The first thing that struck us when arrived was the relative heat in comparison with New Zealand. We found our way to central Sydney and met up with an old school friend of Chrisie’s at Circular Quay. She took us home across the harbour on the famous Manly Ferry, and the sights were impressive – The Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Heads, any number of sailing boats fighting for space against the ferries, and finally Manly itself, which occupies a beautiful peninsula between the Sydney basin and the Tasman sea.

Our first week in Oz was spent sorting out all the formalities for trying to get work, and for spending half a year on the bottom of the globe. We needed Tax File Numbers so we could get paid; We set up our first joint bank account; We registered for Medicare, the rough equivalent of the UK’s NHS; And we waited and waited for a response from lots of van rental companies to say we’d got a free van for 6 months. Despite offering a great deal in return, and receiving a lot of genuine interest, the companies were simply too busy to deliver what we were asking for.

We did manage to find some time for play too, and spent a great day looking at the water dragons, and the orb spiders around the Heads, as well as relaxing on the beach, walking round Sydney central, and trying some slightly suspect food in the Chinese Markets.

After a week we had to move from Manly, and a friend of Chrisie’s Auntie who also happened to live in Sydney kindly agreed to come and get us. Helen and Murray showed us around some of the stunning Northern beaches, then put us up, fed us, and gave us great company for probably a little longer than they bargained for. We are really grateful for the help Murray gave us with our van, and the interest they both showed in our travels.

We left our hosts and we were driving North, but when we listened to an voicemail message offering us work with OEG (the Outdoor Education Group). We turned the van around and drove South to Moss Vale, crashing with friends of ours from back home, who are currently working for OEG. A lot of our friends from BAC (Belfast Activity Centre) have ended up working there too, so there were lots of friendly faces around that we hadn’t seen in a while. It’s a great place to work; we spent a month working taking school kids out for expeditions in the bush of Belanglo State Forest, and getting our first experiences of Kangaroos, wombats, snakes, huntsman spiders and Australian teenagers.

Life hasn’t been all plain sailing though, as we discovered that the van we bought had a major oil leak, and that a previous owner had filled a crack with silicone! Luckily the Outdoor Education Group are friendly with a mechanic across the road, and he agreed to fix our van at really short notice – in fact it was done in 3 days, and friends of ours have waited 6 weeks for theirs to be looked at!

The mechanic is a guy called Daryl, who owns the Cross Roads Group Garage, Berrima Road in Moss Vale, NSW. He has been great to us, even letting us use his workshop on Easter Saturday to do some work to our van and offering us lots of advice on how to fit a dual battery system so we can run our fridge and have cold beer in the outback.

We are setting off North again soon, hopefully to get some work in the Hunter Valley wine region, then onwards and upwards to the Gold Coast.

At the beginning of our trip we’d been to the car market in Auckland, and had been disappointed with the way we were treated, and the price of services. In Christchurch we were pleasantly surprised to find that they are a separate company, and don’t apply any of the pressure and dodgy selling tactics we’d experienced in the North.

They are also much more reasonably priced. $85NZ gets you 3 days’ worth of parking for a van at the car market (cars are cheaper still), a kitchen, shower and toilets, and that’s all you pay as a seller as they don’t take commission. We did two lots of three days but didn’t manage to get our Cow sold in time, so we arranged to go for their long-term option. It costs a little more, but the money we’d already paid was taken off the price, and then they keep the van until it sells, probably at the beginning of high season in September or October.

They also offer full mechanical checks and Gary, the resident mechanic, has a full inspection rig on site. They’ll do a legal check for buyers too, so you know there’s no money owing; they can sort you out with insurance, and as a final touch they have great value ferry tickets across the Cook Straight.

If you want to check them out they’re on Battersea St., just off Columbo St., which is the main North-South street in Christchurch. It’s a 5 minute walk South from the free Orbiter bus from the city centre, and from the big supermarkets. They’re also on the web at: http://www.buybackpackercars.co.nz/

We timed the trip just right to catch the evening light over Nugget Point, and watched the sea lions and New Zealand Fur Seals playing around the rocks far below the lighthouse. Then we grabbed a space in a small car park just back down the road at a place called Roaring Bay. Not particularly famous for roaring, it is however special for being one of the only places that the rare Yellow Eyed Penguin comes ashore every night to nest. We joined several other people in the hide, and watched these wonderful sea birds fight through the surf, waddle up the beach and scramble up the steep bay wall to their nest sites.

After a night at a DOC site nearby we drove along the rugged coast for a bit until we found the Lost Gypsy Caravan that the American girl had told us about. Looking round his caravan was free, and an incredible step back into childhood. We spent the best part of an hour playing with countless “Automata”, little handmade toys and models where something as simple as turning a handle produces amazing results, and no two were the same. A model train ran at head height round the inside of the caravan, and would trigger lots of other lights and sounds as it went, and briefly diverting your attention from whatever else you were currently playing with.

For $5 each we went up into the main exhibition – A garden and series of sheds with similar quirky objects, but on a much more grand scale. There was a TV powered by riding a bicycle, a light show controlled by a stick and a spoon, and a clock made from sea urchins, to mention but a few of the oddities to be played with. The piece de resistance was undoubtedly the piano, but I won’t spoil it for you – Just go and find out for yourself.

From there we headed back North to Dunedin, and found our HelpX host unwell, but thankfully she still gave us a place to stay in exchange for a little gardening and a lot of patio scrubbing. We had a wander round Dunedin, taking in its Scottish heritage, before arriving at the Cadbury Factory for our tour. Well it was there and it was cheap! Wouldn’t you…?

The tour was actually a little bit of a let down, in that we didn’t really get to see much in the factory, and the shop at the end that we expected to be full of every kind of Cadbury chocolate at a discount, had only a limited selection and at next to no difference in price than the local Countdown. We did leave with a bag full of free goodies though, and a bottle of “Chocolade”, which surprisingly tasted a lot better than it sounds.

A few K’s North of Dunedin is a place called Moeraki, home of the Moeraki Boulders. I had wanted to see these since I first saw them on one of those “10 Wonders of the World” articles doing the rounds on the Net years ago. The boulders are almost perfect spheres, and as the cliff erodes more and more are appearing. We arrived in the pouring rain, typically, so the photography went from artistic to amusing instead. Despite the weather, they were still awesome to have seen.

Driving North along the coast we came to a section of coast road that had been blocked off. Determined to find out why, I walked a bit from both ends, and found the sea had eaten chunks of road away, leaving little islands of tarmac, complete with white lines. Cool!

In Oamaru we had a wander round the Victorian Quarter, looked at some amazing limestone sculptures that were way out of our price range, and found the world’s most hardcore steam train. It has flamethrowers!

The weather had a been a bit grim off and on for a while, and we were debating hard whether or not to drive the extra 250km it would take to go inland to Mount Cook, rather than straight up the coast to Christchurch. In the end we decided to give it a go, and we were rewarded with 2 stunning days as we drove inland to Twizel, then North to Mount Cook. The views down of New Zealand’s tallest peak over Lake Pukaki were unbelievable. The surface was almost mirror calm, and the water itself is a wonderful blue because of Rock Flour, powdered rock from the glacial action on the slopes of Mount Cook and the surrounding peaks. Further along we paused for an hour or two at Lake Tekapo to photograph the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd with the crystal waters and rugged Southern Alps as its backdrop.

We spent 3 nights in campsites around Lake Ellesmere, just South of Christchurch, chilling out, being ill, and geocaching, before making the final drive to the city. We were heading to our last HelpX host for New Zealand, but before we met them we got last minute jobs done while we still had the luxury of our own transport. We checked out the Backpackers Car Market on Battersea St., sent a parcel home and bought a few bits at the local Mitre 10 to get the van looking as good as possible.

Despite getting slightly geographically embarrassed (not lost, honest) on our way to our HelpX host, we still got there on time and met Jo and the kids. She kindly gave us the whole day to sort our van, and we spent hours in the blistering sun painting, cleaning, and polishing. The next day we got it down to the car market first thing, and walked the 3km back up the hill to the house.

The rest of the week contained much hard work in the garden, mulching, pruning, weeding, landscaping, and anything else Nick and Jo could find to keep us out of mischief. In return they looked after us wonderfully, even taking us out on an evening driving tour of some of the drastic damage still visible after the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes. He introduced us to an amazing phenomenon called “floating”, where heavy, hollow structures, like storm drains and sewers can actually lift up during an earthquake, rather than settling lower. Some of these structures are now half a metre higher than they should be, while some bits of land have dropped by up to a metre and a half!

The enormous number of sea containers in Christchurch is just staggering, and they are being used for everything from corner shops and a new shopping centre to holding up buildings and protecting communities from collapsing cliffs. Nick and Jo took us and the kids to Sumner beach for “fush and chups” and the number of clifftop homes abandoned and condemned was crazy. A natural tower of hexagonal granite columns (not unlike the Giant’s Causeway in N. Ireland) on the beach had been shaken to pieces by the quake.

The sewer systems in Christchurch were largely made of clay pipe, which shattered, so they brought in temporary pumps and dumped raw sewage into the Avon River, as well as exhausting the world’s supply of Portaloos! Talk about being up s**t creek!

We were in the city for the 1 year anniversary of the February quake, and a special documentary was shown on TV. It demonstrated the extraordinary sense of charity and community that the people in Christchurch found for each other, and the unrelenting determination to pick up, rebuild, and carry on. Among many examples, it showed one guy who still had running water, and built pipes to the street for everyone around to use, and it showed a young guy who rallied several thousand students to help clear up the mess.

Nick was telling us that they get hundreds of earthquakes a year, and showed us a website (www.geonet.org.nz) that logs the quakes for all of NZ. There were at least 3 earthquakes up to about 4 ish on the Mercalli scale while we were there! Scary!

Queenstown is bustling with life in summer. There are any number of bars and restaurants to cater for every taste and wallet. The section of the town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu , known as the Wharf, is a beautiful place to eat, drink, or just chill out watching the jet boats or the TSS Earnslaw steamer come and go, and with the incredible backdrop of the crystal clear water and the jagged edges of the Remarkables mountain range, it is no wonder Queenstown draws in the crowds.

In addition to boasting a very European, modern culture, Queenstown badges itself The Outdoor Capital of the World. Well, we arrived with the firm intention of finding out whether or not it deserves this reputation. We decided to pack in as many of the area’s adventure activities as we could, and give you our top 5. So, in the order we did them, here they are:

1)      Milford Cruise – We had heard that Fiordland National Park was supposed to be one of the most stunning parts of New Zealand, with the Milford Sound being the most impressive of all the Fiords. We considered doing a day trip, but the romance of an overnight cruise drew us in. Real Journeys are the only company offering overnight cruises on Milford Sound, and so we booked on the Milford Wanderer.

Even though it is a 700 km round trip by road, we chose to drive to Milford ourselves, taking our time to enjoy the sights along the way. We stopped near Te Anau overnight, which is a quaint little town on Lake Te Anau, and the last town for 130 km to Milford. The drive up the Milford road was nothing short of incredible, despite a spell of poor weather. The rain had brought hundreds of waterfalls teeming down the sheer walls of the valleys either side of the Homer tunnel, and the mists swirled around the peaks high above the twisting road. The Homer Tunnel is an impressive feat of engineering, bored through the mountain for 1.3 km to finally connect Milford to the world by road. It is narrow and unlit, but traffic lights ensure vehicles only go one way at once, and driving it is not to be missed.

Just before we got to Milford, we stopped in at The Chasm, a waterfall like no other, where the floodwaters have picked up rocks and ground out great holes and scoops in the canyon. It was only a 20 minute round trip walk, and well worth it.

Finally at the end of the road, we parked up and went to get checked in. In no time at all we were invited to board the Milford Wanderer, and shown to our cabins. Our Double was luxury, but we couldn’t lie around for long; we were due upstairs for a welcome and briefing, and then served a delicious vegetable soup as we began our journey out into the Sound.

The crew included a nature guide, who provided lively commentary on what we could see, as well as a bit of historical background to the area. After a while we anchored in a bay, and grabbed our swimming stuff for a couple of hours kayaking. We didn’t need the swimming stuff in the end; no-one fell in. We spent the time getting a closer look at some of the interesting and historical bits of the coast, and saw a gigantic crayfish up close in the hands of a local fisherman tending his pots.

Dinner was something else! A large slow-roasted lamb shank, with perfectly cooked squash, steamed vegetables, creamed mash and two types of salad. The crew were also especially good at attending to the dietary needs of the passengers. Chrisie’s dairy intolerance was no issue, and excellent alternatives were on offer. Dessert was served as we sailed a loop out into the Tasman sea, watching the sun go down as we ate our Sticky Date Cheesecake with cookie ice cream. Seconds were had!

We anchored up for the night in a calm bay back in the safety of the Sound, and had a great night’s sleep after relaxing in the saloon for a bit with new found friends from America and Holland.

Most people, including us, chose to get up super early to watch the sun rise over the still waters of the bay, then everyone met for breakfast, cooked and continental, of which seconds were had too! We spent the morning cruising round the Sound, getting in close to waterfalls and the sheer rock walls. We were lucky enough to see New Zealand Fur Seals, and the cloud cleared enough for a view of the iconic Mitre Peak.

Image courtesy of Real Journeys

Back on dry land we left the Milford Wanderer behind, and began the road back to Te Anau. Since the weather was better we got to see the valleys in a new light, and they didn’t disappoint. The waterfalls from yesterday had gone, and the peaks towered above, with wisps of cloud just hanging round the tops like a scarf.

We definitely recommend the Milford Sound, the Overnight Cruise, and Real Journeys. Check them out at www.realjourneys.co.nz.

2)      Shotover Jet – Everyone we spoke to about Queenstown said that the Shotover Jet was one adventurous activity not be missed. We managed to pick a nice warm evening, and set off from The Station in town. The Station is like a central hub for some of the area’s biggest names in the outdoor scene, and all their courtesy shuttles leave from there.

As we drove over the bridge the driver paused and we got our first glimpse of the narrow canyon we would shortly be rocketing down at upwards of 50 miles per hour (80kph). The staff wasted no time and gave us lifejackets (just in case, eh), and got us in to the boats. Each jet boat takes 14 passengers, and has two 3.8 Litre engines, giving 520 Horse Power to thrill people with.

Our driver, Quinn, threw in the odd joke in between slinging the boat and us sideways round corners and gunning the powerful engines through the narrow sections, bringing the boat to within millimetres (no kidding) of big rocks and the canyon walls. The skill that the drivers demonstrate is incredible. Further down the river Quinn began showing us the full 360° spins for which the Shotover Jet is famous. It was at that point we realised that a seat at the side is the wettest place to be!

We continued downstream about 7 km, which at 80 kph doesn’t take too long! Along the way the jet boat would appear to be heading straight for a tree or a rock, and then just at the last moment Quinn would flick the tail round and we’d clear the obstacle by a hair’s width. He also demonstrated to us just how clever the boat design is, that it can run safely over just 10 cm of water. We were doing 80 kph on water that was no more than ankle deep at times. Crazy!

If you are up for a thrill, and don’t mind getting thrown around and slightly drenched, then it is definitely worth doing. Find the Shotover Jet online at www.shotoverjet.com.

3)      Skyline Luge – We had both wanted to race down the Luge tracks in Rotorua, but missed out on the opportunity, so now we were in Queenstown it had to be done.

The Gondola ride to get up to the Skyline complex takes a few minutes, and the views over Queenstown just open up as you get higher and higher. At the top we had to take a chairlift even higher to the start of the luge runs, smiling for a photo on the way up with the dramatic Remarkables range as the backdrop.

We had 3 runs on the luge, and the first is always on the slightly easier “scenic” course. I wouldn’t say there was too much scenic about it, as we both gave it everything we had, focused just on the track and on beating the other one to the bottom. The luge karts look like plastic sledges, but with Harley handlebars, which do steering and braking. Acceleration is between your guts and gravity!

Our second run down was on the Advanced track. It was much faster, with steeply banked corners, sudden drops and awesome hairpins. I beat Chrisie on our first run on the advanced track, but I couldn’t get past her on the second run, no matter how hard I tried.

It was amazing fun. Skyline’s tagline is “Once is never enough” and they’re right. We could have done that all day. If you’re nearby, don’t miss it. Check them out at www.skyline.co.nz

4)      Nevis Swing – Queenstown is the home of bungy jumping and we couldn’t visit the adventure capital of the world without doing something at least related to bungy. Bad backs ruled out jumping head-first off a bridge with your feet tied to some knicker elastic (at least, that’s our excuse), so we opted for one of the other crazy inventions of AJ Hackett: The Nevis Swing. They badge it as the World’s Highest Swing.

The coach took us from The Station in Queenstown to a valley high in the mountains, and we swapped busses to a 4 wheel drive one for the final haul up a steep hill to the Nevis Bungy Centre. We got checked in and watched a few crazy brave people lob themselves off the 134 metre high Nevis Bungy, then we were called for the swing.

Even getting to the launchpad is an adventure, as you have to walk out on a thin gantry, with the valley dropping away beneath you. At the Launchpad we met P-lab and Pepps, the two staff who were going to throw us over the edge. They were great, teasing us with jokes like “I think that’s done up right!”.

We chose to go upside down, and nothing beats the sick feeling you get as the machinery moves you out over the drop, and you know you’re committed to the insane depth below. P-lab said to keep eye contact with him, making us think we had moment’s breathing room, but then shouted “whoops” as he released us to the mercy of gravity and 120m of steel cable!

The rush was incredible. Nothing to hold on to but each other, we hurtled towards to valley floor, head first, before the cables took and swung us 300m across the valley. We spent a few minutes admiring the scenery as we swung back and forth, and the guys winched us back up.

We survived to tell the tale, so I guess they did do the harnesses up right… In fact they made us feel really safe the whole time. The swing was epic! We would have loved to have done it again and again, and tried every position possible out of 10 plus combinations. Of all of the adventurous activities in Queenstown, this got the adrenaline going the most. Check out AJ Hackett at www.bungy.co.nz. They have 3 bungy sites in and around Queenstown, and one in Auckland.

5)      FergBurger – Not strictly an adventurous activity, but certainly an adventure, FergBurger is definitely on the list of Queenstown’s Must-do’s. They have a mouth-watering selection of burgers, each filled with quantities of beef or chicken that range from generous to insane. A Big Al nearly killed us… www.fergburger.com

If paying for things isn’t your style, or your wallet feels a little light then here are a few of the free things Queenstown has on offer:

1)      Routeburn Great Walk – This 50-something kilometre walk goes through and over some New Zealand’s most stunning scenery. It’s normally done over 3 or 4 days, and connects Glenorchy with the The Divide, some 300km away by road on the way to the Milford Sound. We walked a day of it from the Glenorchy end, and even in the pouring rain it was spectacular, with clear blue water pools, foaming waterfalls, wide valleys and towering cliffs.

2)      Frisbee Golf – If you have a Frisbee, or can blag one from a friend, head down to the park in Queenstown where they have a permanent 18-hole Frisbee Golf course. Some are easy, some not so, and each one gives you a course map and Par score at its start. Bring some mates and check it out. If it’s a sunny day, you won’t be alone. Some shops in town and the Ice Rink also hire Frisbees for a few dollars.

3)      Barbecue on the beach – Along the waterfront just West of the Wharf is a small park with a number of barbecue pits. Bring some burgers, a beer or 5 and chill out on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.

Further down we took a turn inland, climbing steeply to Arthur’s Pass. Our wee van almost didn’t make it, overheating on the crazy incline, at the bottom of which a sign said: “Otira Gorge – No Towing”! The landscape around Arthur’s Pass National Park is high Alpine, and very rugged and beautiful, with steep-sided valleys, and sharp peaks rising thousands of feet above the bushline. We camped in the free DOC sites nearby, and picked up a couple of hitchhikers: 2 mice, who for 3 nights in a row kept us awake, and ruined our food, until an upturned Chinese carton and a piece of chorizo served as a make shift trap and one of them was swiftly dispatched out the door. The other we didn’t see again. 3 sleepless nights, coupled with fighting off the Kea during the day left us utterly exhausted. The Kea are part of the parrot family, but they are very big, measuring nearly 50m in length, and they love to scrape their claws on metal roofs, tear open rubbish bags and rip apart windscreen wipers, as we discovered!

Even though we were exhausted, we were determined to make the best of our time in Arthur’s Pass, and began climbing Avalanche Peak via Scott’s track. After several hours of being battered by the wind and rain, we gave up, within 200m climb of the summit. As disappointing as it felt, by the time we’d got back down, the storm was well and truly in, so we made the call just in time. It’ll still be there another day.

We drove back down the Otira Gorge (oh, how we love the smell of burning brakes) and went further South down the coast to Hokitika. They had had a beach sculpture competition called Driftwood and Sand on all week, and we arrived in time to see all the displays before the tides got them. Some were intricate (like a Penguin House), some huge (like a 2.5 metre cube), and some just plain funny (like a 6 foot giraffe).

Further South again we drove through Ross, an old Gold Mining town. We didn’t find any ourselves, but after soaking up a bit of history we headed on and encountered a 6 foot Sand Fly. The normal 6mm sand flies are a major annoyance: The males live on tree sap and flowers, but the female needs protein to lay her eggs and she is the one that bites. Sound familiar… This particular Sand Fly was attached to the outside of the Bushman’s Centre, a rustic building with eccentric owners and an eclectic collection of all things weird and wonderful. Carvings, artwork, sculpture, furs, you name it. They even collect Possum roadkill, and turn them in to Possum Pies. These used to be for sale, until the New Zealand government banned the sale of possum meat. So now if you donate $4, they’ll give you one for free! One of the most amusing things was a collection of letters of complaint about their serving roadkill, and their sarcastic responses, proudly on display for everyone’s enjoyment.

Next on our journey was a stop off at the Glaciers. Franz-Joseph Glacier and Fox Glacier are two townships on the West Coast, and rising above them from almost sea level is the central section of the Southern Alps. They rise to a height of over 3,700 metres, and the valleys above these towns are still being shaped by the huge glaciers that flow down from these high, jagged peaks. We took a cloudy but pleasant stroll up to the face of the Franz-Joseph glacier, and spent most of our time being enthralled by the spectacular landscape. Some of the waterfalls are hundreds of metres high, and the cliffs are just begging to be climbed. The glacier itself disappeared some 2,500m up into the cloud to its beginnings in the nevé below the summit of Mount Tasman. We spent that evening wandering round the beautiful Lake Matheson, renowned for its great reflections, before parking up with other travellers with an awe-inspiring view of the whole range as the cloud lifted and the glaciers and snow-capped peaks came into view.

Sadly the weather beat us again, and a land slip had closed the access road to the Fox Glacier, so we pushed on South, heading through Haast and up into Mount Aspiring National Park. There we spent a wet 2 days as we passed through, seemingly in the eye of another Alpine storm the whole time. The rivers were high, and the narrow one-lane bridges provided ample opportunity to appreciate their power as the raging torrent thundered underneath.

The following day the weather was much improved, and we drove the last hundred kilometres to Wanaka in hot sunshine, along the side of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, with stunning backdrops of chains of jagged mountains, their profile like a saw, and deep valleys still in shadow.

In Wanaka we dived into the lake, realised it was ice cold, and jumped straight back out again. We also investigated Puzzling World, a must if you are ever there. It houses a collection of optical illusions, tricks, puzzles and other things similarly cool. We spent several hours getting lost in the giant maze, trying every puzzle in the café, being amazed by the following faces, and defying gravity.

Queenstown is next on our agenda, and given its reputation as Outdoor Capital of the World, we are quite excited. Bring it on…

We drove West along Queen Charlotte Drive, heading for Nelson, but stopping over in the Marlborough Sounds first. The Sounds are an incredible maze of inlets filled with stunning blue water. The evening sun turned the hills golden as we drove towards French pass to find a campsite.

Then we spent a few days in Hope, near Nelson, working on a Macadamia and Almond orchard. Sue, our host, was fantastic, and had us doing everything from tending the orchard, to making products and selling them at her stall in Nelson market. It was all great fun, and we welcomed a break from the van. The chance of showering every day was luxury! We took a break from Sue and her orchard for a couple of days to go experience another bit of NZ’s vibrant adrenaline sports scene…

A New Angle on Life – Flying a Stunt Plane in New Zealand

So we’ve been skydiving, snorkelling with sharks, kayaking in a volcano and underground in an inner tube. What next?

Well, we thought about going hang-gliding over the beautiful Abel Tasman national park, and on our travels through the interweb we ran across U Fly Extreme (www.uflyextreme.co.nz), who offer people the opportunity to fly a stunt plane. After re-reading things several times, and looking at a few reviews to discover that, yes, you do actually fly the plane yourself, the hang-gliding idea was out the window.

We arrived at their hanger at Motueka airfield on the Sunday morning, to be greeted by Vincent (the flying instructor) Alison, and a cup of tea. The weather report was not looking the best, so our flights were still up in the air. Or rather not up in the air. Excuse the pun, either way round.

We decided to put it off until the Monday afternoon, and spent a wonderful couple of days climbing bolted limestone at Paynes Ford, visiting Farewell Spit, and driving into the Abel Tasman national park as far as the flood-damaged roads would let us. Golden Bay (of which Farewell Spit is at the top), is simply stunning, and we walked a few k’s along a remote, wind-swept beach to see the incredible archway islands. We cooked noodles in a cave, while watching the sunset over these huge rock arches, and listening to the sea and the wind compete for loudest roar.

Most of Sunday was spent touring round the Golden Bay and Abel Tasman area, and on the way back to Motueka we took a detour to Split Apple Rock. We’d heard of this, but didn’t realise just how amazing it would be.

Finally, after waiting an extra 36 hours, we were heading back to U Fly Extreme for our chance to fly a Pitts stunt plane. Having got the paperwork out of the way the previous day, Vincent wasted no time in getting Chrisie suited up and straight in the pilot’s seat. He ran through the controls and other bits and bobs, before taxiing out and taking off. You experience the acrobatic capabilities of the Pitts plane even taking off, as Vincent keeps the plane level then pulls back on the stick and launches almost vertically to a height of some 600 feet.

There he hands you control, and after getting you to demonstrate a few simple manoeuvres, gets you to control the plane through a series of rolls, loops, and other stunts at 3,500 feet. The rolls were a quick thrill, and so easy to do – just hold the stick all the way left or right – Job Done. The loops were awesome, as we pulled negative 1G at the top, and +4G at the bottom.  After quickly realising that the 5-point harness wasn’t going to let us fall out, we both loved the sensation of flying along upside down, looking up at the amazing view of Abel Tasman’s blue waters and golden beaches above us! Vincent also taught us to do Cuban Eights, Reverse Cuban Eights, and 4-point rolls. We finished off with a vertical climb, a lateral turn and a vertical descent, looking straight down at the patchwork of fields around Motueka, before a gentle landing back at the airfield.

We both left buzzing, with videos of our 1^st flying lesson (it counts towards hours on a pilot’s licence). The footage is insane, with the horizon spinning wildly while Vincent is waving his hands behind you to prove to the world that you are in control of his prized aerobatic aircraft.

Before we went to U Fly Extreme we did our research in case we could have done this back in the UK, but Vincent seems to be the only guy in the world (seriously) offering the chance to actually control the plane. It’s epic! If you’re in the area, don’t miss it, or get yourself there and do it anyway.

Our journey up to Cape Reinga took us through Kauri country. Kauri are the largest of the trees in New Zealand, and incredible to look at. They can reach 20 ft across, and over 100 ft tall, and are almost perfectly circular. Their grey trunk rises like a granite column many metres to the first branches, which are huge themselves. We met a woodturner in a place called Dargaville, who showed us his workshop, and the amazing things he creates. Kauri trees are sacred in Maori culture, and he is only allowed to turn wood that has fallen naturally and been buried in swamps for thousands of years. His most prized wood is green Kauri, which is incredibly rare – it is only formed when another species of tree grows above one of these buried Kauri, and the roots of the live tree cause a reaction in the brown, grainy wood of the Kauri, turning it a deep, jade green.

Also on our Northland excursion, we visited the giant sand dunes at Te Paki, rented a body board, and spent a few seconds rushing down the steep-sided dunes, and most of the rest of the hour walking back up to go again! We watched other tourists try to stand up on the boards, catch the front edge, and after a painful but hilarious face-plant, go tumbling to the bottom in a storm of arms, legs and sand.

These dunes are part of 90 Mile Beach. It is actually only 63 miles long, but Sixty-three mile beach just doesn’t have the same ring to it. That said, it is quite cool to stand on the beach and not be able to see either end – the horizon comes first! Also quite cool is the sand – it squeaks as you walk on it. You can check out the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvWsAPCUGq8

On rainy days we visited every winery we could find that had free tastings (there are many!) as well as scoring free fudge and free Macadamia chocolate in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. The weather was woeful when we were there, but we still wanted to see a little of it and drove another crazy NZ gravel mountain road (4×4 recommended, underpowered cowprint van not so much) to get to Russell. Determined not to pay for more accommodation than necessary we tried the “we’ve run out of petrol, officer” trick again. We weren’t lying, and the only petrol station was shut. We got talking to a guy who owned a geocache site we were at (a bench made of electric pylons and associated gubbins). I was standing in his flowerbed as he drove up. He showed me where the cache was, then let us park up on his lawn overnight!

Before breakfast the next morning we rescued an old man with a boat, who couldn’t get it up the ramp onto his trailer. Then we spent the day geocaching our way Southwards on the stunning TwinCoast Highway. We saw some amazing surf spots, cool rocky bays with pounding waves, and a group of young Maori learning to paddle a traditional Waka with outrigger.

We stopped briefly in Auckland and later in Levin with old schoolfriends of Chrisie’s Mum’s, and we are eternally grateful to both for giving us such good company, food, and home comforts to break up the slightly cramped and grubby life that is travel in a Toyota Townace. Both understood totally what travellers need, and the order they are required in: Shower, Food, Wine, Washing Machine, Wine, Bed!

Our journey South was broken up by a stopover in Piopio, in the Waikato region. We arranged a CouchSurfing host at very short notice, as we needed somewhere to park near the Waitomo Caves. The guy who hosted us was great. Running one and a half farms on his own, with some 400-odd sheep and about 200 cattle, he was probably glad of a few extra helping hands. We spent a couple of nights with him, moving livestock, breaking the quad (he broke it, honest), sorting 250kg of newly-sheared wool into different grades, cooking good, honest food, and chatting economics way into the evening.

The Waitomo Caves area is host to scores of companies willing to exchange (lots of) your cash for a variety of underground experiences. We chose the Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company, on the recommendation of some friends. Their cheapest option, the one we chose, is a 3-hour cave tour in a lorry tyre inner-tube. We spent an enjoyable few hours jumping backwards off waterfalls in the dark, floating down gentle rivers with vast numbers of glow-worms overhead, and holding on tight down a few rapids. The glow worms were brighter than we expected, and twinkled and sparkled in colours from white to emerald green. Their light was just bright enough to see by after a while. It was good, but not quite as exciting as we had expected.

We worked our way all the way down the North island to Wellington, and spent a great day around NZ’s capital, after another night trying to sleep for free by leaving the van in a Forest Park car park, then coming back to it at nightfall, after the gates were locked. Well we can’t leave now…

The Museum in Wellington, Te Papa, is well worth a visit (especially given that it’s free!). We wandered around the city for a few hours, following a couple of Geocachers from place to place for a bit (we let them do the work, and picked the caches up once they’d gone), then hopped on the ferry to Picton, after another epic feed at Burgerfuel. South Aoteroa here we come…

After we couldn’t justify the luxury of a comfy bed, hot showers, and a fridge any more, we decided to head to Rotorua; some friends from Auckland had given us a 2 for 1 skydive voucher that had to be used before the end of the month. On the way up the road the heavens opened and we found out the hard way that the van roof leaked, big style. We had trangia pots, camp plates, and a washing up bowl all at strategic points on the bed to catch the worst. It rained for 20 hours solid, and we slept either side of a plastic box that we could have swum in by the morning.

We had to wait an extra day in Rotorua for the skydive as there was too much cloud cover to fly. Don’t they have instruments for that kind of thing? We were told to head off and enjoy our day and they’d give us a ring if it cleared up. We spent the whole day nervously looking for patches of blue sky. Seeing the odd one we’d say “Oo, great, maybe today ”, while thinking “nah, we’re fine. They’ll never fit a plane through that!” We filled the rest of the day with eggy-smelling Geothermal parks, a ridiculous burger at BurgerFuel and 3 wet runs at the Zorb tracks.

The Skydive – Rich

The next morning I made the call to NZone at half 8. It was on! They made us fill in an extra form for giving us oxygen. What are we doing? We got suited up, and squeezed into the plane, which has the fuselage painted up like a shark with a hangover. Buzzing yet? Hell yes! I was strapped to a bloke called Pete, who said he’d been doing this for 26 years. Well, he’s still in one piece… The earth was getting rapidly further away, and the view was awesome, probably. My attention was more focused on the red and green ‘1 min’ and ‘jump’ lights, not yet lit, and on breathing steadily through the oxygen mask glued to my clammy face.

All of a sudden Pete cinched a buckle or two tight and the red 1 minute light came on. 16,200ft ASL here we come. The door sprang open and freezing air flooded in. The roar was deafening, and I told myself everything would be fine. As we shuffled into position, I was already out of the plane, totally committed, while Pete shouted: “3”

2

1

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Breathe! The freefall lasted 60 seconds, and was the fastest minute of my life, bar none! The feeling of surfing air and emerging through the clouds hurtling toward the ground at terminal velocity is indescribable! The feeling when the parachute opens is very describable: relief! We cruised gently for 5 minutes towards the ground, pulling tight turns and feeling the G’s, before executing a perfect landing at the dropzone. In the end it was amazing: just the most incredible rush you will ever get. If you haven’t done one, go do it. We’re going back for seconds, and might even do our certification to go solo.

The Skydive – Chrisie

I always wanted to do a skydive and finally I was getting the chance to do it, and with Rich thrown out in front of me too! Just to break my fall. I wasn’t quite sure whether it was excitement or a bit of fear that I was feeling. I think mostly excitement, my only worry being will the parachute open properly, seeing as an Irish man called Declan packed them. It was a bit frustrating when we couldn’t jump on the day we had booked due to the weather, but it was almost better that way let it sink in that we were actually going to be jumping out of a plane. Also you don’t want to do something in crappy weather, when you are paying so much for it; even with a 2 for 1 voucher you want it to be sunny. On the day we did it there was big bright blue patches of sky, just what the doctor ordered, we just hoped that we didn’t need to actually call the Dr after our jump.

Getting suited, booted and kitted up just heightened the sense of excitement, even with the oxygen mask getting clipped on to your rig.  Suprisingly there wasn’t any real instructions on the ground, just a Mike my tandum partner briefly saying when I do this you do this, and “When I tap your shoulder let go of the harness and just put your arms out and go crazy” Most important thing he told me was make sure you smile to the camera. He did inform me that a lot of people find it hard to breathe when they first jump out of the plane, but you just need to relax.

We got settled into the plane, Mike my instructor and me, Rich and his, Pete and also the photographer; all squished up on the floor and all set and ready to go. I did however take note that even the pilot was wearing a parachute, slightly unnerving. The plane had a large glass sliding door, so there were fantastic views as we were flying higher and higher. Mike although only 26 and been jumping for 6 years was very good at taking your mind off the jump, you got a bit more information as to what was going to be happening once we were up and away and committed.  At 12000ft the oxygen masks were attached, but not long after Mike was busy tightening straps and checking we were connected, always good. I spotted a light suddenly come on 5mins to jump, everything happened so fast Rich moved out to the edge and then he was gone. I had no time to think second thoughts not a chance, the next thing I knew I was hanging out of the plane smiling at the camera strapped to another guys head; while Mike was still sat on the edge of the plane. Shouting 3, 2, 1. The next thing I felt the cold air rushing past us and we were off. I took a second or two to realise we were off, such a rush, such an amazing feeling freefalling; spinning, whirling and flying through the air. The shoot then opened, although I didn’t really notice, it was all so smooth just felt myself sitting in a different position and we slowed down. I spotted Rich, his chute had opened too thankfully, now it was all plane sailing. Then Mike gave me control and taught we how to control the parachute, pulling hard on one side spinning through the air you could really feel the G’s, Im surprised how fast it could spin us and yet we still had control. We floated through the air turning to see the different sites it was like having my own personal tour guide strapped to my back, Literally! Back on the ground, but I don’t think for very long, Again, again! I could get used to this whole Skydiving thing!

Christmas and New Year

Since Rotorua we have Been round the East Cape, visiting lots of pretty remote places, and driving some really class mountain and coast roads. We couldn’t find anywhere free to camp on the East Cape, so we drove the 20km dirt road to the Easternmost lighthouse in the world, and spotted a campsite partway along. Surprisingly no-one wanted payment between 11pm and 4am, when we drove out to the lighthouse to be the first 2 people in the world to see the sunrise on Christmas Eve of 2011.

Christmas was spent in 30 degrees and scorching sunshine at Lake Waikaremoana up in the hills, where we cooked ourselves a great Christmas dinner on the Trangia: chicken wrapped in bacon, spuds, carrots and cranberry, all washed down with a local beer some Czech guys gave us.

We drove to the Art-Deco city of Napier, and left pretty swiftly. Pretending architecture is your thing only lasts so long. So we drove on to Taupo, a huge lake in the centre of the North Island, and home to any adrenaline sport you care to name. We had a look at the Giant Swing – a 50m tandem bridge swing across a gorge. It looked awesome, but £45 each for 15 seconds of ‘aaaarrrrggghhh’ was beyond our budget. Besides, we can rig one up when we get home…

We drove south from Taupo to Turangi, and spent the night beside a no camping sign at the beginning of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. We were woken in the morning by several thousand people all arriving to do the same thing – The walk is listed by National Geographic as one of the top ten day hikes in the world. The walk took about 5 hours, but was 6 with geocache, photo and food stops. Still a good few hours under the 8 given by the guidebook. The trail was awesome, taking in Mt. Doom out of Lord of the Rings (genuinely), the Emerald Lakes, and the Red Crater over a distance of 19.4km with 1500m of ascent. Descriptions wouldn’t do the views justice. We were going to walk halfway and turn back to save hassle with getting back to the van, but after scree-running down the side of a volcano and not wanting the climb again, we pushed on through and caught a tourist bus back round. Back up in Taupo we sat in the river with tourists and locals alike, enjoying the scalding hot spring waters as they hit the cool of the river.

We left Taupo behind us, and hit some more really crappy weather. We discovered the van still leaks like a sieve, so we have now stripped the lining off the roof and gone a little crazy with the silicone gun. How do you remove silicone from leg hair… J

We spent New Year in Wenderholm Regional Park, half-way between Auckland and the Bay of Islands, sipping glugging back Honey Mead with Boysenberry. We were hangover central on New Year’s day, but at least ours had cleared up by the time the UK even gets New Year!

We planned to spend a few days walking in the mountain tracks, but ended up spending most of it in the hostels. Chrisie picked up a weird tropical disease, possibly from a bus seat, as it started on the back of her leg. She said the red patch felt really hot, and so I touched the area with the back of my hand. 5 minutes later I had a red patch on my hand too, exactly where I touched her leg. The next day Chrisie had streaks and other patches on her other leg and one arm, and they were beginning to blister. It got a lot worse before it got better, and she couldn’t walk for a while. Since we couldn’t do much we didn’t get to do any walks, although on the last day we ventured out to climb a hollow tree. It was like a step ladder inside with lots of branches and roots creating an easy climb (VS 4c…?) up inside, even if you couldn’t bend your legs much. We climbed the whole way to the top and had a great view, 40ft up.

We flew from San Jose to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, in the US. We nearly didn’t get on the flight in Costa Rica, as we had no record of our ESTA numbers, and they wouldn’t let us on the plane without them. We ended up asking a guy with a laptop to help us out. We wrote down the numbers and showed them to a woman on the gate. She glanced at our page and said “cheers”. She didn’t need to plug them into a computer, just see that we had them. Us telling her we had them wasn’t enough!

The flight was really delayed, and we nearly didn’t make our connection to Los Angeles. Thankfully US immigration was surprisingly easy, and customs almost non-existent. That said, the USA now has records of our fingerprints, facial measurements, eye colour and retina imprints. When we arrived in LA at 11 that night, it was rather chilly compared to the heat of Central America. We found some food in the only thing that was open, Maccy D’s, as there was no food on our flights and we were starving. We spent the night on the bench in the airport, getting a few hours sleep, before jumping on the metro to our couch surfing host. We had a deadline of 10am; we started at 7am thinking this was plenty of time to get there before Lorenzo left for work, but got off the tube in Hollywood, and ended walking a few miles to his place. It was rather more difficult to navigate in LA than we expected, but we eventually found his place with seconds to spare.

We spent our time in LA walking the walk of the fame, seeing the famous Hollywood sign, and dandering up Broadway. We even got a day out climbing at Joshua Tree National Park. Lorenzo kindly took a day off work and drove us 3hrs to get to this massive park, with thousands of stacks of boulders. It has over 10,000 routes from 1 to 10 pitches. After crapping my way up “the easiest route on the crag” (HVS 5a), almost getting the 4×4 stuck (we passed a Hummer and wondered, but thought the Toyota could take it!), and scrambling up a huge boulder pile to watch the golden sunset on the rocks, we stopped at Famous Dave’s BBQ Joint for a meat fix.  A massive feast was served on an old style bin lid, more than 2 ft across! The three of us couldn’t finish it all in one meal.

All too soon our time in LA had to finish, but we were flying to Fiji, and losing a day in the process. Friday 25th November 2011 did not exist for me and Chrisie as we left on Thursday 24th, crossed the date line, and landed on Friday 26th! Serious body clock malfunction.

When we arrived Fiji wasn’t quite what we expected, certainly on the main island, at least. Not the crystal clear waters, nor the fine golden sands and nor amazing reefs, just the hot sun and humidity. We didn’t find the things that we imagined Fiji to be until we hit the Yasawa islands, and it was all there. We explored 4 different islands and stayed at 5 different resorts. We swam through underwater cave passageways and did a lot of snorkelling exploring the reefs and seeing so many colourful fish and some amazing marine life, including Nemo and giant clams. We also got a chance to snorkle on an outer reef with reef sharks; Chrisie even got to touch one. After a week barefoot, lounging in hammocks and drinking out of coconuts it felt weird going back to the mainland and having to wear flip flops again.

It was certainly an experience going to the local markets, fending off the local stall owners trying to convince them that you didn’t want to buy something from their stall. They acted so nice and friendly and welcoming at first, and told you to come in and take a look, no pressure, but yet they follow you and tell you to buy this, or that. “I give you good, price.” “If it’s too much, tell me how much you want to spend”. One coached us in inviting us to have a Kava ceremony, we weren’t sure if it was ok to say no, as we had already tried it and didn’t like it. So we reluctantly accepted then he tried to pressure us in buying a necklace for 50 Fijian$, which is about £25 for a necklace that’s worth about £2. The Kava drink is a local custom – It is served up in a big wooden bowl, and looks like a dirty puddle. It is made from powdered Kava root, which after 10 or so half-coconuts full is a serious hallucinogen. It was banned in Europe decades ago, apparently, because of people tripping out, and because it causes liver disease. The locals seem fine, though.

New Zealand next and arriving in Auckland we ended up crashing in a hotel apartment with a boyfriend of an English girl we met in Fiji. She was in Fiji a few days longer but she warned her boyfriend Ben that we might turn up for a place to stay. We stayed until our campervan was ready. Luckily we found one on the first day, as we are eager to get our trip in New Zealand started, but we’ve had to wait around Auckland for a bit while the mechanic did his stuff.  We’re  currently staying with Kirsty and Cathal near Whakatane (They’re ex. BAC for those who don’t know) while we’re doing up the van and doing a bit of gratuitous freeloading to save cash, then we’re planning to go to the northernmost tip of New Zealand, and travel slowly south for the next 11 weeks.

We left Laguna de Apoyo behind, and traveled with Ian (London), Ben and Flo (Brighton) and Tim (Sydney) to San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua’s main surf town. We spent a couple of days surfing (Chrisie is a bit of a pro, but even I got standing on the board a few times!), and chilling in the sun. Our little crew seemed to be injury central – Tim didn’t get to surf because he ate a dodgy fish taco and broke out in a full-body rash. I almost broke all the fingers on my left hand on my second surfing attempt, a friend called Lucy stepped on a stingray and limped for days afterwards, and Ben was fixing his shorts, looked up, and got his own surfboard in the chin. 3 stitches, and a chin sling later and he was grand. And on a side note, I had my beard shaved, by an Aussie, on a beach, leaving me with a Captain Morgan tache and strip for Movember.

Food almost every night in San Juan was 2 chicken tacos each, for less than a quid between them. They were super tasty. One night we got a free shuttle to a party at the Naked Tiger hostel. When the shuttle arrived it was a pickup truck with a cage on the back – seats for about 10 people tops. We packed at least 27 people on and around the cage, not counting the ones inside on the comfy seats. The weight was too much for the truck, and it started sliding backwards on the way up the hill to the hostel! The lads all jumped off and walked up, leaving the ladies to get the first rum and coke in.

We stuck together as a group for a while longer, and all went to Ometepe Island in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua. We stupidly decided to travel on Election day, so there was no public transport. Instead we taxi’d and microbussed it to Rancho Merida on the smaller of the 2 volcanoes. We got beds for 3 US dollars each, and sat in the cool water of the lake. Someone pointed out that there are sharks in the lake, but we pretended we didn’t know and stayed to watch one of the most amazing sunsets we have ever seen.

After a couple of days in different spots and exploring on Ometepe, staying in a $1.75 a night hostel with free bed bugs, and having parted company with Ian and Tim, the remaining 4 of us went South, crossing the border back into Costa Rica. Knowing the system, it was much less of a headache this time round.

We left Ben and Flo in Liberia. They were heading to  Playa El Coco in the North End of Guanacaste, but we wanted to head further South to Montezuma. After a night’s stopover in Liberia, with a very chatty American hostel owner, we got the bus to Puntarenas, a small city about 5 miles long and 1/4 mile wide on a spit of land sticking out into the Golfo de Nicoya. We had hoped to catch the ferry straight to Paquera, then a bus to Montezuma, but we arrived too late and opted to stay in the most overpriced, rank hotel ever. It even had a sign on the door that said, only in Spanish: “Don’t go out alone. Always walk in two’s for your security. You have been warned!”

The ferry crossing the next day was stunning, as the morning sun lit up all the little islands across the Gulf. We arrived in Montezuma and settled in to a hostel literally on the beach. We stepped out of the door on to sand! Both of us weren’t too well during our time in Montezuma, but aside from some severe leakage we had an awesome time. We saw a red and black iguana than was easily 4 feet long nose to tail, swam in cool waterfalls, watched monkeys stealing food at a cafe, and walked for hours along some incredible coastline.

Our latest move has been from Montezuma, back across the Golfo de Nicoya, and up into the mountains to Monteverde. We are spending our last few days here, before flying from San Jose to Los Angeles.