Marlborough Sounds: Hike Chick

OK, I said I'd be cool surf chick down-under. I'm the total opposite. Yup, I now have the hiking boots and am a hike chick (if such a thing exists). I am sat in a hostel in Malborough Sounds, more physically tired than I've been in a long time. Today we hiked 23km! Oh yes. That's nearly 15 miles (apparently??) Yesterday we did at least 15km. Then stayed in a gorgeous hostel looking out to the Sounds. Bliss. Today was tough going but was rewarded by amazing views...

Before coming here we were in Nelson, a lovely little town. We'll probably be back there tomorrow and will no doubt chill for a bit before heading further south towards the glaciers and some more hiking (now that we know that our new boots don't give us blisters we're going to tackle a 3-day and then a 4-day hike where you have to carry all your gear. Wowzers!) Oh yes, insects here love me. Today I was stung by a wasp. Fantastic. Cheers NZ. Must say a big thank you to our NZ family (Hayley, Meg and Grace) before I sign off - you girls are fantastic and we already miss you. Thanks again for being so fab. X

Coromandel: peace and calm and Tarzy swings

The last couple of days have been spent on the Coromandel Peninsula... lovely big beaches, secluded coves for snorkelling and swings on the beach. Pete put his back out doing a baywatch impression one morning, so his swinging days were numbered, poor sod. Met some pretty interesting characters in one hostel - including a cameraman who worked on the X files!

We've been so laid back we've been horizontal, so we've decided to buy some hiking boots (yes, mam, I know I was going to get some at Christmas) and tackle more of NZ's great walks. We're now back in Auckland and have just booked our flights down to South Island... let's hope the sunshine holds out. We got a shock this week when we counted up how much we've spent so far... we thought we'd been so good! Not so... any food parcels would be gratefully received! Send them to...

Rotorua: Eggy smells (not responsible - don't look at me!)

We spent 2 days in Rotorua, which is the hive of volcanic activity in NZ. It stank. Really smelt. Rotten eggs all the time. We saw mad stuff in a park including a 90 metre volcanic lake that had green bubbling liquid, steam and rust-red banks. The bubbles were CO2 and the liquid contained arsenic, amongst other things, and was 70 degrees!

After all that excitement I cooked up a storm - a full dinner of NZ green lipped mussels from the supermarket. All these babies cost about four quid in all! Yum!

Whanganui River: left a bit, left a bit.. splash!

Check out Pete's site for more photos (link on the right) as he had more luck with the internet cafe PCs!


The last 3 days have been spent on the river. We hired a 2-man canadian canoe + tent + stove and headed off for an adventure on the river Whanganui. The route from Whakahoro to Pipiriki is 87km of river through national park that is only accessible via the river. The first day we paddled (without a guide) for 40km, through some terrifying rapids (OK, they were only grade I) to reach our stop for the night - the Department of Conservation (DOC) hut. These places are cool! It was a hut with a nice warm fire and a warden and 20 beds consisting of 2 platforms with matresses on - if it had been full I would have been up close and personal with a load of strangers!
Anyway, we had a cracking meal of chilli (home-made before the trip as I was having withdrawl symptoms) and then were asleep before 10! We saw glow-worms and bats before bedtime though. The next morning was HARD. My upper-body just ached. Last night we stayed at a Maori camp (no Maoris in residence last night though) .. it was so lush and peaceful. Today we were the only ones to stay afloat through the harder rapids (2 other couples from another group were there at the same time). Victory! When we got out I was "covered in bees!" much to my disgust and ended up with one stinging me right between the thighs! It still hurts. I was not happy. Tonight we undid all our good work with Dominos pizzas, which I am now regretting. Back to the diet tomorrow, eh?! Miss you all but don't miss work! Heheheehehe. The weather has picked up here too... I'm a bit sunburnt (hard not to be when you're paddling on a river all day). Lovely lovely lovely.

Tongariro Crossing: blisters, bad smells and banana muffins

Yesterday was the best day of the trip so far. We drove H's trusty car into the mountains and yesterday we joined the hoardes on the bus at 7:45 am to start the Tongariro crossing. Classed as New Zealand's best one-day walk this is a 17km trek up through volcanoes in Tongariro National Park - passing craters, bright blue smelly lakes and steaming rivers.

It was class but boy did it hurt! We hired equipment from the hostel which meant that the boots on our feet weren't ours - Pete had a HUGE blister after about an hour, bless him. He didn't moan at all, even though he had another 6 hours of walking to go! We started out in bright sunshine and T-shirts but as we climbed into the cloud and super-strong winds at the summit we put on 5 layers. I did a nice look in Michelin Man! Lunch was looking out onto the Emerald lakes (in the pictures) and then we skidded down the volcanic rocks onto the blue lake. Even with the number of people doing the walk at the same time it was still stunning. My mam always says that downhill is worse than uphill and boy, is she right (mams always are). Uphill was a real struggle - downhill, with sore feet and aching legs, was just nasty. But we finished with a big smile and were given sausages in the hostel by a nice American man. Which is always a good way to end the day! We've got the exercise bug now.. and we've just booked a 3 day self-guided kayak trip where we camp or stay in National Parks along the way. I will be supermodel thin by the time I leave NZ. Watch this space!

Dolphins, craters, beaches and birthdays

No photo yet - as my glamorous assistant is watching the Champion's League match rather than helping me with uploading photos from the camera. Tsk!
Well, nearly 2 weeks into it... we lazed around at Hayley and Meg's in Auckland and then, once the jet-lag had left us, we decided to go off on an adventure. Our hostesses lent us their car (such sweeties, really) and we headed north to Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped off at Ocean Beach and went for our first swim in the South Pacific and then to Pahia where we slept in a smelly dorm with 6 boys (blergh!). In Pahia we went sea-kayaking round some islands and mountain biking and we also went out on a catamaran to swim with dolphins (that is to say we jumped in, swam like buggery whilst singing underwater (I chose "Jerusalem", Pete "I bet you look good on the dancefloor") and a dolphin swam up to me, had a quick look and then dived off). Was good fun though. We made our way home (Auckland) via Baylys Beach which doubles as a motorway! Beaches with speed limit signs on! Class. Back in Auckland H and Megs made me drink beer, so we left the next day and came down to Taupo. As the weather has been too crap to do the walk we came here to do (hopefully tomorrow) we went in search of volcanic activity yesterday - we saw craters belching steam and eggy smells (for once it wasn't me!) and we ended up swimming in a hot waterfall. Bizarre! Today we head off again to try to do the Tongariro Crossing (a really beautiful 1-day walk). If I survive that I'll give you another update next week (hopefully with pictures this time!)
Sorry to all who I haven't emailed yet... I still love you!!! Send me your gossip.

Also... some announcements. Conratulations to Craig and Emma on the birth of the beautiful Heather Grace. And happy birthday Emma B! Love ya loads! XXX