Dallas

We loved Dallas!

Got to the airport and after getting our bags in record time, we hung about waiting for Brandon to come pick us up. Having never met him before, this was a bit of a challenge. However, we soon spotted a friendly guy walking in, looking about the place and we went "BRANDON!" - well, we found each other.

So on to Greenville, which is a couple of hours drive away. It was great looking out the window, you can't really call the place pretty, but it's big and flat and even really big places look small because there is so much space everywhere.

We got to Amy and Brandon's house, which is the cutest, loveliest place and they made us feel super duper welcome. It was so nice and amazing to see Amy all grown up! Sorry, Amy, but I still used to think of you as Terri's little sister who got told off if she didn't run fast enough for the bus. But now, Amy is married and a mum!

Anyway, after a bit Terri arrived and it was amazing to see her again, it was so long since we last saw each other - unbelievable... anyway, we had some great times and long talks! So much to catch up on and not enough time...

We also went to downtown Dallas and did a bit of sightseeing, saw where JFK got shot and basically were the only three people in the whole of Dallas on foot. This guy walked up to us and started showing us the window from where JFK got shot and where he was and this that and the other and then said, "Do you wanna buy the guidebook?" and we're like "No, cheers, you just told us everything we wanted to know...". His selling technique sucks.

It was absolutely boiling, too! So on the hunt for water, we found a Chinese Donut shop. I was confused... is it Chinese or is it Donuts? Or both? We walked in and it was a pretty minging place, but there's the counter heaving with donuts, all fresh from the fryer and the prettiest girl serving! I was like Wow, what you doing here? Turns out it was a donut shop by day and chinese by night...hmmm

After some more sightseeing, we ended up going to a BBQ house to grab some food before going back - it was basically at a petrol station and it was so funny. The three of us walk in, sticking out like sore thumbs and walk up to the counter to order. We can see a dinner lady type figure with her back to us holding a big carving knife and the food looks really good! So we're like 'hello' and she turn around and OH MY GOD! she has got a proper moustache!!!!!!!!! A big black turned up at the corners, neatly trimmed moustache!!!!!!!!!!!! I was ready to piss myself laughing, but she was big and scary and held a carving knife - Oh boy, that was some discipline... I tried not to stare but of course I did. All I knew to NOT do was to look at Terri, otherwise, we would have cracked for sure. It was unbelievable, I've never seen anything like it before and will probably never ever again... I think she was very proud of her mo'.

I must say one thing though, everyone was super duper nice to us all the time we were in Dallas and I loved it! We also tried to go to the world's largest Honky Tonk - what? - but I wasn't allowed in, because I looked young. So there.

We ended up at a different bar where there was meant to be some cowboy dancing lesson, but they were well advanced and no one wanted to dance with me, because I was wearing flip flops. I don't think real Texans wear flip flops. Also had a big steak meal which was yum and huge and I bought a money clip with the Texas flag on it! Hooray!

We had the best time ever and I was really sad to leave... I got to go to an Asda there too and it's way better than ours - and everything is about double the size of it! I wanted to also try all the junk food, they have such a variety, it would be fun to try all the different things and make your mind up about them.

It was so sad to say goodbye to Terri, Amy and Brandon... we had such a great time and I miss them loads. Hopefully they will come to see us soon. Thank you for a lovely time guys, we'll never forget it!

Hawaii

Well, Hawaii was awesome!

We only had three days so we just stayed on Oahu and spent it down by Waikiki Beach. Yeah, I know, it's the most touristy place of all, but you gotta go there to see it for yourself.

The hotel was fine, just straightforward, and upon arrival we got acquainted with the amazing one way system. Seriously, it took us like two hours plus to get to our hotel but in the end, we realised, we could have gotten off at the stop about an hour ago and then just walked for like one minute!

After settling in, we checked out the beach, grabbed a Cheeseburger - oh yeah! - and then chilled out. Watched some dancers and singers on the beach and got tempted to buy a Hawaiian shirt - like I'd ever wear it...

Anyway, Day 2 saw Phil poorly and was spent meeting up with Andy and his family. I hadn:t seen him since High School! He hasn't changed much really, only a bit more grown-up! heheheh We got to see a bit more of Oahu, which is truly beautiful, and had a nice lunch together.

Day 3 was spent on the beach and surfing - but the weather was bad, so we ended up going to a bar and getting a bit pishlled... well, I didn't mean to be but those Margheritas are pretty yummy and then I also had a Mai Tai and boy, that was strong... oof.

Then it was time to go...

By the way, we had the world's worst Italian food there - if you're ever down on Waikiki Beach, avoid the authentic looking trattoria. It is shit. Honest. Don't bother even looking into it. I ordered spaghetti with meatballs. I got cold noodles with a tin of tomatoes on top. The meatball was very strange. I didn't want to eat it. Phil had something else, but it was equally bad.

You may ask, why did you go to an Italian? But it was either burger, Haagen-Dasz or Italian. We thought you can't go wrong with a bit of pasta, well apparently you can.

Home Again

Been home now for three months and it feels so strange. Since finishing the trip and getting back, it feels like we haven't ever stopped. There's always something on and something to do and not all of it is immensely positive to be honest.

I want to finish writing about the places we went to after Oz - such as our stop in Hawaii where we got together with Andy, Keiko and Will. Then our fantastic time in Dallas with Terri, Amy and Brandon. Our rainy days in Vancouver and a cherry on top few days in New York with Dan, Helen, Steve and last but never least, David.

A whistlestop tour...

At the moment, I'm looking for a job. Am starting to feel that if I don't find something soon, I might as well be travelling instead and it would be so much more fun. Wish I could fly away again.

But for now, that's it.

Weekend

I just read the last entry about Die Hard and the ramen - the movie was fantastic - non stop action and I really liked it - it's just good fun and no need to analyse or make too much of stuff. It's very entertaining.

The Ramen was good too - we went to the one that was more authentic looking, so we ate at the counter. the noodles were very good, but the soup wasn't as good - it was fine, but nothing like the real thing! Still though it was very enjoyable and not expensive at all.

This weekend was fairly quiet - on Saturday we took it easy and then sorted some stuff out and went to the pub in the afternoon - we took a walk to Surry Hills and went to the Porterhouse, which is semi English/Irish traditional pub. We stayed there for a while and had lots of beer! I was so full by the time we got out - it was fun though - we went with Lauren and we chatted about this that and the other.

Yesterday, we had Caroline and Barbara over and we all made pizza. It was yummy! One was simple with ham and mushroom and the other one was avocado and prawn - works very well - I recommend it! We made the base from scratch and Caroline did a great job on the dough and rolling it out - her first ever!

Well, apart from that, we spent a fortune in a deli, where we spent about an hour eating different cheeses - so smelly! - but we learned a lot and it was good fun. We ended up buying loads and some very nice aoli - yum yum! Had some on my sandwich today at work...

Last week at work now - then I'll be free to play in Sydney before we leave on he 12th to Hawaii and then to Dallas to see Terri and Amy and then to Vancouver and then NY and then home - AAAAARRRRRGGHGHHH!!! - Home already??????

Life in Sydney continues

We have a new flatmate and she's nice - her name is Lauren and she's from Brisbane on a secondment from work with PWC. She's friendly and chatty so that's nice to have around the place.

The last weekend, we spent helping her move in and we built two wardrobes, one for her room and a cupboard type wardrobe thing for our living / kitchen for more storage - it took us hours but it was good fun. got some pictures to prove it so will post these too.

On Sunday we went to see our first Rugby League game in the big Telstra Stadium here and it was really good! Toni our other flatmate had organised some free tickets for us and it was really good fun. The Warriors were playing the Roosters and it was a good game, the score was tied even after overtime and golden shot (?) so they left it at that. Then we went and got to meet loads of the players, they were really good and patient with all the fans and they were very nice to us especially when they saw Toni. Her dad is the media manager for them so they all know him and were chatting on the phone to him after the match. It was pretty cool.

Back to work on Monday though, same as always, bit bored lately after the buzz and busy-ness of the last few weeks...

Tonight (09/08/07) Phil and I will go watch Die Hard 4.0 and grab a bite to eat. I found a Ramen shop near work so we want to try it and see it might be great!

Phil will be working all weekend so that will be a bit boring for me...

Life in Sydney

Our life is pretty easy going in he sense that we're not massively out on the town a lot of the time and don't do things like go shopping or go out a lot - because we are trying to be good.

We had our anniversary the other weekend - three years now! But unfortunately I was ill - I had a pretty bad cold and though I thought that I would have beaten it by the weekend, it got me properly then and we couldn't go out.

Then last weekend we thought we'd go whale watching as our anniversary gift and then go out for dinner to celebrate as we hadn't been able to do so the weekend before.

We had wanted to go whale watching for a while and now is apparently the best season to do it! The boats leave from just down our street and we went on with a couple more mates. I was very excited and weather was good - what could g wrong?

Well, plenty... really ... Once we were out at sea, things were fine for a while and then the waves got bigger an bigger and we were trying to find these whales and the boat was going up and down and up and down and up and down... and I got very ill.

Very ill.

It was a big boat, I didn't think it would be a problem and also in the Whitsundays when we had that terrible weather, I managed to work through it. Well, not this time. I threw up of course. Several times. I thought that maybe after the first round I would feel better and things would be sorted, a bit like when you've been car sick, but this wasn't like that at all. I kept going till I broke the bag and then I got a new one.

Did see two whales though - they were cool but they didn't jump or do anything - lazy sods - you really get to see more on Richard Attenborough, but it's still an experience. Then there was a crowd of dolphins following the boat but unfortunately I missed that as I was very busy at that point. Then we found another whale but I missed him too. Again, I was very busy at that point.

I was so relieved when we started our way back to shore... I am not a seafaring kind of person - I think I learnt my lesson. I keep trying to see if it gets better but I think this is really something that is not meant to be.

So basically I spent $70 to spend four hours on a boat throwing up. I could have done the same thing taking a ferry to Manly for about $4. But then again I wouldn't have seen a whale...

To be honest though, when I was feeling awful, all the whales in the world could have swum by juggling baby dolphins and I still wouldn't have been impressed...

No more boats for me....

So after this though, we decided we couldn't go out for dinner, because I really wasn't too well even after I came off the boat - it took me a good few hours to feel like myself again - honestly it's not fair!

The Friday night also was a big night out form work and we all had a quite a few drinks - it was our month end and so we were all drinking loads and didn't have to pay for anything which was great! Hooray! I got trashed and then walked home just randomly by myself - to be honest, I don't know really how I made it home. Phil was meant to meet me along the way but somehow we missed each other and I ran into a lot of scaffolding and hurt my shoulder but apart from that, I was fine! Hooray! Had a stinking hangover though to be honest... Oh dear... I guess that didn't help on the boat either.

What's going on?

Wow again it's been absolute ages since I last wrote an entry. I know you all think that we're just swanning round the world and have a good ole time and while this is true for a lot of the time, it's also true that we are now in the grip of working life again.

To be honest, it's not nice - I can do without it, but as we are seriously getting low in our funds, it's just about time that we look after the pennies and try to earn some more dollars. so far so good.

Last I wrote was when I was working for Lazard Investment Bank, and they were great. But sadly my gig with them only lasted for three weeks and then I had to start to find something else. Well I did after a few days. I signed up to work for reed Recruitment. You guys in the UK would know all about them o but here they are still tiny - a real start up and of course they want to do a great job in Australia and expand.

So I joined them as a sort of Jack of All trades which is fine, I do a lot of admin for them and formatting and while that is boring, they are all quite good fun which makes the office and easier place to be.

In the beginning I found it a bit harder, because I was so used to Lazard and the offices we were in were really small and crowded. Also they were constantly hiring new people and so my workload kept increasing and increasing to an extent where I couldn't manage anymore - it was really too much and I got lots of pain in my fingers and shoulders an eyes from all the computer work - not good!

So, we managed to set better processes and the consultants started to do a lot of their own bits too which was helpful so now I wasn't quite so busy anymore - at least now I would be able to go to toilet!

We then decided to move offices so I got to organise all of that and I swear I was so tired and busy! But now it's all done and our new offices are good and spacious so it's much better. They've also now hired a person to do this job permanently and that means that today for the first time I can sit down and do something personal during work hours! hooray!

It's Thursday and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I've been working long hours for the money and it's been a bit tiring and stressful because all the stuff was going on at work and it's a busy sort of place anyway. I think I'm a bit run down.

Apart from that, I'm looking forward to moving on - I feel that I've had enough now with work and now I'm ready for a break again. it's funny, when you're busy and working, it doesn't seem to matter where in the world you are - you'll fall into the exact same routine as back hoem and you get just as tired and fed up

I thought that maybe being in Sydney with the nicer weather and the great view, I wouldn't feel it so much, but now it's my third month of working straight and I feel like I need a holiday!!!

We try to do fun stuff on the weekends and meet up with people - we've made some nice friends which is always great - but you also have to do things like your laundry and cleaning and shopping - very annoying...

I still really like our flat though and it's nice to live where we do - it's very pretty and a nice area so we can't complain. I can walk to work, it takes me about half an hour, so the commute is virtually non-existent!

Phil is working hard too, it's been really quiet for him lately, he hasn't been getting many shifts at all but that's slowly picking up now. he's been really good though and kept cooking me delicious dinners for when I get home and made me nice sandwiches for my lunch. What more can you ask for??

So here I go, jut working away for at least another couple of weeks an then hopefully we can stop and have a look around Sydney and maybe whiz down to Melbourne for a few days to have a look around and then back and then off to Hawaii - can't wait - it will be really good to go there and get some sun!

Daily Life

Still in Sydney and getting used to it all. I like it here and I love our place, it's so cute.

Last Saturday, we went to Manly - very pretty seaside town - and also to a Farmer's Market around the corner from us. There were so many yummy things to buy there!

Still working with Lazard as well and getting on alright. They want me back for a bit more in a couple of weeks, so I'm currently looking for something else to fill that gap. Things look promising though which is great - guess the agencies here think that I make a great temp - maybe that's something I should keep doing once I get back home? Not sure...

It's grey and rainy here today and will apparently stay like this for another week. It's not too cold though. It's the weekend now and it's a bank holiday - the Queen's birthday - so we'll enjoy our extra day off for sure!

Short but sweet, that's all for today.

Sydney

Goodbye NZ and hello to Sydney!

We're back and began looking for somewhere to stay and a job. Really lucky though, because we managed to find the cutest little flat and I've got a job!

I work in an investment bank - Lazard - as a holiday cover and do secretarial type stuff. It's a very swish office and I'm on the 44th floor overlooking Harbour Bridge and the Opera house!

Very nice! Everyone works really hard here though, so they don't get a lot of time to look out of the office and admire the view, but I get to sneak over and just look at the sun setting over the sea and it's truly beautiful. I can see big ships and little ferries criss crossing and the city is below you - it's really nice to be up so high, though my ears pop every time I'm in the lift! It's so fast, too - whooosh - and you're up on 44th! Only two more floors above me.

Our flat is in Pyrmont and it's not far to work, I can walk it, which is great. Pyrmont is a bit like Kensington I guess and has lots of lovely cafe's, bars and restaurants in the area. It's also right by the fish market, which is amazing. You can buy your fish there every day and also fruits and veg and other yummy things. People just go there and buy great big bagfuls of prawns and then sit by the jetty and enjoy them with some wine. That's such a great lifestyle.

We're in a flatshare with this Kiwi girl called Toni. What's great about the flat though is that we all have our own bathrooms and a shared kitchen and living space. But our room, though it is the smallest, is right by the kitchen and living room, whereas Toni's room and the other unoccupied one are upstairs. Their rooms are much bigger than ours and have their own terraces, but we don't mind really because it feels like we have our own little flat because everything is on one level for us.

We would have loved to have Toni's room, but she had already taken it before we saw it, so that's ok. But the other room is even more amazing. It is huge! and has a really big outdoor space attached to it. We would have loved it, but it's out of our price range at $350 a week. To be honest, we'd rather spend the money on being able to do stuff than on rent, and our room is truly lovely too, so we can't complain. It's got a great big skylight in it, which is nice.

I'm also getting used to working again, I felt quite nervous on my first day, but then it was fine in the end. Unfortunately though, I've caught the office bug, so now my sinuses are hurting and I'm not feeling too great. That goes to show that working is not good for your health! :o)

I'm also required to be dressed very properly, so I went out and bought some cheap things that I could wear - a capsule office wardrobe. I look so business like, I giggle at myself, especially when I wobble through the office on my heels... I'm not used to this, but we get free biscuits here, so it's not all bad.

Well, I've caught up now - will put up pictures soon, so you can see what it's like.

Here's a link to our house, choose the satellite view once you've opened it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=175+Harris+street,+Pyrmont+NSW+2009,+Australia&sll=-33.870879,151.194642&sspn=0.008017,0.019956&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=-33.87046,151.194137&spn=0.001577,0.002494&z=19

And here, you can see where I work. If you look at the map, you can see the Opera House in the top right corner. To the left of it, you will see the Harbour Bridge. Between them, you can see the ferry terminal with the jetties sticking out into the sea. If you look at the first jetty on the left and then go straight down a bit, you will see the top of a diamond shaped building. That's where I work!
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&om=1&msa=0&msid=115057966493246255147.00000112e0dad253b065d&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.858211,151.2117&spn=0.012616,0.019956&z=16

Some random things

Some stuff I don't remember where they happened, so I will just add them on as I remember things.

One time, we were driving along in the middle of nowhere, when we saw a bright sign for a pub. We followed it and it was like a shed in the middle of nowhere! It was great. A proper little pub, with a big fire and wooden benches and lots of locals. They also brew their own beer and do lots of other fun things, like gigs and stuff, so we tasted their ales and cider. Very nice!

I also had a pavlova!

NZ apparently invented the pavlova and they fight over it with Australia, because they say they invented it. Anyway, the pavlova here is different to the one at home, it's like a whole cake! And really tall and smooth. So they serve it in slices and with cream and fruit on the top. It's so yummy, as it's really fluffy on the inside, so it feels like you're eating bath foam or something. So good!

We also managed to stay in a pretty annoying camp site at one point. It was next to a massive flyover and they directed us to our spot, which was miles away from everything. It was pitch black and we saw this hut, that housed the kitchen and the bathrooms, but they were all locked! We drove all over the place until we found a better spot right by the dump point!

A Maori Experience

We wanted to see a traditional Maori evening and so we booked onto this special experience that also takes you to a wildlife sanctuary where you can see NZ national bird, the Kiwi.

We ended up in a group of elderly American tourists, but they were quite good fun, so we all had a giggle in the end.

We got to the place, where we were greated by this Maori lady in traditional costume and she explained a bit about the history and culture of the Maori. She had the traditional blue tattoos on her face and on her body and it looked quite cool. She also taught us some words 'Kia Ora' which means 'hello' and 'be well' and lots of other good things, so you're never wrong saying Kia Ora.

We also chose a 'Chief' from our group for the welcome ceremony, where we get invited into the Maori village. It's quite scary, we were walking through this forested area and all of a sudden these blokes jumped out and were screaming stuff and then this one guy did the whole traditional greeting which involves a challenge. You mustn't respond to the challenge though, but instead, you have to pick up the green twig as a sign of peace and then you do the handshake and go nose-to-nose for the sharing of breath.

It's pretty serious stuff. Apparently, when the Dutch came to NZ hundreds of years ago, they were greeted by the Maori with their traditional challenge. So they 'greeted' back by firing their cannons, which was kind of like saying to the Maori guys 'Up yours mate, we're stronger than you'. So when they tried to land, the Maoris killed them - chip, chop - and the Dutch got so scared they sailed away and didn't come back for another couple hundred years. How's that for a history lesson!

Anyway, then they sang some traditional songs and showed us the traditional style huts that they would have built and it was all really interesting. The songs were cool too and in the end we did the hokey kokey in Maori. Hmmm....

All the girls were then invited to have a go at the poi, which was brilliant! I love poi - they are so fun. We weren't really good with them though but we tried. Then all the guys had to go on stage to try and do the Hakka. Oh man, I nearly weed myself. It was too funny - there was no coordination and they didn't really look scary, more comical. I don't think they would have scared any kind of enemy away.

We then got fed - big buffet, yum! - and then got to visit the sanctuary to see all the different native birds and fish. That was really nice, especially because it was in the dark, but then a parrot did a poo on me. It was a very big poo, too. I wasn't impressed. I couldn't find it straight away, but I was convinced it was a poo, though the guy said it was probably a 'heavy leaf'. Hah?

I thought that was hilarious, but everyone else nodded like it made perfect sense...

Anyway, it was poo and managed to flick it off, so there you go. And then we saw the Kiwis, they are great! They are really big and funny, they are the size of a football and they have a long beak and stumpy legs like an ostrich and they walk about poking around for little snacks.

They have no wings, but they can run really fast. They are endangered though because possums and weasels kill them and eat their eggs, as well as domestic dogs, who chase them, too. So they need a helping hand, or they will go extinct. Apparently when they get older, they get better at defending themselves. They will kick their predator and run away, but they wouldn't have a chance against a dog, would they?

It was really interesting and I loved it. I want a kiwi. Oh, another fact for you. The kiwi fruit got its name from the Kiwi bird, because when the bird sleeps, it tucks its beak in and rolls itself up, so it looks like a kiwi. So cute!

Christchurch

Back to Christchurch and the Base Backpackers where we handed back our spaceship and celebrated our completion of the NZ tour by going for a curry.

It is completely freezing and the weather here is rubbish.

Robinson Bay

We made our way down the Akaroa Peninsula and spent the night at Robinson Bay.

It's a very pretty corner of NZ - again! - and many people from Christchurch go there for a day trip. It's a quiet little town really and many people go fishing and make a living by renting out holiday homes to the tourists.

To get there though, you have to drive on some very windy roads again and up a very steep hill. From there though, you get a magnificent view over the valley and the sea. This area was 'colonised' by the French, so many street names are actually in french and the style of houses follows this.

They also have a cheese making industry there and still continue traditions such as morning coffees with a fresh loaf from your local bakery. I'd love to be able to go there regularly and have it as a bit of a escape - it's really perfect for that. On a permanent basis, the novelty would wear off, but really as a weekend escape ...

Also found the most perfect, cute, gorgeous house there, right by the shore. It's empty and I think a bit abandoned, but it's so wonderful with a little garden and french doors and a crooked porch. From peeking through the windows, we reckon there is only one room and then there's a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. Very beautiful and romantic!

We chose to drink our Shiraz here with a great big bowl of pasta.

Kaikoura

Kaikoura is famous for it's wildlife. Lots and lots of tourists go there to swim with dolphins and go whale watching.

We went along to Kaikoura and it's another pretty little town nestled in amazing scenery. We went down to the beach and just watched the Pacific waves crashing into the rocks. So beautiful.

Spent the night before in a rest stop right by the sea and there was a bit of a storm at night and we could hear the waves - it was a bit scary and quite exhilarating! Force of nature and all that... amazing...

We decided not to go on these tours, some of you may think that this was a missed opportunity, but to be honest, a lot of the time you don't get to see the animals and then they might not want to interact with you. I'm also not entirely comfortable with the thought that every day lots of tourist boats swim about chasing down some dolphins or whales for the entertainment value. It feels really artificial.

Maybe I got spoiled by our sea lion experience in the Catlins. But truly, this was amazing, because they were completely natural and there was no one around. It was like you get to glimpse a tiny slice of their lives and it was an honour. I don't think I'd want it any other way.

Blenheim

It's wine country again and this time in NZ!
We had a lovely time driving to the different vineyards and sampling their offers - NZ wines are really good. We picked up a lovely Shiraz and a lovely fruity Sauvignon Blanc. Very nice, indeed!

They hadn't clipped the vines yet, unlike in Australia, so you can see that there was a lot of pretty foliage and autmn colours. The scenery is really calming.

Blenheim itself was alright, not much to report, just a small town really. We had a wander around the streets but the main thing really are the many vineyards around.

Nelson

We like Nelson. It's a nice little town, nothing spectacular, but it has a grand cathedral in the middle of town on a hill with these big steps leading up to it. It's very nice and the town itself is very historic.

Apparently that's where some Maori chiefs killed a number of Western immigrants when there was a misunderstanding about some land trade or other, which was a bit of a bummer to say the least.

Other than that, we found a lovely pub by the beach! It's called the Honest Lawyer and is like an English country pub with a thatched roof. We walked on the beach and had a drink and then, well then I went to the dentist, because I couldn't put up with my tooth any longer.

I needed a root canal there and then. After a couple of injections, she did her drilling thing - it shook my entire head and felt like those big drills they use on the street when they open up the asphalt - and turns out that the nerve was dead and it must have been like that for a while. She was surprised that I didn't have more pain earlier and there I was, having felt stupid the last couple of days for having a tooth ache and thinking that maybe I was just being a wimp. Well, I wasn't.

So after we sorted that out, it kind of hampered the rest of the evening, because I was scared to drool every time I open my mouth, so we went to the cinema and watched Spiderman 3. It was alright and did take my mind of it.

And that was Nelson!

Hokitika

After Franz Josef, we jumped straight into the car and tried to get some dry clothes on and then hit the road to make it to Hokitika.

Hokitika is the jade capital in NZ and is where you can buy many of the traditional jade carvings. We wanted to see how it's done and Phil wanted to get a necklace. When we got there in the evening, we were so tired from our earlier glacier adventure, we went to this lovely pub and had our dinner there.

It was yummy! Phil had the steak and I had rack of lamb. I never had a rack of lamb before, and I didn't think it would be like a whole set of lamb ribcage! I thought you'd get two pieces but instead they give you EIGHT! There is no way one person can eat that - plus potato plus veggies! I did my best but had to give up ...

The next day I woke up with a tooth ache - unrelated to the rack of lamb I think - but nonetheless painful. I kind of put up with it as we wandered around the town but it didn't really go away...

Phil found a lovely necklace of a NZ silver fern made out of mother of pearl. It's very pretty! Other than that, there isn't much to do in Hokitika so we went and had a look around Greymouth and then went on down to Nelson.

Franz Josef Glacier

Wow Wow Wow!


Well, we made it to the township of Franz Josef and stayed in this little rest area by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with the Franz Josef Glacier in front and the Fox Glacier in the back!


We signed up for the 3/4 day glacier walk and decided to clamber on Franz Josef rather than Fox. We were told that on Fox, you walk through a rainforest first and then onto the glacier, whereas with Franz, you are starting from the bottom after a bit of a trek and then go up. It sounded a bit harder and we thought it might make it more interesting, so we went with that.


Woke up in the morning to the most rainiest day ever! It had been raining lots these last days anyway and though it wasn't always raining heavily, it was pretty much constant and it was an a*se to get dry or warm. It was actually raining so hard and the weather was so miserable, we actually thought they would cancel our trip, but no such thing!


Got to the place and got handed our kit for the day, which consisted of heavy leather boots, waterproof jacket and trouser, gloves and hat. We were told to wear three to four layers of warm clothing ourselves, so Phil and I were all decked out in our Helly's, Buffalos and walking trousers, etc. The stuff they gave us was ok, not really all that waterproof to be honest, but the jacket was ok, which was the main thing.


We were also given a bum bag each, in which we were carrying our crampons for when we get on the ice. The boots were heave leather and a bit big, so I ended up wearing two pairs of NZ thickest woolly socks ever to pad it out. We were ready!


After a short bus ride, we got to the walking track, where we assembled and then began to walk. All through it was absolutely pouring it down - none of us could see a thing really and we were just miserably splashing through mud and crossing big streams by wading through the water. Needless to say, our feet were soaked before we even got close to the glacier!


The wool stuff also just soaks up the water and unfortunately it's almost impossible to get it dry or less horrible and itchy on your skin - ah well. Finally, we got near the glacier and it looks like a great big dirty avalanche just frozen as it was thundering down the mountain. As we got closer, we could see the mouth of a big cave with a river running out of it and everywhere you look, there's water water water and more water.


Got our crampons on, which was quite funny - they are a bit tricky to get on, but once we had them ready, we made our first steps onto the glacier. Let me tell you, it was pretty amazing!


The guides hack into the ice to form steps and so you climb these ice staircases, further and further up the glacier. Other times you just scramble up and hold onto some ropes and step around crevices. It was quite scary sometimes! We also squeezed through some narrow holes and balanced around a bit. All the time you can hear this sound as if someone is playing drums, but it's the water and bits of ice sloshing around underneath. It's very cool - pardon the pun.

By that time, it started to clear up a bit and all was very pretty with the sun shining on it. One girl didn't make it though, she had asthma and was starting to feel unwell, so the guide sent her down. I found it a bit hard, but it was mostly because I wasn't used to the crampons and the boots were so heavy! My legs were aching and all I wanted to do was take my shoes off! After a while though, it's fine, because you just get used to it.

I wasn't that impressed with our guide though. He went very fast and we lost sight of him several times on the glacier. One time we even began to go the wrong way, because we coudln't see where he had gone. Also when the girl with the asthma was struggling, he just told her to go down and shipped her off on these two other chaps who were going down as well. He didn't really encourage her or anything. I'm sure he didn't do an ML or he'd have know better.

It was a shame about the weather, otherwise I think the group may have been a bit perkier, but as it stood, some really found it hard and others I guess just wanted it to be over... shame really... it's not every day you get to climb onto a glacier!

Phil took lots of pictures - I'll upload them as soon as I get to it.

When we got down, we were happy and knackered! It was really good to do the trip and we enjoyed it in the end. Our thighs were really stiff though the next day!

Queenstown

On to Queenstown next, the adrenalin capital of the world.

Phil was going to do a canyonswing - check it out on http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/ - but in the end, the cost was what tipped it over the edge... why do these things have to be so expensive?

Queenstown otherwise is alright. We went up the gondola for a great view over the city and saw where the people go to do a bungee, but really other than that, there wasn't that much going on. It's a very touristy place and everyone tries to get you to sign up to go Jet-boating, bungeeing and white water rafting.

It's set amongst the most beautiful scenery though and that to me was the biggest attraction. I knew I wasn't going to bungee and we went white water rafting in Thailand, so we let it be and weren't worse off for it, actually.

Some people spend a lot of time in Queenstown, because the party scene is quite big and there are a number of clubs and bars around. I think though that we're taking it really easy in NZ, the landscape is kind of rubbing off on our way of life. We go to bed quite early and get up early and in the evenings we have a quiet beer and chill out and plan our next day. I like this life style.

Milford Sound

So right now, we're loving Te Anau.

Spent the night at the side of the road, which was cool, except for the rain - boo - but luckily it cleared up, so we went for a bit of a wander and checked the place out.

Te Anau is right by - you guessed it - Lake Te Anau, which is very large and very beautiful. Again. The town is tiny and really tourist oriented, but as we are in the off-season, it's all quiet and lovely.

We decided to go kayaking on Milford Sound, so we will get up very early and drive to Milford township. Milford Sound is stunningly beautiful. We drove the 140km, setting off in the dark and making our way over the windy-iest roads yet through the Homer Tunnel. Basically, it's a big tunnel that they drilled through the middle of this great big mountain so people can get to Milfod township. Handy.

I made Phil shout 'D'oh!' all the while we were driving through Homer Tunnel, which entertained me a lot. The tunnel is quite scary, it truly is a great big narrow hole through the mountain and I just wonder how they did it... They must have had a massive drill and just carved out the rock, or something.

So we get to the kayaking place and before you can say 'Bob's your uncle', we are loaded up with gear. We had to wear a swimsuit, then a thermal top and thermal leggings. Then we had to wear a neoprene vest on top and shorts or trousers. Then a fleece and waterproof trousers. Then a jacket. Then a special kayaking jacket that comes with a tutu attached to it and then a life jacket, too. And of course gloves, fleece hat and a sun hat and shoes and socks.

We were about eight people taking part and honestly, by the time everyone was wearing everything the right way round in the right order... dear me... So by this stage, we could hardly walk, so they shoved a paddle into our arms and showed us how to wave it about. Then how to get into the kayak without tipping it over. Then we were off! Hurrah!

It was great! I was in front and Phil was paddling in the back. No, let me rephrase that. I was in the front and I was paddling. Phil was in the back, taking pictures. Hmmm..... after a while I got grumpy and splashed him, heheheheh!

The kayaking was great, I loved it. Phil was moaning that I was going too fast, but I can't help being terribly fit and gorgeous now can I? You can see from the pics just how gorgeous I looked on the water. I truly did bring 'sexy back'.

Anyway! It was beautiful!!!!! We saw some seals swimming about and basking in the sun and fantastic waterfalls and we had the best weather ever! Blue skies and sunshine - the place is famous for its rain - they get about 6 metres of rain a year - no kidding! Thoroughly enjoyable - I wish everyone could go and do this - it was so beautiful and amazing. The air is so clean and the water is so clear and pure - it's really wonderful to be there.

Had some lunch and then after some more paddling, we were done and ready to drive back to Te Anau for some rest! The journey back there was the same route as in the morning - I like the fact that here, you get roads that take you to some point and then just end. That's it. No more. It's like a lot of places are not connected to each other though they are not too far apart. Most of it has to do with the geography of it though. Those Alpes kind of get in the way of road building!

To be honest, by the time we had dinner, our arms ached lots, but it was so worth it!