New Zealand really didn't like me saying I had a somewhat dull day; as while I slept I awoke to two earthquakes in the night! The first was a mere 4 on the Richter Scale (which if it happened anywhere else in the world it would be front page in the local press) but frightened the bejaysus out of me. I jumped under the table just in case but the whole room shook like a plane going through turbulence. By the way I don't think the duck and cover technique accounts for Ikea tables! The second one was a 5.5 so as it a logarithmic scale was 15 times stronger but I think it was also deeper. Now this was scary! The one that killed 168 people was 6.3! I sat under the table with the only saving grace being I was still half a sleep to really cop on to what was going on. I listened out for signs we needed to evacuate (an alarm was meant to go off) I just heard a few people talking so figured no need to panic. It only dawned on me after that the alarm mightn't be working and I could have got up and had a look around just in case. As you could imagine I didn't sleep much after that. I had internet connection so could see what size they were and read in the morning that 10,000 people were without electricity. On the road to the airport the next day there was signs of liquefaction where the soil loses it solidification and becomes a liquid spreading up across the roads. I think at this point I was glad to be going home!
What can I say to summarise New Zealand and Australia. I think in one word I would say 'extreme'. At first extremely far away... In Oz extreme animals, an extremely good stay in Rob and Lisa's and Sydney and an extremely good time at Gary's wedding and Melbourne. In New Zealand extremely extreme scenery with extreme beauty where you can do what extreme hobbies you like and it's land can sometimes be extremely dangerous. Most importantly the whole holiday was extremely enjoyable and I will cherish its memories forever although I am now looking forward to getting back to my extremely generous and loving wife.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Back to Christchurch
Well after a needed fry to ease the hangover I said goodbye to my travel companions Col and Mairead and got my bus to Christchurch. The journey was very dull in comparison to all the other bus journeys which was good as all I wanted to do was sleep. In Christchurch my plan was to get something to eat and then relax for the evening reading my book. Which is exactly what I did. Dull day really but suited me to the ground. Looking forward to getting home but not the journey!
New Years in Dunedin
We started the day getting a shuttle bus to our Taieri Gorge Crossing Train to Dunedin. After a while we realised the shuttle bus was going to take 3 and a half hours to get there so we relaxed and took in the scenery. Once again New Zealand surprised me with even more unusual scenery. This time it was a dry yellow grass landscape with huge angular rocks lying everywhere. We got dropped off in the middle of no where where our train arrived. The train was in an old carriage with open windows and we travelled over some serious deep gorges. Great stuff. By the time we got to Dunedin the scenery had changed again. This time it was much more like Ireland and you could see why so many Irish and Scottish had settled here.
I was well nervous that Dunedin would be a disaster for New Years after leaving party town Queenstown. It didn't start well when all the first few bars we went to where shut or were shit but in the end we found a Scottish bar with a bit of life and proceeded to get tanked up on beer and whiskey.
The fireworks were in the Octogon and they were directly above our heads which was great except for the hot ashes fallen on our skyward pointing faces. The end of the night is hazy enough but I do remember me and Col running down the steepest street in the world and being literally unable to stop till we got to the bottom.
If Dunedin had a cool scene once it seems to be well hidden now unless we just arrived at the wrong time. Still we had a great time and it was a good way to spend my last day with Col and Mairead.
I was well nervous that Dunedin would be a disaster for New Years after leaving party town Queenstown. It didn't start well when all the first few bars we went to where shut or were shit but in the end we found a Scottish bar with a bit of life and proceeded to get tanked up on beer and whiskey.
The fireworks were in the Octogon and they were directly above our heads which was great except for the hot ashes fallen on our skyward pointing faces. The end of the night is hazy enough but I do remember me and Col running down the steepest street in the world and being literally unable to stop till we got to the bottom.
If Dunedin had a cool scene once it seems to be well hidden now unless we just arrived at the wrong time. Still we had a great time and it was a good way to spend my last day with Col and Mairead.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Milford Sounds
A little bit tired but amazingly not hungover we got the bus to Milford Sounds. Basically this entry will be short as I really can't describe in words Milford Sounds. If you think of all the scenery I've described so far multiply its beauty by ten add my favourite travel transport (a boat) on a semi opaque duck shell egg coloured lake going under waterfalls you might get some idea. This a very special place and was a very suitable grand finale to the line up of jaw dropping scenery on the trip. I'll never forget it and I have to return again some day.
Journey to Queenstown
It gets harder and harder the more you try to express in words how absolutely amazing the scenery in this country is. The photos don't work as you just get the depth of colour and sense of distance. I had no idea that scenery like this existed. Lakes that are so clear you can see every stone in them. Rivers that are a bright bluey green and mountains that stretch and stretch for miles and it changes all the time. The bus trip to Queenstown was full of countless inexplicable examples of this. Other than all that I got a bag of just picked delicious cherries from the growers and a hokey pokey ice cream. Plans of snoozes where dashed by consistent interruptions of astounding beauty.
We arrived in Queenstown about 4 and after a bit of mix up at the hostel we got settled and headed up on the cable cars they call gondolas up a local mountain for a fantastic view over the magnificance of Queenstown. Up on top they also had luge which basically is a concrete downhill track that you go down on carts with simple brakes. We did it three times and I won every time, who'd have thought it was my hidden talent. Maybe if they get some in Ireland and it becomes an Olympic sport, well, who knows...
We went back down to a pub in the town to meet a couple Mairead knows, Enda and Marie Ann and their friends. The plan was to have a pint and then get something to eat. Six or seven pints later we still hadn't eaten we were having such a good time.
Enda explained that he was hoping to get citizenship so he could get a gun to go hunting deer which seems popular over here. Although there is a problem with lamping which is banned. This is where they shine a light in the deers eyes and it stuns them long enough to shoot them. It's banned, as recently when the hunter saw the shining glint of the deers eyes it was actually a teacher washing her teeth while out camping and she was shot dead!
It seems Queenstown is a Mecca for adrenaline junkies encouraged by the fact that you are insured for any injury you get here and the Physio's are the best in the world. Every possible activity that brings you as close to maiming yourself without actually doing so is available for top dollar here and a lot of people are just working there way through the list satisfying their addiction and breaking bones all the way. Not my cup of tea, jumping out of the top bunk in the hostel is scary enough for me.
I had the most delicious veggie burger in the world from Ferg's burgers. A meal in two buns. Falafel, avocado, peppers, pumpkin, various sauces and lettuce.
We arrived in Queenstown about 4 and after a bit of mix up at the hostel we got settled and headed up on the cable cars they call gondolas up a local mountain for a fantastic view over the magnificance of Queenstown. Up on top they also had luge which basically is a concrete downhill track that you go down on carts with simple brakes. We did it three times and I won every time, who'd have thought it was my hidden talent. Maybe if they get some in Ireland and it becomes an Olympic sport, well, who knows...
We went back down to a pub in the town to meet a couple Mairead knows, Enda and Marie Ann and their friends. The plan was to have a pint and then get something to eat. Six or seven pints later we still hadn't eaten we were having such a good time.
Enda explained that he was hoping to get citizenship so he could get a gun to go hunting deer which seems popular over here. Although there is a problem with lamping which is banned. This is where they shine a light in the deers eyes and it stuns them long enough to shoot them. It's banned, as recently when the hunter saw the shining glint of the deers eyes it was actually a teacher washing her teeth while out camping and she was shot dead!
It seems Queenstown is a Mecca for adrenaline junkies encouraged by the fact that you are insured for any injury you get here and the Physio's are the best in the world. Every possible activity that brings you as close to maiming yourself without actually doing so is available for top dollar here and a lot of people are just working there way through the list satisfying their addiction and breaking bones all the way. Not my cup of tea, jumping out of the top bunk in the hostel is scary enough for me.
I had the most delicious veggie burger in the world from Ferg's burgers. A meal in two buns. Falafel, avocado, peppers, pumpkin, various sauces and lettuce.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Journey to Fox Glacier
We got the train from Christchurch in the morning and after about an hour we were right into some of the most dramatic scenery yet as we passed through New Zealand's Alps. Amazing views of fields of purple loopins stretching to crystal clear glacier rivers backed by rainforest hills below snow capped mountains. I could see why it is considered one of the best train journeys in the world. It was the same commentator as the last train continuing his witty and historically educational remarks. Just fantastic.
We got to Greymouth and nearly missed our bus to Fox Glacier waiting for chips! The bus driver sounded as though he really wanted to be a dj not a bus driver as he described the journey "Beautiful West Coast views coming right at ya! Sit back, relax and enjoy the show."
We got to Fox Glacier town which was very busy and lively. Me and Col were sharing a room with two girls in their twenties much to Col's delight. Cooked a dinner then we hit the town and got to a pub on the outskirts that seemed a bit quieter. The owner seemed to want to get his business known as he gave us free shots and pool! Though we had a goo for more drinking we hit the hay early to have the energy for our upcoming glacial hike.
We got to Greymouth and nearly missed our bus to Fox Glacier waiting for chips! The bus driver sounded as though he really wanted to be a dj not a bus driver as he described the journey "Beautiful West Coast views coming right at ya! Sit back, relax and enjoy the show."
We got to Fox Glacier town which was very busy and lively. Me and Col were sharing a room with two girls in their twenties much to Col's delight. Cooked a dinner then we hit the town and got to a pub on the outskirts that seemed a bit quieter. The owner seemed to want to get his business known as he gave us free shots and pool! Though we had a goo for more drinking we hit the hay early to have the energy for our upcoming glacial hike.
Journey to Christchurch
Early start today and after a Christmas call to my beautiful wife I woke Col to leap into a cab for the ferry to Picton. My love of boats was satisfied greatly by the trip but wow what amazing scenery. Picton bay is just stunning and on such a clear day we could see it all (refer to photos)
Picton itself was a buzzy place full of people enjoying the sunshine. We saw a sign for a walk up a hill to see a view of the harbour and decided to walk that. On our return we realised that Picton had loads of enticing looking chip shops but we had wasted our time on the hill and now had no time for lunch before the train. Must prioritise. Life is tough on holidays!
The train journey to Christchurch was... you guessed it full of amazing scenery. You would imagine at this point I would be getting scenery fatigue but each new place brings different types of amazing scenery and it really is so so awesome. The train went along the Pacific coastline so there were crashing wave beaches to the left with huge mountain stretches to the right!
The were also cool salt lakes that make 40/% of New Zealand's salt and some of them were bright pink because of some bacteria that live in them.
The guy doing the commentary was hilarious with very dry humour that had us laughing all the way e.g. as we went into Christchurch some kids threw rocks at the carriages and the comment over the loud speaker was just "Any passengers carrying AK47s are now welcome on the open viewing deck."
We arrived in Christchurch and me and Col decided to search for somewhere to eat. We were surprised and stunned to find that the place was like something from 28 Days Later in that there were no cars or people anywhere and everything including most of the streets where fenced off! I knew that we were in the red zone where the earthquake was worse but I thought it would just be a city centre with a few buildings cordoned off but the rest of the city back to normal. I was wrong. Nearly a year later a good few of the streets and buildings in the centre are completely closed off with fencing. Rubble lies everwhere. As you can see in one picture the steeple of a cathedral lay on the road beside it! Sobering.
When Mairead arrived we finally found a restaurant out of town and a drink. Apparently Christchurch's population has dropped dramatically as people have decided to live elsewhere and I must say I don't blame them. Fascinating place though.
Just found out there was a mini earthquake (3.3) at 1.30 in the morning but I slept through it as I am so used to Col's snoring!
Picton itself was a buzzy place full of people enjoying the sunshine. We saw a sign for a walk up a hill to see a view of the harbour and decided to walk that. On our return we realised that Picton had loads of enticing looking chip shops but we had wasted our time on the hill and now had no time for lunch before the train. Must prioritise. Life is tough on holidays!
The train journey to Christchurch was... you guessed it full of amazing scenery. You would imagine at this point I would be getting scenery fatigue but each new place brings different types of amazing scenery and it really is so so awesome. The train went along the Pacific coastline so there were crashing wave beaches to the left with huge mountain stretches to the right!
The were also cool salt lakes that make 40/% of New Zealand's salt and some of them were bright pink because of some bacteria that live in them.
The guy doing the commentary was hilarious with very dry humour that had us laughing all the way e.g. as we went into Christchurch some kids threw rocks at the carriages and the comment over the loud speaker was just "Any passengers carrying AK47s are now welcome on the open viewing deck."
We arrived in Christchurch and me and Col decided to search for somewhere to eat. We were surprised and stunned to find that the place was like something from 28 Days Later in that there were no cars or people anywhere and everything including most of the streets where fenced off! I knew that we were in the red zone where the earthquake was worse but I thought it would just be a city centre with a few buildings cordoned off but the rest of the city back to normal. I was wrong. Nearly a year later a good few of the streets and buildings in the centre are completely closed off with fencing. Rubble lies everwhere. As you can see in one picture the steeple of a cathedral lay on the road beside it! Sobering.
When Mairead arrived we finally found a restaurant out of town and a drink. Apparently Christchurch's population has dropped dramatically as people have decided to live elsewhere and I must say I don't blame them. Fascinating place though.
Just found out there was a mini earthquake (3.3) at 1.30 in the morning but I slept through it as I am so used to Col's snoring!
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