Had an enjoyable day yesterday at cooking school, only 5 of us there; 2 Ozzie couples so it was great to finally have a conversation with someone.
started off with a market tour, with baskets, to buy ingredients. Boom (means dimples in Thai!) explained all the different ingredients and food that was on offer in the market. all of which we'd previously walked past thinking what on earth is that. she explained all the different kinds of rice and noodles (lots).
we started off by cooking fried cashew nuts with chicken, which was lovely, then prepared spicy noodle salad (all this sat on the ground, of course i can't bend my knee so things were very uncomfortable) and chicken in cocnut milk. we then ate this - oh my gosh it was very spicy indeed. after this we prepared red curry paste by cutting and grinding lots of ingredients up by hand, including lots of red chillis. we used the paste to make red curry - despite me only putting a small amount of paste in it was still too spicy! we also made fried fish cakes to have with it. these were very nice actually, didn't taste like fish at all.
i think i must have drunk litres and litres of water yesterday to cool my mouth down, we all found it a bit too spicy. still we have a beautifully bound recipe book to take awway so now we can make it as mild as we like.
stumbled away at about 3pm after eating 5 dishes since 11pm - very full and only had a salad for dinner last night!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Chiang Mai
this post is all about ELEPHANTS!
first some catching up - arrived in CM 2 days ago - only 2 hours late = 16 hours on the train so not so bad. only had a fan seat so soooo hot during the morning (we arrived at 2.30). found a nice guesthouse only 450Baht for hot water and a swimming pool!
Yesterday I wandered around this walled/moat city and saw a few of the temples that are dotted around - there are over 300 in this city. beautiful outside but a little underwhelming inside. however i am fascinated by the monks. what do they do? why? on friday a local temple hosts a 'monk chat' with monks from the local monastic university so maybe i'll go to that.
yesterday evening i went along to the night bazaar, a couple of streets lined with stalls selling lots of tourist tat and fake brand names, but also some nice stuff too (although none of it i could see a local thai buying, so very tourist orientated) - there's so many westerners here.
now onto today - instead of going for the usual hill tribe trek/elephant ride/bamboo raft trip, i decided to go (at huge expense compared to the other options) to what was described as a 1 day Mahout course (a mahout is an elephant guide/carer).
got up very early this morning and was picked up and taken the 1 hour to the park, north of CM.
we started off the day by feeding the elephants, there were 31 in the park all 'rescued' from one thing or another by the parks founder, each one had a special basket and you had to hold out the food (stood on a platform) for them to grab with their trunk. quite messy eaters. then after our lunch we walked with them down to the river where their real mahouts got them to lay down and we all waded in and threw buckets of water at them and then started scrubbing. after a while of their own volition they got up and wandered away, and we went to see the big male, who was now in Must (like being on heat). we then watched a National Geographic documentary on the founder of the park and the conditions and trauma that domesticated elephants go through before being trained. some not very nice scenes of Thais being horrible to elephants to get them to be docile. i'm not sure i agree with the park's founder that no elephants should work at all; however some laws regarding training and living conditions would help. currently they've got no more rights than a cow, despite being an endangered species.
anyway, the elephants then got another wash in the river before we came home. all this was pushed along by a very nice but heavily tattooed american lady who had been there a long time and was obviously very into her elephants. there were also volunteers there who stay for several weeks and help do all the mucky stuff.
right, tomorrow i'm doing a cooking course so i'll let you know how it goes on saturday. i'll also let you know the website address of the elephant park so you can have a look.
charlotte
first some catching up - arrived in CM 2 days ago - only 2 hours late = 16 hours on the train so not so bad. only had a fan seat so soooo hot during the morning (we arrived at 2.30). found a nice guesthouse only 450Baht for hot water and a swimming pool!
Yesterday I wandered around this walled/moat city and saw a few of the temples that are dotted around - there are over 300 in this city. beautiful outside but a little underwhelming inside. however i am fascinated by the monks. what do they do? why? on friday a local temple hosts a 'monk chat' with monks from the local monastic university so maybe i'll go to that.
yesterday evening i went along to the night bazaar, a couple of streets lined with stalls selling lots of tourist tat and fake brand names, but also some nice stuff too (although none of it i could see a local thai buying, so very tourist orientated) - there's so many westerners here.
now onto today - instead of going for the usual hill tribe trek/elephant ride/bamboo raft trip, i decided to go (at huge expense compared to the other options) to what was described as a 1 day Mahout course (a mahout is an elephant guide/carer).
got up very early this morning and was picked up and taken the 1 hour to the park, north of CM.
we started off the day by feeding the elephants, there were 31 in the park all 'rescued' from one thing or another by the parks founder, each one had a special basket and you had to hold out the food (stood on a platform) for them to grab with their trunk. quite messy eaters. then after our lunch we walked with them down to the river where their real mahouts got them to lay down and we all waded in and threw buckets of water at them and then started scrubbing. after a while of their own volition they got up and wandered away, and we went to see the big male, who was now in Must (like being on heat). we then watched a National Geographic documentary on the founder of the park and the conditions and trauma that domesticated elephants go through before being trained. some not very nice scenes of Thais being horrible to elephants to get them to be docile. i'm not sure i agree with the park's founder that no elephants should work at all; however some laws regarding training and living conditions would help. currently they've got no more rights than a cow, despite being an endangered species.
anyway, the elephants then got another wash in the river before we came home. all this was pushed along by a very nice but heavily tattooed american lady who had been there a long time and was obviously very into her elephants. there were also volunteers there who stay for several weeks and help do all the mucky stuff.
right, tomorrow i'm doing a cooking course so i'll let you know how it goes on saturday. i'll also let you know the website address of the elephant park so you can have a look.
charlotte
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Bangkok
Sleeper train from Chumphorn to Bangkok was pretty fun, the train left an hour and a half late, luckily we were all tucked up inside in our cute little beds so it didn't matter. would have slept much better if it wasn't for my knee oozing stuff all night and the air con made it very cold - i got my sleeping bag out in addition to the pointlessly thin blanket they give you.
got to Bangkok at about 7.30 am and shared a taxi to Khao San Road and found a hotel down a little alley way. air con and hot water!
Khao San Road not at all like i imagined it, more humane and less dirty/dodgy, thank goodness. an atmosphere similar to late night shopping, lots and lots of people, lots of stalls.
Yesterday i walked down to the Grand Palace and associated Wat (Temple), on the way going into the National Museum. First gallery very interesting about the history of thailand and about the different kings - i didn't realise they visited Europe in the 1800s to further relationships with the west and try and modernise Thailand. Nice and cool and in english as well. however after that the museum disintegrated into just a whole pile of boring pots and historic artefacts with no description in very gloomy rooms. however it was nice and cool.
Grand Palace 250B to get in! thats twice my dinner budget! very touristy but beautiful temple and Emerald Budda in the main Wat - you had to sit down on the floor and not point your feet towards it - ie bend your legs which was impossible for me to do with a dodgy foot and bashed up knee so i didn't stay very long. a special little place was reserved for monks, of which there were a few. was amazed to see they had digital cameras in their little handbags. You could only wander round the coutyard of the palace and weren't allowed to go inside, so i got very hot and dehydrated very quickly and was soon templed out. have to say don't think i'll be visiting too many more temples. on Lonely planet's advice i wore my trainers, trousers and a t shirt and was soo hot. plus having to take shoes on/off constantly would have been fine with flip flops and no bad knee, and nobody else seemed to bother with the closed toe shoe thing so i could have worn my flip flops after all. would have made the day much easier.
had a 15Baht Pad Thai for dinner last night, basically stir fried noodles. very cheap! Thanks Chantal.
today i intend to catch the boat down the river to New Bangkok. knee still hurting and i am still limping! hope i make it! Tomorrow i have booked a night train to take me to Chaing Mai, i come back to Bangkok for 1 night before flying home.
got to Bangkok at about 7.30 am and shared a taxi to Khao San Road and found a hotel down a little alley way. air con and hot water!
Khao San Road not at all like i imagined it, more humane and less dirty/dodgy, thank goodness. an atmosphere similar to late night shopping, lots and lots of people, lots of stalls.
Yesterday i walked down to the Grand Palace and associated Wat (Temple), on the way going into the National Museum. First gallery very interesting about the history of thailand and about the different kings - i didn't realise they visited Europe in the 1800s to further relationships with the west and try and modernise Thailand. Nice and cool and in english as well. however after that the museum disintegrated into just a whole pile of boring pots and historic artefacts with no description in very gloomy rooms. however it was nice and cool.
Grand Palace 250B to get in! thats twice my dinner budget! very touristy but beautiful temple and Emerald Budda in the main Wat - you had to sit down on the floor and not point your feet towards it - ie bend your legs which was impossible for me to do with a dodgy foot and bashed up knee so i didn't stay very long. a special little place was reserved for monks, of which there were a few. was amazed to see they had digital cameras in their little handbags. You could only wander round the coutyard of the palace and weren't allowed to go inside, so i got very hot and dehydrated very quickly and was soon templed out. have to say don't think i'll be visiting too many more temples. on Lonely planet's advice i wore my trainers, trousers and a t shirt and was soo hot. plus having to take shoes on/off constantly would have been fine with flip flops and no bad knee, and nobody else seemed to bother with the closed toe shoe thing so i could have worn my flip flops after all. would have made the day much easier.
had a 15Baht Pad Thai for dinner last night, basically stir fried noodles. very cheap! Thanks Chantal.
today i intend to catch the boat down the river to New Bangkok. knee still hurting and i am still limping! hope i make it! Tomorrow i have booked a night train to take me to Chaing Mai, i come back to Bangkok for 1 night before flying home.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Chumphon (again)
A quick post as i'm waiting around in an internet cafe for my train, which leaves in an hour. am loathe to walk to the station as its going to be agony - while walking the 1.5km or so this morning (with bags) to the pier for the ferry (a taxi or taxi boat for one too expenisve) i fell over having turned my foot on a stone. have a huge patch on my knee with no skin and now the top of my foot hurts like hell. all of me plus 20 or so kg of bags lands on one knee, not a scratch on my hands and just a very small cut on the other knee. luckily there were 2 guys behind who came to help me up and lent me their antispetic spray. i cleaned up as much as poss (it was a concrete and dirt road) in the rain and i put a lint thingy on and a bandage. putting liberal amounts of ibuprofen gel and ice on my foot, but i am still limping. think i will rest it for a day in Bangkok tomorrow before setting out to see the city.
ps lots of sympathetic emails please.
ps2 happy birthday to my bro, he's 22 today.
ps lots of sympathetic emails please.
ps2 happy birthday to my bro, he's 22 today.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Koh Tao
Well here i am in Koh Tao, pretty amazing place. got off the boat (no accomodation booked) and was bombarded with people trying to offer me taxis, boat, motorbikes and accommodation. picked one i'd already seen in lonely planet and got there in the afternoon, the other side of the island via a VERY bumpy and rough track. Matt R would have loved it. i honestly thought we were going to have to get off and walk. stayed there for 2 nights but no other solo travellers and very little to do other than sunbathe and snorkel. It was the only accommodationo n that beach and was miles away from civilsation. had a very basic bungalow in the bathroom of which something ate my soap and lip balm.
now i'm back in Hat Sai Ree, the main and busiest beach and staying at Seashell resort, a bit more expensive but no bugs or creatures and no holes for them to get it! great!
just been sat on the beach watching the sun go down with a beer (me, not the sun) and about to have some food, its ladies night in one of the pubs, so cheap food.
booked a sleeper train today to bangkok for thursday night. i have a 2nd class air con top bunk.
see you soon
cx
now i'm back in Hat Sai Ree, the main and busiest beach and staying at Seashell resort, a bit more expensive but no bugs or creatures and no holes for them to get it! great!
just been sat on the beach watching the sun go down with a beer (me, not the sun) and about to have some food, its ladies night in one of the pubs, so cheap food.
booked a sleeper train today to bangkok for thursday night. i have a 2nd class air con top bunk.
see you soon
cx
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Krabi
had a nice time in Hat Karon, yes it was quieter. stayed in a lovely guesthouse with a/c and cable tv! very luxurious. decided to try a few more curries while i was there so had green curry one night and red curry the next. unfortunately both blew my head off so i can't really tell you what they tasted like. the green curry was more of a soup with lumps consistency than what you would imagine a curry to be. on the way back to the hotel on the last night there i patted a baby elephant that was doing tricks outside a resort. very very cute and less than head high. you could buy bananas to feed it and it would bow and say 'thank you' in elephant language (?!)
Got the bus to Krabi the next day and i stayed here 2 nights. Took an island hopping tour yesterday which turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, what with being picked up an hour late, then safety being less than adequate. we paid extra to be on the big boat but it turned out the tide meant we had to use the smaller 'longtail' boats for some transfers to these islands. imagine all 24 people squashed on this teeny teeny boat. on the return leg i insisted that they do two trips as i could just imagine the headlines. plus i could swim but my new camera can't. the beaches were scenic but not so good for swimming, lots of sharp coral or mud. however we did do some snorkelling which was good, although the coral not as beautiful as Fiji. The worst part was the 2 hour drama tryiing to get back to land at the end, the low tide again meant we couldn't get straight off onto the beach and another longtail was called (ie shouted at boat to beach) to pick us up. after one lot had got off, the boat ran out of petrol... anyway finally 1.5 hours late we got off and not a word of apology from the 'guide' who thought he was god's gift to tourists/ women and a bit of a (insert word here). final straw for me was there was no transfer waiting to take me back to krabi. i can't work out surely they have low tides every day? why don't they have things organised for this eventuality? effin useless. at least the water was warm.
anyway decided to go to Koh Tao today and have just gone to the bus station to book a bus to chumphorn - the ferry departure port. next bus in 5 hours (great) and its 2nd class (great, hot, sticky and slow). so i have come back into town to update this and get some cheaper non bus station food.
16 days to go.
oh yes forgot to say the hotel i stayed in in krabi - cold water only and a HUGE cockroach crawled out of my towel as i was about to dry myself last night. spent the whole night in fear of it crawling across the bed.
Got the bus to Krabi the next day and i stayed here 2 nights. Took an island hopping tour yesterday which turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, what with being picked up an hour late, then safety being less than adequate. we paid extra to be on the big boat but it turned out the tide meant we had to use the smaller 'longtail' boats for some transfers to these islands. imagine all 24 people squashed on this teeny teeny boat. on the return leg i insisted that they do two trips as i could just imagine the headlines. plus i could swim but my new camera can't. the beaches were scenic but not so good for swimming, lots of sharp coral or mud. however we did do some snorkelling which was good, although the coral not as beautiful as Fiji. The worst part was the 2 hour drama tryiing to get back to land at the end, the low tide again meant we couldn't get straight off onto the beach and another longtail was called (ie shouted at boat to beach) to pick us up. after one lot had got off, the boat ran out of petrol... anyway finally 1.5 hours late we got off and not a word of apology from the 'guide' who thought he was god's gift to tourists/ women and a bit of a (insert word here). final straw for me was there was no transfer waiting to take me back to krabi. i can't work out surely they have low tides every day? why don't they have things organised for this eventuality? effin useless. at least the water was warm.
anyway decided to go to Koh Tao today and have just gone to the bus station to book a bus to chumphorn - the ferry departure port. next bus in 5 hours (great) and its 2nd class (great, hot, sticky and slow). so i have come back into town to update this and get some cheaper non bus station food.
16 days to go.
oh yes forgot to say the hotel i stayed in in krabi - cold water only and a HUGE cockroach crawled out of my towel as i was about to dry myself last night. spent the whole night in fear of it crawling across the bed.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Phuket
Hi everyone,
a short blog today as i've got to check out in 45 minutes. arrived in phuket on sunday night having not organised accomodation (the hotel i'd emailed didn't reply) but luckily my (expensive) taxi driver stopped off at a tourist info place who phoned around for me. luckily so beacuse most of the places i'd circled were full. so now i'm in Patong, a bit like costa del sol but in thailand. full of english tourists and expats. and everywhere you look fat ugly english blokes with pretty young thais. eurgh, i don't know how they can do it. its like proclaiming 'i can't get a proper girlfriend, i'm going to go and buy one'. sorry, i have a feeling this is going to turn into a ranty email. my room (expensive again) is in the middle of town and wow, has a tv but no windows. would prefer the other way around. although it does have BBC world so have had a dose of proper english instead of northern english i've heard from people around here (sorry Rob).
checking out today and going up the coast (somehow, there's no bus straight there) to a place called Hat Karon which should be a bit quieter. then i'm planning on going straight to Ko Phi Phi, although that will be an expensive place as well. had a really nice Thail curry last night although i suspect it was sweetened up and cooled down a bit to cater to their western clientele.
3 weeks to go today.
cx
a short blog today as i've got to check out in 45 minutes. arrived in phuket on sunday night having not organised accomodation (the hotel i'd emailed didn't reply) but luckily my (expensive) taxi driver stopped off at a tourist info place who phoned around for me. luckily so beacuse most of the places i'd circled were full. so now i'm in Patong, a bit like costa del sol but in thailand. full of english tourists and expats. and everywhere you look fat ugly english blokes with pretty young thais. eurgh, i don't know how they can do it. its like proclaiming 'i can't get a proper girlfriend, i'm going to go and buy one'. sorry, i have a feeling this is going to turn into a ranty email. my room (expensive again) is in the middle of town and wow, has a tv but no windows. would prefer the other way around. although it does have BBC world so have had a dose of proper english instead of northern english i've heard from people around here (sorry Rob).
checking out today and going up the coast (somehow, there's no bus straight there) to a place called Hat Karon which should be a bit quieter. then i'm planning on going straight to Ko Phi Phi, although that will be an expensive place as well. had a really nice Thail curry last night although i suspect it was sweetened up and cooled down a bit to cater to their western clientele.
3 weeks to go today.
cx
Friday, March 09, 2007
Singapore
WOW - A TOPSHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is very exciting indeed.
got here late last night after meeting Isobel on the plane from Bali. hilarious / disasterous journey from the airport as we grabbed a burger while rushing to catch the last subway train from the airport, busy eating it and wondering why everybody was looking at us. just as i noticed a sign saying no eating or drinking, fine $500 a pompous old bloke came up and said 'you shouldn't be eating'. argh. failed to understand that we had to change trains and so got out the wrong side of the train and then missed the last train to our stop. had to get a bus instead, which was driven by THE MOST UNHELPFUL bus driver i have ever met who spoke no english (well not that we could understand anyway) who did not help at all re how much the fare was and where we should get off. managed to guess with the help of my guidebook map. not that the people on the bus were much help either. people here aren't exactly friendly trying to find this internet cafe by asking people 'is there an internet cafe around here?' was a nightmare.
a really hot night in the 4 bed dorm, all 3 other occupants smelly english guys. a pointless fan didn't help. anyway got up this morning and have just been wandering around trying not to break any more of Singapore's stupid rules (i jaywalked as well last night) I feel like i'm constantly about to do something wrong and there are plain clothes policemen everywhere.
anyway its nice and hot not humid like Bali but just right and i'm meeting Isobel in 15 minutes to do some sightseeing this afternoon.
Planning on flying to Phuket from here instead of going overland - flight with JetStarAsia only 13 pounds!
oh the Balinese dancing - fantastic, so atmospheric and some great costumes and headdresses. do you remember the sky tv advert last year or the year before with lots of bare chested men all sat in a circle and waving their arms while making oompah oompah noises? well that was the accompaniment, a 100 male voice 'choir' and 2 female dancers along with some kings and some baddies and some monkeys. it told a complicated story about a princess who was kidnapped by the baddie who was pretending to be a golden deer to lure her away.. etc etc. occasionally the choir would have to leap up and pretend to be the forest while the princess escaped, etc. really entertaining. it finished with another dance performed by 2 young girls who did a synchornised dance with their eyes closed for 20 minutes (!) and then a dance about a 'entranced young boy' around a bonfire (a real fire) who then dances on the fire. very good. right better go and meet Isobel. Rob, Rob and Phil, let me know what gossip is happening at work.
got here late last night after meeting Isobel on the plane from Bali. hilarious / disasterous journey from the airport as we grabbed a burger while rushing to catch the last subway train from the airport, busy eating it and wondering why everybody was looking at us. just as i noticed a sign saying no eating or drinking, fine $500 a pompous old bloke came up and said 'you shouldn't be eating'. argh. failed to understand that we had to change trains and so got out the wrong side of the train and then missed the last train to our stop. had to get a bus instead, which was driven by THE MOST UNHELPFUL bus driver i have ever met who spoke no english (well not that we could understand anyway) who did not help at all re how much the fare was and where we should get off. managed to guess with the help of my guidebook map. not that the people on the bus were much help either. people here aren't exactly friendly trying to find this internet cafe by asking people 'is there an internet cafe around here?' was a nightmare.
a really hot night in the 4 bed dorm, all 3 other occupants smelly english guys. a pointless fan didn't help. anyway got up this morning and have just been wandering around trying not to break any more of Singapore's stupid rules (i jaywalked as well last night) I feel like i'm constantly about to do something wrong and there are plain clothes policemen everywhere.
anyway its nice and hot not humid like Bali but just right and i'm meeting Isobel in 15 minutes to do some sightseeing this afternoon.
Planning on flying to Phuket from here instead of going overland - flight with JetStarAsia only 13 pounds!
oh the Balinese dancing - fantastic, so atmospheric and some great costumes and headdresses. do you remember the sky tv advert last year or the year before with lots of bare chested men all sat in a circle and waving their arms while making oompah oompah noises? well that was the accompaniment, a 100 male voice 'choir' and 2 female dancers along with some kings and some baddies and some monkeys. it told a complicated story about a princess who was kidnapped by the baddie who was pretending to be a golden deer to lure her away.. etc etc. occasionally the choir would have to leap up and pretend to be the forest while the princess escaped, etc. really entertaining. it finished with another dance performed by 2 young girls who did a synchornised dance with their eyes closed for 20 minutes (!) and then a dance about a 'entranced young boy' around a bonfire (a real fire) who then dances on the fire. very good. right better go and meet Isobel. Rob, Rob and Phil, let me know what gossip is happening at work.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ubud
spent a lovely few days in Kuta walking around, constantly saying no thankyou as people all the time are going 'taxi?' 'transport?' 'Massage?' 'tattoo?' or the most annoying one 'helloooo?' which maks me laugh. however i did end up bargaining for a few things, not being able to shop much due to the size of my bag is annoying but i bargained 2 cushion covers down from 90,000 for 1 to 100,000 for 2. lots and lots of surf shops to tempt me as Roxy and Quiksilver and Rip Curl stuff is cheap here as well but no space... Surf looks good and loads of 'Surfboard?' hire places on the beach but the water is about as grey as i have ever seen it. looks really polluted and i didn't really want to surf on my own. undertow quite strong and Bali isn't known for the quality of its lifeguards.
got on the bus to Ubud yesterday and found a place to stay near the bus terminal (can't walk far with my bag -its hotter here than on the coast!) called Artini cottages which seem to be located in a temple. can't quite understand but it doesn't look very hotel like. lots of decoration and gold paint. plus a friendly cute fluffy dog. managed to bargain him down to 130,000 a night including tax and breakfast. was a bit dubious of the quality of the breakfast but this morning it was 2 bits of toast, fried egg, tea (no milk of course - i'm gettng used to it) and fruit salad. ate last night in an organic cafe next door which turned out to be full of posh European expats with kids with names like Lola and Freddie. not eating there again. although they did sell Bali ale.
this morning i went to the sacred monkey forest down the road which is a forset with sacred monkeys and temples in. got taken in by a friendly guy who showed me around and even showed me some babies, including a 5 day old one, but then of course he wanted to sell me some 'paintings' he'd painted. I said no. funnily enough i saw similar paintings for sale in the town later on... for once i'd thought 'aha, a friendly person who doesn't want my money' but of course no. as lonely planet says we're all walking atms. Going to a Balinese dance tonight hope i don't get bitten like last night - my leg is a bit tender today.
just heard about the earthquake in sumatra - didn't feel it here.
got on the bus to Ubud yesterday and found a place to stay near the bus terminal (can't walk far with my bag -its hotter here than on the coast!) called Artini cottages which seem to be located in a temple. can't quite understand but it doesn't look very hotel like. lots of decoration and gold paint. plus a friendly cute fluffy dog. managed to bargain him down to 130,000 a night including tax and breakfast. was a bit dubious of the quality of the breakfast but this morning it was 2 bits of toast, fried egg, tea (no milk of course - i'm gettng used to it) and fruit salad. ate last night in an organic cafe next door which turned out to be full of posh European expats with kids with names like Lola and Freddie. not eating there again. although they did sell Bali ale.
this morning i went to the sacred monkey forest down the road which is a forset with sacred monkeys and temples in. got taken in by a friendly guy who showed me around and even showed me some babies, including a 5 day old one, but then of course he wanted to sell me some 'paintings' he'd painted. I said no. funnily enough i saw similar paintings for sale in the town later on... for once i'd thought 'aha, a friendly person who doesn't want my money' but of course no. as lonely planet says we're all walking atms. Going to a Balinese dance tonight hope i don't get bitten like last night - my leg is a bit tender today.
just heard about the earthquake in sumatra - didn't feel it here.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Bali
Hi, i'm here! internet very slow but cheap.
its hot and muggy again and poured with rain this morning. got here last night and got taken in by someone asking for money before i even got out of the airport - the porter. didn't have any cash so told him i couldn't give him anything. he opportunistically picked up my bag anyway. and its only 13 kg! got chatting to canadian guy also going to the same place. room ok but place doesn't really seem worth 24 quid, both me and him didn't get the vibe from the place. anyway we walked around this morning and got hassles by hundreds of hawkers trying to get you in their taxi, shop, club, restaurant etc. just say no thankyou and keep walking. anyway found the original place i wanted to stay (where some of the people on my plane are staying) and rushed back to check out of the expenisve place before noon before walking back to this Hotel Sorga (luckily not raining) which is only 7 quid a night, and thats for a room with hot water and a fan! ooh! a lovely friendly place much better than last night.
about to walk around town and see a bit more, i had to buy a new camera in the duty free last night as mine wasn't very happy after the sand of Fraser Island, so now i've got a new gucci one, a Canon Powershot 710 or something. lots of exciting new things to play with. this internet in the hotel is a grand total of 2.5p a minute so i'll email again tomorrow.
charlotte
its hot and muggy again and poured with rain this morning. got here last night and got taken in by someone asking for money before i even got out of the airport - the porter. didn't have any cash so told him i couldn't give him anything. he opportunistically picked up my bag anyway. and its only 13 kg! got chatting to canadian guy also going to the same place. room ok but place doesn't really seem worth 24 quid, both me and him didn't get the vibe from the place. anyway we walked around this morning and got hassles by hundreds of hawkers trying to get you in their taxi, shop, club, restaurant etc. just say no thankyou and keep walking. anyway found the original place i wanted to stay (where some of the people on my plane are staying) and rushed back to check out of the expenisve place before noon before walking back to this Hotel Sorga (luckily not raining) which is only 7 quid a night, and thats for a room with hot water and a fan! ooh! a lovely friendly place much better than last night.
about to walk around town and see a bit more, i had to buy a new camera in the duty free last night as mine wasn't very happy after the sand of Fraser Island, so now i've got a new gucci one, a Canon Powershot 710 or something. lots of exciting new things to play with. this internet in the hotel is a grand total of 2.5p a minute so i'll email again tomorrow.
charlotte
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Darwin
Well here i am in Darwin for my 1 day before Bali and its HOT. and its RAINING. In fact its like walking around in a sauna. great. too hot to wear a waterproof so i'm just wearing my hat to keep the rain off. (and shorts and a t shirt obviously). About to get on a bus to the museum, at least it will be dry there!
Got in at 2 last night from Brisbane (can you beleive its 3.5 hours flying?!) and then couldn't sleep, so i'm tired today. I have managed to book a hotel in Bali for tonight and they're picking me up from the airport, in fact there's going to be someone there with a sign with my name on. I've never had that before!
apparently internet cafes are 10 a penny (probably actually are 10 minutes for a penny) in Bali so i'll let you all know how it goes. Tomorrow morning i'm going to get searching for a cheaper place to stay, the one i'm staying at tonight is 24 quid a night! loads! Lonely Planet's hotels are around 5 pounds a night. However for 24 quid i get a 24hr swim up bar!
see you all later
xx
Got in at 2 last night from Brisbane (can you beleive its 3.5 hours flying?!) and then couldn't sleep, so i'm tired today. I have managed to book a hotel in Bali for tonight and they're picking me up from the airport, in fact there's going to be someone there with a sign with my name on. I've never had that before!
apparently internet cafes are 10 a penny (probably actually are 10 minutes for a penny) in Bali so i'll let you all know how it goes. Tomorrow morning i'm going to get searching for a cheaper place to stay, the one i'm staying at tonight is 24 quid a night! loads! Lonely Planet's hotels are around 5 pounds a night. However for 24 quid i get a 24hr swim up bar!
see you all later
xx
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Fraser Island
Well i got picked up 2 hours late which wasn't helpful - i could have had 2 more hours in bed! we drove to Rainbow Beach where i got on the 2 day bus as opposed to the 1 day bus, a total of 10 people on a 30 seater bus. 5 Japanese, 1 Korean, 3 Germans and me. great! The bus was a huge 4WD with biiig wheels. although it was automatic, which i thought was weird. not that i know much about 4W driving.
anyway so we got on the barge across to the island and drove up the coast along the beach before heading inland to Lake Wabby, the driving was pretty mad along these teeny sand tracks! got out and had a 1.8km walk across the sanddunes before getting there, very hot indeed and everyone was very ill prepared, including Jurran the Korean who seemed to wear high heel wedge flip flops for the entire 2 days. After about an hour there swimming in the freshwater with lots of catfish and one of the Japanese girls almost drowning as her friends decided to swim across and just leave her and she started panicking as soon as she tried to turn around, not even trying to swim. After an all you can eat buffet lunch at the Eurong beach resort where we were staying that night we went on to Lake Mackenzie, which was apparently a top 7 beautiful place, or something. i have to say it wasn't that great, but i have been spoilt i think by the beautiful beaches of Fiji. however the water was very clear and the sand almost white. Then a short rainforest walk (imagine that - rainforest on a sand island!)where i was convinced i was going to be eaten by a spider, alongside a 'ghost stream' water that fell as rain 16 years ago and had been slowly filtered by sand and charcoal and was now so clear you could hardly see it, and because there are no rocks to go over, it makes no noise. So we stayed the night at the Eurong beach resort, the best bit being the mexican buffet and apple crumble, and then me having a whole apartment to myself! bliss! managed to get the Japanese and the Korean down to the beach bar where they enthusiastically said they loved beer. the next morning we were delayed yet again by another 1.5 hours as the bus was broken. then we drove up the beach (its a bit like a motorway with no lanes) to Indian Head, a look out point, then saw some multi coloured sand (very exciting) and the Maheno shipwreck which had a long life as a cruise ship, troop carrier, hospital ship then was sold for scrap and while being towed to japan was wrecked on the island. the air force then used it for target practise during WW2 so it was pretty broken up.
Got back to Noosa last night and checked in to the YHA here which is in an old colonial white wooden building, a very nice hostel. it always helps staying in a nice place!
will post another update in Darwin on thursday before i fly to Bali.
anyway so we got on the barge across to the island and drove up the coast along the beach before heading inland to Lake Wabby, the driving was pretty mad along these teeny sand tracks! got out and had a 1.8km walk across the sanddunes before getting there, very hot indeed and everyone was very ill prepared, including Jurran the Korean who seemed to wear high heel wedge flip flops for the entire 2 days. After about an hour there swimming in the freshwater with lots of catfish and one of the Japanese girls almost drowning as her friends decided to swim across and just leave her and she started panicking as soon as she tried to turn around, not even trying to swim. After an all you can eat buffet lunch at the Eurong beach resort where we were staying that night we went on to Lake Mackenzie, which was apparently a top 7 beautiful place, or something. i have to say it wasn't that great, but i have been spoilt i think by the beautiful beaches of Fiji. however the water was very clear and the sand almost white. Then a short rainforest walk (imagine that - rainforest on a sand island!)where i was convinced i was going to be eaten by a spider, alongside a 'ghost stream' water that fell as rain 16 years ago and had been slowly filtered by sand and charcoal and was now so clear you could hardly see it, and because there are no rocks to go over, it makes no noise. So we stayed the night at the Eurong beach resort, the best bit being the mexican buffet and apple crumble, and then me having a whole apartment to myself! bliss! managed to get the Japanese and the Korean down to the beach bar where they enthusiastically said they loved beer. the next morning we were delayed yet again by another 1.5 hours as the bus was broken. then we drove up the beach (its a bit like a motorway with no lanes) to Indian Head, a look out point, then saw some multi coloured sand (very exciting) and the Maheno shipwreck which had a long life as a cruise ship, troop carrier, hospital ship then was sold for scrap and while being towed to japan was wrecked on the island. the air force then used it for target practise during WW2 so it was pretty broken up.
Got back to Noosa last night and checked in to the YHA here which is in an old colonial white wooden building, a very nice hostel. it always helps staying in a nice place!
will post another update in Darwin on thursday before i fly to Bali.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Noosa
Oh my gosh i haven't updated this in ages.
Spent a nice peaceful night in Port Macquerie and then caught the bus to Byron Bay. despite everyone saying i'd love it i have to say i didn't like it at all. Didn't help being stuck in a truly skanky hostel with English drunk tarty girls, no wonder we've got a bad name, they were 18 and on the Oz Experience bus, all they wanted to do was get drunk and lie on the beach.
I checked out a day early and got the bus to Coolangatta which was much nicer. About 10 miles down from Surfers Paradise it was similar high rise apartments but much quieter. I stayed in the YHA where most of the residents were there for the surf. I made some good friends in my dorm and also went for a surf lesson, where I learnt what i am doing wrong (should be looking up as I spring up, not as easy as you think) I also practised springing up to my feet, instead of 1 knee 1 foot like I usually do. got one good wave but spent most of the lesson trying to get out back again because the rip along the beach was incredibly strong and pushed me over several times. stayed there 2 nights and also got the bus into Surfers, truly awful for a place with such a great name! lots of tack and not much else. oh yes then went out for dinner with an American from my dorm, we went to an italian place and i managed to avoid the carbonara and had salad instead. i have put on so much weight since i've been away. ooh and the really annoying thing is that the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro surfing contest are RIGHT THERE starting tomorrow, and i'm missing it. would have been good to stick around.
So yesterday i got the bus into Brisbane, stayed at the YHA in a lovely dorm with only 2 other people in it. got straight on the bus to the Lone PIne Koala Sanctuary, where i spent the rest of the afternoon enjoyably feeding kanagroos, looking at snakes, crocodiles, womabats (not tasmanian devil though) and about 130 koalas, including holding one for a photograph. they said the photos were online but i can't find them, you'll have to see the evidience when i get back. Mine was called Orion. surprisingly heavy and he didn't do much except hold on, but he did obligingly look at the camera.
Today i left my bag in the hostel and wandered round Brisbane for the morning, including the gardens and the lovely Southbank, where they have a beach and a seawater pool.
I got on the bus this afternoon to Noosa, which looks like what i expect Florida to look like minus crocs. Lots of expensive houses along waterways, and a great beach. hope to do some surfing when i get back from Fraser Island. Tomorrow the bus picks me up at 6.15am for the 2 day fraser island trip.
flight to Darwin booked for Wednesday night, then i fly to Bali thursday night.
love
Charlotte
Spent a nice peaceful night in Port Macquerie and then caught the bus to Byron Bay. despite everyone saying i'd love it i have to say i didn't like it at all. Didn't help being stuck in a truly skanky hostel with English drunk tarty girls, no wonder we've got a bad name, they were 18 and on the Oz Experience bus, all they wanted to do was get drunk and lie on the beach.
I checked out a day early and got the bus to Coolangatta which was much nicer. About 10 miles down from Surfers Paradise it was similar high rise apartments but much quieter. I stayed in the YHA where most of the residents were there for the surf. I made some good friends in my dorm and also went for a surf lesson, where I learnt what i am doing wrong (should be looking up as I spring up, not as easy as you think) I also practised springing up to my feet, instead of 1 knee 1 foot like I usually do. got one good wave but spent most of the lesson trying to get out back again because the rip along the beach was incredibly strong and pushed me over several times. stayed there 2 nights and also got the bus into Surfers, truly awful for a place with such a great name! lots of tack and not much else. oh yes then went out for dinner with an American from my dorm, we went to an italian place and i managed to avoid the carbonara and had salad instead. i have put on so much weight since i've been away. ooh and the really annoying thing is that the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro surfing contest are RIGHT THERE starting tomorrow, and i'm missing it. would have been good to stick around.
So yesterday i got the bus into Brisbane, stayed at the YHA in a lovely dorm with only 2 other people in it. got straight on the bus to the Lone PIne Koala Sanctuary, where i spent the rest of the afternoon enjoyably feeding kanagroos, looking at snakes, crocodiles, womabats (not tasmanian devil though) and about 130 koalas, including holding one for a photograph. they said the photos were online but i can't find them, you'll have to see the evidience when i get back. Mine was called Orion. surprisingly heavy and he didn't do much except hold on, but he did obligingly look at the camera.
Today i left my bag in the hostel and wandered round Brisbane for the morning, including the gardens and the lovely Southbank, where they have a beach and a seawater pool.
I got on the bus this afternoon to Noosa, which looks like what i expect Florida to look like minus crocs. Lots of expensive houses along waterways, and a great beach. hope to do some surfing when i get back from Fraser Island. Tomorrow the bus picks me up at 6.15am for the 2 day fraser island trip.
flight to Darwin booked for Wednesday night, then i fly to Bali thursday night.
love
Charlotte
Friday, February 23, 2007
i love koalas...
I got to cuddle a koala today... I also hand fed some kangaroos...
More tomorrow when i'm not being ripped off in an expensive internet terminal in the hostel.
More tomorrow when i'm not being ripped off in an expensive internet terminal in the hostel.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Skydive - Sydney - off to Port Macquerie
Hi everyone, just to let you know how the skydive went, well it was awesome, great fun, and pretty exciting too.
we all got kitted up and trained in how to jump out (bend like a banana) and how to land (get your feet up in the air) and after about an hour of faffing, and me changing shoes etc etc we met out instructors (mine was called Luke, reasonably good looking) and went off in the bus to the airport. took what seemed like ages to climb to 14000 feet in this tiny tiny plane with the door still open (I was worried Paul might fall out as he was right next to it but it turned out he was tied on). when they pointed out 4000 feet (where they open the parachute) everything was already very far away and we were still climbing!
we didn't have very much notice to jump and before i knew it Paul was already gone and i had to shuffle forward and poke my knees out the door. looking down i was scared for the first time (Luke said i was very relaxed and calm on the way up) and then i had to look up and we were out, wind rushing past and me shouting woohoo! a lot. apparently this helps you breathe. it didn't seem very long before there was a sudden jerk and we slowed down, the parachute opened thank goodness.
Luke let me have a go steering which was fun, and then we did a practise landing before landing very very gently on my feet next to the beach.
waited around for an hour for our dvds (i look AWFUL in mine, paul looks great of course) and then we drove on and finally found a site in Sydney after driving up and down the road for ages. went into Sydney for the evening and found ourselves in Chinatown, of course its Chinese new year this weekend so there were loads of people and stalls. had a really nice bargain meal only 15 dollars each.
yesterday i waved paul off at the airport and have already made a new friend in the hostel ;-) called Martina. I have been discussing with her what to do next as it dawned on me i have only got until a week on thursday before i fly out of Darwin to Bali. hmm. looking at changing my dates but i can only do this on a weekday at a Quantas office. Anyway i have bought a pass which will get me to Brisbane on a hop on hop off thingy, and then i think i am going to abandon plans of going up to Cairns and doing the Whitsundays/Great Barrier Reef. I can come back next time, when Paul gets a career break / well paid consultancy job! (eh Paul).
so I need to be at Sydney bus station tomorrow morning at 6.30, great. will stay in Port Macquerie for a night before going on to Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise before Brisbane. I think i will then do a trip up to see Fraser Island before coming back to Brisbane and catching a flight to Darwin. better to see less and not rush i think, especially with the huge distances here. otherwide i'd be on a bus all the time.
Am slightly worried about Bali as i accidentally picked up a book in the bookshop today about a girl who got drugs planted in her bag on the way into Bali and now she's in jail for 20years. am looking at changing my flight to go straight to Singapore instead (not that they've got a better record of drug smugglers) but just to save time. do SE Asia proper another time! Will pop into the Qantas office in Brisbane. meanwhile i'm looking forward to surfing and yoga on the beach in Byron, and koala cuddling. (got to cuddle a koala somewhere before i leave)
see you guys in a few weeks, make sure the weather's good for me, i'll miss this heat.
we all got kitted up and trained in how to jump out (bend like a banana) and how to land (get your feet up in the air) and after about an hour of faffing, and me changing shoes etc etc we met out instructors (mine was called Luke, reasonably good looking) and went off in the bus to the airport. took what seemed like ages to climb to 14000 feet in this tiny tiny plane with the door still open (I was worried Paul might fall out as he was right next to it but it turned out he was tied on). when they pointed out 4000 feet (where they open the parachute) everything was already very far away and we were still climbing!
we didn't have very much notice to jump and before i knew it Paul was already gone and i had to shuffle forward and poke my knees out the door. looking down i was scared for the first time (Luke said i was very relaxed and calm on the way up) and then i had to look up and we were out, wind rushing past and me shouting woohoo! a lot. apparently this helps you breathe. it didn't seem very long before there was a sudden jerk and we slowed down, the parachute opened thank goodness.
Luke let me have a go steering which was fun, and then we did a practise landing before landing very very gently on my feet next to the beach.
waited around for an hour for our dvds (i look AWFUL in mine, paul looks great of course) and then we drove on and finally found a site in Sydney after driving up and down the road for ages. went into Sydney for the evening and found ourselves in Chinatown, of course its Chinese new year this weekend so there were loads of people and stalls. had a really nice bargain meal only 15 dollars each.
yesterday i waved paul off at the airport and have already made a new friend in the hostel ;-) called Martina. I have been discussing with her what to do next as it dawned on me i have only got until a week on thursday before i fly out of Darwin to Bali. hmm. looking at changing my dates but i can only do this on a weekday at a Quantas office. Anyway i have bought a pass which will get me to Brisbane on a hop on hop off thingy, and then i think i am going to abandon plans of going up to Cairns and doing the Whitsundays/Great Barrier Reef. I can come back next time, when Paul gets a career break / well paid consultancy job! (eh Paul).
so I need to be at Sydney bus station tomorrow morning at 6.30, great. will stay in Port Macquerie for a night before going on to Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise before Brisbane. I think i will then do a trip up to see Fraser Island before coming back to Brisbane and catching a flight to Darwin. better to see less and not rush i think, especially with the huge distances here. otherwide i'd be on a bus all the time.
Am slightly worried about Bali as i accidentally picked up a book in the bookshop today about a girl who got drugs planted in her bag on the way into Bali and now she's in jail for 20years. am looking at changing my flight to go straight to Singapore instead (not that they've got a better record of drug smugglers) but just to save time. do SE Asia proper another time! Will pop into the Qantas office in Brisbane. meanwhile i'm looking forward to surfing and yoga on the beach in Byron, and koala cuddling. (got to cuddle a koala somewhere before i leave)
see you guys in a few weeks, make sure the weather's good for me, i'll miss this heat.
Friday, February 16, 2007
sky diving
Hi everyone a really quick post just to make you jealous - its a really hot sunny day here in woolongong just south of sydney and we're just about to go sky diving onto the beach. will update this blog properly on sunday when i'm back in Sydney and Paul's gone home. and i'll let you know how it went.
ps getting the dvd so you can all see the evidence.
ps getting the dvd so you can all see the evidence.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
great ocean road
a really quick post as i'm running out of time at this expensive internet plae. at the end of the great ocean road at the moment, a place called port campbell. a really hot evening and i've heard you've got snow there! saw koalas today, so sweet. arrived last night at lorne, a big surf town after visiing bells beach during the day (big surf spot) anyway the ozzie surf boat lifesaving championshios was on, basically a team of 4 plus a cox row out into the surf and back, about 1k each way, about 150 teams competeing and a great atmosphere. lots of collisions and capsizes in the surf. more when i get to a decent internet cafe! driving back to sydney on wed, its a 2 day drive. got a sky dive booked for friday.
have fun in the snow, i've got a great tan!
have fun in the snow, i've got a great tan!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Australia
So much has happened it has been too long since i last updated this. here we go. arrived in sydney last thursday and spent a few days with Kerstin, who I met in New Zealand and was on her way to SE Asia. so she occupied pauls side of the bed for 2 nights. staying in a lovely B&B type place about 25 minutes walk from the city centre, really clean and homely. Kerstin gave me a great tour of the city so i got to see the bridge, the opera house, darling harbour, etc etc. on saturday Kerstin left and i went to the airport to pick up paul, who was very jet lagged. we spent the afternoon walking around the city and had sushi on the waterfront by the opera house. paul so tired by the time we got back he couldn't remember anything.
got up on sunday (my birthday) and opened presents, thankyou guys, and then walked into town and went up the sky tower, great views of the city. entrance also included the 'oz trek' a 3d and moving ride type thing in front of a big screen showing australian highlights. in the afternoon we got three buses to get to Bondi beach, only to have 1.5 hours there before having to get the bus back! however the 1.5 hours was great (hot and sunny!) i did attempt to go in the water but it was freezing.
had a nice dinner at Darling Harbour in the evening, i had kangaroo steak which turned out to be juicy and delicous.
yesteday we picked up the van at about 1pm after waiting patiently (kind of) in the queue for about 2 hours. turns out everybody else picks up their vans on monday morning as well.
drove out to the Blue Moutains and saw the fantastic Jamieson Valley and the Three Sisters. I expected MOUTAINS but i think they're very old and worn down. now covered with eucalyptus trees which give off a blue haze. a great view from Echo Point, to give you some idea Paul reckons it looked like the grand canyon but covered in trees. stayed in a local campsite and had a glass or 2 of wine. went for the local "Katoomba falls floodlight walk' along to a lookout point and got freaked by a large animal right beside me on the railing. looked like about rabbit size and colour but it was on the railing (kind of rat like) and had a long tail (kind of rat like). no idea what it was but it was about 1ft away and looking at me not scared at all. maybe a possum?
got up this morning and shock horror its cloudy! so we're driving south, currently in a place called Woolongong south of Sydney. some great surf beaches. heading for a place called Jervis Bay which apparently has white sand, dolphins, etc etc. got more kangaroo steak for dinner tonight.
will update again asap!
got up on sunday (my birthday) and opened presents, thankyou guys, and then walked into town and went up the sky tower, great views of the city. entrance also included the 'oz trek' a 3d and moving ride type thing in front of a big screen showing australian highlights. in the afternoon we got three buses to get to Bondi beach, only to have 1.5 hours there before having to get the bus back! however the 1.5 hours was great (hot and sunny!) i did attempt to go in the water but it was freezing.
had a nice dinner at Darling Harbour in the evening, i had kangaroo steak which turned out to be juicy and delicous.
yesteday we picked up the van at about 1pm after waiting patiently (kind of) in the queue for about 2 hours. turns out everybody else picks up their vans on monday morning as well.
drove out to the Blue Moutains and saw the fantastic Jamieson Valley and the Three Sisters. I expected MOUTAINS but i think they're very old and worn down. now covered with eucalyptus trees which give off a blue haze. a great view from Echo Point, to give you some idea Paul reckons it looked like the grand canyon but covered in trees. stayed in a local campsite and had a glass or 2 of wine. went for the local "Katoomba falls floodlight walk' along to a lookout point and got freaked by a large animal right beside me on the railing. looked like about rabbit size and colour but it was on the railing (kind of rat like) and had a long tail (kind of rat like). no idea what it was but it was about 1ft away and looking at me not scared at all. maybe a possum?
got up this morning and shock horror its cloudy! so we're driving south, currently in a place called Woolongong south of Sydney. some great surf beaches. heading for a place called Jervis Bay which apparently has white sand, dolphins, etc etc. got more kangaroo steak for dinner tonight.
will update again asap!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Christchurch
my last day in New Zealand! this has been my 2nd day in chrischurch, which is a lovely city. i am staying in a hostel called Foley Towers which is lovely and quiet and friendly and has pictures of Basil Fawlty all over the place. I have done all the touristy things here, yesterday i went on the ride up the gondola which is half an hour out of town, have to say it was a lot of money for not that much, the Queenstown one was better. however i got the gondola/tram combo ticket which allows you to get on and off the restored trams in the city centre as much as you like. they are wonderful and i could have gone round and round all day. the driver gives a little talk about the sights etc and alerted us to a free play which was going on in the botanic gardens last night. so after i got off the tram i visited the Rutherford den, this is where Earnest Rutherford (you should know who he is you numpties - remember your physics) went to university and did lots of his experiments. it was a small free museum and was wonderful, i didn't realise what an amazing man he was, nor that he was a kiwi. he is on their 100 dollar note here, not that i've ever seen one! mind you that is only about 35 quid.
so in the evening i went to the play in the gardens - it was a 3 guys doing 'The greatest books - abridged' and was very funny.
this morning i went to the Antarctic centre which again is about half an hour out of town, this time near the airport. is in the centre where all the teams leave for the antarctic from, as Christchurch is the nearest city. Just over the road is the US team HQ. it cost a fortune to get in, 30 dollars but i got 10% discount for being a yha member. knew it had some benefits. as well as lots and lots of information and videos about Antarctica it had a 'storm chamber' where you went in and put on big coats and stood around in about -5, until every half an hour a storm came through which took it down to -25, along with low visibility and high winds. very chilly. they also had a little blue penguin house which is the worlds smallest penguin, about 1kg and they don't actually live in antarctica but new zealand and south australia so were quite happy living in a pond out the back. these ones had all been rescued and would die out in the wild. ie one was blind, several had deformed wings, etc etc. i saw them being fed and the lady said they all have distinct personalities. very sweet and i narrowly avoided buying a blue penguin teddy.
this afternoon i wandered round the botanic gardens and the museum, believe me i think i know more about new zealand history than uk history. not that theres much new zealand history anyway.
my flight to Australia is tomorrow morning at 6.45, so i'm going to have to get up super early, damn it. trying to eat all my food up because the Australians won't let you take in anything that looks like it has been anywhere near an animal or a plant. next time i write i'll be in sydney! nice and hot! yippee!
so in the evening i went to the play in the gardens - it was a 3 guys doing 'The greatest books - abridged' and was very funny.
this morning i went to the Antarctic centre which again is about half an hour out of town, this time near the airport. is in the centre where all the teams leave for the antarctic from, as Christchurch is the nearest city. Just over the road is the US team HQ. it cost a fortune to get in, 30 dollars but i got 10% discount for being a yha member. knew it had some benefits. as well as lots and lots of information and videos about Antarctica it had a 'storm chamber' where you went in and put on big coats and stood around in about -5, until every half an hour a storm came through which took it down to -25, along with low visibility and high winds. very chilly. they also had a little blue penguin house which is the worlds smallest penguin, about 1kg and they don't actually live in antarctica but new zealand and south australia so were quite happy living in a pond out the back. these ones had all been rescued and would die out in the wild. ie one was blind, several had deformed wings, etc etc. i saw them being fed and the lady said they all have distinct personalities. very sweet and i narrowly avoided buying a blue penguin teddy.
this afternoon i wandered round the botanic gardens and the museum, believe me i think i know more about new zealand history than uk history. not that theres much new zealand history anyway.
my flight to Australia is tomorrow morning at 6.45, so i'm going to have to get up super early, damn it. trying to eat all my food up because the Australians won't let you take in anything that looks like it has been anywhere near an animal or a plant. next time i write i'll be in sydney! nice and hot! yippee!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
river surfing
I am very achy and sore after horse riding yesterday and then river surfing today. the ride was good, we saw some great LOTR locations including where the oliphants get ambushed, lothlorien, and the misty mountains. I was on a horse called Alaska who was a bit jumpy as all the horses have a hierachy and although we were specially put into a line he didn't like the horse in front, who kept trying to kick him. some of the horses were stars in LOTR, including in one battle scene where 350 horses were multiplied a few times. however in this scene one of the stables horses was fired for being naughty and kicking and biting the other horses, which caused a chain reaction of everyone falling off. one of the other horses was also one of the riders of rohan.
this morning's river suring session was fantastic, we got picked up and then there was a 40 minute bus ride to the start point. one of the people who got on i'd met before, she was on my stray bus earlier on in the trip, which was weird. well it wasn't really, you get used to meeting people over and over again here.
we had a few instructions on the bus, such as hand signals and rules (stay close to the guide, the 'mama duck', and stay in the centre of the channel) and then got changed into steamer wetsuits and boots and flippers and helments before having a bit more instruction beside the water such as how to hold the body board so you don't fall off. then we all had to jump in (water temperature about 12 degrees) and do a bit of practicing before paddling into the rapids and going for it. we got two goes down the river, one a practice one and then a fun one where we could hit some more extreme lines.
well it was fantastic, for anyone who knows rafting the rapids were classed as 2-3, so not that difficult but great fun when you're actually in the water. it was a bit like paddling a body board in the sea but with non of the faff of getting out back, just constant white water. luckily there were a few places to catch your breath between rapids. each rapid had a name like 'maneater' 'rollercoaster' and 'dead cow'. you could hit things like standing waves, whirlpools and 'squirters' where you push your board under and you get sucked along for a bit. if you get splatted on a rock like i did you have to point your board 45 degrees upstream and paddle like hell til you get back in the current. if you try and continue paddling down stream after being splatted on a rock you just get splatted some more.
anyway so there you go, FANTASTIC fun, make sure you do it if you get a chance. i would have wanted to go again if i could but i was absolutely exhausted.
oh some bad news yesterday (well bad news ish) i got back from riding and the housekeepers (or someone) had very kindly cleaned out the stuff in the fridge and taken all my food. great. i complained and got my milk back but the rest of it was gone (including mango and chilli chutney, balsamic vinegar and philedelphia!) so i was not very happy. however today they gave me a refund of 15 dollars which was nice, they didn't have to do that, however i'd still rather have the food as there's no point buying replacements as i'm getting on the plane in a few days.
its pouring with rain here today so i think i'm going to see Happy Feet at the cinema this afternoon. ;-)
this morning's river suring session was fantastic, we got picked up and then there was a 40 minute bus ride to the start point. one of the people who got on i'd met before, she was on my stray bus earlier on in the trip, which was weird. well it wasn't really, you get used to meeting people over and over again here.
we had a few instructions on the bus, such as hand signals and rules (stay close to the guide, the 'mama duck', and stay in the centre of the channel) and then got changed into steamer wetsuits and boots and flippers and helments before having a bit more instruction beside the water such as how to hold the body board so you don't fall off. then we all had to jump in (water temperature about 12 degrees) and do a bit of practicing before paddling into the rapids and going for it. we got two goes down the river, one a practice one and then a fun one where we could hit some more extreme lines.
well it was fantastic, for anyone who knows rafting the rapids were classed as 2-3, so not that difficult but great fun when you're actually in the water. it was a bit like paddling a body board in the sea but with non of the faff of getting out back, just constant white water. luckily there were a few places to catch your breath between rapids. each rapid had a name like 'maneater' 'rollercoaster' and 'dead cow'. you could hit things like standing waves, whirlpools and 'squirters' where you push your board under and you get sucked along for a bit. if you get splatted on a rock like i did you have to point your board 45 degrees upstream and paddle like hell til you get back in the current. if you try and continue paddling down stream after being splatted on a rock you just get splatted some more.
anyway so there you go, FANTASTIC fun, make sure you do it if you get a chance. i would have wanted to go again if i could but i was absolutely exhausted.
oh some bad news yesterday (well bad news ish) i got back from riding and the housekeepers (or someone) had very kindly cleaned out the stuff in the fridge and taken all my food. great. i complained and got my milk back but the rest of it was gone (including mango and chilli chutney, balsamic vinegar and philedelphia!) so i was not very happy. however today they gave me a refund of 15 dollars which was nice, they didn't have to do that, however i'd still rather have the food as there's no point buying replacements as i'm getting on the plane in a few days.
its pouring with rain here today so i think i'm going to see Happy Feet at the cinema this afternoon. ;-)
Friday, January 26, 2007
Queenstown again
Made it back to Queenstown after driving from Dunedin. before we left we visited a peninsula just out of Dunedin which has an albatross colony on it. unfortunately we didn't see any as we didn't pay the 25 dollars to go into the 'centre'.
Staying in a slightly quieter hostel which is a bit further out of town. so some decent sleep as there are only 4 of us in the dorm. This morning i booked a 3 hour LOTR horse trek for tomorrow, and i'm also thinking about doing some river boarding tomorrow, like white water rafting but on body boards.
this afternoon i'm meeting someone off the Nevis bungy bus (it cost 45 dollars just to watch so i let Jordy go on his own, how mean) and then we are going up the Queenstown gondola and doing the luge track, 5 times down the hill on little tea trays with wheels and steering and brakes. as its a bit of a last night tonight before we all go off and do separate things we are going out for a few beers.
will let you know how the riding and river boarding goes.
Staying in a slightly quieter hostel which is a bit further out of town. so some decent sleep as there are only 4 of us in the dorm. This morning i booked a 3 hour LOTR horse trek for tomorrow, and i'm also thinking about doing some river boarding tomorrow, like white water rafting but on body boards.
this afternoon i'm meeting someone off the Nevis bungy bus (it cost 45 dollars just to watch so i let Jordy go on his own, how mean) and then we are going up the Queenstown gondola and doing the luge track, 5 times down the hill on little tea trays with wheels and steering and brakes. as its a bit of a last night tonight before we all go off and do separate things we are going out for a few beers.
will let you know how the riding and river boarding goes.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Chocolate & Beer!
In Dundedin at the moment, spending an extra day here to explore and visit the chocolate factory and the brewery. but first milford sound and Steward Island. got the very early bus after a bad nights sleep (of course i was grumpy) in Queenstown, and drove down to Milford Sound. a scary drive down the mountain and then a 'cruise' around the sound not seeing very much due to the fog and rain. apparently its on one of the wettest places in the world, so not surprising that we couldn't see anything. were entertained by Keas, some parrot type green birds who were loving to rip the rubber off cars and were very cheeky. then we stayed at a small town called Tuatapere for the night, the others getting up to go for a farm tour in the morning, which i decided i'd already see enough sheep/cows in dorset so i had a lie in. We then got on the ferry to stay the night on Stewart Island, the relatively big island at the very tip of the south island. not many people live there but a good place for wildlife, and some fantastic beaches. on the afternoon walk out to the light house we saw a fur seal just metres away having a sunbathe on the beach.
yesterday we got back on the ferry, not quite as lumpy as the day before thak goodness, and drove to Dunedin, stopping off on the way for some 'wildlife walks' including one to see a colony of fur seals, elephant seals, sea lions and yellow eyed penguins all living together. this area, the catlins, is lovely, deserted golden beaches and fantastic wildlife.
arrive in dunedin late and went immediately for the Speights brewery tour after which (the best bit) we did some tasting, which included pouring your own beer. a lovely new beer they've got out for summer was harvest, an apricot beer which tastes similar to Badger Champion, if anyone's had that. lovely.
left the brewery and of course had to continue tasting in the brewery bar next door.
This morning there were a few people staying on so we visited the chocolate factory, which is right in the centre of town. an amazing tour seeing loads of things and getting lots of free chocolate to try. i answered 2 questions the tour guide had asked correctly and was given 2 more chocolate fish (these are marshmallow fish covered in chocolate) much to everyone elses envy. the smell of chocolate as we went round was amazing, we all decided we wanted to work there. i did ask why the chocolate here doesn't taste the same as back home she reckons the milk is fresher but i thing thats bollocks as it doesn't taste as good out here. of course i didn't say that. but the discussions we've been having (it seems to come up all the time in conversations with backpackers!) was that it was because they put an extra ingredient in to protect it from the heat. lots of cheap chocolate to buy in the shop at the end, i bought some pineapple lumps, which i have never seen anywhere else which are a weird combination of pineapple chewy stuff covered in chocolate, its a weird combination but it somehow works.
right better go we have more of Dunedin to explore, hopefully something a bit cheaper than a brewery and a chocolate factory!
see you later
ps only a week left in NZ!
yesterday we got back on the ferry, not quite as lumpy as the day before thak goodness, and drove to Dunedin, stopping off on the way for some 'wildlife walks' including one to see a colony of fur seals, elephant seals, sea lions and yellow eyed penguins all living together. this area, the catlins, is lovely, deserted golden beaches and fantastic wildlife.
arrive in dunedin late and went immediately for the Speights brewery tour after which (the best bit) we did some tasting, which included pouring your own beer. a lovely new beer they've got out for summer was harvest, an apricot beer which tastes similar to Badger Champion, if anyone's had that. lovely.
left the brewery and of course had to continue tasting in the brewery bar next door.
This morning there were a few people staying on so we visited the chocolate factory, which is right in the centre of town. an amazing tour seeing loads of things and getting lots of free chocolate to try. i answered 2 questions the tour guide had asked correctly and was given 2 more chocolate fish (these are marshmallow fish covered in chocolate) much to everyone elses envy. the smell of chocolate as we went round was amazing, we all decided we wanted to work there. i did ask why the chocolate here doesn't taste the same as back home she reckons the milk is fresher but i thing thats bollocks as it doesn't taste as good out here. of course i didn't say that. but the discussions we've been having (it seems to come up all the time in conversations with backpackers!) was that it was because they put an extra ingredient in to protect it from the heat. lots of cheap chocolate to buy in the shop at the end, i bought some pineapple lumps, which i have never seen anywhere else which are a weird combination of pineapple chewy stuff covered in chocolate, its a weird combination but it somehow works.
right better go we have more of Dunedin to explore, hopefully something a bit cheaper than a brewery and a chocolate factory!
see you later
ps only a week left in NZ!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
bungy
Forgot to say we stopped off at the original bungy site on the way into town, a couple of people from the bus did a bungy and we all got to watch. that was the closest i'm ever going to get to a bungy! watching people do it was scary enough. i'm not worried about sky diving though - i've heard its a different kind of rush. anyway i'll let you all know about that when we do it in oz, hopefully. paul's up for it too so it should be good.
Queenstown
Finally made it to Queenstown after cruising down the west coast. Spent last night after Franz Josef in a place call Makarora which really was in the middle of nowhere but with fantastic scenery of mountains all around. spent the night in the bar (nothing else to do) watching other people doing kareoke - if you sang you were entered into the draw to do a sky dive.
this morning we stopped off in Wanaka, a town a bit like Queenstown but smaller, basically an extreme activities town. saw some real LOTR scenes on the way.
In Queenstown now staying at a rather skanky hostel right in the centre of town, in an 8 bed dorm with 4 smelly boys already in it. great. if they wake us up tonight (the nightlife here is huge) we'll have the last laugh as we have to catch the 7am bus to milford sound. I am hoping to go kayaking on milford sound which would be great.
right i'm off to look around some outdoor shops - this place is great if you like walking or basically doing anything outdoors.
have fun
charlotte
this morning we stopped off in Wanaka, a town a bit like Queenstown but smaller, basically an extreme activities town. saw some real LOTR scenes on the way.
In Queenstown now staying at a rather skanky hostel right in the centre of town, in an 8 bed dorm with 4 smelly boys already in it. great. if they wake us up tonight (the nightlife here is huge) we'll have the last laugh as we have to catch the 7am bus to milford sound. I am hoping to go kayaking on milford sound which would be great.
right i'm off to look around some outdoor shops - this place is great if you like walking or basically doing anything outdoors.
have fun
charlotte
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Franz Josef glacier
Now in the town of Franz Josef, down the road from a huge glacier. was going to do ice climbing today but it turned out to be more expensive than i thought. so i'm having a chill out day. its foggy and raining anyway.
so after i left Picton on the bus we went on to the Abel Tasmand national park, where we stayed right in the park for a couple on nights. we went sailing for the day on performance catamarans which was fun. well it would have been had there been any wind. as it was we did lots of motoring. we saw an adult seagull pecking to death a baby one. nice. also some fur seals, apparently there were orcas in the bay but we didn't see any. after ATNP we motored down to a teeny village on the west coast of the south island called Barrytown, or Barry - no town, or Baz Vegas. stayed in this little pub which convieniently had boxes and boxes of dressing up clothes. so for want of anything better to do we had a fancy dress party. cue lots of men wearing dresses. our driver, Gollum was dressed as gollum, very scary. went for a walk on the wind swept beach the next morning to look for greenstone but i wasn't in luck, not many people are.
so now we're in Franz Josef, tomorrow we go on to a place called Makarora, and after that Queenstown. then hopefully i'll get on a bus and go right down to the south and see Milford SOund, Dunedin and Stewart Island. only 2 weeks now and i'll be in Australia.
so after i left Picton on the bus we went on to the Abel Tasmand national park, where we stayed right in the park for a couple on nights. we went sailing for the day on performance catamarans which was fun. well it would have been had there been any wind. as it was we did lots of motoring. we saw an adult seagull pecking to death a baby one. nice. also some fur seals, apparently there were orcas in the bay but we didn't see any. after ATNP we motored down to a teeny village on the west coast of the south island called Barrytown, or Barry - no town, or Baz Vegas. stayed in this little pub which convieniently had boxes and boxes of dressing up clothes. so for want of anything better to do we had a fancy dress party. cue lots of men wearing dresses. our driver, Gollum was dressed as gollum, very scary. went for a walk on the wind swept beach the next morning to look for greenstone but i wasn't in luck, not many people are.
so now we're in Franz Josef, tomorrow we go on to a place called Makarora, and after that Queenstown. then hopefully i'll get on a bus and go right down to the south and see Milford SOund, Dunedin and Stewart Island. only 2 weeks now and i'll be in Australia.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Queen Charlotte!
Just got back from the Queen Charlotte tramp, i only did 2 days of the 3, lucky really as i have a huge blister and did today's walk in my sandals instead of boots.
so its 71km in total, i did 24 km y;day then 20km today before getting the water taxi back to picton. a nice walk very up and down yesterday but today was nicer. stayed in a lovely place on the first night, mmeeting Ira on the track after the first day. It was called Mahana lodge which was tucked in a bay and just off the track. lovely views over the sound but i got bitten to shreds by bugs which didn't help with walking the next day because they seem to love my ankles. the weather was really hot yesterday which meant we ran out of water pretty quick however today it was cloudy and rained a bit, which was fine, luckily our bags were ported for us by the water taxi so they didn't get wet.
on the bus tomorrow to Abel Tasman National Park and then down the west coast to greymouth and the Franz Josef glacier. nice to hear from everyone. Rob - we booked the van for oz and it was 1500 ozzie dollars - about 500 quid i think for 12 days.
however the campsites can be cheap to nothing if you have a loo and shower with you.
so its 71km in total, i did 24 km y;day then 20km today before getting the water taxi back to picton. a nice walk very up and down yesterday but today was nicer. stayed in a lovely place on the first night, mmeeting Ira on the track after the first day. It was called Mahana lodge which was tucked in a bay and just off the track. lovely views over the sound but i got bitten to shreds by bugs which didn't help with walking the next day because they seem to love my ankles. the weather was really hot yesterday which meant we ran out of water pretty quick however today it was cloudy and rained a bit, which was fine, luckily our bags were ported for us by the water taxi so they didn't get wet.
on the bus tomorrow to Abel Tasman National Park and then down the west coast to greymouth and the Franz Josef glacier. nice to hear from everyone. Rob - we booked the van for oz and it was 1500 ozzie dollars - about 500 quid i think for 12 days.
however the campsites can be cheap to nothing if you have a loo and shower with you.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
a missing day!
realised as soon as i left the hostel this morning that i missed out a whole day after Taupo. we did the Tongariro crossing, a 17km walk across a few volcanoes in the Tongariro national park. Mt Rupahaue was mt Doom / Mordor in LOTR so we were hoping for a view. however the day dawned foggy so we didn't see anything, in fact at times it was a struggle to see the next tracker marker post. however walkers coming out of the mist in front of us could have been orcs. so it was a lot of effort for not much reward, as the views are meant to be amazing on a good day.
we stayed the night in an amazing hostel in the National park which converts to long term ski accomodation in the winter. it had a hot tub and log fire which made it a great hostel. bought some deep heat type stuff today to put on my aching muscles - its 2 days after the walk! as i am doing the queen charlotte track in another day i thought i'd better buy it or i'll never get round it.
we stayed the night in an amazing hostel in the National park which converts to long term ski accomodation in the winter. it had a hot tub and log fire which made it a great hostel. bought some deep heat type stuff today to put on my aching muscles - its 2 days after the walk! as i am doing the queen charlotte track in another day i thought i'd better buy it or i'll never get round it.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
in wellington
well the night in rotorua was a bit of a disaster really, carole and i were really chuffed to be in a small 4 bed room with a shower and loo, but the 2 other occupants woke us up constantly coming into use the loo from the downstairs bar and then at about midnight one of them came in with a bloke and started doing drugs in the bathroom. was heroin. i was really mad. got the night watchman but there was nothing (!) he could do. carole complained in the morning and they said the drugs policy is that drugs are 'frowned upon' (!) anyway our wonderful bus driver then complained and got them kicked out.
while she was doing that we went into the Maori thermal village, really interesting how they cook their food and use the thermal water for everything. we had a walk around, saw a 'cultural performance' of dancing singing and the haka, and had a traditionally cooked steamed meal of sweetcorn sausages and steamed pudding.
went onto Taupo in the afternoon, some people did sky diving but my budget wouldn't stretch to that ... birthday present anyone?
the hostel there was lovely and we had a really peaceful night in our room - all in bed by 10 past 10!
yesterday we drove on to wellington and in the afternoon myself and Ira, an american on the bus got our Queen Charlotte Track sorted, including the ferry over to the south island, the water taxi to the start, accomodation and portage for our bags. its 71km in total but i am joining him for the 2nd and 3rd days. looks great fun but i think its going to be muddy and went as its due to rain here for the next week. great!
today i am off to the museum of new zealand, Te Papa, admission free (great - looking at my budget which is going down the pan!) some people went yesterday and its a great museum with a virtual bungy jump! Wellington looks like a really nice city although i am amazed its the capital yet its so teeny you can walk across the town centre in half an hour!
better go now and look at hiring vans for australia with Paul.
happy birthday emma.
cxx
ps emma is winning the email/text competition, most replies to emails and texts. there will be prizes.
ps2 bobby is losing. not even one email to his sister!
while she was doing that we went into the Maori thermal village, really interesting how they cook their food and use the thermal water for everything. we had a walk around, saw a 'cultural performance' of dancing singing and the haka, and had a traditionally cooked steamed meal of sweetcorn sausages and steamed pudding.
went onto Taupo in the afternoon, some people did sky diving but my budget wouldn't stretch to that ... birthday present anyone?
the hostel there was lovely and we had a really peaceful night in our room - all in bed by 10 past 10!
yesterday we drove on to wellington and in the afternoon myself and Ira, an american on the bus got our Queen Charlotte Track sorted, including the ferry over to the south island, the water taxi to the start, accomodation and portage for our bags. its 71km in total but i am joining him for the 2nd and 3rd days. looks great fun but i think its going to be muddy and went as its due to rain here for the next week. great!
today i am off to the museum of new zealand, Te Papa, admission free (great - looking at my budget which is going down the pan!) some people went yesterday and its a great museum with a virtual bungy jump! Wellington looks like a really nice city although i am amazed its the capital yet its so teeny you can walk across the town centre in half an hour!
better go now and look at hiring vans for australia with Paul.
happy birthday emma.
cxx
ps emma is winning the email/text competition, most replies to emails and texts. there will be prizes.
ps2 bobby is losing. not even one email to his sister!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
hi everyone
went to raglan yesterday and was intending to go surfing, its a famous break which was in the film endless summer, its also a rare left hander. unfortunately just my luck there was no surf. so i gave up on that idea.
in rotorau at the moment, just got to the hostel. went to the Waitomo Gloworm caves this morning, i didn't do the caving, several of us went for a nice walk instead, about 2 hours. because of all the limestone karst around you could be walking near cheddar gorge instead! i decided it was too much money to go caving and see glow worms ( i saw them last night near the hostel at raglan, very exciting) although some people went tubing and abseiling etc and it sounded great fun.
going to an irish bar tonight for cheap food and an irish band and dancing apparently, should be fun.
tomorrow i shall pop and see the thermal hot springs which are right in front of my hostel (there's a spa downstairs you can get into) and we're off to do a maori village walk around and then onto Taupo. the day after we're going to Tongariro national park and i'm looking forward to doing the Tongariro Crossing walk, which is about 7 hours walking apparently. hope i'm with a fast group with no whingers. everybody so far has been up for walking etc, so its been good. we have an elderly lady with us who has been on the road for 7 months, she's great. i'm in the small dorm with her tonight. very mumsy ish. she and the driver cooked roast dinner last night for 5 bucks each.
right better go this internet place costs a fortune. gmail is down at the mo so i can't seem to send any emails either. love to everyone. hope you're having a great time back in blighty! its sunny and hot here. although i think i'm going to be cold in the south island. where temperatures are about 5 degrees lower.
charlotte. xxx
ps kiwi slang = 'sweet as, bro!'
went to raglan yesterday and was intending to go surfing, its a famous break which was in the film endless summer, its also a rare left hander. unfortunately just my luck there was no surf. so i gave up on that idea.
in rotorau at the moment, just got to the hostel. went to the Waitomo Gloworm caves this morning, i didn't do the caving, several of us went for a nice walk instead, about 2 hours. because of all the limestone karst around you could be walking near cheddar gorge instead! i decided it was too much money to go caving and see glow worms ( i saw them last night near the hostel at raglan, very exciting) although some people went tubing and abseiling etc and it sounded great fun.
going to an irish bar tonight for cheap food and an irish band and dancing apparently, should be fun.
tomorrow i shall pop and see the thermal hot springs which are right in front of my hostel (there's a spa downstairs you can get into) and we're off to do a maori village walk around and then onto Taupo. the day after we're going to Tongariro national park and i'm looking forward to doing the Tongariro Crossing walk, which is about 7 hours walking apparently. hope i'm with a fast group with no whingers. everybody so far has been up for walking etc, so its been good. we have an elderly lady with us who has been on the road for 7 months, she's great. i'm in the small dorm with her tonight. very mumsy ish. she and the driver cooked roast dinner last night for 5 bucks each.
right better go this internet place costs a fortune. gmail is down at the mo so i can't seem to send any emails either. love to everyone. hope you're having a great time back in blighty! its sunny and hot here. although i think i'm going to be cold in the south island. where temperatures are about 5 degrees lower.
charlotte. xxx
ps kiwi slang = 'sweet as, bro!'
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Had a great NYE in Paihia, a nice meal in a restaurant on the waterfront and then watched the fireworks from the beach. Didn't end up drinking much, a small disappointment but got back to the tent at 1.30am after which we were woken many times by our disgusting kiwi next door neighbours. loads and loads of young kiwis and backpackers around, there was a liqor ban in place but most people were drinking on the beach anyway. lots of police around.
On New Years Day we drove up to Kerikeri and went for a tramp up to Rainbow falls, where we watched people abseiling off the top and into the water. It was very cold! on the way back we stole 2 oranges which were delicious. the area around there is very Mediterranean and they produce a lot of citrus fruit.
On the 2nd we drove back to auckland the scenic way via a few nice beaches and did some walking.
Today we visited the sky tower - its a really lovely day here today, summer's finally arrived and the views were amazing. watched people do the sky jump off the top which is not a bungy but more like a base jump with a wire attached to you. there are glass panels in the observation deck to look down and some people were clinging to the chairs unable to go near the windows. this afternoon we visted the National maritime museum.
I booked my Stray bus pass today so i am leaving Auckland tomorrow. the first stop is heihei, on the coromandel peninsula, where there are hot water beaches. we reach wellington and then the south island in about 5 days, after visiting raglan to do some surfing, then rotorua and taupo and the tongarirro national park. looking forward to getting back on the road.
On New Years Day we drove up to Kerikeri and went for a tramp up to Rainbow falls, where we watched people abseiling off the top and into the water. It was very cold! on the way back we stole 2 oranges which were delicious. the area around there is very Mediterranean and they produce a lot of citrus fruit.
On the 2nd we drove back to auckland the scenic way via a few nice beaches and did some walking.
Today we visited the sky tower - its a really lovely day here today, summer's finally arrived and the views were amazing. watched people do the sky jump off the top which is not a bungy but more like a base jump with a wire attached to you. there are glass panels in the observation deck to look down and some people were clinging to the chairs unable to go near the windows. this afternoon we visted the National maritime museum.
I booked my Stray bus pass today so i am leaving Auckland tomorrow. the first stop is heihei, on the coromandel peninsula, where there are hot water beaches. we reach wellington and then the south island in about 5 days, after visiting raglan to do some surfing, then rotorua and taupo and the tongarirro national park. looking forward to getting back on the road.
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