Wellington Competitive Bowlers Association Inc

Pulling into Nelson we had to check out the hostels available before settling in - fortunate that we did this since the first one we visited didn't seem to have been cleaned or renovated since the 1960's, stale smoke filling the air, we left certain that anywhere would be better. We dropped into the YHA and were instantly convinced of its benefits, price not coming into the equation.
We had decided to stay in Nelson until the weekend having opted to visit the local market here rather than the one in Wellington on the same day. This meant finding activities to fill a few days so we paced ourselves; we headed out for a quick wander around the town and after a small loop returned to the hostel. They happened to have two pianos available for use at the hostel so I was kept entertained, and the television filled the other gaps in time.
Next afternoon we went for another walk, expanding our slow loop of the City, this time taking in the library as well - we had to tackle the issue of accommodation and transport for Fiji which clearly was going to take a bit longer than we had expected, an understatement at best. We'd also gone on the 'Art Walk' of the area, taking in atleast half of the galleries and shops mentioned. This included a small knitting collective, 'Lava Glass' workshop where the owner explained his beginnings and work which was fascinating given the individual styles of his work, and just next door Jens Hansen the jeweller responsible for the Lord of the Rings 'One Ring' and other pieces. Not as fascinating as it might sound, more or less just a jewellers shop displaying his and other designers pieces along with the obligatory 'LOTR counter.' We'd taken in a fair bit of the town, even finding a music venue set in a yurt, and chasing 'clues' to a local competition I considered entering that were displayed in various shops and other venues before retiring for another night of piano and films.
The following day we weren't too sure how to occupy our time and didn't want to take too much of a walk out of town, so visiting the few charity / opp shops we hadn't managed to see the previous day we set off - bumping into our last host while walking. After a quick yarn we carried on and on our way to the library stopped at the cinema to see what options we had for that night and upon finding that the prices were hiked after a certain time we decided to take the chance and see a film there and then; cue 'Dark Shadows' a vampire 'comedy.' After a few hours we were back on track and at the library, slowly cutting down the list of potential accommodation for our future travel.
Finally the day we had been waiting for arrived and we headed to the market, just at the end of the road where we were staying.. After around an hour perusing the stalls of crafts and clothing we were done and hadn't purchased anything, finding the more appreciable pieces overpriced and others of questionable quality.. It was interesting to see the variety though in a way it might have been better to have visited Wellington but we couldn't regret this since we'd had a good time anyway; this left one night before we had to set off for Picton where we'd catch the InterIslander ferry to Wellington, a trip taking us to the North Island and by geographical terms a half way point in our travel!
We were up and ready to leave all in time, the cold air seeming to be inescapable even on board the coach to Picton; fortunately after only an hour we had arrived and were able to leave our bags at the terminal and collect our tickets ready to depart in a further hour. We met a nice lady from Brighton who'd left Nelson along with us and together we headed into Picton to take in what we could of the town in the time we had - which was more or less all of it! It was a pretty little place, resemblant of Queenstown in a way, in that it lay by the waterfront and the surrounding mountains dwarfed the town below.. We stopped for a coffee and were treated to a wonderful view out over the Marlborough Sound and shortly after wandered up and down the main street taking all of ten minutes.
We soon boarded the ferry and climbing to the top deck for as good a view as we could get, departed the South Island. It was a stunning view leaving, the waters ripples further adding to the beauty of the scene. The wind was still chilling and before long we were frozen enough to forgo the view for the lower decks and by the time we entered the Cook Straight we'd begun to rock a bit, leaving sleeping as the best option to deal with the remaining crossing.
We were soon pulling into the Wellington Harbour, the City slowly creeping into view with a setting sun blinding the view until the last few hundred metres. We hadn't realised that the drop off point was some way from where we had understood it to be until we were disembarking, so once we'd picked up our bags we had to catch one bus to the train station before another into the centre of town and closer to the hostel that we had pre-booked assuming it to be a few hundred metres from the terminal.
Our new friend joined us at the hostel and we shared dinner and a drink, played some music and enjoyed a warm first night in the capital..
We had in mind a few things that we wanted to do while in the city, primarily visiting the National Museum 'Te Papa' which was on the waterfront, not too far from where we were based. We set off into the town and came to the Civic Centre, a fairly recently re-developed area of the CBD, and it makes for an inspiring urban setting, art and space combining with function to good effect. The City Gallery was here and since there was no entry fee we were more than happy to spend some time inside; there were some interesting pieces, one 'immersive' inflatable.. thing.. and sculptures of varying form and design, other interactive pieces which resembled a ghostly technological jungle, and one room which although looking like a fairly typical artists studio was in fact all carved from wood - an impressive feat considering the deception. From there we moved to Te Papa, since it was late in the afternoon we only had an hour to look around, though since there are six floors we knew it was better to start early than to try and take it all in in one go; on this visit we only managed to take in the first floor, featuring 'the colossal squid' an exhibit including various skeletons of sealife and areas explaining the native flora and fauna; from there we entered the Awesome Forces section, including the 'earthquake room' where you are given a quick shake.. Not too sure on its authenticity, but the principle was there! This room covered the other forces that have forged the land as it is and will continue to, plus the overall effect on the earth over history.. By this time we were getting pretty hungry though, leaving to return the next morning.
We were invited to join some of the other guests at the hostel to have a drink that night, so we did, ensuring we'd feel wonderful the next morning when we planned to be at the museum for opening..!
Unsurprisingly we didn't make it back to Te Papa for opening, but it wasn't too far off; continuing up the building we got to see a whole array of exhibits, from a Marae (Maori meeting house) to a Waka (boat) and various other elements of the culture, moving forward in time to all kinds of settler stories and an explanation of the Treaty of Waitangi, modern culture and arts. It's true that you could spend a whole week in this place alone, we had to scan the information, relying on visual interpretations as otherwise we would have well overstayed our intended time there. It's a national treasure though, and rightly so - discussion surrounding an entry fee are rife at the moment, so hopefully this remains free to all for the benefit of everyone.
Our plan for the evening was an exciting prospect - firstly a trip on the Wellington Cable-Car, not exactly an adrenaline rush, but definitely fun and a bit different, but following this into the Carter Observatory for a planetarium show and the chance to view the sky through their telescope. The cable car has been operating for 110 years, more so as a means of public transport than for entertainment though it must have its fair share of tourist travellers en route to the Botanical Gardens or the Observatory. As we reached the top we were in for a grand view of Wellington at night, all well until you set off up the path toward the Observatory in relative darkness! We 'followed the stars' laid out on the footpath, fortunately finding our way and arriving just in time for the planetarium show - beginning with a half hour program about the weather on different planets in our solar system, not strictly fact based judging by the 'spaceship' guiding us throughout, but interesting nonetheless. We were then treated to a guide through the stars by the comedic guide before we were able to head up to the observatory and lay our eyes upon the Thomas Cooke telescope which they had focused upon Saturn! This was incredible, a real treat being able to see the planet and its infamous rings plus two moons were visible at the time.. Alongside this the lady operating the telescope was brilliantly informative, explaining the alternate methods of navigation used by the Maori and the West, both having their merits but succinctly different in their approaches - the Pacific Island approach of having '32 houses' dividing the sky and the position of the stars relative to these dictated the different tales which allowed you to navigate..
After spending a while longer stargazing and taking a quick tour round the associated museum we headed back to spend our last night in Wellington before we left for Napier the next morning.

1: Picton; 2: Wellington Harbour; 3: Civic Centre; 4: Wellington CBD; 5: Marae; 6: Maori Mask

I'm in Abel Tasman, an Englishman in Nelson

Urging our bags forward the bus pulled up after I'd managed to sweep round the hostels to check their bookcases incase there were any hidden gems.. Sadly not. Our journey commenced, with highlighted stops being Hokitika and Punakaiki, places we considered as alternate stops before choosing Wanaka. Firstly Hokitika, a town more or less known for its jade / greenstone carving. A short lunch here gave us the time to see a few factory style outlets and get some lunch, on the whole not feeling like we'd missed out on too much.. Next up was Punakaiki, home to the Pancake Rocks and blow hole - fortunately we were stopping long enough to be able to head down to the coast - though sadly the tide wasn't quite up to the blow holes tipping point, but the rocks and whole environment were something to see regardless. There really wasn't much else to here either, so it seems somehow that maybe Wanaka was the best choice after all!
Continuing up the coast we passed through Westport and Greymouth, again places we skipped to no great disadvantage, before slipping through the Mount Arthur range and heading down toward Nelson and more specifically Upper Moutiere. Meeting a new relative was pretty different but a true pleasure, we both apparently scanned the others features to discern how close that relation was and came to no joint conclusion. As it was night time we had little knowledge of where we were or what was around us, but a healthy dinner and comfortable bed was all that was required at that moment.
Come the morning we awoke to take in the most beautiful surroundings, hills, mountains and a hop farm seemed to be all that you could see, so to break into the spirit we headed out to Motueka where old shipping buildings had been converted to all kinds of modern shops and gallerys.
The following afternoon we were further wowed by the World of Wearable Art, a permanent museum featuring a large number of the costumes designed and shown at the past event. It would be wrong to call it a fashion show since it's positive, entertaining, humorous and cultured show is a far cry from the catwalk critique of custom. There was all kinds of creations, majestically crafted from recycled materials, croched garments, neon faces, horse-men, lobsters, the list is endless. Alongside this collection was also a vast car collection spanning the last century, you'd envy the workers who get to move the one parked out the front daily!! Afterward we carried on toward Nelson a bit further and heading up to a great viewpoint where you could see the whole bay area, past Rabbit Island over to Motueka, plus the sun and sea were playing off each other making it a spectacular sight..
After heading back the Lord of the Rings sneaked its way into the DVD player and so commenced a marathon of orks, elves, hobbits, dwarves, wizards and scenery spotting - assisted by a guidebook of the filming locations..
Come Tuesday we'd had enough of indoors so ventured out once more, this time heading towards the Abel Tasman National Park. We reached the coast and since you can only really continue by foot from this side of the mountains we took in the views and visited a wood carvers garden display before heading out to Koteriteri where another incredibly beautiful vista greeted us. These areas both held some of the magnificence that can't be found anywhere, the sea lapping on sandy beaches, backed by acres of forest, a true paradise for those willing to hike / tramp its length.. All in all another great day out, but as with all things our time here had to end and we were packed and ready to leave for Nelson the next day. I'm glad to have met and been privelige to the hospitality we received, no matter how great a distance or time can separate us from that and I look forward to meeting them again in the future.

Whatcha Wanaka do? Go to Franz Josef

So having had no sleep from a night of football I put my head down for
the coach trip to Wanaka, only really stopping at a fruit shop we'd
passed on our way into Queenstown.. We pulled into Wanaka on a cloudy
early afternoon and after making our way to the hostel made our way
into town to check out the surroundings and buy some more food. It
wasn't the most inspiring place, most shops were closed since it was a
Sunday, however our trip was brightened in meeting 'Crazy Carol' a
lady who for a decade has been adorning her hair with various plastic
and neon trinkets making up without doubt the coolest haircut we'd yet
seen.. She really wasn't that crazy, but a local celebrity without
doubt.This was the first YHA we'd stayed at and we were pretty
underwhelmed, most had been overpriced for their area and though this
one wasn't; for what we were presented with it still was.. We'd
stopped here to save visiting two glacier towns, and also with the aim
of visiting Stuart Loughbroughs Puzzling World.. It was a few
kilometres walk so we took the trip the next day and prepared for
whatever we'd find. You're greeted by the 'leaning clocktower of
Wanaka' with a backwards clock and other architectural quirks. We
entered and firstly went into the maze, a small labyrinth of wooden
panelling and staircases.. Your aim was to reach each of the four
corners - we gave up since the walk had worn our legs out somewhat,
and a family running around maniacally laughing was more fun than the
effort of succeeding ourselves. We moved inside to the Illusions Rooms
where we were treated to all sorts, from 3D photos to optical
illusions - an Ames room and an angled room, giving the illusion of
being much larger or smaller and being gravity defying respectively..
Overall it was a funny afternoon, maybe for the wrong reasons but it
was worth it just to know what was there. It suited Wanaka to a T, the
only other thing that could define here culturally was a mention of it
in Mission Impossible 3.. Well well.We'd arranged to travel up to
Franz Josef the next morning and we weren't that sad to be leaving,
there's probably a few nice walks around but we'd taken in enough of
this region for the time being.Our trip to Franz Josef was a bit
longer than the one to Wanaka, stopping off at a Salmon Farm on the
way which was maybe not as interesting as it'd sound, more or less
just a food and 'comfort' stop. We passed through the Haast Pass, even
crossing the plate-line responsible for the on going formation of the
mountain ranges before reaching Fox Glacier Township just down the
road from Franz Josef - it was clear we'd chosen the right place to
stay, the town was already 7km away from its glacier and there wasn't
much there for us to do besides.. We pulled up and were greeted with
an offer at our hostel for a third night for free which we gratefully
accepted!! Our first course of action was to send off some further
correspondence with the Immigration Service, this involved finding a
scanner somewhere - a far more difficult challenge than it might be
perceived. We had walked round half the town before we stumbled into
the Te Koha Art Gallery.. As it happened they had only recently opened
and just began to offer wood carving courses for a fair price, so
putting our other task to side we endeavoured to forge some emblems
for the two hours. Our guide was vastly experienced having learnt
himself when building a new Marae for his community. They came out
looking none too bad, the sandflies had taken a few bites out of us
but we could both have easily carried on for a while longer. We left
our work behind so that it could be oiled overnight and headed round
to the YHA to use their scanner before returning and sending off what
would hopefully be our final effort since our passports with accepted
Visitors Visa had finally been confirmed.The following day we set off
out toward the glacier. It was a fair walk to arrive at the car park
where the final walk toward the Terminal Face began. Following along
the rivers path the valley was already gargantuan, and when we left
the road and began to walk up the river bed this along with the size
of the glacier only became further pronounced. We finally arrived at
the end of the trail after around two hours walking from the town -
although the glacier was already an incredible site, it's blue ice
seeming almost unnatural, it was somewhat ruined by a large gravel
pile that had been built up infront of the face of it.. Well, you
could pay a local company to be guided up as far as this, or just
disregard the safety notices and continue up this temporary hill for a
better view.. No prizes for guessing that we headed up to the top of
the hill and were treated to a much more open view of the terminal
face. Any further was risking a potential accident miles from help but
that didn't put others off, however we were content so ambled back
down and retreated to the warmth of our hostel, ready for another
journey up the West Coast the next morning.

Tekapo, push pineapple, on to Queens(town)

So after a thorough examination of Christchurch we were prepared for
our onward travel, first stop Lake Tekapo. We'd pre-booked a bus
ticket for travel all the way up to Auckland so this was the beginning
of a long journey, first crossing the Canterbury Plains again, further
to the South this time and towards the Mackenzie District. Our coach
was an interesting journey, the driver providing a running commentary
most of the way along giving interesting viewing opportunities and
enough information regarding irrigation, deer, cattle and milk
production to fill a weekly journal. We made only one stop en route
and arrived mid-afternoon and instantly were taken by the scenery that
makes this place as special as it is.. Due to the glacier and
mountains interaction the run off that fills the lake also provides it
with a turqoise hue at times depending on light and other weather
conditions. We were fortunate enough to bear witness to such a day
instantly, and with the hills and mountains surrounding it the view
was something to behold - if only we could get rid of our bags!! We
headed off round the lake and eventually arrived at our hostel which
although wasn't quite as lake front as it may suggest was fortunate
with its view in its own right. Checking in we headed straight out and
back up to where we'd come from, our aim being the Church of the Good
Shepherd, a well photographed area but justifiably so.. A small
chapel, hand built by locals from rocks retrieved from around the lake
it was a charming little place, with another incredible view from
inside to the mountains over the lake. After a while capturing some
images we stopped at the local shop for supplies before heading back
to while away the night time hours with a healthy log fire
burning.Since there isn't a large amount of activities to do here we
set off for a trek the next day up Mount John, with the path just
minutes away from our hostel it was too inviting. At its summit you
have the University Observatory which you can pay to visit, though
this wasn't something we could really consider so instead we set off
up the hill with a day time view likely to offer a satisfying enough
vantage point. After a good hour or so weaving up through forest we
began the final walk through fields and the panorama was unfolding -
certainly not disappointing. West were the mountain ranges comprising
Mount Cook and the National Park, to the North Cass Valley and the
lake stretching along the base for the rest. We stopped for lunch and
took in more of the view before slowly descending - if this was a sign
of things to come then by no means was I going to be bored!!We had
planned to leave the following day but our planned trip was delayed so
we moved our departure back a further day to be able to go - horse
trekking. We got picked up early and headed to the stables where after
a brief run through of the basics (stirrups, reigns, uphill lean
forward, downhill lean back..) we set off toward the forest at the
base of Mt John where they had a track leading through which we'd
crossed on our previous trip. After clearing the forest we had a great
view of the lake, the hills opposite reflected in the still water. We
moved back down to the lake side before returning back through the
forest. It was a pretty special experience, I'd always fancied horse
riding though had never found the opportunity easy to come by.. In
reflection, it's strange sitting atop a breathing animal though you
get used to it.. The horses are more than used to this trek so we
weren't really riding so much as being led on horseback. Mine was a
bit grumpy, though it was a cold day which meant hooves slipped going
uphill and he seemed a bit impatient about other horses delay in
tackling the terrain.. Still, all in all a pretty novel experience.The
following day it was time to move on so after a seemingly longer trek
back to the bus stop we began our journey to Queenstown.Our driver was
generous with the stopping points and not quite so familiar with the
local farms though it did creep in..!! We had a brief stop by Lake
Pukaki to take in the view of Mount Cook which was appreciated and
besides that a flying stop at a farm shop outside of Twizel it was an
easy enough journey plus the final stop was not too far away from our
hostel.Queenstown was certainly an interesting place to be visiting, a
centre for adventure tourism in NZ for certain, and a fairly lively
place compared to Tekapo. Our hostel was something else, aptly named
Adventure they had provided everything imaginable - even down to book
holders and reading lights on each bunk.. We headed out for a walk
around town before it got too cold and dark before saving the rest for
the next day.We headed to the Botanical Gardens that morning, partly
to have a good walk around them but also to try our hand at Frisbee
Golf - certainly not as easy as it looks or sounds!! We gave up after
5 out of 18 'holes' and carried on taking in the view around Lake
Wakatipu. When we came back into town we stopped in at Williams
Cottage, an original settlers house that had been saved from
demolition and now served as an art shop come cafe.. It hadn't
actually been re-decorated since the 1930s so it was a really special
little building, layers of wallpaper peeled off te reveal previous
decades of design, all the way back to a hessian cloth backing. The
walls were also stained by various cases of flooding, the most severe
and recent being in 1995. Out of anywhere we'd seen this was the most
connected with it's heritage, the family tree of the previous owners
hung in the hallway.We had a trip to Milford Sound booked up for the
next day so after some dinner and a few games of Monopoly we turned
in. It was a cold and early morning to be waiting for a bus, though
once on board it was a fair bit warmer. We had to ride this for around
six hours til we reached the Sound, various stops on the way from Te
Anau to Mirror Lake, NAME waterfalls and Monkey Creek broke up the
journey well and made for fantastic viewing along with Mitre Peak and
the NAME Reserve. Our driver had been brilliantly concise with his
explanations thoughout, as a Maori descendent he was able to
illuminate other aspects that otherwise may not have been. We
eventually arrived and departed on our boat not too long after
boarding, toward the Tasman Sea where we'd turn and head back before a
shorter return journey. Already the scenery was incredibly beautiful,
the final throws of the mountainous peaks before they descended below
the water line - and the fiord we were passing through only a further
testament to the immense powers of nature that continue to forge this
country.. Then for another experience, as we reached the Tasman, a pod
of dolphins came to play with the boat much to everyones delight..
There were around seven of them, one youngster among their numbers -
and apparently one did a big jump though I missed it! Heading back we
drew up incredibly close to the base of one of the many waterfalls and
as we were turning back into the main passage witnessed a set of seals
sunning themselves on the rocks.. After a great afternoon it was time
to head back, the journey shortened by less stops and taken up with a
few dvds en route. That night I stayed up all night to be able to
watch the FA Cup Final - plus Arsenal v Norwich, it was quite fun and
the first time I'd seen any live football for 2 months, fortunately
not a disappointment. Come six am it was time to get ready and head
out to our bus stop for the next leg, on to Wanaka.

Chch cha!!

After carefully navigating the route to the airport and avoiding using
trolleys at $4 a pop we boarded our flight and headed to Christchurch,
our plan was to potentially sleep at the airport as we were likely to
miss the last bus departing for town. We arrived earlier than expected
so there was some hope of managing to get to town where we'd stay for
one night before catching a bus to Sefton to volunteer on a farm for a
week before coming back to town. Then we came to Immigration and when
asked where we were staying I readily provided this information. Big
mistake. We were stopped, made to wait then interrogated about our
intentions while here since any food or accommodation in return for
labour is considered pay, so we'd either need a Working Holiday visa
or to give this plan up altogether. Faced with this choice we had to
decide quickly, and since we had three seperate locations lined up
across the country we decided we'd apply for the Working Holiday visa,
so we were granted a two week temporary entry visa while we applied
for this, an apparently simple process. Second big mistake. After an
hour we were out and had missed the bus but had been left feeling like
criminals after an honest mistake so caught a shuttle to town and
stayed in an overpriced YMCA room but worthwhile if just to get away
from the airport. We then immediately set about applying for our visa
which we got sent off having been informed we'd need a medical since
we'd been in a high risk TB area recently, first thing in the morning
we checked at the doctors and this would cost us £250 each.. Ouch.

We took the rest of the day up by taking a trip into the City Centre, or
more specifically the Cashel Street Re:start Mall - a series of
shipping containers all vividly painted and operating as a temporary
(?) shopping centre in the wake of the 2010/11 earthquakes that
devastated the area. We headed on through the town to a supermarket
across town before getting back to business. We passed along the South
East corner of the red zone on this trip where rows of shops were
either mid-demolition, now car parks or fully stocked with no
customers in over a year.. It was an eerie experience, fascinating and
terrifying, grotesquely beautiful - carnage in the built environment,
something some people dream of though only those who have lived with
this reality can even begin to understand.. After a few more calls to
Immigration we hoped that things were under way so took a trip round
the Botanical Gardens that afternoon. It's a beautiful city and people
who arrive and leave without so much as a breath don't know what
they're missing.

We'd skipped visiting the Museum next to the park so we'd have something to do before checking in to our next hostel, sadly a decision to close it until further notice had come into effect, one
more building added to the long list. We headed back into the
Botanical Gardens before moving our bags across town. In The Right
Place was a great place to be checking into, a nice hostel and homely
feel to it, the owners more than happy to talk about the area and its
trials. The library wasn't too far away either so we headed there to
fit in some time on the internet before buying up a stock of
vegetables at a brilliant price from the local grocers - no joke, I
loved this shop!!

We'd arranged to stay at the house of a local guy through Couch Surfing so heading there the next day we were welcomed into a new home and experience. Our host was an inspirational
character, working, studying and volunteering plus hosting guests -
though not from New Zealand, he fits into the attitude of the country
perfectly. His tale of the second quake involved being in the shower
before running out into the streets in just his pants, needs must. We
were privileged to stay at his house despite his non-presence for a
few days by which time we would have returned from our working had we
planned it all correctly.. We'd mailed Immigration a few more times
and walked out to their office to apply for a full Visitors Visa, a
stressful afternoon.. A few more trips to the supermarket and the
Cashel Street mall where they held a Craft Market which was formerly
in the City Centre and we'd done most of what we could in walking
distance and it was time to go and visit our friend we'd met in
Laos.

Monday morning we arrived in Riccarton where we were greeted by
our friends mother since everyone else was at work.. After we went on
a flying visit of the local mall we were taken on a tour of the
outer-lying suburbs of the City. Firstly down to Sumner where the road
had been rippled, cliff-houses downed or damaged and shipping
containers lining the road to prevent further rockfall meeting the
road. There was a fairly nice beach with some surfers braving the
cold, also the land marker of Shag Rock which had been damaged, now
nicknamed the Shag Pile.. We crossed town toward the suburb of
Avondale where some of the worst affected housing was, liquidaction
having reduced roads to dust and the majority of houses
'red-stickered' so uninhabitable. Portaloos stood on most streets
where most running water and sewage had been affected in the
aftermath.. However from here we took in areas of redemption and
renewal, a group called Gap Filler have been utilising the spaces
created in a variety of colourful and enthusing ways, from open air
pianos to a book-exchange fridge and a 'dance-o-mat' where you have a
dance floor, stereo speakers and a laundry machine primed for you to
plug your favourite songs into and pump them out.. This is a small
part of the on going recovery of the area but with such positivity and
room for creative solutions then in time it can only become great.It
was good to see our friend again after four months, so we had an
evening of catching up to do.

We headed to the mall the next day, hopefully to see a film at reduced rates, typically the electrician
was in so our choices were both cancelled!! Instead we headed round to
Riccarton Bush, a small area of woodland preserved by the original
land owners. With the cottage on site being the oldest building on the
Canterbury Plain and the woodland itself being as close to what the
colonialists had found here, it was certainly interesting and
presented a surprising view of how much this land has changed so
quickly.. Two architectural students from Australia had also been
staying at the house as they worked on some projects to do with
housing and we had a big meal that night to mark their departure, a
few of the talks that happened that week were amongst topics crossed -
the chief architect of the proposed 'cardboard cathedral' being a
heavy influence upon their future outlook.Come Wednesday and it was a
public holiday to mark ANZAC day. We headed out on a road trip to
Lyttleton where we first visited a friend building a shed though they
hadn't reached the point where our help was required; moving on we
travelled all the way around the bay til we reached Diamond Harbour.
We took a walk down to the waters edge where we could easily see why
the area got its name, the sun glistening over the water making a
quite stunning scenery that bit more wonderful. We headed back up and
tucked in an ice cream before heading back round the bay til we
stopped at She chocolatiers in Governors Bay, a funky little place
with pretty divine chocolate on offer. We were good and only had a hot
chocolate each before heading back for the evening.

Over the next two days I was left to my own devices while Amy went to undertake a Red
Cross first aid course for her on going professional development, so I
tapped away on a guitar to hand and had a bit of a walk before meeting
her at the end of each day.

Come the weekend everybody jumped in the car as we took a day trip out to Arthurs Pass, the main route through
the Southern Alps to Greymouth and the West Coast. This meant a long
drive over the Canterbury Plains til we started climbing and didn't
seem to stop for a while. We did so to take in the Cave Stream Reserve
and the surrounding area before carrying on up to the village of
Arthurs Pass - so named as Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson reported on this
route as the most likely to allow access to the West Coast. It was a
nice small little place with very few buildings and resorts, the Trans
Scenic Railway having a station there being the largest structure..
After a light lunch we carried on a bit further to 'Death Corner'
where a viaduct crossed the valley..
Here as hoped we encountered Kea, the only mountainous parrot and a
cheeky and clever species they are. Known for picking away at anything
from cars to roofing nails - a cause of high fatalities due to lead
poisoning. It was wonderful to end our journey out having met these
birds, a beautiful species that will hopefully survive so long as
people take heed and stop feeding them!! We'd gone to another friends
that night for dinner with a spectacular view over the city, then
finally a trip to the local market the next morning before we got
ready to leave Christchurch and really begin our exploration of NZ..

1: Botanical Gardens; 2: Park Royal Demolition; 3: Cashel Street Mall; 4: Memorial Archway; 5: Victoria Clocktower; 6: Cave Stream Reserve; 7: Kea; 8: Viaduct

 

The writing's Wollongong

Our train from Newcastle Broadmeadow arrived half hour late so our transfer at Sydney and pick up from Unanderra were automatically skewed. A phone call from Central corrected the pick up time and after possibly our shortest time travelling yet we pulled in. Thankfully the message got through and I was soon back at a house I remembered fairly well from 16 years before. It was great seeing more familiar faces and after recounting various aspects of our travels til late in the evening we settled in for the night.
We went for a journey round the area the next day, taking in the view over the surrounding area from the remaining platforms of Mount Keira and a having swim at Port Kembla Beach after saying hello to our friend there. We carried on to a trip round the Wollongong harbour, up to the lighthouse and back round in to the marina and beach before heading back. A beautiful day with a good wind to keep it cool enough to enjoy.
The day after we went off for a walk down to Lake Illawarra and round to Worrawong where we eventually found the bootfair we'd aimed for after battling the strong Sou'Wester blowing in over the lake. We checked out the mall there in search of Ugg boots or anything we could afford. We bought a few snacks at a dollar store before heading back.
The following day everyone leapt in the car as we headed out of town to NAME where it seems several other groups had the same idea. Heading down the boardwalk we arrived at the first viewing point where we contended with a dozen others for a prime view of the water cascading down the sandstone face to the boulders below. One patch of grilling on the platform was rather vertigo inducing but I'll lay the blame firmly on the height at which we were above solid ground. Carrying on along one of the paths there was a second viewpoint where you could see the original falls as well as a later set plus the most spectacular view over the Yarrunga Valley. This had made a beautiful afternoon and even with the high flow of tourists even they had their entertaining points - a young girl having firmly wedged her leg in between two boulders must have made more than just me giggle under their breathe.. We left and made a flying visit to Robertson - home of the giant potato - where we visited a set of shops situated in the old dairy before a swift drink at The Robertson Inn and heading back.
Nan Tien temple was our next days entertainment, a better walk than the previous day and a rather interesting place. We'd known not to expect anything like what we'd seen in Asia though the stark difference was evident almost immediately. It seems to be having a positive effect locally and visitors aren't in short supply so I'm certain it will only increase in popularity and expand in due course.
After packing our bags up so we were ready to transfer from one house to another, we all headed out for one last meal together - an all you can eat buffet, which we accepted as a challenge - before returning bloated, saying our goodbyes and making the switch.
Our first afternoon we took a walk down to the local mall and that evening settled our plans for the next day - we had considered visiting a caravan park for a few days but we had to fit Sydney in for at least one day before we left.. Deciding to stay in situ we woke early and headed up to the City. We'd decided to walk up to Circular Quay rather than take advantage of the free bus which we'd use on our way back when tired of walking. The first few blocks were rather uninspiring, the only real interest garnered from the sandstone prevalent in the infrastructure. We passed the War Memorial before hitting the CBD which was our first map, turning on our heels we headed back to The Strand and shopping areas around Pitt Street. The Strand mall was particularly pretty, an old structure with modern cafe coffee culture poplar with the office crowds. It was all way out of our price range but worth a walk round purely for the aesthetic. After touring a few more shops and the tourist jungle - including a GAP ad being photographed featuring a young geekily attired posse bopping down the pavement with an mp3 boombox - we made our way down to Circular Quay and the Opera House. Arriving I remembered this area fairly well, wandering round we took a sweeping tour of the Opera House before crossing back over for a long journey around the Contemporary Art Gallery, if the Opera House was once contraversial I'd love to hear the critics perspectives on some things in here.. It was good to get all cultured though, some interesting pieces, others slightly bemusing though I'm no artist. From there we carried on round toward the Harbour Bridge and had lunch in its shadow before heading back to the station on the bus, a well earned freebie!!
Our next few days we spent putting together our final plans for arriving in New Zealand and getting to the airport - a medley of trains and buses to avoid the 'gate entry' fee earned by catching the direct train, an expense we felt highly unjustified. After arriving back from the campsite it was good to spend a few more hours with my relatives before faring them well, a promise of spending my money next time we meet is one I intend to honour!!

Newcastle on time

Our bus promptly picked us up and whisked us away from the bay and back to Casino, where we had an hour til our train.. The staff who checked in our bags can't have much to do there as they were the first to make me remove my shoes clipped to my bag, as they may be lost. After watching Australia's Funniest Home Video's in the waiting room we boarded the train not a minute too soon. We were due to arrive in Newcastle at another ungodly hour, again being picked up by a relative. Fortunately we were all on time, so we loaded up, arrived, drank coffee and went to sleep!!
It was a Sunday so everyone was at home, a good chance to get out and see some of where we were. We headed out down in the direction of Nobbys Headland stopping off at Merewether Beach then we went to visit Bogey Hole, an ocean baths that was cut out of the rock by prisoners - since closed but due for renovation.. As we stood watching the surf crash over the rocks in front a few dolphins swam past, right on time!! It was a great viewpoint to get our bearings and see some of what was on offer, the 14km beach further along the coast, sheer cliff-faces exposing the coal which this areas wealth is seemingly built upon and hang-gliders dancing around overhead. It was another terrific scene, truly the Aussie idyll - plus the sun was back.
Next day and we were left to our own devices, taking the opportunity to do some research for New Zealand which was looming ahead of us, then funny enough as a result of a mistake in a medical our host gets the week off - people should pay us to visit. This meant everyone but the kids were off the next day so we headed out to Blackbutt Reserve, another free zoo. We saw a variety of birds and more wombats, emus, wallabys and kangaroos plus a rather noisy black goose. Though with less variety than Rockhampton it was nice to get out and see some more furry and feathered friends, even if I did lean in bird poop.
Thereafter we headed to Lake Macquarie, the largest salt water lake in the Southern Hemisphere though due to its vast size we could only really see a portion before it disappeared behind land in the distance. It was certainly a nice place to have a home if you had the money!!
We visited the local mall a couple of times and went down to Newcastle Harbour one afternoon, taking the dog for a walk and then after school headed down to the Merewether Ocean Baths, two pools at the base of a cliff with the sea crashing over rocks below. The water was pretty cool to put it politely, which half froze me!!
Before we knew it the weekend had arrived. A netball match took up Saturday afternoon then Sunday we set off early for the beach. Nelsons Bay was around 45minutes drive away, including a flying visit to Anna Bay where camel walks were available - very much suited to the desert-like sandplain stretching all the way back to Newcastle. Nelsons Bay was a beautiful corner of a vast inlet from the Tasman Sea, calm and with a small marina tucked away for the yachts and whale and dolphin watching boats. The water was warmer than the Ocean Baths and not long before we left to the park for lunch we saw our second pod of dolphins that week. Behind the park a small afternoon market was packing away so we managed to tour that quickly before it disappeared then all headed back to the beach for one last swim. We then moved on up to the lighthouse at Nelsons Head. This was another great view, almost like the Whitsundays from Mt Rooper..
A few more days planning and a visit to the Max Brenner chocolate cafe (yum yum) and we were all set to head to Wollongong via Sydney. It had been a fun time and it was good to see some more of the lifestyle you expect to encounter..

Between Rocky & Byron is Brisbane

Unbelievably after pulling in at 4.50am not only were we due to stay as guests at the house of people we'd never met nor spoken to prior to a week before, they picked us up to!! Pulling up in a 4x4 we guessed each other easily enough with there being very few others around, and so arriving at our home for the next few days we had some coffee, toast, a good chat and promptly went back to bed. Our hosts have welcomed over 150 other strangers to their home and were accustomed to all sorts. They themselves had met through the website so whether it was a form of thanks or just a love of its positive sociability I wouldn't care to guess, but after we were all back up and more coffee they were raring to get out and show us something - had the weather been better we may have gone surfing that morning, however the perpetual rain had followed us there. We all headed out in the car about an hour North toward some forest owned by their family, and it was a lovely patch. A small stream ran to the rear and with a caravan and tent in situ there was provisions for tea and lunch whenever you'd arrive. From here we headed out into the National Park adjacent and went 'off-road' which meant powering up a steep rain drenched hill at some speed and when we got the top having been well shaken by the ride took in the view from on top - which extended to about 100 yards of grey rain. A shame as it was obvious it would have looked fantastic but fun none the less. We headed back down and on our way stopped by a seperate river where we headed downstream to their 'secret' waterfall. This was nice of them to divulge and good to see, all adding in to the fact we were all soaked by this time it made a good day of otherwise adverse conditions.
Next morning and time off plus the downpour meant an extra day off work for both our hosts and they took us up to the Rockhampton Zoo & Botanical Gardens right the way across town. This seems to be a top visit with their previous guests as apparently they'd been there about 50 times.. They popped in with us and saw the dingos and apes before leaving us to it. Fortunately this was a free admission zoo and it was really good considering. We saw wallabys, emus, cassowarys, a wild kookaburra, lorrakeets, other birds and parrots, a small croc and koalas, then as we finished the animal demonstrations started so we went round again - seeing the apes get yoghurt and a carton of drink, then getting to visit the koalas inside their pen and stroke them - not to hold though as they only have a few and there's time restrictions on the amount they should be handled to avoid stress.. Anyway, considering this alone could cost $16 we had saved a fair few cents.. We started walking back and though I'd known it was a fairly long distance back I didn't expect it to take the two hours it did. Exhausting!!
We'd been planning to visit the Dreamtime Cultural Centre while in town as well as it was a good opportunity to learn more about traditional Aboriginal life and activities in and around Australia. This was again a lot cheaper than elsewhere and with our YHA cards we also got a discount - the first time they'd been of use!! We took a walk round while we waited for a tour to start and managed to walk round most of the site, not really seeing much significance but as the tour got underway a lot more became apparent. Ochre wall painting, Dreamtime and their significance to daily life pre-colonization and the changes in structure post. We then moved to another area where the Torres Straight was explained, along with various items which before we'd simply seen as pretty and curious - from the tortoise shell adulthood/war mask to drum blocks. Overall these were really good explanations - not to all peoples taste but we weren't expecting a multi-media presentation with university lecture detail, it was a laid back 'any questions' tour that satisfied a basic understanding.. And from there it was time for the fun bits, didgeridoo playing and boomerang throwing, both again interesting and definitely entertaining. We caught a dvd that we'd missed before leaving and having learnt our lesson the day before caught a bus back to the house after a small wait.. In the rain I might add, which still hadn't properly let up.
This was our last night in town so after another good meal we settled down for the night having arranged our train and hostel for our next night in Brisbane, a stop-gap on our way to Byron Bay - the same day train leaving forty minutes before we arrived.. This gave us half a day to investigate the City though so after catching the train around 7 in the morning we pulled in round the early afternoon, our hostel being just over the road. This meant we could dump our bags and head straight out, so we strolled over the bridge to the Southbank, giving us a good view of the City and after a short walk made it into the Botanical Gardens. Starting with a wooden temple it was like a small slice of Asia, beautifully ornate it was built in the early 90's by craftsmen from Nepal. Carrying on down the weaving paths led us around and out to two swimming lagoons and then past various cafes and a small waterpark. It was a nice break from the usual city-scape, breathing space in the usual urban charge - plus cycle lanes along the river providing great access without the threat of the roads. We crossed back over on the Goodwill Bridge and headed up to Queen Street to look around the shops and pick up a bit more food for our journey the next morning. It was a fun way to see Brisbane, and though we might have enjoyed another day maybe it was enough for us and meant we had more time at the beach.. We got up and out to the station early, our train only going so far as Casino before we changed to a bus. It was a beautiful journey, through rolling hills and valleys before curving down towards the bay with a wonderful panorama before us. We arrived and lugged our bags to a hostel fairly near to the beach, dumping them off and heading out to see the town and beach. It still wasn't great weather so we spent more time in the town which was a real mixture of tourist garbage, surf brands and arts and fashion stores. Overall it was overpriced except one charity shop!! Next day we headed to the Main Beach, our hostel provided body-boards free which was great, the sun had returned so we set off into the surf to battle the tide and waves. Only thing we forgot was to put sunscreen on.. Four to five hours later we headed back, hungry, worn out and slightly burnt. It was a great day anyway and was a beautiful night with the setting sun illuminating the array of colours in the bay.
We'd only arranged to stay here for two nights so next day we packed up and left our bags in reception while we headed back to the beach to wait for our bus later in the day. The cloud cover had returned but it was still nice to spend time there, the atmosphere being completely relaxed, families, surfers and hippies all under the spell of the surf, sand and scenery, unwilling to have it broken.

Airlie Fairy

Dragging our luggage to the station we were on board and ready to leave at 9am and thanks to our 'luxury travel pack' from the airplane were able to sit back in comfort on the Sunlander train - a great silver steel giant that has been running for 60 years although it's being retired in 2013.. Trailing for miles the coastline I'd hoped to see was hidden behind hundreds of km of sugar cane. We pulled in to Proserpine that evening and gladly my cousin was there to pick us up as we'd be staying with her family for a bit. We stayed up a while that night, few drinks and catch up on the past 16 years since we'd met and other family life before retiring to a lovely proper bedroom.
Next morning I headed out with her husband for the first time and helped out at a few places near Airlie beach, the view from one being particularly beautiful and a healthy crop of avocados ripe for the picking in the front lawn - so we earnt a few. The next day was Amys birthday so we hammered out a few ideas of what to do that evening.. We headed off to Airlie in the car the next day and had a good trot around the seafront and some shops before heading back toward Proserpine and past the town to the airport - where wallabys could be seen in numbers along the roadside. As for dinner, we were in for a real treat - a fresh box of mud-crabs had been delivered to a family friend so we all set off to their house where we enjoyed a night of drinks and hammering away at the shells to get to the tender flesh - just as good in a sandwich as it was fresh out of the claw. To top it all off a wonderful ice-cream birthday cake came out, so making sure to stand closest to Amy while she cut it (if the knife touches the bottom you kiss the nearest guy!!) then all but those of us on diets tucked in to a 'sl-ice' ha ha..
So, expectedly, a few of us had a headache the next morning so we didn't do a lot that day, maybe a swim in the pool.. Come the weekend all felt back to normal, we headed to Airlie again to catch the small market near the seafront, though we arrived just as people were starting to pack up. Mostly the prices were out of our range anyhow but it was good to see. We moved from there up to Mount Rooper, overlooking the Whitsunday Islands but we could only take this view in once we'd conquered the 2.5km walk up along a trail through light forest. There were some great views on the way but it was hot!! Once we got to the top there was a viewing platform with a great view toward a few of the Isles. We headed down from there taking a different route, down past Shute Harbour and round the main road rather than back down through the forest, maybe a bit longer but worthwhile as we got to see the whole bay rather than be surrounded by trees.

Next day we set to the task of finding somewhere to stay in our next destination of Rockhampton, the cost of staying in hostels is exorbitant so we started to mail people through Couch Surfing, a web site where you can stay at someones house without charge. It's a great site and we'd hosted before in the past so felt our chances of finding somewhere were positive. Alongside this we also started looking to the future and how we were planning to travel New Zealand; ideally we'd be able to work somewhere in return for accommodation and possibly even food.. To do this we signed up for Work Away, which cost us a small fee however compared to the saving from not staying somewhere it'd soon pay off..

After a few days off I went back out in the field and helped out this time with some pretty different tasks, mostly hedge-trimming and collecting the cuttings, hot work in the baking sun. The weather took a turn after this and the rain that had mostly been reserved for the night time decided to stay into the day - two cyclones, one in the North toward Darwin was followed by another off the coast of Western Australia, dragging rain right across us both times.. This put paid to the idea of going cray-fishing which would have needed a still and clear night, fortunately however there was one in the freezer so we had the opportunity to try one out. It was a beautiful looking creature, and the tail was packed with gorgeous and giant sections of flesh. After a few more days and the release date of the new Twilight DVD it came to our time to leave and take our second train journey. No delays this time so we were packed up and ready to leave at roughly the same time we arrived. It had been a great time staying with the relatives, and I can't thank them enough for letting us stay and visit the area, it was nice to get out and see a bit more of the area which was truly beautiful, its vast valleys making a Kentish one look inferior in size!

This time was an overnight journey so once on board and waved off the lights soon dimmed and we'd attempt to sleep til we arrived in Rockhampton very early the next morning.