Magic Bus is perhaps one of the most fun ways to travel through New Zealand. Teresa and I got on at Nelson and promptly started talking to our fellow ten travellers (numbers vary each day). There was various stops throughout the day to see things, such as food and toilet breaks and the more exciting tourist stops where we followed a trail that led through rainforest and ended on a beach where blue pengions can occasionally be seen, and a stop where we saw fur seals from up a mountain as they lounged around on the cliffs below, and another stop to see the exciting pancake rocks and blowholes. It was just really fun! We saw a Weka bird which came to investigate our driver (not a Kiwi, though it looks similar) and saw the most stunning scenery you can imagine. Mountains, plains, clouds, rivers of the most stunning turquoise colour, it's just gorgeous here!
That night we ended up in Greymouth and most of us all got put in one big room. There were free bakery goods in the kitchen (lunch, dinner and breakfast!) and then we headed off on a brewery tour of Monteith's brewery, very fun and informative. It ended in a tasting of all the seven different types of beer they have (I gave mine all away to the boys we were travelling with as I don't like beer) and then we got a free barbeque dinner in the local pub. They'd also put on a karaoke machine just for us, so later on in the night we were all pretty much forced to go and sing a karaoke song. Some of the boys did a very bad rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin". One being German and the other being Dutch, it was pronounced "Like a Wirgin". Hilarity ensued. For some reason, Teresa, Yoshi (Japanese) and I won the competition with Dancing Queen. Another free jug of beer!
Next day another early morning wake up and then off to Franz Josef where we said goodbye to our travelling companions for then and did a half day hike up the Franz Josef glacier. It. Was. Stunning! It was so amazing! It's huge, so when you're an hour hike away it looks like it's only ten minutes away The valley to get there is full of stones that the glacier pushed there when it last advanced and there is a pretty river too with run-off water. We got hiking boots and crampons so it was pretty easy to walk on the ice. The guide hacked steps into the glacier so we could walk up and then walked us around the top and through various crevasses and under roofs of ice and through massive cracks in the ice with hastily made footholds. It was pretty awesome! the ice was so blue in the cracks, it was gorgeous! And once you've made it all the way to the top, you have to go all the way down again...
(more later, internet time about to run out....)
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Travelling
Yes yes, I've not updated here in a while. I've not really had much chance to get onto the internet, so no time for blog posts!
I have been to Fiji, where it was boiling hot! Took a shuttle bus to Port Denerau from Nadi airport and hopped onto the Yasawa flyer and went out to Beachcomber Island! Stayed there for three days and two nights, drinking lots of water, reading, lying out in the sun (and getting horribly sunburnt) and snorkelling in the beautiful water around the island. I was staying in a 100 bed open air dorm, which was a bit of a takeback at first but it was really nice and sociable and only too loud on the first night when I was terribly jetlagged. Stayed another night in a hostel in Nadi and met some lovely English girls (who promptly added me on facebook) who I might do a bit of travelling with in Australia. Hurrah!
New Zealand is the most fantastic place in the world, I love it! I spent a day in Auckland wandering around and it just reminded me a lot of England. That evening me and Laura (landlady from Nottingham doing a medical thing in NZ for 6 weeks) took a bus to Paihia which is further north and spent two nights at the Bay of Islands. We went on a cruise the next day where we saw dolphins and went snorkelling and saw some pretty fish. There was a beautiful rainbow and the landscape was so beautiful! Got out at the small town of Russell which was the first capital city of New Zealand and where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the settlers and the Maori.
Since then it's been a mad dash of travelling from Paihia to Auckland and then on a flight to Wellington where I met Teresa. If my flight hadn't been delayed I would have also had a chance to look around the place, but I got there almost three hours later and we just ate and organised things for the next few days. From Wellington we took a very early shuttle bus from outside the hostel to the ferry and travelled across (feeling quite seasick, very rough seas!) the Cook straits and the Marlborough Sound. Landed at Picton which was small and picturesque and then took the Intercity to Nelson where we stayed at possibly the coolest hostel in the world (free washing powder, noodles and soup in the evening!) and then we started our magic bus journey around the south island of New Zealand!
(more later, need to go out and meet people tonight!)
I have been to Fiji, where it was boiling hot! Took a shuttle bus to Port Denerau from Nadi airport and hopped onto the Yasawa flyer and went out to Beachcomber Island! Stayed there for three days and two nights, drinking lots of water, reading, lying out in the sun (and getting horribly sunburnt) and snorkelling in the beautiful water around the island. I was staying in a 100 bed open air dorm, which was a bit of a takeback at first but it was really nice and sociable and only too loud on the first night when I was terribly jetlagged. Stayed another night in a hostel in Nadi and met some lovely English girls (who promptly added me on facebook) who I might do a bit of travelling with in Australia. Hurrah!
New Zealand is the most fantastic place in the world, I love it! I spent a day in Auckland wandering around and it just reminded me a lot of England. That evening me and Laura (landlady from Nottingham doing a medical thing in NZ for 6 weeks) took a bus to Paihia which is further north and spent two nights at the Bay of Islands. We went on a cruise the next day where we saw dolphins and went snorkelling and saw some pretty fish. There was a beautiful rainbow and the landscape was so beautiful! Got out at the small town of Russell which was the first capital city of New Zealand and where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the settlers and the Maori.
Since then it's been a mad dash of travelling from Paihia to Auckland and then on a flight to Wellington where I met Teresa. If my flight hadn't been delayed I would have also had a chance to look around the place, but I got there almost three hours later and we just ate and organised things for the next few days. From Wellington we took a very early shuttle bus from outside the hostel to the ferry and travelled across (feeling quite seasick, very rough seas!) the Cook straits and the Marlborough Sound. Landed at Picton which was small and picturesque and then took the Intercity to Nelson where we stayed at possibly the coolest hostel in the world (free washing powder, noodles and soup in the evening!) and then we started our magic bus journey around the south island of New Zealand!
(more later, need to go out and meet people tonight!)
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Fun Times
Have had an interesting few days in LA. Spent evenings with Laura making food, eating dinner and doing domestic things. She works a lot and also has grad school, so I'm spending what time I have with her, with her. Also seen Eric Froats again (at his house now). I got stranded in Fullerton last night coming back from Downtown Riverside and so he picked me up and we went to his house. Eric, his girlfriend, his housemate and I bought some drinks and snacks and went to the park thing right next to his house that is open to residents of the area and sat in the hot tub there and swam in the pool and generally had a nice time.
Earlier that day I took a train from Orange to LA Union station and then figured out the metro lines and got to the Walk of Fame. Was touristy for a bit and walked up and down taking a few pictures and then ducked into the Graumann Chinese Theatre and looked at the hand- and footprints of famous people. To be honest, it wasn't that exciting.
Weather however, continues to be beautiful and sunny, though cold once in a while.
Earlier that day I took a train from Orange to LA Union station and then figured out the metro lines and got to the Walk of Fame. Was touristy for a bit and walked up and down taking a few pictures and then ducked into the Graumann Chinese Theatre and looked at the hand- and footprints of famous people. To be honest, it wasn't that exciting.
Weather however, continues to be beautiful and sunny, though cold once in a while.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Los Angeles
To be fair, I can't really write about LA because since getting here last night I have seen the freeway in Laura's awesome car, a grocery store and her apartment. But her apartment is AMAZING! It is really like a resort or a hotel or something, there is a lobby and a lounge and a gym and a raquetball court and a swimming pool and a hot tub and lounging chairs and it is literally the most amazing place in the world. I would love to be able to afford a place like this! Her apartment itself is large and roomy with everything fitting in nicely in a large square sort of thing, and a balcony! And a walk-in closet! All just so amazing, she's doing really well for herself here with a good job in airport planning and grad school, all very nice. Oooh! I forgot, we did go out last night to some bars in downtown Orange, where she lives. We met some very interesting people, everyone was very friendly, and we got free drinks so that was a win situation!
I got in last night to LAX, flying in from SFO which was a nicely uneventful flight, though it was very confusing to exit the plane and not have to go through passport control and the baggage carousel was right next to the exit where everyone could get in, so weird! Luckily my backpack was still there when I got out, though the carousel had stopped moving already. Eek!
The weather here is lovely and sunny and warm, and after a waking up today we went to the gym downstairs (after a nice healthy breakfast) and then changed upstairs, and then went to the swimming pool downstairs again and swam and sunbathed, and it was all very lovely and relaxing. It is so good to see Laura again! Squeee!
I got in last night to LAX, flying in from SFO which was a nicely uneventful flight, though it was very confusing to exit the plane and not have to go through passport control and the baggage carousel was right next to the exit where everyone could get in, so weird! Luckily my backpack was still there when I got out, though the carousel had stopped moving already. Eek!
The weather here is lovely and sunny and warm, and after a waking up today we went to the gym downstairs (after a nice healthy breakfast) and then changed upstairs, and then went to the swimming pool downstairs again and swam and sunbathed, and it was all very lovely and relaxing. It is so good to see Laura again! Squeee!
Monday, 30 March 2009
Big Trees!
California is so totally utterly amazing. I love it here. It's this mixture of sunny days in England with scenery and flora from Aruba, it's so cool! And it's only springtime!
Saturday we went to Muir Woods (pronounced Meer Woods) to see giant sequoia's. This was also the place where the last part of Star Wars Episode 6 was filmed, which I only found out on Sunday when we were watching it at Jessica's brother's house in Berkeley. The trees were huge (though this grove is not one of the older ones, the really massive ones are elsewhere) and red and very very pretty.
Seeing the rest of the woods was very cool too, though the highlight just had to be the giant trees. They're really cool too, they share a root system so when one of the trees is blasted by fire or falls down or something, a group of trees grows up right around it, because it's the same organism. They also have burls which look like massive growths on their bark, which contains all the genetic information and can form a new clone tree if it falls to the ground and conditions are right. Fascinating!
After Muir Woods we headed down Highway 1 which is a windy path carved into the cliffs and mountains to Stinson Beach where I touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was so very very cold, but also far too much fun. We walked up and down the beach, poked a dead bit of jellyfish, found a freshwater stream and bathed in the sun for a bit.
Jess and I then went to see a soccer game, San Jose Earthquakes vs the Houston Dynamo's. It was quite exciting in it's way. Then we sampled some lovely American cuisine, In-n-out Burger. It was actually very yummy!
On Sunday we went to Berkeley to see Jessica's brother. We hung about his house with his housemates (where I found out that Endor in Star Wars is secretly Muir Woods) and tried to play the Battlestar Galactica boardgame (Brian is a Cylon) and then had a look around Berkeley campus, the dinosaur exhibits inside Valley Building there. These are the real fossils, while the open exhibits in museums are mostly fakes. Had amazing Indian food too. Nom! Just like in England!
Today we did an epic San Francisco day where we took the ferry from Oakland to the main bit of city, did Fisherman's Wharf and looked around the shore and saw the Golden gate bridge and Alcatraz and sea lions and then Jess was attacked by a seagull. It was a bit traumatic. But then I rode a cable car and we went to the Library and then went home for a lovely cooked dinner, so all in all a lovely day. We'll do another day like that tomorrow but a different area. Hurrah!
Saturday we went to Muir Woods (pronounced Meer Woods) to see giant sequoia's. This was also the place where the last part of Star Wars Episode 6 was filmed, which I only found out on Sunday when we were watching it at Jessica's brother's house in Berkeley. The trees were huge (though this grove is not one of the older ones, the really massive ones are elsewhere) and red and very very pretty.
Seeing the rest of the woods was very cool too, though the highlight just had to be the giant trees. They're really cool too, they share a root system so when one of the trees is blasted by fire or falls down or something, a group of trees grows up right around it, because it's the same organism. They also have burls which look like massive growths on their bark, which contains all the genetic information and can form a new clone tree if it falls to the ground and conditions are right. Fascinating!
After Muir Woods we headed down Highway 1 which is a windy path carved into the cliffs and mountains to Stinson Beach where I touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was so very very cold, but also far too much fun. We walked up and down the beach, poked a dead bit of jellyfish, found a freshwater stream and bathed in the sun for a bit.
Jess and I then went to see a soccer game, San Jose Earthquakes vs the Houston Dynamo's. It was quite exciting in it's way. Then we sampled some lovely American cuisine, In-n-out Burger. It was actually very yummy!
On Sunday we went to Berkeley to see Jessica's brother. We hung about his house with his housemates (where I found out that Endor in Star Wars is secretly Muir Woods) and tried to play the Battlestar Galactica boardgame (Brian is a Cylon) and then had a look around Berkeley campus, the dinosaur exhibits inside Valley Building there. These are the real fossils, while the open exhibits in museums are mostly fakes. Had amazing Indian food too. Nom! Just like in England!
Today we did an epic San Francisco day where we took the ferry from Oakland to the main bit of city, did Fisherman's Wharf and looked around the shore and saw the Golden gate bridge and Alcatraz and sea lions and then Jess was attacked by a seagull. It was a bit traumatic. But then I rode a cable car and we went to the Library and then went home for a lovely cooked dinner, so all in all a lovely day. We'll do another day like that tomorrow but a different area. Hurrah!
Saturday, 28 March 2009
America!
Since leaving Philadelphia I have been in Buffalo to visit Doug, where I met his friends and family and was taken to this cool place called Jack Astors to eat food and really got a feel for American highways and dependence upon cars to get ANYWHERE! Saw the Niagara Falls (awesome!) and crossed over the Canada for the day where I got a Canadian dollar (also known as a Loonie) and met some fantastic friends, a very pleasant day! Also in Buffalo we tried to go to the world's only Kazoo museum, and we drove all the way there... to find that it's closed on Mondays. Bah!
Took an Amtrak train to Chicago where I had lunch/breakfast in Sears tower, which was the tallest building in the world, and is now merely the tallest skyscraper in the US. I had lunch in the basement, so I can't really judge... back on the Amtrak train at 2pm (after changing time zones, very confusing) and was in Mount Pleasant, Iowa by evening! Met Lena there who drove me to her parents house, picking up one of her friends on the way, and then finally back to hers where I could do some much-needed laundry and shower. It was so lovely meeting her! 24 hours later we were back at the train station again and I was back on the train, this time for three days. Luckily each night-time I had an empty seat next to me so I could lay down as much as possibly (it was squished) and get a decent night's rest. I took out my sleeping bag and they provided pillows, so it wasn't terrible. The landscape of America was so beautiful though! On Thursday I woke up in Denver, Colorado and then we went through the Rockies in a snowstorm. We passed through some gorgeous canyons and then got into the Utah desert and then I woke up in Nevada, which is more of a grey scrubland kind of desert, before getting into California where it started out at snowy mountains and pine trees and ended up being lush green fields full of flowers with palm trees waving in the background. Beautiful! Pictures will come later... had some company on the train in the form of two young brothers who were captivated by my DS, so for most of Friday I was sat on one seat, and the both of them on the other playing DS while I knit or took pictures out of the window. It worked quite well. And I kept them out of their parent's hair for a bit. The whole family is going to New Zealand for two months, very exciting! Amtrak trains have diners (well, they should if a train journey lasts about four days!) and I ate there once, but the food was far too overpriced. Apparently it is included in sleeping car price if you pay for one... hmmm. Mostly I ate my own food and when that ran out, I bought cheeseburgers from Johnny in the snack car. Very nom!
Finally arrived in California an hour early (Amtrak is seriously odd) and met Jessica and her mother and her drove me to their house. It's so very warm here! Feels like an odd mix of Aruba and England. Had Thai dinner with Jessica's friends and then they took me to a bar here which was very fun.
Going to see the giant sequoia's tomorrow! :-D
Took an Amtrak train to Chicago where I had lunch/breakfast in Sears tower, which was the tallest building in the world, and is now merely the tallest skyscraper in the US. I had lunch in the basement, so I can't really judge... back on the Amtrak train at 2pm (after changing time zones, very confusing) and was in Mount Pleasant, Iowa by evening! Met Lena there who drove me to her parents house, picking up one of her friends on the way, and then finally back to hers where I could do some much-needed laundry and shower. It was so lovely meeting her! 24 hours later we were back at the train station again and I was back on the train, this time for three days. Luckily each night-time I had an empty seat next to me so I could lay down as much as possibly (it was squished) and get a decent night's rest. I took out my sleeping bag and they provided pillows, so it wasn't terrible. The landscape of America was so beautiful though! On Thursday I woke up in Denver, Colorado and then we went through the Rockies in a snowstorm. We passed through some gorgeous canyons and then got into the Utah desert and then I woke up in Nevada, which is more of a grey scrubland kind of desert, before getting into California where it started out at snowy mountains and pine trees and ended up being lush green fields full of flowers with palm trees waving in the background. Beautiful! Pictures will come later... had some company on the train in the form of two young brothers who were captivated by my DS, so for most of Friday I was sat on one seat, and the both of them on the other playing DS while I knit or took pictures out of the window. It worked quite well. And I kept them out of their parent's hair for a bit. The whole family is going to New Zealand for two months, very exciting! Amtrak trains have diners (well, they should if a train journey lasts about four days!) and I ate there once, but the food was far too overpriced. Apparently it is included in sleeping car price if you pay for one... hmmm. Mostly I ate my own food and when that ran out, I bought cheeseburgers from Johnny in the snack car. Very nom!
Finally arrived in California an hour early (Amtrak is seriously odd) and met Jessica and her mother and her drove me to their house. It's so very warm here! Feels like an odd mix of Aruba and England. Had Thai dinner with Jessica's friends and then they took me to a bar here which was very fun.
Going to see the giant sequoia's tomorrow! :-D
Friday, 20 March 2009
Philadelphia! (And happy birthday Dad!)
Yesterday I left New York and took the Amtrak train to Philadelphia, and then the local train to Swarthmore College. It's a dinky little station, just two tracks and an underpass connecting them and you're right at the college. Very cool! It's such a pretty place too. Markus told me it's an Arboretum too so there are odd plansts all around the campus with little Schilder in the ground next to them with their latin and common name. The buildings are beautiful (most of them) and everything is very central. Since it is so small (1500 students in total) everyone pretty much knows everyone by sight. There is a communal dining hall, which, I have to say, is the most amazing thing ever. There is a salad bar and a grill bar and a meat with sides bar and a vegetarian with sides bar and a vegan with sides bar and a bar where you can make sandwiches and then you can also get a drink from the drinks machines with everything you can think of. Nom! And of course I forgot to mention the dessert bar and the fruit bar! You get your money's worth!
This morning I went to a seminar on Prophetic Judaism (because I could) where the Enlightenment was discussed. Lunch was again a fantastic affair and then I took the train from the dinky station to Philadelphia to explore. I have to say, there isn't much to see. But the streets are big and clean and the people are friendly and helpful and it's an easy city to walk around. The historic section of the city, is less than 200 years old and they think that's old old old, there's just so little history in the cities here! I saw the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Bicentennial bell and Washington Square and the outline of the house where George Washington lived (so unexciting) and the Liberty Bell (not all it's cracked up to be! Har har) and Penn Landing, where William Penn first landed so many years ago. Philly is basically a nice, but boring city. We saw a show in the oldest theatre in America, the Theatre on Walnut Street (where Audrey Hepburn first started her stage career) which was disappointing too (a comedy, where only one character was making the laughs). I also managed to eat a Philly cheesesteak which was very yummy, though so not healthy!
Tomorrow I am up earlyish to catch the train from Swarthmore to Philly and from Philly to New York (again) and from New York to Buffalo where I will be arriving around ten in the evening... urgh!
Oooh, pictures from New York have finally been uploaded and can be seen in the links below.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360621&id=199700451&l=d7e3f0ce1a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360623&id=199700451&l=7cb7d45b62
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360624&id=199700451&l=f7ba6c65fc
Happy birthday Dad!
This morning I went to a seminar on Prophetic Judaism (because I could) where the Enlightenment was discussed. Lunch was again a fantastic affair and then I took the train from the dinky station to Philadelphia to explore. I have to say, there isn't much to see. But the streets are big and clean and the people are friendly and helpful and it's an easy city to walk around. The historic section of the city, is less than 200 years old and they think that's old old old, there's just so little history in the cities here! I saw the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Bicentennial bell and Washington Square and the outline of the house where George Washington lived (so unexciting) and the Liberty Bell (not all it's cracked up to be! Har har) and Penn Landing, where William Penn first landed so many years ago. Philly is basically a nice, but boring city. We saw a show in the oldest theatre in America, the Theatre on Walnut Street (where Audrey Hepburn first started her stage career) which was disappointing too (a comedy, where only one character was making the laughs). I also managed to eat a Philly cheesesteak which was very yummy, though so not healthy!
Tomorrow I am up earlyish to catch the train from Swarthmore to Philly and from Philly to New York (again) and from New York to Buffalo where I will be arriving around ten in the evening... urgh!
Oooh, pictures from New York have finally been uploaded and can be seen in the links below.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360621&id=199700451&l=d7e3f0ce1a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360623&id=199700451&l=7cb7d45b62
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360624&id=199700451&l=f7ba6c65fc
Happy birthday Dad!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
