New Zealand
Auckland, Queenstown, Franz Josef, Christchurch
Auckland
New Zealand was a further three hours ahead of time than Australia, so by now our body clocks were totally messed up! Again we only had one full day in Auckland before flying on to Queenstown, so we went for a wander around the outskirts of the city and spent the afternoon looking at the Auckland museum. Our hotel in Auckland was right next to the Sky Tower, so we booked a meal in the revolving restaurant at the top that evening. The lift we went up in had a glass floor and glass doors so it was pretty scary travelling up to the top! The views were stunning, and we enjoyed a really nice meal looking out over the city of Auckland.
Many thanks to:
Matt & Wendy, Debbie & Steve, Sarah & Kris for money towards our meal in the revolving restaurant
New Zealand was a further three hours ahead of time than Australia, so by now our body clocks were totally messed up! Again we only had one full day in Auckland before flying on to Queenstown, so we went for a wander around the outskirts of the city and spent the afternoon looking at the Auckland museum. Our hotel in Auckland was right next to the Sky Tower, so we booked a meal in the revolving restaurant at the top that evening. The lift we went up in had a glass floor and glass doors so it was pretty scary travelling up to the top! The views were stunning, and we enjoyed a really nice meal looking out over the city of Auckland.
Many thanks to:
Matt & Wendy, Debbie & Steve, Sarah & Kris for money towards our meal in the revolving restaurant
Queenstown
We spent a few days in Queenstown. As soon as we got there we booked our sky dive for the next morning, but unfortunately due to some cloud cover it had to be cancelled (we rebooked it for the morning we were due to leave but again it was cancelled for the same reason). In the end, on the first day we took a ride in the gondolas up the side of a mountain, and at the top there was a really fun luge track that we had a couple of goes on. That night we went for a wander along Lake Wikitapu, right out the front of our hotel.
The next day in Queenstown was one of our action-packed days. Instead of doing a bunjee jump we came across the Shotover Canyon Swing. We were told it was scarier than a bunjee jump as with that you slow down as you head towards the ground, whereas with the canyon swing you speed up as you go into the swing, so we thought, "Why not?!" It was the scariest thing I've ever done! Matt went for a second go on his own, and jumped off backwards. In the afternoon we went white-water rafting down the Shotover river. Can you believe that of the six people in our raft, five of us had a connection with Reading, either having lived or been born there?! It was really fun, though we were constantly attacked by the New Zealand sandfly which caused me a lot of grief for the next week or so with itchy hands from the bites!
The next morning we waited around to see if the clouds would clear for a sky dive, but sadly they didn't, so in the early afternoon we made our way to Franz Josef.
Many thanks to:
Christine, Sam & John, Scott & Ems for money towards the white water rafting (instead of a sky dive)
Jenna & Sam, Adam & Lauren for money towards the canyon swing (instead of a bunjee jump)
Teresa & Alan, Yvonne for money towards our accommodation
We spent a few days in Queenstown. As soon as we got there we booked our sky dive for the next morning, but unfortunately due to some cloud cover it had to be cancelled (we rebooked it for the morning we were due to leave but again it was cancelled for the same reason). In the end, on the first day we took a ride in the gondolas up the side of a mountain, and at the top there was a really fun luge track that we had a couple of goes on. That night we went for a wander along Lake Wikitapu, right out the front of our hotel.
The next day in Queenstown was one of our action-packed days. Instead of doing a bunjee jump we came across the Shotover Canyon Swing. We were told it was scarier than a bunjee jump as with that you slow down as you head towards the ground, whereas with the canyon swing you speed up as you go into the swing, so we thought, "Why not?!" It was the scariest thing I've ever done! Matt went for a second go on his own, and jumped off backwards. In the afternoon we went white-water rafting down the Shotover river. Can you believe that of the six people in our raft, five of us had a connection with Reading, either having lived or been born there?! It was really fun, though we were constantly attacked by the New Zealand sandfly which caused me a lot of grief for the next week or so with itchy hands from the bites!
The next morning we waited around to see if the clouds would clear for a sky dive, but sadly they didn't, so in the early afternoon we made our way to Franz Josef.
Many thanks to:
Christine, Sam & John, Scott & Ems for money towards the white water rafting (instead of a sky dive)
Jenna & Sam, Adam & Lauren for money towards the canyon swing (instead of a bunjee jump)
Teresa & Alan, Yvonne for money towards our accommodation
Franz Josef
Franz Josef was another town that we only spent one full day at, and this was to climb the glacier. It was a fairly early start in the morning and we had to get all kitted up before getting on a smelly damp bus to be taken to the glacier car park. There was a 2km walk from there to the base of the glacier where we had to put our crampons onto our boots, as even though the glacier looked nice and snowy it was just pure sheets of very, very slippery ice! Every few steps the guide up in front had to cut away steps for us with a pickaxe, and after a couple of hours we made our way back to the car park. Matt had booked us into the spa baths for the afternoon, which was lovely and relaxing after a very rainy morning! We got a takeaway for dinner, and then the next morning when we left it was a tropical rainstorm, so we got absolutely drenched just running to the car.
Franz Josef was another town that we only spent one full day at, and this was to climb the glacier. It was a fairly early start in the morning and we had to get all kitted up before getting on a smelly damp bus to be taken to the glacier car park. There was a 2km walk from there to the base of the glacier where we had to put our crampons onto our boots, as even though the glacier looked nice and snowy it was just pure sheets of very, very slippery ice! Every few steps the guide up in front had to cut away steps for us with a pickaxe, and after a couple of hours we made our way back to the car park. Matt had booked us into the spa baths for the afternoon, which was lovely and relaxing after a very rainy morning! We got a takeaway for dinner, and then the next morning when we left it was a tropical rainstorm, so we got absolutely drenched just running to the car.
Christchurch
From an incredibly wet and rainy Franz Josef, we drove just 200km to a very sunny and clear sky Christchurch! The difference in the weather was unbelievable. We arrived at my friend Inez's house, whom I have been speaking to via post, email and facebook for around 15 years, but had never met in real life. It was a very strange moment but I was so pleased to finally meet her, and she's really lovely. Unfortunately it was too windy to go horseriding (we struggled to open the car doors!), so Inez took us on a tour of the area where she lives. For dinner, we went to a really unique restaurant where they brought your meat out to you on your individual stone grill, so you could cook it to your own liking.
We stopped at Inez's that night, and the next day it was time to swim with dolphins. We did this in Akaroa, got dressed in wetsuits and then went out on the boat as we would be swimming with wild Hector's dolphins off the coast. It was a special experience, swimming with them in their own environment, and knowing they were swimming around you because they wanted to. In the evening we met up with Inez again and went for a meal and a Mauri display at a wildlife centre. Unfortunately we couldn't stay up late as we had to head to the airport for our flight back to Australia at 3am in the morning!
Many thanks to:
Kate & Laurence, Julia & Rob, Michael & Gina, Bill & Barb, Lucy, Fiona & Ann for money towards swimming with dolphins and the traditional Mauri evening
From an incredibly wet and rainy Franz Josef, we drove just 200km to a very sunny and clear sky Christchurch! The difference in the weather was unbelievable. We arrived at my friend Inez's house, whom I have been speaking to via post, email and facebook for around 15 years, but had never met in real life. It was a very strange moment but I was so pleased to finally meet her, and she's really lovely. Unfortunately it was too windy to go horseriding (we struggled to open the car doors!), so Inez took us on a tour of the area where she lives. For dinner, we went to a really unique restaurant where they brought your meat out to you on your individual stone grill, so you could cook it to your own liking.
We stopped at Inez's that night, and the next day it was time to swim with dolphins. We did this in Akaroa, got dressed in wetsuits and then went out on the boat as we would be swimming with wild Hector's dolphins off the coast. It was a special experience, swimming with them in their own environment, and knowing they were swimming around you because they wanted to. In the evening we met up with Inez again and went for a meal and a Mauri display at a wildlife centre. Unfortunately we couldn't stay up late as we had to head to the airport for our flight back to Australia at 3am in the morning!
Many thanks to:
Kate & Laurence, Julia & Rob, Michael & Gina, Bill & Barb, Lucy, Fiona & Ann for money towards swimming with dolphins and the traditional Mauri evening