That's the way the cookie crumbles....

Another early start but the sun was up and already shining, and I was off to find yet more dolphins! 

The plan was to find the dolphins and then try and swim with them. We headed out, weaving in and out of the many islands constantly on a state of alert. There are very strict rules on engagement here, and rightly so. We found two pods of bottlenose dolphins together but they seemed agitated. We had a proper dolphin expert with us, which was amazing. It turned out one pod was trying to bully the other one! Eventually the pods split and we followed one. After quite a while (we needed to see if there were any babies etc) we were told that we could get in. At this point the clouds had covered the sky, the wind was blowing and the sea was choppy, so please don't imagine tropical seas! It was like jumping in at Vazon on a February day in gale force 6! With no wetsuit! To be honest the fact that as soon as I got in the water the dolphins scarpered was no surprise as I am sure that the cry I emitted when the cold hit was probably only audible by them!!!

We got back on the boat and followed them a bit more. They were frolicking all around us. So we tried again, this time I think I was still numb, so it wasn't as much of a shock, as I had literally lost all feeling anyway. However again they were in no mood to play. And by then our time was up. We had some fabulously close encounters with them from the boat, which had only 18 of us on board, so I was more than chuffed. 

News then came through on the radio of activity across the bay, so off we zoomed. Turned out some common dolphins were hunting. They had wiped the fish into a frenzy and all of the birds were circling. We saw gannets, turns etc just dive bombing the water, time after time, literally 10 metres in front of us. It was the most amazing sight.

Back on shore I was in serious need of hot coffee and a warm shower!

Then it was on to another boat, the ferry to Russell, across the bay. Russell was the very first capital of New Zealand. It originally was home to 31 houses of ill repute, but sadly there are no longer such dens on inequity! A quick tour of the  peninsular presented various firsts for New Zealand, first bank, first church, first governor etc. Captain Cook named it Bay of Islands, and decided it was a most agreeable place!

It's a gorgeous place. The jetty juts out, whilst the quayside is lined with pohutukawa. I decided to park myself at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, the first hotel in New Zealand, with liquor licence No 1! It claims to have been serving rascals and reprobates since 1827! Being one (or both!) of those I could only join in. So I sat there eating oysters, drinking local Sauvignon Blanc, watching a cormorant catching its dinner and watching the boats. Life is tough!

The colour purple....

Early doors and we headed from Auckland to Whangarei, where Nick sometimes works, and I could pick up a hire car. The lady behind the desk said to me she thought I might like purple so they had given me the brightest purple car I have ever seen! I killed myself laughing. Not sure if it was my purple rucksack, bag, cardigan or jacket that gave it away! Violet (yes, I named her) and I are in for a lot of fun!

We headed out of town, stopping at Whangarei Falls before picking up the Twin Coastal Scenic Highway.

 

It was difficult to drive and admire all of the fabulous views, so I kept stopping! But to be honest there were barely any cars on the road. Every so often doubt would creep in, where are they? Am I missing something?!

I couldn't resist getting out at Marapouri Beach, kicking my shoes off and sauntering along the waters' edge. And again, with the exception of a couple of others I had the beach to myself.

The lady at the visitors centre had advised me to undertake a detour to see Hundertwasser's toilets! She found it incredulous that I had never heard of this supposedly famous Austrian architect, who adopted Kawakawa as his home and designed the public toilets before he died! I needed to spend a penny anyway so at least they were useful!

I was somewhat underwhelmed!

Another quick schlep up Highway 1 and I reached Paihia, a small seaside town, used as a gateway to the Bay of Islands. First impressions were off a cacophony of motels and hotels, but actually whilst there are a lot it is all really manageable. My motel is within walking distance of all the shops, cafés, restaurants, ferry etc. it only took a visit to the supermarket for some red wine and I felt right at home!

Au revoir Aotearoa!

New Zealand had come highly recommended. It had been on my "list" for a while, and I had heard so many stories about it. Even on my first day in Auckland so many shopkeepers had recited stories about visiting for 3 weeks and then moving lock, stock and barrel over here. And the Kiwis love everything! I can understand their enthusiasm. It is indeed a magical place. I have been so over awed by the scenery that it almost became too much. I am sure it will take a while to all sink in, and perhaps on a random rainy day in February the enormity of it all will hit me. 

It's like mushing together the Alps, the Lake District, the Highlands, the Yorkshire Dakes and the Moors, taking out most of the people and properties and adding lots of sheep!

What will I miss:

- Springtime / early summer (seeing the lambs, the blossom, everything was green, the shops had the summer clothes in)

- Ice cream and Japanese food!

- Sheep (they really are daft creatures, but they are everywhere! From the "normal" sheep, to recently shorn, and rather pathetic looking merino sheep, to the lambs frolicking around.

- Being called Mate / Bro / Doll, and hearing "sweet as" and "no worries" ALL the time

- The views!

What I will not miss:

- Working out if "pohutukawa" and all the other Maouri words are referring to a tree, mountain, lake or town! (Pohutukawa, which it has taken me 3 weeks to learn how to say, is a tree!)

- Being given butter when you order a muffin ( you were spot on Zoe!). It's plain wrong!

- It is expensive. From shampoo, to food, to excursions. Nothing is cheap. And you have to pay to see/do everything.

Highlights:

- Hobbiton, no question!

- Seeing my first wild penguins, and all if the dolphins 

- Helicopter flight around Mt Cook

I can completely see why so many people rave about New Zealand, and I totally get why so many would wish to move there. For me though, whilst I could easily live in Auckland, it is a bit to far away from everywhere else, and I know that this is going to sound like a spoilt child and is completely a First World symptom, but as a visitor it was all too easy!

Tip Top.......twice!

I would like to think that I am getting better at early mornings but today proved me wrong! When the alarm went at 06:20 I was in no mood to move! But move I did. I had a bus to catch...

We were off to the tip top (or should that be top tip?!) of New Zealand! 

After a couple of stops for pies (they love their pies here) and a look at yet more kauri trees, we arrived at the Waipapakauri Ramp which takes you on to 90 Mile Beach (although obviously it's only 54 miles long!)

The bus driver then bombed it along the most amazing beach, you could see tyre marks of those who had been there before us, and occasionally a truck passed in the other direction, but generally we had the beach to ourselves. There were rolling waves from the Tasman Sea on the left and ever increasing sand dunes on the right.

After a quick stop the bus hung a right and literally drove right up the middle of a creek to find us a really high sand dune. Boogie boards were then given out and the trudge to the top began. It was hard work! Now the sand dune was REALLY steep, and I am sure Thomas and Simon, who appreciate my skiing prowess are already laughing at what I am about to admit! I would like to say that I went from the top, but sod that! As already mentioned it was REALLY steep! So I was more than happy to start from lower down, and because I was lower down I was able to fit in more runs than most. 

It was hot work! 

The bus driver "Stitch", was proper Kiwi. He either started or ended all of his sentences with "Sweet....as!", and he blasted 80's music out on the bus speakers. My soundtrack for the day consisted of Bob Marley, Bazza White, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, INXS and Jacko, just to name a few. Tres old school!

Next stop was Cape Reinga. Captain Cook has been here too! He did get around! Actually the Maouri's believe that when you die your spirit travels up 90 Mile Beach and then departs from Cape Reinga.

Given that the cape is the meeting point for the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea I had expected a fierce wind, but it was actually fairly calm, and although overcast was also quite warm. And I even found a sign post at the lighthouse to remind me how far away from home I am! 9,735 miles from London!

 

We stopped at a gorgeous beach, Tapotupotu Bay, before heading to Mangonui for what the bus driver referred to as "the best fish and chips in the world"! A bold claim! His words were "the British invented fish and chips, but the Kiwi's perfected them"! I have to say that they were damn good!

The other Tip Top in the title is the ice cream. Tip Top is the main brand of Kiwi ice cream, and the producer of the Hokey Pokey. We went past the first shop to sell it! The Kiwi's do love their ice cream, and I love the Kiwi's all the more for that! I have tried such fabulous flavours, fig and honey, salted caramel popcorn, gingernut, Ferrero Rocher, and today it was Turkish delight, a taste sensation!

 

All in all a very good day, and very excited about tomorrow.......

Some time to veg....!

After a short flight back to Auckland I was kindly pick up by Nick, a friend of a friend. He lives in Browns Bay, which is on the Northshore of Auckland. He shares his house with, Ali, a huge boxer cross, who I would like to say obeys every command and never sleeps on the sofa, but I can't!!!!

After a walk along one of the many bays with Ali, Nick I introduced me to two of his mates and they all took me out for a Friday night in the pub and karaoke bar! I can confirm that the Kiwi's are no better at karaoke than we are!

The following day passed slowly in a haze! We tried to watch a film, whilst eating the infamous Tim Tams, but both fell asleep half way through. Lightweights!

Sunday morning and it was the All Blacks v The Frogs, accompanied with a fry-up! Thankfully I was not the jinx, they have not been beaten by France in Paris for over 40 years or something ridiculous! It was a fairly even game but the Kiwi's managed to prevent the Frogs from equalising in the last minutes of the game! Phew!

I spent the afternoon strolling along the cliffs and bays watching the countless activities and pursuits being undertaken, surfing, sailing, swimming, triathlon training, running, dog walking, picnicking, kite flying, wake boarding.....

The 3 week trip had been quite full on, and with the exception of Queenstown we were in a different hotel every night, so it was lovely to just stop for a couple of days, and start planning the remainder of my trip!

I don't think so...

Well what can I say except don't mess with Brits and their card game! Happily ensconced in a Estimation Whist competition the barman decided that he was going to close the bar in the hotel at 9:15pm. We told him to rethink his suggestion! He came back at 9:30pm and said that we would have to leave as he was " not making any money"! The cheek! We ignored him and finished the game! Our dissatisfaction was relayed to the manager the following morning!!!! It's not as if they had many guests to be rude to!

We then loaded up once more and headed off across the Cantebury Plains towards the Pacific Ocean, stopping briefly to see the Gemstone Man, a bit of an eccentric who beach combs for a living and then tries to sell shells, stones, fossils, petrified wood, rock crystals and anything else he finds washed up!

It was then destination Akaroa, or to be more precise the harbour, to board a boat! Anything that mentions penguins and dolphins has my name on it! So off we went around the harbour and along the coast to see what we could find! The most obvious being two navy frigates! One French and the other Kiwi. They were partaking in some international exercise, but most of them seemed to be on cross trainers and exercise bikes on deck next to the helicopters! Although if you must exercise then what a view!

Apparently the Cantebury had been moored in the same harbour when the earthquake had hit Christchurch and their canteen fed all of the locals for 4 days.

During the boat trip we saw fur seals lolling on the rocks, Hector dolphins, the smallest of all dolphins, (we even briefly saw two mothers with their babies), and some blue penguins, again the smallest penguins. 

The town itself is rather odd as there are French tricolours everywhere, all of the shop names are in French and even the police had a gendarmes sign!! 

Back in Christchurch again we managed eventually to find the new Cardboard Cathedral. Given the destruction of the earthquake the guides all find it difficult to navigate the city as the usual landmarks have disappeared and they change the road system every 5 minutes! The new cathedral was designed by a Japanese architect, predominantly out of cardboard (the clue is in the name!) and the idea is to use it whilst the future of the old collapsed cathedral is decided. Just next to the cathedral, on waste ground, was a memorial to the 185 victims who died in the February 2011 quake, a chair for each person. So effective, and indeed affecting. 

On a positive note they have created a small shopping mall using shipping containers. Designed to get shops, cafés and banks up and running again, and also get amenities back into the centre. All brightly painted and with flowers beds in steel containers. I thought it looked marvelous, although one of the shop assistants said it was cold in winter and baking in the summer!

Apparently the site they are on is privately owned and they are expecting to receive planning permission for a development in March, so all of the containers and flower beds will be picked up and moved to a new site (there are now so many empty lots)!

In the evening we had our final meal with everyone, including Bernd, our German guide, and Don, our bus driver. There was time for one final card showdown and the following morning everyone headed their separate ways.

It's funny how complete strangers can come together, get along and generally bond over the unlikeliest of situations or mutual loves/hates. You can end up telling them, and they you, thoughts or feelings that you perhaps have told very limited (if any) people at home, and are perhaps more honest and open, because at the end if the day even if they do judge you the chances are you will never see each other after the trip (except obviously  the awesome ones, eh, Debs and Katherine ?!)

Aoraki.........

Or Mount Cook to you!

That was the destination for the day. We had been scuppered with our helicopter flight when we had been on the west coast and today would be our only opportunity to try it again, but from the east coast, however the weather when we woke up did not look good.

As we drove closer to Mount Cook National Park the mountain ranges closed in around us, and we passed a number of the hydro electric power stations / dams that provide a large percentage of New Zealand's electricity needs.

As we neared Mount Cook village it seemed that the cloud cover was trying to lift, and the summit kept popping out of the top, and then disappearing. The helicopter centre told us to check in with them after another two hours so we kept our fingers and toes crossed!

We headed into the village which is situated around the Hermitage Hotel (bought recently by the Japanese!) and the visitors centre, but there was not much time to loiter and we headed over to the Hookers Valley to trek to the terminal lake that was below one of the many glaciers.  

Then it was back to the helicopter site. They said the weather was good enough to fly but not to land on the glacier, so 7 of us opted to fly anyway! 

The views were obviously spectacular. The Southern Alps, including Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and Mt Sefton, looking over the range past the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers that we had visited earlier and down to the Tasman Sea.

It was quite difficult to take photos through the windows but in a way that was quite a relief. No photo would convey the majesty of the landscape and you could just sit there, taking it all in and let it wash over you. 

It was quite difficult to come back to earth after all that but we still had some amazing sights to see. Lake Tekapo is the bluest lake I have ever seen!

Then we headed up to Mt John. There is the University Observatory at the top and it has been designated a dark skies area for star gazing.

Loved the sign in the cafe!

After another quick stop at the Church of the Good Shepherd, and a statue to collie dogs we finally left the mountains and headed through the Cantebury Plains. There were lupins along the grass verges, purples, pinks and oranges. Apparently they are another thing that are not native, and they are trying to kill them off. A "Lupin Appreciation Society" was promptly formed by most of the bus!