Landing the Big One...

There are a lot of people out there of the opinion that men are the hunter gatherers and should be the ones putting food on the table whilst the women stay at home and cook it. I'm not of that opinion which is why I was more than happy to let Nadia land one average sized Travelly and one MASSIVE Snapper (see pic to your right) on our recent fishing trip with 'Captain Bucko' around the Bay of Islands. Her rod had been in the sea literally no more than twenty seconds before she landed it on the first cast of the afternoon (she's clearly a natural). I, on the other hand, didn't get a bite all day. Still, at least the sun was shining...

Anyway, back to the Snapper, we reckon it was about ten pounds based on an estimate against the twenty pounder that some other bloke pulled out of the sea shortly afterwards. Now that was huge, however Nadia's provided us with enough sumptuous barbequed fillet o' fish to feed us and a local cat that evening (and provide lunch the next day). It's only fitting that we should catch our own dinner on our final night of sleeping rough. Bucko himself, well, he's something of a local celeb and was full of bad jokes and fishermans tales that passed a great afternoon. Look him up if you're ever out here.

So the Bay of Islands has been good fun on the whole with the exception of a failed dolphin swimming expedition. We've seen dolphins at Fraser Island, The Whitsunday's, Byron Bay, Milford Sound, on the Manly Ferry - in fact, pretty much anytime except for the one occasion we paid to find them. Still, you can't blame them for scooting if there are killer whale in the locality (which there apparently were - didn't see them either).

Even more disappointment today as we have had to return our truck to the rental company which we'd both grown quite attached to. I'd never thought being cramped, cold and uncomfortable could be so much fun however we've both agreed that Taniwha (our campervan) was the right choice for seeing this country.

We're now in Auckland catching up on a few bits and bobs and enjoying the luxury of a proper bed for the first time in a month. We head to Thailand tomorrow afternoon - haere ra Aoterea, it's been awesome.

Next stop: Bangkok!

Worm hunting in Waitomo...

As anyone who's been out here will know, you can't go to New Zealand without going to Waitomo and there's no point going to Waitomo unless you're going to see some glowworms. So we've just spent the last 24hrs in this little place a few hours west of Rotorua and have returned from an epic 4hr+ underground adventure that saw us rappel 30 metres down into a cave, spend a few hours exploring on foot but more excitingly on rubber rings - 'black water rafting' down the freezing rapids (often in complete darkness) and finishing off with climbing out of the 30 metre hole you dropped yourself in in the first place. The pic you see is of the intrepid caving team staring in bewildered awe at the gloworms - all except for the American tourist on the left who preferred to give a big smile for the camera...some people just don't listen.

It was awesome stuff and the gloworms themselves were a sight to behold - literally millions of them lighting up the cavern...akin to staring into a starry sky. And for those that care, glowworms aren't actually worms but the larval stage of the fungus gnat. The glow they give off is merely to attract bugs and other prey that they feed off. Interesting huh?

Pre and post our cave expedition, the word of the day was 'shearing'. On our way out of Rotorua we visited the Agrodome where they run a very touristy but undeniably fun show of the sheep of NZ incorporating shearing, feeding and some dog herding tricks. To add to that in Waitomo we then visited the 'Shearing shed' - home to some 300 angora rabits - one of which gets its massive locks sheared daily.

We headed from Waitomo and have just spent a day on the Coromandel Peninsula where we found the hot water beach (very cool - dig a hole and have your own thermaly heated bath) and Cathedral Cove...a very secluded bay with some cool rock formations. As the NZ leg of this trip nears an end we've decided to spend our last few days in the Bay of Islands where its waaaaaaarm. Will post a final update from there before we depart for Thailand.

Nadia and me with some Geyser.

Ha ha. So, as you can guess from the pictures we are currently in New Zealands 'geothermal wonderland'. The last few days have been spent in Taupo and Rotorua where steaming lakes, boiling mud pools and spouting geysers (like Lady Knox to your right) are commonplace. Once you get past the smell of eggs the place is magic and a million miles away from back home. For fact fans pondering how these geographical wonders are created - it is apparently all to do with these towns sitting on the fault line between the Pacific and Indi-China (or something) plates and the earth getting heated by lots of (in my best Dr Evil voice) 'Liquid Hot Mag-ma'.

In our few days here we've visited Wai-O-Tapu, a geothermal reserve 30K south of Rotorua where sulphurous lakes and acid caves are commonplace; the Polynesian Spa - luxury mineral baths where you get to soak in the radium waters while watching the sunset over the lake and Paradise Springs; a nature park where you can get up close and personal with some lion cubs (not very kiwi admittedly but cool nonetheless). We also went along to a Hangi (pronounce 'hungi') last night - a traditional Maori feast cooked on hot rocks that are buried in the earth. It was Kar-Pi ('good' in Maori, although the spelling probably leaves a lot to be desired). We also got to see some traditional Maori tribal dancing including the haka (didn't scare me...)

Anyway, we have been on the North Island around a week now. The Sun hasn't stopped shining which has made us both happy and made nights spent in Taniwha (the van, for those not keeping up) all the more comfortable. So, to save me droning on, other North Island highlights so far have included:
- Kayaking a stretch of the Waikato river in a double kayak (which was nearly capsized on more than one occasion) and stopping for a dip in the natural thermal pools - VERY cool (or hot if you know what I mean)
- Taking a ride on Errol Flynn's old yacht, The Barnaby, to go out and see some Maori carvings on lake Taupo (I'm aware we've done a lot of Maori things since we last posted)
- Visiting the Te Papa national museum of New Zealand in Wellington and the botanical gardens on a VERY hot day in what some people told me was a wet and miserable city.

Anyway, we're off to see some sheep shearing - wouldn't be right not to in a country where they outnumber humans 10-1 then we're on to Waitomo this evening to spend the night with some glow worms. More to follow shortly...

Rocks, Rapids and Rugby

We were up at dawn this morning to watch England lose their World Cup title with, ooh, at least half a dozen other Englishmen in a sports bar in Nelson. A disappointing 80 minutes made even worse by the roars of a few gobby South Africans sat to our right. And Nadia now can't decide whether she prefers Percy nice hair or Jonny nice legs. What a dilemma. Still, there's always the football...at least qualification for Euro 2008 shouldn't be an issue (whoops!)

So we have been in Nelson for the last day or so and have become big fans of the place - nice bars, live music, very hospitable locals (who were throwing free wine tasters in our direction last night) and, most importantly - Sunshine! Yes, Nelson is officially the South Islands sunniest place.

The last few days have been as busy as ever. Post Nadia's canyon swing we successfully negotiated the Shotover River in Queenstown on a raft. Rapids were ace and we both avoided taking a dip in the ice cold white water (unlike some poor chinese girl on our raft who had an extended and unwelcome swim). From there we headed to Wanaka and spent a morning marvelling at the mountain peaks that surrounded us before driving up the coast to Glacier country. We did a half day hike onto the Fox Glacier which was pretty awesome - not as cold as you'd expect with ice crevasses (see pic), caves and water run-off's that were straight out of Touching the Void/Vertical Limit/Cliffhanger or any other alpine mountain climbing film you might have seen. A quick look at the Franz Josef Glacier (from a distance - we decided climbing two in one day was a bridge too far) then headed up to the Punakaiki national park to see weird rocks and other cool stuff.

We head to the North Island this evening after doing a loop around pretty much all of the South over the last 2 weeks. We are sad to say goodbye to the South's snowy peaks, glacial lakes, rolling hills, and sheep but are looking forward to volcanoes, hot pools and hopefully some more sun. Next stop: Wellington!

Tourist Plunges 200 Metres at 150 km/h

We are currently sat in an internet cafe, uploading the pics of the first adrenaline rush of the day - a canyon swing above the Shotover river, Queenstown. In a word 'brilliant', very exciting but naturally terrifying given you effectively throw yourself off a 109m cliff face with a 60m freefall and having not tried bungy jumping or skydiving (like the experienced Mr Walker who spectated this act of madness from a nice viewing platform) I was quite unsure of what was in store. I decided to go for what I thought was the 'easy' option - being suspended over the canyon and then released by the swing team. They had other ideas.... So standing on the ledge I inched forwards expecting to feel a slight dip as they secured the cutaway ropes. Instead I inched forwards, looked down and sped off the side at 150km/h towards the bottom. Sound dramatic? It should be... enjoy the pic above (I am the one in the blue stripey jumper disappearing into the canyon floor). We also have a video which will hopefully be up later on today. You can then witness the terror first hand.

White water rafting this afternoon - which after the torrential downpours should be equally exciting (we are told the rivers are running high and fast!)

The Earth Moved!

Up until last night, the only times I've been shaken awake on this holiday have been by Nadia either complaining about my snoring or asking me to escort her to the toilet block for a late night visit. Last night however we had the pleasure of an earthquake 70K west of Milford Sound measuring 6.7 on the richter scale which almost shook our fillings out. My first thought on waking up to a shaking van was that I'd failed to put the handbrake on and we were careering into the lake. Thankfully that wasn't the case.


So, it would be more interesting if I could report 70's disaster movie style carnage but there were no downed electricity pylons or cracked roads. In fact, the only visible (or audible) impact was LOTS of gossip around camp this morning about it.

Anyway, we can officially say we've been in an earthquake. I for one think that's an achievement.

PS. We're now in Queenstown after a visit to Doubtful Sound (another fiord) today. It's still raining...and there is more to come. Nadia's canyon swing tomorrow - expect beaucoup de coverage of that!

Stunning Lakes, Alpine Mountains and an Angry Sandfly

It's now day six of our road trip adventure and spirits remain high despite incessent rain, icy winds and a strong chill in the air. New Zealand's treasures however, have prevented any of the aforementioned really having any impact on our general mood.

So far we have travelled a number of miles, I have been driving [hurrah!] and visits include -

• The Moeraki Boulders - unusual perfectly rounded boulders that look like they fell from the sky (and as James accurately put it - oversized malteesers due to their internal honeycomb formation...)


• Cathedral Caves - a maze of high arching stunning caves leading through the cliff face and back out to the ocean


• Cannibal Bay - a quiet beach where we were able to get within five metres of some dozing New Zealand Fur Sea-Lions. Only found in this part of the world.


• Milford Sound - an amazing Alpine fiord that is strongly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and quite simply took our breath away (see pic - sorry if we spoil the view). Worth mentioning here is our faces when trying to follow instructions on how to fit the obligatory snow chains in the possible event of an avalanche...yes that's right avalanche. Luckily for us it was a bright day.

Campervan life is fresh, fun and a great way to see what is really an 'outdoors' land. No real complaints, well perhaps one from James concerning a vicious group of sand flies - one of which decided to pick a fight with him and won. The result is a swollen lip that looks like a failed attempy at collagen surgery. (Sorry Jim - I resisted posting a pic). Our only other mishap was when I got so excited about the prospect of a full day's driving that I forgot to do a routine petrol check. 50K up a mountain, with no road signs in sight, a strong downpour and a setting sun is not when you want to see the dial firmly past the E sign and the warning light flashing...

Our next adventure is Doubtful Sound - reputedly the more stunning of New Zealand's two Sounds and then on to Queenstown for some adventure activities. Watch this space...

Taniwha Rachael

Nadia and I thought long and hard about what image to upload here. After two days in New Zealand, we've seen snow capped peaks, rolling green hills and shining blue glacial lakes, however, sod all that we thought. What you really want to see is a picture of Taniwha Rachael - the camper van that will be our home for the next 3 weeks. (a Taniwha by the way is a kind of Maori dragon - that big orange thing painted on the side.)

To be honest I wasn't that enamoured at first at the prospect of spending the next 21 days without electricity or a proper bed however I was convinced by Nadia that this was the authentic travelling experience. Besides, I now get to pretend that I'm either driving Mr T's van out of the A-Team or the Mystery Machine out of Scooby Doo. Either way I win.

So 2 days into NZ and the first reaction is, it's a trifle cold but no matter. We spent a day acclimatising in Christchurch before heading to Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook today. I think we're off to see some perfectly rounded boulders tomorrow - I'm sure they will be more interesting than they sound.

More to follow soon.

Farewell Australia, it's been fun...

This final Australian post comes to you from Melbourne airport, whilst we pass the minor delay to a relatively short flight to Christchurch, South Island, NZ.

It's been an action packed few days, highlights including:

- Going to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne (Melbourne is apparently Oz's cultural capital so we thought it rude not to take in some local entertainment)

- Seeing the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, south of Melbourne. Despite annoying tourists (of which we are not), torrential rain (yes, more of it) and howling winds we watched as the sun set and the 'Little Penguins' (their real name) emerged from the surf and headed for their burrows.

- Driving the Great Ocean Road taking in the Twelve Apostles (see pic - there are only seven left standing), London Bridge (another rock formation that looks like....London Bridge), Erskine Falls and Bells Beach (where the 70 yr wave scene in Point Break was filmed - I resisted a second Keanu impersonation)

So, all in all, Oz has been a great laugh with amazing views and experiences and we are both very sad its over. Still, onward and upward - next stop, New Zealand in 4 hrs

Sunrise over the Sea

Feel this post needs few words to accompany the picture. It was as amazing as it looks and the stuff postcards are made of. Enjoy.

Kangaroos at Dawn

After driving a mammoth 6 hours from Sydney, we decided to break up the journey to Melbourne and stop at the seaside coast of Pambula. Our accomodation was without a doubt one of the best so far - a small beach front cabin with ocean views, so close you could hear the waves crashing with little effort.

Upon hearing from the friendly owners that kangaroos often frequent the beach front in the morning, we set our alarm for 6am the next day.

I admit I was a little too eager and woke up at 5.14 - like a small child that cannot wait for Santa. Dragging James out of bed - actually I'll make this factually correct. The words 'James, James, there's a kangaroo' got him up and ready faster than I've ever seen. No surprises - the sight was spectacular. We actually found a whole family of kangaroos bouncing around the caravan park (dawn is when they are at their most active). Above you can see a couple of the males with James standing in the background.

The sunrise was yet another breathtaking highlight, made even more spectacular given the fact that it was just us and the seagulls on the beach (See blog post above).

Point Broken: Sydney part 3

This surfing lark isn't as easy as it looks. So our final day in Sydney was an action packed one. The day kicked off by us arriving 2 hours late for 60 minutes kayaking around various ocean beaches near Manly with Karen and her Text 100 cohorts (which was lots of knackering fun on a 30 degree day by the beach). We then wisely booked a 2 hr surfing lesson just up the coast.

The lesson principally consisted of us swallowing lots of water, getting the crap knocked out of us by 10ft waves, getting smashed by surfboards (ours and other peoples) in the face/ribs/back, getting bent double by ripcurls and generally failing to stand up.

A lie actually. I managed all of 0.000001 seconds with both feet on the board before I tumbled into the surf. Nadia (as she predicted) did slightly better and managed, at one point, to career towards the shoreline riding parrallell to another surfing student both shouting at the top of their lungs. In control - no, surfing - yes.

So in short, I am no Keanu Reeves on a 12ft board (hence this subtly titled blog entry) but I'm sure you'll all agree that I look equally good in a wetsuit.

Anyway, our final night in Sydney was spent with a farewell dinner with Karen and housemate Kristy at 'The Summit', one of Sydney's finest eating establishments with 47th floor views of the city, Harbour Bridge, Opera House (which we still aren't bored of).

To sum Sydney up, it was awesome. Great food, drink, activities and company. Whatever else happens on this trip, it has a lot to live up to.

(Please note Karen and Rich - I was having a few technical issues this morning. Hence a blog title with no text being up for a full 12 hrs. Yes, I'm still an amateur).