Australia - Melbourne - Aussie rules

Aussie Rules

On Saturday evening I met up with Mick and his mates to go to an Aussie rules "footy" match at the Telstra Dome stadium in Melbourne city. Apart from watching the match on Anzac day, my knowledge of the game was very limited. I thought the rules were basically that there were no rules, but it's actually more structured that that... I'll not bore you by explaining them here though ;) We went to see Carlton play Brisbane, and we were supporting Carlton. It is a rough and fast game and takes a long time (almost 2.5hrs) to complete. The scores are very high, but Brisbane just manages to beat Carlton in the final minutes (126 to 116 I think). Was interesting to see as it's a really big thing "down under" to watch the footy - there are some real fanatics.

Australia - Melbourne

When I arrived in Melbourne I was happy because I knew some people here, the first place that this has happened on the trip. I stayed the first night in the city and looked around a bit.
The next day I met up with Mick Gavin and headed out to his farm near Romsey (about 1h north of Melbourne). It was nice and quiet out there and I mainly just relaxed and helped to feed the cows from time to time. One day we went shooting with rifles, but just target practice. After a few days of hanging out and watching Mick's DVD's, we headed back into the city for Anzac Day (commemorating Australian and NZ soldiers who fell in wartime). We watched the Aussie rules football on TV and had a few drinks , as the parade was already over. Mick - cheers for having me!


My next port of call was to go down to Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula and meet up with David and Maisie Burson, Gwen's parents. They moved from Ireland to Australia to enjoy their retirement. After only a few days in Australia, I could understand why. Their house is great and even has a swimming pool, so I spent an afternoon enjoying that! The next day we went on a day trip down the Great Ocean Road as far as the "Twelve Apostles". It was an excellent day trip and took in some beautiful coastal scenery. David and Maisie - many thanks for your kind hospitality and for treating me so well!

NZ - Christchurch

After driving 4700km around NZ in the campervan, I needed a few days in Christchurch just to chill out... Really nice city and apparently the most English looking in NZ. The centre is around the cathedral, which actually just looks like a smaller version of the Christchurch cathedral in Dublin. There is a suburb called Belfast, which I only realised after a bus drove past stating it's destination as Belfast! For a split second I felt not that far away from home... Anyway after a few days it was time to move on again, so I packed my rucksack and headed for the airport. Destination Melbourne, Australia and about 3.5 hours away on the plane. Sad to leave NZ, but finally on the way to Oz...

NZ - Fiordland and the south

Doubtful Sound

After leaving Queenstown I drive around the lake and on to Manapouri, a few hours south west. This is the gateway to Doubtful Sound, one of the most remote wilderness and inaccessible areas on the South island. It was named incorrectly by Captain Cook, as it is actually a fiord... when contemplating sailing down it, he was "doubtful" if there would be enough wind to get him back out again...hence the name!






I went to an adventure kayak company as I though it would be the nicest way to see the place. Leaving ant 7.30am we first take a speedboad 30km across Lake Manapouri, past NZ's largest undergound hydro power station. Then we have to transfer to a bus to take us over Wilmot's pass and through dense woodland to the start of the sound. There we get into kayaks to travel about 15km and explore the area. In total we are 8 people in 4 kayaks. Apart from the guy who picks us up at the other end in the speedboad, we are pretty much the only people here. The silence and the remoteness are stunning. We are accompanied by dolphins near the beginning and again at the end of the trip. They swim straight at the kayak, then suddenly dive below, shaking the kayak with the swoosh of their tail fins. Too fast to get a good picture though. There was also a seal swimming next to us for a while. A true encounter with nature as it was meant to be! The day was fantastic even though it rained. (The area gets 255 rainy days per year, so the odds of getting glorious sunshine were not in our favour.)


Milford Sound

After experiencing Doutful Sound, I hadn't planned on going to Milford as it's similar scenery but filled with tour groups due to it's accessibility. Another factor was that from Manapouri it is a 280 km round trip in the wrong direction for me. However, Tim the kayak guide, had told me it was worth the drive as the scenery is fantastic (like everywhere in NZ!). Spontaneity prevails and I get up the next morning and drive there. He was right, the scenery was truely breathtaking with snow capped jagged peaks and incredible places to stop along the way. Such as the "Mirror Lakes", "Cascade Creek" and "The Divide" (see pics).






















Finally I make it to Milford Sound and it's exactly how I expect it to be. Full of tourists, tour operators, tour groups, tour buses. Terrible! The sound itself (actually it's also a fiord) is pretty spectacular. The drive was certainly worth it, but hanging around wasn't....so I head south again and stop for lunch at a more pituresque place with less tourists. I drive back through Te Anue and Manapouri to head south towards Invercargill.

Invercargill, the Catlins and then north..

You can tell the Scottish/Celtic influence in the area by the street names, but even the green rolling hills, rugged coastline and weather are reminiscent of Scotland. With street names such as "Larne" and "Armagh", I was thinking a lot about Northern Ireland. I stayed in Invercargill but didn't find it that great and the weather was getting progressivly worse... The next day I drove around the coast through an area known as The Catlins. Again, outstanding scenery and hardly anyone around, just loads of sheep in the fields. The road is very windy, so progress is slow, but enjoyable. I stopped at a few places on the way before arriving in Dunedin (gaelic for Edinburgh). The jouney keeps going and I drive up to Timaru to spend the night. This is only a few hours from Christchurch, where I want to be the following day. The road to Christchurch is depressingly dull compared to the scenery the previous days on this road trip, but hey you can't have everything... Shortly after lunch i get into Christchurch, clean the rental campervan and give it back to the depot. Pretty tired of freezing in the van and roughing it, so looking forward to a hostal bed and plenty of warm showers. People too, as I haven't seen many the past days...

NZ - Bungy jumping in Queenstown

After spending a few days relaxing by the lake in Wanaka, we drove down to Queenstown. This is a stunning location on the edge of a huge blue lake, surrounded by alpine mountains with the first touches of the winter snow. It's an outdoor activity mecca and you can basically do any sort of extreme sport here. There is adrenalin for sale on every corner in the form of bungy jumping, paragliding, skydiving, jet boating, canyoning, climbing...and the list goes on....

Queenstown is the home of the bungy jump...where it all started almost 20 years ago. I'd never done one before, so if I wanted to do it then this seemed like the right place...and I wanted to do one! On the way into town I stopped off to view people bungy jumping off a bridge . Getting nervous just watching these people and this was the shortest jump at 43m. The biggest jump was called the Nevis Highwire and is 134m, providing 8.5 seconds of freefall, and this was the one that I decided to sign up for. There was a 2 day waiting list, which certainly builds up the nerves as you have paid to do it, but must get through 2 troubled nights first. I must say, I really did have trouble sleeping...

The day of the the jump comes around and I go down to the office to check in and get weighed. They mark my hands, one with blue marker for the jump I am booked on, and my weight in red on the other. The weight is important as the heaviest person in the group must jump first (at 75kg this wasn't me though!).

The jump is on private ground outside Queenstown and it takes about 40 minutes to drive there. Over the prow of the hill we spy the bungy pod, which resembles a large cable car and is suspended by cables high above the gorge, with the Nevis river running below. The fear sets in as we step off the bus...It is incredibly windy and I'm not sure if I am shaking due to the cold or the fact that I am scared stiff. Probably a bit of both. We go to a viewing ledge and watch another group jumping. It looks horrendous as they plunge so far that they are out of sight for a few seconds. Now I am really wound up as I go to get fitted with a safety harness. They also weigh me again just to check, I read a one page instruction sheet on what to do and sign an non-indemnifier (i.e. if something goes wrong they are not responsible...).

The first 6 people are taken out to the bungy pod via a small gondola with a grid floor, so you can see everything as it shakes its way across the chasm. You can also see and hear the other jumpers as they scream and hurtle downwards into the abyss. I am with the next group, so we clip on and take the ride across... By this stage I really am shaking and I'm fairly certain it's not the cold weather.

Again I am forced to wait in the pod as they harness people up by weight. The pod has a part glass floor and you can now see the peole jumping right below you. Oh God! Then my name is called and I get the foot straps put on me. I move through the safety gate and sit in a dentists chair next to the jump ledge. I am feeling quite good considering, and am very eager to get it done. While strapping me up the jumpmaster quipps - "everything ok, bro?", to which I answer -"yeah, just fine thanks"... to which he replies- "you sure? You're looking pretty white". So obviously I wasn't doing a good job of hiding my fear. Harnessed up I shuffle my way to the ledge and have a small moment of inner panic..."why am I here? What am I doing?!?!" Now I am standing with my toes right on the edge and peering down into the gorge. It is a ******* long way down I think to myself.... Then comes the countdown : Five...Four...Three...Two...One...JUMP!!!! To my astonishment I don't hesitate and I push myself out and forward, diving off the ledge like I am going for a swim. Suddendly I am airborne and the ground is rushing up at me VERY VERY FAST. The wind is so strong that I can't even hear myself scream. After 8.5 seconds of freefall and almost touching the river, I'm pretty convinced it's not stopping. Suddenly the bungy has reached it's maximum extension and I slow down about 15m above the river. Ahhhh...relief....hold on...what the?...I am catapulted upwards again at high speed. Everything is spinning and I can see the cliffs around me, the pod and the sky above me and the river below...but not necessarily in that order. Wow, this is absolutely incredible I think as my heart pounds, the blood rushes to my head and the adrenalin surges through my veins. After several bounces it slows down and the safety winch is lowered with a loud bang. Finally I am taken back up to the safety of the bungy pod. It takes a while to register what I have just actually done. From a complete nervous wreck to elation within a few seconds. All there is left to do now is get back to land in one piece, via the shakey cage. On the way back into Queenstown "the jump" is the only topic of conversation on the bus.

Very glad I made the jump, just to prove to myself that I have the guts to do it. Face my fears, fight my demons and all that. However, I'm not sure if I would need to do it again in a hurry ;)

NZ - South Island touring

Abel Tasman National Park

We drive from Piction, via Nelson up to Abel Tasman national park. From here we rent a sea kayak, take a quick safety lesson and paddle around the park for a day. There are very clear waters close to shore, as we stop off and go ashore some small beaches that are only accessable by kayak. The sun is out all day and the scenery is incredible, but the highlight is when a stingray swims next to us. The kayak tour is a success.




Westport /Cape Fowlwind

The drive to Westport is uneventful until we want to fill up with diesel. We don't see a petrol station for over 80km, and we are getting very nervous as we run into Murchison on the fumes and eventually find a gas staton. We were told about how sparsly populated NZ's west coast is, but now we actually experienced it. Westport looks fairly boring, so we drive out to Cape Fowlwind. Here we do a great walk along the coast for a couple of hours which leads us to a seal colony.

Punakaika

Further down the coast we reach Punakaika, famous for the "pancake rocks" and "blowholes".
The rock formation by the sea has been erroded in such a way that it resembles giant pancakes stacked on top of each other. When the tide comes in the waves shoot up through holes causing a huge amount of spray. Nice place but a real tourist trap.





Hokitika

We arrive in Hokitika, a small town further down the west coast. It is famous for crafts made from Jade, glass, wood and bone. We have a look around one of the jade factories which is quite interesting. However, it is Good Friday and most other places are closed, so there isn't much else to do here. It's time to move on and drive another 150km to the Franz-Josef Glacier.

Franz-Josef Glacier

We spend the night in the village of Franz Josef, the jump off point to the glacier. There is a small party at the camping grounds, but wasn't really in the mood to stay that long. The next day we drive the 5km up to the Glacier car park and walk the half hour to the terminal face. It rained fairly constantly and the glacier was really dirty and not that impressive....given all the hype and the fact that I'd been to Perito Moreno in Argentina, I was quite dissapointed. Afterwards we walked back and drove another 20km to Fox Glacier. We spend an hour hiking around a lake which is supposed to be the best viewpoint for Mount Cook. Due to the bad weather and low cloud we see nothing and end up gettinmg pretty soaked. Mission failed :( Nothing left to do but head further south to Haast and stay at the beach.

Haast Beach

Great place to spend the night next to the beach, listening to the crashing waves and looking up at a sky full of stars. Unfortunately breakfast was not so idyllic, as I get eaten alive by swarms of sandflies. They bite, and it's pretty sore! Forget eating...I'm outta here and on to the next place...

NZ - more North Island touring

Taupo

We drive down to Taupo which is siutuated on the shores of a large lake and very scenic. From here we visit the Huka falls, which is more like a giant rapid. After wards we visit the Thermal valley, to bathe in the 40 degree water and have a wash. Very strange to sit outside in a river that almost scalds you when you put your feet in at first! Felt great though.






Hiking the Tongariro Crossing

We moved on south from Taupo to the Tongariro National Park, where parts of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was filmed. This was Mordor! The one day trek leading from Mangatepopo to Keteahi is said to be one of NZ's classic walks, so that's what we came here to do. The scenery is spectacular and ranges from alpine scrub over volcanic rock to an almost lunar landscape at the Red crater and down to the Emerald lakes. The wind is very strong and the clouds are low, but clear a few times to reveal fantastic views. It really is a classic hike and well worth the 7 hours. The only drawback was the volcanic gasses as the sulpur diffused off the mountain, which smelt like rotten eggs.


Climbing Mt Taranaki

After driving from Tongariro down to New Plymouth and spending another night in the van, we awake to glorious sunshine. Due to the unpredictable weather, we decide to ignore the pain from the previous days' hike and make our way to Mt Taranaki/Egmont. This is a huge dormant volcano rising up to 2518m. An incredibly steep and sustained climb which takes about 4 hours to the crater and the summit. The descent is slightly quicker sliding down the scree. We arrive back to the car park and are completely exhausted. Another night in New Plymouth and a relaxing morning before driving 5 hours to Wellington.

Wellington

We arrive in NZ's capital city just as the sun is dropping into the ocean for a beautiful sunset. The city is small and manageable so we park and head out to explore Courtenay Place, where the nightlife is. We have a few beers to say goodbye to Paul who is heading back to Auckland. Johnny and myself will continue in the van to the South Island.

Crossing over to the South Island

The next day (Wednesday) we go to the harbour to get a ticket for the 3 hour ferry ride to Picton on the south island. To our astonishment we are told there are no free spaces for a camper van until Sunday! It was the easter holiday weekend and we had forgotten this and had not booked in advance. Well, everyday is a holiday when you are travelling... We are desperate to get to the south island and avoid spending another 4 unnecessary days in Wellington. We check with the only other company that crosses the Cook Strait...no tickets until Saturday!! Damn! We convince them to put us on standby and wait around the terminal. Within half an hour we get the great news that we have a space and have 15mins until the ship leaves. We hurry down and drive the van onto the ferry, hardly believing our luck. From despair to elation in 1 minute....It's amazing how things change. That's why it's better not to make too many plans on the road.