Sydney!!!

Unlike the last, the first of our five days in Sydney provided excellent weather, allowing us to explore the city and get some great photos of the major sights. On the first full day was slow, all we did was get a train to the Nike Outlet in the suburbs where I bought some new trainers. The second day we walked from our hostel, based in the backpacker district of Kings Cross, down past the large naval base to a viewpoint where you can see The Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Skycrapers of the centre.

 We took photos before navigating round through the botanical gardens to see the Opera House. It’s an elegant structure, though it was strange seeing it close up-the tourist photos only show it from far away. It’s pretty impressive that it was only built in 1973, yet in its short life has managed to become a global tourist icon, as well recognised as historic sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and The Great Wall of China.

 We then headed into the skyscraper dominated city centre, through the business district into the pedestrianised shopping district, browsing in shops and eating some fast food for lunch. The city doesn’t have the wide American streets of Melbourne, feeling more pedestrian friendly. There are English place names everywhere, Kings Cross Station, Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Croydon and Liverpool are just some of the areas named after places at home and statues of British monarchs are dotted round the city. It feels like a capital city (even though its not), far more than Melbourne did, and defiantly feels more ‘global’-you certainly don’t feel your at the edge of the world. In the evening we walked through the oldest district of Sydney which to us didn’t seem at all remarkable, to the Harbour Bridge at dusk, and saw the urbanscape of the trip so far as the city light up as the sun set.

 

Sydney From the Entrance to Hyde Park

 We walked the half hour back to our hostel, that evening also provided our first opportunity to try Kangaroo-we had burgers in a pub which did a backpacker special of drink and burger for $10. The meat was so similar to beef- identical in colour and with a similar taste and texture. To be honest we ate late and were ravaged after walking about so I wasn’t concentrating on it too much- I will need to have a proper kangaroo steak before I leave Oz. Incidentally Kangeroos aren’t rare or endangered, in fact there’s millions of them, so many that in parts of Northern Australia people are employed just to drive about shooting them.

On the other days we took a boat across the harbour to Manly, a district which felt like a seaside town and in which resides a large surfing community, sorted out the rest of our trip in Australia and went on a night out.

Bats in the Botanical Gardens

Giant Spiders on Manly- had to watch where yo walked here

The night out occurred on a Saturday, and was organised by our hostel, so after pre-drinking some Jim Bean and coke bought in duty free on the way to Sydney, we made the trip across the small leafy Victoria street on which we reside to the nightclub called Soho opposite our hostel. The club was decent though not amazing(even though it was Saturday) and not being that packed (thankfully we got free entry and a free drink through the hostel), however we left early to have more drinks at the hostel and weren’t let in as the bouncers accused Rob of urinating on a nearby wall which he didn’t do- the worst bit was we weren’t even close to being drunk so merely asked for proof. In spite of our mild mannered protestations about them chatting rubbish they still wouldn’t let us in, and told us we had to move 50 meters away. We barked some expletives and left, irritated that having had trouble free nights throughout New Zealand, our return to Oz was marred by the draconian drinking laws here (on nearly every night we have been out on in Australia one of us has been refused entry or kicked out for supposedly being drunk, even if we are completely in control- it really rarely happens at home). I don’t really want to go out in Australia again (I inevitably will of course) because of the fact that you cant relax and enjoy yourself; you always have to be alert as one sign of not looking sober (I was chucked out for leaning on a bar waiting for a slow barman in Melbourne) and, unless you are a girl, you are out on the street.

 

Browsing Chinatown

The Retro Metro-The Sydney Monorail

We will be traveling up the east coast on greyhound buses, the first 5 days will be spent learning to surf in Byron Bay. We then travel to a beauty spot called Noosa for a few days(via surfers paradise) followed by a 3 day 4 x4 drive round Fraser Island with other travelers. Working up the coast we will also do a sailing trip around Whitsunday Islands and should end up snorkling the Great Barrier Reef on our last day in Cairns. There are some other stops on the way which I have marked on the map below. With our activities we have kept ensured there will be plenty of other travelers, as it was this that made New Zealand so enjoyable, and the lack of them that made the road trip prior become tense at times.

  

View Australia Travel in a larger map

Wanaka, Queenstown and Déjà vu- Goodbye New Zealand

Our bus took us out of the Southern Alps to the numerous lakes that exist around Wanaka. Wanaka was a small town with very little to differentiate it from the others we have driven through. However it did have what is supposedly New Zealand’s best beer, Brewski, which Rob and I tried out that evening in a small local pub, the only place where it can be drunk on tap. The pilsner like beer was good though I wouldn’t say it was outstanding- I’ve had other beers which I defiantly prefer to it.

Lake Wanaka

During the drive from Wanaka to Queenstown we stopped at Puzzleworld. It contained a very hard maze and interesting illusions. For $10 it provided a cheap thrill. 

Queenstown, the furthest point we will be from home this trip, was our next destination. This is the adventure and activity capital of New Zealand, everybody we have met stayed in Queenstown for at least 3 nights, the majority for four or more. The town of 10000 souls is set next to a picturesque lake, with palatial glass faced houses extending up the hills that surround it. It is dominated by tourists, the majority backpackers; however the numerous spa hotels and luxury coaches confirm the existence of several types of tourists visiting there as well.

Queenstown

We stayed at the major hostel, Nomads, which had a free sauna, breakfast and a room with a balcony- for a hostel this is high class (some may say a hostell). The first three of our five nights there involved catching up with various people from our old buses- some hadn’t been seen since the early part of the North Island, in those first days you couldn’t walk down a street without bumping into someone you’d met somewhere along the trip. The first nights were spent in the backpacker haunts- Base bar, World Bar and Buffalo Bar with nearly everybody we had met on the experience-  drinks were ridiculously cheap- $3.25 a pint (£1.50) or $4 for a shot using the multitude of deals, vouchers and promotions that existed everywhere. It was like a strange cross between fresher’s week and an 18-30 party holiday(think Falaraki).

 

The days were a bit of a haze- walking the town, spending time in the sauna, washing, printing photographs- it was nice not to have to wake up to get on a bus. We also ate several times a local place called Ferg Burger. People on the bus were talking about it before we even arrived in Queenstown, rumors circulated about how amazing it was. Ever skeptical of it all just being hype- I knew I was going to eat my first burger with an extra sharp focus- it would have to impress. It ended up as our fast food sober up on the first night we were there- I feel criminal to have used it as that, as the place provided the best burger I have ever eaten without question. Eating them sober in the subsequent days and trying a rival called Devil Burger couldn’t alter the conclusion. In the restaurant itself there are pictures of Dan Carter and News Paper articles from the USA(yes the burgers motherland the United States) lauding it as the best in the world. Stopping and thinking about it though, why shouldn’t New Zealand provide the best ever burger? The country is the most ‘natural’ I have ever been in. The super green grass, Evian like tap water and fresh air give good reason as to why the food at Ferg and in New Zealand as a whole has been so good.

 

On the third day Rob went and did the 134m high Nevis Bungy and a Canyon Swing, among his best experiences of the trip. (The fact that you have to pay even if you don’t jump didn’t help incentivise me to make an attempt!).

As time went on people began to leave Queenstown and by the last two days we knew practically nobody there. It was a strange place like that. For a few days the town becomes yours- it’s your turn, your moment- everywhere you look there are familiar faces, all from buses just ahead and behind yours. You meet up with people you haven’t seen for a few days and haven't known for much longer like they were long lost mates. However as quickly as everyone is there everyone is gone- here you will always miss a bus. We moved hostel for the last two days to nearby Base as we had pre-paid cards with nights on them which we needed use up. We did very little, aside from a three hour walk up a hill behind town and viewing the Champions League on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The heavy drinking of the nights before meant the evenings were quiet for us. St Patrick’s night was spent in a local pub with a bloke called Chris from our room who happened to have studied geography at Bristol a few years back.

 

On the 18th it was our turn to depart- something I think we were both glad to be doing.

The bus headed for Kaikoura (via Christchurch airport where people got off- the centre is a no go zone), a town on the rugged east coast where people could go whale watching and dolphin swimming. Arriving in the evening we went from our hostel with a friend Bryan (from our original bus that left Auckland) to a local pub and then a bar. The night was very strange but good, the second bar contained a group of people who were dancing like they were on LSD. They dragged us onto their dance floor and made us reluctantly join in, though it changed it from a night down the pub, to one far more interesting. 

The last nights were spent revisiting the old haunts of the Cross Island Ferry, Wellington and Taupo(where we skydived on our first visit) on a half full bus trudging its way back too Auckland. An unexpected rendezvous with two Welsh folks, Nick and Owen, we knew on the last bus was the final hurrah, before leaving Auckland and New Zealand, for good.

Approaching Wellington

NZ Parliament Building-Wellington

Characters of the Big Green Bus:

Major Characters:

Oli Harris- The person we defiantly spent most time with and got to know the most. A jolly and hairy Dorset farmer with 5 guns at home.

Bryan - A Cornish Pasty and ex-marine from Cornwall who we met on our first bus. Lost his voice under influence.

Hermann Morast aka Herman the German- The most typical German we have ever met- efficient in everything and with a questionable dress sense. However a very un-German and amazingly dry sense of humour.

Jake and Jemma- An unusually close brother and sister pair also from Cornwall. On our bus from the start and then again irregularly.

Nick and Owen- Two Welsh lads who were always up for a laugh and we spent a good deal of time with.

Natalie and Megan-Two teachers who we met mid way through our trip who were always up for a heavy night. The teaching profession was disgraced by their antics.

Minor Characters

Baris- A Turkish delight with a bold head.

Sol- Despised by Oli and branded as an odd ball from day one.

Hitesh- Accountant on our bus from Auckland to Taupo(3 nights)- pub quiz hero

Jo- Another teacher who had a passion for bus drivers

Chris- mentioned above- just went for a few drinks with on St Patrick’s day

Drivers

Kane- Auckland to Taupo- Been doing the rounds for over 8 years- a ruthless yet subtle salesman who will got more commision out of us than any of the others

Bubs

Guy- Nelson to Franz Josef- A young ex-copper who loved his ladies.

Jed- Franz Josef back to Auckland- though having been on his bus most of the time a blooper from myself in Queenstown meant we didn’t really get to know him

  

  

An Alpine Paradise

Between Nelson and Franz Josef the bus stopped firstly at Lake Rotoiti where these pictures were taken- the third bloke is a farmer from Dorset called Oli who has been on our bus since day 1.

We then arrived at the old gold mining town of Westport. If you have started conglomerating thoughts of romantic runaway mine trains, short ginger bearded men in checkered shirts and abandoned towns of the Wild West then you will have, like me, been fooled. It was in fact the most boring place I have been in New Zealand, an arrow straight highway, with a generic pizza restaurant, supermarket and some faceless cafes dominating the town. I can only assume the reason we stopped was for the Kiwi bus to pick up some commission from the admittedly homely hostel we stayed at.

Lake Mahinapua was our next destination, via the geologically spectacular pancake rocks of Punakaiki, and the town of Greymouth where fancy dress was chosen for the evening. We reached the small West Coast Pub of Lake Mahinapua in the late afternoon of the 7^th March. This pub and attached hostel, has been run by the 85year old Les since the Kiwi Experience began in the early 90's. It relies completely on the buses for it's income (nobody else can stay there). Many of the places we have visited have a Mono-dependence on the bus, it’s such a great way for these people to make money- a very predictable income by hospitality industry standards, plus it negates having to deal with any of the promotional graft so heavily invested in time and money by small businesses. 

The pub was the most characteristic of the trip so far, the dark wooden walls adorned with people's memories, captured on fading Polaroids, showing every Kiwi bus to have passed through. The ceiling was covered in caps, bras, signed T-shirts and other such paraphernalia of buses long gone. It really did pong though! 

The evening started with a massive barbeque consisting of a pretty tender gigantic ½ pound steak, heaps of salad, coleslaw and a stunning venison stew(wish id had more rather than the steak). The evening rolled onto fancy dress in the bar. The theme was Nasty, Naughty or Nice. Rob and I aimed to pick the most cost effective costumes possible, hence he turned out as a lifeguard. In a charity shop I purchased a $3 nightgown, certainly worn by a person now deceased,  and then hunted for something to go with it. I happened to stumble upon a Fez in a toyshop turning me Mr Ben style(remember him?) into some sort of Moroccan dignitary- a big odd but nonetheless cost efficient. The only way I could see it fitting in with the theme is with it being intimidating in the way people claim Burkas are- a justification with about as much clout as a right hook from Mr Muscle.

The night was awesome, most people got absolutely wasted and many new acquaintances were acquired. The only exception was a group of 10 or so Danes on our bus, who didn't dress up and began forming a clique which would develop as the bus went on.

The 2-hour trip to Franz Josef was quiet, the majority of people resting off the hangovers of the night before, This process continued upon arrival, with people sleeping away the afternoon, or like myself Rob and some other mates bathing in the free hot tub at our hostel/campsite- Rainforest Lodge. That night people met in the site bar where prizes were given out for costumes from the night before, the winner Megan being dressed as a present which was actually Chlamydia.

Nearly everybody on the coach had booked onto the full day glacier hike for the next day meaning the night wasn't too wild.

A five minute walk into the centre of the Alpine village, which lies in the shadow of the impressive Southern Alps(a range which includes New Zealand’s highest mountain and can certainly live up to its European namesake) took us to the centre where we collected our day's equipment- woolen socks, insulating waterproof jackets, hiking boots and crampons for walking on the ice.

Buses Shuttled the sixty people up to the start of the glacier walk where we were split into groups of 10's and, set off up the Franz Josef glacier- named after the Austrian emperor at the time of European discovery.   

Our group was led by Justin, a passionate explorer type from the Canadian border with the coolest beard I have ever seen. We spent the day slowly moving up the glacier, stopping regularly whilst Justin hacked the ice to make a path with his pick axe. 

Justin with Rob and Myself

 The sky was plastered with fluffy dry white clouds with the sun appearing and lighting up the ice at rare intervals- a gem for a town which receives rainfall for 280 days of the year. We moved down fissures, pulled ourselves up mounds and walked through the dripping ice tunnels of the world’s fastest moving glacier and the steepest which you can hike. 

Awesome Ice tunnels were frequent on the walk, the ice often appearing an ocean blue compacted by the weight of the ice above. This provided excellent photo opportunities. 

The water on the glacier tasted amazing, crystal clear and of course chilled- some people filled up full bottles of it. The mountain air was fresh and cool, surrounding the glacier were high cliffs with gushing waterfalls. All of the geographical features shown in a classroom were there, striations, moraine and sedimentary rock, once part of the ocean floor, but since lifted by the pressure of the tectonic plates to form this young 5 million year old mountain range- a Geographers paradise. The ice made distances seem deceiving, a walk which looked like it would take 20 minutes would end up taking an hour. It was a great day, rounded off by a soak in the hot tub and Tui beers at the hostel.

Before leaving Franz Josef on the 12^th March, Rob and I went Kayaking on Lake Mapourika using a small family run firm, based in a bus turned office in Franz Josef. The weather was excellent,  no wind and relatively clear skies made the lake look like a mirror, never have I seen the sky reflected so clearly. The lake is surrounded by picturesque mountain scenery on one side(with the peak of Mount Cook visible in the distance), and everywhere else by rainforest- one of only two regions in the world like it. We pottered slowly across the lake, accompanied by sand flies foolish enough to land on our boat at the shore, and our guide lead us along small waterways into the forest where we saw some of the flora and fauna unique to New Zealand. This activity was in contrast to the high octane adventures of the past few weeks, with only a group of five of us Rob, myself, two Canadians and our guide present in this tranquil, untouched place. Photos were included with the modest $80 price tag (£40), it was a gem of an activity, which many adrenaline hunting Kiwi Experience travelers will overlook.  I wish I had left my skydive till here, as the promotional pictures of this are the most spectacular I have seen yet.