Rotorua, Wellington and the South Island

It's been a long time since my last update- i guess i have just been having too much of a good time. And the fact that all the hostels in NewZealand charge a hefty fee for using the internet. I am writing this update from my hostel in Sydney where someone has left enough credit on the internet for me to fill in the details of the last few weeks travel.

After the adventures in the cave we headed to Rotorua for a relaxing bath in the natural thermal mud baths. Whatever about relaxing, it was smelly. This small town is surrounded by thermal mud holes that reach a really nice temperature but also emit a noxious sulphurous smell. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, the place can smell pretty nasty. We knew we had arrived quite a few miles before hitting city limits. Apparently the mud is good for the skin so we gave it a shot. 20minutes in the mudbath (i couldn't take anymore) followed by 20mins in the spa pool was great. The only problem was that weeks later anytime we opened our rucksacks the noxious sulphur smell would hit us hard. In the end several items of clothing had to be dumped. Despite several washes the smell that has made Rotorua famous had become engrained in our clothes.

From there we made our way down to Wellington which is at the southern tip of the north island and is the country' s captial city. A nice city on the coast, we spent a few days relaxing before heading to the South Island. The South island is reputed to be more spectacular than the north and it did not disappoint. The easiest way to get from one to the other is the interislander ferry across the Cook Straits. This Strait is supposed to be one of the worst ferry crossings in the world on a bad day but we were lucky and had fantastic weather. It is a beautiful journey with great scenery. As we approached Picton Port, the sun was setting and the colours were wonderful. Picton is a small town that survives on the tourist hiking and kayaking in the surrounding Marlborough Sounds. We did an afternoon of kayaking around the many small inlets, what a great day. Although initially after 15mins in the kayak i had had enough as my arms were aching and had thought about abondoning ship (well kayak!!) when a few useful hints from our guide transformed it completely.

By this stage we had lost Emma as she had gone from Wellington on to Christchurch to meet up with her friend. They were going to do a weeks driving further south. We must have been good company in the north island because we were invited to join them on the roadtrip. We met up with them at Franz Josef glacier. New Zealand has two glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. Both are usually accessible to the public but the day we were visiting, the access path to Fox was closed due to bad weather. We managed to see Franz Josef. Usually one can get close to the glacier face but due to that bad weather the path was blocked. I have already been up close and personal to Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina so i wasn't too disappointed!!!

The rest of our roadtrip brought us down to Milford Sound, one of the highlights and must sees when in New Zealand- well it would have been if the weather was good. Technically it should be called a Fiord because of how it was formed and its main attraction are the fabulous views. On a great day, the Mitre peak is visible and if the water is calm the mountain ranges are reflected in the water. Many famous pictures of this have been taken.There is very little else in Milford Sound- two hostels and a cafe. The day we arrived was miserable; cold and wet like a winters day at home. We had booked a cruise on the Sound for the following day and had slightly better weather. But despite the bad weather the trip was wonderful and the views were great. However, i don't think the photographs will portray much of the beauty.

Our next stop was Te Anu, a small town further south where Emmas friend was participating in the Kepler Challenge- a 60km mountain run- not for the fainthearted!! While Ricardo prepared for and took part in this challenge the rest of us enjoyed the surroundings (while the challenge went along a great mountain trail, it would be about 59km 200m too long for me!!). The weather was fantastic and we managed to get some sun. From there it was onto Queenstown, the hotspot for all sorts of extreme sports- there are more than 350 companies offering every sort of extreme activity. I wasn't persuaded to bungee jump, to skydive nor to zorb down a hill- Waitomo caves was enough adrenalin for me. The girls did go for the skydive though, 12,000ft out of a plane!!

At this point we said goodbye to Ricardo who returned to Christchurch. We continued on further south. I think the remainder of this trip was the highlight for me. We visited the Caitlins which is the coastal area running from the bottom up along the East Coast to Dunedin. The best part is that it is home to all sorts of wildlife that are so accessible and easy to see. We stayed Curio Bay, in a hostel by the sea. From the living room window we could see Porpoise Dolphins swimming and playing only metres from the beach. On our second day there we took a surfing lesson and were swimming only 20m away from the dolphins. Coupled with the fact i managed to stand up on the board several times, it was an amazing experience. A further 500m down the road from this hostel was an area of petrified forest, fossilised forest. It can be difficult to spot unless you know what to look for- rock formations that look like tree stumps and trunks. But scientific research has shown that the types of tree that formed the petrified forest are the same species as that found in Southern America; which is one piece of evidence proving that New Zealand, Australia and South America were once joined together in a massive continent called 'Gwondanaland' . This piece of land also acts as an access point for yellow eyed penguins to come ashore and return to their nests in the scrubland that surrounds that petrified forest. We managed to spot a couple of these endangered species.

We continued on up along the coast, spending a weekend in Dunedin. The area and coastline around Dunedin is packed full of more wildlife. There is a fantastic visitors centre for spotting Albatrosses- these birds have huge wingspans and you really appreciate it when you see a regular sized seagull flying beside it. Sandfly beach is a prime location to see Elephant seals, seals and sealions co exist. When you walk the length of the beach, stepping over the seals as they bask in the sun, you reach a wooden hut, strategically placed to allow viewing of the yellow eyed penguins that nest there without disturbing them. It was great as we watched several of the penguins return from an afternoon fishing and make their way up the rocky cliff to their nests. The highlight of Dunedin for me, was watching the smaller blue headed penguins return to their nests in the evening. Of all a sudden there is a ripple on the surface of the water that would disappear almost as soon as it had appeared. But several seconds later it a further ripple could be seen nearer the shore. This was the penguins making their approach to the beach. Then all of a sudden, a crowd of penguins (not sure what the technical name for a group of penguins is, will have to look that one up) would emerge from the surf. The blue headed penguins are only 25cm tall, they are tiny. But to see them waddle up the beach together, looking like mini Charlie Chaplins, was hillarious. The beach is cordoned off from the public so as not to disturb their return to the nests. It is amazing to watch as they know exactly what route to take. What is more amazing is that some of them will waddle several hundreds of metres up through scrublands to reach their nests. There are about 150 blue headed penguins nesting there but we only managed to see about 50 return as the fading light forced us to call it a day.

Our final part of the raodtrip brought us up to Christchurch. On the way we stopped at the Moreaka Boulders- stone boulders sitting on the beach that are bigger than humans, have a rotund shape and topography that would remind you of a tortoise shell. Interestingly, there are similar rocks at the same latitude in Chile, further evidence that Gwondanoland previously existed.

Our tour of New Zealand ended in Christchurch and it ended with a bit of excitement as our rental car got stolen. It was parked outside the hostel and on the morning when we were due to return it, it wasn't there. Instead of visiting the Antarctic museum that i had wanted to see, i spent the afternoon in the police station filling out an incident report form. Luckily we had insurance to cover theft and were not out of pocket; in fact we think we saved a bit of money as the car had only a quarter tank of petrol and we would have had to return it full!!!

New Zealand was fantastic and i can't believe this part of the trip is over. Lorraine has headed home to Ireland for Christmas and i am spending my final 6 weeks in Australia. While i have a few days in Sydney i am heading to Perth for Christmas with relations. I am sure by the time i write the next blog, the new year will be well in full swing. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

North Island

We had met an Irish girl, Emma, in the hostel in Santiago who had an intinerary similar to ours and who was heading to New Zealand. After a couple of days in Auckland the three of us rented a car and began to explore the North Island. We got a Nissan Sunny that had 253,000 kilometres on the clock! And it showed. The roads in New Zealand are quite windy and everytime we went up a hill, we had to hold our breaths and push the accelerator to the floor. And still only after awhile did it hum into action. The Kiwi drivers are known to be agressive drivers and 100km/h is the minimum speed they travel at, even if the speed limit is less. Our Nissan Sunny can barely hit the speed limit and we are causing alot of traffic lines as we make our way across the country.

Well what a beautiful country it is. Our first stop was in the Bay of Islands, a seaside town on the north coast. There are all sorts of sailing tours offered to see the bay. We just wanted short jaunt out onto the water. Chatting to the girl in the tourist office we managed to catch a bargain. There was a Tall ship, the ' R Tucker Thompson' that did daily trips around the bay but included showing you how to sail the boat. The evening sail had been booked by a school to bring 30kids out. But half of them had gotten in trouble earlier in the day and were punished by not being allowed on the boat. So the three of us got tickets onto the evening sail at a bargain price!! The ship sailed the bay for an hour and a half and we all had to coil the ropes, open the sails, climb the mast etc. It was great fun.

From there we drove down to Hot Water Beach. So named because there is a fault line that runs through New Zealand. And on this particular beach there is couple of metres of sand that sits on top of hot thermal water that rises to the top from the rock beneath. When the tide is out, you can dig a hole and sit in the thermal waters. What a nice way to start the morning!! The local shop rents spades but we were lucky and managed to get find a hole that had already been dug and was full of really hot water.

To date the best experience i have had was the black water rafting we did in Waitomo Caves. These caves are home to countless numbers of gloworms and have even been featured in David Attenboroughs Planet Earth. There are a number of options to see them but we picked on of the more extreme. A 27m repel down into the cave, followed cave hiking, floating on inflatable tyres led us in to gloworms. Living in the darkness these creatures use their light to attract prey. It is like watching the stars on a really clear night. As well as the gloworms the caves have some fantastic stalagmite and stalagtite formations. We got a taste for caving as there were plenty of options to squeeze through tiny cave holes. It is amazing how small a hole the human body can actually fit through!! The icing on the cake was the 30m rock climb to get back out of the cave. What an adrenalin rush that tour was.

Kia Ora New Zealand

From Santiago, we had a 13h plane journey that brought us across the international dateline to Auckland. The flight began on a Saturday night and we arrived early Monday morning. So we lost Sunday November 16th. I wonder if that means i am technically a day younger??

After the first view hours in Auckland, i had a nice vibe about the country. The people are so friendly and so laid back, that nothing is a hassle to them. Catriona from work had arrived in Auckland a couple of days before with her friends. We managed to meet up with them and headed down to the Sky Tower. It's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and here was our first taste of the extreme sports that the Kiwis are famed for. If you so wished you could get harnessed to the outside of the building, 220m in the air. You are strapped in so you are horizontal and facing the ground. The harness is lowered and you approach a platform on the ground at a rather fast speed. None of us were brave enough to try though we did take the elevator up to the viewing deck at the same height. The floor at the edge of this deck is made of glass and you can see all the way to the road below. A very funny feeling! There is a ticker tape that operates in the viewing deck to notify the viewers when a jumper is about to go. Suddenly you see a person in a blue and yellow jumpsuit passing by the window, that's quite surreal.

Santiago, Chile- Last stop in South America

From Mendoza we made our way over the border into Chile. I have to say that this bus journey runs along the most impressive landscape i have seen. Its a couple of months into the spring and while most of the snow has melted from the mountains there were many places where thick slabs of ice still scatter across the land, it is a very impressive view. Getting through the border went without issue, just had to wait for a couple of hours. Everything was offloaded from the bus, put through the xray machine. Some bags were picked for random searches but luckily none of ours were chosen- not that i was bringing anything dodgy across the border, just had a heap of dirty laundry in the bag!

The concesus on Santiago from other travellers wasn't good so i wasn't expecting very much from the city. But i have to say after spending a couple of days there, i am very impressed. It is one of the city's that i really liked. This was probably helped by the fact we were staying in the bar and restaurant district of the city. It had quite a bohemian feel to it and was surrounded by many theatres. As we were only spending a couple of days in this place, we did a bus tour of the city. One of the stops was in the city park that has a small garden dedicated to a Benjamin Vicuna MacKenna. Well once i saw the surname, my interest was piqued. It turned out he was a Chilean historian and journalist in the 1800s who was sentenced to death for his part in the revolution of 1851. Escaping death he lived in exile for many years before unsuccessfully running for presidency in 1875. His greatest achievement was the 100 volumes of Chilean history that he penned. In this particular park they have a hermitage dedicated to him and there is even an avenue named after him. Good to see the MacKenna's up in lights!

Sun, wine and cycle

From El Chalten we had a long bus journey to Barlioche. Eventhough Barlioche is located north of El Chalten, the direct bus route from El Chalten to Barlioche did not open til Nov 15th, well after we'd be gone. So we had to head down south east to a town called Rio Gallegeos to catch a bus all the way back up to Barlioche. We were pretty much travelling for 24h. We have done about 4 overnight buses in total and even at that we didn't get to the southern most point in Argentina, Ushaia. That would have taken another 16-19h and we just couldn't face it.

Instead we opted to head for Barlioche, a town famed for its hiking and water activites on the lake. But unfortunately for us the bad weather followed us and for a couple of days we were restricted to watching DVDs in the hostel. When we did manage to get out, we went on a cable car up to the summit for an amazing view of the surrounding landscape. Described in national geographic as one of the top 10 views in the world. Well it might have been if it wasn't cloudy!!.

After a few days we headed to Mendoza, further north again. This is the wine making region of Argentina and gets mostly sunny weather. What a nice change as we had sun for the three days we spent there. It's funny but since we are following the tourist trail we are constantly bumping into the same people. On a bus or on a hiking trail you come across friends that you met in a bar or in the previous hostel. The same happened in Mendoza where we met up with a Portuguese couple we had gotten to know. They had arranged to do a cycling tour of the wineries and we joined in. It had been recommended to them to rent the bikes from a 'Mr. Hugo' in Maipu town. We were given a map of the area with 5 wineries highlighted and set off. We were a group of 11 and after a few kilometres cycling we arrived in the first vineyard. Wine tasting is the proper thing out here, known of that 'spitting out of the wine' when you have tasted it. You down it all. As you can imagine the cycling got easier as we visited each winery. In addition to the wineries we visited an olive factory and finished off the tour with a visit to a chocolate liquer factory. On return of the bikes to Mr. Hugo, we were invited to sit down in his garden and he proceeded to open 6 bottles of wine for us over the duration of the evening- that is why he comes highly recommended!!

Wind and rain in El Chalten

After the glacier trek we said our goodbyes to Rachel and Noreen who were heading back home. We continued on further south to El Chalten, a two street town that was only founded in 1985. This town has no banks nor ATMs and has developped as a result of fantastic hiking that can be done in the nearby mountains. On the day we arrived the weather was so bad we were restricted to staying in the hostel all day, no hiking possible. The following day it was somewhat better and we headed out on a 3hour hike to a viewpoint of Mt. Fitzroy. Unfortunately the clouds were out and the view of the peak was totally obscured, nonetheless the hiking was good. And on the third day we managed a hike to Cerro Torre, again another fantastic view of mountain peaks if the weather had permitted, but it didn´t. Directly below this mountain peak is a lake into which a glacier feeds. We were able to see the glacier which we hadn´t expected so that was a nice surprise. We were leaving the next day and just as we were exiting the town the clouds cleared and Mt. Fitzroy was visible in all its glory. The bus driver stopped to allow us to get photos- i may have seen the mountain from a distance but it is impressive nonetheless.

Glacier Trekking

From Puerto Madryn we made our way to El Calafate, right in the centre of Patagonia. It is a small town built around the Perito Moreno glacier. This is one of three Patagonian glaciers that are not receding and the experts don't know why. It advances into Lake Argentino and forms a dam with the land on the other side. When the pressure builds up enough, the face of the glacier caves, creating a spectacular big event. The last big rupture was in July of this year. The tour we did brought us to the national park where we got quite close to the glacier. It is addictive as you watch the glacier, waiting and hoping for a big chunk to fall off. We managed to see some small parts calve, nothing spectacular, though the noise would make you think it was a catastrophic collapse. The remainder of the tour brought us to the west side of the glacier where we did trekking on the ice. We were all given crampons, very basic metal spikes tied onto the foot with rope. It was a bit unusual to walk on at first but totally necessary if you wanted to be able to climb the ice. The bedrock underneath the ice is bumpy and the glacier follows that topography so the top of it is also bumpy, giving lots of wonderful shapes. The ice reflects the blue colour from the sun so the ice has an amazing blue hue. The trek lasted for 1.5h. It was great and for a few moments i imagined something of what Tom Crean and his fellow explorers must have experienced as they set off on their explorations. Needless to say i didn't discover anything new but was nicely surprised when we rounded the last corner and were greeted with a glass of whiskey- on ice!!!