America

Hi All!

We are now in Los Angeles after a 12 hour flight from Auckland, NZ. It's been a weird day so far as we left NZ on the 28th of February at 3pm and arrived In LA12 hours later on the 28th of February at 6am. We have been a bit confused all day and tonight will be our second night sleeping on the 28h of February. It's like ground hog day and also it's a leap year...Weird!!!. 

Any who after we arrived at our hostel we had a bit of time before check in so we paid a quick visit down Hollywood Boulevard to see all the celebrities names in stars on the ground. It was pretty cool except we were  way to tired, jet lagged and it was way to early to pay much attention so we headed back promptly. 

After we checked in we booked a bus from LA to San Francisco leaving tomorrow at 12:20pm. We are going to spend four nights there and then head back to LA for one night before catching our flight back to the UK. Will keep all up to date and will add more photos soon

Jon xxx 

Rotorua and Paihia

After ParaParaumu we had a seven hour bus journey north to Rotorua. That night we wanted to just take it easy and rest so we treated ourselves to pizza and watched a film in bed. We stayed here for two nights but didn't really manage to do much sight seeing or activities as it was raining the whole time, it was also nice to just relax a bit more.

After Rotorua we got a bus (another seven hours) north to Paihia, The Bay of Islands with a transfer at Auckland. Paihia is located near the top of the east cost of the North Island and we stayed here for three nights. On the first day/night we pretty much done as we did in Rotorua also the rain followed us for the whole coach journey and didn't stop so we were in no rush to get out.

Speaking of which, when we were on the bus approaching Auckland to get our transfer the bus stopped as the windscreen wipers stopped working, the driver couldn't see a thing out of his window and we sat under a bridge as he tried to fix the problem. He ended up ringing the company to say he will be delayed and will have for wait for the rain to stop, I think they refused and told him to just drive on and that's what he did. There we were on a busy motorway, it was heavily pouring with rain and we are driving with no wind screen wipers. The driver had his face pretty much squished to the screen just so he could see. Luckily we got there and only 20 minutes late to catch our transfer to Paihia.

The next day we had 'The Hole in the Rock Cruise' which we booked a few day prior using our Flexi bus pass. We booked the cruise for 1:30, when we showed up it was very busy, we guesstimate at least 100 people and the boat didn't look big enough. We wondered how we were going to see anything, luckily all was fine and we got to see dolphins in the wild, the famous 'Hole in the Rock' and stop off at one of the islands for lunch. We had a very nice day but was very tired after it

We had a lovely time in Paihia and we are now in Auckland. We are due to catch our flight at 3pm (NZ time) on the 28^th from Auckland Airport to Los Angeles.

Will Write Soon

Jon x 

Abel Tasman National Park

Hello Everyone!

After moving up the West Coast of the South Island we made a stop a Nelson over night and the next day we took a 2 hour bus journey to Marahu, Abel Tasman National Park.

On our first day we ventured into the park and stopped off at some of the bays along the way. Here is the first bridge to the park. 

Here is a one of the many entrances to Porters Bay 

This was our hut for the two days we stayed in Abel Tasman National Park.












After our short walk into the park we came back, had dinner and went to bed. The next day we was going to do some sea kayaking and head around the bays of the National Park, however due to the cloudy weather we didn't want to chance getting stranded in a kayak in the pouring rain. What we decided instead is to walk one of the designated walks into The National Park. We chose to walk to Anchorage (seen in the picture)

The walk was a long one but it took us just 3 hours to cover the 11.8km from Marahu to Anchorage.   

This is a picture of the downhill track of the last 1/2 km to Anchorage

When we finally made it to Anchorage this was the nice beach we had waiting 

We walked along the beach and made it to the camp site and was greeted by this sign, we sat down and had lunch and a much needed rest. But that didn't last very long as we had to walk all the way back to Marahu, 




In the one day we covered 25km of track in 6 hours - break. Not a very intelligent move as that was almost a week ago and we are still feeling the burn.


We are now in ParaParaumu a district near Wellington on the North Island. We got the ferry from Picton to Wellington and then the train from Wellington to ParaParaumu on the 16th where we have been staying with some friends for the week. Tomorrow we head to Rotorua and then upto Paihia, The Bay of Islands. 


Will keep you all posted..





Jon xx  

Photo Update

 Kia Ora All,

Thought I'd update with pictures and less talk

Thunder Creek Falls, Between Nelson and Franz Josef

After travelling upto Fox Glacier and Franz Josef we moved onto Nelson and Able Tasmen National Park. Here are some picture of stops we made on the way to Nelon

More of Thunder Creek Falls

 

Sight of Fox Glacier

More Fox Glacier

This man prevented me from going up to the glacier

Here are a few pictures of Pancake Rocks between Franz Josef and Nelson

After Queenstown

Kia Ora All!

We have now moved on from Queenstown up the West Coast to Fox Glacier and Franz Josef and we were very sad to leave Queenstown as it was such a cool and beautiful place to stay. The day after we got back from our cruise in Milford Sound we went horse trekking in 'Glenorachy' in a place called 'Paradise'. We trekked on horse back around where the scenes from Lord of the Rings, Wolverine, Lovely Bones and Chronicles of Narnia were filmed. My horse was called Ronald and the snow capped mountains were a beautiful back drop for a great days ride.

The day after we went horse trekking we wanted to try something a bit more extreme, so what we decided we would do is The Canyon Bungy Swing which happens to be the biggest cliff jump and swing in the world. We arrived at the jump site around 2:30 but we were very nervous. We decided that we would share our nerves and the experience by doing a tandem jump. First they fitted us to our harness, briefed us on how to jump and then placed us with the tips of our toes flopped over a platform looking down a 109 meter cliff. All we had to do next is jump off . The person counted down: 1,2,3 and we both jumped off in sync. First we had a sheer 70m free fall followed by a 200m swing. It was such an adrenalin rush and was so much fun. so much fun that I had to have another go, but this time it was solo.

After Queenstown we got on the intercity to Fox Glacier. A seven and and half hour journey up the West Coast. On the way we saw some amazing sights of waterfalls and more beautiful sight of the snow capped mountains. The day after we arrived in Fox we went on a 8km walk to The Fox Glacier, we trekked through a rain forest, over streams, through the mountains and pass more waterfalls.The walk took two hours and at the end of it we ended up standing  200 meters away from the giant glacier known as Fox, the views were of it were spectacular. 

We are now in Franz Josef which is located up the West Coast 30 minutes from Fox. This place is almost identical from Fox Glacier and it also has it's own Glacier called 'Franz Josef'. This time though we didn't go to see it and we just relaxed at the hotel for the night. In about 1 hour we have a 10 hour bus journey north of here to Nelson and the day after we spend two days in Abel Tasmen National Park. 


All the best 

Jon

New Zealand

Kia Ora Everybody!


We are now in New Zealand after catching a 3:10 minute flight from the Gold Coast, Australia that landed in Christchurch on the 30th January at 23:40. The time difference to the UK is plus 13 hours. At this point I am the furthest I have ever been away from home and it feels very exciting. We are already 8 days into our journey and each days brings me closer to home. So much to see so little time.


CHRISTCHURCH

When we were in Christchurch we stayed at a place called Haka Lodge located just outside the city centre and YMCA Backpackers located in front of Christchurch Botanical Gardens. For our first day in New Zealand we decided we wanted to go and visit the city and see what it had to offer. People told  us (due to the February 2011 earthquakes) that most of the main centre is closed but a temporary container city has been built to cater for tourists and local trade. On arrival the first thing you notice is how quiet it is for a main city, it was like nothing I have ever witnessed before, you could see the damage and it gave you strange feeling inside the quietness and what you see almost takes your breath away.

I remember feeling sad inside knowimg I am in the heart of an earth quake zone. I could see the damage all around and the aftermath the quake has caused. It was truly disbelieving to think that this once was a busy city full of cafés, hotels, restaurants, apartments, churches, monuments and streets that were full of people. The entire place was completely empty (despite the contractors and their heavy machinery). The photo's I have taken does not really show the full scale of the damage or capture any emotion and feelings you have when you see it.

On the brighter side we did go to the parts of the city that were in operation and we had a nice visit to the Botanic Gardens and the

Christchurch Museum, we even got to sit on a Penny Farthing. We also went to the I-Site, a tourist info centre where we booked all our transportation so that we could travel around the North and South Island.

 

Our first stop after Christchurch was Lake Tekapo, situated 3 hours south of Christchurch. We stayed here for one night to see the famous lake which we didn't know was famous until we arrived and someone told us. The views and the lake were beautiful as the entire place is surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye can see.

There was also a little church that features in most of the post cards for Lake Tepako that was built just beside it 77 years ago. On the day we went to see the church and take some photos there was a wedding being held. All the tourists gathered around to see the couple being wed.

After Lake Tekapo we got the Intercity bus to Mount Cook. Mount Cook is New Zealand's biggest mountain and is part of New Zealand's longest mountain range. The views from our hostel of Mount Cook were nothing short of spectacular...In fact the views from everywhere were spectacular and we soon realised why so many people come to New Zealand. We both had a really amazing time here and spent our two days just walking around with our eyes wide open enjoying the snow capped mountains.

After Mount Cook we took the 5 hour bus journey down to Queenstown. Queenstown is another beautiful little township located at the base of another mountain. Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the world. Here you can bungy jump, sky dive, kayak , canoe, go jet boating between the mountains in a river that is crystal blue, go paragliding, hiking, skiing, zip lining, horse trekking through rivers and along where the lord of the rings was filmed, take a helicopter ride, a plane ride,  luge down the mountain, go mountain biking and I'm sure there is more aswell. We are thinking to maybe do a bungy jump and go on a horse trek, but before we did any of that we took a bus down to Milford Sound to go on a cruise. The cruise was amazing and we got to see some great views of more mountains, some glaciers, a few natural waterfalls and some local wild seals. We are now back in Queenstown, where we will be staying for the next two nights. Next stop, Fox Glacier.

Hope all are well,



Jon

Coffs Harbour and Beyond

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. After Port Macquarie we moved onto a place called Coffs Harbour that is situated 3 hours north of Port Macquarie. We stayed here for two nights and while we were here we went on a walk up and around a huge hill that looked out to the Tasman Sea where you can spot Dolphins, Hump Back Whales and and Sea Turtles. Unfortunately, on this occasion we didn't spot any but we are still on the look out. While at Coffs Harbour we also went for a walk around the nation park where wild Koala's roam but again no luck of seeing any actual Koala's. 

After Coffs Harbour we got the Greyhound to Byron Bay. We didn't see much in Byron as we had the privilege of staying with some friend we met whilst in Chaing Mai, Thailand. They live in a place Lismore which is a beautiful little town located in the countryside surrounded by a rain forests. For the majority of time we were there it was pouring with rain and due to that we only had a few days of going out and exploring we also had our first Australia style B.B.Q. One of the days we did venture out in the rain was to see some waterfalls however when we arrived the bridge we had to cross was completely over flown with water. We did manage to see some of the rain forest though as you can see.Whilst here we also get the privilege of seeing the stars again due to there being very little light pollution. It was a sight and as many stars I have seen in a long while.  

After Lismore we jumped on the Greyhound to our last stop Brisbane where we stayed with some more friends who have moved out here. Unfortunately for us the rain didn't let off and again it poured and didn't stop for the entire week, we even had some minor floods in the area and there was many weather warnings on the news. We didn't let that stop us much though and did see the city a little but but most of the attractions were closed. 






We are now back on the Gold Coast in a placed called Coolangatta where we will be staying till Monday till be get our flight from the Gold Coast Airport to Christchurch, New Zealand. We are very excited as we have heard New Zealand is very beautiful. Can't wait to get back to regular updates and taking lots more photos for everyone to see. 




Miss All,






Jon