Raglan - Waitomo - New Plymouth

This is the view from our dorm window at Raglan. Not bad eh?

On Tuesday night I managed to find myself another cold. This one just seems to knacker me out and give me sore limbs, head and throat. I can hear the sympathy from here. I've still got it 3 days later.

Jamie's fine though and on Wednesday he went off for some surfing lessons which he seemed to enjoy, managing to take a wave or two. Anyway Thursday morning we headed to Waitomo Caves where we were going to go caving/abseiling etc but my cold meant we had to put it off until next week when we'll be heading back north past Waitomo again. The drive from Raglan to Waitomo was very nice though despite the numerous land slides and rockfalls as you can see below.

We passed through the seaside fishing village of Kawhia where one of the original Maori Waka (canoes) landed after the journey from Hawaiki in the 14th century. The waka is buried near the village and the pohutkawa tree to which the original sailors tied their waka remains today.

On then to Waitomo via a cracking waterfall which included a rainbow in the spray at the bottom. I was knackered by this point and spent most of the afternoon in bed but Jamie went off for a look around. We had also visited the Angora Rabbits just outside Waitomo where they have daily shearing shows and make various woollen garmets from the fuzzball bunnies.

When it was dark and before the torrential rain we popped down to the nearby river to see the glow worms lining the river banks. What a sight and nothing compared to what we should see inside the caves when we come back next week.

Speaking of the rain. They've had some serious rain here. Floods down south in Otago (where they had been suffering from drought), in Auckland, Hauraki and Northland. 2ft of snow in the southern high country too, closing the Lindis Pass road route from east to west. It's still mild up here though, 20c most days down to maybe 10c at the very minimum at night. The trees are changing colour though and the reds, oranges and yellows really bring another feature to the countryside.

Today we drove down the coast to New Plymouth and the region called Taranaki after the huge cone shaped mountain which dominates the area. It is snow topped and if the cloud clears enough it should make and even more impressive sight. We were considering climbing it but if the snow is there it's just too dangerous for a couple of ringers like us. Still it looks great.

Jamie's off to get us some new tyres as the miles seem to have caught up with the originals and they must be well short of legal never mind safe.

There seems to be plenty to do round here so hopefully I can get this cold/virus rubbish out the way and do something interesting.

Back to New Zealand

We landed back in Auckland airport at 9pm on Sunday night where we were met by our great host Richard. We stayed the night at Richard and Hilda's and headed off in our grumbling car for Raglan.

We stopped in at the supermarket to get our shopping for the next few days. The woman at the check out asked how long I was in New Zealand, where I was going, where I'd been and said 'Good on you, enjoy the rest of your holiday'. And there it was, that's the difference between this place and across the Tasman.

We got to the hostel and the woman at reception was even more friendly and cheery. Add to that we travelled through GREEN scenery, through rolling hills, past trees and streams. It's so good to be back.

Our hostel here in Raglan is excellent the view from our room balcony is incredible, across the eastuary to the cloud tipped mountain in the distance.

Raglan is the surf capital of New Zealand and has reputedly the longest 'left break' in the world. It's a very chilled out place and even more so now as the autumn closes in. The rain poured down all night and continues intermittently today. It's still warm though.

Today is ANZAC day, the Aussie/New Zealand equivalent of Armistice Day. It's a public holiday and every town has a parade to remember the war dead, especially those killed at Gollipoli. They are very sincere about it and it's a big deal.

Anyway we might try out the surf tomorrow, we'll see what the weather holds.

Happy days are here again.....

Around about......

Well Tuesday morning we headed to the hills. The Blue Mountains lie about 150km West of Sydney and are a favourite haunt for Sydneysiders trying to escape the stress of city life and foreign tourists alike. The main attraction being that they don't consist of tree-lined arid fields. The mountains appear blue through the moisture in the air which, due to the high concentration of eucalyptus trees in the area, contain eucalyptus oil making the air and environment appear with a blue sheen.

We stayed at Katoomba YHA which was a fantastic place and very easy going. The air up there is very fresh and when we arrived we took the walk to the Giants Staircase down past the three sisters (three huge rock pillars) into the canyon below. The mountains are more just high ground with huge canyons eroded through them. The towns are actually built on top and the attractions are down below.

Anyway we climbed down the 900 steps, walked along the side of the canyon for 3km then got the steepest railway in the world (52 degrees) back to the top. We then wandered along the clifftop watching kokatoos and parakeets buzzing around and squacking.

The next day we took the bus to Blackheath and walked back down into the Grand Canyon. This canyon was much tighter and the track was carved out of the limestone sides and just above where the canyon disappeared into the blackness below. After a tough climb to the top we were presented with another amazing view out over the mountains and the tree covered valley below. We walked on and passed a little lizard, the bridal veil falls (a very small stream the sprinkles down over the cliff to the valley floor some 300m below) and on the the bus for the trip back. The train ride home was embelished by an amazing thunder cloud, lit orange and pink by the setting sun, towering over the city.

Next day, Thursday, I went to Taronga Zoo. A ferry across, a cable car to the top and then an amazing selection of home-grown and exotic foreign species from koalas and platapus to lions and tigers. There were a few thousand school children there to accompany me too as they are on their easter holidays. I thought some of them were going to explode with excitement as they toured the snakes and lizards. The highlight had to be the charismatic meer cats and when they stand on their back legs to get a good look out..........aw they're so cute. I need help.

Next day off to see an old school buddy of ours who lives up the coast in Wyong. Wyong is 2 hours away on the train, at home that would seem a bit of a trek but here it's just up the road and it's only 12 dollars return (about 5 pounds).

Anyway Martin and his five week old son William took us to the Australian reptile centre where we saw some aligators, crocodiles, extremely active koalas and extremely dosile kangaroos which were wandering around the picnic area and quite happy to be stroked like a dog (the kangaroos that is). After a tour of Martin's local surf beach and his huge house we headed home.

Back to NZ tomorrow, the weather there is pretty similar to here now as it's dropped to the low twenties here. We also need to change our flights for coming home. We'll be returning on June 6th. Strangely enough a football tournament in Germany kicks off on the 9th, pure coincidence I'm sure.

Oh and we do continue to meet our fair share of nutters and knuckle-brains. Two gibbering idiots on the train to Katoomba no less and one guy who came into the Chinese in Katoomba and sat down to simply insult and annoy the waiters between belches and mutterings. Still on the bright side I'm sure he'd have been too drunk to notice how funny his soup tasted.

Just to sum up how commercialised this country is, we were watching the 'football' (rugby league) last night and after 40 minutes it wasn't just 'half-time' it was 'holden half-time' and was referred to as such by all the commentators thoughout.

New Zealand may be 'backward' as it's been suggested by some people we've met here but atleast it's not Australia. Now where's that airport........

Bird flu.....

I know I know, it's been nearly a week since my last blog. Well you can scratch 4 of those days unless you want to hear about me sitting watching tv blowing my nose and complaining about my cold.

On Saturday I'd finally got rid of the virus and we headed for the nags. Australian Derby day at Randwick Racecourse. We wandered off about 10.30am in normal holiday gear, t-shirt and jeans (yep jeans, it's getting cold brrrrrrrr only 25C). We got to central station and waited around for the bus to the racecourse. Strangely enough there were a heck of a lot of young people standing around dressed to the nineties in ball gowns and feather hats. The lads were 'dressed' too. In ill fitting shirts, suits they'd obviously never worn before and trainers. Yep, derby day is an excuse for Sydneysiders to get dolled up and hit the grog.

Anyway we weren't knocked back at the gate for not keeping up with the dress code and went on to mingle with the huge crowd and even win ourselves a couple of dollars. The nick of some of the people, guys especially, cannot go un-mentioned. There was one guy in an entirely sky blue suit, another in beige and having hair seems to simply be an excuse to make yourself look stupid in this country for some of the fellas. There's more bleach than you'd find in a domestos factory and it seems the larger you can make your head appear the better, some of the do's were simply defying physics.

Anyway it was a great day and we all went home happy.

Next morning I took the 'Bondi Explorer' bus which, among other sights, takes you to the famous Bondi beach where I hopped off and walked along the coast to Coogee beach. Bondi was one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen, crashing surf, blazing sunshine, golden sands and thousands of lay-abouts sizzling in the sun.

Back home for din-dins and off to the Super 14 grudge match between the locals, second placed team the Waratahs and the third placed ACT Brumbies from Canberra (just down the road in Aussie terms). It was a 36,000 sell-out and the Aussie Stadium rocked as the Waratahs came from 14-6 down to crush their Southern cousins 37-14. A strange experience sitting with both sets of supporters in together. There was a fair bit of banter but that soon died down when the eventual winners became clear.

Today we made the pilgrimage to Manly, home of a cracking Pacific Coast beach (from which we took a rather lengthy swim in the 24C water) and just a generally great atmosphere. Back on the 30 minute ferry to see the sun go down behind the harbour bridge.

We're off for a couple of days in the Blue Mountains tomorrow. It's beginning to grow on me now, this country. Shame they had to fill it with Australians.

And on to Sydney

On Friday morning we boarded the train to Sydney. We were in first class, it was a bit of a let down to say the least, the definition of first class seemed to be that it wasn't as bad as economy class. The train was packed with OAPs, no doubt thanks to the concession prices. There seemed to be almost universal delight when it was announced that the train would be leaving 30 minutes late, not because the passengers wanted to be late but because it gave them something to complain about, the grumbling was almost deafening.

Still we pushed on and on arrival at Sydney we had managed to make up minus 30 minutes so we were an hour late all in. Mind you we had experienced a trip through a hugely varying landscape. The start of the journey travelling through tree-lined arid fields, the end taking us across tree-lined arid fields and the journey in between consisting of tree-lined arid fields. Some fields even had sheep in them. What a day!

Anyway on ariival at Sydney Central we were greeted by our auntie and host for our time here, Jean. A quick trip by train and taxi across the harbour bridge and we were in what is to be home for the next two weeks, bliss. There are chairs and a TV. Bliss!

Saturday was a day of sporting activities, on the TV. Sunday was time to head to Palm Beach. A good hour away by bus and home to the legendary Aussie soap, Home and Away. The surf forecast was for 3-4 meter waves and they duely arrived attracting hundreds of surfer 'dudes' into the water despite the beach closed signs.

The sun shone and all was well in the world, I even found myself beginning to like this country.

Yesterday snapped me out of that though. I took the walk from the flat down and across the harbour bridge to the City centre and all it's attractions. The iconic bridge and the Opera house are surely two of the world's greatest landmarks and it was kind of awe inspiring to see them in the flesh.

However the Aussie people still don't fail to amaze me with thier in-hospitality. I have never seen anyone ask a passer-by to take a photo of them and get rebuffed, until yesterday. Yes some over worked Aussie couldn't spare them 30 seconds to take a photo of them on their holiday.

I have friends who don't get on with each other and the reason is often because they are so alike. All I can say is that these Aussie's hate the English. Case closed me thinks.

Obviously, as with the English, there are a heck of a lot of nice ones but the amount of ignorant, arrogant and selfish people seems to be exponentially higher here. Almost every shop you buy something in you get told an amount of money to pay and a hand stuck out. Not even a hello or a please or thank you.

The commercialism is depressing too, the official guide to Sydney has a map in the back. On it are street names, phone box locations and the locations of all the MacDonalds 'restaurants'.

Still the weather remains unsponsored for the time-being atleast and it keeps getting hotter, 27C today and humid for once. It's due to break later in the week though apparently.

Until then I'll attempt to get over this cold and maybe check out some more of the beaches while trying to avoid the capitalists heaven which this country seems to be.

Back to Melbourne

Well we're all safe and sound back in Melbourne after our near 3000km 9 day trip around the coast. We sat by the beach in St Kilda watching the sun go down on Tuesday evening and we're spending our 3 nights here in a cracking little hostel called Olembia in the heart of St Kilda.

On Tuesday we headed off from Apollo Bay along the now beach lined Ocean Road. This area is called the Surf Coast (shire) and near the end of the road is the famous Bell's Beach. Noted for being the closing scene in the film Point Break. The waves roll round the headlands on either side of the beach creating perfect surfing 'pipes'. There were plenty surfers out there trying their luck and unlike most other places these guys were actually really good. No doubt practising for the forthcoming Worl Pro event on Easter Weekend.

The weather is still a bit autumnal so we headed straight back for Melbourne instead of spending another night by the surf. On our way in we saw a most incredible sight. We were driving along the seafront in slow moving traffic, a woman was entering the traffic from a side street, Jamie waved her in infront of us and there it was..........a smile........these aussies do have teeth after all.

Anyway yesterday the weather really took a turn for the worse as the wind lashed the rain on the windows for a good few hours. It was just like home. First really bad weather for a long time. Alas it will probably just be the sign of things to come.

In saying that we're heading north to Sydney tomorrow on the train. 12 hours but we're in first class, it was only another 50 dollars and should be well worth it. Hopefully hte suns still shining up there.

Great Ocean Road

Above is a picture of the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.

Well we spent Saturday in Warrnambool under the grey clouds and battered by the southerly gale. A cycle along the coast and back then a walk into town in the forlorne hope of finding an internet cafe. The evening was taken up by a game of aussie rules on the telly. I'm ashamed to say we actually found ourselves getting quite involved.

By last night though we had managed to get a hold of the real thing as we watched Hearts dump Hibs out of the cup to the sounds of one extremely viciforous aussie woman distraught that the barman had switched the TV to soccer and was no longer showing the videos to the 80's songs being played on the jukebox. We all ignored her and eventually she went away. I tell you I feel so welcome in this country I really do.

Anyway between times we travelled the Great Ocean Road and stopped at the numerous limestone coastal formations including blowholes, arches, caves and gorges. The most famous being the 12 apostles. lots of old man of hoy style formations standing tall in just off the cliffs in the Southern Ocean waves. Although they are no longer twelve they are still an amazing sight with the huge waves of yesterdays swell crashingh against them.

We carried on via Cape Otway lighthouse and telegraph station and eventually ended up in Apollo Bay. Apollo Bay is a picturesque surf town and is obviously a hundred times busier in the summer. The summer seemed to end last week. The temperatures have plummeted to 19C or so. The cafe owner this morning described it as 'freezing'. I couldn't help but sit in my t-shirt and grin agreeably.

Anyway below is a photo of Dougal's plaque in Kangaroo Island, it says it all really.