Final Post

I am writing this last blog back in the comfort Manchester. The narrative of my blog has always kept things in chronological order. On this post I've decided to mix it up and we will be traveling in time. So firstly back to the cape reinga trip. This was a four day camping trip at the Northern tip of New Zealand. I would be living off my own food supplies and whatever water I found. I'll give you a list of the food I took so you get an idea of what such an undertaking requires.

3 500g packets of spagetti
6 95g tins of flavoured tuna in oil.
6 boiled egges
6 pre cooked sausages
1 250g bag of salted cashew nuts
1 bag of cheap supermarket sweets
12 energy bars
1 bar of chocolate
2250ml of water

Cape reinga is listed as an optional stop on the kiwi experience guide which means I could go up on the bus and take the same bus back four days later. The drive to cape reinga goes along the famous 90 mile beach. Yes you can drive along this beach which is classed as a New Zealand highway. People have even been given speeding tickets. Due to the risk of losing your car to the sea in the middle of no-where, car insurence companies refuse to incude it on their cover. It is also worth pointing out that 90 mile beach is actually about 90km long. The reason for the name is the original pioneers driving their horses up the beach took three days to complete the journey. Common wisdom said a days travelling was 30 miles and the slowing effect of the sand was overlooked.
After turning off 90 mile beach and passing a delightful sign saying "danger increase speed", we arrived at our first stop of the day for some sand boarding te paki stream. Sand boarding involves taking a body board up a huge sand dune and the flying down it head first. Good fun and simple to master. Our next stop at cape Reinga was where I left the bus and took my tent to Twilight bay. This was the best campsite of the trip because you could watch the sunset on the sea. It also provides a a shelter, drinking water and toilet for free. The walk there takes you along beachs and through sand dunes.

The next day was an immense trek taking me from Twlight back to Cape Reinga and then all the way to Pandora. A couple of Kiwi campers I met near the cape were impressed with my ambitious undertaking. On the way to Pandora I was passing through Tapotupotu campsite where I met the campers again along with their friends from Canada. I was delighted to accept their offer of a cup of tea and and cake. I then found myself with a beer and sandwich in addition. We had a nice chat before I left to complete the final leg of my journey. It was worth it as Pandora is also a free campsite with a similar setup to Twlight.

I set aside the next day for recovering and enjoying the sea. I had spent the first two nights in spendid isolation and it was only on the third night I had the company of an old Kiwi tramper. I was awe stuck by the amount of food he was taking which included tomatoes, garlic and potatoes. My last night was spent at Tapotupotu so I could make the bus in time. I arrived early at cape Reinga to enjoy it before too many tourists arrived. According to Maori tradition this is where the souls of the dead travel on their way to the next world, climbing down the roots of a lone tree into the sea. Eating and drinking is banned at this sacred place as it can attract bad spirits. It was here I rejoined the bus and finished my adventure. My food had just about lasted me and I'd even managed to gain weight rather than lose it.

So now we shall travel forwards in time to where I left the end of my last post. I met Paige (who had narrowly avoided being eaten by a tramp) at the base bar the following night. The Kiwi couple failed to turn up, maybe I'd scared them off with the Kiwi song. Luckily Paige had brought a couple of other friends she'd made including Irish Harriet and a cage fighter by the name of Shaun. We had an interesting night and I arranged to take the ferry to Russel the next day with Paige.


As Paige and I arrived in Russel we were shocked to discover it was rife with drinking, gambling, prostitution and dueling. Truely the hell hole of the pacific. Russel was the first settlement of New Zealand and also it's first capital. After lunch Paige departed to catch the bus back to Auckland. Luckily we'd bumped into Harriet by chance and had another hour of company. I then went on a walk around the coast and met some jet skiers who being thrill seeking friendly Kiwis gave me a few rides of the jet boat which was amazing. I finished my Russel trip with a sunset swim at Waitata Bay and a walk back to the boat with the song of the Kiwi birds all around me.

Back in Auckland I met up with Shaun before having a horribly long flight home the next day. It was nice ending my New Zealand trip with so many chance occurences as I'd expected my final days to be an anti climax.

Nearly Home

As I arrived in Auckland I decided I wanted to return home to see everyone I'd gone so long without seeing. My New Zealand plan has never been fixed. After about 20 emails back and forth between myself and STA I managed to get my flight changed to the 4th of March. This meant I now had a month left to enjoy New Zealand.

I vowed to spend every day left in New Zealand swimming and place to begin was Waiheke island. The main attraction for me was a hostel with a volleyball court. As soon as I arrived I met a couple of Germans celebrating Bob Marley's birthday by listening to Bob Marley songs and smoking weed. I spent a few days enjoying the delightful beaches the island has to offer. On my travels I encountered a free orchid and a box of cucumbers and courgettes being given away. While being a short ferry trip from Auckland it feels like a world away.
Then it was time for the final part of my kiwi experience trip up to Paihia. With so much time to spare I decided to break it up with some side trips. First was a four night camping trip around Cape Reinga which was so intense it will get it's own blog entry. This was followed by a break in endless summer lodge in Ahipara. The garden has some bananas, herbs and aloe vera growing in it. The highlight for me was the grapevines which had far fewer grapes on them when I left. There was body boarding to be had in the bay and sand boarding in the dunes.
Now after sand boarding on the Cape Reinga trip I felt I had it mastered. After a long climb up to the dune I took some time to appreciate the landscape at the top. There were nice sandstone rock formations and a silence in the air. I sat in the sledge provided by the hostel and went flying down. Instead of stopping at the bottom I hit a rough area of sand and basically crashed. While clearing the sand out of my face a wedding photography expedition appearing to start taking photos with the sand dunes as a stunning backdrop.
My final side trip was to be the last use of the tent on Urapukapuka island. This again provided bountiful swimming opportunities in the many sheltered bays. I also swam to a nearby island because why limit yourself to just one island.
While gallivanting off on all these trips I have been using my Paihia hostel to store my luggage. This allowed me to take only the essentials camping and amaze everyone in Ahipara by turning up with just a small rucksack.
Today I went on a walk along the coast and was invited to join a couple of Kiwis drinking beer on the beach. Then an Aussie turned up who was running because she was worried the homeless guy who lives in a tent might try and eat her. We are all meeting up in a bar tomorrow. With only a few days to go my New Zealand holiday remains interesting.

North again

Carrying on from where I left off. Palmerston North turned out to be a pointless diversion as the whole sheep farming thing didn't come about. Anyway I returned to A plus lodge in Turangi only to be kicked out for getting food poisoning. Yes that actually happened. Ian's ex wife/girlfriend/whatever who for some reason is in charge said I couldn't stay because I might
infect everyone else in the hostel and I hadn't done any work which was true as I was a bit too dehydrated to do anything. While appalled by this woman's small minded stupidity I was glad to finally be leaving. The next day I was back on the bus on the way to Auckland.

Auckland was fully booked until Monday due to an event on some sort at the weekend. So I decided to spend some time back in Rotorua. I was staying in the hobbit hole wing of funky green voyager.

Having already seen most of the attractions I haven't actually done that much. But then most isn't the same as all. I wanted to go to the lakes to the south of Rotorua as the weather was perfect for swimming. There isn't really a public transport option for these lakes and the shuttle buses only take you to paid attractions. So I decided as they were only 11km away I'd run down. Now this run turned out to mostly be walking but it worked out well.

I arrived at the Blue lake to find it had jet skis on it which kind of ruined the whole get back to nature thing I had in mind. So I went further to lake Tarawera which was much more isolated. It had a four hour walking track to hot water beach which I couldn't resist doing even if it meant getting back very late. Almost immediately I came to the conclusion this was a splendid idea regardless of the
consequences. The Tarawera trail has stunning views and takes you through the fern filled rainforest which gives New Zealand its appeal. The water was perfect for swimming in and it was delightfully isolated.
I'd had visions of spending the night bathing in warm water at hot water beach. It didn't exactly work out like that because the water at hot water beach actually is hot. The hot water flows into the lake creating a scalding hot layer of water on the surface while underneath the is water normal lake temperature. There is fun to be had with this and it is spectacular but not one for bathing in all night.
I then raced back to the car park at the start of the track and got there just in time as it was getting dark. Surprisingly there were still cars on the road and I was able to get a lift back from Ike who was returning from an engagement party.

The Tongariro Crossing

Leaving Wellington we had a nice half empty and relaxed bus again. Our bus  driver (Nancy boy) had been on the job for 14 years and had huge reserves of cynicism and sarcasm to draw on.
"it's good for pissing in and nothing else" On a toilet stop in Levin.
"this place is just disturbing" Going through the pun infused town of Bulls.
"get ready for the highlight of your New Zealand trip" just before going past a sculpture of a giant wellington boot.
He was still filled with fun, wisdom and a love of Queen. We had a good sing along to bohemian rhapsody and princes of the universe. Plus there was an extensive discussion involving politics and religion.
Our destination was Turangi which was the closest stop to the Tongariro crossing. Our hostel owner Ian dropped us at the end of the track at 5am. The only way to avoid the crowds is to start before the crack of dawn at the other end of the walk. One does not simply walk into Tongariro national park. We started in moonlight and had sunrise on the way up. I see why Ian wished to spare us the crowds because when other people did eventually appear they were in huge numbers. It's understandable why the track is popular because there's so much to see. This active volcanic area has so many attractions I'll have to list them.
Steaming sulphurous volcanic vents.
The black desolate landscape of Mordor
"it's a bit of a female mountain"
Crater Lakes
Red rocks
An yellow/orange section that resembles Venus
Treacherous skree slopes
Mt Ngauruhoe/Mt Doom
Potential seismic activity
We hitch hiked back with an Australian family. The next day was my first day working for accommodation at the hostel and the Departure of Marielle. It was an emotional moment. She gave me the tent along with all the camping gear. I walked her to the bus stop and bade her farewell.
Working for accommodation mainly involves changing sheets and vacuum cleaning. It isn't much work and takes place between 10am to 11am. Filling the rest of the day is hard. I've done some reading, talking to backpackers and bread. I realised the main attraction in the area is the Tongariro river which is renowned for trout fishing and has some nice swimming spots.
The town of Turangi itself is probably the first town I've stayed in which isn't full of tourists. It has a large Maori population and a lot of barking dogs and horses dotted around. It has a suburban and faintly rural vibe.
So the reason I've stayed here a week is the owner has offered to let me run the place which is tempting as I don't get this kind of offer everywhere I go. The problem is that after finishing work I find hanging around the hostel too mundane and end up spending the day by the river. I plan to head to Palmerston North on Thursday to give living on a sheep farm a go. I'll find out how much money I'd get as manager of A-plus lodge to help me decide if I want to return after the sheep farm. If not I'll head back to Auckland as I'd originally planned.
Being here has provided me with good photo opportunities and the chance to get this blog up to date. I think the last time I've finished my blog in the present was in Motueka. I'll let you know how it all goes in the next edition.

Picton and Wellington

Due to the Kiwi experience bus not running on Sunday we had to arrive in Picton a day earlier than we had booked our accommodation. We were told the place was fully booked and it was likely that everywhere in the town was as well. Then we explained we had already booked a room for the next day and we were given mattresses in the TV room. Our main purpose in Picton was to do the Queen Charlotte track which takes you through the Marlborough sounds. We needed a water taxi there and back plus a land pass for the private land we were going through. Our hostel owner recommended we be Anarchists and get a 1 day pass instead of a 2-5 day pass. Being from Yorkshire I don't think Rob really approved of paying money simply to walk over unused land.
Our water taxi dropped us off in a bay that captain Cook had anchored at and met the Maori. After reading a few information signs we were walking through lush native bush in the full heat of summer. The water taxi also did a luggage carrying service making this our most luxurious tramp yet. There were fabulous views of forest and sea. It even had an honesty box with cold ginger beer on offer. The area is full of naughty weka. These flightless birds wander around people in the hope of getting fed. A bag of bananas I left outside the tent for a few minutes was ravaged by these cheeky animals.
The second day we were on the first bit of private land. I was curious if we would have our tickets checked but of course that would happen on the last day on which we weren't covered. We first saw the quad bike with the land abbreviation on it and I felt that oh no feeling. I had my pass on the outside of my bag with the inside facing inwards in the hope the details wouldn't be checked. We were walking past the old man checking the passes and we were asked, "so how long do you think modern civilization will survive for". This of course was the start of a fascinating conversation. Charlie talked about how it's good to get out into nature where things are real rather than being virtual or social constructs. He also told us how Doc signs were too governmental and he much preferred making his own signs with pictures and symbols. At one point he did want to see my pass but only to tell me it gave a discount on the ferry. He finished by giving us some homework which was to list the 4 most important things in life and to get an ice cream from Tanya.
Being good students we did our homework and came up with friendship, money, health and purpose. As all these things are interrelated there is no particular order and we wrote then inside a circle. In addition we decided a walking stick and nice smelling sun cream were also good things to have in life. We handed our homework to Tanya at the finish and had a well deserved ice lolly.
Back in Picton we told Rob our tale. He told us Charlie was a nightmare to deal with and he thought Doc should buy out the land owners so the track could be run properly.
We surprised the kiwi experience bus driver at the ferry terminal. He told us it was too late as he'd already booked the tickets. I told we'd tried to ring the office but they wouldn't pick up the phone (your 3rd in the queue). After some more talking with Marielle he relented and got us on the ferry.
In Wellington we were staying with the lovely Kate and Penny who took us in for the weekend and gave us every home comfort imaginable. They went out of their way to provide us with good food and beer. They loved hearing all our traveling tales and shared their own experiences. We baked a kiwi fruit cake which was so good I felt it needed its own blog entry. Then there was the free tour of parliament which was interesting and good fun.
The highlight was a night tour of Zealandia which is a predator free sanctuary for native plants and animals. Bio security is maintained by a predator proof fence which cannot be climbed, jumped or burrowed past. We spotted kiwis including a baby. Then there were the tuataras, wetas, glow-worms and various birds. It was particularly delightful seeing kiwis after failing every night to spot one on Stewart Island.
It was great being made to feel so welcome and having a chance to see things in Wellington we had missed the first time round

Dolphins and Fireworks

We had the wonderful rubber duck as our bud driver again. It seems no one wants to leave Queenstown so we had a less crowded and more relaxed bus. I felt the time was right to play some whale related music which confused the people at the front while everyone at the back was asleep anyway. First stop was Lake Tekapo which has a small church being photographed by bus loads of tourists. The east of the South Island is much dryer than the West and has vast tracts of hilly grassland with mountains on the horizon. This empty landscape is the perfect place for a dark sky park. The sky was too cloudy at night but we still had a climb up the windy nearby mountain/hill to eye up the landscape.
Our next stop was Christchurch. We wanted to go to the Doc centre but our map took us to some ruined buildings instead. Christchurch is famous for the recent earthquake which resulted in loss of life and destroyed the city centre. The city has been in a state of rebuilding ever since. After a trip to the supermarket and other shopping we were back at the hostel and ready to celebrate New Year. Rush (a party girl we were sharing a room with) and some others were going to the Casino to lose a load of money. We found an Australian man to take to a family park event with us after some hostel beer we departed. There was a live band, merry dancing and conga lines. At midnight we had fireworks and the Christchurch wizard intoned a spell for 2015. We got back around 1am to find Rush passed out in her bed. She had drank an unknown quantity of vodka and didn't even make it to the Casino. We don't really know what happened because she has no memory beyond drinking vodka in the hostel.
We had an early start to 2015 and had to board the bus at 7.30. Rush got up surprisingly well despite being in such a state. The bus didn't materialise at the stated time which confused everyone until a girl told us it was waiting out of site around the corner (obviously). I got all our bags aboard and then had to quickly find Marielle as the driver was threatening to leave without her. I found her blissfully unaware in our room. "I didn't see the bus out the window". I quickly got her on the bus before the driver carried out his empty threat. Marielle assures me the bus can't leave you if your luggage is aboard and there was no need to panic.
Our destination was the famous Kaikora. A deep ocean trench passes right by the coast carrying nutrient and food rich waters from Antarctica. This makes it very popular with sea mammals and is the best place for spotting whales and swimming with dolphins. The best time to see dolphins is early in the morning when they are feeding. We woke up at 5 and ran to the dolphin centre to be kitted out with snorkels and wetsuits. We saw an albatross on the way before being dropped in a huge pod of dolphins
We were told to splash around and make noise to get their attention. The dolphins were taking turns to swim up and investigate us. Groups and dolphins were swimming past and some would even circle me. After getting too cold to carry on I went back onto the boat. We then got to watch the dolphins from the boat. It is unknown why dolphins leap out of the water but I think it is clearly because it is such good fun.
After the excitement of seeing dolphins and being sea sick I was feeling a powerful urge to sleep. Marielle was as sparky as ever. This is because she had taken sea sickness medication which is banned in The Netherlands but available in Belgium. "I don't like most sea sickness pills because they make you drowsy where as this is more like speed". After I had my sleep I met Marielle again to try some Crayfish/Rock Lobster. It was a good meal but it was sitting outside by the sea that really made the experience

Kiwi and banana cake

11 oz flour
7 oz caster sugar
7 oz butter
2 eggs
2 tea spoons sodium bicarbonate
6 ripe kiwi fruits
2 ripe bananas
1 table spoon of honey


Mix and the flour, sugar and sodium bicarbonate in a mixing bowl and add the melted (it mixes much easier when melted) butter and eggs.


 Take the insides of the kiwi fruit and chop them into small pieces. Place them in a bowl and mush in the bananas. Then add the honey and give it a real good stir to get that beautiful smooth consistency.


Add the fruit mix into the cake mix and merge them into a single entity. You may have to add more flour if it's too runny. We certainly did. Then put into a big well oiled baking tray and put in the oven at 190 degrees for 50 minutes. Well you'll have to use your own judgement for the oven bit. Don't go complaining to me when it's burnt or still soggy inside. It's always better to use common sense instead of blindly adhering to rules.


Take out the oven and enjoy. We ate some as soon as it was made and were unable to resist having seconds. Here is a baby cake we made because we liked the shape of the tin. Don't worry, the real cake is much bigger.