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Rotorua

Clare — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:27:29 +0000

Thursday, 20th August 09

Hi everyone! We arrived in Hamilton today after spending 4 good days in Rotorua. Once we got used to the smell of rotten eggs (the sulphur released from underground geothermal activity), it was a really nice town. Because we were there midweek it was very quiet, but we still managed to seek out the livlier spots in the town (lava bar being the best) and had a good time. We met up with a few people and had a great singsong one of the nights – it had to be done at some stage
Apart from partying and treating ourselves to nice meals in swanky restaurants (we look after ourselves well!), we also managed to see some of the sights. Went to the Rotorua museum which is well worth a visit…I know, I know…museum…boring, but this one is really good! The building was originally the site of the bath house, where people visited from all over the world to bath in the healing thermal waters in the hope of curing themselves of all kinds of diseases. It also has exhibitions about the volcano in the late 1880s that buried several nearby villages and destroyed the pink and white terraces. Fascinating stuff!

photo credit: Ben Newcomer

After our museum visit, we went to the ‘Mitai’ Maori village for an evening of entertainment and more culture! It was a great night. The host was hilarious, the Maori culture show was very good – Haka, traditional songs and dances, tools and weapons etc, and the buffet dinner was delicious! After the village, we went on a stroll through the forest with our torches to see glowworms and then into Rainbow Springs wildlife park where we saw the famous New Zealand Kiwi birds, aswell as some parrots, lizards and other interesting creatures.

photo credit: Allie_Caulfield

The next day, we headed for the Polynesian spa and treated ourselves to a dip in a private deluxe thermal pool. It was really nice just chilling out, looking out over lake Rotorua.
So, we’re just relaxing in Hamilton. We treated ourselves to a hotel, so it is so nice to have a little luxury and an ensuite bathroom, not to mention a tv in our room! Amazing how you take the little things for granted. I’ve just used the gym – God help me, it’ll take a lot of effort to work off all those meals out, but a good start is half the battle

Franz Josef Glacier

Clare — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:55:46 +0000

Friday, 7th August

Hello again! We had a great last night in Queenstown. After going for some cocktails in the Minus 5 ice bar, we got the skyline gondola/cable car up the side of a mountain with spectacular views over the lovely Queenstown. We gorged on the most beautiful buffet dinner in the restaurant at the top – by far the best meal we’ve had on our travels – and afterwards were treated to a Maori Haka show. It was a fab night all in all.

photo credit: jeaneeem

The next morning we said goodbye to Queenstown (and to the smelly hostel thank God!) and we jumped on a bus up to Franz Josef Glacier. On route, we drove through Mt. Aspiring National Park, stopping for photo shoots at Thunder Creek Falls and Knights Point. We got to see a lot of that beautiful scenery that New Zealand is famous for – snow capped mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and forests. Spectacular!

photo credit: Bournagain

So, we landed in the tiny town of Franz Josef Glacier and checked into the nice, cosy hostel – back to the old reliable YHA’s. Today we did the most fantastic helihike trip up on to Franz Josef Glacier. We were blessed to get up there, as the trip had been cancelled for over a week due to weather conditions. So thank God, the sun was shining when we boarded our helicopter which took us on quite a smooth ride up onto the glacier. Spent 2 hours hiking across the ice, through caves and tunnels. It was amazing! A little scary in parts, especially when one of the guys in our group fell through the ice chest deep! My heart! I thought he was a goner! We made it back to base anyway with no more incidents. It was well worth it – a brilliant trip.

photo credit: AdamSelwood

We’re heading for Nelson tommorrow via the pancake rocks – around a 10 hour trip, but we figured we’d motor on a bit up North. So, until next time, thanks for reading…

Sailing the Whitsundays on the Boat That Rocked

Clare — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:54:49 +0000

Ahoy there! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while but we have been out in the middle of the ocean, far away from civilisation, mobile phone networks and internet connections for the past 2 days. Since we left Cairns on Wednesday night, we’ve had quite an adventure. We hopped on a bus to Townsville on Wednesday night, arriving at the eerie hour of 5AM. Did a bit of hanging around waiting for the day to start and made our way to the hostel where we would be staying. We had to wait for reception to open at 8:30AM, so we plonked ourselves down and surveyed our surroundings, weary from the lack of sleep on the overnight bus. The hostel looked pretty run down, or as Orla put it ‘Ballymun flats before the revamp’ We had a bit of a head to head and couldn’t think of any valid reason for staying, so we hightailed it out of the hostel and out of Townsville! A couple of hours later we were back on a bus to continue our Southward journey to Airlie beach.
Good decision! We arrived in the lovely seaside town of Airlie beach, checked into a lovely hostel and booked a sailing trip to the Whitsunday islands for the following day. All was right in the world of Orla and Clare once more and we had a good sleep that night, dreaming of the pleasures that awaited us aboard our sailing trip the following day. I had visions of us lying on deck sunning ourselves and was looking forward to some proper rest and relaxation. Oh how my expectations differed to the reality!
We boarded the SV Whitehaven on Thursday afternoon and set sail into the unknown, Now, when I say the boat rocked, I mean it rocked to the point where there were times we were at dangerously close angles to the sea. We rocked on out into the ocean, the waves getting rougher all the time. It wasn’t long before a wave crashed over the side of the boat, drenching us from head to toe. I was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea. Anyway, we made it out to the islands, a little green but glad to be in calm waters again. We docked up close to one of the islands and the group went snorkelling. I opted for some ‘paddy snorkelling’, which involved sticking what looked like an orange traffic cone into the sea from the safety and comfort of the dinghy.

photo credit: Rob & Jules

From here on in, the trip was really enjoyable. We spent some time chilling out on the beuatiful Whitehaven beach (one of the top 10 beaches in the world apparently), did more snorkelling, had some lovely meals and watched the sun set before docking for the night underneath the stars. The crew were good craic and we hooked up with 2 nice Scottish girls who we had a few drinks and a laugh with in the evenings. Overall it turned out to be a great trip and a good adventure. So, we’re back at the hostel now after a pretty rough journey back to the mainland. Let’s just say I’m glad to be alive and on dry land again

photo credit: Stephanie Costa

Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef

Clare — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:20:28 +0000

Sunday, 5th July 2009

Wow, what a day! We were awake early and went for a nice relaxing stroll along 4 mile beach in Port Douglas. Shortly afterwards, our tour bus picked us up and brought us to the port, where we boarded a cruiser bound for the low isles and the great barrier reef.

photo credit: cellanr

It was a brill trip from start to finish. We did some snorkelling on the reef where we spotted some huge turtles and all kinds of fish. I tried my best, but let’s just say Orla was a lot braver than me in close proximity to the marine life! She has now banned the word ’scared’ from my vocabulary All the same, I really enjoyed it. Went for a guided walk around the island then where we were introduced to all kinds of wonderful creatues, including a bright blue starfish and a tiny little nemo fish. We had lunch on the boat which was fantastic and were entertained by one of the crew members on the return journey who sang a few tunes (including an irish one that I vaguely know!) accompanied by guitar. Waltzing Matilda got everyone joining in at the end! Oh, there was also a celebrity on our tour – the International Aussie and Fulham soccer goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer! Anyone? No, it was lost on me too, but there were a few excited crew members getting autographs!
So next stop, back down to Cairns in the morning where we will probably stay the night before heading further South towards Townsville and Magnetic Island. See you soon!