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Around the World
  • Simon and Blake
apr 2017 – gen 2018

Around the World

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Day 2 - Taupo

    29 luglio 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Well that was one of our coldest nights yet! It was so bloomin cold we could see our breath! The gas bottle didn't want to play ball either because it too was also freezing! After a painstaking amount of time we managed to boil the kettle and knock up some porridge in an attempt to warm us up from the inside.

    New Zealand offers a lot of markets at the weekends so we headed to Taupo's Riverside Market for a mooch. It was small but pretty cute and worth the wander. I even managed to resist the most amazing looking cakes (mainly because they were $5 each). They did look good though! We then went for a mooch around the main town looking at the shops. There was a gorgeous home shop with all kinds of great tat that I could fill our house with!

    After some lunch we made our way down the side of Lake Taupo and along the edge of Tongariro National Park, or as you may also know it, Mordor. The drive gave us stunning views of the snow covered mountains. We did um and ah for a long time as to whether we should do the Tongariro crossing but have decided that the winter just isn't the time to do it. It has also been cancelled the last couple of days due to poor weather conditions, including 75kph winds. We are just going to have to come back to New Zealand again and do it in the summer.

    Our next stop is Napier on the East Coast so we have decided to camp up in Waiouru in the National Army Museum car park and head to Napier in the morning. As I'm writing this post it is only 5pm and I am already cold. The sweet lady in the museum also advised us to keep warm as it's going to be a cold one!    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Napier

    31 luglio 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Yesterday we travelled from Taupo to Napier. It was a long drive and took a good few hours along some very long and winding country roads. It was however a lovely sunny day and the drive took us through lush green forests.

    The following morning we woke up to the sun shining so not wanting to miss out on a beautiful day we decided to hire some bikes. We visited Napier City Bike Hire and picked up Dorothy and Darwin, 2 lovely black mountain bikes. Napier is located within Hawkes Bay, which boasts around 200km of off road cycle trails and the majority of it is flat. We opted for the coastal route which took us from Napier to Clive and through Haumoana and Te Awanga and finishing up in Clifton. It was a lovely ride along the coast with some incredible views. We also cycled through farmland and got to see some baby lambies and calfs and alongside some wineries. It would be amazing to come back in the summer and visit all of the wineries. Before we headed back (and after a slight altercation with a giant rock which came out of nowhere) we stopped for a picnic on the beach which was lush.

    The ride was around 50km in total so we were absolutely pooped come the end. To reward ourselves for our hard work we headed to the fish and chip shop for some dinner. Unfortunately it was shut so we returned to the van with a very disgruntled Simon Thatcher for some tuna pasta instead.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Day 2 - Napier

    1 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We started the day with a trip to Napier Prison, built in 1906 and situated on top of a hill behind the town. It's a very small prison, housing around only 40 prisoners and was still a prison up until 1993. Despite the size, there was quite a lot to see and we were given audio sets which told us about each area of the prison (Simon is a huge fan of the audio guides as he doesn't have to stand there and read). We were the only people in there so it was a bit creepy in places, especially walking around the cells.

    After the prison we had a quick walk (and by quick I mean very quick as they are very small) around the Centennial Gardens which were built by the inmates of Napier Prison.

    Napier was completely destroyed after the 1931 earthquake. It was therefore completely rebuilt in the following 2 years in the popular architectural style of the time, Art Deco. The architecture is therefore absolutely gorgeous and reminds me of La La Land. It would therefore be rude not to do an Art Deco tour of the lovely seaside town which kept us busy for the afternoon.

    The tour started with a presentation on Art Deco which was really interesting. We then went for a walk around the town whilst our guide pointed out the zigzags, fountains, sunbursts and ziggurat aesthetics. All of the buildings are painted in lovely pastel colours so everything is so pretty. If you can't already tell, I have completely fallen in love with Napier. In February each year, they hold a Art Deco weekend and everyone dresses up in 1930's attire and you can find vintage cars, vintage games, 30's music and dancing. It sounds amazing! The tour finished up with a short film on the 1931 earthquake where we got to see what Napier looked like before and after.

    Sadly that concludes our time in Napier so we hopped back in the van and made our way to Hastings, a nearby town for the night. And Simon finally got his fish and chips!    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Hastings - Wellington (via Palmerston N)

    2 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    We spent the night in a car park in the centre of Hastings which unbeknown when we parked up (as we arrived in the dark) was also next to a train line. We therefore woke up numerous times to the sound of the train passing and shaking the van, as well as the ring of the alarm to signal to the cars the train was passing. To top it all off it was pouring with rain, which hitting the roof of the van, added to the city centre orchestra that we had unsuspectingly fallen asleep in the middle of.

    We had to be out of the spot by 9am so we woke up early (not that we weren't already awake), had a quick breakfast and were on our way.

    Wellington was a 3+ hour drive at around 300km so we decided to break it up with a stop in Palmerston North, or Palmy to the locals. There we could take a warm shower for a dollar in the city library, do a little food shop and visit the NZ All Blacks Rugby Museum. The memorabilia and story of the beginnings of the game were great and they even had old Lions jerseys from years gone by as well as the real life whistle that they use to start the first game of every World Cup.

    After the museum we were back on the road. When we finally arrived in Wellington after fighting our way through rush hour traffic (it's been a while since we have been in an actual city with traffic) we picked a nice free marina for tonight's camp spot so fingers crossed for some blue skies and great views in the morning.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Wellington

    3 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    The weather forecast was pretty pants for the day so we decided to do some indoor activities. Wellington has the nickname 'Windy Welly' and we can certainly see why!

    After breakfast we headed to Weta Cave, the company that did all of the special effects for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as well as a plethora of other movies including King Kong and District 9. They also have a digital department that worked on a lot of the digital effects for Avatar. They have a small museum there that you can look around for free as well as a short documentary on Weta and what they do. In addition to this there are a couple of tours that you can do. We decided to do the workshop tour which was around 45 minutes long. We are so glad we spent the extra money as the tour was really interesting. Our tour guides parents work for Weta in the special effects and make up department and he now also works there and I honestly don't think there is anything that he doesn't know. We got to see lots of props and costumes from a variety of the movies they work on, from futuristic guns to Elven swords. He also explained a little bit about how they make some of the props using CNC machines and 3D printers. We even got to catch a glimpse of a CNC machine in action which was in the process of making a full size horse.

    Unfortunately we were unable to take photos inside as everything is subject to copyright however outside they have 3 huge models of the trolls in Lord of the Rings so we didn't go away empty handed.

    With the weather still pants we went to the Te Papa museum in the afternoon. The museum is absolutely massive and spans over 6 floors. You could probably spend a week here and still not see everything. Best of all though it is completely free so we spent a good few hours there checking out a couple of exhibits. The best exhibit was a temporary one they had on Gallipoli, which many New Zealanders invaded alongside the British in the First World War. As part of the exhibit they had huge models of soldiers and then you learnt about their story. The soldiers had been made by Weta and they were absolutely amazing. We learnt on the tour that the hair on their head is real human hair and someone had to painstakingly insert every single hair. The other hair on their face and arms was yak hair. They were so realistic. The exhibit was very interactive and really interesting. A harrowing, yet incredible experience.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Day 2 - Wellington

    4 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Our day started with a tour of New Zealand's parliament building which was actually very interesting. We got to learn a little about New Zealand politics as well as learn about the building itself including how they have made the building earthquake proof (which is incredibly clever). Unsurprisingly we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside but the building was absolutely gorgeous. There is a mixture of architecture as it has burnt down a couple of times, but it has a very British feel about it.

    We got to go in the main chambers which has the same green carpet as the House of Commons as well as red in the upper house. New Zealand however doesn't actually use its upper house anymore (like our House of Lords) so it is now only used for events and for the Queen or her representative to welcome in the new party after an election.

    In the afternoon, we had a mooch around the town centre including the famous Cuba Street. Cuba Street is full of amazing quirky shops so we did some window shopping and fantasied about buying all the things we can't afford. We did however have a couple of things that we did need to buy. After wearing the same small selection of clothes for 4 months straight we are starting to look a little trampy. We are going with this however there are a couple of bits that we just couldn't cope with anymore. One of which is Simons jeans which had a HUGE hole in so we got him some new jeans. The second was some trainers for me as mine now have massive holes in each of them. After spending lots of money that we didn't really want to spend, we went back to the van and played some cards, before watching some more Netflix.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Day 3 - Wellington

    5 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    The forecast for today was set to be the best so far in Wellington with sun and blue skies all day and that's exactly what we woke up too.

    We headed to a central spot to park the van and walked in search of a cable car station Blake had seen in one of the leaflets. The Wellington Cable Car is a funicular railway between Lambton Quay, the main shopping street, and Kelburn, a suburb in the hills overlooking the central city, rising 120m over a length of 612m. The journey up was pretty cool as it went through two tunnels with neon style lights making you feel like you were in some weird teleportation machine or something. Once at the top the view was incredible.

    To get back down we opted for the scenic walk through the botanical gardens and a graveyard which had some historical people, including their longest standing PM Richard Seddon. There were also a family buried there where 5 young children died in the space of 11 days due to Diphtheria. The parents were subsequently buried in the same spot when they died many years later.

    Once back in the city we decided to head for the Mt Victoria look out. Another spot to see the city but this time required us to walk up... great! We also took a quick stop to get some huge ice creams and a mooch around a market which had lots of tat that Blake wished she could buy!

    It was pretty steep getting up Mt Victoria and not a great move for Blake wearing her brand new and sparkling trainers as parts were pretty muddy. The view at the top probably trumped that of the cable car as you got a 360 degree view of the whole city.

    We made our way down and headed back to the van. We then drove back to our trusty Evans Bay Marina overnight spot. Tonight would be our last night on the North island.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Wellington - Picton

    6 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Despite the sunshine, our morning didn't get off to a fresh start as half way through cooking our porridge and boiling the kettle for coffee we ran out of gas. Turns out that after closer inspection, we had left the boiler on all night which completely rinsed our pretty recently topped up gas bottle. There was a time when this would have defeated us but not today! Instead we decided to have a quick shower (making the most of the well used boiler) and then set off in search for somewhere to fill up our gas bottle. Luckily LPG refills are one of the cheaper things in New Zealand.

    Showering however didn't quite go to plan either as halfway through the first shower we realised that the waste tank was full so the water wasn't draining. We persevered trying not to use so much water that it overflowed and then made a quick trip to the dump station over the other side of the marina. We had time to some kill before getting our ferry to Picton so we decided to find a laundrette and be productive. By this point it had started raining anyway so we didn't fancy wandering around in the rain.

    We arrived to the ferry exceptionally early which in a car would have been incredibly borrow but being in the van, we turned on the gas and rustled up some lunch. Blake even managed to give the van a quick clean.

    Before long we were boarding the ferry which reminded me of childhood holidays to France. Once on the passenger deck we found a sofa and started some South Island planning, better late than never! Blakes stomach was not a massive fan of the boat rocking and she felt rather sea sick for most of the journey.

    3 and a bit hours later and we arrived into the port of Picton on the South Island. We found free campsite just a short drive down the road and stopped there for the night in a little car park with 12 camper spots.    Leggi altro

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    Blenheim

    7 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Just down the road from Picton was Blenheim, a quaint little town with lots of walks. The sun was shining so we headed straight for the tourist information centre to get some recommendations. I'd read about Wither Hills in the Lonely Planet and seen it in a couple of leaflets so when the lady mentioned it too I knew it would be a good spot.

    We parked up at the start of the Rotary Lookout Track and started to make our way up the hill. Today turned out to be a nice day with blue skies and sunshine so after making it to the lookout quite quickly we decided to carry on along the Twin Tanks Track. About halfway round and at the highest point we would reach we sat ourselves on a bench and tucked into the picnic we brought with us. At least two people commented when they walked past 'great place for a picnic'! The walk back down took us along a stream which was nice and it wasn't long before we were back in the van. Like always, off came the walking shoes and on went the kettle.

    We found a nice sounding free spot in Blenheim but to get to is was a rather long bumpy road which was pretty uncomfortable in the van. What made it worse is the entrance to the area for parking had a van parked right in the middle. After throwing my toys out of the pram and cursing a wee bit we just parked on the side between two trees. When I asked Blake to get out and help me park I think she was a bit nervous I was going to run her over.    Leggi altro

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    Nelson

    8 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    After an early start we were soon on our way to Nelson. We weren't exactly blessed with the same weather as yesterday so it was pretty grey and rainy.

    Once in Nelson we realised there wasn't many rainy day activities bar a peanut butter factory tour which was fully booked (a shame I know). We therefore grabbed a nice shower at the local super loo, headed to the tourist information for some Abel Tasman and Golden Bay ideas and went to the library of all places. Here we could use the wifi to download lots of Netflix and log into a proper computer to try and work out some New Year activities when we will be in Sydney. We also booked a deal for a boat and walking tour in Abel Tasman National Park tomorrow as it was looking like a good day on the forecast.

    As it was a little way to Abel Tasman we made our way to the next camping spot in Motueka which meant that we only had a 10 minute drive to the meeting point the next day.    Leggi altro

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    Abel Tasman National Park

    9 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We found a cheap deal for a day cruise and walk online in the Abel Tasman National Park. The weather forecast wasn't the best however it looked like it was going to be dry between 11 and 2 which is when we would be doing the walk so we went for it. When we woke up in the morning and checked the weather however it had changed to 90% chance of heavy rain all day! Not so great! It hadn't started raining yet though so maybe we would get lucky.

    We had a short 20 minute drive in the morning to Kaiteriteri where the boat would be leaving from and as luck would have it when we arrived it started raining!

    The sea cruise took us up along the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park where we stopped every now and then so they could point out something or tell us a bit about the park. The beaches were golden yellow in colour which I can imagine look amazing in contast to the vast green forest when the sun is shining however along with the sideways rain and mist the view wasn't great. We got to see a couple of seals on the rocks though which was pretty cool.

    The boat cruise was around 2 hours in total before we were dropped off at Tonga Quarry where we would do a short 4km walk through the park. The first hour of the cruise was fine however the second hour the sea got a lot rougher and it turns out perhaps I suffer from sea sickness. I spent the second hour standing out the back of the boat fighting the urge to be sick whilst the rain poured off the top of the boat. The lovely lady on the boat must have felt sorry for me as she offered me a hot ginger drink which is supposed to help with sea sickness. The drink wasn't the nicest but it did help settle my stomach a little bit. Halfway through my drink, Simon staggered out to the back of the bottom as he was also starting to feel a bit queasy.

    Despite the torrential rain that we were now experiencing we were just pleased to get off the boat. We now had around 3 hours to complete a short 4km walk from Tonga Quarry to Medlands Beach where the boat would pick us up again. We were told that there was a hut with a fire waiting for us near the beach so the plan was get there as fast as we could and start a fire. They usually say it takes around 2 hours to do the walk if you stop and take pictures however we did it in around an hour. It was raining hard pretty much the entire walk and we were soaked to the skin, even my pants were wet! I could also feel the water sloshing around inside my shoes as there was water pouring down most of the track in small rivers. Simons shoes are a lot more waterproof that mine however they were also defeated when Simon sunk in some quick sand type mud up to his knees! The only saving grace that prevented the day from being completely unbearable was that it wasn't cold!

    You can imagine how happy we were when we could smell the sweet comforting smell of burning wood as we got closer to the hut. Someone had beaten us too it and already started a fire! When the lady on the boat had mentioned there was a hut with a fire we were thinking 3 walls and a fire pit but oh how wrong we were. This hut was huge, with a wood burning fire, kitchen area and places to sleep. Very fancy! As we had walked so fast, we had 2 hours until the boat was picking us back up so we got out our packed lunch and sat around the fire trying to dry out with another French girl who was getting the same boat back as us.

    The boat ride back was just under an hour and not quite as choppy as the way up fortunately and we arrived back into Kaiteriteri around 4pm. The tide was out so the boat had to drop us off further down the beach onto the sand. Luckily Simon and I were some of the first people off the boat as the people behind us got absolutely soaked. You had to walk down a long ramp and then jump just as the tide went out before it came back in again. The first group of us managed this quite successfully but then this one woman kept starting to jump and then backed off again. Everyone was shouting for her to get off but she just froze and the tide was coming in so when she finally did get off the water was up past her knees and unfortunately the same for everyone behind her!

    Because everything was so wet we decided to check into a proper campsite for the evening with laundry facilities so we could get everything dry. It wasn't the cheapest but there is no way we would have been able to dry everything out in the van otherwise, especially our shoes.    Leggi altro

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    Golden Bay

    10 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    After a very long, hot shower and some breakfast, we were back on the road headed North towards Golden Bay. Our first stop was Te Waikoropupu or as it's more commonly called Pupu Springs. Pupu Springs is supposedly some of the clearest waters in the Southern Hemisphere with 63m of visibility. To give you a comparison, drinking water is around 83m.

    To get to the springs was a short 10 minute walk through the forest which was quite pretty. The spring itself however was clear, I'll give it that, but it wasn't anywhere near as impressive as I thought it would be. After a couple of obligatory photos, we headed back to the van and set off to our next stop, the Pupu Hydro Walkway, which was only 4km up the road.

    When we visited the information centre in Nelson, the lady said that the Pupu Hydro Walkway was her favourite walk ever so we thought we had better not miss it. The 2 hour round trek takes you around a fully working hydro dam. The first bit involved a bit of a steep climb but when we got to the top we walked alongside the entire waterway system. At times we had to walk along a thin wooden walkway hanging over the side of the waterway which kept it interesting. Despite the drizzle, it was actually a very enjoyable walk and at the end you could see into the power station which was pretty cool. Here we had some lunch before heading further North to Farewell Spit.

    Farewell Spit is the long thin narrow bit at the top of the West Coast of the South Island and if nothing else just a photo opportunity. There are a few walks you can do here but the weather had seriously deteriorated by this point as we didn't fancy getting soaked again, so after walking up to the lookout we jumped back in the van and headed back down south.

    Although we covered a lot of miles, the driving doesn't bother us at all as there is always such picturesque scenery. The South Island really is beautiful. We even spotted a baby calf on route that had literally just been born. We could tell this as the mother was quite happily chowing down on the placenta!

    We are conscious that we only have a couple of weeks left in the van now so want to make the most of it. Tomorrow is forecast to be a sunny day so not wanting to spend the day driving we tackled most of the driving that evening and stopped off in a free campsite on the side of the road.    Leggi altro

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    Paparoa National Park

    11 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Despite the weather forecast still predicting a rain free day, the rain hammering down on top of the van suggested otherwise. We still had a bit of a drive to today's destination, the Pancake Rocks in Paparoa National Park so we hit the road and hoped the sun would show its face when we got there. Another great drive with the final part taking us along the coast where we had a great view of the stormy sea.

    The pancake rocks get their name as a layer-weathering process called stylobedding (yes I have copied that from the Lonely Planet) has carved the limestone into layers which if you have a vivid imagination could slightly resemble pancakes. Despite the weak resemblance to pancakes the rocks were pretty spectacular. The terrible weather also played in our favour here as the stormy sea surging through the rocks was mesmerising to watch. The rain even stayed away whilst we were and the sun almost came out.

    We then continued our journey South ending up in Greymouth. The plan here is to cycle some of the West Coast Wilderness Trail but I fear the weather isn't going to play ball. We will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.    Leggi altro

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    Arthur's Pass

    12 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We woke up at 3am to an almighty crash of thunder and water pouring in the back of the van. After blearily looking around for something to catch it in we opted for a saucepan. That lasted all of 3 minutes until we realised that perhaps the saucepan wasn't big enough to catch the volume of water pouring in through the top of the back door. The ring of the water hitting the pan would have also driven us insane. We then upgraded to a bucket which we precariously balanced on the end of the bed.

    When checking the weather in the morning, we found at least 3 different forecasts, all of which generally focused around rain. A cycle ride was therefore not that appealing so we popped into the Greymouth information centre who told us that it should be dry around Arthur's Pass this afternoon so that's where we headed.

    On the drive there it started relatively clear and then we drove into some of the worst downpours ever. We crept at like 30kph with the wipers on full so that we didn't drive over the edge of the very windy roads. In the distance however we could see blue sky so we weren't completely disheartened. Not far from Arthur's Pass village we drove into blue skies and there were even glimpses of the sun! I was literally cheering driving into the car park.

    We popped into the information centre to make sure none of the paths were closed and were told the Devils Punchbowl (which was one I was particularly looking forward to) would be a great choice due to all the rainfall. All geared up we started the 1 hour return walk. It was a bit drizzly but the falls at the end were pretty spectacular. Once back at the van we had a little visitor in the form of a kaka trying to join us for lunch. He was quite happily chomping away on the seal around the back doors of van. Now we know why so much water pours in the back when it rains!

    Luckily whilst we had lunch the rain had hit and passed again so we decided to get back out and walk along Arthur's Pass to the Bridal Veil lookout and back. It was a nice walk and we were there and back in around 40 minutes or so. Time for our afternoon tea and chicken noodle snack before being on our way back to Greymouth.    Leggi altro

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    Hokitika and Ross

    13 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Another stormy night with the wind shaking the van from side to side. I was worried we would wake up in Oz surrounded by tiny munchkins! Simons catch the leak contraption did the trick though and we didn't wake up with soggy feet.

    After breakfast, we continued our journey south to Hokitika, in particular Hokitika gorge on which you can walk across a swing bridge over beautiful turquoise waters. To make the drive more interesting and to save doubling back on ourselves we decided to drive there via Lake Kaniere and visit Dorothy Falls. This would have worked out very well had the road not been closed so in actual fact we made a massive detour to visit a very underwhelming waterfall. The lake was pretty though and as always the countryside is gorgeous.

    Eventually we made it to the gorge where we had lunch to see if the rain would hold off a little bit (as it was pretty heavy at this point). It wasn't really easing off so we went for it anyway. The one good thing the rain does seem to do is intensify the numerous different shades of green in the forest, from the moss to the trees. Despite the rain, it was a really nice short walk. Unfortunately because of the rain, the water wasn't the beautiful turquoise colour we were expecting and instead more of a muddy grey but it was stunning all the same.

    Simon is really getting into this walking malarkey, even in the rain, so we headed to an old gold mining town called Ross where he had found a walk around the old gold mine and sluice pipes. Long gone is the boy that wouldn't even walk into town from Bedminster. The rain started up again just as we pulled into the car park, right on schedule. Despite this we put on our raincoats and headed out. The rain did ease off slightly and the walk took us past an old miners hut and a small cemetery. If the weather is good and their isn't so much rain, you can hire a pan and go panning for gold in the river. After the walk and a nice cup of tea, we set off once more to Franz Josef where we would be spending the night. Unfortunately there isn't any free spots around this area so we had to pay $35 for a spot in a campsite. It was good to get the heater on though after a very damp day. They also have free wifi so we don't even have to talk to each other. Swings and roundabouts :)    Leggi altro

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    Franz Josef

    14 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We have come to the conclusion now that there is absolutely no point in checking the weather as it never does what it's supposed to. Last night we found a cheap glacier valley walking tour to the Franz Josef Glacier so we just booked it and hoped for the best.

    For the first time in what feels like forever, we woke to beautiful blue skies. Today was going to be a good day. We had a leisurely breakfast of beans on toast (it's amazing how much I miss toast as we can only make it when we are hooked up to power) followed by a lovely hot shower and then headed out for our tour.

    We met our guide for the morning, a very chatty Kiwi called Cliff. To keep things interesting Cliff didn't take us down the traditional path to the Glacier and instead took us into the forest pointing out interesting things like the worlds biggest moss and the worlds biggest daisy. This was all very nice until our next off piste section which took us up a small waterfall. It was very slippery and I definitely slipped a few times, earning what is probably a very deserved nickname of 'liability' from Cliff. In my defence, these so called 'tracks' that we were following were not really tracks at all and he boasted that he was probably the only guide that used them. I wonder why?

    At a nice lookout we stopped for a nice cup of tea and were introduced to Hokey Pokey biscuits which were divine! It's kind of a biscuit / cookie, which was soft but also sturdy enough for dunking. Delicious! I was starting to dislike Cliff a little bit after our treacherous journey through the forest but give a girl a cookie and she will forgive most things.

    After our tea break we thankfully made our way out of the forest and walked along down one of the glacial rivers towards the Glacier, before following the well trodden path up to the Glacier. It was pretty amazing to see and because we have had a lot of rain recently the Glacier was a beautiful blue colour.

    We then wondered back to the car park with a quick stop to dip our hands in the water running from the Glacier just to see how cold it actually was (I don't think I need I need to tell you that it was freezing!)

    After saying our farewells to Cliff, we headed back to the van for some lunch and headed over to Lake Matheson for an afternoon walk around the lake. We hadn't really thought about going here however the lady in the i-site said that if you're lucky and the lake is still you get a perfect reflection of the mountains in the lake. She wasn't wrong either. The views were incredible and the reflections were breathtaking. It really is truly beautiful here and I am going to miss being surrounded by mountains, lush green forests and lakes constantly.

    After our walk we headed to the small township near the Fox Glacier where we stayed for the evening. Yet again we had to pay for a site as there are no free ones around here however we did get free pumpkin soup which was delicious!    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Fox Glacier - Queenstown

    15 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After bailing on walking to Fox Glacier yesterday (neither of us could bothered to walk again for more ice) we thought it only right to visit this morning as the weather was pretty nice again.

    It was only a short 1 hour round trip so we only took the bare minimum camera and GoPro. We were even too lazy to put on our trekking shoes and I was still in my pyjama shorts. After navigating over some streams via some well placed rocks and up a giant hill we made it to the terminal face lookout. I'm glad we decided to do it as it was a lot more spectacular for me than Franz as you felt a lot closer and could see a lot more of it.

    Once back to the van we hit the road for Queenstown. There were lots of amazing views of the snow capped mountains and lakes during the drive so we stopped quite regularly for photos and a few times for Blake to take toilet breaks (I think she has a problem). We also found a nice lookout to stop for lunch by the Haast Pass memorial which had a nice view over the coast. Back in the van for what felt like forever we finally made it into Queenstown. We had been given a lot of recommendations for a famous burger place called FergBurger so we decided to treat ourselves after such a long drive. Fergs is so popular there is nearly always a 15 minute queue just to order followed by a 20 minute wait for the food. Luckily we managed to grab two seats and waited patiently for our food. I was slightly hungry when I ordered so I went for quantity over quality and ordered Mr Big Stuff. It was 3/4lb of meat with bacon, cheese and all the trimmings. To say I felt slightly sick after is an understatement. Blake opted for a Cockadoodle Oink which was breaded chicken with bacon and all the trimmings. The burgers also came with a huge box of skin on fries with sweet chilli and aioli dip which were delicious!

    There were no free spots in Queenstown so we found one that was just outside and headed there. When we pulled up a van had just covered 3 spaces of the only flat ground so I pulled up beside him and basically told him sharing is caring. He didn't take to kindly to this and almost drove his van in a ditch turning it around angrily. Needless to say we parked on the wonk a few spaces down after all as I don't think he would have made the best neighbour after that.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Queenstown

    16 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Queenstown is a gorgeous ski town on the edge of an enormous lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. Everything is so beautiful here, the view of the mountains resembling an oil painting. It is perhaps one of the most stunning places I have ever visited. Unfortunately we don't have the money to go skiing which is a shame as apparently this is the best winter Queenstown has seen in 10 years. Instead we will have to settle for a wander around the town. After parking up the car, we wandered through the town mooching around a couple of the shops before stopping by the lake for a picnic lunch.

    Queenstown is the home of bungee jumping and a whole plethora of other adrenaline filled activities. The lake is massive and therefore a number of activities take place on it. We had read in the Lonely Planet about a shark boat type thing that jets above and below the water and jumps 5 meters into the air. We were therefore excited when we saw a couple of these sharks going out into the lake when we were eating lunch. It was a massive anti climax though. Thank god we didn't pay lots of money to go in one. Simon is keen to do a sky dive (I have absolutely no desire to do that whatsoever) but he is going to save it for Australia instead.

    After lunch we went for a short walk around Queenstown Gardens. Despite the glorious sunshine, it was a very cold day so before long we were frozen and headed back to the van. We did get a little side tracked on the way back though. Next to Fergburger you will find Fergbaker which makes the most incredible cakes. We therefore may have accidentally ended up with a vanilla slice and a white chocolate baked cheesecake to go with our afternoon tea. Oops!

    The rest of the afternoon was filled with chores like laundry before we headed out to a new free camp spot just outside of town next to a lake.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Glenorchy

    17 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We had a lazy morning before heading to a nearby pool for a shower. You could pay $4 for a shower or $6 to use the facilities so as it was raining we decided to pay the extra $2 and have a bit of a swim. We didn't quite make it to the lane swimming area though as we got distracted by the kids pool with rapids so we swam around there for a bit before jumping in the spa pool which was very nice!

    A couple of people we had bumped into mentioned that we should make the trip out to Glenorchy which is an hour outside Queenstown so we headed out there after our swim. It was a beautiful drive along the side of the lake and when we arrived we found a nice spot to pull up for lunch next to the lake. The weather was a bit pants so we didn't fancy going for a walk. Instead we popped into Mrs Woolly's General Store which is a treasure trove of all kinds of pointless nik naks that had absolutely no practical use but were very pretty! After a browse we headed back into Queenstown.

    We haven't stopped thinking about Fergburger and all the other flavours we could of had so we decided to be naughty and go back there for dinner. It is the only Fergburger in the world and we are leaving Queenstown tomorrow so it would be rude not to. This time I opted for the Bombay Chicken burger which was chicken tenderloins marinated in a chilli and coriander yoghurt with cucumber raita, mango chutney and salad. I thought my last burger was amazing but this was epic! Simon went for the Sweet Bambi which was a Fiordland deer burger with Brie, caramelised onion chutney and salad. Needless to say we were very happy customers... again.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Queenstown - Dunedin

    18 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We had a long drive ahead of us today to Dunedin so we had a quick breakfast and were on our way. We had heard on the news that the water supply in Dunedin has been contaminated so residents have had to boil their water before they can drink it for the last few days. We therefore made a quick stop to fill up on water before we left Queenstown. We also filled a couple of empty milk cartons and all our water bottles just in case.

    It was another scenic drive with a lunch stop by a lovely lake en route. We had found a nice free spot just outside Dunedin and we arrived just after 4pm. It was a bit of a bumby road to the camp spot though. The comments on our Campermate app which tell us where all the camping spots are had mentioned to avoid a particular road if you didn't have great power to weight ratio. It was just one comment though and I figured that as we were only in a ford transit and not a huge motorhome we would probably be ok. Halfway along this road we discovered that wasn't the best decision. It was an incredibly steep and very bumby road essentially through the middle of farmers fields and it went on forever! At one point we stalled on a particularly steep hill and I thought we were going to be stuck there. After the third or forth attempt we made it although the smell of the fresh county air had been replaced the sweet smell of clutch! We were so happy when we reached a normal road again! I will have to make sure to comment on the app that under no circumstances should anyone attempt that road in anything other than a 4WD!

    Having spent the entire day in the van we were keen to get out for some fresh air so we went for a little walk along the beach which was really nice. We then sat and watched the sunset with a cup of tea and some gingernut biscuits. It's moments like this that we realise just how lucky we are. We are only half way through our trip and this is one of many incredible sunsets and sights that we have seen so far.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Dunedin

    19 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    After a lazy breakfast we headed into the centre of Dunedin for a day of exploring. Dunedin is a strange city and reminds me of a cross between Plymouth and Bristol. Like Bristol, there are a lot of Victorian buildings and graffiti but then driving into the centre I felt like I was driving into Plymouth, very strange. It was also really quiet and there was hardly anyone around considering it was a Saturday. We later found out that it was because it was the day that people roll Jaffas down the steepest street in Dunedin so that may explain it (we are also completely gutted that we missed this). More about this coming up in a later post.

    We found a graffiti arts map in one of the leaflets we picked up so we set off in search of the various pieces. Some of them were incredible! After a picnic lunch on the Octagon which is in the centre, we had a look around the art gallery as it was free. There was some very strange art in there and I'm not going to lie I didn't really understand any of it.

    Our next stop was the railway station which is apparently one of the most photographed railway stations in the world so thought it would be worth a look. After marvelling at its grandeur and a quick snap we headed back to the van and parked up for the evening in a pub car park (which we were allowed to do may I add). This worked out particularly well for Simon as the All Blacks were playing Australia and this particular pub was showing the match so after dinner we headed into the pub for a pint and to watch the ruggers. Simon really enjoyed the game and I particularly enjoyed the free wifi the pub had to offer!    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Day 2 - Dunedin

    20 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    After our latest night so far watching the All Blacks smash Australia we were in no rush to get up. It was also raining pretty bad so we decided to just get some shopping done and visit a dump station. We were also out of Netflix downloads so naturally we went to McDonalds, grabbed a couple of cheeseburgers and fries and sat there for over an hour on a download mission.

    Whilst tucking into our cheeseburgers we decided that as we had no rainy day activities on the list for Dunedin that we would park up the van at the beach spot from the first night and binge watch the Netflix we had just downloaded. We had a late lunch and then made ourselves a very comfy bed and that's where we stayed until we went to sleep. Due to the very late lunch we weren't feeling that hungry so dinner was a packet of Doritos and some salsa. A super lazy day but one that is needed every once in a while.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Dunedin - Oamaru

    21 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    We found some cheap tickets for the Cadbury tour so thought that it would be rude not to go! The price to pay for them being so cheap is that we had to be there at 8:50am so it was a very early start.

    I knew this tour would be good when no sooner had it started we were given a little bag with some free chocolate! Our tour guide started by talking about the main chocolate bars that this particular factory makes and considering the chocolate addict that I am, I hadn't heard of hardly any of them! This is because the majority of what they make here doesn't even leave New Zealand. Their speciality are Jaffas which are a firm Kiwi favourite and apparently inspired by our Jaffa cakes. They don't look anything like a Jaffa cake though as they are round chocolate balls covered in a red candy, orange flavoured coating. They also specialise in marshmallow bars which include the 'Perky Nana' a banana marshmallow covered in chocolate, the 'Pinky' a strawberry marshmallow covered in caramel and chocolate and then the 'Chocolate Fish' which is a fish shaped marshmallow covered in chocolate. These Kiwis sure like their marshmallow. By the end of the tour we had a selection of these chocolates to try and if I'm honest marshmallow is completed overrated. If I have a chocolate bar and the majority of it is fluffy marshmallow I feel a bit cheated! Think I'll stick to the hard stuff.

    Our first stop was the sensory station. After a quick explanation of how Cadburys make their chocolate we were handed a small plastic cup and were let loose on the liquid chocolate train! It was only around 9:30am and we hadn't long had breakfast but that didn't stop us. You could choose from melted white, milk and dark chocolate and then choose some toppings to put on the top. We both went for half white and half milk chocolate with a sprinkling of pretzels! Whilst we were tucking into the chocolatey goodness a lady showed us how they tempered the chocolate to give it its shine. Our guide then took us to see the special machines (sugar pans) that coat the Jaffas and gave us a little packet to take home! This is where we also learnt that we missed the famous Cadbury Jaffa Race which is where 25,000 Jaffas are numbered and rolled down the steepest street in Dunedin (and the world). The owners of the first five Jaffas to reach the bottom win a prize.

    On the way into the factory we passed a giant purple silo which was our next and final stop. Here we got to see a ridiculously large 28 meter high chocolate fountain which, if nothing else was pretty cool to watch.

    After the tour we were still feeling very disappointed that we missed the Jaffa Race, so we decided to drive to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world to check it out. Well all I can really say is, it's a bloomin steep street that we felt obliged to walk up. At the very least I thought it may help burn off the significant amount of chocolate I had already eaten that morning. On the way up we could see the remnants of the many Jaffas that hadn't made it to the bottom of the hill. As we had been given a packet of Jaffas we thought that it would be rude not to roll one down the hill (only one mind as it is chocolate after all and we don't want to waste them). We watched it bounce down the hill, rebound off the curb and then land in someone's garden. We took that as our cue to walk back down the ridiculously steep hill and head back to the van.

    Turns out that you can achieve a lot in a day if you get up really early so as it still wasn't even midday and the sun was shining we headed over to the Otago Peninsula for a scenic drive along Portobello Road. It was a gorgeous drive. At the end we stopped for some lunch before heading back to Dunedin via Allan's Beach to see if we could spot some seals. On our short stroll along the beach we passed two seals sunbathing on the sand. They weren't bothered by us at all and were happily napping in the sun. They were pretty cute and it was cool to see them so close.

    Now on our Cadbury tour, the guide mentioned that the All Blacks were playing Australia on Saturday in Dunedin so after hours of pondering we decided to head to the ticket office to see if we could get tickets. It does involve keeping the van for an extra night and tickets are nearly $100 each but when else are we going to get to see the All Blacks play in New Zealand! We will just have to do a lot of Woofing (volunteering in exchange for accommodation and meals) when we get to Australia. The joy on Simons face when he came running back from the ticket office with two tickets was a picture!

    We then made our way to Oamaru which is around an hour north of Dunedin so that we could have a full day of exploring the next day.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Oamaru

    22 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    I was really excited about Oamaru. Not only is it supposed to be a quirky Victorian, steampunk town but it is also the home of the little Blue Penguin colony. We started the morning with a wander up and down the main streets, past the old Victorian buildings, popping into quirky vintage shops and galleries on the way.

    After lunch we wandered down along the harbour, past hundreds of cormorants that were nesting on one of the old wooden docks. We then popped into the Blue Penguin colony to buy our tickets to watch the penguins return home from their long day at sea. The viewing wasn't until 6pm so we walked up to a viewing point where you could see out over Oamaru.

    At the i-site we had visited in the morning, the lady had said that we may be able to see some Yellow-Eyed Penguins if we headed out to Bushy Beach. We had a few hours to kill so we headed out there and hid in a hide for around an hour. There were a few seals on the beach but no penguins so we made our way back to the main town in time for the Blue Penguin viewing. Even if there had been some Yellow-Eyed Penguins, it would have been very difficult to see them without binoculars as we were so far away from the beach.

    The Blue Penguin reserve had around 350 nesting boxes that the penguins used. They were completely wild but the reserve was a safe place for the penguins to call home. For the viewing, we were seated by the edge of the sea so that we could see the penguins come out of the sea, climb out on the rocks and head back to their homes after a very long day fishing out at sea. Whilst we were waiting for the first penguins to come home we were given some penguin facts. They wait off shore and then swim in together as a raft so we were very excited when we saw the first group swim in. Blue Penguins are only 30cm tall so they are pretty tiny. It was so cute to watch them clamber up the rocks and then run into the reserve. There they would congregate under the walkway and prune themselves. In total we saw around 100 penguins come back in around 4 separate groups. Unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos. This is because if the penguins get scared they won't come home. There were a couple of fur seals asleep on the rocks where the penguins climbed out. The seals don't eat penguins but they don't know that so some of them took a long time to sneak past them. I could of sat and watched them for hours however after around an hour and a half the viewing was over.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World
    1

    Oamaru - Akaroa

    23 agosto 2017, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Our water was low and the waste pretty full as we hadn't been to a dump station the previous day so after breakfast we decided to go to the local swimming pool for a wash. For $5 each we had a nice sit in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes and a normal sized unlimited hot water shower.

    We then made our way to the Steampunk HQ which is another one I'd been pretty looking forward to. The lady explained that steampunk is a futuristic idea of what life could have been like if electricity had never been invented and everything still rain on steam power. It is often based around 19th century Victorian England which is why it fits in so well in Oamaru. To me it's just cool stuff made of junk but I love it! We were also told to look out for a couple of interactive bits, in particular a time portal in the second room. This steam punk collection also revolved a little around a skull theme which with the low light light was actually pretty trippy. Especially when you think the other person is behind you only to spin round and see one of these things staring at you.

    The first interactive piece was a pipe organ however each key was a different sound bite of music, voices or noises. It definitely kept us entertained for much longer than it should have. In the second room, we made our way to the time portal. This was a small mirrored room which had hundreds of lights hanging from the ceiling. Once you pressed the red button we were mesmerised by a 2 and a half minute light and music show. It was so incredible that when it stopped we instantly pressed the button so that we could watch it again. Blake could have quite happily stayed in there all day! Out in the yard were some bigger pieces. A giant tricycle made mostly from an old tractor was one of my favourites along with a fisherman sat on top the roof.

    We then decided to make our way up towards Christchurch as we want to spend a few days there before heading back down for the rugby in Dunedin. The weather looks great for the next couple of days so we have decided to head to Banks Peninsula first which is on the coast behind Christchurch. Here they have some good walks and wildlife cruises that we may check out in the morning.    Leggi altro

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