Day 151 to 155 - Straying around NZ

My adventure kicked of with a bang. Which was lucky since anything less wouldn't have overcome how tired I was (5am starts are not my friend). Our driver/guide is called 'Lucky' and she's fabulous. She kept us entertained and awake all morning and then kept us going until the evening with the promise of a free BBQ! - and it wasn't a typical free BBQ where you can have one burger, one sausage, and some salad. There was a ridiclous amount of all types of meat, a range of amazing sides to go with it, and bananas with chocolate for dessert (which I didn't get because I gave up chocolate for lent... bad move).

Our first big stop was Hahei where we took an hour walk to Cathedral Cove. It's the beach used in Prince Caspian and it is very pretty :-) . We even found a little cave to have a peek in, but we got out not long after when the tide threatened to trap us. Then later we took another trip out to Hot Water Beach, which surprise surprise is a beach with hot water :O . Sarcasm aside it is very impressive. There are too hot springs that are pushing up under the beach and at low tide they're exposed so you can go down with a shovel, dig your self a large hole, and bath in the very hot water. Or... you can go a little later and steal the holes other people have already dug :-) .

Day two of my straying and we were up bright and early (normal person early this time) travelling from the East coast to Raglan, on the West coast. The town is very much a surfers town and the place we're staying is right up into the bush. It's hidden away from civilisation and another perfect spot to just chill out and surf. From there we headed to Waitomo with its amazing caves and glow worms - which are technically "maggots with shiny shit", but they're prettier if you think of them as glow worms. I did the tubing adventure through the caves and discovered i'm not as terrified of tight spaces as I thought :-) . Though army crawling over rocks isn't as easy as it seems. When all that was over and we were well and truely exhausted we headed to Maketu to stay in a Maori meeting house. Whilst there we choose a chief and waited for him to accept our invitation into the tribe while a small boy yelled and thrust a spear at him, learnt the Haka and poi, slept on the floor in the meeting room, and woke up to Abba playing through the building :-\ ... yeah, that part just didn't quite fit. The next day was possibly the worst day so far... including the day I had my wisdom teeth out. We stopped off in Rotorua for the afternoon, a place famous for its geothermal activity, and it was disgusting. The smells that wafted around made me feel sick a couple of times. The town itself is lovely and quaint, and there are loads of activities available, but the smell... it's just indescribable. Oh and guess what, on my way back to Auckland I will be staying overnight in Rotorua. Yay. Look forward to that update. Lake Taupo was the final destination for this day and it is pretty impressive. Hard to believe it's a lake when you can't see the other side. Then from here we drove straight to Tongariro national park, which is where I am now, and it is snowing. Yes people, it's snowing. I am currently relaxing in a gorgeous lodge by the fire, with all my amazing new friends, looking forward to our group meal tonight and some classic card games :-) . I feel very much at home right now and it's a fabulous feeling :-) .

Day 145 to 150! - Waiheke + Hobbiton

The "Emergency wisdom teeth extraction" chapter of my life is officially over. Wahey! The dentist removed the stitches this morning and said everything is perfect. Which is perfect for me since tomorrow I begin my next adventure straying around NZ. I can't wait!

Having said that, as eager as I am to start exploring again I have been having an awesome time with my family and I'm not that eager to leave. Ah, such is life.

I have managed to do a bit more exploring while I have been here though. A short ferry ride from Auckland central is Waiheke Island,...

...a gorgeous slice of paradise. I only spent a day there so I didn't explore the numerous walks and other beaches on offer but I did get a chance to look through all the cute little boutique shops, stop for lunch with an amazing view, and just chill out in the sun. It's an amazing place to go and let life slow down.

Restaurant view over Oneroa beach.

Then to top that, and to please my inner geek, we went to Hobbiton. Ahhhhh! :) It was AMAZING. After the latest run of filming, for The Hobbit, the set has been left exactly as it was for the film (minus the hobbits) so you can see all the intricate little details that make up the fantasy. I got to walk along the path that Gandalf rides in on, see the Green Dragon pub and the Mill, play under the party tree, climb the steps to Bag End, and stand outside Sam's house where the trilogy finishes. We also learnt pretty funky facts about how they made the films, and saw the 5 new Hobbit holes that were built for the new movies and then never used :) .

I have to say though, any non-Lord of the Rings fans should probably miss out this part of NZ. (You'd be surprised how many people take the tour having no knowledge of the movies or the books) In my opinion, it was a superb day! :)

Day 141 to 144 - Shooting and teeth pulling :S

What an interesting couple of days...

My Uncle took me and my cousin to a shooting range for a play about and we had an amazing time. Turns out I'm still quite a natural with a shot gun :) hehe - blonde essex girl with a gun, what a great idea :). I also had a go with the semi-automatic machine gun, couple of pistols, rifles etc. It was an epic day!!

Then to keep the excitement going a few days later I had to have two of my wisdom teeth taken out. I had said no to the sedative until the dentist informed me she would be cutting away bone and gum before pulling the tooth. So half an hour before leaving the house I took my sedative pills. When it came time to leave my Uncle had to support me to the car. At the dentists all went smoothly - apart from the anesthetic wearing off and having to be re-administered twice. My memory of leaving and getting home is then very hazy. I do know, from other peoples accounts, that it was amusing to watch me attempt to drink from a bottle since I couldn't feel my mouth and subsequently dribbled it down me. Attractive I'll bet! On the plus side - this all occurred yesterday and today I am totally fine (in fact I was fine about 5 hours after having it done). Today I have been out in Auckland, to the cinema and stuffing my face with McDonald's (shhhh don't tell the dentist).

Day 136 to 140 - Adventures with Emily

For those who don't know... Emily is a fellow OzIntro traveller and temporary Sydney dweller who has also skipped over to NZ :-) . We decided to meet each other while we're both here and planned a trip up to the beautiful Bay of Islands.

Upon meeting in Auckland we went to the Sky Tower where, in the basement, we took photos with the LOTR models :-) and, at the top looking down, decided we were NOT jumping off of it like many other crazy tourists have. 

In the evening we had a very unique experience at the Ice House - well unique if you haven't been to an ice bar in any other city which I have'nt. It was cold! I know most of you reading just went "well duh", but I didn't really think about it beforehand and assumed the coats they give out would be enough - they are if you're not wearing a short skirt :-/ oops. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time drinking cocktails that taste like Ribena, drinking shots out of the moose head, and kissing the frozen kiwi.

The following day, after 4 hours of sleep, we headed off to Paihia where we checked in and jumped straight on a boat to see the 'Hole in the Rock' and some dolphins. The weather was perfect, bright sunshine, and that was thanks to the captains careful navigation that involved keeping the black cloud behind us :-) . Sadly our second day here there was no avoiding the rain. It was still "sweet as" exploring the area, visiting the church that still has bullet holes in it, and having lunch in the oldest pub in NZ, and then we partied until our feet could party no more :-) .

Day 127 to 135 - Australia to NEW ZEALAND

aaaaand I'm off again...

I have left Sydney and hopped over to NZ for a bit. My last week in Sydney was spent just hanging out with friends, exploring old pubs in the rocks, drinking english cider :-) , and sneaking past security guards into the casino - hehe. My arrival into NZ wasn't short on excitment as well as I was greeted by my Aunt and Uncle with an embarrassingly large "Welcome" balloon at the arrivals gate. I'm staying with them for a while before I travel around the whole of NZ and so far it has been awesome - or "sweet as" as they say over here.

In my first week I explored Orewa (a nearby beach town), went on a 'surfari' (we drove to 3 beaches on the west and east coast looking for good surf), had a guided tour of Auckland, and had an awesome night out in Auckland finished off by a fabulous midnight view of the city.

In addition, I have just been hanging out with my family who are all awesome!! 

Day 116 to 126 - AUSTRALIA DAY! + Zoe!

Australians really celebrate their national day well... with lots and lots and alcohol! This was great for me in more than one way. Firstly, I spent the morning with friends in the oldest part of Sydney doing a mini bar crawl. Secondly, I spent the later part of the day working at the bar where, because it was Aussie day, they paid me an obscene amount. Thirdly, the bar was closed but midnight so we locked the doors, turned the music back on and the boss gave us a good amount of free drinks :-) . It was an amazing day, topped off by an amazing night!
Plus, with all my temporary aussie tattoos some random woman mistook me for an "actual Australian", BONUS!

Then a few days ago I had a date with a very sexy blonde Australian chick :-) . Zoe, my fellow G Adventurer, flew over from Melbourne and we went to the museum. A free glass of vino was a perfect way to start the evening and then it was on to watch guitar hero in the skeleton room, a silent disco and karaoke in the dangerous creatures room, a live band (that sadly was never there when we were) in the dinosaurs room, a funky photo booth, huge stick insects we could hold, a nerf gun firing range with toy dinosaurs, live taxidermy (if you're into that kind of thing), and a games room with UNO (score!). A lovely dinner later and some good girly gossip and we had to say goodbye *weep*. Luckily I will be visiting Melbourne later on in my travels so bring on date number 2...

Day 108 to 115 - Sydney to Canberra to Palm Beach to Sydney...

An exciting week of getting burnt on Manly beach, watching Tangled outdoors at Sydney Olympic park, drinking shots out of a tea pot, and launching the Chinese New year festival could only get better with a girly road trip to Canberra.

I finally took advantage of the 3 day camper van rental that I won and my flat mate and I hit the road. 5 hours, a picnic in a car park, and a lot of snacks later we rolled into the Capital of Australia. Luckily Australians drive on the left so all I had to worry about was the transition from driving a tiny manual car with a sat nav to driving an automatic beast of a machine being directed by Holly and a map that was too small! We only got lost once, or twice... truthfully I lost count how many times :-/ but it was an amazing trip. Canberra is stunning! In the centre of the city the Parliament house rises up and facing away from it you look out across the river to the stunning War Memorial. Our excitement was evident to anyone watching us roll down Parliament hill and chasing the birds. Then later we calmed down and just took in the breath taking view over the lake where we set up for the night.

Sadly Holly had to get back for work so after exploring the remainder of Canberra we hit the road again (ABBA CD at the ready) and back in Sydney I swapped flat mates and took off for Palm Beach (yes it is where Home and Away is filmed and no I don't care so I didn't bother doing any sightseeing). We simply pulled up to the beach, ran along the water front, stared at the stars, and chilled out in the van with chocolate and a dvd. It was another awesome night followed by a day visiting as many beaches as possible on the way back down the coast.