So, it's been a while, but I have been super busy since coming back to Sydney, and I wanted to blog about New Zealand in its entirety. Most of the news is old hat, but it might be new to some people so here goes...
Whats better than arriving at the airport and having somebody there waiting for you? Lots of things...but it's still nice. Philip (my cousin) had got a flight over from Auckland to spend the weekend with us, and was there waiting in a rental car at Christchurch. Arriving at the hostel was a bit bizarre. I haven't seen Luke in around 9 months, and god knows when I last saw Liam, so having them waiting there for us was great. It really livened things up a lot.
Christchurch was a nice place, but seeing the devestation of the earthquake was grounding. Hearing about it on the news it seems very disconnected, so you don't realise how bad it really was. I think Philip was a bit cut up about seeing his city/memories being torn down by huge bulldozers.
Our campervan was such a big upgrade from the one Alex and I shared in Australia. It had 3 double beds and even 2 "living rooms". At the end of the day, 4 lads who haven't seen each other for a while, it was going to get a bit messy. I think it needed a big spring clean after the first night of drinking.
Liam seemed intent on making us all swim in the freezing sea or lakes whilst we were out there. Most of the time after about 10 seconds in the water I was out and shaking underneath my towel. To be fair I was ill for almost the majority of my time in New Zealand. I think I am so used to hot weather that my body just went into shock for a few weeks with the brisk Kiwi breeze.
Most of the south island is so beautiful, the scenary is really impressive. We went on lots of walks, and lots of amazing drives. Theres not too much to report there, just lots of time spent walking up hills. The best one was probably walking up to see the Franz Josef Glacier. The going was a lot more slippy/steep than we expected but it made it more of a challenge so its all good.
Queenstown is very different to the rest of the south island, it changes from sleepy farmland to a tourist driven little town with lots going on. It is a lot of fun around there, although I was too ill to go on a night out really. Whilst there we did a skydive, which was amazing. We were all pretty nervous on the day, just waiting for it to happen, with the tension slowly building. I think I was most nervous being bundled into the plane and seeing the ground slowly departing. When it came to sitting on the edge of the plane the adrenalin kicked in, I start shouting like a madmen, then woosh, your off. The fall was amazing, if a little hard to breathe, and Queenstown is definately the place to do it. The surrounding lakes and mountains make for a fantastic view, you almost forget that you are plummeting to the ground at 200mph or however fast it is.
Liam took us to where he used to work in Milford Sound and we got to do the boat tour that he used to work on for free. The scenary there is awesome (suprise suprise!) but it is so isolated, I don't think I could live there myself.
Dunedin is a fun place to go, I think I could live there. It is a bit of a student town so theres more going on. It also is home to the worlds steepest street (according to some drunken Irish guy at Guiness) which was fun to bounce bouncey balls down. The Speights brewery tour was great fun as well, with as much free beer as you can drink for 30 minuets at the end. Everybody loves a challenge. We didn't actually drink that much as we had to drive back to Christchurch so Luke could make his flight. Luke couldn't drink hardly at all.
Once we had left Luke behind it felt a little bit like we were in Limbo, just waiting for our flights. We went to Hamner Springs to sit in some hot springs for a while and Akaroa which is a lovely little place.
Alex dropped the bombshell that he was flying back to England instead of coming to Sydney to work for 6 months with me. He looked pretty nervous about telling me, I think he was worried that I would be angry. I fluctuated between thinking that it would be good to move to a city on my own, a challenge, and thinking "shit". I wasn't angry at Alex, he has to do what he wants to, but I felt a little strange.
Getting out of Christchurch was a nightmare. By chance we were all on the same plane to Sydney, where I would be getting off and Alex and Liam would carry on back to England. However, as it taxied out onto the runway it started snowing so all flights were grounded. We were stuck at the airport for around 50 hours I think.
Alex had one night in Sydney so we went out for a meal. I bought him his steak birthday meal, as he was the only person who wouldn't have got his due to flying home, then before you know it he was gone.
I have been too busy to think really, finding a house, sorting things out for work, getting a bank account, getting my tax sorted etc. Luckily I have mums ability to write long lists, which has served me well.
My house is great, if a little expensive. I am in what you would call an "international" house, sharing with an American, German, French, Egyptian, Columbian, and an Italian. They are all nice people though.
I felt a bit inspired by Liam, talking about all the things he wants to do with his life. How every experience is worth while as long as it is different. I don't think I will be the kind of guy who will live my life on the road, but it really did make me think. I have entered the Sydney marathon, which will give me some incentive to get fit. My thinking is that now I'm here on my own I need to make the most of it. I am trying to fill each day, and have something to leave with...an experience. I will probably lapse back into laziness once I start work though.
So, "The Trip" is now on hold. I will be carrying on to South America in February, hopefully with Alex flying back out to join me. One thing I have learnt from travelling is that you can't make plans that far ahead, life just gets in the way. I have so many memories swirling through my noggin from the past 10 months. I have met some incredible people, seen some amazing sights, and been humbled by the fantastic cultures out there.
Tom
Whats better than arriving at the airport and having somebody there waiting for you? Lots of things...but it's still nice. Philip (my cousin) had got a flight over from Auckland to spend the weekend with us, and was there waiting in a rental car at Christchurch. Arriving at the hostel was a bit bizarre. I haven't seen Luke in around 9 months, and god knows when I last saw Liam, so having them waiting there for us was great. It really livened things up a lot.
Christchurch was a nice place, but seeing the devestation of the earthquake was grounding. Hearing about it on the news it seems very disconnected, so you don't realise how bad it really was. I think Philip was a bit cut up about seeing his city/memories being torn down by huge bulldozers.
Our campervan was such a big upgrade from the one Alex and I shared in Australia. It had 3 double beds and even 2 "living rooms". At the end of the day, 4 lads who haven't seen each other for a while, it was going to get a bit messy. I think it needed a big spring clean after the first night of drinking.
Liam seemed intent on making us all swim in the freezing sea or lakes whilst we were out there. Most of the time after about 10 seconds in the water I was out and shaking underneath my towel. To be fair I was ill for almost the majority of my time in New Zealand. I think I am so used to hot weather that my body just went into shock for a few weeks with the brisk Kiwi breeze.
Most of the south island is so beautiful, the scenary is really impressive. We went on lots of walks, and lots of amazing drives. Theres not too much to report there, just lots of time spent walking up hills. The best one was probably walking up to see the Franz Josef Glacier. The going was a lot more slippy/steep than we expected but it made it more of a challenge so its all good.
Queenstown is very different to the rest of the south island, it changes from sleepy farmland to a tourist driven little town with lots going on. It is a lot of fun around there, although I was too ill to go on a night out really. Whilst there we did a skydive, which was amazing. We were all pretty nervous on the day, just waiting for it to happen, with the tension slowly building. I think I was most nervous being bundled into the plane and seeing the ground slowly departing. When it came to sitting on the edge of the plane the adrenalin kicked in, I start shouting like a madmen, then woosh, your off. The fall was amazing, if a little hard to breathe, and Queenstown is definately the place to do it. The surrounding lakes and mountains make for a fantastic view, you almost forget that you are plummeting to the ground at 200mph or however fast it is.
Liam took us to where he used to work in Milford Sound and we got to do the boat tour that he used to work on for free. The scenary there is awesome (suprise suprise!) but it is so isolated, I don't think I could live there myself.
Dunedin is a fun place to go, I think I could live there. It is a bit of a student town so theres more going on. It also is home to the worlds steepest street (according to some drunken Irish guy at Guiness) which was fun to bounce bouncey balls down. The Speights brewery tour was great fun as well, with as much free beer as you can drink for 30 minuets at the end. Everybody loves a challenge. We didn't actually drink that much as we had to drive back to Christchurch so Luke could make his flight. Luke couldn't drink hardly at all.
Once we had left Luke behind it felt a little bit like we were in Limbo, just waiting for our flights. We went to Hamner Springs to sit in some hot springs for a while and Akaroa which is a lovely little place.
Alex dropped the bombshell that he was flying back to England instead of coming to Sydney to work for 6 months with me. He looked pretty nervous about telling me, I think he was worried that I would be angry. I fluctuated between thinking that it would be good to move to a city on my own, a challenge, and thinking "shit". I wasn't angry at Alex, he has to do what he wants to, but I felt a little strange.
Getting out of Christchurch was a nightmare. By chance we were all on the same plane to Sydney, where I would be getting off and Alex and Liam would carry on back to England. However, as it taxied out onto the runway it started snowing so all flights were grounded. We were stuck at the airport for around 50 hours I think.
Alex had one night in Sydney so we went out for a meal. I bought him his steak birthday meal, as he was the only person who wouldn't have got his due to flying home, then before you know it he was gone.
I have been too busy to think really, finding a house, sorting things out for work, getting a bank account, getting my tax sorted etc. Luckily I have mums ability to write long lists, which has served me well.
My house is great, if a little expensive. I am in what you would call an "international" house, sharing with an American, German, French, Egyptian, Columbian, and an Italian. They are all nice people though.
I felt a bit inspired by Liam, talking about all the things he wants to do with his life. How every experience is worth while as long as it is different. I don't think I will be the kind of guy who will live my life on the road, but it really did make me think. I have entered the Sydney marathon, which will give me some incentive to get fit. My thinking is that now I'm here on my own I need to make the most of it. I am trying to fill each day, and have something to leave with...an experience. I will probably lapse back into laziness once I start work though.
So, "The Trip" is now on hold. I will be carrying on to South America in February, hopefully with Alex flying back out to join me. One thing I have learnt from travelling is that you can't make plans that far ahead, life just gets in the way. I have so many memories swirling through my noggin from the past 10 months. I have met some incredible people, seen some amazing sights, and been humbled by the fantastic cultures out there.
Tom
