The last of New Zealand

With Michelle (brunette) and Liv (blonde), the Blackpool girls!

We went from Napier up to Lake Taupo and waited around for a day or so to see if the weather cleared enough to do a skydive, we met up with Liv and Michelle again and had a catch up.  We booked one dive and had it cancelled then decided if the next day was cloudy that was it, no skydiving.  We woke up in the morning to clear blue skies, and I thought "Oh no, I'm actually going to have to go through with this!"  

Just before the skydive in all our gear-
 yes, that little thing was the plane we went up in!

We did go through with it though and were so glad we had, Tim took it all in his stride obviously, but I was so scared.  I was last in the plane so first out which was a good thing as I had to just go for it.  It was amazing- 45 seconds of freefall then a parachute trip for about 5 minutes.  The views were fabulous and the rush was fantastic- I keep thinking back to it and can't believe we actually did it.  


Also, my skydive instructor was like a brown haired Robbie Savage, which in my eyes is a good thing!  

Huka Falls after the sky dive. 

From Taupo we headed north up to Rotorua where we went to a few of the thermal springs and Huka falls, then spent the next few days travelling up through Auckland to the Northlands so we could go diving at Poor Knights, which is one of the top ten dive spots in the world.  

Thermal springs- like another planet!

Poor knights was amazing, it isn't coral reef it's kelp and it is all protected as a marine reserve so there are loads of fish and wildlife.  We saw loads of huge stingray, some were about 1.5m across and there were shoals of fish and caves to explore too.  It was really different to places we've dived so far.  

Thermal geyser

We went for a walk by this waterfall in Whangarei.  35mins round trip- we returned to the van 2 hours later, soaked, covered in mud (I fell over) and Tim had only one working flip flop left.   

  

A vintage steam train we rode at Kawakawa

Over the last few days we have found some lovely places to camp along the coast so there are a few photos of them too.  We're heading over to Sydney again tomorrow, for Sophie and Alec's wedding then after that off on the next leg- South America! 

Poor Knights dive site is the island in the distance

Sunny bay before the diving

Near Omaha

South Island to the North island

We stayed the night on Lake Tekapo one night overlooking Mount Cook.  We watched the sun set over the mountain whilst enjoying a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a couple of beers on a Friday night which was absolute bliss.

Mount Cook 

From there we headed down to Dunedin and watched some yellow eyed penguins heading home for the evening.  After spending about an hour peering out on to the beach, looking for any sign of movement and watching small specks advancing up the beach thinking is that really a penguin we realised there were lots hidden in the bank about 20metres away from us!  It wasn't until one hungry baby started squawking that we saw them.

Hungry penguin babies- you can just about see their yellow stripes on their eyes.

An essential pit stop!

Moeraki boulders on the east coast - He looks really at home, just add the remote!

Beautiful little campsite, amazing view.

After that we drove around the south coast stopping off at little towns along the way, making out way over to Te Anau and Milford Sound.  At Milford Sound we went on a boat cruise out on the sound which was amazing, the scenery is just spectacular.  Every new corner has another view which is like a postcard.  Unfortunately, we missed some of it as the brakes on our campervan weren't the best, (understatement of the year!) overheated and set on fire as we came down the mountain!  We let them cool off then set off again- there is one way in and out so we had no choice.    

The furthest point we have been to away from home!  The most southerly point of the South Island.

We went to Queenstown from there where Tim did his bunjy jump.  It was 134m high and he absolutely loved it.  I went out in the little jump station which was frightening enough as it is suspended over the cannon.  In true Tim style, he was as cool as a cucumber whilst everyone one else was getting panicky, he wanted to go again as soon as he got back up!  We had a great night out in Queenstown too, it is a really cool little town.  

Milford Sound

Boat cruise on Milford Sound

Milford Sound, just beautiful.  

Mirror lake, on the way out of Milford Sound.  

We went up to Franz Joseph Glacier next which was again spectacular.  The ice is thousands of years old and continually changes shape as it expands and contracts, it is massive too.  

Having the bunjy rope fitted - slight moment of worry, will it hold a 13 plusser?!

From there we made our way up to Picton to catch the ferry to the North Island.  We were halfway there, in Arthur's Pass when the earthquake hit, about 100kms away from Christchurch but luckily we didn't feel anything.  The devastation cause by the earthquake is awful, the whole country is in shock about it and the death toll is still rising.  We have heard some terrible stories about it and it makes you feel very lucky to be alive.  

Another day, another view! 

Spectacular drive up the east coast, we visited the pancake rocks and blowholes too which were brilliant.  

The van mark 2.  Cosy, some may say cramped.  The water tank leaked so the carpet was wet and the brakes were more than a little dodgy- Tim's driving says the man in the garage.  He received a torrent of abuse in reply and deserved it I thought.      

On Friday we caught the ferry over to the North Island and made our way up to Napier where we are currently staying with Ross and Mitch who we met in Laos and again in Cambodia.  We have just been shown around Napier which is a pretty town on the coast. 

Happy Timmy defrosting his lamb chops- the engine is under that seat so heats it right up!

With Ross and Mitch in Napier.  Travelling buddies!

   

New Zealand

Beers and spag bol on the 1st night in the van-amazing view!

We arrived in Christchurch and had a few days there before getting a campervan and heading off.  Christchurch was a shadow of it's former self with the damage from the recent earthquake still very apparent.  Lots of things were closed and there were roadworks and buildings being demolished all over town. 

We headed north to Kaikoura to start with and went whale watching.  We saw 3 sperm whales complete with diving tails- It was fantastic and a personal ambition achieved.



Sperm whale diving


From Kaikoura we headed north thorugh Picton and up to Marlborough sounds.  Both of us are just overwhelmed with how beautiful New Zealand is and diverse.  Every new corner turned has another spectacular view of a beach or moutains, rivers- you name it it's here.  So we have been mostly drivingaround shouting wow! look at that!

Our 8 year anniversary dinner- Green shelled mussels!

We visited Nelson, and swam in a river at Havelock.  We went up the coast and then headed back to Christchurch via St arnaud and Hanmer Springs where we went in the Thermal springs. 

Spectacular view!

Lake rotoiti

We stayed by lake Rotoiti one niht and did a walk through the forest there.  It was beautiful. 

In the thermal springs- a welcome bath!

View from the drivers seat

We headed back through Christchurch to supposedly pick up a new van but it didn't happen- long story!  So have headed down south and are now going over to Mount Cook. 

Melbourne

We have spent the week in Melbourne relaxing and enjoying the city with Shaun and Rebecca.  We haven't done lots, just a few bike rides, meeting up with a few friends from our travels and walks round the city.  There is loads going on in Melbourne all the time and we have really enjoyed atmosphere of the city.  It was Australia Day on 26th so we went to a comedy show for that and all the different markets and shows on in the Botanical gardens that day. 


With Shaun and Rebecca (again)




The view of St Kilda from our bikes



Oh and we've watched tennis... lots of tennis!  We have only managed to go to one live game though but we did see Andy Murray in the earlier rounds which was great.  



Andy Murray on Margaret Court




Having a rest in front of admiring fans!



We also went with Rebecca to watch Sting live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra which was a fantastic open air concert.  Sting was fabulous as well as the orchestra and the female singer who sang with him.  



Sting- Amazing!



Tomorrow we are heading off to New Zealand which we are both really excited about.  When that leg of the trip is done we'll be halfway through! It has just flown by.   

Sydney to Cairns and back to Melbourne!

For our final day in Sydney we hired a car and went to the Blue Mountains, so called because of the morning mist that makes them look blue.  We drove 2 hours and as we finally arrived the famous blue mist settled in with rain so there was a complete white-out! Visability of about 5 metres max.  Understandedly our language was also a little blue!  We decided to visit a few of the little towns and a local waterfall then head back to Sydney, but as we got to the waterfall we watched the mist rise off the mountains which was pretty spectacular.  We then rushed back to ride the cable car and old train and see the famous 3 sisters.  The story behind the 3 sisters is that there were 3 beautiful aboriginal sisters who were turned to stone by a wizard for enhanting the men.     



300m Wentworth falls

The top of the waterfall

The train is the steepest in the world and was like a rollar coaster!  There was also a horizontal cable car from which the view was amazing.  



3 sisters from the cable car



The next day we flew up to Cairns (over the floods) and tried to figure out what to do next - we were planning to get a campervan and go down the east coast but because of the floods that was no longer possible.  Phil and Jane arrived the next day so we spent the next few days with them, mostly eating and drinking! The second evening together we went on a dinner cruise down the river to see Cairns by night followed by more drinks and dancing on the tables! 



In height order on the cruise!



Dancing on the tables!

The next day (a little worse for wear) we hired a car - V8 - and drove up to Cape Tribulation which is, according to Scottish, where the rainforest meets the reef, taking in a crocadile cruise on the way.  We were on high alert all day as there are lots of things that can kill you just knocking around.  Scottish had a close encounter with a spider in the ladies, then just as we were about to paddle in the sea we spotted a stingray in the shallows.  Needless to say we didn't go in the sea!  The crocodile cruise was good and we saw scarface the croc who was about 4m long and hiding in the mangroves, along with some babies and a 10 year old. 



Where the rainforest meets the reef

 

Crocodile hunting

The next day we chilled out at Phil and Scottish's hotel pool where the lads invented a game called battleships which involved hitting each other in the face with a small ball.  Drinks were needed afterwards!



Post battleships drinks

On our final evening together we went for an amazing thai meal after a few too many whilst watching the cricket in the pub.  And then that was that, we had to say a tearful goodbye to Phil and Scottish and get used to being on our own again.

To cheer ourselves up we booked a day scuba diving on the reef as a late Christmas present.  We went to 2 dive sites on the great barrier reef and did 3 dives which were fanatastic.  I felt like the little mermaid the whole time! There were turtles, clown fish (nemos), huge eels, parrot fish and loads more and the coral itself was beautiful.  The day was great too as our boat had a buffet and later on wine and cheese! 

On the boat after diving
By this time floods were definately inpassible but luckily Shaun and Rebecca came to our rescue and invited us to stay in Melbourne- we didn't think twice, just booked a flight and now here we are back in Melbourne.  Just in time for the Australian Open much to Tim's delight.   



Melbourne to Sydney

We flew from Perth over to Melbourne on the 21^st December. In the airport we spotted KP and Tim tried to get a photo with him- but he ignored him! Then we noticed the rest of the England cricket team who were happy to have photos with us! Tim was made up.

Timmy and Swanny (much nicer than KP!)

A koala mummy and Baby soooooo cute!

12 Apostles

We were met at the airport by Shaun and Rebecca, which was lovely and such a treat. We’re used to arriving at new places and having to work out where to go and how to get there. We spent a lovely evening with Shaun and Rebecca in their apartment having dinner and looking at photos of Tim and Claudia (their daughter) when they were little. Very cute!



The view of melbourne from Shaun and Rebecca's appartment



The next day we went down to the Great Ocean Road and met Al and Sarah in Apollo bay. It was really great to see them but a bit surreal to be sat on a beach in Australia with them. We had dinner and a few drinks with them that night then set off early in the morning to see the 12 Apostles. They were really spectacular (even though there aren’t 12- some have fallen into the sea). On the way over we stopped off to look for wild koalas and were lucky enough to see a mother and baby and then one crossing the road. We drove back to Melbourne in the afternoon via Point Danger to watch the kite surfers.

On Christmas Eve we went to the airport to surprise Phil and Jane when they arrived after their horrific journey. We waited with signs with their names on until they noticed us- their faces were hilarious! We explored Melbourne that afternoon then went to an open air cinema showing The Life of Brian.

On Christmas morning we got up and opened our stockings with Shaun, Rebecca, Rafe and Claudia. We had breakfast then went over to see Al, Sarah, Hannah, Phil and Jane. After our shrimps on the barby we went back and had a proper Christmas dinner with the McCarthys. Then we had a few drinks, played spoons and a few games, it was a great day.

Last meal with Shaun, Rebecca, Rafe and Amy

Horse riding on the beach- Amazing!

On Boxing Day we went to the MCG and watched a fantastic day of cricket whilst drinking a lot of mid strength beers! The day after Rebecca took us down the Peninsular to show us where they used to live and the viewpoints. I went horse riding in the bush and along the beach which was fantastic and Tim played a round of golf on the Australian Open course. I have never seen him so smiley as when we picked him up! It was a great day for both of us.

We went to the fourth day of cricket on the 28^th and watched another great day of cricket- it was clear by the end of the day the England were going to retain the Ashes. On our last day in Melbourne we watched the cricket from home and then went shopping for a while. In the evening we went for an Indian with the McCarthys. We were really sad to leave them as they had been so hospitable and looked after us so much. In the morning we flew to Sydney to stay with Al, Sarah, Phil, Jane and Hannah. We went into Sydney for a look round the first evening and saw the harbour Bridge and the opera house. They are pretty spectacular and Sydney is a beautiful city. We had fish and chips by the harbour and then a few drinks.

Some familiar faces in Sydney

The next day was New Year’s Eve and we went to Bondi Beach in the morning. It was beautiful even though it was busy. It the afternoon we went to the botanical gardens to get a place to watch the fireworks. We waited all evening and had a picnic with vodka infused peaches! Very tasty! We watched the fireworks at midnight which were amazing even though we had a bit of a restricted view, it was good to be there. On New Year’s Day we went to Manly beach which was great, it is a lovely beach with amazing waves. I lost my sunglasses and a contact lenses to one powerful wave! In the evening we had a BBQ back at the house. The lads nearly set the porch on fire with the BBQ though! The next day we met up with Ben Smith for a few drinks. It was good to see him and hear about Katherine and Connor and his life in Sydney.

Bondi Beach on New years eve

New Years Eve in the Botanical gardens- After peaches!

After a tearful goodbye to Al and Sarah and a promise to see Phil and Jane in a week or so, we went to find a hostel in Sydney. We met up with our Scuba diving buddies for a couple of drinks that night which was good. The next day we moved into a nicer hostel and then went for proper look around the city. It really is a beautiful place with lots going on. We also went to see Ben again and met Connor and Katherine, who are both lovely.

The next three days we went to the cricket and watched England win the Ashes. It was fantastic to be there to see it- my favourite part was when Mitchell Johnson was out for a golden duck! The Barmy Army were in full force too and the atmosphere was amazing.

BBQ at the House

Doing the Sprinkler with some extras!

Winning the Ashes