Travel Tales of 2

So its off to the land of ADVENTURE - New Zealand. First port of call was Christchurch where we picked up our campervans. There is still the 4 of us. Garrett, the two Sinead’s and Lee. Haven’t managed to get rid of them yet…..give us 4 weeks though

We headed to a little fishing town outside Christchurch were checked out swimming with dolphins - we were told the water was 9 degree’s so ruled out that idea, first night sleeping in the campervans we woke up with ice on the windows on the inside….. New Zealand is gonna be cold and we weren’t even in the mountains yet.

The first major destinations was Queenstown, adventure capital of New Zealand and some might say the world. Ive heard of breath-taking views but I didn know what people meant until I came to New Zealand, every corner you take you could stop for a picture. Garrett was laughing at me cause I was a little child because of all the snow on the trees, for us Christmas had come a little late, In July. Only thing was missing was Santy…. if you’s want you can send me presents,better late than never i say.

We stopped at a few Lord of the Rings filming sites, you can see why they picked New Zealand locations, before reaching Queenstown. Our first activity was snowboarding the others really wanted to try out some snow sports (i’ve previously been skiing for those who don’t know - I took to it like a duck out of water so snowboarding was going to be a piece of cake for a person like me mmmm).
For those who were with me in Bulgaria don’t worry I didn’t go flying off down any hills this time I used my fail safe breaking system when i felt i was getting out of control - I fell firmly on my ass…… Don’t worry the others were perfectly all right as well - I thought them how to break too…A great day was had by us all even though we were a little bruised afterwards.

With the snowboarding we also got a chance to look out over clouds that surrounded the lower mountains - we were at 2000 metres and above the clouds you could see all around us was snow capped mountains.  It was a great that the sun was out and visibility was fantastic. You just think it can’t get any prettier and then you yet again turn a corner.

The next day Sinead and Lee did a parachute jump over Queenstown and southern alps mountain range, they thought it was a great thrill. We took a scenic flight and cruise then to  Milford Sounds, which is part of a national park fiordland. I’ll tell you if Mrs. Gallagher (my geography school teacher in St.Louis) had of been able to bring her class here when we were studing glaciers she would’ve had no problem explaining V-shaped valleys, corries and hanging valleys - it was so easy picking them out all over the place they were everywhere, all covered in lovely white snow. Flying in our little plane we were surrounded by mountain peaks on everyside - unbelievable. When we got to Milford Sound we took a cruise through the massive fjord (which is pretty much a gorge full of water that leads out to sea Mr.Phelans geography classes for those who can remember!!!). Didn’t get to see penguins but their were seals, and waterfalls which actually looked tiny but weren’t it just looked that way becuase of the huge mountains behind them - a dwarfing effect i think its called. After the cruise we flew safely back to queenstown, the pilot declined Garretts offer of flying the plane, a different way taking in even more views! Should mention here Garrett and Sineads claim to fame - Mount Gunn and Lake Gunn which we flew over seemingly named after their great great great (etc) grandfather. Legend has it.

A relatively quieter day the next day we walked to the top of the mountain behind Queenstown where theres a restaurant and also a Luge track. For those who don’t know what Luge is let me explain - basically you sit in a little plastic seat (feet tucked inside) that sits on three wheels (think of Del boys car in only fools and horses) with handlebars at the front, then a downhill track (for momentum) four sensible adults!!! and a race or three and you get the idea.

As we couldn’t spend forever in Queenstown as much as we would’ve liked to we picked one last activity - bungy jump (which I personally had been dreading). The other two decided to do two a 43metre jump and a 134metre (worlds highest freefall bungee jump - seriously it was a long way down) jump I very bravely decided to do one (the smaller of the two of course) and only if attached firmly to someone else (Garrett got the lucky job) so they could drag me with them. Not exaggerating here people to be funny (you’ll be able to see this all on dvd eventually) it took all my willpower just to shuffle (feet were bound together also known as the penguin walk!) to the edge even then that took some persuading. Must have been a fantastic rush watching the ground rush up at you I wouldn’t know of course (not that i didn’t jump Garrett gladly dragged me off the platform) as I had my eyes closed tightly the whole way down…..The other three loved it and were only delighted to be able to the second higher one - I gladly took up the role of camera person on this one. The Nevis Bungee jump was suitated over a 170meters high caynon and the bungee was 134meters fall in total. So the ground comes pretty close. To see them jump off and bounce around was brilliant but not for me. The 3 of them did the jump no problem but its was other people first jump and some were shaking and really scared but everybody did it in the end and loved it.

It was then off to Wanaka where we went to puzzle world which was great fun especially trying to make our way through the maze (didn’t get lost once!!!) and the  illusion rooms were a great laugh. It was then time for another snowboarding trip , unfortunately yet again I had a really bad cold so couldn’t go. Turned out all but Sinead forgot my wise breaking method with lee using the fence to stop him while Garrett tried the more effective method of his face for his break (don’t worry he’s okay but he won’t be using that breaking system again!!), he’s not able for the ice-climbing trip at the Fox glacier because every muscle aches he says. We’ll have to leave that for another day.

Well thats all from New Zealand for now. Were heading up the the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers next, so for the time being hope everyones having fun at home hehe!!!
S&G

We headed down the road to Noosa beach were we went for a walk - the weather has miracoulously decided to be sunny again - just as our trip is ending of course, how nice!! From Noosa beach we went inland to the green mountains were we camped for the night, Garrett was delighted, he got up at sunrise to see the view, as we could see all around us, 360 degrees - I watched from the comfort of the campervan (It was lovely and warm).

It was then on to Brisbane were we got lost loads, had pub grub in Chinatown before heading to the Brisbane Lions V Port Adelaide AFL match at the cricket ground. It was a pretty close match Brisbane Lions just managing to hold onto the lead, but what was really cool was after the game everyone was allowed onto the field (after the players left the pitch) for a half hour to kick around footballs.

We’d very carefully decided were to park before going to  the game as we wanted to park there for the night - so we made sure there were no signs, however when we got back we had a lovely 50dollar ticket on our windscreen. We weren’t the only ones caught out and unfortunately as we didn’t have time to dispute it we had to pay up, the b******s!!!!

Next we headed to inland again to Tamborine mountain and onto Springbok National park for two days where we did a couple of walks during the morning - we got to see wild bush kangaroos - as we were up early again to watch sunrise, this time over the sunshine coast. We got to see some really fantastic waterfalls and canyons. And on the last morning surprise surprise up early again to watch sunrise (this time i hopped to the lookout point in my sleeping bag - it was cold I tell you)…. did I mention how much i’m loving these early mornings!!!

We then went to Movie world, one of the theme parks outside Brisbane, were we went to Shrek 3D, Back to the Future rollercoaster and the best of all the Superman rollercoaster which went from 0-70 in a second trust me it was fast!! Then it was back to Brisbane again were we met up with Maggie and Ross from Frasier Island. We left our campervans back the next day and then flew to Sydney.

A cousin of Garretts, Keira Ward and her fella Paul McCabe (from Corduff & Carrick) very kindly took the four of us in, they’d a great view of the Opera house from the apartment. Kiera was our guide for the next few days (although see needed a map most of the time - sorry Kiera but its true hehehe!!!). We of course went across the harbour bridge and paid a visit to the all famous Opera house, walked around Darling harbor, as well as walking through the city. We also watch the US Kitty Hawke dock in the harbour  and its fleet of war ships (the kitty hawke is an aircraft carrier) but what was really surreal was how young most of its crew were couldn’t get over it saw hundreds getting of the ship and most of them were still in their late teens.

While in Sydney there was a tri-nations rugby match on between OZ and South Africa that we went to, it was on in Olympic park which is unbelievably big. In general it was a good game a few try’s on both sides but not as good as expected as both teams were careful in the lead up to the world cup. We also rented a  car for the day to visit the Blue Mountains but when we got there it was too cloudy to see anything so we went to Palm Beach known to you at home as Summer Bay - were Garrett tried out being a lifegaurd - wouldn’t want to be depending on him if i was drowning (check out the video clip!!)  Mostly though we took it easy had take- away and played cards as well as meeting up with some people from home. Although didn’t get a chance to meet up with everyone unfortunately, couldn’t get over how many people we knew in Sydney.

After a week it was time to give Kiera and Paul their apartment back and to say goodbye to Sydney and Australia as we were off to Christchurch (New Zealand for those who don’t know were that is!!

S&G

After getting back from the Whitsundays the weather still didn’t pick up so we decided to head straight to Hervey Bay to go on a three day 4*4 Wheel Drive trip. There turned out to be two groups heading to the island from our hostel - team A and team B (that was us). The four of us got teamed up with seven english 19 year olds who were traveling together - which had its advantages we got to do all the driving (Garrett had to do most of the driving, he loved that).

It was an early start to pick up the 4*4 jeeps, then it was off to the ferry (we got slightly lost along the way) and from there we headed over to Fraser island. Garrett was the first driver - which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was fun driving on the beach hitting bumps which lifted everyone of their seats. The first day was going really well we pulled up to go for a walk to a lake in off the beach surrounded by sand dunes. Some of the lads went for a swim - the water was freezing so we chickened out… but in our defense it was cold and raining and we still had a couple of hours to go till we got to our base camp.

After something to eat we hopped back into the car, Lee took over the driving, and were making okay time to get to the camp (we had to get there before the tide came in or it would be impossible to get up the beach), when there was a bang and smoke started coming from the engine. We jumped out in case the car was on fire only to find it wasn’t smoke but steam - we though the radiator had blown up but thankfully it was the radiator hose that had blown off. The jeep was going nowhere and the tide was coming in. It might be a good idea to explain we would lose a 750 dollar bond we’d signed if we got salt water on the jeep (the salt water corrodes the jeep!!) so needless to say we had to get the car out of the way of the incoming tide. And as our fellow passengers (the kids as we nicknamed them) discovered you can’t push a 4WD toyota land-cruiser while its stuck in sand no matter what you think…

Luckily we broke down yards from two other jeeps which belonged to an Ozzie family who were on holiday on the island, and like true Ozzie they carried tools and a tow rope (I’m telling you they’re always prepared out here!! good job too we would’ve been in trouble otherwise). Anyhow they gave us a tow up the beach out of reach of the tide so our immediate problem was solved unfortunately we still had to get  to the camp. In extremely helpful fashion the kids played tag rugby while Garrett and Lee inspected the damage. It turned out the clips holding the hose in place weren’t proper jubilee clips and just hadn’t been able to withstand the pressure being exerted on them so the radiator hose had fallen off letting all the water out of the engine hence the steam.

With a little help from our friends!!! we managed to get the hose back on but we had contacted the hire company and they were sending someone to help us so we decided to wait till he came down before putting water in the engine - just in case, so we joined in in the rugby. Twenty minutes later a guy arrives (he was the guy in charge of the camp and the mechanic) he took a look thought everything looked, all he took was a screwdriver to fix the car and he was tipsy drunk, but we got the jeep fixed and put in the water and headed up the beach. We were flying along in the deepest sand on the beach as the tide was in and hitting a few bumps here and there (getting more than a few squeals from those in the back hehehe!!) when bang the car stopped and steam came billowing out of the engine again (who said the irish were lucky)…. This time we were minutes from the camp site so we all hopped out and walked while the camp, leaving Garrett and Lee with the jeep while the guy went for his tractor to tow the jeep into camp. The 2 boys couldn’t fix it as well this time and the mechanic hadnt a clue so we got towed the rest of the way to the camp

It was after eight when we rolled into camp (we were meant to be there by three!!), team A were there and had been extremely worried about us not!!! they had a beer and watched while we put up our tents up in the dark….(they were actually a nice bunch). We had a really nice dinner and a few glasses of goon (the cheapest wine you can buy some, things never change). Went to bed round 12 in our surprisingly comfortable tent.

Day two started with Garrett and Lee under the jeep fixing the radiator hose but eventually around 10 we were ready to go and you’ll be happy to know we had no more mishaps well there were a few times we got stuck in the soft sand and had to shovel the sand from around the jeep and give it a push - Garretts supreme driving skills were to blame, why take the easy when the hard way is way more fun, was his motto…. but apart from those we had an eventful free day. We went to indian head were we watched the dolphins surfing the waves down along the beach (it was really cool there were three of them and they kept jumping out of the water in perfect harmony just in front of the wave it was amazing). Then it was up to champagne pools were the surf came over rocks - it looked like champagne after its uncorked when it flows out and over the glass. Then it was back down the beach to a ship wreck (we’d passed it the night before but hadn’t time to stop).

We finished off the day with a paddle through a creek before heading back to camp. After dinner we were having a few drinks while being entertained by a group who’d just arrived - they were mainly American and they completely fit the stereotype one in particular was very loud - she compared herself to Paris Hilton!!! It was an interesting evening were we discussed the war between the fairies and the leprechauns - thats why we left home… and explained what banshees and bedogins (they’re good banshees - if you ever need to know) were. It was a very entertaining night.

We finished off our trip with a drive inland off the beach to a few lakes. The weather had picked up which was great but unfortunately i’d a cold not to mention i was sore all over from playing tag rugby…. but it was my turn to drive and i had great fun flying (literally the jeep was off the ground) over bumps sending my passengers flying into the air - I really enjoyed it and then Garrett took us back to the ferry rally 4*4 driving through the forest. The lakes we visited were gorgeous and they were surrounded by really white fine sand. Some of them like McKenzie are on National geographic’  nicest beaches in the world. Lake Mackenzie was the nicest by far but whimped out again and decided to stay dry but the kids took the plunge as well as some of team A. They were in the water for about ten seconds before they hopped out again it was that cold.

We had a game of soccer team A v’s team B (team B won but that was predictable as most of our team was english while team A were made up of Canadians, an American and an Irish couple) which was followed by ultimate frisbee - a pretty good game actually (team B won this game). Unfortunately we had to wrap up the day and head back to the mainland via the ferry but we all met up at the hostel and had a few beers that night. It was a great night in no small part thanks to Maggie and Ross from Cork (they were in team A). I think she went through all the characters in Father Ted and when she heard that 1 of the American’s had wet the bed in his sleep that set her off, could not stop laughing. It was a great end to a great trip and the kids were an interesting bunch with some great characters, although i never want to hear anyone discussing the plot lines of Hollyoaks ever again two solid hours is all anyone should have to experience in a lifetime!!!

Well thats it for now its on to Brisbane from here… I promise I’ll start writing more frequently!!!
S&G