Canyoning in Queenstown!!!!

The sun came back out yesterday which was good news for us as we were about to go canyon swinging......

A canyon swing is pretty similar to a bungy except that you are attached at the waist instead of the feet so you can jump off in whatever position you want. I can safely say I was a LOT more nervous for this than I had been for the skydive and was extremely glad Gwenda and I had chosen to do it together. We decided to go over it backwards for some reason (I think maybe I was still drunk from the previous night). It was so scary at the top looking down and the guys working there try their best to wind you up and start having long conversations with each other so you're left waiting in suspense. My legs were shaking like crazy then it was one to three, lean back and "ARGHHHHHHH"!! Was such a weird feeling and the free fall was quite long (they said it has the same free fall time as Nevis- the highest bungy in New Zealand). It was amazing though and such a rush. When we got back up the guys told us that we had flipped over which we weren't supposed to do but neither me nor even Gwenda realised we had done it.

So.... as it was only twenty quid to do it again of course we both did it. We did it on our own this time and Gwend did the pin drop where you have to stand straight with your hands behind your back. It’s a really scary one because you're naturally tempted to grab the rope in front of you- it was also scarier for her as when she jumped off one of the guys shouted "wait"! I had chosen to do a handstand off it where they held onto my legs and pushed me over by them.  It was so good; my arms and legs were flailing about the whole way down which the other said looked funny. I also had a moment of blind panic when the freefall was almost over and started grabbing the rope. When I came back up it was very tempting to do it again. But I thought better not....

We spent our final night in Queenstown and it’s safe to say I was DEVASTATED to leave. I had such an amazing time there... not sure why, maybe something to do with all the drinking and going out. We did do some sober stuff though- walked through the botanical gardens which was nice and sunbathed out in the garden opposite our hostel... but that really was about it.

We went out on our third night and decided to have a change from our favourite place, world bar and go to cowboy bar where I went on the mechanical rodeo bull and drank (some of) a glass filled with two and a half pints of cider. Safe to say I had a good night. I tried a fergburger (which we had heard about, far and wide, since the start of our trip) and hated it because I decided I would have the "bambi burger" which was a bad decision as I think the original is supposed to be much nicer.

On our last night we decided to have a quiet one.... so about ten minutes later we were off out with our Dutch friends. It was good fun because, unlike us, they could drink in their rooms without being hassled by the staff and they introduced us to some new drinking games, including the infamous Fire King, which we loved.

The next day we were back to our early starts and I was sad all day (still am now) about leaving Queenstown. We had such a good time and had really started to get friendly with people off our bus so it was a shame to leave but had to be done if I wanted to see my big cousin get married. All in all I LOVED the Kiwi experience and would do it again tomorrow if I could. 

Someone better grab me a change of undies cos I'm about to do a SKYDIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We left Franz Josef to head to Wanaka yesterday. Some people were doing skydives there but we'd decided to wait till Queenstown for them........until our driver said they were cheaper in Wanaka so we signed up immediately. We had no time to be scared and were so excited.

It was an amazing day, sunny and hot so we knew we would have perfect views. We got to the skydive centre and I could hardly keep my excitement in. I saw some people coming down and it looked amazing. My video guy came to introduce himself and his name was AlanCar. (But in a foreign accent) He was absolutely mental.

We got into the plane to begin our one way flight and the view was incredible. We were so squashed in though and my video guy was trying to wind me up and scare me by pulling off my shoulder straps (on the other hand, I was trying to make him film the scenery). I was also given provided with some amusement when I turned round and Gwenda had already had her hat placed on and looked like a tomato/pea head!! (I wasn't laughing so much when my own went on along with an oxygen mask because of the height). I started to realise that we were up so high but were only at 5000ft and had another ten to go. When we got to 15000 my instructor got me ready (we were first to go at that height).

We went to the edge of the plane and my legs were dangling out, the wind was so strong I could hardly open my eyes. I had to put my head back on the instructor's shoulder with my legs tucked under the plane then we were off!!!!!

It was so crazy I was screaming and shouting "this is amazing" but I couldn't even hear myself so I'm not sure if my voice was working or if the wind was so loud that I couldn’t hear!! It was an incredible feeling and I remember the video guy was in my face doing all these crazy things with his hands so I copied him which looks funny on the video because it looks like I'm dancing!! When the parachute came up and I was vertical again the view was spectacular. I could see snow capped mountains and the huge Lake Wanaka far below me. The instructor was making us spin around which was really fun but the straps were digging into my legs a bit when he did that. We got down to the ground (way too soon) and I can safely say it was THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


More boring stuff (compared to that)....

We went and chilled out at Lake Wanaka with Frank, Kepi and Arne (Dutch friends) yesterday evening after our crazy experience. It was so pretty, it looked like we were by the sea except there were mountains everywhere. Later on we went out to the pub by our hostel and had karaoke, Gwend and I started the night off by saying we’d never do karaoke and ended the night by treating everyone to a drunken version of 'Sexbomb', who knew there were so many lyrics in that song? OH DEAR- doing it for the Welshies. We're the only Welsh on the bus so obviously we're the best and the English keep getting jealous of us.

Today we travelled to Queenstown which is where I am now and on the way stopped off at the bungy centre, where they said you could get a cheap jump if you did it there and then, so Gwenda did one. Was good watching her as I was cheering my head off to spur her on and also her boob came out which was hilarious for me but she was not amused. 

Climbing a glacier- Franz Josef

We arrived in Franz Josef passing more amazing scenery, including beautifully pale blue coloured rivers which were glacier fed. We're now at a really nice hostel called the rainforest complete with its own twenty-person hot tub. We also had a little walk earlier and saw a good view of the glacier that we'll be climbing tomorrow. The weather is still sunny so we are praying it will hold till we've gone. 

Our hike this morning didn't start till 10.30 so we had our first lie in. This was, however, slightly spoiled by the German girl we're sharing the room with blowing her nose constantly. I gave her the evil eye after the third time she woke me but I think that just spurred her on.

Anyway, we headed off to the glacier centre (late) which was a good move because we actually managed to get our stuff first. We set off on our climb and were a bit apprehensive because we were only doing the half day so we didn't know how much we'd get to see. Luckily, though, we made sure we got into the top group and our guide said we could try and do a lot more if we pushed the pace. We walked through a forest first which was really pretty and then got to a valley which had been formed by the glacier. Apparently you can tell that its glacier formed because its U shaped rather than a V shaped one formed by water.

It was a long (long) trek to the bottom of the glacier but the valley was impressive with huge waterfalls. When we got close to the glacier we had to put on crampons (spikes on your shoes) ready to walk on the ice. The ice is melting constantly and gets pushed back an average of five metres daily; while we were there we heard huge crashes of ice falling and could see where chunks were floating into the river. As a result I was feeling a little nervous to begin the icy part of our trek.

We started our walk on some dirty grey looking ice which was impressive but didn't compare to the blue/white ice that we moved onto. The trail we took then was crazy- we had to use ropes to pull ourselves up some parts. We also went through the tightest spaces where you could barely put one foot in front of the other and crawled through a cave of ice. On our way back down there was a dramatic moment when our guide stepped on some ice that shifted down and he cut his leg- it was fine but we had to be careful on that area (thinking skinny thoughts). After getting back from the glacier we went to the hot pools that we got free with our hike; it was so nice to chill out after hiking for five hours.

Poo Pub- kiwi!

We left Christchurch on the TranzAlpine express which took us from east to west, finishing in the town of Greymouth. The views from the train were magnificent; we travelled alongside a gorgeous blue river and through Arthur’s Pass where we stopped at the highest train station in New Zealand. As a result of the stunning scenery, the TranzAlpine appeared to be a great tourist attraction rather than a way of getting from A to B.

Unfortunately for us the Kiwi bus that we then joined onto in Greymouth had come from the north island so everyone else had been on it for about a week and already know each other quite well. Despite this, we have been welcomed onboard and seem to have a good bus full of people our age.

When we got on the bus the driver told us that on arrival at our hostel at Lake Mahinapua we were going to be having a fancy dress themed party and the theme was pimps and prostitutes.... nice ice breaker for us. So we went off and kitted ourselves out with some very fetching leopard print tights. After getting to the hostel we went to see the lake but it was getting a bit cloudy so we didn't stay long. We then had a BBQ, served by Les the legendary owner of the poo pub, and got ready for the party.

Another thing about us being the last two was that there weren’t any rooms with two spaces left so we had to separate and I ended up in the Dutch room. This turned out well though as they were all good fun and the boys were completely hyper; they were really getting into character having dressed up as prostitutes. We had a good night meeting all the people in the best way we know how- getting as drunk as possible.

The next day we journeyed to Franz Josef where we stopped at a cafe cross museum to learn about the original methods of catching deer. This involved a video showing us men jumping from low flying helicopters onto the unsuspecting deer. 

Our Brief Time on the North Island

We're in the airport ready to fly to Christchurch after our two day stay with the Allen family.

Unfortunately we didn't have much time together but we managed to cram a lot into one day;

Yesterday Nik drove us all up to Gisborne; the weather is still so hot and sunny so the drive was really lovely with stunning scenery. The roads here are incredibly windy though and I couldn’t believe it when Nik explained that the one we were on was the main road connecting the South to the North. It was worse than the roads at home in Mid Wales.

On arriving in Gisborne we went for a walk through the town, then after lunch headed down to the seaside. The beach was absolutely gorgeous, with clear blue, turquoise sea and a fantastic backdrop of white tipped cliffs. It didn’t take me long to go running in, especially because this is what I had be dreaming of all winter, sat in an office watching the rain pour outside.

On our way home Nik took us to a lookout spot where we were up so high and could see the whole shoreline of Gisborne. Following this, we continued to the hot pools close to their house. This is where they have channelled water down from the mountain which is naturally hot because it has come from so deep in the ground. We spent some time "relaxing" in the pool/throwing Sioned (Nik’s daughter) between us for about an hour.

In the evening we headed over to their friends house for dinner. This was brilliant as they have their own 'round house' which they use as a party room complete with bar, BBQ and jacuzzi. We had a gorgeous BBQ and were given eye fillet steak, which was easily the best steak I have ever tasted. They also introduced us to the monopoly card game which, being extremely competitive, I loved.

We were so sad to leave the Allens but had an amazing time and are now looking forward to the Kiwi Experience.

Destination- New Zealand

Gwenda and I are beginning our journey in New Zealand on Wednesday 18^th January 2012 in the city of Auckland.  Despite our twenty four hour flight we were both hyper to have arrived safely; I was grinning so manically at the immigration officer that I was surprised he let me in.

We managed to stay awake for the day so that we could explore Auckland and I’m so glad that we did as it was wonderfully hot weather. Our first port of call was the harbour where we spent some time sunbathing and watching people fish. Whilst there we saw someone catch a stingray and when I went over to get a closer look a security guard with a gold tooth told me that last week someone had also caught a shark from this point.


In the afternoon we went to visit Auckland sky tower and also a park called Albert Park. There was a nice atmosphere here with lots of young people around, hippies camping and tight ropes tied between the trees so you could show off your skills (if you had any)!

On Auckland:

-Whilst in Auckland we stayed at Nomads backpackers. Interesting fact about our hostel- It was situated between three strip clubs.

- Crossing the road in Auckland is ridiculous.

- Loved the city but seemed quite upmarket for the likes of us backpackers.

Unfortunately our departure from Auckland has been a bit of a disaster. In other words, our bus to Gisborne left early and we missed it. Luckily we managed to rearrange and got a bus to Napier instead where our friend Nikki came to pick us up. While waiting in Auckland for the next bus we went to a cafe where the waitress gave us a free cookie. After leaving the waiter chased us up the street and told us we had also forgotten to pay for the rest of our stuff- ooops.