I've been wanting to go rafting for the entire trip - but we missed out Viccy Falls and it was a bit dry throughout the rest of Africa. So I was really looking forward to giving it a go in New Zealand, except that there was one problem...the cold. I was quite worried about the cold water and I was a bit scared about big rapids, but I was keen to give it a go. Anyway, it was great. We were the only ones doing it and our guide, Thomo, was lovely. The rapids were just the right size for me - not too big, but definitely exciting. Ben was a bit miserable afterwards because he had no feeling in his toes - but an hour or so in the natural thermal pools did the trick.
We thought that we’d left the snow behind on the South Island – “oh it’s so much warmer on the North Island”, everyone said. Or not! The mountains look amazing covered in snow, but it’s a bit less romantic when it’s our van that is covered in snow. In fact, the last two mornings we’ve had ice covering the inside of the windows as well as the outside. We’re not equipped with an ice-scraper but I found that a wooden spoon worked just as well – OK, nearly as well!
This pioneer town of around 300 people has dwindled to a very sorry 30. Many of the old buildings display plaques telling of their former glory. But this town ain’t dead yet – indeed, it isn’t just a town, it’s a republic, New Zealand’s only republic. In 1989, the local council sought to change the town’s boundaries, meaning that it would have to shift its jurisdiction to another council – and play for a rival rugby team. Not standing for this, the townsfolk declared themselves a republic, complete with democratically elected presidents. These have included Billy the Goat (elected after eating all the opposition’s votes) and Tai the Poodle (who stepped down after an assassination attempt).
The main museum in Wellington is just amazing. We spent two hours there and saw about 5% of it.
Just recently some fishermen caught an Antartic Toothfish that was in the process of being eaten by a colossal squid. They pulled both on board and the squid was examined by leading squid experts (their words!) and then preserved and displayed in the Te Papa museum. As part of the colossal squid exhibition there is a 3D animation of fish of the deep (quite scary actually!) and a "build your own squid" computer screen.
You can visit our squid - Brian (and build your own!) and keep track of what he's got up to by visiting: http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/build-a-squid/interactive a click on "find your squid" and enter Emma's email address which is: emmahiggs@live.co.uk
You can also email us on that address (please do!) and make this more of a 2-way communication. Please tell us what you're up to and what fun you're having.
Last time I (Ben) was here I did pretty much every adventure activity going, but there were a few left that I still wanted to do. One was paragliding. There was the option of a tandem flight (strapped to the expert and fly off a big hill for 15 min) or an introduction day. I really wanted to do the solo training and so after an hour or so of running down a gentle hill with a very large kite above my head I was allowed to fly.
I took off the hill in the foreground, flew over the cows and landed near the black strip in the centre of the picture. I had three flights off this hill, each about 30 seconds. It was awesome.
Campervans are EVERYWHERE in NZ, especially in the South island. Most are big, white and expensive like these ones on a site in Wellington. But size isn't everything. It's OK Bertha, you're great.
As some of you found our word puzzle a bit too hard, try this puzzle. Can you sport Bertha in the picture? Clue: she's not white, and not very big.
One of the other rental companies is called Spaceships, each van has a space related name. We emailed the company and got a list of all the names and are now fully geeked up Spaceship-spotters.
Following on from my South Island quirkiness post is the town of Bulls on the North Island, a few hours north of Wellington.
Most businesses and organisations join in the fun with one of these signs. Even the fire brigade and police are game. To give you an idea, the area has a population of just 1700 yet I found these 30 signs without really trying.
See if you can work some of them out. My favourite is the public toilets.
After our high-flying experiences in Queenstown, we headed over to the West Coast and to Glacier Country. Unfortunately, the walk to the Fox Glacier terminal face had been closed due to falling rocks. Still, we were grateful for DOC's advice (the Department of Conservation) – a doctor and an engineer ignored it last year and were killed. We were able to satisfy our glacier cravings at Franz Josef where we had a half hour scramble over the riverbed rocks to get to the face of the glacier.
Being such a “new” country, I feel rural New Zealand doesn't have the heritage and character that European countries have – English villages are steeped in history with pubs, churches and houses often being many hundreds of years old. What epitomises rural New Zealand is quirkiness.
We've yet to see the cafe disguised as a massive sheep – I think it's on the North Island. But we have spotted these gems. The first picture is from the west coast. Someone once built a small pile of stones. Someone else made another small pile. There are now several thousand piles of stones along a half mile stretch. While we were there several other campervanners stopped to take a piccy, and no doubt, to build another pile – it's all part of the Kiwi fun.
The doughnut needs no explanation other than it was just off the main road through Springfield.
In the trusty Lonely Planet book it says a visit to the Gypsy Caravan Mechanical Magical Wonderland is reason enough to visit the Caitlin Hills. The mechanical toy is a Technology Teacher's favourite and so a visit was in order. The main collection was shut for the winter, but there a couple of teasers out the front, including this cycling sheep. Awesome!
