naive enough to trust him, but at least there was now a whole dossier of evidence against him. I myself was just glad that he had never paid for anything on my behalf, as I would have hated to think that I had benefited from his ill-gotten gains (we reckon he probably had a whole wallet full of other people's cards).
Another interesting aspect emerged from a further spot of amateur detective work. When we had been in Queenstown the hostel we were staying at had offered Ryan a job, so on the off chance that he had gone back there to take it, Emelie phoned the hostel to try and ascertain his whereabouts. And who should answer the phone? Yup, you guessed it. It would appear that our Ryan isn't the sharpest tool in the box, even if he is a pretty convincing con-man and actor. Naturally, Emelie hung up straight away so as not to give the game away. At this point it felt like I was in some sort of dodgy detective drama!
The police were pleased with the level of information we were able to give them (prime suspect, lists of fraudulent transactions, number-plates, photographs of car and owner, likely whereabouts of the criminal). Indeed, it is probably the most interesting case the local bobby has had to deal with in quite a while! So, now we could leave it with them and it would be up to them to make a conviction. They took our contact details and said we would probably be informed about any outcome (after several weeks/months of the relevant bureaucracy, naturally).
Aside from the visits to the police station (an interesting sociological exercise, and good coffee and cakes courtesy of the very friendly policeman), I really enjoyed staying at the asylum lodge. I played tennis several times, went to the local beach, collected mussels. I also spent quite a bit of time lounging in front of the fantastic wood-burner, which despite it being in the middle of summer was very much needed! It was also nice to catch up with the various old (well, recently old) acquaintances, finding out where they've been, what they've been up to and what they would recommend (the latter taken with a pinch of salt, as ever!). Still, despite the fact that it was a really nice place, what with all the raking-over of the previous few days (and looking into the mind of a criminal!), it was emotionally quite draining, and I was glad to be moving on up the coast and leaving this particular little episode behind. I think I have learnt to be even more wary of people (a bit of a shame as I am probably already cynical enough) and I suppose I have had a good bit of insight into the mind of a criminal (which you don't get everyday). Interesting, certainly, but not something I shall be wanting to experience again in a hurry.
Sunday 28th January 2007
So, it's back on the road again... After our final visit to the police station (the policeman thought it would be useful if I also provided a statement, given that I wasn't a victim and therefore not so emotionally involved in the case - I was happy to do so if would help to convict the scumbag).
We drove up the coast to Oamaru, stopping at the Moeraki Boulders en route. I was expecting massive lumps of rock, but in actual fact they are quite small and you can step up onto them quite easily. Still, it was moderately interesting and nice to walk along the beach in the fresh air (even if the leaden sky and cold wind made it seem like winter back at home).
Oamaru seemed quite promising. Nice hostel, nice sandstone architecture (well, for New Zealand) and more free internet!
Monday 29th January 2007
It was a lovely sunny day in Oamaru. We walked around the port, the historic part of town, the lovely gardens (just like England) and went to the cheese factory (although didn't feel comfortable enough to taste without buying).
It was so nice to see the sun again and actually feel its warmth out of the wind. I think this is why I like Oamaru so much. It's a bit of a funny little town, but the combination of blue skies, the warm glow of the sun on the lovely sandstone (most buildings in NZ tend to be wooden/corrugated iron affairs) and the friendly atmosphere of the hostel have given me a very good impression of the place.
And we didn't even see the penguins which is the town is famous for (apparently they don't come in until it gets dark and then you have to pay $15 dollars of the privilege of peering out into the blackness). And we had already seen some before, so none of us were desperate for further sightings.
Tuesday 30th January 2007
Well, we are finally there. I am actually writing this on the day of the entry. And today brings interesting news. We had a phone call from our friendly local policeman, with news of Ryan Slimy-Scumbag-Thief. Or rather Michael Something-Or-Other. In fact, he had a Maori surname and was wanted by the police for a missed court-appearance. He was born in the UK and grew up there for part of his life (hence the English accent), but everything else was a web of lies.
There had been an altercation yesterday at the hostel in Queenstown, where he had been working, after he was accused of stealing some money from someone there (surprise!). The police had been called, and after a bit of detective work to link various threads of the story, his true identity was revealed and he was arrested for both the previous misdemeanor he was wanted for and also for the fact that he was driving a stolen car (I'm not particularly happy about have been driven around in it, but there you go). They are still compiling the evidence for the credit card thefts, but will be hitting him with that too, once they have enough on him. And meanwhile he should be held in custody while he awaits sentencing. So that's a wrap. And time for us all to move on.
Further good news (for Mathias and Emelie at least) was they have managed to sell their car, which means we will be getting the bus up to Christchurch later today. So that's where I'll leave it for now. About to eat pasta with pumpkin and bacon, to try and reduce the load we have to car to and from the bus stop later.
Cheerio,
James xx
Wednesday 24th January 2007 to Saturday 26th January 2007
We had had a phone call from Ryan on Tuesday, saying that Emelie was getting the bus to Dunedin (from Te Anau) on Wednesday, whilst he was going back to work in Christchurch in order to make some money to cover his car repairs (it was more expensive than he anticipated). He asked us if we would mind picking her up from the station. We didn't and just assumed that things between them had cooled somewhat. Not really all that surprising for Mathias and I - things had begun to seem a bit strained in Milford Sound.
After a game of tennis and a cycle ride in the morning on Wednesday (sunny but cool), we picked her up and went back to the Asylum. Some other people had arrived at the hostel, three of whom I had met previously (Penny [Taunton] and Dave from Christmas in the Cat's Pyjamas and Chris [Bournemouth] from the Lion's Den in Coromandel). It's still a small world and always rather nice to see familiar faces, especially being so far from home.
We all went to see the penguins further up the coast in the evening, and thoroughly enjoyed such a close encounter with these amusing little creatures (it was bloody freezing, mind).
It was the next day that things took a turn for the strange (as you might expect for a lunatic asylum). I had a quiet day of washing, internet-messing and general lounging, while a few of the others drove into Dunedin to go to the Art Gallery. Having already been I decided that a repeat visit wasn't necessary. Meanwhile, yet more people arrived who I had met previously. This time it was Faye and Paul from The Pickled Parrot in Paihia. Given that it was such a small hostel it seemed a bit weird to recognise almost everyone staying there. It made it seem all the more homely and it was great to sit in the large open plan living area (complete with lovely wood-burner, huge palm tree [which touched the ceiling and must have been about 4m wide] and nice comfy sofas) chatting with the other guests.
Upon their return that evening Emelie discovered that her credit card was missing. Initial thoughts of carelessness soon turned towards thoughts of "slimy" Ryan being the prime suspect. The more we thought about it, the more things didn't add up. A bit of amateur detective work the following morning (before we went to the police station to report the matter) revealed that he had two different number plates (one given to one of the hostels we stayed in and another to the garage where the car was being repaired). The wonderful power of hindsight also made me realise just why he had suggested I move from my tent into the spare bed in their dorm. Luckily, I never gave him the satisfaction of doing that - even being cold in my tent was preferable to sharing a room with him. So he wasn't just being friendly after all. And thank goodness I always keep my credit cards attached to my hip.
Anyway, Emelie cancelled her card immediately and discovered that someone had already used it to the tune of $2000. Ryan seemed to be a fast-worker in more ways than one. It's fair to say that I never particularly liked the fellow, but I must admit it didn't cross my mind that he would be a bona fide criminal.
The police (in a quaint local station - talk about Heartbeat - this must be where NZ gets it reputation of being like the UK in the 1950s!) needed documentary evidence so this meant further phone calls back to Sweden and 2 subsequent visits. I think Emelie was glad to have some moral support and someone who could help explain events in plain English (it must be really hard doing something like that in a second language). In the meantime Mathias also discovered that he also had a credit card missing. And this is where it starts to get interesting...
It turns out that when Ryan offered to drive us to the starting point of our afternoon walk in Milford Sound, it was just so that he could have a good rummage through the stuff in their room. Somewhat foolishly, Mathias had left his spare credit card in his bag, which was in the room, and this must have been when Ryan took it. He had clearly told us all a pack of lies and I'm just glad that, being the old cynic I am, I hadn't trusted him from the outset (although I did feel a bit foolish not having suspected the criminal element earlier). What was really shocking, though, is that Ryan had been using Mathias' card to pay for things that him and Emelie did together in Te Anau. He even checked into the hostel in Te Anau using Mathias' surname. Either he was looking for the thrill of living so close to the edge, or was too stupid to cover his tracks. It's a shame that Emelie had been naive enough to trust him, but at least there was now a whole dossier of evidence against him. I myself was just glad that he had never paid for anything on my behalf, as I would have hated to think that I had benefited from his ill-gotten gains (we reckon he probably had a whole wallet full of other people's cards).
Another interesting aspect emerged from a further spot of amateur detective work. When we had been in Queenstown the hostel we were staying at had offered Ryan a job, so on the off chance that he had gone back there to take it, Emelie phoned the hostel to try and ascertain his whereabouts. And who should answer the phone? Yup, you guessed it. It would appear that our Ryan isn't the sharpest tool in the box, even if he is a pretty convincing con-man and actor. Naturally, Emelie hung up straight away so as not to give the game away. At this point it felt like I was in some sort of dodgy detective drama!
The police were pleased with the level of information we were able to give them (prime suspect, lists of fraudulent transactions, number-plates, photographs of car and owner, likely whereabouts of the criminal). Indeed, it is probably the most interesting case the local bobby has had to deal with in quite a while! So, now we could leave it with them and it would be up to them to make a conviction. They took our contact details and said we would probably be informed about any outcome (after several weeks/months of the relevant bureaucracy, naturally).
Aside from the visits to the police station (an interesting sociological exercise, and good coffee and cakes courtesy of the very friendly policeman), I really enjoyed staying at the asylum lodge. I played tennis several times, went to the local beach, collected mussels. I also spent quite a bit of time lounging in front of the fantastic wood-burner, which despite it being in the middle of summer was very much needed! It was also nice to catch up with the various old (well, recently old) acquaintances, finding out where they've been, what they've been up to and what they would recommend (the latter taken with a pinch of salt, as ever!). Still, despite the fact that it was a really nice place, what with all the raking-over of the previous few days (and looking into the mind of a criminal!), it was emotionally quite draining, and I was glad to be moving on up the coast and leaving this particular little episode behind. I think I have learnt to be even more wary of people (a bit of a shame as I am probably already cynical enough) and I suppose I have had a good bit of insight into the mind of a criminal (which you don't get everyday). Interesting, certainly, but not something I shall be wanting to experience again in a hurry.
Sunday 28th January 2007
So, it's back on the road again... After our final visit to the police station (the policeman thought it would be useful if I also provided a statement, given that I wasn't a victim and therefore not so emotionally involved in the case - I was happy to do so if would help to convict the scumbag).
We drove up the coast to Oamaru, stopping at the Moeraki Boulders en route. I was expecting massive lumps of rock, but in actual fact they are quite small and you can step up onto them quite easily. Still, it was moderately interesting and nice to walk along the beach in the fresh air (even if the leaden sky and cold wind made it seem like winter back at home).
Oamaru seemed quite promising. Nice hostel, nice sandstone architecture (well, for New Zealand) and more free internet!
Monday 29th January 2007
It was a lovely sunny day in Oamaru. We walked around the port, the historic part of town, the lovely gardens (just like England) and went to the cheese factory (although didn't feel comfortable enough to taste without buying).
It was so nice to see the sun again and actually feel its warmth out of the wind. I think this is why I like Oamaru so much. It's a bit of a funny little town, but the combination of blue skies, the warm glow of the sun on the lovely sandstone (most buildings in NZ tend to be wooden/corrugated iron affairs) and the friendly atmosphere of the hostel have given me a very good impression of the place.
And we didn't even see the penguins which is the town is famous for (apparently they don't come in until it gets dark and then you have to pay $15 dollars of the privilege of peering out into the blackness). And we had already seen some before, so none of us were desperate for further sightings.
Tuesday 30th January 2007
Well, we are finally there. I am actually writing this on the day of the entry. And today brings interesting news. We had a phone call from our friendly local policeman, with news of Ryan Slimy-Scumbag-Thief. Or rather Michael Something-Or-Other. In fact, he had a Maori surname and was wanted by the police for a missed court-appearance. He was born in the UK and grew up there for part of his life (hence the English accent), but everything else was a web of lies.
There had been an altercation yesterday at the hostel in Queenstown, where he had been working, after he was accused of stealing some money from someone there (surprise!). The police had been called, and after a bit of detective work to link various threads of the story, his true identity was revealed and he was arrested for both the previous misdemeanor he was wanted for and also for the fact that he was driving a stolen car (I'm not particularly happy about have been driven around in it, but there you go). They are still compiling the evidence for the credit card thefts, but will be hitting him with that too, once they have enough on him. And meanwhile he should be held in custody while he awaits sentencing. So that's a wrap. And time for us all to move on.
Further good news (for Mathias and Emelie at least) was they have managed to sell their car, which means we will be getting the bus up to Christchurch later today. So that's where I'll leave it for now. About to eat pasta with pumpkin and bacon, to try and reduce the load we have to car to and from the bus stop later.
Cheerio,
James xx
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Final post from the Loony Bin
Saturday 20th January 2007
The overnight rain (which continued into the morning) now meant that the mountainsides were pouring with water. At points it seemed that the waterfalls were coming directly down from the clouds. Impressive stuff and a complete contrast to the day that we had driven up to Milford Sound.
Ryan had bashed his car whilst parking in Milford Sound and wanted to stay in Te Anau to get it checked out. Emelie decided to stay with him, so Mathias and I decided to continue on to Invercargill alone (in Mathias and Emelie's car).
Luckily the rain had stopped for this leg of the journey and the scenery was still nice, if somewhat less impressive than Milford Sound. We were following the Southern Scenic Route. It was particularly attractive around Manapouri, with the distant mountains fading into lighter shades of grey.
We arrived at Invercargill around 3pm. The Southern Comfort Hostel was lovely, but the town/city was most uninspiring: wide, grid-iron streets, warehouse-like buildings, general sprawl. And it was cold!
It was a lovely evening chatting to the various people in the hostel. The big wooden table in the dining room was definitely the hub. I then spoke to Mum and Dad on the phone, to wish them a happy holiday, which hopefully they are still enjoying now.
Sunday 21st January 2007
We set off quite early, with a double-header shopping dash (Countdown and Pak 'n' Save) prior to hitting the road into the Catlins. It was cloudy but dry - quite good sightseeing weather, through the undulating scenery of the Catlins.
Our first stop was the petrified forest of Curio Bay. This proved to be of secondary interest to the resident penguin, who was most amusing to watch. He/she (how do you sex a penguin?) was trying to jump up onto a rock and kept stumbling as it tried to hop up. So much nicer than a Sidmouth seagull.
Further stops along the coast included Florence Hill Lookout Point (a picnic lunch in the car - out of the cold wind - just like an English summer holiday) and Cathedral Caves. It was very reminiscent of parts of Devon/Cornwall, with the beaches, headlands, rolling farmland and plethora of sheep. Strange to be so far away and yet feel so much at home. The only real difference was the lack of people/civilisation - it was a bit spookily quiet at times.
We arrived at our hostel in Owaka mid-afternoon. It was a bit of a strange place (reminded me a bit of some of the odd places we stayed in the Basque region), but the owner was really friendly and there was only one other person staying there, so a quiet night was assured (I think I had the best night's sleep of my trip so far - it was dead quiet!).
Monday 22nd January 2007
Watched a bit of the news over breakfast and heard snippets of the "cargo ship disaster off the coast of Devon". The rather piqued my interest, and when I heard "World Heritage Site" I thought it must have been fairly local, but it wasn't until the following day that I saw the Branscombe chalets in the background and was able to pinpoint the exact location (they were showing images of people pushing away brand new BMW motorbikes). Aside from the comedy scavenging angle, let's hope it doesn't cause too much in the way of pollution on my favourite local swimming beach.
Back to matters antipodean (albeit in an area highly reminiscent of home), the wind was blowing from the north-west today and the Fohn effect was well in force. It was really warm (high 20s by lunchtime), in complete contrast to the day before.
We went to Jack's Blowhole in the morning, which wasn't blowing due to the offshore winds. Still, it was a nice walk over the cliffs and the beach there was lovely. The kelp here is amazing - so big!
In the afternoon we walked from Cannibals Bay to another beach (the name eludes me). Lovely spot, with very few people about. Various sea lions lounging on the sands. At first we thought they were dead/dying (one definitely was - half of it was missing), but in hindsight we think it must just have been the effect the heat was having on them. I guess Southern Ocean dwellers aren't particularly used to temperatures nearing 30 degrees.
After this we went to Nugget Point (The Needles of New Zealand!), where there were more seals, sea lions and penguins (albeit rather too distant to see well without the aid of binoculars). It was a really nice place and a fitting climax to the day. Well, perhaps "climax" is over egging it rather, but it was nice in a gentle/undulating/South West sort of way.
Tuesday 23rd January 2007
After another great night's sleep (the hostel in Owaka was really quiet), we drove along the coast to Dunedin. Back to cool south-westerlies today and rather overcast. The beaches actually got better closer to Dunedin in my opinion, but that is probably because I am a sucker for white sand.
Only stopped in Dunedin for a brief while to do some food shopping (it was "Cheap As Tuesday" in Pak 'n' Save) and buy a pair of flip-flops (jandals in the local lingo) in The Warehouse. A bargain at $4, especially if wearing them in-and-out helps lengthen the life-span of my sandals.
After this we drove to The Asylum Lodge in Seacliff (a tiny village on the coast, just to the north of Dunedin). It was certainly a interesting place. Various remnants of the old asylum dotted the grounds, mostly stuffed full with over 50 vintage cars (in various states of [dis]repair). It was in the middle of nowhere (lucky I was still in Mathias' car) and the surroundings were beautiful. Lovely beaches, great views back towards the Otago Peninsular. A nice place to stop and relax for a few days...
Well, I'll leave it there for now and I think the next update will probably come from further up the coast. So I'm still not fully up-to-date. Damn!
All the best,
James xx
The overnight rain (which continued into the morning) now meant that the mountainsides were pouring with water. At points it seemed that the waterfalls were coming directly down from the clouds. Impressive stuff and a complete contrast to the day that we had driven up to Milford Sound.
Ryan had bashed his car whilst parking in Milford Sound and wanted to stay in Te Anau to get it checked out. Emelie decided to stay with him, so Mathias and I decided to continue on to Invercargill alone (in Mathias and Emelie's car).
Luckily the rain had stopped for this leg of the journey and the scenery was still nice, if somewhat less impressive than Milford Sound. We were following the Southern Scenic Route. It was particularly attractive around Manapouri, with the distant mountains fading into lighter shades of grey.
We arrived at Invercargill around 3pm. The Southern Comfort Hostel was lovely, but the town/city was most uninspiring: wide, grid-iron streets, warehouse-like buildings, general sprawl. And it was cold!
It was a lovely evening chatting to the various people in the hostel. The big wooden table in the dining room was definitely the hub. I then spoke to Mum and Dad on the phone, to wish them a happy holiday, which hopefully they are still enjoying now.
Sunday 21st January 2007
We set off quite early, with a double-header shopping dash (Countdown and Pak 'n' Save) prior to hitting the road into the Catlins. It was cloudy but dry - quite good sightseeing weather, through the undulating scenery of the Catlins.
Our first stop was the petrified forest of Curio Bay. This proved to be of secondary interest to the resident penguin, who was most amusing to watch. He/she (how do you sex a penguin?) was trying to jump up onto a rock and kept stumbling as it tried to hop up. So much nicer than a Sidmouth seagull.
Further stops along the coast included Florence Hill Lookout Point (a picnic lunch in the car - out of the cold wind - just like an English summer holiday) and Cathedral Caves. It was very reminiscent of parts of Devon/Cornwall, with the beaches, headlands, rolling farmland and plethora of sheep. Strange to be so far away and yet feel so much at home. The only real difference was the lack of people/civilisation - it was a bit spookily quiet at times.
We arrived at our hostel in Owaka mid-afternoon. It was a bit of a strange place (reminded me a bit of some of the odd places we stayed in the Basque region), but the owner was really friendly and there was only one other person staying there, so a quiet night was assured (I think I had the best night's sleep of my trip so far - it was dead quiet!).
Monday 22nd January 2007
Watched a bit of the news over breakfast and heard snippets of the "cargo ship disaster off the coast of Devon". The rather piqued my interest, and when I heard "World Heritage Site" I thought it must have been fairly local, but it wasn't until the following day that I saw the Branscombe chalets in the background and was able to pinpoint the exact location (they were showing images of people pushing away brand new BMW motorbikes). Aside from the comedy scavenging angle, let's hope it doesn't cause too much in the way of pollution on my favourite local swimming beach.
Back to matters antipodean (albeit in an area highly reminiscent of home), the wind was blowing from the north-west today and the Fohn effect was well in force. It was really warm (high 20s by lunchtime), in complete contrast to the day before.
We went to Jack's Blowhole in the morning, which wasn't blowing due to the offshore winds. Still, it was a nice walk over the cliffs and the beach there was lovely. The kelp here is amazing - so big!
In the afternoon we walked from Cannibals Bay to another beach (the name eludes me). Lovely spot, with very few people about. Various sea lions lounging on the sands. At first we thought they were dead/dying (one definitely was - half of it was missing), but in hindsight we think it must just have been the effect the heat was having on them. I guess Southern Ocean dwellers aren't particularly used to temperatures nearing 30 degrees.
After this we went to Nugget Point (The Needles of New Zealand!), where there were more seals, sea lions and penguins (albeit rather too distant to see well without the aid of binoculars). It was a really nice place and a fitting climax to the day. Well, perhaps "climax" is over egging it rather, but it was nice in a gentle/undulating/South West sort of way.
Tuesday 23rd January 2007
After another great night's sleep (the hostel in Owaka was really quiet), we drove along the coast to Dunedin. Back to cool south-westerlies today and rather overcast. The beaches actually got better closer to Dunedin in my opinion, but that is probably because I am a sucker for white sand.
Only stopped in Dunedin for a brief while to do some food shopping (it was "Cheap As Tuesday" in Pak 'n' Save) and buy a pair of flip-flops (jandals in the local lingo) in The Warehouse. A bargain at $4, especially if wearing them in-and-out helps lengthen the life-span of my sandals.
After this we drove to The Asylum Lodge in Seacliff (a tiny village on the coast, just to the north of Dunedin). It was certainly a interesting place. Various remnants of the old asylum dotted the grounds, mostly stuffed full with over 50 vintage cars (in various states of [dis]repair). It was in the middle of nowhere (lucky I was still in Mathias' car) and the surroundings were beautiful. Lovely beaches, great views back towards the Otago Peninsular. A nice place to stop and relax for a few days...
Well, I'll leave it there for now and I think the next update will probably come from further up the coast. So I'm still not fully up-to-date. Damn!
All the best,
James xx
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Another missive from the (ex-) lunatic asylum
Back again with more ramblings...
Monday 15th January 2007
Another day, another scenic drive. We left early and had beautiful sunny weather for the whole trip. We split into the two cars - myself and Mathias and Ryan (English nob) and Emelie. For the first part of the drive the road was sandwiched between the lake and the The Remarkables and it was indeed stunning. The whole area gives you neck up from look up at the mountains in awe. In fact, the scenery didn't really let up the whole way. Towards Te Anau it got a bit flatter for a while, but was so clear that you could still see all the mountains in the distance. Beautiful stuff.
After an aborted attempt to find a picnic spot by a river (we ended up in a farm yard thanks to Ryan's know-it-all navigating), we ended up having our lunch beside the road. Not the most glamorous of spots, but the pasta salad was nice! We followed this with a walk in a nature reserve, which had all sorts of interesting mosses/lichens.
We eventually rocked up in Te Anau at about 3pm. The hostel was a bit of an odd one. It was attached to a campsite (I was in my tent) and the hostel seemed very much like an afterthought. It was clean enough, but rather lacking in both equipment (only one knife in the kitchen) and atmosphere. Still, a pleasant enough spot (only a few metres from the lake) for a couple of nights.
Had a look around the town (a typically drab New Zealand grid-type-affair) and got yet more shopping (found some really cheap steak and lamb chops for a bit of a mixed-grill) before sitting outside the hostel in the warm evening sunshine. The meat was an absolute triumph - the most tender and succulent cuts I have had in a long time. Yum.
Tuesday 16th January 2007
Woke up freezing cold in my tent. It had been really clear during the night and I could have sworn there was a touch of frost on the grass (in the middle of summer!). In fact, it stayed cold for most of the morning and it wasn't until the haze cleared just before lunchtime that the sun had any kind of warming effect.
Emelie and Ryan had decided to walk around the lake in the morning, while Matthias and I did a final food-shop for our 3-night trip to Milford Sound. It's beginning to seem that all I do is shop-for-food, eat-food and then write about shopping-for-food and eating-food. Ah well, it's good to eat.
After lunch, I walked around the lake with Mathias, stopping at Te Anau Wildlife Centre to see some of the local bird life (including the rare Takahe - a very odd thing - and some of the native parrots). We then proceeded to do a small section of the Kepler Track (one of NZ's many long distance walks). This part was really beautiful - through lush beech forests (much smaller leaves than our native beech), with yet more views of the lake and mountains in the distance. It had warmed up amazingly from the morning so we evening managed a swim in the lake. Brrr. It didn't seem quite as cold as in Queenstown, but perhaps that was because the air was a bit cooler, so the contrast wasn't as pronounced. Again, lovely clean water and such gorgeous surroundings...
It was another quiet evening back at the hostel, sitting on the terrace in the sun (warm enough without a jumper, as there wasn't a breath of wind). We had a veritable smorgasbord, with lots of nice tapas-style dishes, and the obligatory bottle of wine!
Wednesday 17th January 2007
Another cold, early start, to hit the road to Milford Sound ahead of all the tour buses. It was a glorious day. Really clear and crisp, with just a few wisps of misty cloud hanging around the mountains. We all squeezed into one car (quite a challenge with the mountain of food we had amassed) and left the other one in Te Anau, as we would have to return: there is only one road in and out of Milford Sound.
The drive just got more and more beautiful as it went on. I actually began to feel dizzy from it. Perhaps I was suffering from nature's equivalent of Stendhal's Syndrome, or just getting a head-rush from the constant craning of my neck to look up at the surrounding mountains. Hopefully some of the myriad photos will go some way to doing it justice. The fields of lupins (all shades from pink to blue) set against the green and grey mountains and the bluest of blue skies were awe-inspiring. As were the snow-capped peaks, propping up the ends of the valleys. It was definitely the highlight of the trip so far. We had our picnic lunch down by the Hollyford river - a crystal clear strip of turquoise, slicing through the rainforest-clad mountains. If it wasn't for the sand-flies (which appear in huge swarms as soon as you cross "The Divide"), I could have happily spent the entire afternoon there. I might even have considered a swim. The melt-water was freezing but the air was hot in the blazing sunshine (quite unusual for one of the wettest places on earth).
We arrived in Milford Sound in the early evening, exhausted from seeing so many stunning sights. We had been so lucky with the weather, it felt like a real privilege. I pitched my tent and collapsed into it soon after eating, happy to have some time to take in and process all that I had seen. Luckily the sand-flies couldn't get right inside the tent - they had to content themselves with gathering in the porch and waiting for me to enter/exit. I kept the insect repellent close at hand at all times.
Thursday 18th January 2007
The hostel offered a good deal on early morning cruises - $40 for an hour and a half (to help fill the boats before the tour buses arrive and bring with them the hordes). The weather was lovely again, so it was another opportunity to take hundreds of photos (like just about everyone who goes there - it would be interesting to find out just how many times Milford Sound is photographed in one year). The only (slight) disappointment was that the scenery got less spectacular the further you got out towards the Tasman Sea. Still, it was a beautiful trip, complete with free muffins and coffee, seal-sightings, waterfalls and the walls of rock rising up all around (more neck ache again today).
After lunch, Ryan offered to drive Emelie, Matthias and I up to a point where we could walk up to Key Summit. Ryan doesn't do walking! It was a bit further than Ryan thought it would be, so he was a bit miffed (he was a bit sulky as well as generally annoying). Still, without Ryan it was a wonderful walk. A good 500m climb, mostly through the rainforest, followed by a ridgeline walk with fabulous views. It had hazed in a bit since the morning, but was still reasonably clear and dry, which was the main thing.
It was another well-deserved early night, soon after dinner and a good night's sleep (I'm getting quite used to this camping lark and can happily sleep under canvas now).
Friday 19th January 2007
It was rather overcast and a bit misty, but Mathias and I decided to do a day walk nonetheless. Emelie and Ryan were planning to go kayaking but there weren't enough places, so they decided to stay at the hostel and relax instead. We packed up a picnic and made an early start. The trail up the Tutoku (or something like that) Valley started 2km up the road from Milford Sound Lodge. The track went through the rainforest, which was beautiful to begin with: loads of different ferns, tree ferns and moss-laden trees, all dripping with the misty dew. Very lush.
As we progressed, however, the trail became more and more difficult. Intertwined tree-roots, boulders to scramble over, gullies to clamber up and down. It was really hard going. And then it began to rain. Everything became really slippery and given that we were a bit tired from the day before it would have been silly to continue in such treacherous conditions. We had walked for 90 minutes and weren't sure how much longer we would have had to go to reach the point where the forest ended and the valley opened up. Rather miffed that we had walked all that way without seeing anything (the trail should eventually lead to the most amazing views of the upper Tutoku Valley), we headed back to the hostel.
Before going back down the road to the hostel, we decided to eat our lunch under the road bridge that crossed the Tutoku River (to shelter from the rain, which had become quite heavy by this time). It was a beautiful spot, but we were absolutely plagued by sandflies. I managed to scoff most of my sandwiches, without being bitten to death (I had to keep walking in circles in order to stop the swarm pitching on me) but we gave up before we finished and headed back with our tails between our legs. At least we had experienced the proper rainforest (it was really humid and not too cold) and got some decent exercise from it, but otherwise it was a bit of a miserable tramp.
The weather had really closed in by the afternoon and the forecast was for even heavier rain overnight, so I decided to treat myself to a dorm bed for the night and put my tent in the drying room. I wanted to be able to pack it away the following morning, without the risk of it festering in the bottom of my rucksack.
This proved to be a good decision as the rain just got worse and worse... We spent the afternoon relaxing in the hostel, washing our wet walking clothes, finishing our lunch, cooking a nice dinner and enjoying the contrast in the landscape from the previous days: the sheer mountains, now shrouded in mistiness, seemed to have no beginning nor end and lent a mysterious air to the sound. Eerily beautiful.
Well, that's enough for this session. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to bring this thing bang up-to-date.
Cheerio,
James.
Monday 15th January 2007
Another day, another scenic drive. We left early and had beautiful sunny weather for the whole trip. We split into the two cars - myself and Mathias and Ryan (English nob) and Emelie. For the first part of the drive the road was sandwiched between the lake and the The Remarkables and it was indeed stunning. The whole area gives you neck up from look up at the mountains in awe. In fact, the scenery didn't really let up the whole way. Towards Te Anau it got a bit flatter for a while, but was so clear that you could still see all the mountains in the distance. Beautiful stuff.
After an aborted attempt to find a picnic spot by a river (we ended up in a farm yard thanks to Ryan's know-it-all navigating), we ended up having our lunch beside the road. Not the most glamorous of spots, but the pasta salad was nice! We followed this with a walk in a nature reserve, which had all sorts of interesting mosses/lichens.
We eventually rocked up in Te Anau at about 3pm. The hostel was a bit of an odd one. It was attached to a campsite (I was in my tent) and the hostel seemed very much like an afterthought. It was clean enough, but rather lacking in both equipment (only one knife in the kitchen) and atmosphere. Still, a pleasant enough spot (only a few metres from the lake) for a couple of nights.
Had a look around the town (a typically drab New Zealand grid-type-affair) and got yet more shopping (found some really cheap steak and lamb chops for a bit of a mixed-grill) before sitting outside the hostel in the warm evening sunshine. The meat was an absolute triumph - the most tender and succulent cuts I have had in a long time. Yum.
Tuesday 16th January 2007
Woke up freezing cold in my tent. It had been really clear during the night and I could have sworn there was a touch of frost on the grass (in the middle of summer!). In fact, it stayed cold for most of the morning and it wasn't until the haze cleared just before lunchtime that the sun had any kind of warming effect.
Emelie and Ryan had decided to walk around the lake in the morning, while Matthias and I did a final food-shop for our 3-night trip to Milford Sound. It's beginning to seem that all I do is shop-for-food, eat-food and then write about shopping-for-food and eating-food. Ah well, it's good to eat.
After lunch, I walked around the lake with Mathias, stopping at Te Anau Wildlife Centre to see some of the local bird life (including the rare Takahe - a very odd thing - and some of the native parrots). We then proceeded to do a small section of the Kepler Track (one of NZ's many long distance walks). This part was really beautiful - through lush beech forests (much smaller leaves than our native beech), with yet more views of the lake and mountains in the distance. It had warmed up amazingly from the morning so we evening managed a swim in the lake. Brrr. It didn't seem quite as cold as in Queenstown, but perhaps that was because the air was a bit cooler, so the contrast wasn't as pronounced. Again, lovely clean water and such gorgeous surroundings...
It was another quiet evening back at the hostel, sitting on the terrace in the sun (warm enough without a jumper, as there wasn't a breath of wind). We had a veritable smorgasbord, with lots of nice tapas-style dishes, and the obligatory bottle of wine!
Wednesday 17th January 2007
Another cold, early start, to hit the road to Milford Sound ahead of all the tour buses. It was a glorious day. Really clear and crisp, with just a few wisps of misty cloud hanging around the mountains. We all squeezed into one car (quite a challenge with the mountain of food we had amassed) and left the other one in Te Anau, as we would have to return: there is only one road in and out of Milford Sound.
The drive just got more and more beautiful as it went on. I actually began to feel dizzy from it. Perhaps I was suffering from nature's equivalent of Stendhal's Syndrome, or just getting a head-rush from the constant craning of my neck to look up at the surrounding mountains. Hopefully some of the myriad photos will go some way to doing it justice. The fields of lupins (all shades from pink to blue) set against the green and grey mountains and the bluest of blue skies were awe-inspiring. As were the snow-capped peaks, propping up the ends of the valleys. It was definitely the highlight of the trip so far. We had our picnic lunch down by the Hollyford river - a crystal clear strip of turquoise, slicing through the rainforest-clad mountains. If it wasn't for the sand-flies (which appear in huge swarms as soon as you cross "The Divide"), I could have happily spent the entire afternoon there. I might even have considered a swim. The melt-water was freezing but the air was hot in the blazing sunshine (quite unusual for one of the wettest places on earth).
We arrived in Milford Sound in the early evening, exhausted from seeing so many stunning sights. We had been so lucky with the weather, it felt like a real privilege. I pitched my tent and collapsed into it soon after eating, happy to have some time to take in and process all that I had seen. Luckily the sand-flies couldn't get right inside the tent - they had to content themselves with gathering in the porch and waiting for me to enter/exit. I kept the insect repellent close at hand at all times.
Thursday 18th January 2007
The hostel offered a good deal on early morning cruises - $40 for an hour and a half (to help fill the boats before the tour buses arrive and bring with them the hordes). The weather was lovely again, so it was another opportunity to take hundreds of photos (like just about everyone who goes there - it would be interesting to find out just how many times Milford Sound is photographed in one year). The only (slight) disappointment was that the scenery got less spectacular the further you got out towards the Tasman Sea. Still, it was a beautiful trip, complete with free muffins and coffee, seal-sightings, waterfalls and the walls of rock rising up all around (more neck ache again today).
After lunch, Ryan offered to drive Emelie, Matthias and I up to a point where we could walk up to Key Summit. Ryan doesn't do walking! It was a bit further than Ryan thought it would be, so he was a bit miffed (he was a bit sulky as well as generally annoying). Still, without Ryan it was a wonderful walk. A good 500m climb, mostly through the rainforest, followed by a ridgeline walk with fabulous views. It had hazed in a bit since the morning, but was still reasonably clear and dry, which was the main thing.
It was another well-deserved early night, soon after dinner and a good night's sleep (I'm getting quite used to this camping lark and can happily sleep under canvas now).
Friday 19th January 2007
It was rather overcast and a bit misty, but Mathias and I decided to do a day walk nonetheless. Emelie and Ryan were planning to go kayaking but there weren't enough places, so they decided to stay at the hostel and relax instead. We packed up a picnic and made an early start. The trail up the Tutoku (or something like that) Valley started 2km up the road from Milford Sound Lodge. The track went through the rainforest, which was beautiful to begin with: loads of different ferns, tree ferns and moss-laden trees, all dripping with the misty dew. Very lush.
As we progressed, however, the trail became more and more difficult. Intertwined tree-roots, boulders to scramble over, gullies to clamber up and down. It was really hard going. And then it began to rain. Everything became really slippery and given that we were a bit tired from the day before it would have been silly to continue in such treacherous conditions. We had walked for 90 minutes and weren't sure how much longer we would have had to go to reach the point where the forest ended and the valley opened up. Rather miffed that we had walked all that way without seeing anything (the trail should eventually lead to the most amazing views of the upper Tutoku Valley), we headed back to the hostel.
Before going back down the road to the hostel, we decided to eat our lunch under the road bridge that crossed the Tutoku River (to shelter from the rain, which had become quite heavy by this time). It was a beautiful spot, but we were absolutely plagued by sandflies. I managed to scoff most of my sandwiches, without being bitten to death (I had to keep walking in circles in order to stop the swarm pitching on me) but we gave up before we finished and headed back with our tails between our legs. At least we had experienced the proper rainforest (it was really humid and not too cold) and got some decent exercise from it, but otherwise it was a bit of a miserable tramp.
The weather had really closed in by the afternoon and the forecast was for even heavier rain overnight, so I decided to treat myself to a dorm bed for the night and put my tent in the drying room. I wanted to be able to pack it away the following morning, without the risk of it festering in the bottom of my rucksack.
This proved to be a good decision as the rain just got worse and worse... We spent the afternoon relaxing in the hostel, washing our wet walking clothes, finishing our lunch, cooking a nice dinner and enjoying the contrast in the landscape from the previous days: the sheer mountains, now shrouded in mistiness, seemed to have no beginning nor end and lent a mysterious air to the sound. Eerily beautiful.
Well, that's enough for this session. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to bring this thing bang up-to-date.
Cheerio,
James.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Joys of Free Internet in a Converted Lunatic Asylum
Hello there. I'm finally hoping to get this damn thing up-to-date, as I'm currently staying in a hostel (converted lunatic asylum) with free internet. It is painfully slow, but at least I can type up the entries, even if uploading them proves problematic. So, here goes:
Sunday 7th January 2007
It was a nice drive from Dunedin to Wanaka, getting progressively more mountainous (and drier) as it went on. Quite a long stretch of the journey was alongside a massive (well, very long and thin) reservoir. There were lots of waterskiers, Dad, so you would have loved it.
It was a shame not to be able to stay in any of the Central Otago wineries, but they are rather spread out and there aren't a lot of places to stay nearby.
Snow-capped mountains heralded the approach into Wanaka. It was really warm and sunny on arrival and a beautiful walk up to the hostel, which was perched on the hillside overlooking the lake.
After a spot of shopping and general exploration of the town I went for a walk around the lake. Naturally, this was a lot longer than originally planned. It was really lovely in the evening sunshine - calm waters (more waterskiers), mountainous backdrop, aromatic plants (including tea tree) wafting their scent in the warm breeze. My kind of evening.
After getting back to the hostel I bumped into a couple of Swedish friends (Emelie and Mathias) who I had previously spent some time with in Taupo. It was nice to eat together and catch up on each other's respective journeys over a bottle of wine. They were also heading towards Queenstown, and offered me a lift, so I decided to leave Wanaka a day earlier than I had planned (2 nights instead of 3), and get a lift with them, instead of the bus.
Monday 8th January 2007
Walked the other way around the lake in the morning, with Mathias and Emelie. 'Twas cloudier than the day before, but still bright and dry. It was a lovely walk, which ended in a very steep scramble up a hill with fabulous views over the lake to mountains beyond. There were lots of nice beaches along the track and the water was really clean. It would have been really nice for a swim, were it not for the cool breeze and the freezing water temperature.
On the way back we stopped at Rippon Vineyard to do some wine-tasting. Nice range of wines. I really liked the Old Vines Pinot Noir and the Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling and Gewurtzstraminer were very good too.
We got back for a late lunch of pancakes (the Swedes are obsessed with them and it seems churlish to refuse such a kind offer, even if they aren't my favourite foodstuff). I took it easy for the rest of the afternoon - it had been quite a long walk and the wine tasting had finished me off! Managed to do some stuff on the internet, but otherwise lounged around in the garden, drinking tea, etc.
We cooked together in the evening (which was to become a regular occurrence over the coming days...). We decided against a trip to the (apparently) characterful local cinema as the only film I wouldn't have minded seeing (The Departed) didn't start until 9pm and lasted nearly 3 hours!
Tuesday 9th January 2007
It was a stunning drive with Emelie and Mathias over the high mountain pass to Queenstown. The fields of lupins were beautiful and so were the views on the drive down into Queenstown.
We stopped at a couple of viewpoints for the inevitable photo opportunities - great views of the mountains and valleys in the warm sunshine.
Queenstown was even bigger than I expected. It sprawls for quite a distance around the lake. It was quite a contrast from the small-town ambiance of Wanaka. But it still had the nice laid-back feel of a holiday town and the lakeside setting was, in the words of a yank, awesome. The views of The Remarkables (a mountain range), in particular, were stunning.
The first impressions of the hostel were promising. I had decided to stay in my tent and was pleased with my little patch of grass in the lovely garden which overlooks the lake (great views from the terrace, with lots of chairs for sitting around and admiring the surroundings).
As the supermarket was a little way away we decided to plan our meals for the next few days and do a big shop-up. It's nice to cook together after several days of meals-for-one (prior to Wanaka), even if it does mean making some compromises (such as pancakes!).
Had a nice bottle of wine watching the sun fall over the lake and then cooked skate-wings (a bit of a disaster as neither Emelie nor Mathias like bones - luckily I'm quite experienced in that field and with a bit of encouragement both managed not to choke to death.) The accompanying bottle of Chardonnay helped it along nicely, of course.
Wednesday 10th January 2007
It was a fair bit cooler and more overcast today so fine for pottering around town and getting our bearings.
It is such a bonus to have a nice hostel (complete with very cute Jack Russell cross). It is homely enough to feel completely comfortable just relaxing in the garden and enjoying the view. We all liked it so much that we decided to extend our stay from 4 to 6 nights and then travel together to Te Anau after that.
The other people at the hostel were really nice and friendly. This included two English girls, Sophie and Jolie (the latter from Taunton) who were really sweet and added to the homely feel. Furthermore, it's so nice to have warm, long evenings and be able to sit outside to eat and drink for once (albeit with a jumper). That's what summer should be about, in my opinion, and so far the opportunities for doing so have been rather too few and far between.
Despite all the "adventure-sport" activities on offer, it is an easy town in which to find your own niche. And mine seems to be enjoying what is free (the ambiance of the hostel, the views, the other people around me). Talking of which, a chap from Northern Ireland invited us to the pub for a drink and then proceeded to insist on paying for everything. Bargain. Apparently his girlfriend was poorly and I think he was glad for a bit of company while she was in bed sleeping. We were only too happy to oblige.
Thursday 11th January 2007
Much warmer today, rather putting to bed any plans of a mammoth hike. Instead i decided to do some chores in the morning (internet, washing) and then spend the afternoon lounging in the garden (so easy to do when it is so beautiful - did I mention the amazing view of the lake? Well, today there were patches of mist hanging prettily around the mountains). From there you can see the stream of activities on offer: paragliding, jet-boating, steamer trips on the lake, bungy-jumping, etc. And you can think about how much money you are saving by not doing any of them. Just call me Scrooge! Yes, I know I'm tight, but I embrace it and positively enjoy it.
Ryan, a friend of Emelie, arrived in the afternoon. First impressions weren't particularly good (and didn't really get any better from there on). He seemed like a bit of a wide-boy, or, rather, a posh, ex-public-school-boy, trying to act like one (even worse!). His grandparents own a stud farm and he doesn't seem to have any problem throwing his/their money around. Still, he will be travelling with us for a while, so I am happy to tolerate him for the sake of a free lift. You never know, my initial judgements might be wrong (they weren't). There are always lots of other people in hostels, so even if you are travelling "with" other people you are not forced to spend the entire time in each other's pockets.
Had a nice evening with a bunch of people from the hostel and go out for a drink in one of Queenstown's many bars (luckily a niceish one which isn't too boisterous - some of them seem to be rather too rowdy for my tastes).
Friday 12th January 2007
Even hotter today, so still no hiking on the cards. It's really humid too - the sort of weather that makes you feel like doing nothing.
I did some more internettery in the morning and after a leisurely lunch spent the afternoon on the beach. I even went in for a dip. The water is freezing (about 13/14C) but very refreshing/invigorating. There was a diving platform as well, so it was fun messing about until on the brink of hypothermia. The water was beautifully clean - just a shame it wasn't a few degrees warmer.
Another pleasant evening spent at the hostel. A good place for people-watching, including a very annoying girl from Israel (SO opinionated and obnoxious with it), and odd Dutch girl (mad eyes) and occasional other characters who were good for a laugh.
Saturday 13th January 2007
It was a clear sunny morning so I decided to walk up Queenstown Hill before lunch (I went by myself as the others were still in bed when I left). It was a nice change after a few days of mainly lounging around and the fresher winds made for more pleasant walking.
The views from the top were sensational and the walk through the forest was quite interesting too, with lots of nice redcap toadstools to photograph and the sunlight filtering through the trees. It was a good 500m climb (from 400 to 900+m), so it got the heart and lungs working nicely. There was an interesting sculpture at the top, although a lot of tripe was written about it on a plaque nearby, which didn't really help my enjoyment of it.
After lunch I was planning to spend the afternoon lounging in the garden. This went according to plan until about 3pm, when it clouded in and started to rain. Instead I retreated indoors to drink tea and converse with my fellow travellers (all the while entertained by the antics of Barney, the Jack Russell cross).
After dinner, several of the others went into Queenstown for a Saturday Night Out. In view of the weather and the prospect of an early morning wake-up (as is nearly always the case in my tent), I declined and headed to bed. This was most welcome as the previous few nights had been quite sociable.
Sunday 14th January 2007
It had peed down with rain for most of the night and continued to do so for the entire morning. In light of this I made further use of the internet cafe's $2/hr happy (two) hour(s). I finally manage to get up-to-date with my photos and start making a bit of headway with my blog and e-mails.
The rain stopped soon after lunch although it was still damp and misty and only really good for food-shopping. We did a massive shop for non-perishables as we weren't sure what the choice would be like in Te Anau, tomorrow's destination. In order to find the best bargains out trip took in The Warehouse ("Where Everyone Finds a Bargain" - ours? Tins of mixed beans for 89c), New World, Fresh Choice (cheap tomatoes) and Four Square (cheap bananas). Given that I like food shopping it was actually quite an enjoyable afternoon.
We all had an early night in preparation for an early start tomorrow...
Well, I'm going to leave it there for now, as I'm starting to get RSI from all the typing. We're staying another couple of nights in the converted lunatic asylum, so hopefully I will have the chance to get fully up-to-date before we leave. Until then, goodbye...
Sunday 7th January 2007
It was a nice drive from Dunedin to Wanaka, getting progressively more mountainous (and drier) as it went on. Quite a long stretch of the journey was alongside a massive (well, very long and thin) reservoir. There were lots of waterskiers, Dad, so you would have loved it.
It was a shame not to be able to stay in any of the Central Otago wineries, but they are rather spread out and there aren't a lot of places to stay nearby.
Snow-capped mountains heralded the approach into Wanaka. It was really warm and sunny on arrival and a beautiful walk up to the hostel, which was perched on the hillside overlooking the lake.
After a spot of shopping and general exploration of the town I went for a walk around the lake. Naturally, this was a lot longer than originally planned. It was really lovely in the evening sunshine - calm waters (more waterskiers), mountainous backdrop, aromatic plants (including tea tree) wafting their scent in the warm breeze. My kind of evening.
After getting back to the hostel I bumped into a couple of Swedish friends (Emelie and Mathias) who I had previously spent some time with in Taupo. It was nice to eat together and catch up on each other's respective journeys over a bottle of wine. They were also heading towards Queenstown, and offered me a lift, so I decided to leave Wanaka a day earlier than I had planned (2 nights instead of 3), and get a lift with them, instead of the bus.
Monday 8th January 2007
Walked the other way around the lake in the morning, with Mathias and Emelie. 'Twas cloudier than the day before, but still bright and dry. It was a lovely walk, which ended in a very steep scramble up a hill with fabulous views over the lake to mountains beyond. There were lots of nice beaches along the track and the water was really clean. It would have been really nice for a swim, were it not for the cool breeze and the freezing water temperature.
On the way back we stopped at Rippon Vineyard to do some wine-tasting. Nice range of wines. I really liked the Old Vines Pinot Noir and the Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling and Gewurtzstraminer were very good too.
We got back for a late lunch of pancakes (the Swedes are obsessed with them and it seems churlish to refuse such a kind offer, even if they aren't my favourite foodstuff). I took it easy for the rest of the afternoon - it had been quite a long walk and the wine tasting had finished me off! Managed to do some stuff on the internet, but otherwise lounged around in the garden, drinking tea, etc.
We cooked together in the evening (which was to become a regular occurrence over the coming days...). We decided against a trip to the (apparently) characterful local cinema as the only film I wouldn't have minded seeing (The Departed) didn't start until 9pm and lasted nearly 3 hours!
Tuesday 9th January 2007
It was a stunning drive with Emelie and Mathias over the high mountain pass to Queenstown. The fields of lupins were beautiful and so were the views on the drive down into Queenstown.
We stopped at a couple of viewpoints for the inevitable photo opportunities - great views of the mountains and valleys in the warm sunshine.
Queenstown was even bigger than I expected. It sprawls for quite a distance around the lake. It was quite a contrast from the small-town ambiance of Wanaka. But it still had the nice laid-back feel of a holiday town and the lakeside setting was, in the words of a yank, awesome. The views of The Remarkables (a mountain range), in particular, were stunning.
The first impressions of the hostel were promising. I had decided to stay in my tent and was pleased with my little patch of grass in the lovely garden which overlooks the lake (great views from the terrace, with lots of chairs for sitting around and admiring the surroundings).
As the supermarket was a little way away we decided to plan our meals for the next few days and do a big shop-up. It's nice to cook together after several days of meals-for-one (prior to Wanaka), even if it does mean making some compromises (such as pancakes!).
Had a nice bottle of wine watching the sun fall over the lake and then cooked skate-wings (a bit of a disaster as neither Emelie nor Mathias like bones - luckily I'm quite experienced in that field and with a bit of encouragement both managed not to choke to death.) The accompanying bottle of Chardonnay helped it along nicely, of course.
Wednesday 10th January 2007
It was a fair bit cooler and more overcast today so fine for pottering around town and getting our bearings.
It is such a bonus to have a nice hostel (complete with very cute Jack Russell cross). It is homely enough to feel completely comfortable just relaxing in the garden and enjoying the view. We all liked it so much that we decided to extend our stay from 4 to 6 nights and then travel together to Te Anau after that.
The other people at the hostel were really nice and friendly. This included two English girls, Sophie and Jolie (the latter from Taunton) who were really sweet and added to the homely feel. Furthermore, it's so nice to have warm, long evenings and be able to sit outside to eat and drink for once (albeit with a jumper). That's what summer should be about, in my opinion, and so far the opportunities for doing so have been rather too few and far between.
Despite all the "adventure-sport" activities on offer, it is an easy town in which to find your own niche. And mine seems to be enjoying what is free (the ambiance of the hostel, the views, the other people around me). Talking of which, a chap from Northern Ireland invited us to the pub for a drink and then proceeded to insist on paying for everything. Bargain. Apparently his girlfriend was poorly and I think he was glad for a bit of company while she was in bed sleeping. We were only too happy to oblige.
Thursday 11th January 2007
Much warmer today, rather putting to bed any plans of a mammoth hike. Instead i decided to do some chores in the morning (internet, washing) and then spend the afternoon lounging in the garden (so easy to do when it is so beautiful - did I mention the amazing view of the lake? Well, today there were patches of mist hanging prettily around the mountains). From there you can see the stream of activities on offer: paragliding, jet-boating, steamer trips on the lake, bungy-jumping, etc. And you can think about how much money you are saving by not doing any of them. Just call me Scrooge! Yes, I know I'm tight, but I embrace it and positively enjoy it.
Ryan, a friend of Emelie, arrived in the afternoon. First impressions weren't particularly good (and didn't really get any better from there on). He seemed like a bit of a wide-boy, or, rather, a posh, ex-public-school-boy, trying to act like one (even worse!). His grandparents own a stud farm and he doesn't seem to have any problem throwing his/their money around. Still, he will be travelling with us for a while, so I am happy to tolerate him for the sake of a free lift. You never know, my initial judgements might be wrong (they weren't). There are always lots of other people in hostels, so even if you are travelling "with" other people you are not forced to spend the entire time in each other's pockets.
Had a nice evening with a bunch of people from the hostel and go out for a drink in one of Queenstown's many bars (luckily a niceish one which isn't too boisterous - some of them seem to be rather too rowdy for my tastes).
Friday 12th January 2007
Even hotter today, so still no hiking on the cards. It's really humid too - the sort of weather that makes you feel like doing nothing.
I did some more internettery in the morning and after a leisurely lunch spent the afternoon on the beach. I even went in for a dip. The water is freezing (about 13/14C) but very refreshing/invigorating. There was a diving platform as well, so it was fun messing about until on the brink of hypothermia. The water was beautifully clean - just a shame it wasn't a few degrees warmer.
Another pleasant evening spent at the hostel. A good place for people-watching, including a very annoying girl from Israel (SO opinionated and obnoxious with it), and odd Dutch girl (mad eyes) and occasional other characters who were good for a laugh.
Saturday 13th January 2007
It was a clear sunny morning so I decided to walk up Queenstown Hill before lunch (I went by myself as the others were still in bed when I left). It was a nice change after a few days of mainly lounging around and the fresher winds made for more pleasant walking.
The views from the top were sensational and the walk through the forest was quite interesting too, with lots of nice redcap toadstools to photograph and the sunlight filtering through the trees. It was a good 500m climb (from 400 to 900+m), so it got the heart and lungs working nicely. There was an interesting sculpture at the top, although a lot of tripe was written about it on a plaque nearby, which didn't really help my enjoyment of it.
After lunch I was planning to spend the afternoon lounging in the garden. This went according to plan until about 3pm, when it clouded in and started to rain. Instead I retreated indoors to drink tea and converse with my fellow travellers (all the while entertained by the antics of Barney, the Jack Russell cross).
After dinner, several of the others went into Queenstown for a Saturday Night Out. In view of the weather and the prospect of an early morning wake-up (as is nearly always the case in my tent), I declined and headed to bed. This was most welcome as the previous few nights had been quite sociable.
Sunday 14th January 2007
It had peed down with rain for most of the night and continued to do so for the entire morning. In light of this I made further use of the internet cafe's $2/hr happy (two) hour(s). I finally manage to get up-to-date with my photos and start making a bit of headway with my blog and e-mails.
The rain stopped soon after lunch although it was still damp and misty and only really good for food-shopping. We did a massive shop for non-perishables as we weren't sure what the choice would be like in Te Anau, tomorrow's destination. In order to find the best bargains out trip took in The Warehouse ("Where Everyone Finds a Bargain" - ours? Tins of mixed beans for 89c), New World, Fresh Choice (cheap tomatoes) and Four Square (cheap bananas). Given that I like food shopping it was actually quite an enjoyable afternoon.
We all had an early night in preparation for an early start tomorrow...
Well, I'm going to leave it there for now, as I'm starting to get RSI from all the typing. We're staying another couple of nights in the converted lunatic asylum, so hopefully I will have the chance to get fully up-to-date before we leave. Until then, goodbye...
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