DaysInOz

We’ve left New Zealand again and just as last time it’s been an amazing trip. I can’t tell you how much I love NZ. It’s hard to explain how absolutely amazing this country is, especially to someone who hasn’t been here.

New Zealand is quite a small country, it’s smaller than Sweden and has less people, but it has so much! There is so much to see and do here. As my parents said; every day it’s like we’re visiting a new country. They have the fiords, glaciers, rainforests, beautiful beaches, glowworm caves, some of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen, the Southern Alps, Rotorua with the Maori culture centers and geothermal parks, great cities, adventures like bungee jump, sky diving, whitewater rafting, caving, canyoning, paragliding, jet boating, skiing and so much more. There is something for everyone here.

NZ is really tourist friendly and the great thing is that they don’t charge you for everything and I love the fact that public toilets are every where, they are free and really nice. And even parking is free in a lot of places.

Everything is so clean and nice and you don’t see a lot of graffiti and crap everywhere like in a lot of other places.

The kiwis seem to be so proud of their country, as they should be and they have the country outlines on so many different things, you can buy bowls, t-shirts, clocks, jewellery and so many other things in the shape of New Zealand and it’s nice stuff, not tacky crap. I like it, you should be proud of your country and you should be allowed to show it. Unfortunately in Sweden and England (and probably lots of other countries) you can’t show too much pride cause people will call you a racist. Luckily you are allowed to show pride for another country so this is what I’m doing. NZ feels like a second home to us and we both love it a lot.

NZ has a lot of lakes and rivers and the colours of a lot of these are just amazing! Some of them almost look poisonous cause they are so beautiful. The camera can’t really show the colours off properly but it will give you some idea.

Hokitika

Hokitika

Somewhere near Twizel

Lake Wakitipu

Lake Tekapo

Tasman Glacier Lake

Clutha River

Lake Pukaki

Lake Tarawera

Last time Andrew and I were in NZ we stopped in Twizel for less than an hour, it didn’t look like much and everything seemed to be closed so we quickly moved on to Mt Cook. This time we spent a bit more time in Twizel and we loved it. Fair enough last time we were there it was autumn and now it is summer so that could have made a difference but still.

The reason why we did stop here this time is because of the fishing, we thought we’d check it out.

However the weather was so good that dad didn’t do that much fishing, he did some and caught a few fish, but instead we just swam in the river and enjoyed the awesome weather. It was so nice!

The day after it was windy as hell and we went to Mt Cook. We couldn’t do the walks we wanted to cause of the weather but we did walk to Tasman Glacier Lake. To be honest it wasn’t as impressive as last time we saw it but still pretty cool.

Just as we were leaving it started to rain but when we got back to Twizel it was sunny. Dad and Andrew did some fishing in some river and mom and I chilled out.

We spent the night at Lake Tekapo, it was really cold and pissing down so this evening we had to play yatzy in the campervan, I still lost though.

Andrew and I swimming in the river

Mt Cook

Tasman Glacier Lake

Lake Tekapo and The Church of the Good Shepherd

After Wanaka we went to Queenstown, it’s the adventure capital of the world but we didn’t actually do anything adventurous. We did some shopping and ate some really nice food.

After 2 days we moved on to Te Anau. We couldn’t do the Milford Sound cruise that day so instead we went fishing. Well, dad fished, Andrew and I watched and I took some pictures.

It takes about 2 hours to drive from Te Anau to Milford and we had booked the morning cruise so we had to get up really early. I’m glad we did book the early cruise cause the drive there was more stunning in the morning. The clouds were low and it looked like spirits were rising from the ground and the lakes, it was beautiful.

Andrew and I have done the cruise before but we did the afternoon cruise then and to be honest I don’t think it matters how many times you do the cruise I still don’t think you would be disappointed and lets be honest, there is no way you could get sick of the views. It is truly amazing. I know I say that a lot but it is. It’s hard to truly explain how wonderful and beautiful New Zealand is and with Milford Sound it’s hard to explain how big it is, how amazing it is.

I took a picture where you can see a tiny boat at the bottom corner of the picture but in the reality the boat is actually very big.

Queenstown

On the way to Milford Sound

Do you see the little white ship?

Seals

I tried doing a skydive in Rotorua before mom and dad came to NZ, I had it booked for after we’d done the whitewater rafting but it got cancelled due to bad weather.

So I booked it in Wanaka to do after the wine tasting. Andrew, mom and I got to the airport, I filled out all the paperwork and then they told me that unfortunately the weather conditions had changed and I wouldn’t be able to do the jump! I was starting to think someone was telling me not to do it (besides Andrew and dad) considering it had been a very nice day all day. But as we say in Sweden “skam den som ger sig” (“shame on the one who gives up”) so I rescheduled to do it the morning after.

So Saturday morning at 8.45 we got to the airport and they were waiting for me (even though I was 15 min early) so I had to quickly get ready, well, they would have waited but I don’t want people to have to wait for me, so I got changed as quickly as I could, I got my harness and got strapped in, it got double and triple checked and then I got to meet Bernard who I’d be jumping with. I checked that he wasn’t suicidal and then we went to the plane.

The plane ride was really nice, the views are gorgeous! I got to see the lakes, snowy mountains, vineyards, Mt Cook and more. Then I started to think, who is gonna take my pictures? Everyone else seemed to have a cameraman so I asked and he told me that I hadn’t booked pictures. What!? Of course I had, it’s taken a lot to do this jump and of course I want proof! Crap! That really put a damper on my spirit. But Bernard was great and called down and spoke to his colleagues and assured me that all would work out. Then he asked if I still wanted to do the jump or go down with the plane and go up later with a cameraman, I said that of course I want the pictures and he said I would be able to go back up on the next plane so everyone else jumped but we stayed in the plane. We went up to 15,000 feet cause someone was doing that jump and I got some oxygen cause the air was really thin. Then we went back down to the ground. Needless to say mom, dad and Andrew looked a bit surprised when I got out of the plane, well I think they were more surprised when they noticed that I didn’t get out of the plane in the air, but then they had explained it to them what had happened. Dad was so nervous he had to have a swig of whiskey :)

Then I met my cameraman and then we went back up in the plane. This time I jumped! I was the first one out and that jump out of the plane was terrifying! I hadn’t been nervous about the jump at all, not even a little , not even when the others jumped, but when we left the plane I could feel the fear. It was so scary! I was so high up (12,000 ft)! Then there was 45 seconds freefalling which was so cool. It was awesome, truly awesome! I was flying! Well, technically falling, but still.

When he pulled the parachute I got a little bit freaked out for a nano second, cause when he pulled the chute it almost felt like he had released me, it was so weird and scary, but as I said it was only for a very very short while. Then we were properly flying. It was soooooo cool, what else can I say? It was just so cool.

It took me 4 attempts to do it but I did it!

Ironically the CD with the pictures doesn’t work! I called them though as soon as I noticed and they will send me a new CD, so I will get it in a couple of days when we get to Christchurch. They did e-mail me a couple of pictures though so at least I got to see something :)

Getting on the plane (I'm last)

I did it!

I'm flying!

and I survived and still smiling

After our night at the glacier we went to the next glacier, Fox Glacier, we didn’t walk it or anything but we had a quick look at it before heading off down the west coast.

This day contained a lot of driving, there is just not a lot on the road between Fox and Wanaka, ok we stopped at Haast for some lunch and Haast Pass is a nice drive but the weather was crap, it rained a lot, just like last time we were there. But as soon as you get over to the other side of the Alps the sun comes out. It’s amazing.

Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea are some of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen and I’ve even lived in the Lake District. Driving along the shore of either these lakes is so nice and when you get over the hill and see Lake Hawea on the other side with the mountains in the background it just takes your breath away, it works every time.

We stayed at a campsite by Clutha River, which apparently is NZ longest river and of course dad did some fishing. The woman in reception said that there was quite a lot of fish in the river but they were very hard to catch, but dad being dad caught one within 15 min.

Our first full day in Wanaka dad went fishing (of course) and the rest of us went to a vineyard, Rippon, I think we got to sample more than 6 different wines, at 10 in the morning, good start to the day :)

Then we had a look around town before heading back.

It was a nice chilled out day.

This is where we stayed

Lake Hawea

We survived the night and it wasn’t bad. The sandflies were still there in the morning so we left as soon as we could and drove with the windows open to get the bastards out!

First stop of the day was Greymouth, we needed to do some shopping and we were also checking out a brewery or dad Montheits, he got a few beers and a t-shirt and even a free hat.

Then off down the coast and our destination was Franz Josef Glacier, we found a camping site and then we went to the glacier. We walked almost all the way to the glacier, I think we were only a couple of hundred meters away. I’ve seen it before but it’s still awesome. It’s just so hard to imagine how big it really is. It’s so cool (hehe I know, it’s made of ice but still).

f
Franz Josef glacier


Can you see the people up walking?


The top


Andrew, me and mom

We also spent half a day in Hamilton and another in Auckland before jetting off down to the South Island.

We picked up our campervan as soon as we landed, had some breakfast and headed to the west coast via Arthur’s Pass. Arthur’s Pass was a great drive! A lot better than Lewis Pass which we used last time. We did a stop at Castle Hill where I think they have shot some scenes from Lord of the Rings and Narnia, either way it was very beautiful, but the whole drive was beautiful.

We did another stop along the way and lots a few Kea’s. They were not shy and got up really close to us.

We made it to Hokitika and went straight to Hokitika Gorge. It was amazing! The colour of the water was just amazing! I just wanted to jump in and hug it! I obviously didn’t, but I did go down and stepped into the water :) The pictures just don’t do it justice but you’ll still get the idea.

Our first night in the campervan was spent at a DOC site (camping more or less rough) at Hans Bay. Took forever to get there and it was very busy. I went for a little walk and noticed that a bit further along there were no people at all so we parked there instead.

We went to bed pretty early cause we were being eaten alive by sandflies! I think they are worse than mosquitoes cause they are smaller, you can’t hear them and not all of them bite, just the females and how do you know which ones are the evil bitches? You don’t until they have bitten you and it hurts!

Arthur's Pass


Kea


Dad fishing



Hokitika Gorge

Here are some pictures from Huka Falls


Me and Andrew in our lovely outfits

Next stop was National Park. The weather wasn’t the best but we made the best of what we had. Dad did some more fishing and even though we were advised not to attempt the Tongariro Crossing, mom and I still did. We knew we wouldn’t be able to do it all but our goal was Soda Springs and we did make it there and back :) For those who don’t know, Tongariro Crossing is also the home of Mordor and Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings. The clouds were really really low, they went all the way down to well the road. It was also very windy and by the time we got to Soda Springs the weather had gotten worse and by the time we got back to the car park we were soaked, in spite of “waterproof” clothes and Gore Tex shoes (“guaranteed to keep you dry” yeah right!). It was still worth it though and we still did see a lot.

After we met up with Andrew we went for a hot chocolate and it was soo nice. Where dad was fishing it had been 18 degrees and where mom and I had been it was 9.



Mom into the mist


Me




Dad fishing in Tongariro River

Since we are now on the road travelling now and will be for the next couple of months I think I’m gonna write only in English now. I mean I have a lot to write but not a lot of time since time is money when you have to pay for the internet and all our Swedish friends and family members understand English I thought it was a good idea :)

Sooo, as you know my mom and dad are here now and we have been very busy so here’s where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing:

Rotorua

We spent 2 nights in Rotorua and we did lots. The first night we went to some hot springs and just relaxed in the 40 degree water. It was soo nice! We also took a short walk to where the water actually bubbled up from the ground and apparently it was 98 degrees there and then it cooled down when it ran down the stream, it was pretty amazing to see.

The day after we went to Te Puia and checked out the geothermical valley, lots of bubbling mud pools, sulphur lakes and geysers. It was pretty awesome but sometimes it smelled really bad, of eggs and fart.

After Te Puia we went to Lake Tarawera where dad did some fishing and the rest of us just enjoyed the beautiful view and weather.

In the evening we went to Mitai for a Maori experience! The beginning was a bit slow, the guy was welcoming us in every language he knew and it was quite a few. When it finally started it was great. We walked through the rainforest and then a waka (a maori war canoe) came down the river. After that we went with them to their “village” and we got to meet the “chief”, he was great! Really funny and still very informative. We got to learn about the Maori culture, instruments, weapons and we got to see a display of the haka and poi two different maori dances. It was really really good!

After the show we got to eat hangi which is Maori food cooked in the ground. It was chicken, beef, lamb and lots of other foods and dessert!

The experience didn’t end there, after dinner we all got torches and we went out in the forest again and got to see glow worms and a beautiful spring.  It was a great night!

After Rotorua we drove towards Taupo and we stopped at Huka Falls and did some jet boating, it was dad’s idea and it was a good one. It was so much fun, we all felt like children :)

Hot water bubbling up


Te Puia


Us at Te Puia


Dad at Lake Tarawera


Mitai