My Adventure Around the World

The Journey Home

sam_jackson86 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:13:00 GMT

The final leg of an amazing adventure......

24/10 - Longest day ever! And 25/10

Checked out of the hostel and caught the 10am shuttle to the airport. Took an hour to get there as we ended up circling the city one and a half times. Got there eventually at 11 after the driver nearly killed us by going through a red light while cars were still coming the other way. Got there in one piece, thankfully. Checked in for my flight and then the long wait to finally get home began. The flight from Sydney to LA took 13 hours and because of crossing the international date line I landed in LA before I had left Sydney! After 6 hours in LA airport it was time to get on the plane home, yay!! 9 and a half hours later I was in England. There was another plane on our stand when we landed so we had to spend 20 mins sitting in the plane not being able to get off. Finally off of the plane and then through customs to the fun of waiting at baggage reclaim. It didn't take as long as I thought it would which was good because then I got to go and find my parents quicker. There was a nice surprise in that Mark was there too and Mum had a balloon for me.

So it is really all over now. Back in England not knowing where or when my next adventure will be. I have had the most amazing time and seen and done some things I never thought I would. I have met some lovely people along the way and hopefully will be able to see some of them again. Thanks to everyone for making it so memorable. I will enjoy reading this back in years to come and revisiting all the memories.

Melbourne and Sydney

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:58:00 GMT

Back to Melbourne and Sydney to say some goodbyes

17/10

I landed in Melbourne at 6.30am, fair time you think but in Perth time what I was still on, it was 3.30am! I got to the house at half 8 and was greeted by Tom who promptly let me in and went straight back to bed. I made my bed up and then did the same. Got some much needed sleep and got up around noon. Sat in front of the tv for the rest of the day.

18/10

I had a good 12 hours sleep last night. Today I watched some tv and managed to catch some Premier League highlights. I also practiced guitar hero for when I get home so Mark think's I can play. We had Chinese for dinner, yum.

19/10

Same sort of day as yesterday. I watched the first Lord of the Rings film and sat there telling Tom all the scenes I had been to! I finally managed to be with the boys for one of their Monday night dinners. Ben cooked shepherds pie for me, it was awesome!

20/10

Today all I did was sit and watch the second and third Lord of the Rings movies. It was a mini marathon and again poor Tom and Ben had to sit there while I informed them which of the scenes I had seen when I went on the tour in NZ! Managed to fit in both films, have lunch and a shower and be ready to leave at 6 to head for the train station. Ash didn't make it home from work in time to say goodbye which was a shame. Hopefully he will come to England in the next year or two. Ben gave me a lift to the station. I rung home and spoke to Dad and then got the bus at 8pm.

21/10

Arrived in Sydney at 7.30am. I put my bags in storage and then went to the hostel to double check that the guy in Broome had done my reservation. Good job I checked as he hadn't. I spent the day souvenir shopping, brought something in nearly every shop I went in, whoops! I sat in the Botanic Gardens for a bit, had some lunch and then went back to the station so I was near my bags and the taxi rank for when Craig rung to say he was nearly ready to leave work so now was a good time to come over to Balmain.

22/10

Liz wasn't well so I had to go into work with Craig, that meant getting up at 5am- an all to familiar thing for me now! I spent a few hours catching up on stuff on the internet and then went into Balmain. Sat in the park and read my book and worked on the tan for one of the last times. Craig had to work late so we didn't get back to the house until 10.30pm. I then had the fun task of trying to pack away all my stuff and protect the souvenirs. Fingers crossed everything will survive and they don't loose that bag in the airport!

23/10

And so here we are today, I got up early again and got a lift into the city with Craig. I stayed at his work for a bit and then he dropped me to the hostel. I was lucky enough to be able to check in at 11. I was expecting to have to wait around until like 1. Said goodbye to Craig. Hopefully they will come over soon and the rest of his family can meet him. I'm tidying up my bag so I don't bring home too much rubbish, it's going well so far.

I can't believe it's actually my last day of the trip. The last 9 months have been amazing and now it's come to an end. Got a nice mammoth journey home now, the Sydney to LA flight leaves at 2.20pm 24th Oct, I land in LA 13hrs 25mins later at 9.40am 24th Oct and then have a 6 hour wait in the airport before my flight to Heathrow leaves at 15.40pm. I'm due in to England at 8.50am on 25th Oct after the 10hr 15mins from LA. So I will see you all very soon now!

xxx

Perth-Broome 10 Day Tour

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:41:00 GMT

West Coast tour for 10 days from Perth all the way to Broome...

4/10

I finally made it to the hostel at 2am! Got some sleep in a bed rather than a plane seat. Woke up at half 8 and then headed into Perth. I went to the museum of Western Australia. It was actually rather good. I then went on a tram tour of the city. It went through Kings Park which is really pretty. I then came back and rung home to speak to Mum and Dad as they got back from their holiday today.

5/10

This morning I had to get up at 5am, sure it will carry on this tour! We drove to Namburg National Park and saw the Pinnacles. Not sure how to describe them really. We had to wait around after lunch as the air con was not working, not going to be good if it doesn't kick back in! Luckily it got fixed. We stayed the night in a town called Horracks. During the drive we saw emus and kangaroos which was really cool.

6/10

Up at 5am this morning and off to Kalbarri to go on some walks. We saw natures window which was nice. We also then did a walk down the Z-Bend gorge. It was really really hot! We saw some more emu's and kangaroos. We went to Shell Beach and messed around taking silly pictures. We then headed over to Shark Bay World Heritage area. We watched sunset but the ones in Darwin were better. We spent the night in Denham.

7/10

Off to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia this morning. That was cool, the dolphins are wild and swim up to the beach to be fed. They were really cute. There was also some giant pelicans there. In the afternoon we went and saw the stromatolies, they are some really ancient living thing at Hamelin Pool. We spent the night at Coral Bay.

8/10

Today I went snorkelling with Manta Rays. It was so amazing, they are huge! Later on there was more animal sightings and I ended up snorkelling with turtles which was totally cool and then we saw a reef shark! Really awesome experience today. After that we drove to Exmouth. In the evening, well pretty much night actually, Liam decided that I should go to the beach to see the others that were there (not everyone had gone). I decided it was easier to go with him to keep him quiet. He said he knew the way, 40mins later when we were still not at the beach it was obvious he had no idea where the beach was as the others had said it was a 5 min walk. Turns out we missed the track up over the hill as it was dark. Got to the beach and there was no beer in the cooler, what a waste of time going there!

9/10

Another snorkelling day today. First stop was Lakeside. We saw a stingray there and a ton of colourful fish and equally cool coral. We all had a good laugh at Phil again as he went wandering off. Too many stories about this guy to put on here. We then had another snorkel at Turquiose Bay. The current was really strong so it didn't help not bashing into people. There was a few fins in faces and people getting kicked in the head. We then went to Vlahming Head Lighthouse for sunset but we all missed it as we were taking jumping pictures!

10/10

Today we spent the whole day in the bus. We made our way to Karijini National Park. All we did in the late afternoon was walk to Joffree's Lookout. Fun day, not!

11/10

Today was a lot of walking. We went to Circular Pool in Dales Gorge. We also went to Fern Pool. It was hard work climbing up the gorge in the heat. We saw a big lace monitor by the water. There was also a big huntsman in the girls loo again, why not go in the boys!! While the others were swimming I stood there with 3 big cameras around my neck "papping" them all. Lots of people on the tour had the good cameras and kept on taking pictures when no-one was looking so there will be some funny ones I'm sure.

12/10

Today I went on a crazy adventure. The day started off by getting kitted out in wetsuits, harnesses, helmets and lovely shoes. We climbed down a gorge and then jumped off a ledge into the water, that was fun. We then floated down through the gorges via a series of pools. We had an 8m abseil (not fun) and then a 8m natural waterslide with a 2m drop to the water. I managed not to land feet first and ended up landing in the water bottom first, ouch! And luckily it was all captured on the dvd the guy gave us at the end of the day. We did some more jumping with tubes this time. We had a rope climb and then some rock climbing with no ropes. We finally made our way back up the gorge after a long days fun and adventure. We took in Oxers Lookout and Junction Pool lookout which was two lookouts you could see from down the gorge too but when you are at the top you cannot see all the way down to where we had been which was strange but cool. Most of the places we saw today which were amazing aren't seen by anyone else as it requires all the ropes and climbing etc. Only 5 out of our group did it. Awesome day.

13/10

We had one last quick walk in Karijini before leaving and heading to the cattle station for tonights camp. We actually had to set up the tents this time, luckily my tent buddy knew what she was doing!

14/10

We left the cattle station and headed for Broome. Boring drive. We arrived in Broome in the early afternoon. Managed to convince Sascha our driver to wait for me so I didn't have to pay to get a bus over to Cable Beach where everyone else was staying. We went for a sunset camel ride on Cable Beach which was really cool. I had a 15 year old camel called Seta. Bit scary when she had to stand up and then sit back down! We then had pizza before heading to the bar. Managed to bag not going back to my hostel across town. Luckily some of the people on the tour are just on holiday and paid for single rooms.

15/10

Today I left the others hostel, caught the bus at 9.18 and was lucky enough to be ready to leave and go back to the beach on the free shuttle bus that my hostel offers at 10. We stayed on the beach for a few hours before having a nice lunch with those that were left. Back to town on the 2pm shuttle. We helped Liam buy some pearls for his girlfriend. Had coffee and then I took Marieke to the airport. It's weird as you can walk to the airport from my hostel!

16/10

So today I am just waiting around for my flight at 6.30pm to Melbourne. I have to go back to Perth first and then get a connecting flight. Boring day ahead really...

See you all very soon now!

Coffs Harbour and Sydney

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:28:00 GMT

30/9

Today we caught the 10.05am bus to Coffs Harbour. We arrived at 2.15pm. Got the transfer to the hostel, weird strange man working here! We walked along the creek and the botanic gardens, the walk was weird all I got from it was dirty feet! There was no-one else in our dorm so that was awesome and meant we could hang all our washing up and save money on the drier, every cent counts!

1/10

Off to the dolphin and seal pool today. I got to throw a ball to a dolphin for them to catch, it was so cute! Then got kissed by a seal, the picture is so cool! Next off to be kissed by a dolphin which was just wicked too! Then there was the dolphin/seal/sea lion show. I was lucky enough to get picked from the audience to go and feed one of the dolphins in the show!!!! It was really great! I went up on stage which was a couple of meters above the water and then held a stick out aobve shoulder height and the dolphin came and jumped up out of the water and ate the fish off the stick, AWESOME!! Then we went and fed some Port Jackson sharks, a green turtle and the little blue penguins. Sat at the "beach" for a bit after and then went back to the hostel to wait around for the shuttle at 9.30 to go to the bus stop and then found a pub to sit in and wait for midnight for the bus. The bus turned up 45mins late.

2/10

Managed to get some sleep on the bus. There was a really smelly man in front of us which was not pleasant. Arrived in Sydney at 9.35am, said bye to Sandra and then headed over to Balmain to meet Dad's cousin Craig. I found him relatively easily thank goodness. We went for coffee and then he dropped me in the main shopping street in Balmain for the day while he was working. They picked me up late afternoon and we headed to Palm Beach where they live (Home and Away is filmed there) after picking up baby Maddox. He is the cutest little thing!

3/10

Up and over to a suburb called Dee Why this morning where Maddox has his swimming lessons. It was sweet watching him splashing around with the other babies and parents. Craig took me for lunch at the Boat House which is apparantly a place they do some shooting for Home and Away. They kindly paid for a shuttle bus to the airport for me to save then a 3hour return trip. Arrived pretty early and then ended up sitting on the plane for an hour before it took off, lovely.

West coast tour on the next entry

Brisbane and Byron Bay

sam_jackson86 — Sat, 3 Oct 2009 08:59:00 GMT

More wildlife encounters ahead....

25/9

Off this morning to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I finally held a koala, it was so cool! I didn't realise how heavy it was going to be. His name was Goblin. I managed to have a voucher for a free reprint of my picture so now I have two copies of it which is cool. Also while I was there I decided to go and feed the sheep, that was ok until about 4 sheep all decided to crowd around me at once! I also held a really cute little chick. There was also the unavoidable petting of the kangaroos there even though you would have thought I would have had enough of doing that yesterday! In the evening I went out in the city with a girl from my room for some food and a drink.

26/9

Walked around Brisbane today, went on the free Parliament House tour and walked through the part of the Botanic Gardens that wasn't closed for the 150 years of Queensland celebrations that were going on. There is a nice artificial beach area by the river so I stayed there for a bit. In the evening we went to Surfers Paradise. Our reservation for the hostel had not gone through and turns out all of Surfers was full as there was some Uni Games thing going on. Not helpful for us then! Luckily we found a hostel and a guy rung everyone he could think of, but still no luck. We then said that we would stay in the tv room, which was a bus that had had the seats taken out and replaced with bean bags. Then the girl at reception remembered a cancellation and we ended up in an apartment sharing the bathroom and kitchen with two others and they let us have the room for dorm prices, awesome turn out of events!

27/9

Up this morning and out to the beach. Not a very nice beach I might add. There was high rises all along it. The wind was up today so we ended up covered in sand so re-lotioning was not fun. Got the bus to Byron Bay in the evening. The evenings are getting colder and colder....

28/9

Today I woke up with a stinking cold. Felt like death warmed up. We went and did the Cape Byron walk out/up to the lighthouse. On the way up there we saw a snake, how cool!! There was some really nice views and we went to the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. Laid on the beach in the afternoon and then had an early night to try and combat the cold.

29/9

Today I woke up feeling a lot better. Off to the beach again, really nice beaches in Byron Bay. We met up with another girl from the Groovy Grape tour for a few hours. Queued up for a free dinner and turns out it then took 45mins to arrive and I didn't even like it! Had to get a Dominoes instead, I ordered a small one but it was huge so I couldn't eat it and had to throw some away, I was so gutted!

Off to Perth later on today for a tour up the west coast.

Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, Noosa, Australia Zoo

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:18:00 GMT

Really cool some of the stuff I have done in this blog entry- well at least I think so!

19/9

Arrived in Hervey Bay at 9.30am, got the free shuttle bus to the hostel- good job as the bus stop is no where near the hostel! We decided to go whale watching in the afternoon. Awesome decision, I know that I have done it now three times and that may seem excessive but this time was absolutely amazing! I saw so many whales breaching. Mums and calves. It was like watching a National Geographic documentary but this time it was real and right in front of me and those cool pictures are on my camera! Had to spend the evening sorting out the bag for Fraser Island. Getting sick of having to pack a bag for three days, come back and unpack and then have to do the same a day later, argh!

20/9

This morning it was off to Fraser Island. I was in charge of making sure the right alcohol was put on the truck. Very important! Then I had to go around the car and check the damage and then count all the camping equipment piece by piece, was not expecting to have to do that task too. We had to get a barge across the water to the island. And then the fun begins....... we got stuck in the sand after some arse decided that he wanted us to move out of the way and let him pass, we had barely got off the barge when this happened, good start. We then made it out to Lake Mackenzie, which is so gorgeous. The water is crystal clear and lovely and blue. Got some good pics there, like my facebook profile pic. Enjoyed the view and then accidently fell asleep. We had to leave and be back to camp by 5pm as we had to drive across the beach and obviously can't if the tide is in! No gas in camp but owners let us use some of theirs to cook on the bbq. There was a big huntsman in the girls loos.

21/9

Off to Indian Head today. Left a bit early so the tide created a few problems. It was ok when we first set off but the further north we got the less beach there was. Got there eventually and then had a little walk up to the top to get views of the whales from the Island. Headed back down for lunch and then had a long walk on soft sand, not fun, to the Champagne Pools. Needless to say I fell asleep there to, common pattern now it seems.

22/9

Ok so the spider in the toilet on the first day was big, the one in there today was ****ing massive and I'm not exaggerating at all, it was the biggest thing I have ever seen, like tarantula big, it was horrible and again in the girls toilets, why there of all places! Some stupid people were playing with it while I was in the shower and then it bit one of them and I was so worried it was going to come and run under the gap at the bottom of the door of the room I was in. Quick shower after that fear set in! We dismantled the tents and set out ot the shipwreck on the coast. The tide was in so we didn't spend that long there as we couldn't get very close. We had left a bit early so that we could go back to Lake Mackenzie again before getting on the barge. For lunch we had to eat as much as possible as we had a lot of stuff let over from the 3 days. When we got back we complained about the bbq situation, there was not enough for the amount of people Beaches had sent over blah blah blah and we ended up with a free dinner, beer and then those of us staying at the hostel got free breakfast for tomorrow too, nice result!

23/9

Typical the chance of a lay in and I wake up at 7am! Sorted out the mess of my diary entries that I did last night when I got back from the bar. Had the free breakfast and then off to the bus stop. 5 and a half hours on the bus to Noosa. Got there and we were greeted by a dust storm that had started the day in Sydney. Walked to the beach and then back to the hostel for dinner and an early night with no beer.

24/9

Crikey what an awesome day! Woke up excited, checked out and off to the bus stop. We went to Australia Zoo. About one hour to get to the zoo, they played a Steve Irwin dvd on the way with various croc catching clips. Got to the zoo, stored the bags and then off we went. We saw everything there was. At the croc show, luckily for us, Terri, Bindi and Robert were there as was Steve's best mate Wes. I didn't expect to see any of them let alone all of them so that was really neat. They all had there part to play in the show and Robert, 5, was completely adorable. Terri and Wes did the croc demo and then Bindi had a little go. Today I stroked a koala, a wombat, sheep and pigs. I fed an elephant which was totally cool and then some kanagaroos which was cool too! Got tons of pics so look out people for when I get home! Got the bus in the evening to Brisbane, strange to be in a city again after so long. Had a look around and then went to the cinema in the evening and saw Funny People.

Off to hold a koala tomorrow so really excited about that!

See you all real soon, month today and I'm home

Cape Tribulation, Bowen, Airlie Beach and Whitsunday Islands

sam_jackson86 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:39:00 GMT

Here we go again....

12/9

Early start today, ready and waiting outside the hostel but the bus driver had overslept and was late. On the way up to Cape Tribulation we had a rainforest walk in the Daintree and a Daintree River cruise to see some more crocs. Success, some crocs out on the banks albeit small ones. We got to Cape Trib at lunchtime. The hostel was really cool, luckily the dorm was a family room and full of us from the trip up. Went for some walks in the afternoon and then had to make a mad dash back across the beach before the tide came in, we made it just!

13/9 My Birthday

This morning I was given a Mars Bar with some sparklers in and the girls in my room sang me Happy Birthday so that was really cool. Went snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, what a way to spend my birthday!! It was amazing, so many fish and bright coloured coral. Not much of it has been destroyed as only 2 boat companies go out to the reef that we went to. Saw a bull ray (like what killed Steve Irwin) and some massive giant clams. Others in the group saw turtles and a couple of people saw a shark- argh! It was freezing when we got out of the water. Realised half way through the morning that we had forgotten to check out, whoops! On the trip back to the hostel we stopped at Mossman Gorge, Alexandra lookout and Rex lookout. Some good views. We then had to hang around and wait for the bus at 00.25am.

14/9

So we got the bus at 25mins past midnight and arrived at Bowen at 10am. Good sleep on the bus. We then walked for 3 hours and made our way to a really nice beach. Hardly anyone there. The walk back took us 1 hour 45mins. We waited for the bus to take us to Airlie Beach, it was 30mins late and as we were the only 2 we thought it had forgotten us!

15/9

Today we went to Whitsunday Islands-eventually! The boat was delayed for 3 hours, turns out the fridges weren't working. Then because the tide was low we had to be transported to Freight Train (our boat) by tender so that then took even longer. Once on board we were given ours beds. It was very cosy down there! We finally set sail and headed off to the islands. Because of the delay there was no chance for a swim on the first day. They ferried us across to an island for a few beers.

16/9

Today we went to Whitehaven Beach. It was so beautiful. Enjoyed the view and then set about topping up the tan. Ended up falling asleep on the beach, don't worry though I had tons of lotion on so didn't burn. After the beach we were going to go snorkelling and scuba diving. The tender was broken so it took like half hour to fix that and then by the time everyone and all the equipment had been ferried across to the beach it was 3.30. The first group had a dive of 15 mins and then the second group only had 10mins. Luckily I was in the first group. There was not enough snorkels to go around either. The dive was no where near as good as the snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef. The visibility was rubbish and there was not much colour down there. Glad it was free and I didn't have to pay $60 for it.

17/9

This morning there was no electricity or water on the boat. Then to make matters worse, the starter motor wouldn't work so we ended up getting sent back on another boat. We saw how nice the other crew were and how much better their boat was. When we got back to land we all went on mass and complained to Oz Sail. After that, we all felt much better and headed over to our hostels, got cleaned up and then headed to the bar. We ended up with a free drink and some free nibbles. Good night had by all of us I think.

18/9

Check out this morning and over to Oz Sail to see how our complaint was going. We ended up getting $50 back each. Not as good as we had hoped but better than nothing! Off to the lagoon to relax and soak up some sun. Met Hayley Dumbrell for a few hours, nice to see someone from home! Scored another free dinner before leaving on the bus for Hervey Bay at 8pm.

Alice Springs, Darwin, Cairns

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:41:00 GMT

1/9

Had a lay in today and got up around half 9, it was lovely! The other 3 girls in my room had left at 6ish so I had the room to myself. I went and booked a tour of the National Parks in Darwin and my flight to Cairns. Later on I went over to Miriam and Marissa's hostel and chilled by the pool with them. In the evening, Johan, Daniel, Susie, Andrea, Nina, Miriam, Marissa and I all came to my hostel and we cooked a last group dinner. We then went back to Bojangles but this time just for one. Did some laundry but managed to leave a tissue in a pocket. No driers left either so I had to shake the tissue off and then hang eveything around my bed.

2/9

Got up and had to shake some more tissue off my clothes before being able to put some of them away. What a mess! Ended up having to go out and buy lunch as someone had stolen the other half of my Subway that I had left in the fridge. Got the bus over to the desert park. It was a nice park. Went on a walk through the red kangaroo enclosure and saw a bird show. There was a really good nocturnal house. It was really hot today. Spoke to home about my latest plan, not sure whether that will happen though...Cooked dinner with Andrea with enough left over for lunch tomorrow.

3/9

Bags in storage, out to buy some postcards and then me and Andrea headed to the reptile centre. It was awesome, I got to hold an olive python, blue tongued skink, bearded dragon, shingleback lizard and then a Spencers Goanna called Frank. It was a surprise to handle all those and the handling was free! Back to the hostel for lunch and then waiting around for the train, got a taxi to the station and then got the train at 5.55pm. My bag weighed 22kgs so had to separate some stuff, luckily you are allowed two bags. Got hungry quickly and ate lots of the food that I had brought to last for the whole journey. Got off to sleep ok, lots of room and really comfy.

4/9

On the train for most of the day today. AT 9am we stopped at Katherine and could choose a gorge exploration option. I went for a walk, cheapest option! Really nice views. Then got a tour of the town of Katherine. Back to the train for 12.30, it was supposed to leave at 1.00 but beacuse of a Freight Train coming the other way we didn't pull out of the station until 3.20! Eventually we got to Darwin at 7.15pm. There were lots of termite mounds along the way. Got to the hostel and then met Andrea and we went out for a quick dinner then back to the hostel to pack up my 10kgs worth of stuff I was allowed to take on the Kakadu/Litchfield trip.

5/9

Trip started today and off to Litchfield National Park. The group is really quiet, big difference from the groovy Grape tour. Went for a swim in Florence Falls. We then went for a swim in some rock pools. All without crocs- so we were told! The fish in Florence Falls started nibbling my feet. We then went and saw some large termite mounds. Then off to a billabong for a wildlife cruise. Saw some freshwater and some saltwater crocs which was really cool! Lots of different bird species around as well. Saw 2 freshies fighting. Got to camp and had a surprise, sleeping in tents with beds and mattresses, no swag bags!

6/9

5am start again, common theme with tours. We went over to Ubirr to look at some ancient Aboriginal rock art. It was really cool some of it. When they saw things for the first time they would paint it so there were some paintings of white men. Then we clambered up to a rocky lookout to get an awesome view over the Nardab floodplain. All different habitats in a 360 degree view. Then we went to Maguk (Barramundi Gorge). Really nice pool to have a swim in. We then climbed to the top of the gorge and swam in the water pools that feed the waterfalls. Sleeping in tents again. Played the didgeridoo before bed.

7/9

Up at 5am again and off we went to see Twin Falls. We had a little boat ride then a walk to it. It was cool, couldn't swim there though because of crocs. After that we headed to Jim Jim Falls which is more like a gorge in the dry season. We were allowed to swim in there which was good as the walk was climbing all over rocks and involved getting hot and sweaty, nice. Later on Marc said he was sure he saw a croc in there! Back to camp for lunch and then we were taken back to Darwin. Found Sandra, did laundry and then headed out for some beers with Marc and Sandra.

8/9

This morning me and Sandra headed to croc cove in the city. It was reall cool, we even got to hold a hatchling that was nearly a 1m long! How cool! We watched the big crocs get fed, then some lizards and a couple of snakes. We also held a bearded dragon. Really good time there. We then went to the lagoon for some relaxation. Back to the hostel for dinner and then out for a couple of beers. Had to go back early and back up our stuff and get some sleep as we were getting the 2.45am shuttle to the airport.

9/9

Up at 2am to get ready to catch the shuttle to the airport. Flight was at 5.05am. It was a bit delayed but we still ended up in Cairns earlier than we thought we would. Got into the city and set about planning the next section of Oz. We booked the Cape Tribulation trip, Whitsunday Islands and Fraser Island. In the evening we walked around the lagoon. Came back to our room to find more than 12 people on the balcony. They then went out at midnight and came back at 4am. We decided we would move rooms because of that and that the room stunk as it was lived in by 5 guys!

10/9

We managed to change rooms with no hassle so that was good. We went out to Kuranda today. Got the bus to the Skyrail station and then started the 7.5km ride. There was a couple of stops along the way with lookouts and guided tours. When we arrived at Kuranda we haad a look around and then went to the venom zoo. Saw lots of spiders and was able to hold another olive python. We then had a really nice slow train ride back to Cairns. Some lovely scenery along the way. In the evening I thought about the rest of what I will do in Oz.

11/9

Today we went to the Botanic Gardens and then over to the lagoon. That is pretty much all we did today. Tomorrow we are off to Cape Tribulation which is supposed to be really good.

xx

Tour up to Ayers Rock

sam_jackson86 — Thu, 3 Sep 2009 14:37:00 GMT

I'm back from my ouback adventure now, sleeping outside was awesome apart from one thing....

26/8

Up at 5.15 this morning to be sorted and ready for pick up at 6.30. I then had the delight of another 12 hours on a bus. Managed to get some sleep to make up for the lack the night before. We had a nice lunch of chicken, salad and fruit at a "service station" in the middle of nowhere. We got to Coober Pedy at 6.35pm. The driver took us to a bottle shop (as they call them here) as drink is really expensive in Ayers Rock. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town and because of the temperatures there in the summer upwards of 50 degrees they say, alot of the town is build underground and into hills. We stayed in a cave for the night, which was cool-literally! We had dinner at a pizza bar and then came back to the cave for a few beers before heading off to an underground bar. Sounds cool, underground bar but it was underground so nothing attached to it like oh a dodgy underground thing. Anyway, me and Miriam (from Ireland) played some table football with the two Itlalians on tour, Claudia and Pierro. We then tried our hand at air hockey, wow what a painful game, neither of us could score for ages, the game timed out rather than one of us winning! Came back to the cave for a night sleep.

27/8

We got up at 7 to be ready for 8 this morning, only to find that the place we were going for the opal mine tour was just across the car park- he got us all in the van and then just did a lap of the carpark! On the tour we watched how they cut opals and then were shown around an underground house. They have everything that a normal house has only that windows are only at the front of the house because of it being cut out in a hill. We then waited and waited around for the other bus. Our tour group was joining up with another one that had started their tour a day earlier than we had. Finally their others arrived and we went on a tour of Coober Pedy.... is about all I can say about that!! The others then went on the tour that we had got up really early for, so you can imagine we were a little annoyed at getting up early for no reason! Those of us who had been on the opal tour in the morning then went noodling for opals, no luck there and then came back for a kick around as Miriam had brought a football to keep us amused for a bit. We had dinner at the pizza bar again and then headed to the underground bar. The other tour group hadn't slept underground so the whole evening for us was just a repeat of yesterday as the new people hadn't done any of it. It wasn't that bad though.

28/8

We left Coober Pedy early and headed for Ayers Rock. Caught up with some sleep on the way. We arrived at camp at about 6pm. We made our way over to a lookout near camp to watch the sunset over Ayers Rock and another rock formation called the Olgas which from afar actually looks like Homer Simpson laying down! There was a lot of cloud so the sunset wasn't as good as it could have been. Back to camp and a stir fry for dinner. We were all getting ready for bed, swag bags all laid out around the fire and then, oh my god, a huntsman spider decided to run through camp!!!!! It was not pleasant, the fire cast a shadow of it making it look even bigger. It ran off only to come back a bit later and run under the swag bag of the girl next to me then it went over to our pile of bags. Before bed, had to spend ages shaking out my swag bag just in case another one had got in!

29/8

Up at 5am and we headed off to "sunrise boulevard". Luckily enough of the cloud cover held off. It was really cool when the sun came up and lit the rock up orange. We had pancakes for breakfast while watching sunrise. We then did the walk around the base. Got back 45mins before some people in our group. The sun was out for most of the walk which was nice. To an hour and three quarters to walk it. We then had a look at the Cultural Centre, had burgers for lunch and then headed back to camp for a snooze in the afternoon before going back to the rock for sunset. Bit nippy in the evening. Sausages and steak on the bbq for dinner- bit of a meat overload!

30/8

This morning we got up for sunrise but it was cloudy so that was a waste of time. We had a walk at the Olgas today, it was ok. Really cold though, so much for it being hot in the desert. It rained and was windy also. There was some nice scenery around. Back to camp in the afternoon to back up before heading off to Kings Creek Station to set up camp for tonight. It was still really cold when we got there so we all sat really close to the fire but then our faces were just too hot, can't win!

31/8

Today we had a bit of a lay-in, 6.30am! We headed over to Kings canyon. It was about a 2 hour walk that we did. It was a better walk than yesterday. We saw the Garden of Eden in the canyon. Back to camp for lunch (reheated spag bol from yesterday) and then we hit the road for Alice Springs. We had a bit of 4wd action on the way which shaved 2 hours off the drive time. One of the swags fell off the roof in the process which was amusing. We all went out for dinner in the evening and then to Bojangles for some drinks. I left at 2.30am and turns out some of the others went back to the bus for a bus party that didn't finish until half 4ish!

So that was my outback adventure!

Melbourne (again) and Adelaide

sam_jackson86 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:02:00 GMT

18/8

Said goodbye to Andrew and Samuel this morning at the house. Roy and Lesley took me to the airport. They were allowed to come all the way through to the gate and watched me get on the plane. Emotional goodbye as I don't know if I will see them again, I will miss Lesley's cooking!! I actually didn't sleep on the flight back. Back in Melbourne, luggage out quickly and back on the bus to the city. Hung around updating my blog and rung home before heading over to Ash's. Luckily Tom was there to let me in-thank god I didn't have to wait on the doorstep for one of them to come home!

19/8

I got up a bit late today but was luckly enough to end up with a fry up for breakfast. By the time breakfast was out of the way-toast, eggs, mushrooms, bacon and spinach, it was early afternoon, late morning so I decided to seat myself down and plan the next part of the adventure. After that, I treated myself to a rest!

20/8

I went into the city and got booked on the last spot for the Desert Patrol tour up to Alice Springs, taking in Ayers Rock on the way. I then went over to the other side of the city to the Science Works Museum where there was a Star Wars exhibition. I saw some costumes: - Leia's white dress, Chewbacca, Darth Vaders suit and helmet, Han Solo's waistcoat and beige trousers outfit, some lightsabers. There was also the R2-D2 robot costume and C-3PO's. From the newer films they had Anakin's outfit (from Phantom Menace) and Padme's outfit from when she went on Tattooine.

21/8

Up and out the door at 6.45am! I went to the Great Ocean Road. It was really rubbish weather for most of the day, there was storms, hail, rain, wind but also the odd bit of sunshine. I saw the 12 Apostles and then went in a helicopter as well to see them from a different view. That was cool but it was a bit windy taking off and landing but that just added to the excitement! Really long day, I didn't get back until 8pm. Tom made burgers for dinner, with all the trimmings that were added, the final product was huge!

22/8

Today I went down to the MCG. The tour was only $11 and was an hour and a half so really good value. There was a delay with the tour leaving so I got to go in the National Sports Museum for free. The tour itself was really good. I pretty much saw everywhere of interest in the ground. In the evening I went out in South Melbourne with Ben, Dan and some of their mates.

23/8

Today I did some washing. It was so windy that everything dried really quickly including my jeans which was lucky for me. I then just sat around for the rest of the day watching tv and chatting with Tom. We had kebabs for dinner, so huge I couldn't even finish it. Then 8 o'clock arrived and Ashes time. Oz needed 546 runs to win, England needed to bowl them out to win. Tom kept shouting at the tv (same as the other 2 days) and Ash was getting annoyed also.

24/8

Tom and Ash went to bed at about midnight, me and Ben stayed up. Runs were being scored but wickets weren't falling. I nearly gave up at 2am but then heard a wicket just as I was turning everything off. Tv promptly back on. by the time we had won, the presentations were over it was 3.30am when I finally got to bed, completely worth staying up for though!! Not surprisingly I didn't get up early. It was 11.30 when I crawled out of bed. I went to the post office, packed my bag (after taking almost everything out first), said bye to the boys and then Ash took me to the station where my bus to Adelaide was leaving at 8.15.

25/8

I went through Horsham this morning!! The bus arrived in Adelaide at 5.30am so when I got to the hostel at 5.40 the guy who let me in was well moody and said I had arrived way to early for a bed tonight. Not my fault the bus arrived then and I'm sure that I wasn't the first and won't be the last person to arrive from Melbourne on a bus! He let me store my bags and then I found a TV room with some cushions in so I shut myself in there for some much needed sleep. I went to the zoo, maybe not the best day as the weather was miserable. I saw a pair of Tasmanian devils out in the daylight which was cool. Then came back to the hostel, got checked in and went for some much needed sleep in a bed!

And now I'm sitting typing this to you all. I have a tour tomorrow that goes up to Alice Springs taking in Ayers Rock, so looking forward to that

Hobart

sam_jackson86 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:45:00 GMT

12/8

Said goodbye to Ell this morning, he is going to Perth and I'm going to Taz. Don't know if I will see him again before I go home. Got the 7.49am train to the station and then the Sky Bus to the airport for my 10.55am flight. The flight was a bit late due to foggy conditions and it was worse when I got to Tasmania. I got the bus to town and then Roy came and met me. We drove through Battery Point on the way to his house. Lovely house that they live in, lots of land (5 acre plot). I met Samuel (their grandson), so cute and adorable! He says the cutest things with a little bit of attitude that just makes him more cute, he is only 4. Lovely roast dinner.

13/8

Today Roy took me out and around in the car. We went and had a look at Kingston. Nice up and coming area. He also took me to a couple of new housing estates, you get so much more for a lot less money here. I saw the block of land when his son is going to be building a house. In the evening we watched a couple of films.

14/8

Another lay-in (it's awesome not staying in hostels for a bit!) and then off to the museum in Hobart. There was a really good Antartica exhibition. Had a really nice pizza for lunch. On the way back we drove through Sandy Bay and Blackman's Bay (where they used to live). The whole area is really hilly. We had a nice mushroom risotto for dinner. Dessert was a vanilla slice from the really good bakery that Roy took me to the other day. In the evening, Roy found a scorpion in their bedroom!!!

15/8

This morning we all went off to the famous Hobart market at Salamanca. I brought some fudge and postcards. There was some really nice stalls with timber products that have been made with wood from Tasmania. For lunch we went to Fish Frenzy. Andrew, Samuel and Sally came too. We then had fun trying to get Samuel to smile for some pictures! After they had gone, we drove over to the eastern shore to Tranmere and checked out the view over to the main part of Hobart.

16/8

We went to the cinema this morning to see Cheri. After that and when the weather had cleared a bit, we drove up Mt. Wellington. The weather had closed in again by the time we got to the top and we could bearly see the city below. It was so windy up there, Roy's hat blew off. When we got to the lookout building, we looked out and could see nothing. Looked out a few minutes later and it was as though someone had pulled a curtain, the view was awesome and really clear. We then saw the wind push the clouds back over and the view disappeared.

17/8

Up and ready to leave at 8.45am. Roy took me to Port Arthur. It was a convict site back in 1830-1877. We stopped on the way at Pirates Bay, saw the Tessilated Pavement and Eagelhawk Neck-where prisoners would try and escape through so they put some dogs there to deter them. We went over to the Isle of the Dead where they buried the dead. Prisoners without headstones and the free and soldiers on the high part of the island with headstones. A lot of the buildings have been partially destroyed over time. It was a big area and you can walk through and around the buildings, some done up like museums.

Canberra and Melbourne

sam_jackson86 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:13:00 GMT

Back again, it has been a while...

3/8

I had to get up this morning as my bus to Canberra was leaving at 9am. It was a 4hr journey, most of which I typically slept through! Lots of leg room on the bus so that was an added bonus. When I got to Canberra it was more by luck than judgement that I found the hostel! 8 person dorm, with a TV, a TV I know how exciting! I made my way up Anzac Parade and past all the various war memorials up there. I went to the actual Anzac Memorial and attached museum. It was really interesting. There was a room about WW1 and one about WW2, aeroplanes, and a Hall of Honour-with the biggest collection of Victoria Crosses in the world. There was also a tomb of the unknown soldier.

4/8

I checked out a 10am, went to the post office to get rid of all the stuff I had accumulated in Sydney before heading over to Old Parliament House. I took the free guided tour. It was cool to see. I then went up to the current Parliament House and again took the free tour. To kill some more time before my 23.55pm bus, I also went over to the Canberra Museum and Gallery. There was more emphasis on gallery than museum though. But nevermind as it was also free! Spent the evening in the hostel talking to some teachers who were from Adelaide and were taking about 40 kids around the sites of the city, rather them than me!

5/8

Got to Melbourne at 8am after surprisingly not that much sleep on the bus, how annoying as I can usually sleep anywhere, even anytime of day! Walked to the station about 20mins away only to be told that they don't have luggage storage so I had to cart my bags all the way back down the road. The station to Ash's house is not the main station where the buses go. Met Ell at the station at 9am. We went to the old jail. Really cramped conditions back in the day. We also experienced being arrested in the watch house. Then we went over to the botanic gardens (everywhere in Oz has these) and then we tried to find the F1 track at Albert Park, no luck there though. Walked some more distance before getting the free tram to near Ell's hostel. Got his snowboard bag, had some dinner and then headed over to Ash's. Really nice to see him and of course he comes with the added bonus of free accomodation!!

6/8

Had a lay in today, then got a text saying the YHA wouldn't refund Ell so he would come over later. Worked out quite well for me as I then got to laze around for even longer. I dozed and read my book for a bit and then finally decided to get up at aout 12.30! I played guitar hero for ages, oh my god I was rubbish! Went out trying to find cake but most places were shut as it was after 5. Ash treated us to dinner at the pub down the road. really nice chicken parma. Ell checked out of the hostel even though they didn't give him a refund so I have a room mate now.

7/8

We had a lazy day today. Played on the PS3, some Pro Evo and some more Guitar Hero. We did venture out in the afternoon for some cake and to grab dinner. We watched the Ashes in the evening, how rubbish was that-although Tom one of Ash's housemates thought it was hilarious. He gave us a crashcourse in the rules of AFL. Guitar Hero skills improving after todays effort!

8/8

Today I finally went back into the city. I went on the Neighbours tour, whoo!!!! We watched the episode of Toadie and Dee's wedding on the way and then Scott and Charlene's wedding on the way back. I saw the school that they used to do the outside filming at for 22 years. Then off to the see Grease Monkeys and Carpenters Mechanics where Declan's and Karl's cars were. Then they took us to Harolds veggie patch before going round the corner to Lassiters. Lassiters is really small! I saw Stingrays' memorial, Charlie's Bar, Harold's Store, Lassiters hotel, the vet clinic, Toadie's office and then the lake. The famous Lassiters Lake is more like a little pond! Then onto Ramsay Street, how exciting was that! Unfortunately there was no filming. The street is also really small in real life. I had my picture taken by most of the houses and got to hold a Ramsay Street sign for some pics too. Before the tour started, I met Janelle Timmins. After the tour was over I met Ell, we had lunch and then went to the MCG to Essendon v Brisbane Lions (87-87). Good game although I was bored at the start when I didn't understand to much of what was going on. It was really cold. We got wicked seats for only $20. Got a text from Mum a few days later saying that Tom Cruise had been watching that game too.

9/8

I rung Uncle Roy this morning and then booked my flight over to Hobart. After that I went to the Immigration Museum. Learnt about the various policies over the years. In the evening much to the amusement of Tom, Ash and Ben, saw the Aussies smash England in the 4th Ashes text to set up the last one nicely. 1-1 now.

10/8

Today I had another lazy morning. I took it easy and eventually went out and checked out the buses for my trip to the airport tomorrow. I then got the tram over to St Kilda. Had a look around and then headed to the Elephant and Wheelbarrow pub for the world famous Neighbours night. That was really good fun. I met Steve Parker, Amy Greenwood (who went out with Lance) and rocking Dr Karl Kennedy. Dylan Timmons came on briefly and did a boyband tribute thing, it was really funny! After all the trivia and meeting, Paul Robinson came on and sung and then Dr Karl's band Waiting Room sung with Karl. Donna Freedman was supposed to be there but she was filming late.

11/8

It was raining this morning so we decided to laze about for a bit. Eventually we left and headed out to the museum, we went via the tram as the travel ticket you get includes the buses, trams and trains so no money to be saved in walking! The museum was cool, there was an exhibition on a Day in Pompei about the eruption in 79AD. There was lots of artefacts that had been excavated. There was also some body casts. It was weird seeing some of the positions that some people died in. Some were crawling obviously trying to get away when the ash and proclaystic flow got to much and ended their lives.

That is all I have time for now, check again soon for another update on how I got on in Taz.

Sydney!

sam_jackson86 — Mon, 3 Aug 2009 18:39:00 GMT

Hello from the land down under! Even though New Zealand is further down.....

25/7

Hung around until check out and then put my bags in storage and went on the internet to waste some time. I went and got lunch/breakfast and then went back to the hostel to wait around until it was time to get the bus to the airport. I arrived there earlier than I thought I would and that was made even more annoying when my flight was delays for almost 3 hours!! Because of how late the flight took off, there was rumours that it would be cancelled or go to Melbourne instead. Thankfully everything was ok and we landed 20mins before the 11pm curfew at the airport. Originally supposed to land at 8pm. So I didn't get to the hostel until midnight.

26/7

I had a bit of a lay in and didn't have to wake up to an alarm. I eventually got up and went down to the harbour. I went on the Opera House Tour, that was good, learnt some stuff and got to see the inside. The concert hall was amazing. It was a really overcast day and then it started to rain while I was strolling through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Nevertheless the gardens were really pretty. I had to keep stopping people to get them to take my picture for me. I walked some serious distance today. It is half an hour just down to the harbour from the hostel let alone all the extra walking I did inbetween. I rung home and spoke to them all, that was nice.

27/7

Glorious blue sky today so I took myself back out to most of yesterday's picture spots and got them again this time with lovely sky behind them! Sat in the botanic gardens and had lunch. I got pooped on by a bird so then decided to sit on the grass but then I got a damp patch on my bottom, what luck! I did hte bridge climb, it wasn't difficult at all but way overpriced for what it is I thought. I was lucky enough to be coming down it at sunset which was nice. The people just coming up the bridge had paid an extra $100 just to do it at sunset- suckers!! I then hung around the harbour until it was dark to see the bridge and opera house lit up. It was not as lit up as I thought it would be though.

28/7

Today I got the ferry across to Taronga Zoo on the other side of the harbour. The zoo was good, although quite steep but it did mean I got to ride in the cable car up to the top of the zoo. There was a really cute 2 week old baby Asian elephant, so small, running about, falling over and generally messing around! I also saw some koalas and a wombat, I didn't realise that they were so big. Went back to the hostel in the afternoon and was just about to go out and there was a knock at the door and standing there was my old travelling buddy Ell. Nice to see a familar face. Took him down to the harbour then came back and we had some dinner. Rung home again and spoke to Mum.

29/7

This morning I went whale watching, that is after I managed to find a chemist open before 9am to get some sea sick pills. I was lucky enough to see some humpback whales (a Mum and her year old calf). We saw them quite a few times. I had to have a snooze in the afternoon as the tablets had made me drowsy. I then read for a bit before we made dinner, we had a couple of beers at the bar and then did our laundry.

30/7

This morning I went to the aquarium over on Darling Harbour. I saw the cute little platypus and some duggons which are like manatees but with different tails. There was a big Spongebob Squarepants theme and his house and his mates where in the pool at the end with the sharks in. Met Ell for lunch (we had Mexican) before we headed off to the Opera House to book us some tickets for a show. We then stopped for tea and cake overlooking the harbour. We went to Sydney Museum in the afternoon. Learnt about the early settlers and fleets in Sydney. Went out for yummy yet really cheap pizza for dinner.

31/7

This morning I went to the National Maritime Museum. It was really interesting and I learnt about the Australian Navy and the war. There was a couple of exhibitions, one on swimsuits and one on Charles Darwin, I was really tired of reading but this point though! In the evening we headed down to the harbour and had a couple of pre show drinks overlooking the harbour bridge. We went and saw the Sydney Symphony perform accompanying music to a Russian silent movie about one of their battleships. Sounds strange but it was good and we saved a fortune on the tickets because we had both been on the opera house tour.

1/8

Today was the earliest start for a while, 6am. We had a 1 hour 15 minute bus ride out to Euroka National Park where we saw some wild grey kangaroos. At one point a little joey popped his head out. We then had a 3 hour walk to see the Blue Mountains. There was some really lovely views and some underhangs to walk under. The next walk was only 45mins but it was down some really steep stairs (the Furber Stairs) to see the Three Sisters. Then we went back up via the steepest railway in the world. I really don't think that I could have handled going down it! In the evening we walked around Darling Harbour.

2/8

Lazy morning this morning, eventually got up and booked the bus for tomorrow and my hostel. Didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day but then Ell found me and asked if I wanted to go to Bondi beach, off we went. It was a lot smaller and less impressive than you would think it would be but it is still cool to have gone there. We hung there for the afternoon and watched the surfers and men in speedos go by, one guy in particular had the funniest run! In the evening we did laundry (what fun we have!) and just chatted. I spoke to home and Katharine also, that was nice.

So that is Sydney, I will be heading back there in 3 months time to catch my flight home but it's not so bad as it's a really nice place to be!

xxx

Christchurch and Auckland-take two for both!

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:43:00 GMT

So this is the last New Zealand entry before heading onto another new country (the ninth one)

18/7

Back to the reality of hostels now, checked back in at the same one we stayed in the first time in Christchurch as it was nice enough. I went and got a Oz guidebook so I can at least start trying to figure out what I am going to do there. I also got a box to send stuff home in, quite a lot of space at the moment but we shall see what happens with that! Last night with Ell tonight as he is going to Methven tomorrow to be nearer the ski fields. Got to start remembering there is only going to be me now, I bet I still look for the others every now and again though out of habit.

19/7

So bit of an emotional morning as Ell left. Will be weird not seeing him everyday after being with him for the last 6 months. Emma and I went on the gondola, there were some nice views but as it was windy we didn't stay up there very long at all. There was a little time travel ride as well that told the history of the Banks Peninsula. We then did some souvenir shopping-box is almost full now, whoops!! In the evening, me, Emma and Si went to see Harry Potter, that was good. So tired, need some serious sleep!

20/7

Today I finally saw and swam with the Hectors dolphins which can only be found in Akaroa. I had a one and a half hour scenic drive out there. Really beautiful day. The sea was choppy so the sea sickness kicked in and they put me in the water first to get me off the boat and try and make me feel better. It did work thank god. The dolphins were really cute and small. The biggest they get is 1.4m (female). They swam through the group and got really close to us. At one point there was a pod of two one side another pod of 2 another side and a pod of 3 coming through us!! There was also a seal swimming nearby too. We saw penguins on the way out and more seals on the way back to the harbour. I had on a dry suit so I got to wear normal clothes on underneath, no swim wear necessary. I got freezing cold hands and feet though!

21/7

I got up at 5am to see if I could go hot air ballooning but it was cancelled, so back to bed I went! Didn't really know what to do with myself for the day so I went to a little aquarium/kiwi house in the centre of town. It was a bit rubbish really. I did see some sharks being fed though and some kiwis in the exhibit they had. I got a better look at them than I did of the ones I saw in Rotorua. Cooked pasta and sauce for the first time with no one there and had success. I treated myself to the cinema in the evening as it is cheaper on Tuesdays. I saw Transformers 2- it was good and I had the whole row to myself!

22/7

Me and Emma tried to go paramotoring today but the wind wasn't right. I did however get to dress up in the one piece suit, get the helmet on and backpack which I think had a parachute in it. Some really funny pics from that. We then had to wait around for the fudge kitchen tour. That was cool, the whole kitchen just smelt lovely! We saw them make fudge and got to try lots of different flavours, I think 7 or 8 and even were treated to some hot runny fudge. I ate so much and got really full up, but the lady said keep helping yourself so I thought it would be rude not to! Early to bed as hopefully ballooning tomorrow....

23/7

So shock horror no hot air ballooning and then no paramotoring, what a rubbish day! Spent most of the day talking to the Dutch guy in my room, he was giving me tips on things to do in Oz and I was sharing my Thailand tips. The most exciting thing I did all day was go to the post office and send a box home.

24/7

This morning I packed up my stuff and sat in the tv lounge until 12 when Emma and Si came to get me to take me to the airport. There was a few tears and I am properly by myself now. Nice amount of leg room on my Jet Star flight, nothing like I thought, I was expecting EasyJet standards! I arrived in Auckland this afternoon and got the bus to the hostel I stayed in the first time I was here. I'm now sitting here typing this up for you all!

Last full day in NZ today, strange to finally be leaving after 2 months. It's been fun though even if the last bit was just hanging around in Christchurh and having the weather let me down with the activities I wanted to do! Off to Sydney tomorrow for a whole new adventure.....

xxx

Milford Sound, Invercargill, Dunedin and Oamaru

sam_jackson86 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:52:00 GMT

12/7
We treated ourselves to a long awaited lie in this morning- it was so nice! We then enojoyed the 2hr drive up to Milford. There was some really nice scenery along the way. We stopped a few times to take some pics and generally enjoy the views. The cruise itself was really nice, fiords and waterfalls and we were lucky enough to see some seals. The journey back was nice as we got to see the mountains in twilight. Had some really nice chocolate mousse for dessert and sat and watched new Family Guy- all in all not a bad day!

13/7

Shame to have to leave the retro hotel. We had been in a room that was yet to be refurbished but we all thought it was really neat! On the way to Invercargill we stopped at Gemstone Beach and Monkey Island. Not sure why it is called that though. When we walked to it the tide was out but on the way back it had started coming in making it a tricky maze through/over the rocks back to land. We had lunch by the beach and played some cards. For being so far south it wasn't cold which was a lovely surprise.

14/7

Left our apartment and headed for Dunedin. We had free laundry so we all did that before we left. Long 3 hr drive to the next stop. We took the less scenic inland route to save an extra 2 hrs in K9. Nice central hostel-yep back to reality! Went on the Speights Brewery Tour. That was cool, informative and tons of free beer at the end and we even got ot pour it for ourselves. The manager of the hostel had guitar hero out in the evening so we got to play on that for a bit which was fun.

15/7

We were supposed to be going on a wildlife cruise but when we realised that you don't see penguins on the one we had chosen, we decided against it. Didn't seem much point in paying to see albatross' and seals when we have already seems them. So we just drove around the Otago Peninsula. The boys went off to go on a driving range while Emma and I went shopping. We met them for the Dunedin haunted tour we were doing only it turned out the golf was shut and they had been in the pub all afternoon. The tour wasn't that scary, spent most of the time walking around the city and there were people and cars at most locations. We all ended up in the pub afterwards. Ell and Si had both had a lot to drink and were loud and there was some word slurring going on too, very amusing!

16/7

Today was Si's birthday. We went on the Cadburys factory tour in the afternoon. We saw them make/box/wrapping easter eggs for next year already. Got some free chocolate a saw a load of melted chocolate in a waterfall. Also saw some of the old delivery cars. At one point there was a chocolate emergency as the ladies at the conveyerbelt started shouting and running down to a machine. Our guide had some anger issues, the poor children! In the evening we went out for a curry and surprised Si with a cake, even though we were all completely stuffed from dinner.

17/7

Somehow Si and Emma managed to be 1/2 hr late this morning meaning that we had to stand in the street with all our stuff, and there is a lot of stuff! We then went over to the steepest residential street in the world. We managed to climb it and got a free certificate. It was hard work. We then got ourselves a spot for the Jaffa Race. Typically we didn't win. The jaffa race is where Cadburys make some bigger than normal jaffas (chocolate orange covered in an orange shell) and let them go down the street and the first down wins. Lots of the jaffas didn't even make it down the hill. If that doesn't make much sense go to www.odt.co.nz and you can watch the race. On then to our next port of call via some giant boulders on a beach. They were really round and no one know how they got there. We then went and saw a colony of blue penguins come ashore for the night. That was really net if a little noisy!

So I am now back in Christchurch but will update that part of the blog in Auckland. I fly back up to Auckland tomorrow and then on 25th I fly to Sydney for a new adventure. Last country before I come home though, look out for October 25th!

xxx

Franz Josef, Wanaka and Queenstown

sam_jackson86 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:48:00 GMT

Hello again, I will try this again as I did it yesterday and then the computer lost everything!

3/7

We had to get up at 7 this morning to go and do the glacier walk. We got kitted out with trousers, jacket, boots and crampons. The boys went off in the fast group leaving me and Emma with the medium paced group (along with a bunch of really slow Malaysians!). There was a long walk of about 2kms just to get to the glacier before we finally got to don the crampons and walk on it. When we did it was really cool and we got some good views. We got to go in a little ice cave, down some ice stairs the guide cut out and posed with the ice axe. We only did the half day walk as it was cheaper and less tiring!

4/7

We left Franz Josef and started the long drive to Wanaka. Luckily the Haast Pass was open, to snow chains, so we got through. It had been shut in the morning when we left so it was touch and go if we would get through. On the way we stopped at the Fox Glacier, we couldn't get very close due to rock fall. We are staying in a nice self-contained motel unit with sky tv, bonus for me when they all go off to the snow! It is actually cheaper than some hostels we have been staying in which is cool.

5/7

Today we were hoping to skydive but there was too much cloud. Rather than wait around until the afternoon on the off chance we could do it then, the others decided to go up the mountains. I stayed behind so not to spend $100+ on hiring and lessons etc only to get fed up in the afternoon like I did with the skiing. I ended up watching National Geographic all day as we had somewhat limited sky channels. I did our laundry and changed my flights so a fairly productive day. I spoke to Mum, Dad and Mark in the evening so that was nice- love you all and miss you!

6/7

Today we were up early again hoping to snowboard and again it didn't happen (slight relief there I must admit!) Instead we ended up at Cardrona Ski Field. I booked myself in for a snowboard lesson. I went on the beginners one even though the staff tried to get me on the beginners plus one, I really don't think my attempt at National Park in North Island really counts! It was cool and I could actually do everything unlike the skiing. The boys seemed impressed with how much I had learnt in two hours and told me to keep practicing. Once the lesson was over and had had lunch I went back out and had another practice until I fell and landed splat on my bad knee, got some nice bruises- thought it best to stop before I really hurt myself!

7/7

We went to Puzzling World this morning, it was cool. There was a room with hologram faces that looked like they were following you around the room. There was another room where one person appeared really tall in one corner and someone else really small in another corner, really funny! Nice journey through the mountains out to Queenstown. Took a while to fins accommodation as it is a bit more expensive here and packed! We found ourselves a nice little apartment. Then hit the I-Site to find out what activities we can do while we are here.

8/7

This morning we went on the Shotover Jet boat. That was cool, at some points we were going over was 100mm. We went really close to some canyon walls and did some 360 degree turns which were fun. Emma went and did the 134m bungy and a swing thing over a canyon. The rest of us went up the Gondola, this time there were some good views unlike Rotorua as the sky was nearly clear. The boys went on the luge and I played photographer. Ell then did a 34m bungy. I have never seen him looked so scared as he did before it. Of course me and Si were totally sympathetic and didn't try and wind him up at all! We have booked to try and skydive again, third time lucky maybe, maybe not!

9/7

Up early this morning for a supposed Lord of the Rings tour. I was somewhat let down as there was only 3 scenes we saw. I did get to dress up with a cloak and Elf sword and hold an Aragorn replica sword for a picture though so it wasn't all bad. I saw where Boromir died and where Sam and Frodo were looking over a verge at the oliphants before Faramir caught them. There was some nice scenery along the way and I went to Paradise. Afterwards, I went to the British Lolly Shop- brought lots of nice English stuff you can't get in the supermarkets. I even got a creme egg twisted bar so I managed to not miss out entirely on the creme egg thing this year!

10/7

We were supposed to skydive this morning but shock horror it was cancelled again! I tried instead to get on the $300 full day Trails of Middle Earth tour but it was fully booked. I ended up on a half day one with another company. I saw where the Pillars of the King were, where Arwyn had Frodo on her horse in the river after he had been stabbed, before she flooded the river. I also saw where Isildor (not sure of spelling) got killed and Deer Park Heights where the Rohiran were escaping from Edoras. There was also some off roading which was really fun, driving through the river and then up a set of stairs with no foot on the accelerator. I also got to pan for gold. I found some but it was just not worth trying not to loose so I put it back in the river.

11/7

6.30am alarm again but too many clouds to sky dive again, its obviously not meant to be. Luckily I had rung up the company to save us walking down to town for no reason to only walk back up 5 mins later. We went panning for gold although I didn't actually do it as I got cold enough yesterday. I helped Ell find some though. We then had a really nice pie-steak and mushroom. We then finally hit the road properly for Te Anau, our base for the Milford Sound Cruise. The YHA wanted $26 just for a dorm, but we found a hotel room for $50 only $25 each giving us an en-suite, tv, fridge, tea and coffee for free and a kettle in the room. Not bad! Good spot Si for that one!

So that's it for now I have not updated my dairy anymore than that so I'm off to do that now before going on the Cadburys tour this afternoon-free choc yay!

xxx

Hanmer Springs, Christchurch, Hokitika

sam_jackson86 — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:47:00 GMT

So here we are again,

24/6

We left the picturesque town of Kaikoura and headed for Hanmer Springs. A twin room worked out cheaper than some dorm we have stayed in so we treated ourselves to a twin room for 2 nights. So nice to have our own room, can leave stuff out and not worry about it. We went to the hot springs and sat in nice pools of 36, 38 and 41 degree water. The hottest one was a sulphur pool so it was a bit smelly!

25/6

This morning we went and played mini golf. I came 3rd. We had ice to contend with on some of the holes which was strange. We then did the maze, you had to go around and find words before you finished. Girls v Boys. Luckily they ran off in one direction meaning we ran off in teh other (better) beginning direction. We passed the boys at one point. Girls won!! We hid so the boys would think they won and sure enough they thought they had and arms were thrown in the air in celebration until we came out to show ourselves- hahaha!! We then did some clay pigeon shooting. Si and Ell had a little competition and Si won quite comfortably in the end. I then spent the rest of the day doing the laundry-what a massive load we had, so much so the dryer had to be used twice. The boys went and did some driving range and more golf.

26/6

We left Hanmer and had a somewhat speedy trip to Christchurch. Emma's grandparents live here so Si and Emma dropped us off at the YHA and they are staying with them. We had a look around the city, it's very English looking with the cathedral, parks and road names. We rode the tram to see some of the "landmarks"of the city. We saw 4 of the Italian rugby squad walking around. We spent the evening playing a new card game with the Americans that we sat with at the Maori dinner in Rotorua. Fun game and it got pretty tense at the end.

27/6

In the afternoon we wnet to the International Antartica Centre. That was pretty cool. We experienced the -18 degree Antartic storm. The room temperature was -8 but the wind chill made it -18. We then watched the little blue penguins getting fed, they were so cute. Finally we had a ride on the Haaguland which is a weird van thing that has tracks like tank instead of wheels to get around the ice. We had a ride, not on ice, we went up and down some slopes and through water where it came up to the windows and the tracks were propelling us through the water as we were floating in it. In the evening we went to the All Blacks v Italy game. It was awesome. We saw them perform the haka and then win 27-6. We had good seats along the try line, in the front row.

28/6

Up and ready for 6.45am pick up this morning for the 2 hour trip up to Mt Hutt. Had a ski lesson. It was ok, but I'm fairly sure I won't be doing it again. I couldn't manage to get the wedge which is how you stop so it seemed silly to go for the second lesson on turning. Sat in the cafe all afternoon waiting for Ell and the shuttle back to the hostel at 4pm. Had 2 falls, on to stop hitting someone and the other where I couldn't stop down the hill. I ended up with one leg one way and the other pointed in the other direction. No wonder my knee hurt afterwards!

29/6

Today we had a lay in and then went to the Art Gallery- not much to say about that really. We then stopped in a cafe for some cake before heading to the museum. It was cool, there was a good Antartica room so I learnt some stuff in there. Really late lunch of a salmon panini-yum! and then naughtily some more cake. Late lunch meant late dinner- bangers mash and gravy, yum again! Took ages to get to sleep, probably because had dinner too late.

30/6

I wanted to go dolphin watching but it ended up being cancelled, don't think I will see any at all this trip the way I am going. Instead I went to a Orana Wildlife Park. I went in the back of a lion fed wagon which was way cool!!! There was a lion on the roof all the way which was scary but such an awesome site. I hadn't realised quite how big they actually were. There was another lion jumping at the side. They had the odd scrap when one wanted the others food which was a bit scary at times. Then I went and touched/fed some giraffe which was cool. Next was watching the rhinos, cheetah and hunting dogs getting fed. I got really close to the rhinos and one of the cheetahs hissed at me! Cool day with some awesome once in a lifetime stuff while the others went skiing/snowboarding.

1/7

We had a really pretty drive by the Southern Alps out of Christchurch. Really nice mountain roads to drive along. We were going to stay in Arthurs Pass but as the ski fields were shut we moved on. We ended up on the West Coast in a town called Hokitika. Nice little hostel by the beach. Was going to watch the sunset but there was too many clouds blocking the view.

2/7

The fire alarm went off this morning, I may have set it off by putting the heater on in the bathroom but we will never know! We went and saw the Hokitika Gorge on the way to Franz Josef Glacier. It was cool, we wnet on a swingbridge across the gorge, which of course the boys decided to jump on. The water was really nice and blue because of the glacier flour in it. We got followed by a little bird that was flying really close and making lots of noise. Ell did an indoor ice climbing wall which I went and watched him do. Went to make dinner and then realised that we had left a new bag of rice, tin of tuna and can of sauce at Hokitika-damn!

We have booked ourselves in to do a glacier walk which should be good

xxx

Picton, Nelson, Blenheim, Kaikoura

sam_jackson86 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:20:00 GMT

So we have done the North Island now and on to the South Island

19/6

We booked the ferry to the South Island today. We had to be there at 12. Once there we had to wait for an hour sitting in the car. Well I say in the car, the boys decided to climb out the sunroof and sit on the roof of the car. The crossin took 3 and a half hours. I felt a little sea sick when I had to get up and go to the loo but after that I sat outside for a bit and then felt a bit better. The ferry was really nice inside, we watched Game Plan to pass the time. Arrived in Picton and first impressions of the South Island, it's so cold!! Me and Emma tried to do a puzzle in the evening but it started getting late so we had to give up-much to the delight of the boys.

20/6

We had the luxury of a free breakfast at the hostel- naturally we all therefore ate more than usual. We then hit the really windy, icy and scenic road to Nelson. The car slid at one scary point. The boys went rock climbing in the afternoon and Emma and I walked around Nelson. We had tried to go to the water's edge but couldn't find it as the map we saw it on was way back in the other direction and we couldn't remember where it said to go! We got some free chocolate pudding and ice cream at the hostel in the evening!! We had planned on playing Pictionary but there was no paper/pens in the box so we just sat around chatting until it was time to go to bed. We were lucky enough to get a twin room as the dorms were filled with school boys, who decided to be really loud at midnight.

21/6

More free breakfast today, score! We had all been looking forward to the late check out but all got woken up at 8 by the school boys being loud, playing music and stomping up the stairs and corridor outside our rooms. We made it to Blenheim and went on a wine tasting tour. It took us ages to find a good hostel. All the ones in the town were full of travelling workers and didn't feel as nice as the ones we had stayed in in other towns. One that we had a look at smelt of BO and there was a puddle on the floor. We visited four wineries and a boutique chocolate factory. I now know that I really don't like wine. I gave up after 2 wineries and didn't taste anymore apart from a sweet desert wine at the last place. Disappointment at the chocolate factory as the samples were orange creme truffles and another one with nuts in, damn! So I treated myself to a champange truffle which was really nice and so worth the $2 I had to pay for it.

22/6

We left Blenheim-naughtily went to a cafe for breakfast. We headed for Kaikoura, it is one of the best marine life watching places in the world. On the way here, I saw a seal on the rocks and then a load more so we stopped the car and got out and there were loads down sunning themselves. It was soooo coooool! Me and Ell then did a walk in the afternoon across the Kaikoura peninsula and saw 2 more seal colonies. It was a nice walk with good views and cliff top views of some seals. Another exciting evening of cards awaited us all after a group curry for dinner.

23/6

Me and Emma went whale watching, after taking some sea sick tablets. good job we did as the sea was rough-other people next to us were throwing up. So amazingly we saw 6 sperm whales, they say that the average sighting in a tour is 1-2. At one point there were 2 together which was extra cool : ) There were more in the area but they had dived just before we got there. Got back to find the boys in a cafe. They couldn't get up the mountain road to go snowboarding. They were originally coming whale watching but decided that it was a lot of money for something they weren't that bothered about and the carrot dangling of the snowboarding was enough for them to not bother with the whales. We had a lovely dinner of pie, mash and gravy, so good! We also had the pleasure of the dorm to ourselves which was cool.

So that is as up to date as I can get you, you never know what might happen in the few hours that I have left of today (24/6)

xxxx

Rotorua, Gisbourne, Napier, Wellington (Lord of the Rings Tour)

sam_jackson86 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:13:00 GMT

So this is the place that we did the weirdest things so far...

10/6

Today we saw some more geothermal stuff. More rocks, caves and gases colouring the area. It was better than yesterday's although the pictures all look the same! We went to a Maori cultural show in the evening. That was good, we saw them arrive by war canoe, they did some dances and the haka of their village. The dinner was amazing, potatoes, chicken, garlic bread, rice salad, lamb, sweet potatoes and stuffing, there was even chocolate log and trifle for pudding and to top it off, all you can eat!! We then went to the nature park next door and saw some kiwis. They are bigger than I thought they would be and also quite strange looking.

11/6

After you have read this day, if you have facebook check out the pics of the day. We got up and hoped we could go out on the water and that we hadn't got up too late and luckily we could. Up first was sledging. So we got our gear on and then had our briefing. It was ok to start with but then when I wasn't getting anywhere kicking and the current started taking me I didn't like it anymore. I got tipped off a few times but that wasn't scary. Cool to say I have sledged some rapids though. It was really hard work. I think the pictures show that. Next was white water rafting. That was cool. Really enjoyed it! We went down a 7m waterfall- how we didn't tip no-one knows! Some of the rapids were the ones that we had sledged down earlier in the day. I would definitely go rafting again.

12/6

Rubbish weather today so while the others went on the luge I decided not to waste money on getting cold and wet and just went up the gondolda. Really cloudy so could have saved even more money and not bothered as you couldn't see anything! We then headed to Mt Maunganui for Ell to surf but the weather suggests he won't be doing that. I wanted to go to Hobbiton but can't as the company the hostel uses has no-one else who wanted to go tomorrow which is annoying.

13/6

So no surf lesson for Ell meant that we effectively lost a day in a place with nothing else for us to do. We hit the road for a 4hr ish journey to Gisbourne, the first city to see the sun everyday. Spent ages in receptino waiting for the owners to come back, that did however mean that we could have a good nosey round first. The heater in the missed dorm didn't work so we went in same sex dorms only to find that the heaters didn't work in there!! Luckily they gave us 2 duvets to keep warm.

14/6

Me and Emma got up to try and go shark cage diving but it was out of season which was a shame although it saved us $250+ each. The cidery was shut too so what were we going to do all day. Ell went for a surf lesson. The weather eventually came good and we went and saw Cook and Young Nick's statues. They are where Cook first stepped foot on NZ back in 1769. We were then all really naughty and got Dominoes for dinner- we got ourselves a good deal so it wasn't as bad as it sounds, honest!

15/6

Another 4hr ish drive today and we arrived at Napier. We had hoped to stay in the hostel that was a converted prison but it was full. Really nice city. Art-deco buildings. Most of the city had had to be re-built after the 1931 earthquake. We watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in the evening before going to bed in the messiest dorm I have ever seen, thank god we were only there for one night.

16/6

Set off for the 5 hours trip to Wellington after booking tickets to see the All Blacks on 27th June in Christchurch. We drove through a massive snow storm-that was cool. On the way were the usual small towns. Got about an hour away from Wellington to find the road closed because of the heavy snowfall. So back to one of the towns as it would have taken a while to back up and down the other road. That's the thing with NZ there is only really ever one road to everywhere. That took some getting used to, no need to worry about planning the route as there is only one way!! Another unexpected day lost. Me and Ell stayed in the ship in a campsite while the others splashed out and stayed somewhere nice.

17/6

Thankfully the road was open and we made it through to Wellington. Really nice city although we have to pay to park the ship. Walked around, there are too many Subways here for one city! For dinner we had bangers and mash-yummy! We could actually drive to the supermarket than drive which was a novelty although coupled with that was the fact that we had to then carry everything back. In the evening we went to the Basement Bar downstairs. The kitchen in the hostel is rubbish, small and no-one dries anything up which is a pain and there is not enough stuff to go around for the amount of people in the place.

18/6

What an awesome day I had!! While the others trudged around a museum I went on a Lord of the Rings Tour. A full day with a Subway for lunch, good stuff. Where to begin-honestly it was so cool and I felt really sad when I got excited that I was standing (or laying-all will become clear) where the stars had. I went to where they built the sets of Helms Deep and Minas Tirith, now back to its original state as a quarry. Also visited where they built the wet set (now back to a car park) where they filmed the Gates of Moria, Dead Marshes, Flooded Isengard and Osgiliath. You would never know anything went on there. I went to the park where they filmed Gandalf riding to Isengard Tower and the gardens he and Sauron walked through chatting about the ring. Also went to the "River Anduin" (River Hutt) and saw the spot where they filmed where Aragorn washed ashore, the departure of Boromir and where Gollum followed the fellowship. Then on to Rivendell and saw where they built the sets. Got to dress up as an elf- elf ears, blonde wig and bow and arrow at Legolas' tree. Oh my god I stood where Orlando Bloom did!!!! We also went to Mt Victoria and recreated some scenes in Hobbiton Woods, we hid where the hobbits did from the Black Rider and cooked where Sam and Frodo cooked (in the extended edition first film). We then made ourselves a horse for the silohuette at the top of the hill. Wicked day, cool to go to the places where such an awesome film was filmed- nice one Ted! Can't wait to go on the one in Queenstown. More dressing up!

So the Rings Tour is another highlight of mine so far, good stuff-Dad you would have loved it!

xxx

Tongariro National Park

sam_jackson86 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:31:00 GMT

6/6

How rough did I feel this morning! Couldn't face breakfast at all. Had some water but erm yeah. Really bad day to be confined in the car for 3 hours. I just wanted to curl up in a ball. Eventually I managed to get some sleep in the car and then felt a bit better when I woke up. Staying in a village called National Park, in Tongariro National Park. The hostel has awesome views of the mountains and in particular Mt Ngauruhoe or more heard of Mt Doom. It was so cool to see it from the kitchen! It looks different to how is does in the film though as it is covered in snow now.

7/6

When we were finally all ready this morning we hit the rental shop. I managed to get for $50, boots, snowboard, jacket, trousers, googles and wristguards, not bad and it turns out they forgot to charge for the jacket! We got half way up the mountain and then had to wait for a shuttle as we didn't have any snowchains to get us the rest of the way up the mountain (volcano). 5mins turned into an hours wait. Eventually we hit the slopes, well beginners area anyway! It was so much fun!! Fell over lots of times mind you. 3 of the times I was going faster so when I fell it hurt more- landed on my tail bone. Managed to knock Emma over as well as I can't stop let alone turn the snowboard. Si tried to get out of my way but ended up falling over anyway. The boys taught me how to stop, sometimes I can and sometimes I can't, other times I throw myself down as I can't steer yet!! Good fun, looking forward to giving it another go.

8/6

Got up this morning and me and Ell went out for a walk up a volcano to see the Emerald Lake. What a mission the start was, so many steps- didn't think I could go up much further. I did though and we made it to what looked like Middle Earth. It was an easier walk from then on, less steep. We walked through snow, ice, mud, ash and "rivers". We had lunch just before some sulphur fields any closer and it would have ruined lunch as it was so smelly up there! We didn't make it to the lake as there was a bit way to dangerous to walk across with no crampons- one slip and down the mountain we would go. Turned around and headed on back down. When we got back to the hostel we found that Si and Emma hadn't even got up and done the 20km Alpine Crossing that they were going to do.

9/6

Good job we were leaving today as the weather would not have been good for walking or snowboarding. Loaded the ship and headed for Taupo. Got there and realised apart from skydiving there isn't much else to do and due to the weather we wouldn't be able to for a few days, we headed on to Rotorua. On the way we went to Huka Falls and Craters of the Moon- a hot spring place full of steam. Got to Rotorua and had a look around and booked some activities. A better car trip today after the last one!

xxx