Hijack & Hijinks

Hello everyone! This is Victoria here, I'm hijacking Ian's travel blog!


{with interjections from Ian, of course}

I flew out to Hong Kong from Heathrow on the 17^th Dec. A 12 hour flight alone was something completely new to me, and I can't say I was looking forward to it – I can never normally sleep on planes and I was worried I was going to be bored stupid. Luckily, I managed to fall asleep, thanks to the help of grandmas inflatable pillow (thanks Grandma!) and Harry Potter. I fell asleep after dinner, and didn't wake up until we were coming in to land in Hong Kong which meant I missed breakfast / dinner.

Arriving in Hong Kong, I had decided that I would get a taxi up to my hotel as I had no clue where it was. The guide price on the board said $225 (about £30)...however, when I got to the hotel, the taxi man charged me $800. Why do I always get ripped off by people?! Still, I didn't fancy arguing with someone in a language I couldn't understand so I paid him and went into my hotel. Somehow I had managed to find the most residential hotel in Hong Kong (perhaps a slight exaggeration) so I didn't fancy going out by myself. Luckily, my friend Irene who I met at Boots 6 years ago, and who is now an air hostess with Cathay Pacific, and lives part time in Hong Kong, was also there. We arranged to meet at my hotel and went on a night tour of Hong Kong. We went to the harbour to see the lights, got some food, went to the night market and went back to the hotel to sleep. We arranged to meet the following day where we did all the touristy things like the peak, times square, shopping etc. Hong Kong was very different to how I imagined it to be – it was very much like London, city-wise. The people were rude, had NO sense of table manners and personal hygiene which really surprised me. I was also surprised by the fact that English was not as widely spoken as I thought it would be – thank god I had Irene otherwise I think I would have really struggled. I am so grateful to her for showing me round – I don't think I would have seen half the things I did had she not have been with me, I feel that I got a bit of a taste of the 'real' HK, not just what the tourists see.

I left Irene that night as she was flying back to England, so I got myself to the airport the next day (NOT by taxi, but by subway which was about a tenner). Hong Kong was a great experience, but I've “been there, done that” and am not completely sure I would go again – certainly not for longer than a few days anyhow.

My next flight was a bit shorter, and again I fell asleep and woke up about 8 hours later which was great. Arriving in Auckland, you get a similar level of interrogation (although by no means as harsh) as when you arrive in the US. Your bags get scanned for ANY kind of food, and finally you're allowed through. And what is my first sight of my brother....Ian holding a sign that simply said 'PRICK'. Lovely. Was lovely to see him though. We got on the bus into town, and while Ian had to work, I wandered around Auckland. Very city-ish again, although on a smaller scale, and obviously with different shops. After Ian's shift we came back to his flat. I shan't say much about it – its a bed for him at the end of the day, but I'm perfectly certain I could not live there. {It is a shithole - Ian} Went out for dinner with his friend Tom, and by this point I could barely string a sentence together I was so exhausted (sorry Tom). I somehow managed to sleep from about 10pm on Wednesday night to 1pm on Friday morning. In between sleeping, I was chatting to a few people from home, which, added to the jet-lag, made me feel incredibly homesick. Coupled with a very drunk Ian on Thursday nights, those few days were not great and I would have gladly got on a plane to come home.

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On Friday, once I was back in the land of the living, we went to Devenport on the ferry for the afternoon, which made me feel better, just being out of the flat and in the sunshine was a relief. We were picking the car up the next day so it was a film and bed, ready for the drive on Christmas Eve.

We had hired the car for the next 12 days, and had a bit of an idea about which route we'd take, and had a few hotels booked, but the rest was un-planned and not something I am used to whatsoever. Christmas day was very strange, we were in Tauranga which is a harbour town. We hadn't booked anywhere for dinner, and everything was closed (EVERYTHING!) so we ended up with fish and chips by the sea which was ironic. 

The next day we travelled to Waitomo, where we had booked to go on a 'Black Water Rafting' trip in the caves. This was certainly a highlight for both of us, you go through the caves in a big rubber ring, go backwards down waterfalls, see the glowworms and get through little holes and water. It was FREEZING down there, but so worth it – its a shame you can't take pictures, however I suspect they would not have done it justice. They dress you up in wetsuits and then driven to the river than comes out near the cave's exit. Then they give you a big rubber inflatable ring that you essentially float through the cave on. It also comes in handy for when you have to throw yourselves off a 6 foot waterfall backwards in the dark {it stops you from sinking all right, but the shock of hitting the water and and a big gulp of cave water going down your gob isn't very nice! - Ian}

Then you're in the caves. It looks a little something like this:

{From Ian:

There's many an opportunity to turn off you lights and look at the glow worms. Arachnocampa Luminosa is their proper Latin name. They live on the roof of the cave, and send down sticky threads of silk up to a foot long (sometimes up to 70 strands) to catch flying insects in the same way a spider catches flies (hence "Arachno" in the name). Once they have caught their prey, they retrieve the sticky strand and consume their food - the process of digestion produces a chemical reaction which results in the glow. At the end of this larval stage, it becomes a pupa (adulthood), a stage which lasts for 1-2 weeks. They cannot eat during this period; only mate. The female produces up to 130 eggs, then dies. The eggs hatch around 20 days later and the whole cycle starts again.

It's rather a fascinating thing to witness - and quite incredible that something like this has evolved}

The next day was a long trip down to the capital, Wellington, where we stayed for 2 nights. I wasn't too impressed, it was a really small place in comparison to Auckland, and there wasn't a great deal to do. It was nice to relax though and just do nothing for a couple of days – heading to the beach or simply wandering around the city. We headed up to Mt Victoria, which offers a great view of the city:

Also up Mt Victoria was this:

{This 24-pound solid bronze cannon has been up Mt Victoria since 1877. For 23 years it fired at noon each day to help residents keep time. It's not fired for more than a hundred years. Bit of a shame really, as Cape Town does it to this day.}

Interesting fact - Wellington has more cafés per capita than New York City...

Our ferry to the South Island was cheapest at night time – so we booked to 8pm ferry; which was to land at midnight. 

{On my suggestion, to kill time, we ended up going to see Tintin at the cinema – the film itself was quite good – outstanding animation and performance capture – I've never seen such an incredibly accurate animated film! (except for Avatar, of course) As for the cinema – it was the Embassy Theatre – one of my favourite cinemas I've ever been to! It held the world premiere of the final Lord Of The Rings films; actors, production crew members from these films and other local artists have sponsored or own the seats – I was sitting in Dominic Monaghon's chair! (Merry in the films, Charlie in LOST but perhaps better known as Geoffrey Shawcross in Hetty Wainthrop Investigates) The Embassy was a simply magnificent cinema, as the following pictures will demonstrate:

If you look closely, advertisements for the latest films showing are painted on!

If I lived in Wellington this would definitely be my regular cinema!}

Victoria continues:

We got on the ferry to the south island, which docked at about 1am, did a bit of driving, and ended up sleeping in the car next to a river (which we didn't know was there until the morning). Not the best nights' sleep i've ever had but it did the job. After we woke up feeling a bit more refreshed, we drove on to Franz Josef Glacier, and managed to find somewhere to sleep for the night. Saw the glacier from a distance because they restrict how many people can go on it, and its quite expensive.

{Franz Josef is known in the Maori culture as Ka Roimata O Hine Hukatere (meaning 'tears of the avalanche girl'). Hine Hukatere was an adventurous Maori woman who loved mountaineering. Her lover, Tawe, was not as fond of climbing, but Hine's powers of persuation we strong and Tawe often climbed with her in the mountains. On one such adventure, Tawe slipped at the head of the valley and plunged to his death. Hine's tears were so many that they flooded the valley and were frozen by the Gods as a memorial to her grief.

The glacier has been receding and receding for many years; it is expected to disappear entirely in the near future.}

On the road again, and there was many more impressive sights.

Whataroa River - {"WH" is pronounced "F"}:

Bruce's Bay - Ian is about to dip his feet in the Tasman Sea for the first time...

Very, very powerful waves!

Tasman Sea from a lookout point:

Our next stop was Queenstown, where we had a posh hotel booked for new year (it was the only one left because we left it so late). Queenstown was a lovely town, flanked by mountains which are really popular in the winter, it was rammed with people gearing up for that nights' celebrations. We decided that we'd go into town about 9pm, and were greeted with music, food and lots of people!

We wandered for a bit, then found our place on the beach and waited for the fireworks. We weren't disappointed – it was a great way to bring in the new year:

The next day was spent by the beach and exploring the town a bit. A very relaxing start to the new year. Ian built a stone pyramid thing

The route we chose to get to Queenstown proved to be a great choice. Heading down the West Coast, the road was simply amazing to drive on. Up, down, round and round; a wonderful drive topped off by incredible scenery. Mountainous rainforests on your left, the ocean on your right. Regularly passing rivers of the most incredible clear-blue waters you will ever see.

The next day was a big day – we drove from the south of the south island, all the way up to the ferry terminal. A full 12 hours of driving (which we shared). We got to the ferry, ready for setting sail at 1am, arriving in Wellington at 5am. We got to Picton ferry terminal rather earlier than anticipated – so we ended up having dinner in a “Scottish Pub”. Bugger all Scottish about it, if you ask me! So then we headed for the queue – mainly so that we could get some rest before boarding, but also so that we could get some comfy seats before everyone else got them. Luckily, we were about three cars from the front! Unfortunately, Barry had other ideas, and decided to break down temporarily for just enough time for the rest of the passengers to get on first. This left us with no comfortable seats {because other twats decided to spread out over all of them, or on the floor in front of them, just to piss us off}, no sleep that night and Ian in a very, very foul mood.

Arriving in Wellington, we drove for a bit, then stopped for a few hours kip. After a few hours kip, we headed to Taupo in the central of the North Island, intending to find somewhere to stay for the night. Taupo was RAMMED. It is very popular recreational area around the Lake Taupo; but it was still a public holiday and it was just packed with people! We saw a couple of sights first before deciding to head back to Auckland early. We stopped by Huka Falls – a powerful set of rapids heading to a waterfall in the Waikoto River. An incredible mix of blue and white:

Then we moved on to a placed called “Craters Of The Moon”. It's a region near to Taupo of geothermal activity: craters in the earth accidentally created by human activity around the mid 1800's; hot lava below the surface results in steam emanating from the ground.

It was rather a remarkable sight – something I have never seen before!

So it was back to Auckland, and for a long, long sleep. So long in fact, the next day we had a lie in, then drove to Coromandel on the coast. We wanted to see the hot water beach, but were too late – you can only get to the hot water within 2 hours of the low tide, which was at 10am....arriving at 3pm was really too late! Next stop was Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach which is preceded by a 40 minute trek through hills. Well worth the walk though:

We handed Barry the car back on Thursday morning, and Ian returned to work for a couple of days leaving me to explore Auckland for a couple of days so I went shopping – the 3 week old withdrawal symptoms were becoming quite serious! I am flying home on Saturday night – a 25 hour flight which I am dreading. Let's hope grandmas pillow gets me through again.

New Zealand has most definitely been an experience I will never forget. The south island had some of the most fantastic scenery I have ever seen, mountains, rainforests, sea views, all mashed up together – it was just breathtaking. The north island was a bit more like the peak district – rolling hills, and lots of greenery. The photos, just don't do it justice. A couple of gripes – NZ is TERRIBLE at the internet, god knows how much money we have spent getting wifi, so we can keep in touch with home, and have the luxury of the internet. I have also missed home more than I thought I would – trying to remember what day / time it is in 2 different countries has been a pain, and I won't miss that. However, there have been so many highlights, the caves, the scenery, new years eve, christmas day, cathedral cove, driving with no time restrictions but mostly I have enjoyed spending time with Ian. I can see that he really thrives off living like this. I can say that it's not how I could live my life – I'm too organised and a natural worrier, but I'm so glad I have been, and seen what this side of the world has to offer.