Bravehearts
to
Well,
in the end,
only two of us made the journey, at our own expense.
We’ve
done it! And
it was the
adventure of a lifetime!
Despite
inclement
weather and a flu bug, we cycled a total of 330kms and (although some
of the cash has still to be collected), we raised sponsorship for British Heart Foundation, of
approximately
£3000.
Thank
you all so much
for your fantastic support.
Mike
&
PS.
We took lots of
piccies, so many if fact, that I’ve put them into different
albums for you to look at.
Here is the link; click
here &here
We
can still accept your donations – click
here
DIARY
Leanne had sadly just lost her father to a heart attack, and she casually asked Mike one day, if he fancied doing something for the British Heart Foundation charity.
Mike typically immediately responded "Absolutely... and I'll tell you what; I quite like cycling, and I've never been to New Zealand... Let's do that"
Leanne had not anticipated such an audacious reply, and she guffawed "you can't do that!"
Of course, telling Mike that he can't do something, was a bit like waving a red flag in front of his face...
"Who says I can't? Of course we can!! ...Let's Do It!"
PPS. Leanne wrote the first part of this and then Mike filled in some gaps (we had both made our own journal notes throughout... see if you can guess who wrote which parts ;-))
Arrived
in
8am
From
the
airport we took the shuttle to the Hostel “Metropolitan
YMCA”. Everyone was really friendly right from the start and
we
had a fab room with a view over the Swimming Pool (bearing in mind this
was just a YMCA you get the idea of the standard of everything!). As
soon as we got into the room we had to lie down for a couple of hours.
We were very tired due to the overnight flight. 13
hour flight,
A
couple of
hours later we arose to begin our investigation of
The
humidity in
We
discovered
that English is their first language, and the plug sockets are same as
ours. They
drive on the same side of the road, and even at 8am, the road cleaners
at hard at work. The
locals think nothing of working a seven day week and putting in 13-17
hours every day, just to maintain a reasonable standard of living.
We
did the
Tourist thing a little later on that first day and got a
“Trishaw”. This was the only time we were ripped
off in
That
night we
went down to the bustling (and v. touristy) “Clark
Quay”
and had some fabulous Thai cuisine.
28th October
We
decided to
go to the
We
took the
monorail ride around the
We
crossed a
rope bridge to a tiny wee island with great viewpoints. This
put us on
“the Southern most point in
At
night time
we watched an amazing lazer and
fountain show and just managed to jump on the last Gondola back to the
city. Rogue
taxi driver turned the meter off and charged us $20 (about £8
– it would certainly have cost more back home). The
government own
all of the taxis, and he would have been in HUGE trouble. Realistically,
it would probably have cost around $6.
29th October
We
visited
“
That
evening
we had dinner at “Boat Quay” after having had a
tremendous
day once again.
The
following
day, 30th October,
we were very
good and went to the gym at the YMCA in the morning followed by a nice
relaxing sit by the pool!!! We
had it all to
ourselves – lovely temperature.
The
weather
turned and we headed towards a café at Clark Quay. The
owner,
named Emily informed us we should visit less tourist – laden
31st October
2003
Sounded
like
an adventure, so we took our bags to the airport, checked in for flight
to NZ. Put change of clothes and some hand-luggage in safe storage, and
taxi to the tiny port.
Had
a taste of
the “real”
Our
first
vision … a couple of cafes, and that same rank smelling
fruit
and bicycle hire. Hmmm…. interesting!
We
hired a
couple of bikes and headed off. Only
one road on
this 3km by 6km island, and lots of off-road areas that looked highly
dangerous. We DID get extremely close to nature – probably
too
close when Mike spotted the largest Lizard in the world which,
apparently if so inclined would kill and eat man! It
was
about the size of a crocodile, and obviously not too sure whether to
attack or not, then Mike skidded the brakes, and it shot off into the
water.
This
island is
riddled with crocodiles and other dangerous animals. Mike
did see a
Kimono Dragon – about the size of a man, although by the time
we
got the camera out, it had gone!
***Stop
Press*** - it’s called a Komodo Dragon –
see this page for details
We
also saw a
wild Dingo dog although we hadn’t realised it was wild at the
time. Dingos in
On
our way
back to the port we met an old lady who looked as if she had never been
off the island. Long toenails and no teeth…. No way could
she
ever wear shoes! You get the picture! She
was very curious
of us.
We
travelled
straight back to the airport to catch our flight that evening. We had
previously left our luggage and checked in earlier on that day, so paid
$8 each for a shower at the airport.
Arrived
in New
Zealand Midday after another great 10 hour flight on Singapore Airlines. We
took an easy shuttle
ride to the centre of
When
we
arrived, the room wasn’t quite ready so we went outside to
the
sun terrace. It was a beautiful day so falling asleep in the sunshine
wasn’t too much of a hassle.
That
afternoon
we went to bed as we were again very tired from the long flight. We
figured the sun would be out for the duration of our time in NZ so
missing a little wouldn’t hurt…. little did we
know what
was to come!
The
following
day we took a walk around
On
first
impressions we weren’t too impressed with
3rd November
We
picked up
the bikes, and within 15 mins of cycling on an alien bicycle,
Successfully
cycled back to the hostel and filled the pannier bags with all the
necessities. We also had to pack our tent (which would prove invaluable
later on). Also
shopped around for a good price on campervans, and reserved one for
next week. We
hadn’t appreciated that it was the start of tourist season,
and
suddenly campervans were like gold-dust, so we were exceptionally
pleased with our find (half the price of the competition (was that too
good to be true?)
That
afternoon
The
next
morning Leanne jumped on the free shuttle bus to the train station.
There wasn’t enough room for both of us on the bus so Mike
had to
follow in a taxi. Mike was in a bit of a panic as to whether he would
make it on time but there was no problem. It was a freezing cold
morning and there we were in our cycling shorts standing on the
platform!
On
the train
we met a very pleasant couple on the train who were now living in the
Turns
out they
are very much into property investment and informed us of the land and
property situation in
On
the train
we went through “Arthur’s Pass” and some
beautiful
scenery. We had our first real taste of
Eventually
we
arrived one hour late into Greymouth.
The train tracks were “too
hot” so the train had to slow down in case it de-railed. We
found
this quite humorous! And
only one train per day!
From Greymouth we
were straight on the
bikes and started cycling up the coastal route of the west.
Beautiful
is
an understated word to describe the magnificence of the scenery we
passed whilst cycling. Never before had we seen such clear seas which
were of a “turquoise” colour rather than the
blue-grey
colour of the
Finally
we saw
some life. We stopped for lunch at the “Rata
Café”
which was situated on a hillside just 100 yards away from the main
road. (we hadn’t
even passed a petrol station, or corner shop, or person for the last
two hours). This place was beautiful, very fresh and newly built, quite
different from some of the shacks that we’d passed en-route.
Originally, we were the only customers, which seemed a real shame, then
the guys we’d passed earlier digging up roads, came in for a
beer
or three… obviously regulars! They
even left their
boots outside the door.
The
cafe was
opposite the first Ostrich farm that we had come across. We found out
later on that “Rata” is a particular kind of
flowering tree
found only in NZ.
After
lunch we
carried on cycling towards “Punakaiki”.
Leanne by this point was not feeling good, and she needed a little
“push” up the bigger inclines from Mike! The road
was
getting much harder for cycling as the hills started to get longer and
steeper.
At
6.20pm we
arrived at Punakaiki “Pankake”
rocks and the BlowHoles –
a popular tourist
sight on the west coast.
Eventually
(43kms) we found the campsite and set up our tent for the first time.
Our first night camping was in pretty extreme weather. It was freezing
cold and rained most of the night – to the point where we
were
fighting for the one-person mat underneath us to prevent us from
getting cold from the ground underneath the tent! Ending
up sleeping nose to tail.
The
next day
we treated ourselves to a great full breakfast to prepare ourselves for
our onward journey. There was only one pub nearby (on campsite
entrance), so the bar staff were delighted to chat to us nutters that
were preparing to
cycle UPHILL (North) in the rain.
With
a bit of
persuasion, Leanne realised we couldn’t just stay there for a
few
days. We eventually left at 11am and within a couple of hours had
reached “
“
Just
about 10
minutes outside of
After
the
Goldmine we cycled on to the next town named “
Of
course,
what goes up must come down, so we really enjoyed freewheeling downhill
and looking at the marvellous scenery. Our speedo hit
44kph at one
stage… bit dangerous when your panniers are fully loaded.
We
didn’t encounter too much traffic, but discovered that the
main
“A” roads were the only routes available, there
were no
cycle lanes, off-road tracks or even pavements alongside. Mostly
we managed
fine, but some of those double-trucks (one truck pulling a trailer same
size as itself, without the engine, obviously even bigger capacity),
they were quite unforgiving, especially if there was traffic coming the
other way. The
vicious slipstream created by these lorries meant
we had to hold onto our handlebars for dear life.
Mike was deliberately cycling behind Leanne. a) to let her set the pace as she wasn’t well, otherwise he would’ve been too far ahead, and that can be quite depressing for the second rider b) to position his bike one foot further out towards the middle of the road, to ensure the vehicles had to take a wider berth and thus protect Leanne, as the less experienced cyclist.
Prior
to
visiting
On
our journey
we passed lots of Deer farms. Never before had I seen deer so enormous.
Apparently it’s not a good idea to get into a field with a
stag
so it was a good job we didn’t decide to pitch our tent in
one of
them!
Eventually
we
arrived at
Not
for the
first time, we had to remind ourselves WHY we were doing this adventure. Yes
it was an
experience of a lifetime, but truly we wanted to make a difference,
raising money for British Heart Foundation to
help those may never be
able to enjoy the luxury of cycling... that’s why
we’re
here doing this!
Leanne
mostly
wished her dad was there to see the scenery, he would have loved it.
We
did want to
find a campsite but we couldn’t find it, our map was not
detailed
enough. As it happens we later discovered, we were only one street
away, but we continued on for another LONG mile before turning back.
Now
getting
dark, we were tired and cold, and not so cheery, so we stopped off at a
motel to check out prices. The owner realising he wasn’t
likely
to get any more business that eve, must have felt sorry for us as he
gave us an $80 room for $50 with TV, two enormous bedrooms, kitchen and
hot shower! Just what we were dreaming of!! It made us feel like we
were getting ripped off at Stonehurst (the
hostel in
It
was 5th November,
firework
night. We
wanted to sleep, but needed sustenance, and reckoned the fireworks
would be going off every few mins so would keep us awake anyway. We
went out
immediately for some food, but food at 9.15pm was like finding
gold-dust! Only
a couple of chip shops, and then finally we found it, our saving grace
– a quiet pub called “Baileys”. Leanne
went to the
bar and surprise, surprise, immediately caught the attention of the
local “sheep-farmers”. They
discovered a
tired and hungry woman who wasn’t much in the mood to play. (best stick
to sheep, they don’t growl so loud)
The
following
day, Leanne was still quite poorly, we decided not to cycle all the way
to Nelson (another 132kms) and instead went into town looking for
alternative things to do and other accommodation.
The
kindly
owner, Paul, took Leanne into his own home and offered to put us up
there FREE for the next night if she didn’t feel up to
cycling. Leanne,
being
Leanne, wouldn’t take the “charitable”
offer –
ironically, if he’d offered us the room at say $20, we
would’ve taken it!
We
later
discovered that
We
went to
Tourist Information at
Eventually
we
found the local campsite which was to be our accommodation for the
night. We went to the supermarket for something for dinner and then
chatted to a very seasoned cyclist (from
The
following
morning we were picked up by “Buller Adventure
Tours” to
go Jet-Boating. It had already begun to rain but we figured we might as
well get a little more wet!
Jet
boating
was great fun. It was also extremely funny being taken to the river
being pulled by tractor whilst we sat in the boat! At
only
$65 each, this seemed much better value than the rides in Queenstown
advertised at $145 each.
Jet
boating in
Queenstown is much more dangerous, as the gorges are much narrower. The
rock faces are extremely steep and sharp and continue quite far down
below the surface. It
is the tourist attraction town of the
The
river we
were on (the buller river),
although much wider, could rise or fall more than two feet in a day. The
drivers therefore need to be quite experienced as they deliberately get
very close to the edge, to provide the biggest thrills. Our
driver obviously
loved his job, and gave us some thrills with whirlpools and he put in a
few 360s.
Very
cold and
wet, we were dropped off at “Baileys” pub, where we
had
some lunch and a drink. We stayed there for quite a while as the rain poured down
outside, and I mean
“chucking” it down! We
eventually braved the elements and ran along the main street where we
found some interesting wee shops to waste some time (stay dry). Found a
bicycle shop which doubled as an internet cafe, so naturally we took
the opportunity to check our emails.
Choosing
not
continue North to Nelson, we decided we had to get back to
If
we’d
started the journey cycling towards Nelson, we would have had no choice
but to make it all the way as the only bus pick-up points were either
where we were in
So
next day we
headed back to
Mini
bus left
from
Scenery
again
on the journey was beautiful. Once in
We
cycled 34
km to a Campsite, where after pitching the tent, we reluctantly decided
to “upgrade” to a cabin rather than stay in a cold
tent
once again. When the sun went down it really was quite nippy (nobody
else was camping) and
The
cabins are
very basic. Ours had a bunk bed on one wall and a double bed with
single bunk above. One
very old fan heater that was ready to explode and whined noisily as if
complaining that the fan was rattling against the plastic grid. We
decided to leave that alone. Still, at least we could get the bikes in
safely. There
were basic blankets, but we decided to sleep in our own sleeping bags.
Leanne
went to
bed around 7pm, whilst Mike went off again that evening to cycle the
mountain bike trails around the campsite. In a couple of hours before
it got too dark, he managed 8km and came back enthusing about how great
the tracks were. These were the 1st off-road
tracks we’d
found.
Leanne figured she would give it a go in the morning! Mike went to watch the Scotland V Australia and New Zealand V South Africa rugby games before falling into bed at 1am!
The
following
morning we had breakfast before heading back towards
That
evening
we relaxed for a while in our expensive room, which we reckon, was prob
the best room in the hostel! prior to
going for Pizza at “Dux de Lux”
which was the most amazing Pizza ever.
The
following
morning we took all of our belongings and picked up our campervan at
around 11am. This was to be our home for the next five days before
returning to
We
returned to Stonehurst and
cancelled our Friday
evening reservation. Our
flight on Sat was 3pm and we had the camper until Sat, so we may as
well save money and sleep in the camper on the Friday eve (because
we’d shopped around and negotiated a “half normal
price” deal with zero mileage costs, it worked out cheaper to
sleep in the van than the hostel).
Leanne
hadn’t taken her driving licence, so Mike was gonna have to
do
ALL of the driving, ALL of the days. We
started
heading South, down the Eastcoast towards
This
was Monday
10th November.
Mike found 5th gear
on the van after
300kms!!! That
was exciting. Mike’s
old 1963 campervan at home has column-shift gears too, but not 5th gear,
in fact granddad was
so proud of the fact that his was one of the 1st to
have a four-speed box.
We
had
wondered why it seemed to be consuming soooo much
fuel!
We
stopped off
in a town for lunch. We
didn’t know at the time that it was a “penguin
sanctuary”, regularly populated with two different types of
penguins and also sea lions, that aren’t afraid to approach
people, so there were signs warning not to venture too close.
We
had a great
lunch and met a woman who showed us around the back of her shop to see
baby penguins hiding behind some corrugated iron sheets, waiting on mum
returning that eve to feed them. Apparently
about
half an hour after dusk, the wild penguins literally wander up the main
street, sometimes getting quite lost. We’d have loved to have
stayed for another 4 hours or so to see this, but we had to get on.
So
we
continued on to the Mouraki boulders. These
boulders are
formed naturally over time by the sea eroding the sand. I’ve
got some
good piccies – take a look.
Finally
we
arrived in
Sam
also
showed us his gold-trenching photos. He
has been trained
how to pan for gold, and realised that the gold-diggers in the olden
days were limited to panning only up to their knees in the streams.
Most people now seem to have considered that the gold-miners must have
found all the gold there was to find, and have stopped looking. Sam
has got himself
some new equipment including scuba gear, how intriguing. He’sgonna
be a rich man very soon.
They
fed us
well and took us to see the “little Blue Penguins”
coming
home from the sea on the beach at
Sam
then drove
us to see the steepest road in the world and couldn’t get the
car
up in first gear!!! Scarily
we rolled back down backwards and then took another run at it, getting
into second gear before having to drop to first, and finally we made it. Guess
what, there
are houses all the way up on both sides of the street and a dead end
(more houses) at the top, so we had to turn and drive back down
–
how scary.
What
a great
night. On Sam’s recommendation, we camped on a quiet road
with a
view over the sea. We enjoyed the most fantastic view in the morning! Almost
deserted beach, with the occasional jogger and three brave surfers.
Tuesday
11th November
We
headed
south west passing through Timaru and
Alexandra and up towards Wanaka where
it had been recommended we visit. Passing some bizarre massive stones
in little clumps in the middle of nowhere, like lots of individual
Extremely
pleased we made the effort to visit Wanaka as
it was a lovely little town right beside the most amazing lake. There
were loads of cosmopolitan café bars
and shops.
We
headed
further towards Millford Sound
via Queenstown through the “shortcut” road. This
road was
closed to rental vehicles until three years ago. We found out why as we
travelled further down the road! The
road was
incredibly steep and twisting (we were on our way down) through the
amazing mountains, passing ski slopes. The campervan brakes were
smelling strongly
of burnt rubber before we reached the bottom of “Devils
Elbow”. That evening we had dinner at Frankton by a
beautifully
crystal clear turquoise-coloured lake.
Realising
we
still have a long drive ahead if we were going to make Millford Sound,
we headed on into
the dark… very dark, in fact never before have I seen roads
so
dark that I couldn’t tell where the sky was, or even
distinguish
a mountain or fence alongside us – very eerie.
Running
short
of fuel, we parked in a layby 10
mins past Te-Anu,
enroute to Millford Sound.
That was an
extremely good choice as we found out the next day, as the roads were
incredibly hazardous even in the daylight!
Wednesday
12th November
We
needed to
get fuel, but rather than turning and driving back 10mins, the next
“town” on map was approx 15mins away – in
the right
direction. So we travelled on towards Millford to
the next “town” on the map (some town, turned out
to be one
backpackers hostel called Grumpy’s,
and a beautiful lake running
some pleasure cruises).
We
parked by
the lake and Leanne had a shower in the camper – there was
only
ever enough water capacity for one of us to shower. Mike
went for a
wander and waited on a car to stop so that he could ask if there were
any fuel stations further on. We
were now at
critical stage, maybe enough fuel for another half hour driving max.
It
was 25mins
drive BACK the way we’d come, or 1.5 hrs on to Millford Sound. Grumpys had
the answer, back to Te-Anu!
Frustrated
at
having to waste an hour driving back to get fuel, just to get back to
where we started, Mike nearly decided not to bother going on to Millford Sound,
but instead to
return to Queenstown as we had to go back through there anyway. However
it was still
only 8.15am at this point (we’d started early), andMillford came
highly recommended, so on we went.
This
was quite
a journey. Extremely mountainous once more and there were waterfalls
like we never imagined. They seemed to be everywhere we looked.
Nothing
could
have prepared us for THE TUNNEL!!!
Nobody
had
mentioned this most fearful experience. Perhaps
if they did,
less people would visit. Nowhere
was it printed, not even as a warning before entering the tunnel.
The
tunnel is
totally unlit. It
is extremely narrow, but of course, having no lights at the side of
you, means you can’t really see just how narrow it is.
It’s
rounded so all larger vehicles would have to sit more towards the
middle of the road (we were in a camper, so fairly large –
but
what if something was coming the other way? Would
there be space
to pass?)
Leanne
was
never so pleased that she wasn’t doing the driving,
especially on
this section.
Fortunately,
or unfortunately, we had a bus followed by a car in front of us, so we
couldn’t see too much ahead. Suddenly,
we were
heading DOWN at quite a steep angle! What
speed were we
doing anyway? Whatever it was, it seemed too fast.
And
then the
bus in front STOPPED! Oh
my god, nowhere to go! STAND
on the brakes, hoping we didn’t skid (it was not only dark,
but
VERY wet, presumably from the melting snow – remember we had
seen
LOTS of waterfalls) – was the car behind going to stop in
time? What
happens if two
buses meet in the middle? How
long is this tunnel anyway? Will
it never end?
As
it happens,
the bus stopped because there WAS something coming the other way. Thank
god the bus
was there in front of us… I can’t believe they let
buses
take this journey. There
was a couple of “passing areas” inside the tunnel,
still
unlit. Very
necessary it appears. We
later reckoned that Millford Sound
probably have at least 30 BIG buses visiting per day, every day of the
year.
We
took a
ferry ride around Millford Sound. Well,
we had made it
this far, no point in just turning around and heading back (approx 5.5
hours to Queenstown). The
car park was colourfully lit up with around 20 HUGE Honda Goldwings with
all of the toys (CB,
stereo, lights, air-conditioning, radar detectors etc), one with a
trailer and one trike.
The
boat ride
took us out to the sea, passing some sheer rock faces that move quite
considerably during the year. They’d had 28 earthquakes in
the
last 6 weeks, some quite serious. The
pilot of the
boat was very good at keeping us entertained throughout, and he found
some wild seals and penguins basking on the rocks. He
managed to take
the boat very close to let
us all get some great piccies.
Turns
out the
only true “Sound” is Marlborough Sound. A sound is
where
the water comes back in from the sea to create an extremely picturesque
experience. A
Fiord is where the glacier melts and runs out to sea, breaking up the
land in its wake. All of the other “Sounds” in the
On
the way
back from Millford,
at the top of the tunnel, we stopped
for a picture in the snow. Yes, I had forgotten to mention the snow!!
Just before getting back into the van Mike noticed a huge parrot-like
bird landing on top of the van. This was a “Kea”, a
native
wild bird of
Leanne
ran to
get into the van whilst Mike took pictures. Within
seconds and
as if from nowhere, there was more than one Kea sitting on the roof
– in fact there were six!! These birds had no fear and
reminded
Leanne of the Alfred Hitchcock classic “The Birds”. We
travelled back to Te Anau.
It
was raining
again. Te Anua,
lovely as it is, “enjoys”
around 5 metres of rain per annum. I
guess that’s
why it’s so picturesque (but I wouldn’t wanna live
there). Mike
had read about
the glow-worm caves, and much to Leanne’s frustration, he
booked
the exploration for that eve (“but it’s raining,
and cold,
and it’ll be dark soon” – yup, but they
only run the
explorations in the evenings for some reason)
35
minute boat
ride to the other side where the caves are. Basically
the
waterfalls have found their own way underground and in 1948 an explorer
found the caves and also a rare flightless bird, of which there are now
around 300 in the world (protected species & kept in remote
areas). The
visit was
fantastic and well worth it. We
weren’t
allowed to take piccies, but Mike took a couple without the flash so
that we didn’t disturb the glow-worms and the environment.
Again,
it
seemed that the locals were setting themselves up without really
thinking of the danger. We
were in PITCH DARK, approx 16 tourists per shallow boat, with hardly
any sides, in what could have been very enclosed environment (we
couldn’t tell as it was so dark), the boat (shall we call it
a
punt) was propelled by a guide who stood up front and pulled us along
by a rope fixed above his head. I
very much doubt he
could have consoled a panicking claustrophobic tourist.
The
environment was deliberately kept very quiet and moist. So quiet in
fact, we couldn’t tell if everyone had gotten off the punt,
or
indeed if they were still alive… it really was that
terrifying.
And so moist that there were frequent drips on your head, or were they
spiders? Oh,
scary.
In
all, a
great experience and highly recommended.
We
stopped for
a drink when we got back onshore. The
pub was hosting
one of their regular karaokes. Mike
decided that we
should just park alongside the river in TeAnua,
but we’d just stopped in a quiet wee carpark, when 3 kids came screaming in
to practice their
handbrake turns. Nope,
this was no good. Just at that, another van pulled up and the driver
flashed some important identity card at us, and warned that we cannot
camp anywhere in the town except at the designated campsite.
Mike
being a
true Scotsman decided we weren’t gonna pay $20 just to sleep.
It’s not as though we were gonna use any of their facilities,
except perhaps the showers (we’ve been stopping at campsites
to
use the facilities then driving on. We
discovered
they’re always open and free). So
we tried to find a layby nearby,
but kept on driving
for probably another hour, before Mike spotted the 1st available
space, which
turned out to be perfect.
Thurs
13th Nov
Onto
Queenstown to explore – wow, so glad we did. Spent
virtually all day here. For
most of the day,
the weather was lovely, but boy can it change quickly. We
took the Gondola
to see over the town – that was fantastic! Mike
decided to take
the “daredevil’s Luge run”
(there were two options, of course he
opted for the FASTEST route).
On
the way
out, we passed “the bottle house”, a house with
colourful
bottles plastered on the outside, and also the site of the original
bungee jump bridge.
Dinner
by the
lake at Frankton again, and then onwards towards
Friday
14th November,
Mike’s
mum’s 65th birthday
Only
1 vehicle
passed before 8am.
Travelling
further onwards, only 5 mins later we stopped at Twizel for
fuel. This was a lovely
small town. We then had a fabulous drive to
A
huge harrier
almost dared us to run him over as he sat in the middle
of the road to eat a
recently killed possum. Wish we’d got a piccie of that.
Apparently
possum was introduced around 100 years ago so that they would breed and
give the hunters some fun. Nowadays
they are
considered a real pest with around 100 million of them in
Gorse-like
weed is another major challenge. Introduced by the Brits, it is
threatening to kill all of the natural shrubbery, so there are frequent
gorse burnings etc.
Had
to keep
stopping at the side of the road to take piccies as the scenery was
just so fantastic and the colour of the water was unbelievable.
Heading
back to
We
packed our
bags by the town’s not-so-picturesque Gondola, and went to
the
most bizarre “alternative” bar for pizza.
The
next
morning we took our last journey to the city centre to try and get a
couple of souvenirs. It
was Saturday, so the street market stalls were selling all kinds of
home made crafts, sunglasses and of course “Lord of the
Rings” rings. The
sun was glorious, not a cloud in the sky, but within 10 mins, before we
returned the van back to “Ascot Rentals” and headed
for the
airport, it was pissing down again – bizarre!
Billy
Connolly
says about
BACK
IN
After
another
long flight we arrived back into
We
had a look
round some shops and both had our hair cut. This
was
quite a new experience for Mike (normally cuts his own). After waiting
20mins for Leanne (we’d done enough walking in flipflops,
sore feet), he noticed another guy coming out.. “aha,
so they also do guys”. Asking if it was possible to be seen
immediately, the receptionist led him to a seat beside Leanne. Two
cups of tea and
biscuits later, hair washed for no apparent reason, the haircut took
less than 10 mins, but the total experience was nearly 2 hours
–
“no wonder I cut my own hair”
We
then went
to a restaurant called “Fish & Co” where we
had the
most amazing meal. (we had
to sit outside –
bizarre to think at 9pm, we’d rather have gone inside
– to
enjoy the air-conditioning!)
On
our final
day we left our bags in storage and went to The Jurong Bird
Park which was really interesting. There were so many different types
of birds including the tiny humming birds. It’s heart
beats 1260 times per
minute. That’s 210 times per second… how do they
know that? Who
counts?
Due
to all of
the trees both of us were eaten alive by the bugs! Arriving
home with
huge mozzie bites.
We
went back
to the hostel for some dinner and a shower prior to jumping into a taxi
to head for the airport.
This
time we
were in row 64 out of 66. The
leg room seems to get less and less for the plebs at the back. Fortunately
we’re both short-arses and don’t need too much leg
room.
Also we were travelling overnight, so most people wanted to sleep
including us.
Can
you
believe they woke everyone to give us breakfast – at 2.30am
10
mins before
arrival at Heathrow the Head Stewardess came to advise us that we had
to be moved to the front to get off early as we had an urgent further
flight to catch to
We
didn’t get much help getting through the terminals, so after
a
brief jog-walk, we arrived in plenty time (20mins spare).
Of
course when
we got to
Quite
an
adventure!!!!
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