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New Zealand Travel Guides
June 14, 2005
Time to make a move
The one problem with travelling through so many countries is beginning to hit us. You really don't want to leave where you are, but are eager to reach the next place. What a dilemma.
Posted at 05:07 AM
June 13, 2005
Almost time for something new
Another early appointment with the Atomic Shuttle meant our time was up in Franz Josef, and it was time to head back to Christchurch ready to head for another country. Australia we're on our way.
Posted at 09:49 AM
June 12, 2005
A nice relaxing day
After the excitement of the day before it was no surprise that we slept in again. Any plans we had of walking back to the glacier face had gone right out of the window too, our legs ached.
Posted at 09:32 AM
June 11, 2005
Onto the ice we go
It turned out that we didn't need to book in for 3 nights in Franz Josef - the weather was absolutely fabulous. Although all the weather reports said that sunday would be the best, today was looking so good that we booked our glacier walk for that afternoon.
Posted at 08:43 AM
June 10, 2005
Into the cold
Although New Zealand was cold we were headed to somewhere that wouldn't be quite right if it was hot - Franz Josef Glacier.
Posted at 10:30 AM
June 09, 2005
Time for some creativity
We were booked in for another early start on the bus - we really need to learn not to do that every day, but if you want to see as much as possible you have to do it.
Posted at 09:36 AM
June 08, 2005
By the sea in Greymouth
It seems as if everywhere on our itinery for the South Island so far is on the coast. We wouldn't mind but the wind doth blow cold on the coast, chills you right to the bones.
Posted at 07:26 AM
Over to the West coast
With our van handed back we were unsure what to expect from the bus service in New Zealand, but we needn't have been worried.
Posted at 07:03 AM
June 07, 2005
Without the van at last
We went to catch the bus outside the hire centre, but the directions weren't too good. Right direction, just wrong side of the road. Guess we were used to that by now - we'd seen a number of signs telling us of a turn to the right in 400m, only to find the road on the left. That's all behind us now, no more road signs for us for a while. We'll leave that to bus drivers.
Posted at 02:30 AM
Last day with the van
We had picked a good campsite for the last night in the van. We managed to get all our laundry done, clean out the van, discover that most of the kitchens have boiling water on tap for a quick cup of tea, have really good kitchens that are easy to use and sociable places (although everyone here seems to be leaving again - are we doing a funny route as we always seem to meet people as they are leaving)and have nice hot showers with music to sing along to. If it was summer we would seriously consider renting a car and bringing a tent.
Posted at 01:54 AM
June 06, 2005
On to Christchurch
We didn't really want to leave Kaikoura, but we had to give the van back soon and we didn't know what there was to do around Christchurch that we might need the van for.
Posted at 01:16 AM
June 05, 2005
Out on the ocean
Woke up feeling nice and warm for once - cooking in the van does have some advantages. It wasn't raining, there was still mist obscuring the mountains but we were optomistic. Today was the day.
Posted at 12:50 AM
June 04, 2005
Another windy day
No chance of seeing a whale today either. The weather really seems to be against us on this trip. And we have taken a week off of a warmer place to stay longer. Are we mad?
Posted at 12:36 AM
June 03, 2005
Along the coast
So far all we can say about the south island is that the people are just as friendly, I-Sites are still the best places to go, and it is cold. Not sure if it is colder, but we're still fighting over the duvet.
Posted at 08:00 AM
Surrounded by wildlife
We were told to keep our eyes open for a seal colony on the way to Kaikoura, so with one pair of eyes searching the rocks on our left (the other pair on the winding road and traffic)we made a slow journey.
Posted at 12:07 AM
June 02, 2005
On new soil
We arrived into Picton ferry terminal around midday - almost feed us time again. Picton itself wasn't far away, and we thought we'd stop and explore for a while rather than start driving.
Posted at 07:26 AM
June 01, 2005
Goodbye North Island - Hello South
As advised we got up at 6am to be on our way to the ferry for 8:30am check in even though the journey takes 30mins max. We reckoned the locals knew what they were talking about.
Posted at 07:08 AM
A day in the capital
Boy did it feel good to have a lay in this morning. We were getting fed up of always having to be on the move by 10am. We really should stay in places more than one night just for that reason.
Posted at 06:21 AM
May 31, 2005
One of those days
We are too easily confused and frustrated out here, but this must have been one of those days. We all have them, and this was the first one of this trip.
Posted at 04:04 AM
May 30, 2005
Swaying along the road
This route was a bad plan. OK - we knew that the weather around Tongariro crossing was bad, after all that was why we had to cancel that part of our trip. But Desert Road. Yuk.
Posted at 03:45 AM
A nice easy morning
10am is far too early to check out in the morning. The sun hasn't fully come up, and certainly hasn't had time to de-mist the windows in the van. And it is still cold - even after having the heater running for 30 minutes before you get up.
Posted at 03:19 AM
May 29, 2005
Time for a different landscape
We never thought we had planned to go to the moon on this trip - not sure our air ticket covered that - but apparently it does. According to Craters of the moon that is.
Posted at 05:32 AM
Round Lake Taupo
After already having been across the dam at the top of lake Taupo it was time to complete our stops on the western side before stopping in the town centre.
Posted at 05:08 AM
Taupo or bust
We were off again, destined never to arrive anywhere in daylight. We were told that route 30 to Taupo was the scenic route from Waitomo, and they were right.
Posted at 04:47 AM
May 28, 2005
The national dish and icon
One of our aims of this trip was to try the national dish of every country we go to. After asking Eddie - our Waitomo guide - we came to the conclusion that in NZ it was fish & chips. No complaining from us (as visions of fish head curry later on swarmed our minds, so we headed into Otorohanga.
Posted at 04:31 AM
Not getting lost in the Lost World
We were on our way down. The rope securely wound around our right feet, this feels fine. Then Eddie tells us to uncoil the rope.
Posted at 02:56 AM
Heading underground
Walking the green mile - well it felt like it. A mixture of fear and excitement whilst trudging (what else can you do in wellies) through lush vegetation around a crater to a platform 100m above a very big hole with your only way down a very long rope.
Posted at 02:43 AM
Activity day
OK we are learning as we go. Learning about all the things we forgot.
Posted at 02:24 AM
May 27, 2005
On to find a hole in the ground
One place in NZ so far that has numerous signs warning you that the turning is coming up. There was no chance of us missing this turning even if we wanted to. Complete contrast to Auckland, and a change in our attitudes too.
Posted at 02:01 AM
New Zealand weather and disappearing mountains.
And then it rained. And rained.
There was no chance of sleeping last night, what with the fridge continuously switching itself on and off, and the sound of rain banging on the roof of our tin box on wheels we were wide awake by 5am.
Posted at 01:38 AM
May 26, 2005
Out of Auckland
The plan was to travel as far as possible to Rotorua from Auckland and find somewhere to camp overnight to give ourselves a full day there. Little did we realise how far it was, or how long it would take us. We really should start to work in Km. Being from the UK they don't mean much to us, plus driving a van is different from driving a car. To really quash our plans God switched off the light.
Posted at 07:26 AM
Off to meet the animals
Getting to Auckland Zoo should have been a doddle - considering we had driven past the sign the night before. But in true style we managed to miss a turning. Still can't figure out where, we just followed the signs to route 16, but ended up going over the bridge, again.
Posted at 07:14 AM
Time to explore the Auckland city
Things don't look quite so bad in the daylight. Thankfully the road map was accurate, the directions were plain and easy to follow, and the big bonus was that we could see which lane we were meant to be in, and could read the signs.
Posted at 06:43 AM
Awaking in a new place
Our first night was quite restless. Not sure if it was due to some amount of jet lag - being that our body thought we were 12 hours behind (not that we consciously knew what day or time it was, but it was dark so we thought we'd better sleep), or due to the immense cold that kept waking us up.
Posted at 06:31 AM
May 25, 2005
Auckland here we come
Having collected our luggage, got our packs on our backs we headed for the water fountain, and the free bus ride to collect our motor home. Luckily the super happy bus driver knew exactly where to take us (all the motor home companies have their offices in the same place)so there was no problem there. We were starting to realise that doing this trip the other way round was a fab idea, no language barrier to cope with on top of jet lag.
Posted at 01:48 AM
May 24, 2005
How to lose a day the easy way
So we had taken off. Now for the long sit. This was the part of the trip we were dreading. We had planned when we were going to sleep to try and combat jet lag, we had our food supplies to supplement aeroplane food, we had books to read. We had it all sorted. Just had to get on with it now. Surely it would be over before we knew it.
Posted at 01:25 AM
May 23, 2005
Off at last
Owing to our previous inability to get to an airport 2 hours before a flight we left home with hours to spare, just incase. We were feeling it was time to go, there was nothing left to plan, nothing left to check or pack and we were feeling in a state of limbo. Our bags had been packed, checked, re-arranged and sealed up all they could be. Our boots were just about worn in and were ready for walking, and that's just what we felt we had to do. It was time to go.
Posted at 12:54 AM
April 07, 2005
Due to arrive on...
Not arrived yet, due in on 25th May 2005. Watch this space!! In the meantime check out the planning section.
Posted at 06:33 PM
Time: GMT +12HRS
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Languages: English (official), Maori (official)
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Capital: Wellington
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