Week 18 (Hawaii and New York)

Hawaii (Waikiki Beach)
(03.02.2008 - 07.02.2008)

On the flight over from Fiji to Hawaii we crossed the dateline, so Rob got to celebrate his birthday twice, once on the plane and again the day after we landed! We thought that the Polynesian culture would still be a strong underlying feature of the Hawaiian Islands. Instead we found a completely Americanised holiday resort. Never the less the sea was beautiful, so we took every opportunity to make up for the Fijian cyclone.


We spent a lot of our time on the beaches where we bodyboarded at one of the most dangerous breaks in Hawaii. Everybody seemed very relaxed but there were also some very "interesting" characters around.





We spent Rob's birthday drinking tinned beers and eating a Hawaiian pizza on the beach while we watched an amazing sunset. Classy!







With all the surfing and sunbathing we found ourselves feeling very tired so we had to refuel ourselves with some original American cuisine.







In amongst all the huge tower blocks around Waikiki beach there were more than a few examples of Hawaii's natural beauty.








New York
(08.02.2008 - 12.02.2008)

The first thing that you notice about New York is that it is extremely multi-cultural. This is as a result of all the immigrants that have come over the years. We were feeling a little strange as we knew that very soon we were going to be home and we thought it would be hard to concentrate on experiencing New York. However, we ended up speechless at the magnitude of the city and became completely overwhelmed by the rush of New York.



One big difference to the rest of trip was the temperature, it was -12 at one point.








Whilst in the Big Apple we completely embraced being a tourist and found ourselves 1,250ft up in the air on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with a fat pigeon!







This building is the WT7 building. The first of the World Trade Towers to be rebuilt.

Whilst in New York we got to experience many difficult cultures by visiting the different immigrant areas. In Little Italy we enjoyed huge NY size pizza slices!






We were also really lucky as our visit coincided with the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rat (our birth year). Chinatown in NY was an amazing place to share the celebrations and believe me they really celebrated!






This is the famous Brooklyn Bridge. You had a really good view of the NY skyline from here.








But as you can see from below it was extremely cold and windy.








We were also really happy as we had snow in NY. It was really magical to walk through Time Square with the flakes swirling around us.

As most of you probably know, we are back in "sunny" England! We took a British Airways flight from New York and found it really amusing to hear all those strong British accents!

We had an absolutely amazing time on our travels, something that we will always remember, we definitely grew together as a couple as well as individuals.




Thank you everyone for following our travels, I hope you all enjoyed it, we'll keep you posted on any news, we're already planning to go back to Thailand to visit a friend and planning our Europe trip - so as they say... watch this space!!

Jen and Rob x x x x

Week 17 (New Town Beach and Walu Beach, Mololo Island)

New Town Beach
(29.01.08 – 31.01.08)

We woke up on Robinson Crusoe Island to a trail of destruction that had been left by the cyclone, coconuts lay everywhere. Luckily as we were not too far from the mainland we could still get the ferry back. Once we were in Nadi we saw the real damage that had been done, the town was flooded and in some points the water was 3m high which meant that the whole of the Nadi was closed. We were meant to be taking a ferry to Mana Island as soon as we got to the Nadi but we soon found out that the ferries were not running and that our travel agent was closed as her office was in Nadi town. We checked into a hotel at Nadi which most people spend a day in as it should purely be used as a base point for travel to the islands (it is that dismal). Shortly after we checked in the power went off in the whole of Nadi. We spent the next two days reading and playing cards by candlelight with the other stranded guests while the wind howled and the rain poured.

Walu Beach
(31.01.08 – 03.02.08)

After three days the main cyclone winds had ceased and the ferries began to take passengers to the islands again. So after changing a few of our bookings we started to make our way to Walu Beach on Mololo Island. However, even though the cyclone had passed, the weather was still horrible with not one ray of sunshine all day. It stayed this way for the full three days that we were at the resort. The highlights of our days were mealtimes, scrabble and the beer behind the bar!

To be honest it wasn’t as bad as it sounds and we did get to do some sea kayaking when the winds died down a bit, although it was still very rough. We left the island on the 3rd and made our way to Nadi airport where we caught a flight to Hawaii. Aloha to the good weather we hope :D

Week 16 (South Island, Abel Tasmin, Shaving of "the beard")

Abel Tasmin
19.01.08

We visited the beautiful Abel Tasmin National Park where we took a two man kayak out onto the sea. Despite being a little bit choppy and windy at times, we were able to view all the sea creatures going about their everyday rituals, as well as taking in the gorgeous surroundings of the dozens of islands.




We took a very scenic drive back to Christchurch, stopping off at as many places as possible to take in the scenery. We drove past one beach which had dozens and dozens of seals on them. We could get quite close to them, they didn't seem to ooze the testosterone the sea lions did, they seemed very docile.





Christchurch
22.01.08 - 24.01.08

Rob also took the opportunity to shave his beard in time for Fiji
Now you see it............







Now you don't!









Fiji

Nadi
25.01.08

Before taking a ferry out to some of the islands of Fiji we went into one of the main cities of Fiji, Nadi. It was very different to what we had imagined, we had to have our wits about us once again. This country really reminded us of Cambodia. We were invited to participate in a local ritual of drinking a ground root called Kava. It was pretty disgusting, but we tried to keep smiling!



We took a ferry out to an Island called Robinson Crusoe Island. We had a fabulous time on the island. The entertainment was fantastic, we had fire dancing shows put on for us every night.






The staff on the island didn't stop, even in the daytime they managed to get some local dancing into the itinerary.







We met some really great people on the island including Broana and Keira, two Irish lawyers on their holidays. We spent a lot of time with them, including a few evenings of drinking a bit too much!






We saw some beautiful sunsets at the island, although we were only on there for 3 nights, we were really sad to say goodbye as we were made to feel so welcome.






On the last day we noticed that it was extremely windy and by night time the threat of cyclone "Gene" had been confirmed. It was quite scary at the time and we were told to be under shelter at all times because of the falling coconuts!
However, this didn't stop the staff on the island entertaining us. They even performed a fire dance in the hurricane (possibly not the cleverest or safest thing to do considering they were surrounded by wooden huts.)

Week 15 (New Zealand - South Islands)

Mount Cook
3.01.08 -14.01.08

We took a long drive to see the famous Mount Cook, even in the middle of summer the snow capped mountains were so impressive with blue ice running down the sides. We took the opportunity to do some "tramps" (treks) and were extremely grateful for our hiking boots!

Dunedin
14.01.08 - 15.01.08

We visited Dunedin and were lucky enough to see yellow eyed penguins on the beach!! We were gobsmacked at the way the birds sang songs looking up to us, it was almost as if they were performing to us.

We also visited "Seal Point" on the Otaga peninsula home to Hooker Sea Lions. We saw them swim, fight and even woo the female Lions.Unlike NZ fur seals, Hooker Sea Lions are not afraid of humans and can be quite boisterous and aggressive. We were advised by signs not to approach any closer than 10 metres for our safety. The picture above is of a male sea lion charging down on Rob as he got too close, it is the last picture he ever took...

Also near Dunedin we visited "Nugget Point", there were so many sea lions and seals all on the rocks. We also spotted little rock pools which were full of all the baby seals. They were adorable, splashing each other and having fun with their Mums.





These were amazingly spherical boulders (like giant marbles) we found on a beach on the way to Queens Town. We have no idea how they got there, but they were amazing to look at, even in the rain and drizzle!





Queenstown
16.01.08 - 17.01.08

The drive to Queenstown was beautiful, we had "The Remarkables" (mountains) in the background whilst we drove past the beautiful Wakatipu lake. It was absolutely stunning.






We decided to go Canyoning in Queenstown, the night before our trip the heavens opened up, which caused a lot of snow to melt. The waters were fierce but we had a wonderful and exhilarating time.

This is a video of Jen doing a waterfall jump.




This is Rob's jump.

Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier
18.01.08 - 19.01.08

We drove to the two largest glaciers in New Zealand. This is a photo of Fox Glacier, they were so big and so blue. We went on a nice long trek and got really close to them. The water all around the glaciers were absolutely freezing. It was a lovely blue day which made the mountains and the glacier even more impressive!

PuPu springs
19.01.08

Near the Abel Tasman Nation Park we visited the very famous "PuPu" springs. They were beautiful, we could see trout swimming around so clearly. We found it really hard to resist the temptation to jump in....





Living in a camper van for 2 weeks defiantly has it pros and cons. One negative aspect is the lack of showers, after seeing the gorgeous springs we decided to find a wash facility. This river was the best thing we could come up with, but it did the trick!!

Week 14 (Bay of Islands, Rotorua and Christchurch)

Bay of Islands (07/01/08)

On Monday we drove across the top of the North Island of NZ to reach our next destination which was the Bay of Islands. Our first stop was the grounds of the Treaty of Waitangi. This is a historic place of huge importance for New Zealanders. In 1840 the treaty was signed by the British resident William Hobson and over 500 Maori chiefs. The treaty basically stated that the Maoris would have the same rights as British citizens and would be protected by the crown in exchange for giving up the sovereignty of NZ to Britain.


Although there is evidence of the settlers (or Pakeha) treating the natives badly it is interesting to see the difference between NZ's situation and the treatment of Aboriginals in Australia.

Built next to William Hobson's house is an impressive Maori meeting house. Many trade and land agreements were discussed by Pakeha and Maori on the grounds.





There is also a huge war canoe in the treaty grounds. It is made out of three Kauri trees (see previous post) and can hold 150 men.










As well as being full of history, you can also enjoy swimming with dolphins at the Bay of Islands. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best for viewing them so we decided to wait until we were in the South Island.

Instead we visited a small town called Russel via the local ferry. Russel was a beautiful little town which had the oldest church of New Zealand situated in it.



Rotorua (07/01/08 - 09/01/08)

We drove straight through Auckland to reach our next destination. Rotorua is literally built on a volcanic ridge of geothermal activity. It was so impressive to see the mud pools and steaming geysers that line the street as you enter the town, however, we were a little worried when a local said that they have to physically let the pressure out of the geysers every week or the town would shake!!






We spent half a day at the Waitomo Thermal Wonderland. Despite the cheesy name the place was awesome. From spraying geysers to bubbling pools it had everything and it was all natural.






The range of colours on display were amazing. They were created by all the different volcanic minerals mixing together. When we saw fluorescent yellow/green pools it was hard to believe that it had all been created by natural causes.





We also found time to relax in Rotorua. We took an invigorating mud and minerals bath at a spa. The picture to the left is not our bath (in case you were wondering) it is a boiling hot mud pool in action at the park.







Christchurch 10/01/08 - 12/01/08

We took a short flight down to Christchurch where we spent a few days taking in all the beautiful sights it had to offer.
We really loved Christchurch, it was very arty with some great coffee shops. We spent some time going to a huge old university that had been turned into a craft centre, we also took time to visit the museum and had a picnic at the botanical gardens.



This is a photo of Christchurch Cathederal, it is the only church that we have ever entered that had automatic doors!! (It was very touristy) but was a lovely church.









We picked up our campervan from the "Wicked Camper" office in Christchurch. We were really pleased with our campervan. It was brand new, automatic, air conditioned and the best feature is the huge pictures and lyrics spray painted all over the van of the Chemical Brothers!!





Akaroa (12/01/08 - 13/01/08)

On our first day in our Campervan we headed down to Akaroa.
We had to drive really high up into the mountains and at some parts we got a bit scared. However, from what seemed out of nowhere a huge turquoise blue harbor came into sight and we had such an amazing view that took our breath away!




We decided to spend the night up in the mountains on our first night. There was nothing around us except fields, mountains and a beautiful view of the sea.

This is a photo of the beautiful sunset we had from up the top of the mountain. This was taken just before Rob got down on one knee and asked Jennie to marry him and ..... she said yes!! (Sorry for the shocking news if you were unaware!!)

Week 13 (Melbourne, Auckland and The Kaori Coast)

Melbourne (31/12/2007 - 02/01/08)

New Year's Eve in Melbourne and the temperature was 41 degrees. We could hardly move! Despite the heat we did have a really good time, we spent the evening with Nerida and a group of her friends.






We started the evening with a barbecue and a few drinks, then moved onto a local bar where we sat outside to watch the fireworks and ended it all by falling asleep in Nerida's back garden (!)






Despite our New Year's Day hangovers we were determined to see more of Melbourne city so Nerida kindly took us on a guided tour. This is Flinders Street Station. There are a lot of beautiful buildings throughout the city and it was very good for pictures as there were hardly any people about due to it being New Year's Day.







Melbourne is a great city, probably our favourite in Australia. There is a strong music, art and coffee culture.







You can't walk down a street without walking round the cafe tables on the pavement. It's very European and we very much enjoyed sitting around and drinking coffee.






That evening we had another barbecue and if you click on the photo to the left you can see me literally "chucking another shrimp on the barbie!" Cheesy, I know, but it's a classic.









Auckland (02/01/08 -04/01/08)

The next day we had a flight to Auckland, New Zealand booked. We were supposed to arrive at 18:30 but after a 6 hour delay and a detour to Sydney we finally arrived at 01:30 with no accommodation booked! The next couple of days were mainly spent catching up on sleep and the usual activity of planning and booking that happens every time we reach a new country. Whilst walking around Auckland we got to see the famous harbour and experience the multicultural city. The only thing that let us down a bit was the weather. New Zealand weather is supposed to be very similar to English weather so this makes perfect sense!

The Kaori Coast (05/01/08 - 06/01/08)

On the 5th we picked up a rental car and set off towards The Northlands of the North Island. After a lot of driving and a coffee at one of the weirdest cafes we have been to (the woman was obsessed with frogs!) we arrived at the Kaori Coast. The first thing we saw were some beautiful fresh water lakes called Kai-lwi.







When we reached the Waipoua forest we got to see the largest Kauri tree in the world called Tane Mauta or "God of The Forest" the trunk is 17.7m high and the girth is an amazing 13.8m! If you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see Jennie waving her arms at the trunk base.








We then spent the night at a place called Opononi which has a population of 150. It might sound a bit out of the way but it was one of the homeliest hostels we had stayed at and was right next to the huge Hokianga sand dunes.