Tues 16th - Tues 23rd June - Napier, Flashdance and Jets

I've got a lot of days to catch up on, so prepare yourselves!

Tuesday 16th June

Had a bit of a quiet day, nice to relax. Glenda drove us to a local beach to have a look. It was really rough again! She also showed us some of the lovely local countryside. That evening we had homemade quiche and vegetable soup, was lovely!

Wednesday 17th June

We got up and had our usual morning Weetbix (It's not WeetAbix here, the a got lost somewhere on the journey over!). Glenda drove us around again (so nice of her), we picked up Cousin Wayne from Hastings and had a look around Hastings town. We also stopped off to see Cousin Wendy at work (She works at a rock climbing wall activity centre) and we all went for lunch. We also stopped into see Glenda's mum, who was lovely! Then we all went back home and me and lil cooked dinner for everyone, we cooked our usual - Spaghetti Bolognese! After dinner (and Hokey Pokey ice cream!) Me, Lil, Wendy and Wayne played a few games of Poole, England Vs New Zealand, unfortunately we lost!

Thursday 18th June

Wendy and Wayne took us to Napier today. It was a lovely town. It got ruined in 1931 by an earthquake and they re-built it in Art Deco style. Unfortunately some of the chain stores have ruined the Art Deco look, but some parts were still as they were built. It was a really quirky little town, pastel colours, bold shapes and that Art Deco font was everywhere, really nice to see something so different! We also found a little Art Sale being held in the local theatre, which was really interesting. After lunch we had an ice cream by the coast, we ate it inside though as it was a bit chilly!! We also had a walk through some gardens and went to the top of Bluff Hill to see some amazing views. It was a really good day. That night we stayed at Wendy's. She's got a really cute little house, with a wood burner that actually heats all the rooms!!

Wayne, Lil, Me and Wendy outside the Theatre

An Art Deco sign in the Theatre

Me in Napier with a 30's sign

An old Tabacco Company building in total Art Deco style
Me, Lil, Wendy and Wayne
The view from Bluff Hill

Friday 19th June

Wendy and Phil both went to work, and Me and Lil had a real lazy day at Wendy's. We watched Flashdance and Footloose, old films neither of us had seen! We walked around the local town of Waipawa, bought ourselves some fruit (I can't stop eating Gold Kiwis, I cut them in half and scoop them out with a spoon, they're not as sour as the green ones, they taste a bit like a giant grape!), we also got Pizza's for the 4 of us for dinner. Later on they took us to their local pub (20 minute drive!), and we had a few drinks there.

Wendy and her house.

Saturday 20th June

Wendy drove us back to Alex and Glendas and we did a massive load of washing! Then in the afternoon we went with Alex and Glenda to Ross and Joyce's - They live in Hastings where our early Sunday morning bus was going from and offered to take us which was lovely. (Joyce and Ross are Wayne's parents and Joyce is Glenda's sister - everyone keeping up!?!) We all had a lovely roast dinner with corned beef (not like we have at home from a can - proper corned beef - it's nice!) and pickled Pork (I was dubious but it's really nice!). Then Alex took us to Te Mata Peak to see Hastings and Napier from above in the dark. Was really pretty, but unfortunately the photos didnt really come out, only the ones of us looking really cold! Ross later found 2 beanie hat and scarf sets with the NZ silver fern on, and gave them to me and Lil, so we got a free souvenir!

Glenda, Lil, Alex and Wendy in the big farmhouse kitchen (Alex and Glenda's house)

Lil, Me and Alex on Te Mata Peak

Sunday 21st June

We got up early to get our 7:30 bus to Taupo. Joyce very kindly took us and packed us up with lot's of food, including Pickled Pork sandwichs and some Persimmon fruit. It's a fruit that looks a bit like a big orange tomato, but it's really nice and tastes a bit like Melon, although Lil wasn't keen I really liked it! We met a British man later on who called it a Sharron fruit, either that or he was a bit weird and was just calling it Sharron! But we'd never heard of it!

Me and Lil with the bus after arriving in Taupo

Anyway we got to Taupo, a really lovely tourist town built around Lake Taupo, and we had to find our hostel - The Rainbow Lodge. It wasn't too far but felt a bit like a marathon with a bag that feels like giving an adult a piggy back! But we got there! We started off the day with the Hukafalls Jets. These are Jet boats that carry about 15 people, they are so fast but only need about 6 cm of water to glide along, they can go 100kph with no one is but our full boat still got up to 85kph (about 60-70mph i think!). The ride was amazing, we were kitted out with lifejackets and 'splash' jackets becasue it was cold and had to cling on to a heated handrail as the driver zoomed very close to posts, cliffs and trees. He also had a hand signal which meant he was going to do a 360, it was so much fun, me and lil were screaming so much! I was at the edge and got water slapped all over my face, cold!! He also took us up to Huka Falls which is a lovely waterfall, the views again were amazing! With our Jet ticket we also got a free entry to HC baths, so we got a free natural thermal spa room to ourselves! Not as nice as Hamner Springs but a great way to warm up after the jet...and free! We then spent the rest of the day looking around Taupo the town, we found a bar called The Shed and had a lovely dinner plus played lots of games of free poole! Quite a few weird people wanted to talk to us for some reason and me being very British didnt really want to talk to anyone!haha! But we managed to talk for a bit and then ditch them, they were quite a nice couple but we just wern't in the mood!

That night we went back to our dorm, which sleeps 9 people. We shared a bunk bed and kept all our valuables on our beds. I unfortuanely didn't really sleep at all. Everytime someone got up, turned over or coughed, I woke up. :o( wasn't very good and meant i didnt feel too good the next day. I guess I'll have to get used to it in Aus though.

Me at the rainbow lodge eating lunch (pickled pork sandwiches) outside

Lil at the front of the hostel
Lake Taupo

Photo of a postcard I picked up - the top right pic is the jet boat we were on


Us on the Jet

Close up of Huka Falls from the Jetboat. You can see a rainbow from the spray across the rocks



Our Spa room

Playing Poole in the Shed

Monday 22nd June

We got up quite early (well I was already awake!) and went off the see The Beehive. It's a centre where you learn about bees, taste honey and buy natural honey things. Was quite nice to have a look around, I had a lovely bit of fudge! We used a service called Shuttle2U which takes you anywhere in Taupo for $4 (about $1.50), we just rang them up and they pick you up in about 10mins! We then got dropped at the Aratiatia Dam, it opens up it's gates a few times a day and water crashes out of it and down the river to the Huka Falls we saw the day before. We waited for it to open and even walked through the thick forest and up a hill to two other lookout points to watch the water come flowing down the river. It was really picturesque and the water was so clear! After our little walks to the lookout points we were feeling a bit proud of ourselves so we saw a track that lead to Huka Falls via a 2 hour hike and decided to give it a go. We went up and down hills and in and out of forests, it was really lovely to see so much different scenery in one go, although I think we underestimated how hard it would be! We were knackered afterwards so rang our Shuttle2U to take us back into town where we had lunch straight away!! Then Lil's Uncle Steve and Cousin Marc met us, drove us to get our bags (thank god we didnt have to carry them again!) and took us off to stay at Auntie Mary and Uncle Steve's house, in Hamilton. It's a lovely house, we had a great dinner of Lasange and Apple pie, plus we had electric blankets again!

Aratiatia Dam

Waikato River - runs from Huka falls (Taupo) to Hamilton - from a lookout point

Forest part of the walk

Us being Melodramatic towards the end of the walk!

Us after the walk at Huka Falls

Tuesday 23rd June

After waking up at about 10am (I definately caught up on my sleep!), me and lil had a leisurely morning and well needed showers! Mary and Steve kindly let us borrow their car (Are they mad!), it's an automatic, which lil had never driven before so I tried to direct her...it was an interesting experience! They drive on the left which is good, and all the rules are the same apart from you give way to right turning traffic, which is a bit odd but we got used to it! They are also really hot on speed here, so we were extra careful (also in Kilometers which is weird!). We drove to the Hamilton Botanical Gardens, which were really interesting...and free! We saw all the different nations themed gardens, was quite nice going in the English one, it really did look and feel like you were in England, felt a bit like home which was great. The Mauri one was really good with all the carvings and statues. We then went into Hamilton town and walked around, I had chinese for lunch, and it was in a box! (Weird thing of mine - I've always wanted to eat noodles out of a box! Now I have!) We looked around some shops and then came back to a dinner of Kiwi burgers! It was like the burger I had earlier in the trip but homemade - burger with egg, cheese, beetroot, onions...lovely!

Me with a Marilyn pic in the American retro garden

Lil doing the Haka in the Mauri Garden

Me doing the same!

Me in Hamilton with noodles in a box!

Wednesday 23rd June

Today (I'm actually up to date!) Mary had a day off work, so she took us round which was really nice! (She is alot like Lil's mum, Tina, so it's like I know her really well!) We went to the Waitomo Caves, a group of caves with tours and guides. We chose the gloworm cave and it was amazing. Some of the tour was walking, going through the caves, some with really high ceilings, then we got into a boat in the pitch black and floated through and saw the gloworms. They were dotted all over the ceiling like little stars. It was such an amazing sight, but no photos allowed! So peaceful as well as everyone sits in silence and just stares up at the lights and patterns as the water swishes around the boat. The thing that made the trip was our tour guide, he was like an old nutty english professor/wizard, explaining everything in great detail, a really good story teller - he was hilarious! We then went to Otorohanga and Me and Lil bought Mary lunch and wandered around the shops. Afterwards we drove to the Kiwi house, and I saw my first Kiwi bird!! It was so weird! It looks furry and you cant see its wings, so it just had legs sticking out, it also has a really long thin beak. The one we saw was called Euan, he was bobbing around, digging his beak right into the soil, he was really weird but so cute! I'd have one as a pet, they're really funny! Wern't allowed photos of him either :o( but I did buy a postcard. We saw lots of other NZ birds walking around, including a Pukeko with bright vivid colours.

Lil, Mary and Me outside the caves, just after getting off the boat.

Waitomo Caves postcard

Outside the Kiwihouse

Postcard of a Kiwi from the Kiwihouse

Pukeko Bird

Back here tonight and finished off the blog, been writing over the last 3 days, bit by bit! But have to do it while I had a computer! Off to Tauranga on Friday and we might have a car there too so that will be fun! Will update hopefully sooner next time! H x

Fri 12th - Mon 15th June - Pools, Seals and Wellington

Fri 12th June

After we were all packed up (which took a ridiculous amount of time and cramming - it was like packing all over again!) and the boys were home from school we headed off. We went to Christchurch to pick up Lil's grandad - John, and then we drove up to Hamner Springs (which we later found out was spelt HaNmer - but everybody says HaMner?!?). It took a good few hours and by the time we got there it was past 7. We were booked into a villa, which was a bit like a little ski lodge, but we had to put our swimming gear straight on and head down to the hot springs. I was expecting a rocky hole in the ground - as it's known as the natural hot springs but it's actually made up like a swimming pool complex. We walked further into the site tho and found that there are lots of different hot pools, different temperatures, depths and sizes. My favourite was a secluded one with all trees around and a small waterfall, made it look like i was in the middle of a rainforest! I sat there in the dark with all the steam rising up and it started to rain a bit, so i sat in the quiet hot pool with rain coming down - was lovely! We also found a water slide, so we had a quick go on that! Although it was freezing running from pool to pool we did it anyway! Unfortunately there was a table booked for 9pm so we had to leave a bit early, and by the time we got sat down we were all tired and not too hungry so we just had starters!I didn't take any pictures the night we went because it was a bit of a rush and i couldn't really touch my camera with wet hands! But me and lil went down there the next day and they let us take some photos! No where near as nice as it was in the dark - but you still get the idea!

The Hanmer Springs Hot Pools

Me being a weirdo taking photos from the bushes!

Lil with Sam, taking pics by the Pools

Sat 13th June

Me and lil got up quite early and took some pics, and then we all had breakfast at Robbies (restaurant chain a bit like Harvester), which was nice. Then we loaded up the cars again and headed for Kaikoura. On the way Pete got a ticket from the police - was ridiculous! They must be very bored, they pulled him up for not keeping to the left whilst going round corners! There was no other cars or anything and he was just straightening out the corners of the windy road, was really funny, $150 though - ouch! On route we stopped to get some photos of the scenery as it was amazing! When we arrived in Kaikoura we all went to a cafe for a drink, then headed over to the Whale watch. Unfortunately we'd just missed the boat, was dissapointed, but Lil said there is one in Aus so we will try and do it then. So we headed over to the Seal Colony and we got some amazing pictures. They all just lie on the rocks and grass and you can walk around them, have to be careful tho as they are not tame and can move pretty quick! As we left we randomly saw a fence covered in bras, not really sure what was going on there but got a funny photo! Then we carried on our journey up to Picton, weather getting worse and worse as we went. In Picton we were staying in a nice Motel 'The Jasmine Motel', so we got settled in and then headed out for our farewell dinner. We went to the 'Toot and Whistle' which was really friendly, nice food and they had the Rugby match on (All Blacks Vs France) so John was happy! Unfortunately the All Blacks lost tho and Sam managed to catapult his dinner onto the floor! But other than that a good night! We then went back and watched a film- I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry - with Sam and Daniel, which was really funny, altho silly because we watched it till about 1am and had to be up at 6!

Me posing in the road in Hamner SpringsA bridge on the journey

Two Seals started fighting

Me and Lil with a sleepy seal, we got up pretty quick when it lifted its head!

Bras on a fence?!

Sun 14th June

Up early and onto the Ferry. Everybody got up to say goodbye and take us down there which was really nice! Quite sad to go, but had a great time with them all! The Ferry was great, loads of lovely views, and quite calm which was good for me. We got cold and went inside and randomly watched a film they were showing - Chimps in Space?!
We got to Wellington (Capital of NZ) and luckily found a nearby Backpackers (hostel) to store our backpacks in - wouldn't have got far otherwise! We had a walk around the city, was nice to see some high rise buildings! We got some lunch in a nice little cafe, it's a nice clean pretty city - but doesn't seem to be much bustle or stuff going on. We made our way back to our backpacks, bought some Milo cereal and jumped on the bus at 3pm. The journey was ok and me and lil listened to her ipod for a bit and mimed some of the songs which was funny! (think we freaked out some of the other passengers tho - luckily it was dark!) When we arrived in Waipakarau at about 7pm Lil's Uncle Alex and Auntie Glenda were waiting for us and they drove us to their house in Takapau. Its a big farmhouse in the middle of the country. The sky was so clear and we could see the stars, I've never seen so many! It was amazing, it's as if you could see other galaxys like in some photo from out of space! Such a shame it wouldnt come out in a picture! After thet we had a bit of dinner and then got into bed, they had electric blankets - wonderful!

View from the front of the ferry pulling out of the port - about 8am

View coming into Wellington

Chilly!

Me looking like a proper backpacker in Wellington
Lil at the Beehive - Parliment house

Us exploring Wellington
Lil with a weird floating arty silver fern ball

Monday 15th June

Had a relaxed day today. Taking a while to load photos on the blog - even left it on while we went out! NZ internet is pretty slow - in the countryside it's worse!! Glenda had the day off today so she drove us up to a local town, Dannevirke, and we had a look around. She also showed us the local Mauri meeting place, it was a modern hall but with a big wood arch over the front with all carvings and patterns on it. Was good to get out and have a look around and was lovely of Glenda to take us. In the evening we sat by the fire and also played some pool!

There are lots more photos I wanted to put on, but as i said it's quite slow connection here. But think these are some of the best ones. Will write again when I can. We're planning to do Hastings and Napier over the next few days so should have some good pics!

H xx