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Around the World

april 2017 - januari 2018
  • Simon and Blake
En 282-dags äventyr från Simon Läs mer
  • Simon and Blake
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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Abel Tasman National Park

    9 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Golden Bay

    10 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Paparoa National Park

    11 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ 🌬 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Arthur's Pass

    12 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Hokitika and Ross

    13 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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 :)    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Franz Josef

    14 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Fox Glacier - Queenstown

    15 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Queenstown

    16 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Glenorchy

    17 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • Simon and BlakeSimon and BlakeAround the World

    Queenstown - Dunedin

    18 augusti 2017, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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