Melbourne to Airlie Beach

Arriving to Melbourne was a little disappointing at first. The weather was so cold and windy, but it soon brightened up. The weather in Christchurch, New Zealand was better, and our first thoughts were 'take us back'. We stayed with Gemma's friend James. It was so nice to be out of the dorms for a while. It was great to be able to chill out. We were both able to have a long, hot bath, both of us had really wanted to have a bath in new Zealand, but there were none available so it was a real treat.

I really liked Melbourne. It is a huge city. The buildings are so wonderful, a real mix of modern and Victorian. Very detailed both inside and out. I went in to a Victorian building, that I think was for lawyers and it was amazing. Everywhere I looked there was detailed tiles, plush chandeliers, beautiful mouldings of cherubs, and a glass central dome with stained glass. It was great to be in a city, I really liked the hustle and bustle. The city is full of art work. I really liked the trams too. I felt a little exposed waiting for them as you wait in the middle of the road.

There is a river that runs at the bottom of Melbourne which really reminded me of the South Bank in London. I had a look around the casino in all its glitz and glamour. There was someone that had been on the pokies all day and had to have first aid attention. The sun was out shining this day, so walking by the river was wonderful. There are lots of bridges that cross this river with lots of decoration on. It's a vibrant city with a lot going on.

The food here is great too. Real mix of Turkish, Asian and Australian styles. I have really enjoyed being able to eat falafal and hummus again.

I have had a lot of fun in Adelaide too with Pete, Rachael and the kids. The first day I arrived I went to kindy with the kids then in the afternoon we went down to Brighton and Glenelg Beaches. Had fun with the kids there chasing the waves and to my delight we saw two dolphins in the marina jumping around and playing. Apparently its not normal to see dolphins here, so this was a real treat for me.


The next day went to see kangaroos and koalas at the animal sanctuary, which was fun. Managed to stroke a koala. he was really cute. Then the kids and I managed to scare him whilst rustling a packet of crisps. We were told to leave.

The kangaroos were very friendly and many of them were carrying joeys. They were all really cute. Later on we went to Mount Lofty, where the views were not at their best as the weather was not great, but it was still great to see the vastness of Adelaide and really to get an idea of how big Australia is. Adelaide also has a wonderful aroma of eucalyptus and the earth is very red.


We went on a boat cruise down the river and have just had fun chilling out in the city of Adelaide the next day. We nearly got attacked by two black swans. They came up to us, I had one either side of me and they made me jump. I ran off then frightened the children too. It was really quite funny. I do not think they were really going to attack us, but they really frightened me. They were just after our food.

I spent a day with Lisa too, Aussie friend from London. It was great catching up with her, going out for Thai food and experiencing a Cold Rock Ice Cream, which I have had a few of since. You choose what ice creams you would like and any extras and they mix it all together. Yummy. We also had a bit of a girly shop looking at clothes, jewellery and make up.

My last day in Adelaide was very chilled. We had a look around the Botanical Gardens and played hide and seek. Then I had to catch my flight up to Cairns later on that day, which ended up being quite an emotional goodbye. Definitely had a great time hanging out with the Knights and am missing them all!

When I arrived in Cairns it took me a while to get used to the head and humidity and the noise. The heat struck me as soon as I stepped of the plane. It only took me a few hours to get used to it. Went out and brought a little summer dress and ditched most of my cold weather clothes. The birds and the toads make so much noise.

I spent a couple of days in Cairns before arranging to do anything. Went swimming in the pool and the lagoon most of the time I was there and booked a trip to Daintree Forest. Everywhere there are warnings about crocodiles and this really troubled me. Always being reminded about the crocs. They are in the entire water systems there- the ocean, the rivers, the creeks, anywhere there is water they are there. Fortunately in Cairns you can not swim on the beach as its mud flats really. Full of funny little creatures like mud crabs, and lots of birds there waiting to eat them- pelicans and I think oyster catchers- birds with very long, thin beaks, fairly elegant birds.

Left Cairns and headed up to Daintree. We past sugar cane farms, wonderful forests and beaches. The rain forests are truly amazing. The leaves are gigantic, most of them bigger and wider than me. Beautiful flowers, interesting root systems, plants growing out of the trunks of the trees. We had a look at the beaches, the rain forest meets the ocean and some of the trees can grow in the salt water.

I made a stop on the way back from the trip at Port Douglas. I arrived quite late so did not do much that evening, plus I had to get up early the next morning. I was heading out to the Great Barrier Reef, just to snorkel. It was a really great trip. I was really scared about swimming in the ocean and it took me a while to throw myself in, although I kept my life jacket on. Looking down into the ocean was amazing. It took me a while to really understand what I was seeing. I have never seen coral like this before. The shapes and creatures are weird and wonderful. The colours, shapes, movements are spectacular. We had three stops and got to see many different formations. At the end of this trip I was so chilled. I think I was exhausted really. Had a glass of wine, then ended up playing poker and came 5th out of 14 people. I do not really know how to play poker, so felt quite pleased with myself. Would have liked to win the big money of $50, but it was fun watching everyone play.

I left Port Douglas and headed down to Airlie Beach, which is where I am now. Will be leaving for Rainbow Beach later on tonight.

Did a small trip around the Whitsundays, though the weather was pretty poor, but still the sands and beaches were still amazing. Went out to the Great Barrier Reef again. The coral here was very different from that at Port Douglas and some of the fish were a lot bigger. I treated myself to a helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef, which I am so pleased I did. It is so vast. I also got to see Whitehaven Beach in its true glory.

Yesterday I was out kayaking, which was fun. Got to see a few turtles popping their heads up for air. I was paired with this French guy Samuel. All he wanted to do was get in the water. He kept rocking the boat and crashing it, then splashing me with water. So I obviously did the same back. It was a fun day.

Today I am going to write some postcards and hop on the Greyhound. Nothing too exciting. The sun is out and its really beautiful. Maybe I will go for a walk somewhere. Who knows, but I will let you all know what I get up to......

New Zealand- South Island

The South Island was completely different from the North. The landscape was very dramatic. We did not see a lot of Picton as we got on the train pretty quickly. We headed to Kaikoura. The train journey was fun and spectacular. We were both being so very nosey at everyone one the train. I think they all knew, which made it even more funny. The journey was wonderful, we rode by the coast line and could see seals and black sands. We arrived at Kaikoura about 6pm. When we checked in to the hostel, I did not realise there were still people asleep and I made a comment on the mess in the room, which woke the guys up. Gemma and I could not stop laughing. Later on the guys had tidied the room and told us they were really hung over.

Gemma and I went off to see the seal colony. The weather was awful. We were wearing these anoraks which we had brought from the wear house. They kept us dry and matched. The seals were so close and cute. The weather continued to be bad. We kept walking around in the bad weather. We really wanted to go whale watching and possibly dolphin swimming. If you had seen the weather, there was not really a chance that the boats were going to go out. We continued to ask each day.

The weather was actually so bad that there had been land slides. We were stuck in Kaikoura. Everyone staying were lovely. There was a Canadian family who always cooked so much, and we ate their left overs, we played cards in the evening with other people staying at the hostel. We even decided to get some wine in.

There was not a lot to do here, we did go on a wine tour to this beautiful vineyard. It was tiny and the cellar was really pretty. I think we decided to get quite a bit of wine for that evening.

We were due to get the train to Christchurch, but the train line was not open, due to the landslides. They were awful. We had to get a bus instead and the damage was dreadful. The roads had been cleared but there was still so much mess. Entire cliffs had come down. The trees l00ked like over cooked vegetables. I do not think they could take anymore water.

This day was the best day in Kaikoura. Before we caught the bus, we were able to go whale watching, which was not fun for everyone. They did warn us that there is a high risk of sea sickness. I was fine, but I think most people on the boat were sick. We managed to see one whale and an albatross.

The sun came out today for the first time, when we woke up we could not believe our eyes. We were finally able to see the mountains that faced the hostel. We had a walk round to the seal colony again, and there were lot and lots of them sun bathing and playing in the ocean.

We were actually quite sad to leave in the end. We were definitely rewarded that day by the sunshine. We were desperate to leave when we could not go, but kind of sad to leave after seeing the true beauty of the place.

We did not see Christchurch, as we arrived at 7pm and had to leave the next morning by 8am. We went to Greymouth. Neither of us were particularly impressed. We hung out by the hostel and chatted to other people staying there about Thailand and Australia which was fun.

Next stop was Franz Joseph which was great fun. We were sharing a room with three Scandinavian girls, we all went out for a drink in the evening and all were in bed by 11pm, though everyone else stayed out until 1am. We all did the glacier walk the next day, which was great fun. There were some Mexicans also doing the walk, so I tried very badly to speak Spanish with them.

I found the walk quite frightening at times. There were huge holes in the ice and I was really scared I would fall in. I made the rest of the group scared and the tour guide had to help us all.

We were so tired that evening. We watched a film and went to bed. The bus always picks us up very early. The next stop was Wanaka. Gemma and I suddenly became party girls. We went out for some delicious food, then to a bar, and did not get back until 4am. The next day we went skiing/ snowboarding.

I did really well this time. Really enjoyed myself. I did fall over a few times but managed it.

Then we went down to Queenstown, where we decided to join a pub crawl. I did not make it back until 8am. I drank so much. I drank shots and other stuff I would not normally touch. I think I was still drunk that day. We got some breakfast, and had to be in bed by 10pm that night.

Queenstown has the most beautiful scenery I think I have ever seen. We had a good walk around the lake, and went kayaking one day. We went over to one of the islands on the lake. It was really relaxing. We got to see a lot of the native plants and birds in New Zealand. I went skiing the next day, and found the slopes really frightening. They were really icy and I did not know where I was going. I went on the ski lifts on my own, and when people came on with me, I kept knocking them all over. I managed to take out an entire family.

Queenstown was great fun. We were ready to leave, but could have stayed longer. The food, the activities, and the bars were all great fun.

We headed off to Dunedin which was a bit boring compared to Queentown. We met up with Gemma's family and went out on a boat to see albatrosses, seals and other wildlife. In the evenings we met up with people we had met in Queenstown. It was nice to catch up with people.

The last two stops were Lake Tekapo and Christchurch. Lake Tekapo was a compulsory stop I was not interested in stopping there really, but it turned out to be ok. We played cards in the evening, everyone had different rules to the game we were playing which made it stressful. We changed to something easier, and the red wine kinda eased everything. Christchurch was lovely. Finally had the sunshine. Sunbathed in the botanical gardens. Went out for lots of drinks in the evenings.

I was not sure if I was ready to leave New Zealand. It had gone by so quickly. Gemma and I were awful at the airport. We queued up in the wrong que to check in, did not know about the departure tax, so I ended up with no cash, and forgot to fill in the departure forms.

Each que we joined we had to leave and rejoin. Then on the plane we were looking forward to the food, and a film but did not realise we were on a budget flight and had to pay for all of that. So I was quite hungry on the plane and the air stewards were not happy with me asking for the free water all the time.

We arrived safely in Melbourne, but were so disappointed with the weather. We had left the sunshine in New Zealand hoping Melbourne would be even better. Much to our disappointment it was cold and raining.

Definitely had a great time in New Zealand, but was ready for warmer weather. I loved the snow and mountains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls, but was getting tired of wearing my thermals.

New Zealand- North Island

Leaving South America was really quite sad for me. I really enjoyed my time spent there, but relieved too that I will be having a break from speaking Spanish. I love speaking Spanish but it can get a bit tiring at times.

When I was at the airport a Mexican guy started chatting to me whilst we were waiting for flights, so right up until I was in the air I was speaking Spanish. It was a nice way to leave Chile.

On the plane I started to think about all the places I had seen and just how much I had done in South America. I could not sleep at all on the flight.

We succesfully got to Auckland. The pilot was not very good at taking off or landing. I was concerned I might not make it to New Zealand. I arrived at 5am, so the sun was rising and reveling its self to me.

Check in to the hostel, slept for a bit then went out for a wonder. Gemma was not due to arrive until the afternoon. Auckland is tiny, I think I had looked around the shops in about 10 minutes. Its a very pretty city.

Once I met up with Gemma we had another look around, made dinner and we went to bed really early. We were both a bit jet lagged and had come from two different time zones. It was a bit confusing.

The next day we went out on a city tour, which was fun, though the rain clouds chased us all around the city. We would get out and take some pictures, then seconds later it would rain. I am sure the rain drops in New Zealand are bigger then anywhere else. We both got soaked in seconds. We did not do much more in Auckland.

We both were still falling asleep by 9pm. Fortunately we were waking at 6am. We booked ourselves on to a hop on hop off bus, and had to be on it by 7am that morning. Our first stop that day was the Watama Caves, we went to see glow worms here. They are really pretty, a blue green colour. We were unable to get too close as there had been a lot of rain and caused the water in the cave to rise. They are really pretty, and they have silk threads which hang from the cave roof.

We then went off to Rotorua. We got there quite late, so there was not much to do, but in the morning we treated ourselves to the thermal bath that was at the hostel. This totally revived us for the day. We headed out in to town and had a look around the lake and the steaming mud. The lake here has a lot of sulpher in it. The water colour changes to a milky blue. The birds like the heat,but it boils their feet off. When you walk close you can feel the head coming off of the lake. In Rotorua the earth's crust is very thin, which is why all the steam is coming through. Itis a very interesting place, and is also very smelly.

We headed down to Taupo the next day. We had hoped to stay here two nights, but I had got confused about what day of the week it was, so we could only stay for one night, as we would have missed our ferry crossing. Taupo was pretty, but a tad boring. We all went out in the evening. It was the first time Gemma and I had been out for a drink in the evening as our sleeping patterns were still a bit strange. It was good to get out and chat to everyone in the group. We still headed back earlier than everyone else. I think we had made it past 10pm before heading back.

Heading to Wellington was a bit of a trek, but worth it. We went to see hot boiling mud and they geysers. When we arrived at Wellington there was beautiful sunshine the entire time we were there. We went for a walk up Mount Victoria and could see the entire city of Wellington and out across the ocean and we went on the gondala. We had an early start the next day, as usual and caught the ferry to Picton. The crossing was fine. I think we were really lucky with the weather as Wellington and the crossing are supposed to be really windy and awful. We had calm and peaceful weather.

The North Island of New Zealand is really beautiful and interesting. The volcanoes and greenery are spectacular. It does look a lot like the North of England. Everyone is really friendly and helpful. We were both recovering still from the flights and time difference. We ad a very calm and relaxed time there.