Sorry I haven't wrote the blog in a while but will update it soon.
Love Jen xx
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
South Island Nelson-Greymouth-Franz Josef-Queenstown
Morning after the festival, I went off to the Te Papa museum where I meet Rebbecca it was a fantastic museum full of history about the 2 islands including earthquakes, Maori and animals, which included a massive container with the largest jellyfish I have ever seen it was huge!
I had a chilled out afternoon and found Charlotte in the evening caught up and had an early night sleep as unfortunately I have a horrible cold at the moment.
Next morning I was up at 5.30 due to the cold but we needed to be up at 6.20 anyway to get the bus to the ferry cause we were off to the south island,lucky Charlotte was fully awake cause I was feeling so ill that morning.
The crossing was amazing with lots of great coastal view then we were off to Nelson and checked into a great hostel with a pool so it was straight on with the bikinis, in for a swim and lay in the sun for a while .
Next morning it was hard to leave all my new friends I had made behind but I am sure we will all stay in touch. The drive to Greymouth was stunning with breathtaking scenery around every corner after passing through quite a few mountains, we headed out towards the coast which was almost prehistoric with the mountains, trees and ferns right by the beach. Then we stopped off at Cape Foulwind and saw a seal colony which was great there were pups playing in the rock pools, adults in the sea/ sunbathing on the rocks and trying to move around with their blubbery (fat) bodies.
That night I stayed at a funky hostel called Noah's ark where each room was animal themed I stayed in the pig room which was completely pink with pig wall paper,pictures, babe poster and little pig ornaments lol.
Off again the next day to Franz Josef with a few interesting stops including gold town and a hill billy museum were we watched the history of deer hunting well I only went cause you got to see possums up close! the film we watched was interesting and made it seem very macho with men jumping out of helicopters onto running deer and top gun music. After getting to Franz Josef unfortunately my cold wasn't great so I didn't get to do the half day hike but it was incredible view anyway and I when to the museum which was a bit disappointing but never mind.
Off to Queenstown and the road trip was great again with beautiful scenery of iced caped mountains including the famous Lake Matheson, amazing landslide which left huge boulders of mountain and a huge waterfall. Also we stopped off at a bungee jump bridge which almost had me tempted but not quite, I sat next to an interesting girl from Japan who had never been on holiday apart from coming to nz a couple of months ago!
I am currently in Queenstown and have had a chilling out day, walking, sun bathing, chatting to people in the dorms(more like a little flat with its own kitchen and sitting area) and sunbathing on the grass outside :)
Love Jen xx
Next is Dunedin and Lake Tekapo
I had a chilled out afternoon and found Charlotte in the evening caught up and had an early night sleep as unfortunately I have a horrible cold at the moment.
Next morning I was up at 5.30 due to the cold but we needed to be up at 6.20 anyway to get the bus to the ferry cause we were off to the south island,lucky Charlotte was fully awake cause I was feeling so ill that morning.
The crossing was amazing with lots of great coastal view then we were off to Nelson and checked into a great hostel with a pool so it was straight on with the bikinis, in for a swim and lay in the sun for a while .
Next morning it was hard to leave all my new friends I had made behind but I am sure we will all stay in touch. The drive to Greymouth was stunning with breathtaking scenery around every corner after passing through quite a few mountains, we headed out towards the coast which was almost prehistoric with the mountains, trees and ferns right by the beach. Then we stopped off at Cape Foulwind and saw a seal colony which was great there were pups playing in the rock pools, adults in the sea/ sunbathing on the rocks and trying to move around with their blubbery (fat) bodies.
That night I stayed at a funky hostel called Noah's ark where each room was animal themed I stayed in the pig room which was completely pink with pig wall paper,pictures, babe poster and little pig ornaments lol.
Off again the next day to Franz Josef with a few interesting stops including gold town and a hill billy museum were we watched the history of deer hunting well I only went cause you got to see possums up close! the film we watched was interesting and made it seem very macho with men jumping out of helicopters onto running deer and top gun music. After getting to Franz Josef unfortunately my cold wasn't great so I didn't get to do the half day hike but it was incredible view anyway and I when to the museum which was a bit disappointing but never mind.
Off to Queenstown and the road trip was great again with beautiful scenery of iced caped mountains including the famous Lake Matheson, amazing landslide which left huge boulders of mountain and a huge waterfall. Also we stopped off at a bungee jump bridge which almost had me tempted but not quite, I sat next to an interesting girl from Japan who had never been on holiday apart from coming to nz a couple of months ago!
I am currently in Queenstown and have had a chilling out day, walking, sun bathing, chatting to people in the dorms(more like a little flat with its own kitchen and sitting area) and sunbathing on the grass outside :)
Love Jen xx
Next is Dunedin and Lake Tekapo
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Taupo/ Tongariro Crossing/ Wellington
Well it has been a busy couple of days, after leaving eggy smelling Rotorua it was off to Taupo when we got there we headed straight for the lake. And it was like being at home freezing cold!
The next day it was up early at 5.30am! to get bus to Tongariro Crossing one of the best hikes in NZ. When we got there and had received our map it was straight off, lucky Charlotte and a few others about 6 of us went together. The beginning started off flat but then suddenly became very steep and we went through a part called hells gate, well it was definitely hell lol as the steps just kept going and going. After that we continued up with several steep sections of the mountain with very uneven surfaces, sometimes you felt like you were going backwards rather than forwards! and seeing the vertical drop below was pretty scary. Then it was back down to the sulphur lakes below where you were practically sliding down, we had a good laugh there where several of us fell on our bums.
After the lakes it was more steps up then around a mountain which then led down to the lunch stop! yay we got to sit down but not for long, we then set off through a rainforest with several lovely little stream running down.
By the end we were all very tired but feeling amazed by what we had done and had a well deserved sleep on the grass before getting picked up.(We did the crossing from 7.30 till 4ish and did it an hour an half before the bus came).
That night we went out for a few drinks and bumped into Alex and Drew who were buzzing from doing a sky dive! It was a short night as paracetamol was need for sore knees and hips! well it was one of the hardest walks I have ever done apart from the Itex Jersey!
Next day was rather boring on the bus all day to Wellington, but got to the hostel and was amazed more like a hotel (me and Charlotte even asked if we had gone into the wrong part lol).
Then it was off to the rugby with our walking group which was great fun to watch and an exciting score right at the end (unfortunately though my camera got stolen then so I don't have any photo but charlotte and rebecca have send that they will copy their so will have a few).
Yesterday/evening was the Cuban carnival with a street parade,live bands, markets and it was great fun.
The next day it was up early at 5.30am! to get bus to Tongariro Crossing one of the best hikes in NZ. When we got there and had received our map it was straight off, lucky Charlotte and a few others about 6 of us went together. The beginning started off flat but then suddenly became very steep and we went through a part called hells gate, well it was definitely hell lol as the steps just kept going and going. After that we continued up with several steep sections of the mountain with very uneven surfaces, sometimes you felt like you were going backwards rather than forwards! and seeing the vertical drop below was pretty scary. Then it was back down to the sulphur lakes below where you were practically sliding down, we had a good laugh there where several of us fell on our bums.
After the lakes it was more steps up then around a mountain which then led down to the lunch stop! yay we got to sit down but not for long, we then set off through a rainforest with several lovely little stream running down.
By the end we were all very tired but feeling amazed by what we had done and had a well deserved sleep on the grass before getting picked up.(We did the crossing from 7.30 till 4ish and did it an hour an half before the bus came).
That night we went out for a few drinks and bumped into Alex and Drew who were buzzing from doing a sky dive! It was a short night as paracetamol was need for sore knees and hips! well it was one of the hardest walks I have ever done apart from the Itex Jersey!
Next day was rather boring on the bus all day to Wellington, but got to the hostel and was amazed more like a hotel (me and Charlotte even asked if we had gone into the wrong part lol).
Then it was off to the rugby with our walking group which was great fun to watch and an exciting score right at the end (unfortunately though my camera got stolen then so I don't have any photo but charlotte and rebecca have send that they will copy their so will have a few).
Yesterday/evening was the Cuban carnival with a street parade,live bands, markets and it was great fun.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Waitomo + Rotorua
After a restless nights sleep unfortunately due to nerves, I know silly me know I didn't have to be nerves at all now!
The next morning it was up early well 7 to catch the 7.45 bus to Waitomo, as I arrived at the bus stop Alex was still waiting . After a quick chat he was off to the Bay of Islands, I waited a little while long but that was good cause got chatting to a few nice people.
Then we were off, I sat next to a girl from Bailimory(sorry about spelling) which I know from the childrens tv program! First stop was Mt Eden with amazing view of the city, coast and close by mountains.
Next we headed off to Waitomo and got there at about half 1 then was straight off to do black water rafting.
First we suited up:
Also had a lovely sexy hat with a light on top and wetsuit boots so definitely wouldn't get cold, we (about 12) got the bus and walked up a track which was quite difficult with a dry wetsuit on.
We were told a little about the caves history,received our rubber rings, safety instructions and then went down into the the cave down some stairs which were practically vertical! When we were in the cave we all had to introduce ourselves which received regular comments from the instructor luckily he didn't pick on me. We now had no lights apart from our head tourches and as we walked now you could start to see the glowworms which looked amazing like hundred of little star. Then experienced a bit of caving with the low sealing and quite a few narrow sections, as we got deeper the water got higher and started to got in my wellys well it wasn't very warm only 15c. The instructor then told us to turn off our lights and listen carefully well I couldn't hear anything then he let off a balloon well it scared the life out of everyone!
We then linked up with everyone by putting your feet up onto the rubber ring in front of you then started to just floated down deeper, the instructor then wanted us to sing because of the acoustics well everyone wasn't so pleased about that so they started to sing the lion king and nearly everyone joined in and we all laughed mostly.
We then stopped and went up to these steps and were told to jump backwards well it was quite a drop down! very funny apart starting to sneeze after cause horrible muddy water was up your nose. We carried on a bit further then reached a slide which was great fun also I remember to hold my nose this time!
We came to the end and climbed up some stairs which was tiring cause the adrenalin rush had gone by then and had a cup of soup then it was off to Rotorua.
Once a few of us arrived at the hostel we checked in and orginally I was in a room full of boys which would have been okay but lucky I ended up moving rooms with Charlotte from magic so we had a 4 bed dorm between two of us! first night anyway.
An hour later me and a few girls went off to the Maori village and concert which was a great evening where we saw the haka, tradional village,buffet meal and very funny driver which will always be remembered.
The next morning it was up early well 7 to catch the 7.45 bus to Waitomo, as I arrived at the bus stop Alex was still waiting . After a quick chat he was off to the Bay of Islands, I waited a little while long but that was good cause got chatting to a few nice people.
Then we were off, I sat next to a girl from Bailimory(sorry about spelling) which I know from the childrens tv program! First stop was Mt Eden with amazing view of the city, coast and close by mountains.
Next we headed off to Waitomo and got there at about half 1 then was straight off to do black water rafting.
First we suited up:
Also had a lovely sexy hat with a light on top and wetsuit boots so definitely wouldn't get cold, we (about 12) got the bus and walked up a track which was quite difficult with a dry wetsuit on.
We were told a little about the caves history,received our rubber rings, safety instructions and then went down into the the cave down some stairs which were practically vertical! When we were in the cave we all had to introduce ourselves which received regular comments from the instructor luckily he didn't pick on me. We now had no lights apart from our head tourches and as we walked now you could start to see the glowworms which looked amazing like hundred of little star. Then experienced a bit of caving with the low sealing and quite a few narrow sections, as we got deeper the water got higher and started to got in my wellys well it wasn't very warm only 15c. The instructor then told us to turn off our lights and listen carefully well I couldn't hear anything then he let off a balloon well it scared the life out of everyone!
We then linked up with everyone by putting your feet up onto the rubber ring in front of you then started to just floated down deeper, the instructor then wanted us to sing because of the acoustics well everyone wasn't so pleased about that so they started to sing the lion king and nearly everyone joined in and we all laughed mostly.
We then stopped and went up to these steps and were told to jump backwards well it was quite a drop down! very funny apart starting to sneeze after cause horrible muddy water was up your nose. We carried on a bit further then reached a slide which was great fun also I remember to hold my nose this time!
We came to the end and climbed up some stairs which was tiring cause the adrenalin rush had gone by then and had a cup of soup then it was off to Rotorua.
Once a few of us arrived at the hostel we checked in and orginally I was in a room full of boys which would have been okay but lucky I ended up moving rooms with Charlotte from magic so we had a 4 bed dorm between two of us! first night anyway.
An hour later me and a few girls went off to the Maori village and concert which was a great evening where we saw the haka, tradional village,buffet meal and very funny driver which will always be remembered.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Waitomo
Just thought would put a quick msg on to say first day has been amazing and have meet lots of nice people including Charlotte (from Leeds) who is doing the tongariro crossing so have a hiking friend :) Will update with what have done today soon.
Jen xx
Jen xx
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Auckland
Well unfortunately we got delayed at the airport but only by just over an hour it could have been alot worse and got lunch vouchers to the value of 30 bucks!! so pigged out and after getting on the plane got even more food so didn't have to spend any money on food at all.
Checked in with Base and went up to the girls only dorm, meet some really nice Irish girls from Dublin(Lisa and Linda) and got invited out with them for a night on the town!! Had really good time went dancing at a few different pubs and clubs also meet a few more of their friends so all great to help with chatting to new people on the bus tomorrow :)
After getting in quite late the next morning I was feeling a little worse for wear even though I only had a few it had been 3 months since last night out! Ended up meeting Alex in the internet room then went out for a walk around harbour and up to park where they had a live music event. So chilled out there on the grass, now am back at the hostel but should hopefully be meet up with the girls later for a quiet drink.
Auckland is great very chilled out atmosphere and friendly people so now very excited for next part of journey.
Hope all is well with everyone and cant wait to see you all soon.
Jen xx
P.s Sorry if I dont make sense at some points gramme
r isnt the best.
Checked in with Base and went up to the girls only dorm, meet some really nice Irish girls from Dublin(Lisa and Linda) and got invited out with them for a night on the town!! Had really good time went dancing at a few different pubs and clubs also meet a few more of their friends so all great to help with chatting to new people on the bus tomorrow :)
After getting in quite late the next morning I was feeling a little worse for wear even though I only had a few it had been 3 months since last night out! Ended up meeting Alex in the internet room then went out for a walk around harbour and up to park where they had a live music event. So chilled out there on the grass, now am back at the hostel but should hopefully be meet up with the girls later for a quiet drink.
Auckland is great very chilled out atmosphere and friendly people so now very excited for next part of journey.
Hope all is well with everyone and cant wait to see you all soon.
Jen xx
P.s Sorry if I dont make sense at some points gramme
r isnt the best.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Melbourne Again
Hello :)
As you see I decided to start my own blog and will try and keep in touch daily as I know some of you are concerned about me going solo.
Melbourne
After finally getting to Cairns we had a day there and the next day flew back into Melbourne. A few days before I spoke to Sarah, she and Colin kindly offered to put me up again.
After landing in Melbourne we started to drive out of the city to Mornington and well the landscape is a lot different to what I remember very dry due to the lack of rain and there was evidence of one fire that had reach close to the road. But thankfully from news that I have heard and from Sarah and Colin it all seems to be getting uncontrol now.
Tomorrow its off to New Zealand to Auckland where I have book accommodation at Base right in the centre, in a girls only sanctuary dorm room which sounds nice and its for 2 night then am off to Waitomo the next morning on the Magic Bus.
Jen xx
As you see I decided to start my own blog and will try and keep in touch daily as I know some of you are concerned about me going solo.
Melbourne
After finally getting to Cairns we had a day there and the next day flew back into Melbourne. A few days before I spoke to Sarah, she and Colin kindly offered to put me up again.
After landing in Melbourne we started to drive out of the city to Mornington and well the landscape is a lot different to what I remember very dry due to the lack of rain and there was evidence of one fire that had reach close to the road. But thankfully from news that I have heard and from Sarah and Colin it all seems to be getting uncontrol now.
Tomorrow its off to New Zealand to Auckland where I have book accommodation at Base right in the centre, in a girls only sanctuary dorm room which sounds nice and its for 2 night then am off to Waitomo the next morning on the Magic Bus.
Jen xx
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