New Zealand VII - Curiousity killed the cat

25th October - Me jumping off the Kawarau Bridge Queenstown the first commercial bungy site.

New Zealand VI - Skydive Hellos

24th October - Fox Glacier Skydive Hellos

New Zealand V - Action Man

A title like action man gives indications of grandeur that I don't deserve but it does cover the past couple of days quite well. Yesterday I jumped off a bridge, the day before last I jumped out of a plane and the day before that I hiked up a glacier. James Bond eat your heart out. I did the skydive at Fox glacier. It is in the Southern Alps. When you jump from 12,000ft you are jumping level with Mt Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand). It is known as the most scenic skydive in New Zealand if not the world. Obviously I didn't enjoy jumping from a plane last time so it may seem strange that I did it again. I bumped into a few of the girls who did the skydive with me at Taupo here in Queenstown and they were surprised that I did it again. I decided to do it again before the fear would stop me doing it again. I wanted to see what everyone else enjoyed and I found terrifying. It also seemed like the place to do a skydive. We were picked up from the hostel at 6am and driven to the airfield. The operation in Fox is on much smaller scale than Taupo. There were a couple of portacabins, 3 tandem instructors and a plane that could only fit 2 jumpers in at a time. However, this meant it was a much more personalised experience than at Taupo. Taupo felt like a conveyor belt in comparison. They go through the jump routine on the ground before boarding the plane and film it all if you have paid for a DVD. I did due to my Aunt giving me the money to cover it. I was pretty nervous on the ground waiting around for my turn. Once I got into the plane I started to get really nervous because I knew what was going to happen next. They let you take your camera in the plane and on the skydive with you, which is very unusual, so I was taking lots of snaps as we flew up into the mountains and over the glacier. It was getting a bit uncomfortable in the plane as we got over the mountains and hit turbulence. My instructor then went over the skydive procedure with me again, "The door is going to open, Anish (mate from the bus) and Mel (the other instructor) are going to perform a magic trick, they are going to disappear. We are then going to slide to the door I will put my foot out and then you will hang your feet over the edge, smile at the camera (there is a wing mounted camera), fold your arms and then we will tumble out of the plane...". At this point I nearly freaked out, I controlled myself by telling myself that I was James Bond. Now it may seem daft but mantras are an improv technique and useful for tricking the mind. I don't know if it is in the skydiving manual but it should be added. Anish and Mel performed the magic trick (has to be seen to be believed) and we slid to the edge. I smiled at the camera and then dropped. I was terrified. They film the dive by having a camera mounted to the instructor's arm, so it means it is with you the whole way. My scream in the fall out of the plane can be heard above the wind noise and my expression is priceless. Unlike the first dive once we stopped rolling and got into the freefall position I relaxed and enjoyed it. I was able to take in what was around me and wave at the camera. The parachute opened, which was again scary and then we started to float around. I thought it was brilliant. It is amazingly peaceful and quiet when the parachute has opened. I got my camera out and took a few photos. While we were floating around rather than leave you in the standing position they get you to lift your legs up and then move the straps around so that you are sitting. For the landing you raise your legs and come sliding in across a field. When we did it the parachute collapsed over us for the perfect ending. A backpacker bus then drove passed honking its horn and I was pretty pleased with myself. My tandem instructor, Greg, was great throughout giving me lots of information about what was going on and what I was looking at (although he did burp in my ear after the parachute opened).

Yesterday I did a bungy jump. I hadn't planned to do a bungy before arriving in New Zealand. While I have been here people have spoken about it and I became curious about it. However, I still didn't fancy it. I had heard too many stories of people putting their backs out, and bursting blood vessels in their eyes. I also thought it would be unlikely that I would enjoy it. Chris' philosophy has been that he wouldn't be let back into England if he didn't do a bungy (I considered this to be rubbish) but by the same token bungy is Queenstown. I also thought if I did it then there would be no way anyone could have any comebacks on me. I was still umming and arring about it on the day the Kiwi bus would be stopping at Kawarau bridge (the first commercial bungy jump). I had a chat with the driver, Buzz (he has done over 30 jumps and he has eaten a few pies in his time), and he said once I arrived I could watch the film see how safe it was and do it. In the meantime he would put my name down for it. We arrived and watched the 'Secrets of Bungy' film. It did not even mention any safety issues. I went outside and watched someone do it and decided I would do it. I paid my money and no safety issues were mentioned. I then had to sign a disclaimer, I read all the terms and conditions and the woman behind the desk commented, "We've got a reader". They weighed me and then said walk up to the bridge. I walked along and chatted to Buzz, who was giving words of encouragement. Chris and a few others from the bus were also there. I then put on the safety harness around the waist and the guy asked if I wanted to be dunked, I said no. I sat on the edge of the platform waiting to go. Dave from the bus was ahead of me. When he got to the edge of the plank he nearly bottled it, he was holding on to the edge and kept grabbing the instructor's hand. I then sat on the platform to be fitted up with the bungy. Now you may expect it to be an extremely technical business attaching an elastic band to your legs. It isn't. They wrap a bath towel around your legs, below your knees. They then put a normal velcro strip around the outside of the towel once. Between you legs they wrap a cord around the towel and velcro which has a bracket on the end to attach to the bungy. No one had given me a safety talk at this stage and my safety harness was loose around my waist. I asked the woman instructor if it needed to be tightened and she said no. She asked me if I wanted to be dunked, I said no, she tried to persuade me otherwise, and I said ok to a hand touch. She said she couldn't guarantee I wouldn't get dunked, I would need to do a big jump out to avoid getting dunked. I asked her about the dunking and she said you need to hit the water with the crown of your head with your arms together and not your face. Buzz had told a story of a friend of his who hit the water with his face and ended up with a couple of black eyes. I sat on the platform for what seemed an eternity. The woman called me up and I shuffled to the edge of the plank. At this point I suddenly realised I was going to jump off a bridge and I didn't want to do it. I again used the James Bond mantra and planned to do a swan dive (aka the Bond dive off the dam, lots of the english boys attempt this). She told me to wave at the camera. On the left is a big viewing platform with lots of tourists and the guys off the Kiwi bus, so I played the crowd a bit and got them to make some noise. She started the countdown "5,4,3,2,1" and I jumped. While she was counting down Chris yelled, "I'll tell your Mum you love her". My jump wasn't as good as Pierce Brosnan's to say the least. The moment you go is terrifying. I as ever yelled Ahhhh loudly. It didn't feel like the bungy slowed me down and before I knew it I had hit the water (I managed to get my upper body dunked) and was flying back up again. The bit in the middle I found really uncomfortable because you don't know where you are, you are bouncing and falling in mid-air. I got on the raft at the bottom and felt pretty shaken up. I had jarred the left side of my body and was a bit wet but apart from that perfectly fine. I am a bit achy though a couple of days later. I am glad I did it and am now on par with everyone else. I am proud of myself for doing it but I can't say I enjoyed it. In the 'Secrets of Bungy' film they say that it is all in the head, it is about forcing yourself to go against your natural instinct.

The day before the skydive we stayed in Franz Josef and did a glacier hike. It was pretty amazing hiking up into the glacier. It felt a completely alien environment. Franz Josef itself is a small place. It is there for the glacier, if you aren't interested in enjoying the scenery or climbing a glacier than don't bother visiting. We stayed at the Rainforest Retreat which was a very good hostel. The kitchen was big and well equipped. There was a big hot tub which came in handy after the hikes and the bar was good.

One of the Kiwi Experience traditions is stopping at Lake Mahinapua at the Mahinapua Hotel for a fancy dress party. The Hotel is in the middle of nowhere. Inside the walls are lined with group photos of past buses and hats of all descriptions hang from the ceiling. The man who runs it is an 81 year old called Les. The theme for our party was bin liners and I decided to go as a sheep. Ben, who won the fancy dress competition, went as a spider (with legs), and Matt (from Maldon) had a wedding dress. It was a really good night. Accommodation wise you stay in portacabins that have a bad smell of damp, but don't let you put that off the party makes it worthwhile. I discovered at the party that a group of girls on the bus had given me the nickname Jarvis (as in Jarvis Cocker) and I am now known generally as Jarv (it hasn't got anything to do with my singing abilities).

The stop before Lake Mahinapua was at Westport. We stayed at Bazils which was a converted home, this meant the dorms were really small and the kitchen facilities were excellent. Westport was a small place but with a nice character. I wandered down to the mouth of the Buller River and had an amazing view down the beach with mountains in the distance. In the afternoon I went jet boating on the Buller River. It was great fun. The boat glides over the water with two chevy's under the bonnet. We went up the river one way at 40mph with a few turns and rock passes. On the way back we went at full speed 65mph doing spins and high speed turns. If you don't want to get soaked, don't sit in the back corner where I was.

The first stop on the south island was Nelson. Nelson is the sunniest place in New Zealand and it showed. It was really pretty and the town had a lot of character. I climbed to the top of a hill to stand on the centre of New Zealand and get some great views. We stayed at the Prince Albert, which is a posh pub with a hostel attached. The rooms were nice and the bathrooms were excellent, though the kitchen was a bit small.

The trip down from Wellington has been brilliant. The driver, Buzz, has been very informative and helpful. I have got on well with the people on the bus and had a good time in all the places we have stopped. I have also done some superb activities.

New Zealand IV - Arms trader or civilian?

I have been staying in Wellington with Ralph (of Oxford Imps and Court Jesters fame). One of the big attractions in Wellington is the Te Papa museum, the New Zealand national museum. When I went to have a look around the place I noticed a big crowd of people marching down the street but thought nothing of it. When I got to the museum there were barriers surrounding the entrances and policemen behind the barriers. I walked in and the protestors surrounded the building. I thought this was all a bit strange considering New Zealand has got to be one of the most peace-loving and least offensive places in the world. When I wanted to leave the building 4 hours later the protestors and police were still there. I had to get a policeman to escort me out of the building and through the barriers. When he did this the protestors yelled "Arms trader or civilian?". The temptation to make a joke at this point weighed heavy on my shoulders. Te Papa is well worth a visit even during periods of public disturbance.

Wellington reminds me of Sausalito (the pretty part of San Francisco). It has got a village feel to it. I was very lucky with the weather for most of my stay and I had the fortune to be staying with a mate. Travelling on Kiwi is great but it does have its disadvantages. It can become a 'Brits abroad' holiday (with Irish and Germans thrown in) and you don't actually get to meet any locals. It was really good to be out of a hostel for a few days and to mix with some locals (albeit uni students). Wellington is noticeably different from the rest of the North island (excluding Auckland) in that it feels a fashionable young place to be. It is compact to make it manageable to walk around and it has plenty of varied suburbs to explore.

Before I arrived in Wellington I went on a trip out to the East cape of the North island with Kiwi (the Eastas). The first two nights we stayed in remote spots with nothing in the vicinty. It was a good trip for seeing the rugged coastline (and to beable to be the first to see the sunrise) but it was a touch dull at times. It is much more of a sit back and relax tangent. There were two sisters on the bus from Jersey and their dad knows Alan Whicker! I wanted to press them on more Whicker details but they didn't seem interested.

After the Eastas trip I jumped back on to the main route staying a couple nights in Taupo before heading south. I stayed in the Urban Retreat again in Taupo and it is a pretty good hostel. It is new, the staff are friendly and the facilities are clean. The kitchen is a bit small and there are only 3 pans which makes dinner time interesting. I had a one night stop over before Wellington at the River Valley Lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere on a river. The lodge was specifically built next to the river for the rafting. It is a really nice place. The rooms are clean and the communal area is big and welcoming. Although if you aren't a fan of moths it may not be the best place for you. I went to bed around midnight and noticed lots of big green leaves on the floor in the outside shower block. I realised (when the leaves started flying) that they were in actual fact massive moths. I decided against the white water rafting, which turned out to be a prudent decision. At the first set of rapids the first raft rolled over and a few of the girls managed to get trapped under water. The guides had to dive in and pull them free of the rocks, but in doing so they damaged their knees. They had to bring the girls back on the rafts so they missed some of the rapids out and take it easy through the rest. The girls ended up with splints and crutches.

New Zealand III - Kiwi Feathered Legends

I am having a superb time. I was umming and arring about travelling with Kiwi but it has turned out to be a great choice. The driver, Poncey, is on his last tour so is making sure he gets the most out of it. We left Auckland first thing Wednesday morning. We made our way to Whitanga stopping at Thames for lunch and Hot Water beach and Cathedral Cove in the afternoon. The good thing about travelling by Kiwi is that you stop off at the places of interest between A and B, so while it is a whistle stop tour of the country you do get to see alot of the country while you fly by. The scenery as you drive along is pretty spectacular, it looks a bit like Britain but kind of has a Jurassic feel to it. Cathedral Cove was really beautiful, it felt like you were on a remote desert island. The hostel in Whitanga, Buffalo Peaks, was very good. It was a converted bungalow run by a husband and wife. The kitchen was excellent and it was very clean. In the evening we went to the pub.

The next day we went to Rotorua stopping at Karangahaka a stunning bush-clad gorge with tunnels and suspension bridges. We stopped in Matamata for lunch, nearby scenes from the Lord of the Rings were filmed. Once we arrived at Rotorua we went luge riding which was great fun. They have concrete tracks winding their way down the mountain side and you ride them on plastic go karts. The tracks are about 3 karts wide so you can race against each other. Once you get to the bottom you ride the chair lift up and go again. It was great fun and very cheap (only $20). I then had a quick look around Rotorua going down to the lake and looking at some steam pools. It is really weird to walk around Rotorua and see steam rising from the ground. In the evening most of us went to a Maori Concert and Hangi. You are taken to a foritfied Maori village in the forest, it is kind of like Kentwell hall but more authentic. It is very touristy but an interesting way to find out how the Maori lived. The food is an all you can eat buffet using the Hangi technique. We were then bused back to the town centre with an eccentric Maori driver. He got us to sing songs representing our nationality, the English choose to sing London's Burning. He then got us to sing "She'll be coming round the mountain" while driving round and round a roundabout. We got back to the hostel and spent the evening in the Lava Bar. The band performing there were Boy Band who have been put together by a radio station as a parody of a real boy band. They are releasing a single. They were awful. We then had a bet on to see who could get the number of the"Gay" member of the group, I failed, one of the girls managed it. The hostel we stayed in was Hot Rocks. It felt a touch tired and in need of a refit. It was clean and it had free mineral pools and hot tub. I don't think I have ever been in so many hot tubs as I have since arriving in New Zealand.

On Friday we drove to Waitomo stopping at Te Puia Geothermal Reserve. It was freezing cold and we huddled on the hot rocks waiting for the geysers. It was a pretty impressive sight when they finally went. We also got to see a couple of Kiwi birds in captivity. They are much bigger than I expected, about the size of a football. We then headed on to Waitomo. The hostel we stayed at was fantastic, Kiwi YHA. It is only a year old and feels like a hotel. The facilities are excellent (though it could do with a hot tub). In the afternoon we did the Ruakuri Walkway. When we got back we played touch rugby which was great fun. After that we played volleyball, boys vs girls, and we won. Then we had a BBQ we bought the food and Poncey cooked it. I attended the BBQ completely overdressed. I was aware of this but decided it was a Friday night and it was pointless bringing clothes if you don't wear them (jacket and jeans with shirt, quality). We then went down to the only pub in town to watch the rugby. New Zealand bars do seem to be stocked with their fair proportion of randoms and lots of women who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Themale randoms seem to have great difficulty in leaving women alone. I don't think it is any worse than the UK, the randoms just seem more pathetic. For instance one guy's opening line to the girls was buy me a drink.

On Saturday we had a bit of a lay in, pickup was at 9am. (NB - Kiwi love early pick up times). We went for a cave walk in the Ruakuri Caves. It was like walking into a James Bond set. There is a massive man-made chamber that spirals down and then you walk through an airlock tunnel into the caves. When walking through the caves you are on steel walkways. Obviously the big event of the day was the sky dive and everyone was talking about it. We stopped at the Huka Falls and took some photos then headed to the airfield. In the evening we all went out to some local bars. We played a few drinking games and went to a couple of clubs.

The trip has got better as we have got to know each other. A big help in this has been sharing experiences as we go. It gives you a point of reference and gets you beyond simply talking about where they have been before New Zealand (even though that is interesting). In that respect it is a shame I will be leaving this bus to go on a different to the East Coast of the north island. However, I am looking forward to meeting new people and seeing more great things.

New Zealand II - Ahhhhh

8th October - Ahhhhhh

When I decided I was going to New Zealand I also decided that I would do a skydive. I didn't tell anyone in Blighty just incase I bottled it. Throughout my time travelling I didn't change my mind. Once I arrived at the airfield I started to get a bit more nervous. However, I didn't feel like changing my mind. I signed my life away and wrote down my next of kin details. I then met my instructor and put on my jump suit. My instructor, Glyn, seemed like a nice enough guy but quiet. The problem is that these guys do around 15 jumps a day and get asked the same questions each time, so they either end up strong silent type or a comedian. Wendy (from Kiwi aswell) had a deadpan comedian, when she asked him how many jumps he had done he said 5 and he was still learning how to do tandems (in reality they have done about 10,000). I met my cameraman (if you want photos and film of you in freefall you pay for a cameraman to jump with you). Once you have got the kit on you then board the plane. It is only a small thing with two benches running down the middle. Each person sits with their legs around the person infront and you are crammed in. The flight up to 12,000 ft takes about 10 minutes. It gives you a stunning view of the Tonganika national park and Lake Taupo. I was pretty calm at this point. The plane then levels off and the instructors strap on. At this point Glyn gave me my only instructions, lean back, hold my head against his shoulder, and hold on to the harness until he taps me on the hands and I can let go. The door slides back and the pair sitting by the door disappear. I was at the end of one of the benches so 4 people went out the door before me. It is amazing to see people simply disappear out the door, they don't float they just drop. I shuffled to the door with Glyn attached he then told me to sit on the edge (the camerman was holding on to the side of the plane) before I knew it I was dangling and then I was falling. The fear then hit me. It feels so unnatural just to drop and we rolled over so I could see the plane as a reference point and see how fast we were going (you get up to 200 kph). I f'd and blinded my way through this while yelling Ahhhhh. He gave me the tap on the hands and I let go. The cameraman then came into view. Now what you see on most skydiving videos are people giving thumbs up or something along those lines. I didn't manage this. I managed to get a smile across. The camerman then poked me in the eyes on the visor and stole my nose (game you play with babies). This felt really surreal to me. I was falling through the air at 200kph and there is a guy opposite me and one strapped to my back (weird enough) plus the guy opposite me is playing around. The cameraman then appeared below me and suddenly the parachute opened. I had started to relax a bit during the freefall as I got used to it. The parachute opening scared the proverbial out of me. We then went into a corkscrew turn which set off the f'ing and blinding again. After this Glyn said "Don't worry mate you can relax", subtext - stop yelling. So I quitened the f'ing and blinding and enjoyed the view. This bit was quite enjoyable. It was great to see the parahutes of your friends around you and to drink in the view. The day we did it was perfect, clear blue skies. The landing was good and I didn't fall over. I was terrifed for most of it but not through fear of losing my life. I had faith in Glyn and didn't doubt the parachute would open. In truth I didn't have time to think until the parachute opened. Up until then I was in fear. I am glad I did it, but I am not sure I can say I enjoyed it. When we landed I did apologise to Glyn for the yelling, I am sure he has heard worse. At least I wasn't the girl from our place who landed and immediately threw-up. I am really glad I paid the extra for the video and the pictures. It was also really good to be doing it with everyone else from the Kiwi bus and to share the experience with them.

New Zealand I - Sweetas

Me sand boarding on the dunes at Ninety Mile Beach - New Zealand I arrived in New Zealand last Thursday. I flew out of LA by Qantas (quality) on 26th September I arrived in Auckland on 28th September. I wasn't in the air for 36 hours though. When you cross the international dateline from East to West you lose a day, so 27th September 2006 did not exist for me (time travel included in the ticket price). Anyway I spent a couple of days in Auckland and really liked it. I like the windy, curvy streets, its nice to see them again after all the block formations in North America. Auckland is a nice place to walk around and has a busy atmosphere to it. On the first day I went on a free day trip with Kiwi Experience (one of the backpacker bus companies) and went out to Devonport. It was a good fun trip. In the afternoon I wandered around Auckland (my normal tactic for negotiating a city) and watched the sunset. On the second day I went on another free day trip with Stray (another backpacker bus company). The good thing about both triups is that they are completely different. I have decided to tackle the rest of the country with Kiwi Experience. They have got a special deal on at the moment and everyone I have spoken has given them a good review. On Saturday I went up with Kiwi to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. I was with a new mate of mine Chris who I met on the Stray bus the day before. As soon as we arrived in Paihia we went on a cruise to dolphin watch. We came across a pod and had them swimming up to the boat. The crew get you to lean over the bow and the dolphins come swimming up underneath. Part of the cruise is the opportunity to get in the water with the dolphins. The water is the Pacific Ocean and these are wild dolphins who don't hang around to do tricks for you. We were given wet suits and snorkle gear and then, when given the say so, jumped in. Now it is factually correct to say I was swimming in the water with dolphins, however, I cannot honestly say that I saw them whilst in the water. It was a good trip and we met some cool people on the boat. The next day we were meant to be going on a coach trip to the very northern tip of New Zealand and back again. The bus picked up at 7am and we were standing outside the hostel at 7am. What we didn't know was that the clocks had gone forward and we were an hour late (schoolboy error). We were able to move the booking to the next day and went up to the Treaty of Waitanga Museum (Maori's and British signed Treaty together creating modern New Zealand). The next day we went on the coach trip. The driver for the trip is a crazy guy christened Auto (after the bus driver from the Simpsons). He had his 12 year old son with him. The trip takes you up to Ninety Mile Beach stopping at a Kauri forest on the way up. Ninety Mile Beach isn't actually ninety miles it is more like ninety kilometres. Anyway it is a public road and the coaches can drive on it. These coaches are specially modified to deal with the conditions. This coach had a 400 bhp engine mounted at the front instead of the back and it was raised higher than a normal coach. It is not unusual for these coaches to be lost on the beach. Auto told us a story of how only a week ago he was driving down the beach when he went through a body of water and dropped into a hole, with a wave higher than the coach approaching, luckily he managed to get out before the wave hit. It is quite amazing to see the coaches plowing along through the surf (he gets his son to drive at some points). Once you get to the top of the beach you drive along a river through the sand dunes. We drove down the river and Auto laughed at which dunes the other coaches had stopped at. We pulled up the biggest one - 85m. Before we went sand boarding he had given us a safety talk, basically scaring everyone from doing it. We climbed the sand dune (hard work) and got to the top being sand blasted by the wind. At the top no one would step forward to go first after the safety talk (a group of girls had stopped halfway up). Chris went first and I went second. It was great fun though extremely tiring climbing the dune. The video above shows my third and final run. Today I went across the bay from Paihia to Russell. Russell was the original British settlement in New Zealand. Darwin described it as the 'hell hole of the Pacific' when sailors used to frequent it. Nowadays it is a quaint little place well worth a visit. There is a nice beach and the oldest Church in New Zealand. In Auckland I have stayed at the Base Backpackers. It is a really good hostel. The rooms are big and clean. The cafe is reasonably priced and open for long hours. The staff are very firendly and helpful. On the roof is a sauna and a hot tub. In my booking I got a special deal where the saune and hot tub were included. On my first night I went in the hot tub with an open air view of the Sky Tower. On the second night I went in the sauna. I don't think I have been in a sauna before because I haven't experienced heat like it. I am sure it must have done me some good. In Paihia I stayed at the Pip Patch, which is a converted motel. It is OK but in need of some tender loving care, everything was clean though. Sweeta is something that anyone involved with the backpacker trade says. I think it is just a general term used by the cool crowd in New Zealand. The guide from the Stray bus managed to say Sweetas at least 3 times as he jumped from the bus to the pavement. Bro is also extremely popular.