Oceania - New Zealand

Due for a meet with my mates in Thailand so for two weeks off I go to catch up on goings-on's and have a good time. A blur of flights, bad food and ciggy craving. Was sat next to a cute Brazilian girl but the sting in the tail was she'd had a row with her jealous boyfriend who was sitting in a separate seat behind us (Oh joy). Didn't get much sleep.

Arrived in Auckland airport at 4am in a time warp haze and waited for my 8.45am flight to Sydney. I had a 6 hour wait in Sydney for my cheap, bucket shop flight to Thailand (this is my place of recharging and chilling). I wasn't supposed to but craving a smoke I went through all the immigration and customs crap just to get outside.

While I was sitting outside the terminal I got chatting to a 90 year Papa New Guinean Aussie woman. She had a few tales to tell indeed. She told me her uncle had just packed up and left for Chile in the 2nd World War and never been heard from since. She was flying from Brisbane to Sydney because her family had forced her to pick up cargo to take back with her (what it was she wouldn't say) but she is probably the oldest drug runner in the world.

Well, at 11pm I finally arrived in Thailand and felt the warm blast of hot air as I left the airport. This is where I go off the radar for 2 weeks as I head south to the beaches in search of my mates, peace, water, beach, cheap beer and lots and lots of sleep.

Thailand..

Ok, enough Thailand for a while. I do love the place to bits and to be honest there's no other place I know (so far anyway) where I can chill for 2 weeks without getting bored and spend too much money. So after 2 weeks of doing nothing and reflecting on my last 9 months of travel it was time to get back into backpacking mode. Apart from the flights via Sydney being very long they were pretty dull. The only major event was a surly female drugs inspector and her cute beagle sidekick who stopped me and sniffed my bags at the luggage conveyor (the dog by the way...not the woman). While the puppy was happily sniffing away at my bag (deserves a medal just for that act of self sacrifice) I patted her gently, forgetting it was a sniffer dog. Of course the dogs trainer got the right hump and asked me to open my bag. Of course she didn't find anything but all the people I'd seen and met on the flight were looking at me suspiciously, as if to say...hmmmm, I thought as much. Of course nothing was found.

As I rushed outside to the sanctuary of the outside smoking area (no ciggy for 18 hours...its a wonder I survived) it only just dawned on me that I was wearing my favourite T with the slogan 'Pablo Escobar, Drug Cartel Medellin' (Doh!).

Caught the cheap bus to the city centre (Airbus NZ$10). The first thing that struck me about the people here is that there are so many Oriental people here. I'm guessing Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. Also, the place has the feel of a big town rather than a city...I like it.

Sadly for my New Zealand leg I couldn't find a copy of my beloved Footprint guide. It seems Lonely planet have the monopoly on the the guidebooks around here. So I had to bite the bullet. Checked into the Surf and Snow hostel and nearly fainted when they told me how much it was...8 quid a night...sweet Jesus and all that's holy. That's double what I've been paying anywhere else. Time to live off cheap biscuits and water from now on (even pondered sleeping at bus stations for a while...but it hasn't come to that yet.

After checking in I sat down in the communal area for a while and perused flyers and my book. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to see here in Kiwi land. Well, after a few hours of that I was still none the wiser. There's just too much to see in this beautiful country. Started reading again and after a few minutes I fell asleep on the sofa (no sleep on the flight over) and woke up to a group (would it be classed as a gaggle?) of giggling Japanese girls sitting on the sofa with me. Nice thing to wake up to and all that but being half groggy I blurted out nonsense about the price of biscuits and water and how good the World Cup in Japan was. More giggling followed but I had the hungers bad so off I went in search of food.

Early night tonight and early start tomorrow so I can catch the Auckland Museum to learn something about Maori culture, go up in the Auckland Sky Tower and then walk up one of the surrounding dormant volcanoes.

Woke up to a bright and sunny Auckland day...nah, not really..it was pissing down in true Auckland winter stylee. Treated myself to a healthy muesli brekkie and had a wander around town. Then caught the bus to the museum. Got to say the bus system works a treat here; they're clean, punctual, cheap ('ish) and have polite and friendly drivers. One of the main reasons for the museum visit was to learn more about NZ and especially about Polynesian/ Maori culture. It is a fine museum with stacks of cultural learning stuff. They even had a full sized 70 man Maori war canoe in there for show. One of the highlights for me was a cultural show put on by some Maori's (all dressed up in traditional gear). Great short show, explaining the songs, weapons training and all sorts of other stuff. The museum also had a section on Kiwi's active in the wars and also natural history. Time to head back after scouring all the displays.

It was still pouring out so I decided against walking up the nearby vol canoe and instead headed to the Sky Tower. The lift ride up in the tallest building in the southern hemisphere (or was it Oceania...can't remember) was scary in itself. It had a glass bit in the middle of the floor which I couldn't resist staring through as it shot up. The views were pretty impressive but to be honest felt I wasn't getting my moneys worth (NZ$25...a tenner!). For the princely sum of 60 quid I could have sky jumped off it but sense and the fact that I've only just mended my vertigo prevailed. Only then did I remember I was in a country of high altitude, high adrenaline madness...Holy shit).

Back to the hostel for dinner time and a few beers with some Canadian lads. Checking my email that night I found a few urgent emails from Ivan (him being one half of the famous Krina rescue squad). He'd just flown in to Auckland a day ago so a beer or two was on the cards. Five minutes later we were sitting in a pub reminiscing about South America. He was also about to buy a camper van and invited me to join him for a NZ road trip. How could I resist. Only problem was, earlier on in the day I'd booked and paid for a national bus pass with 50 hours of credit for NZ$500. Also, my visit here was much shorter at just 3 weeks, whereas he had a hefty 2.5 months.

A decision was made to do a short North Island trip for a week and then I'll head off alone. Later that night I helped Ivan buy the van and picked it up with him. He got a Mitsubishi L300 for 450 quid...nice. The plan was to stock up on petrol, food and beer and just head north in the general direction of the Bay Islands (very north part). Apparently its summer all year round up there...I'll believe it when I see it. Ivan slept in the van, parked up the road that night. Good, cheap choice...while I kipped at the hostel.

Day one of the road trip. Ivan had to sort out some paperwork for the van as the first mission of the day. Then it was time to stock up on food and drink at the cheapest supermarket in town...Pak'n'Save. It was here that once again it was proved to me how small the world really is. Whilst arguing and debating the merits of a good cereal and long life milk with Ivan in the cereal section I heard a voice say 'Rowley?' next to me. Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, if it wasn't Matheus and not far behind him Christina (we first met in Utila, Honduras and then spent a week with Seungmi and them at Lake Ometepe, Nicaragua).

After numerous hugs and kisses (well, from Christina anyway) we stood there chattering for hours. They had a van too but were heading south now rather than north...shame. Plans were made to meet up in the south island somewhere within the next few weeks. Shit, it was good to see them again.

All I need now is to meet Meera and Dijla again and I'll be well chuffed). They are due here in a few weeks. So, setting off from Auckland (a fair city I might add) was quite late in the day but ambitiously we drove onwards and northwards. After only one and a half hours it started getting dark so scouted for a good place to park up (next to beach preferably). In pitch black we found what looked like a good spot and started making a rough dinner for two starving road trippers. Beers followed, but there was no one else parked up so we couldn't pump out some tunes and have a party. Instead some good music, a huge clear sky and chatting shit was enough.

The sky was almost as impressive as in Chile...well impressive. That night I made the mistake of eating a load of crystallised ginger I'd bought in Thailand for pudding and lay in the van wide eyed and wide awake for the next four hours just listening to my MP3 player. Sleep was impossible that night.

In the morning I noticed a big sign saying 'Contaminated Water..stay out' near the beach. No wonder it was empty. The drive up north continued, heading slowly towards the famous Bay Islands. There was some stunning scenery along the way with beach coves and crystal clear water everywhere. The weathers a bit crap though (its the start of winter here) so not much swimming to be done. It's Mother's Day here in NZ so the roads and beaches are pretty empty (not a soul was swimming anyway). Stopped at a beautiful spot near Tutukaka and set up camp. Had a splash in the icy water. Shit, it really was cold. As it gets dark at 6pm here dinner's always an early affair. Again beer and chatting shit was the night's entertainment. Slept like a log that night.

Woke up to bright NZ winter sun. Way too nippy for a swim this morning so had a hearty breakfast, cooked on the indispensable camping gas cooker. The drove ever northwards continued passing more beautiful spots of beaches and forests along the way. At one point we got completely lost (not entirely a new thing for me) and asked a jovial Kiwi farmer for directions. Back on track after driving 20 miles on a 'sheep track' we finally arrived at the crossing to Pahia. This is a major town in the region so petrol, shopping and Internet was sorted out. After a few hours of getting chores done me and Ivan drove to find another idyllic spot. Not easy to find round here. After parking near a low tide beach and making dinner the very friendly warden asked us to move on. The best we could find in the dark was next to the main road (Doh!). It wasn't too bad apart from the regular stream of cars passing by and shaking the van.

During this drive I've been pondering what adrenaline sports to do while I'm in the adrenaline capital of the world. My top 3 choices so far are (Fly-by-Wire...which is a small plane attached to some cable which you can fly around solo at speeds of 170Kph, rafting and sky diving (still apprehensive about that one..jumping off a plane at 17,000 feet...are they mad?). I'm limited to 3 of these because NZ is bloody expensive. As an example...a hostel dorm bed is 8 quid a night, dinner in a cheap restaurant is 5 quid and rafting 40 quid. I don't know, maybe South America has spoiled me. For me its the only negative about this place...the landscape is beautiful (everything does really look like its part of the Lord of the Rings, the people are well friendly and open and there really is loads to do and see here. Well, I better get cracking then...

Today's plan was mostly covering some serious mileage. The ultimate destination being the Waitomo caves (apparently some amazing glowworm action). Drove through more beautiful spots that have the kind of names even a top IQ'er would struggle to remember; Mangamuka, Ngawa Springs, Kawakawa, Rangiahua, Kaikohe, Pekapekarau, Tangowahine, Springfield?, Oruawharo, Waiatarua...wow, no wonder I keep getting lost here. These are all obviously brilliant Maori names. As chief navigational officer of the good Mitsubishi transport system I really did struggle (quite a few people wouldn't be surprised with that...I can get lost even walking to my local shop at home). Due to a few too many stops along the way (the captain of this vessel is a bit of DIY and fixer addict and would stop at random places to check for bits and bobs. Therefore we didn't quite make it to Waitomo and as it was getting dark we found a spot next to a picnic area along the way.

Cooking duties were mine tonight and I rustled up a tuna and garlic pasta (compliments to the chef if I may say so myself). When camping time seems to go verrrry slowly at the end of the day. By 6pm its pitch black and by 7pm after dinner it feels like 10pm. The only remedy for this is chatting shit, making travel plans and drinking beer. So when at 9pm the skies opened up it was time for an early night. We covered about 450Km today...not bad going. Ivan is a keen driver (or he doesn't trust my driving so I didn't do any driving).

Very early rise today and a quick brekkie then it was back on the road again. Got to the Waitomo Caves and had a bit of a result when a kind ticket buyer left their unused ticket behind (the usual $NZ35 each was 17.50 each in the end...nice). The caves themselves were pretty small but very beautiful. Near the end of the 45 minute tour it was into a small boat to see the glowworms. Now that really was amazing. Floating down in the caves in the pitch black with millions of tiny lights in the ceiling. It was like looking at a micro universe. Sadly (and for good reason) photos were strictly forbidden but because I was so mesmerized I completely forgot and took a photo. What a donut...I forgot to turn the flash off.

Met a nice Brazilian couple and had a long chat about South America and Brazil in particular. As is usual, if I meet anyone who hasn't been to Colombia I go into a dazed and hypnotic speech about how they really should go. I really do try and sell it (I should get a job as a diplomat for the Colombian diplomatic service). After the amazing glowworms it was back on the road with Rotorua as today's destination (east side) and also where me and Ivan go our separate ways. He has 2 more months here (God knows how he's going to afford it) and I have just 2 more weeks so its kind of unfair for me to ask him to rush around when he should be taking his time. Three weeks may seem like a short time but it is expensive (for a weeks living here I can live for at least a month in East Asia).

Rotorua is a lakeside town and also full of hot springs (and boy, do I need warming up). It also has some great whitewater rafting. So the plan for tomorrow is some rafting and maybe some hot springs. Stopped at a lovely riverside place and cooked up some grub. Ivan the mad fellah jumped into the river with the idea of having a relaxing splash about. Well, he lasted about 5 minutes when the icy waters got the better of him and he scrambled out. Now he truly is a water baby...I don't love water that much. After the days shivering and not having a shower for days (I was starting to smell like a proper tramp) it was time for a treat.

The Polynesian Spa (one of the top 10 spa's in the world apparently) beckoned and after splashing out the equivalent of 10 quid I soaked in the hot outside pools for hours. It truly was good to warm up and chill in there (sadly no alcohol allowed, otherwise I could have stayed all night. There was a ideally placed pool just by the lakeside where I watched the sun setting...booootafull). For the night we parked up at a spot next to the Blue Lake (very nice but arctic...with the winds blowing over the lake).

Earlier on in the day we'd booked a rafting trip on the river Kaituina which boasts the highest raftable waterfall in the southern hemisphere....woohoo. They do something called river surfing here too but had to stop people surfing over the falls when a fellah got himself killed crashing down it. Rafting it is then.

The plan for the next week is of course rafting tomorrow. Then I head down by bus to Wellington for a few days...hopefully catching some Lord of the Rings action. After that...south island here I come. I'm planning to do a 3 day hike along the Abel Tasman stretch of coast. Its meant to be a stunning walk (sigh, if only I'd come here in the summer..its gonna be a cold one).

Well, today's whitewater rafting day on the Kaituina River. Got kitted out with wet suits (too right..its positively Arctic here in the water) and the usual equipment. The guys running the tour are a good bunch of Kiwis..they promised Ivan a hard time (he boasted about his Kayaking skills and said rafting was for sissies...HA!). The raft was put in the water and because this specific river's a burial place for the Maori's a prayer was said for the ancestors (and for us hopefully) by our guide Danny. Then it was all go from the outset. The river was pretty high and fast and so rapid after rapid followed. As well as the normal rolling over the rapids we did some rapid surfing (after going over the rapid you have to quickly paddle back towards it and you kind of get stuck in the thrashing water and the raft jumps around.

All good fun and I swallowed my daily requirement of water in the process...2 litres at least). Then it was time for the mother of all rafting waterfalls...the highest raft able waterfall in the southern hemisphere. Danny stopped the raft and gave us a warning and safety speech and instructions on what to do (basically just stay low so you don't catapult out of the raft, hang on for dear life..and look cool for the photos). I tried to do all three as we plummeted down the 8 metre fall and after dropping for what felt like a minute (actually a few seconds) the raft slammed into the bottom. Very exciting stuff and we all survived. A traditional Kiwi shout out was made (we all stood up, clashed paddles and shouted).

After that some more rapids and surfing followed. When we stopped after a particularly big rapid I played a little prank on Ivan (the poor fellah). The old chestnut of 'look over there..its an elephant' worked and as he peered over for a second I pushed him in. It kind of backfired when the rapids currents dragged him into the rapid and he got stuck there. The safety guy dragged him back in the kayak to the raft and he was all cool (phew). Heading back to the van Danny showed us a great water jumping spot from a high wooden fence. It was about 8 metres up. With my slight vertigo I didn't make it from the fence but the jump just below it was well good anyway. Of course we did it a few times.

All dried off and warmed up it was time for a visit to Hells Gate. A small park with loads of pools of bubbling sulphur. It was quite a surreal place and stank to high heaven, After that it was time to book my bus ticket to Wellington. The only bus was at 11.20pm (damn these night buses) and arrives at 6.30am. So for the rest of the day me and Ivan just drove around a bit, walked in town and had a slap up Thai Green Curry for dinner (cooked by the captain and temp chef of the good ship Mitsubishi). Hanging around at the deserted Rotorua bus station at night the only passers by were the usual array of homeless fellahs and tea leaves. One of the tea leaves cycled up to me and started telling me his life story. A Maori fellah, the first thing he said was 'when I got our of prison I decided to give up crime..I now want to study computers'. Hello, I thought. Well, he was a nice enough bloke but I was too cold and my bus was late so I was kind of distracted. At one point Ivan scampered off at running pace. When he came back he said some bastard had pissed on his van (not next to...but on the front grill) so he had to chase him off.

Eventually at midnight I said cheerio to Ivan and hopped on the bus.

I got absolutely no sleep on the cold bus. I have to say the buses here are crap compared to most in South America but the driver was a friendly and jovial Kiwi. Arrived in Wellington later than expected and in the middle of rush hour at the train station. After a quick wash up and wake up in the station toilets I caught the bus to the hostel I'd picked from the book (Worldwide Backpackers). Nice hostel with free Internet (very rare here in NZ), brekkie and wine (wow..what a place). Now, I had a bit of an emergency at this point. One hour into the 8 hour bus journey my beloved MP3 player decided it was over-used and just packed up on me. For me some good tuneage is a valuable thing to have during those long bus trips and waiting around when there's no one to talk to. So off I went into town to try and get it fixed but sadly all the shops said it was dead. Eventually I bit the bullet and had to buy a new one (40 quid...Sweet Jesus that's gonna hurt).

The rest of the day I walked around town, walking along the beautiful waterfront. Then chilled at the hostel chatting to the usual long-termers there. Quite a few Germans and British here. I had loads of blog writing to do so got down to typing. Later on in the evening the free wine was flowing and everyone at the hostel hung out and supped on the endless wine supply (no wonder nobody goes out at this hostel). I was kind of disappointed when after chatting to nearly everyone here, nobody had been to or even planned to go to Latin America (foolish people).

Earlier on in the day I was Uhmmming and Ahhhhing about doing a Lord of the Rings location tour. It was a hefty 50 quid for the day but in the end I said bugger it and paid for it. I came all this way and did really want to see some LOTR stuff. So tomorrow I may possibly have to don some rubber Elven ears and stroll about with a sword or staff (God give me strength).

Middle Earth and Lord of the Rings day for me. Was picked up by the tour guide and the only other people with me were a young couple from Essex (Danny and Hayley). We were all chastised when we failed a simple LOTR test. We were rubbish. First up on the tour was Mount Victoria (on the outskirts of Wellington) where a lot of the Shire and Hobbiton scenes were shot. Specifically a scene in The Fellowship where the Hobbits are being chased by a farmer through the fields and also another part where the Night Riders (Ring Wraiths) are looking for the four of them. Of course I tried to recreate a few scenes myself with photos.

Next up was the Wellywood studios where a lot of the big scenes were filmed indoors and out. Throughout the day we visited all of these sites from the film; Bree, The Shire, the Mines of Meria (actually done in the studio), Rivendell, the Great River Anduin, Helms Deep, Minas Tirith (filmed at an active quarry) and Isengard (filmed in a public park). To be perfectly honest it was all a bit hit and miss. You had to be a seriously hardcore LOTR fan to appreciate it properly. There were no props left and I'm sorry to say it...loads of the beautiful NZ scenery seen in the film is a Photoshop or CGI job.

The best part of the tour really was hearing all the nuggets of stories related to the films; like how there was a clause in the film rights that stated Sean Connery had to be asked first if he wanted the part as Gandalf (thank God he didn't want it...he didn't even like the story). I think Roger Moore would have been a better choice myself (Sean's an inferior Bond anyway...Roger's a much better actor). Another one was how the guy who played Aragorn didn't want the part and definitely didn't want to stay in New Zealand for 15 months. His young son persuaded him in the end by stating he would be coolest kid in school if his Dad was Aragorn. So off he went to Kiwiland. Another was that the Tolkein estate had promised Christopher Lee (a die hard LOTR fan) the part as Gandalf if it was ever made into a film. In the end he gave up the idea because he was too old to stand around too long or sit on a horse. Sir Ian was undoubtedly the best choice (and the directors original choice).

All in all it was a good day out but I do think the whole things overpriced (am I developing short arms and long pockets suddenly?). Back at the hostel it was a German girls birthday so the wine and beer was free flowing all night. I got pretty lashed but not enough to join a few in the group going out on the town (at 3 quid a pint you gotta be kidding).

Woke up early, packed quickly, had a swift brekkie and bid farewell to the good folk at the hostel. Today I am leaving the north island and heading to the south island for some beach hiking, glaciers, snowy mountains and possibly (no really...only possibly...some skydiving). When I left the hostel at 8.30 I knew I was going to be late getting the 9am ferry. Even when I arrived at 8.50 they refused to let me on (dammit). The only other choice was a 2pm one to Picton. So I left my bags at the port and strolled into town in search of a cheap sleeping bag (south island promises to be even colder than north). Remembering it was a Sunday my only choice was a DIY shop that had a bargain 10 quid one for sale.

Next was a short visit to the Te Papa Museum. An impressive place with heaps of natural history displays and all sorts of other museum goodness (there was even a house you could walk into that recreated a level 2 earthquake (apparently a lot of earthquakes round here).

After a quick lunch I walked around the quiet and sunny streets of Wellington. It is actually quite a beautiful city (and its well clean). Time to head back to the ferry terminal and with the hope of seeing some dolphins frolicking in the sea I boarded. Its a three hour journey to Picton and most of that time I was outside on the starboard deck dolphin watching. They were extra playful; jumping around, splashing, diving around the ferry's wake (apparently they can double their speed in a ships wake). The cheeky scamps were hard to photograph though. They'd come up for a few seconds then disappear as quickly.

At Picton I caught my Intercity bus (equivalent to the UK's National Express) to Nelson. The plan was to stay here one night and then go straight to the hike in Abel Tasman National Park (some beautiful coast hiking). So I did some frantic food shopping for the hike (tinned tuna, biscuits, cereal bars and bread) then chilled at the hostel. Chatted to a weird and very camp fellah (camper than Alan Carr on an especially camp day) from France called Roman. Had an interesting debate about the difference between a traveler and a backpacker. The agreed difference was a backpacker has time constraints and usually has to be back home within 6 months, whereas a traveler has no time constraints and just goes with it.

Had dinner and then to bed. An 8.30 start tomorrow morning to book my hut bed for the hike at the info office and then straight to the hike.

Well bollocks. I missed the one and only bus that goes to the hike start point. Nobody even mentioned there was just one bus...and it left at 7.20am. Ahh well. I booked my stay in the huts for the next few days (they literally are just huts with a lot of mattresses in them) and the bus ticket. I've been warned about crossing certain tidal points during the hike. Apparently if timed wrongly a hiker can lose a half day just waiting for the tide level to go down. There's not that much to see and do around here (well, things that interest me anyway...there is a Bead Museum?) and I had a whole day to myself. I was seriously behind on my blog so chilled at the hostel (at least it was nice and warm there) and did loads of writing. I talked to a few people that had just got back from the hike and it seems I need a bit more equipment; warm clothes, cup, spoon and pot.

Being on a budget so tight it would make Ebeneezer Scrooge blush I went in search of a charity shop (the Savior of all budget travelers). The best I could find was a Salvo (Kiwi for Salvation Army..it seems everything is shortened here). I managed to get myself a tin cup and some thermals for the bargain price of a quid. It was three but the woman running the shop was a Londoner and so gave me a squeeze (a squeeze with the price!) when she heard I was from London. The needed spoon I 'borrowed' from the hostel and the tin cup can double as a small cooking pot...so sorted). After uploading my first blog entry in 3 weeks and quickly checking my emails I decided to go and catch a film at the cinema. My choice of film was 'Ironman' (loosely based on 2 Londoners called Arthur and Mick who go looking for an iron in San Fran...nah not really). Not a bad film as far as Superhero ones goes. A bit overacted at times but a solid film.

Back at the hostel some last minute packing, dinner and then chill time. A big group of Brit girls checked into my dorm room (someone up there likes me). Even so it was a quiet night. The girls were tired from driving around all day. Anyway, I had to be up for this elusive bus at 6.30am tomorrow morning. If I miss this one I'm gonna go mental and run the 70 odd km's myself. Starting to pick up a few Kiwi words these days. Some popular ones are; Sweet as (hmmm, stolen from London I think), no stress (same as 'no worries' really), chee (cheers) and most sentences end in 'eh?' (as in a question) (shit, need to get out of here fast). Another thing that's weird here is I've hardly seen any sheep anywhere. I mean NZ's got a big rep as a (ahem) sheep loving nation? So where are they? My theory is they are being sold off as 'Sheep brides' all round the world (or maybe just Wales?). Its weird..there are more cows than sheep here it seems.

First day of the Abel Tasman beach hike. I was so excited about it all (and subconsciously worried about missing the bus) that I woke up an hour early. It was an hour and a bit bus ride to Marahau (the main starting point of the hike). Now, my original plan was to start from the south and work my way northwards then catch the boat back. After a few chats with people there it turns out its better to do it vice versa because of the pesky tidal crossing points. So I got the boat all the way to the north (Totoranui).

This was no ordinary boat ride. It was more like a a cross between a roller coaster ride and some kind of off roading experience. The waters were well choppy so the boat flew over each wave and crashed down full force so hard you could feel your bones shake in your body (what a ride!). The only passengers were me and an American girl called Adriana (nice...from Colorado). And we decided to hike together for a bit of the way. Because the boat took longer than expected we didn't get to Arawoa (the next hut down from our drop off point) until 3.30pm so we decided to stay here overnight. Chatting to the park warden I was warned about leaving early in the morning to catch the first set of tidal crossings (6.30am..damn that's early).

The only other occupants of the hut were a middle aged couple from Auckland and a young family with the loudest screaming baby in the land. Chilled out and chatted to everyone round the open wood fire and also broke out the wine. It's kind of heavy so its for the best to drink it as early as possible.

During a restless nights sleep last night I sat bolt-upright and swore out loud (nearly waking everyone up). I had just remembered Chelsea were playing in the Champions League final against Man U the day after tomorrow. I made an executive decision right then and it was to cut the hike short from 3 days to 2 and get myself to a TV back in Nelson so I could watch Chelsea be crowned champions of Europe. Waking up at 5.30am so I could get some decent mileage under my belt I set off in the dark. I got lost quite a few times trying to find the path markers and nearly plunged into a pool of low tide water (was a close call).

When daylight broke I was greeted by such beautiful scenery; pristine (but cold) beaches, jungle and hills. It really was gorgeous. For the most of the day it was usually an hour of beach-side walking..then deep forest. The bird songs were amazing, with such a huge variety of sounds coming from all directions. I did test the water a few times but wasn't daft enough to jump in. After numerous food and drink breaks I got to the third tidal crossing. Dammit, I' missed the low tide. So, I either walk around it (1 hours 30 min's) or try and cross (20 min's).

So, I decided to try and cross. About 10 metres into it my feeler stick misjudged the depth and me and all my belongings plunged into a deep pool of freezing sea water (doh!). I quickly rushed back and saving all my valuables from wet trousers I continued the walk in my swimming shorts (it was bloody freezing). Finally got to my destination (hardly saw anyone along the way...so quiet) at Anchorage and again had to wait half an hour for the tide to lower for the last crossing.

I made the boat pickup just in time at 4pm. Shivering a bit I arrived safely back at the hostel. The hot shower was one of the best I've ever had...boootiful. Swift dinner and I set my alarm for the wicked time of 6am (the game starts at 6.30 (Kiwi time). Cmon Chelsea.

The Abel Tasman walk was the best experience I've had in NZ so far and kind of woke me up to the fact that I'm in New Zealand and how beautiful it is. Before that I didn't really see it. So I'm well pleased I did it.

The plan for the rest of the week is watch Chelsea get crowned, then catch the bus to the west coast glaciers (where I plan to do a sky dive over Mount cook). Then head north to Greymouth And catch the Tranzatlantic train (one of the worlds greatest train journeys) to Christchurch. That's it for me in New Zealand. I fly out to Australia on 27th May. This NZ visit was always planned as a short and sweet one for me. A week here costs me a month in Asia so its not a difficult choice for me.

At 6am I was up like a shot, ready to watch Chelsea be crowned champions of Europe. Walking into the hostel's TV room it seemed a lot of others had the same idea (although most were reds). I'd love to say that Chelsea whooped the Mancs but that will have to wait for next years final. Today just wasn't our day...and especially poor Terry's. Being up so early I had the whole day to myself so had a look around town (I think I've walked down every street and looked in every building in this town by now). Managed to get my bus ticket sorted out for tomorrow morning and then went back to the hostel for lunch.

It was time for a pack clear out. I do this every month. As well as hitch-hiking cockroaches there are usually things in there I swear I haven't even seen before. I found a corner of a brick in there once and a small bag of bottle tops (what the hell?). Today the hostel filled up pretty much to capacity so had the usual long chats with people and also did my long overdue laundry (my clothes were starting to grow some form of seaweed fungus from dropping in the sea in Abel Tasman).

Starting to feel a cold coming on. Not surprising considering the amount of walking I did wearing wet clothes. I was actually shivering for most of the walk (damn this NZ winter). Also had quite a few blisters on my toes from the 22km of walking yesterday...but, I felt really good for doing it.

For the night it was cheap and free entertainment. The hostel manager put a DVD on in the bar and promised free popcorn (what a place). The film was 'Death at a funeral' promising to be the 'funniest Britcom since Notting Hill' but in reality it was no funnier than Shindlers List.

A long bus journey ahead of me today but I now have a black belt in bus journeys since my 50 hour bus trip in Argentina so a 10 hour trip now just makes me laugh (pff, 10 hours..nothing). Starting in Nelson at 7.20 the bus passed through Westport, Greymouth, Franz Joseph Glacier (named after the Austrian-Hungarian leader) and finally onto the town of Fox Glacier (named after the Kiwi Prime Minister of the mid 19th century). The bus was pretty full of tourists and backpackers; English (NZ's packed with my fellow Blighty brethren), German, Americans, Irish, Ozzie's and even a Burmese girl (I asked her how the situation was back home now, to which she replied 'what situation?'. Shit, thought I was behind on current affairs).

The boring but very scenic bus journey was broken up with quite an event for everyone on board to chuckle at. When our bus pulled up for a 20 minute break at a scenic spot a 'Magic Bus' (a New Zealand organised tour bus for slightly insecure young Gap Year students) pulled up alongside. At this point their male passengers decided to challenge us and did a first strike of mooning us. Course this couldn't be ignored. We are red blooded Englishmen after all and so me and the only two other English on board (everyone else frowned on this behaviour) retaliated with a double strike; we used the hairy arse moon and tattoo showing attack. The tension could have been cut with a knife after this attack (the battles in Lord of the Rings would be a good comparison). Victors, our bus pulled off first as we smiled and waved at the students.

Later on at our next break stop the same bus pulled up next to us but it all went a bit nasty when the Uni rugby types who didn't like losing got off their bus and started offering us out. Of course the hairy victors were hairy but not stupid (there were 12 of them and only 3 of us) So instead of obliging them we used hand signals to indicate our true feelings as our bus pulled off into the distance (oh how we laughed at the childish shenanigans).

The next stop was the Franz Joseph Glacier and then finally we arrived at the sleepy town of Fox Glacier (of course made sure there were no Magic Buses around town before I ambled down the road). The two glaciers are pretty much the same but my choice of Fox Glacier was two-fold; I wanted to see where 'Fox Glacier Mints' really come from (could it be true they are carved from the very same glacier?) and if I really was going to do a skydive this was going to be the place (the skydive plane flies over the glacier and close to Mount Cook itself).

Checked into the fabulous Ivory Towers hostel (probably my favourite hostel in New Zealand...spacious dorms, big kitchen, laid back atmosphere, open fire reading room, cinema room with a 42inch screen and hot showers 24 hours...bliss). After a hot shower and a cuppa to warm my cockles I made the decision to do the 12,000 foot skydive at midday tomorrow. I foresee a restless night tonight (I am seriously scared).

D-day (Dive Day). At around 8.20am there was a loud banging on the dorm room door and the hostel manager rushed in 'Rowley, your jump time has been changed from 12 to 9am...better get a move on mate' (shit!). So, a swift cuppa and breakfast bar (hope that's a wise move) and countless ciggies and I was ready (well..as ready as I'll ever be). The hostel manager thought it was hilarious when he kept telling me the sky jump company has a 'pretty' good safety record and there's a church on the way (ahhh, the Kiwi humour). Funny guy). In a way it was good that I didn't have enough time to wake up properly and having to rush..no time to think.

A five minute safety chat from my tandem dive partner Elaine followed and I donned my jumpsuit and harness. As I was about to get into the tiny 4 seater plane Elaine pulled me back. She's noticed a problem with my harness straps and had to call the boss over to fix it (oh for the love of God...I really didn't need this shit). A few minutes later and apparently it was all OK (again, the safety record was mentioned).

The 4 seater Cessna could only fit 2 jumpers (no, not pullovers) and I happened to be first in line to hop out So sitting between Elaines legs in the front floor she tried her best to point out sites of interest. It really was beautiful but my mind was elsewhere (like, is this the day I die?). Getting close to 12,000 feet and Elaine gave me some last-minute instructions. When the side door is opened I have to slide my body outside and dangle there (not holding onto anything I might add).

I was hanging there like a rag doll until it was finally time for her to release the safety line connecting us to the plane. The door was opened and I reluctantly slid my body out and hung there being buffeted by the heavy winds. She tapped me on the shoulder twice to let me know it was time...time to fly. Now it's quite difficult to describe the sensation of free-falling for close to minute towards the ground at 200Kph. From what I remember it was amazingly cold and windy, very noisy, so absolutely amazing I actually forgot to breathe for a while (until Elaine nudged me) and I swore so much it would have made a sea hardened sailor blush...but..it was the most amazing feeling.

A real feeling of freedom and kind of flying. I'd compare it to the feeling I get when a passenger plane hits a particularly bad patch of turbulence and your heart jumps into your throat...well, times that by 50 and its close to the feeling. After about 50 seconds of free fall Elaine opened the shoot and everything went quiet and peaceful (such a contrast). I let out a holler and a whoop because I knew the worst of it was over now. We both slowly descended towards a group of sheep that looked more like maggots from here. Elaine started to show off a bit and decided to do some loops on the way down. This sent me into another frenzy of swearing and shouting (I thought the shoot had collapsed).

Landing on the ground was quite a relief for me but I loved the whole thing so much and the adrenaline was seriously busy in my body that I wanted to go straight up again. Sadly my common sense got the better of me and the thought of dishing out another NZ$295 was too much for my moth ridden wallet. Headed back to the hostel with adrenaline pumping through my veins. I couldn't find a pub to quench it but opted for a cuppa and relayed my mornings dive adventure to the poor hostellers (I'm sure they got bored after about 20 minutes of adrenaline pumped chatter from me.

By midday I was back to normal again so I headed off for a viewing of the Fox Glacier and to see if I could chop some mints out of it. It was quite impressive but nothing compared to the Moreno Glacier in Argentina..now that was a sight. Got chatting to Murray (also asked him if he had any Murrays Mints (he thought it was hilarious, the old fellah). He runs a van service to the glacier and told me he's seen it recede and increase quite dramatically over the years. I asked him if he'd ever skydived...'no, I always keep my feet firmly on the ground where they belong', he replied.

Back at Ivory Towers I got my bus ticket to Greymouth for tomorrow all booked and also, as a kind of farewell to Kiwiland I bought a seat on the famous 'Tranzalpine' train ride (apparently one of the great train journeys of the world, going through forests, farmland, between mountains, under them and passed lakes and rivers. The last few days I've been thinking about watching Lord of the Rings again (well, I have to see all those filming locations again before I forget) and as luck would have it when I popped my head into the TV room some like minded people were just starting to watch it (nice). After that the evening and night were a quiet affair. Had a long chat with Dan (English lad) and Frederico (Portoguese lad) about South America and my adventures there. I'm not really sure if my tales encouraged them or put them off going there altogether. Frederico had a good long rant about Israeli backpackers (Holy shit he went into one..I thought I was bad?).

Packed all my gear ready for tomorrow's early departure and slept soundly dreaming of trains jumping off mountains and then skydiving (what the hell's that all about?).

The bus ride up to Greymouth was full of uphill, winding roads with some beautiful beach scenery thrown in. We made a stop at a cafe/ wildlife preserve run by a hunter of all sorts of beasts (but any stray young animals get lodgings and food from him). Out of curiosity I asked the fellah how I'd stand as a full-time possum hunter. I was half thinking about staying here for a month, walking around in hunting garb with an air gun slung over my shoulder. The answer was a laugh and in very subtle terms...don't bother, you won't make anything (well, I wouldn't be able to stomach killing them anyway. I had enough trouble killing cockroaches in my Rentokil days). Apparently its every Kiwi's duty to kill at least 9 possums a year. It is said they destroy trees/ bushes at a ferocious rate. The going rate for a possum kill is $NZ28. So, I treated myself to one of his famous Possum Pies. Quite delicious ...a kind of mix between a chicken and venison taste.

The bus arrived in Greymouth at 1pm (I checked for those Magic Bus scamps) and I boarded the train. The Tranzalpine ride was lovely but I was a bit under whelmed. It's unfair to compare but but the Copper Canyon train journey was simply mouth-droppingly beautiful...this one was just lovely. So, at 6pm I arrived at my final destination in New Zealand...Christchurch and booked myself into the big, sprawling hostel that is the Central YHA.

I usually avoid these big, impersonal places like the plague but I still had 20 hours (about $NZ200 worth) left on my Intercity bus pass and needed to use the notice board here to sell it. Quick shower and decided to go and see the new Indiana Jones film. The brother and sister team of Martin and Stina (from Denmark) joined me. The film itself was pretty crap (such a shame) but I enjoyed the Danes' company. Me and Stina made plans to see the Christchurch Botanical Gardens in the morning.