07/10/2006

Hi the guys!

Hope all of you are well, and are preparing yourselves for the English Winter. hahaha! Its just getting warmer here in NZ. Its currently spring but getting warmer all the time! Can't wait for summer again coz, I need to work on my tan. Since being here for just 6 weeks, my tan has really started to fade. (yes I still have the British white bum though)!

You'll be glad to hear I survived in a campervan with 2 girls for three  weeks, and I'll be honest I had a great time! (I told you Lindsay & Charlie I wouldn't make you out to be special needs) We flew down to Christchurch from Auckland. Christchurch was very English. Very similar in architecture and feel to Oxford/Cambridge! We met up with Lindsay’s cousin and he took us about Christchurch and up to the Port Hills which overlooked the whole of the city! We managed to get a great deal on our campervan. We got a 5 berth Merc for $75 a day (8 pounds a day each). It had a shower/toilet, cooker plus 4 hobs, fridge/freezer and all bedding included.
The first stop after picking up the van was Lake Tekapo. Huge lake surrounded by Mountains! Very pretty! The next day we drove to Mnt Cook (Tallest mountain in Australasia) in winds of up to 50mph. The van was like a tank to drive and we were all over the road in the strong winds. Couldn't actually see much of Mnt cook coz it was raining so hard. Maybe next time! Next stop was Duniedin, however on route we saw Maori Cave paintings which were quite interesting! There wasn't a great deal going on in Dunieden coz it was a Sunday, but we went out for a few beers anyway!
I managed to break the key to our gas bottles so had to get that fixed so we could carry on cooking! We drove to Te Anau and parked up on the side of the road for the night! The next day we went to the Glowworm caves! It was really weird! You travel through the cave in pitch darkness (so dark I couldn't make out Lindsay sitting next to me), and there on the wall are these worms that light up because they're hungry. It looked like Christmas tree lights all over this cave, was amazing! From Te Anau we drove to Milford Sound, which is a glacier carved out inlet from the sea. The cliff walls are so steep leading up to snowy peaks, very spectacular!
The next major stop was adventure capital of NZ, Queenstown. The first day we arrived we just wandered around. I bought my 4th pair of sun glasses coz I keep breaking my others(4 pairs in 4 months)! We went out and got very drunk on wine in Winnies. A great bar, always busy no matter what time you go in! Feeling very rough the next morning, we caught the bus to go up to the Remarkables Ski resort to to 3hrs of Snowboarding! I had a great time. We were in the beginners section, but there was only 5 of us in the group so the instructor could spend more time with us. I did fall over quite a bit but it was all fun. By the end I was almost ready to hit the slopes proper, but we ran out of time. I would love to do it again. (I'll have to visit you Gracia for a weekend or so). The next day we spent at Fox Glacier. Quite amazing how far its retreated in the past 150 years! Over 2 miles! That night it was -2 degrees in the campervan and we were all freezing! The next day we stopped at Franz Josef Glacier and I managed to get within 400 meters of it but that was where the path stopped! From here we drove to Hokitika were for you girls, jade stone (necklaces and stuff) is very common. After this we went to the pancake rocks which were amazing! The power of the sea has created the rocks and it makes you realise how much power the sea has! We then drove to the Able Tasman National Park and walked for 4 hrs along the coastal path. Managed to see a penguin on one of the beaches! A very pretty walk with blue/green water and sandy beaches. We camped over night in Picton ready to catch the ferry to Wellington (North Island) in the morning.The island crossing wasn't a pleasant one. Lindsay was sick twice and I felt just as ill. And it was only supposed to be a gentle crossing! The first night in Wellington we went out and managed to find a bar that had a Ladies night on, and I was one of only a handful of guys in there with tons of ladies! Its a hard life! Lindsay and Charlotte weren't to keen on staying so we left and found a quiet bar and had a few drinks instead. Whilst in Wellington we went to the Museum. It had a great display on traditional Maori cultures. After Wellington we went to the Tongariro National Park and saw Mnt Doom (Lord of the rings),whilst walking to the Taranaki Falls. (No where near as good as Niagara Falls) We then spent a couple days at Lake Taupo. Went to the Craters of the Moon (geothermal crators) with steam rising from the earth, and bubbling mud! Lindsay and I then went to the Taupo Hot Springs. It was like having a really hot bath. It was lovely to just relax in.We then spent a day at Rotoura. We mainly spent it at the Maori Arts Centre and saw a traditional welcoming ceremony and the men preformed a Haka! Whilst there we also saw the Pohutu and Prince of Wales Feathers Geysers (spouts water up to 30meters in the air). From here we drove back to Auckland and once again stayed in ACB. (Plus managed to get the same room again). We decided to go out coz it was the girls last night, so we got very drunk.  So drunk in fact that the girls couldn't face flying that day so they postponed their flights for another week. (thats their excuse anyway, I just think they couldn't be without me). The girls finally did leave a week ago, and since then I've managed to get myself a job at Auckland Council Transport Dept. as an admin assistant! Its very boring but its paying quite well. Hopeful yI can work here for a couple months before heading off to Oz for the beginning of Dec.

Hope all are well and would be good to hear what your up to.

Take care

Love Paul
xxx

07/07/2006

Hi there guys,

Just thought I'd keep you up to date on my travels, I appreciate its been a while, sorry!!

Well you'll be glad to hear that the weather in New York cleared up and basically I've become accustomed to temperatures of 34 degrees since. I spent 5 days in total in New York, spent my last night with a few Asian people and we had a meal and went out to one of the big clubs there, which was a great laugh!

Next bit was Boston. I arrived on a Sunday and there wasn't much going on so just stayed in the common area and got chatting to some Irish & Scottish girls. We were drinking cider like teenagers again coz we weren't supposed to be drinking in the hostel! One of them (Wendy) is doing roughly the same trip as me, & I bumped into her again in Niagara, & I'm sure I'll see her again before long!
Boston was great, met a load of Auzzies and went out and got hammered with them and found a Shooters bar, where the barmaids were wearing next to nothing (sorry female readers, but it was a beautiful sight)! Went to Harvard University, tried to look intelligent but failed miserably! Went to a fine arts museum (I thought I'd best do something cultural on my trip). I also spent a day in Plymouth USA! Nothing like home but it was good to visit! Population only 70000. They had a replica of the Mayflower there and a plantation thing, where they had model villages of the early settlers & of the Indian people there before them. It was all quite interesting!!

From Boston I got a 15hr bus to Toronto! Toronto was ok, not as pretty as Boston and nowhere near as busy as New York! Met an Italian guy on my first night, so we decided to go out and hit the dance floor! Still getting used to the fact you don't need to chat women up over here, you just need to go up and grind next to them for a while, its odd! Went up the CN Tower with its glass floor! Weird! You are 350 meters high and you can stand on a glass floor and just look down to the ground below! It gave me a weird sensation when I did it! Went to one of the Islands and got burnt true English style! My shoulders pealed for a good couple weeks after! Played Football in an Inter Hostel Tournament which was good to run around again, but it was 35 degrees so could only manage a few games before feeling exhausted!
From Toronto I got an organised 2 day trip to Niagara Falls. Beautiful. The shear power of the water was amazing! Had a BBQ in the evening, but it was raining so we had it inside (just like being home)!
This is where I met Wendy again!

I then decide to leave Toronto for Vancouver! The first stage was a 30hr bus trip to Winnipeg! Spent one day / 2 nights there! Not very interesting. Hired a bike and whizzed round all day! They have the Canadian Mint there and a big Zoo but that’s about it!

I then decided to travel to Banff in the heart of the Rockies! Banff was gorgeous! The hostel was right in the mountains with stunning views from the balcony. If the hostel was a hotel, it would have been classed a 5 star hotel based on the views alone. I wish I stayed longer than the two days there and do some more hiking! I then booked myself on a moose tour. Basically it’s a tour that went from Banff to Vancouver but took 3 days instead of the 20hrs straight by bus! We got to cruise slowly through the Rockies taking in a lot more and doing some crazy things! There was 10 of us on this bus, but we all had a great laugh. We did some proper kayaking in hand built wooded canoes, go karting, few small hikes, got hammered every night, and above all did a SKY DIVE!!!!!!!!
It was fantastic, I got it filmed and it was great! So funny, I'll show you when I get back! We arrived in Vancouver on such a high that we all met up that evening and the following and the following! We've all exchanged emails and everybody is missing Vancouver already!
In Vancouver I walked up Goose Mountain (1100 meters pretty much vertical), my legs were killing after that! I also walked around Stanley Park! Was in Vancouver for Canada day. was quite disappointed as the party finished at 7pm. Went out after tho!!!

I'm in Seattle at the mo! Was here for July 4th! Went to a huge fireworks display! Pretty good party! Just about to go see some sights! So got to go!

Hope everybody is well? Let me know what your up to and I’ll try and email you again soon!

Lots of love

Paul