Kat and Petes, Earthquakes, Canyon Swings and Adrenaline in New Zealand
Bula Everyone!
We are in Fiji safe and sound! I think the last time I sent an email it was about the sky dive we did and we were in Taupo, maybe?! We lose track.
We have done so much, and it’s hard to figure out where to start from. I think I’ll go through each day from the day we left Taupo. So we got on a new bus and we had a driver called Steve, he wasn’t as good as our last driver, but he was OK. We also had a new group, a lot of them had been on the bus from the start so knew each other already but we met some really amazing people. We met two Scottishgirls who are just so lovely and we also met Martha who is from Australia, she is one of 13 and grew up on a farm. She had some pretty interesting stories to tell I must say.
So the day we left we stopped off and some of us played some golf. Our driver had a deal going that if the guys couldn’t get the ball past the lady’s tee then they’d have to run around the bus naked. There were two guys, and one of course turned out to be Pete, who scuffed his first shot! Therefore poor Pete and another guy had to run around the bus naked. It was quite funny. We stayed in a ski resort that night which was real nice.
The next day we did a lot of driving etc, so not much to say, but this was the day of the earthquake in Christchurch. I sent an email letting everyone know our situation and I will talk about what happened and what Pete and I experiencedof it later in the email. It was the day after this that we got a ferry from Wellington on the north island to Nelson or Picton on the south island. The crossing took 3 hours and on the boat we saw a team of volunteer search and rescue people who were going to Christchurch to help.
The south island is nice, but the further south we went the colder it got. There where mountains everywhere and at every stop you could see one. We did a lot of scenic walks and saw some stunning waterfalls along the way. There was one place we stayed at that was pretty awful to say the least. It was a hostel run by a very rude old man. He thought it was cool to swear at everyone, he was very unapproachable. The accommodation wasn’t great and I think this is why the drivers put on a themed party, so no one noticed how bad the accommodation was after a few drinks. Our theme was the 60’s and 70’s, and there are a couple of pictures on Facebook. Pete wore a big afro wig and glasses with sideburns on them, and I went for the disco/hippie look with flowers everywhere, leg warmers and a peace sign. It was a really fun night in the end.
Franz Josep was our next stop and this was really nice, again absolutely stunning with snowy mountain views. There are lots of Glacier walks and other activities that you can dolike ice trekking and ice climbing. Pete and I did a scenic helicopter flight. The views were spectacular and just so beautiful. We saw the top of Mount Cook and we also landed at the top of a glacier and it was amazing. The people who own the scenic flight company were looking after two families whose homes had been destroyed in the earthquake. The three children came up in the helicopter with us and they loved it! They were messing around in the snow when we landed at the top. It was a really good day.
We spent two days in Franz Josef and went kayaking on the second day there across a huge lake, which was pretty good. The next day we travelled to Wanaka where Kat did some karaoke. She sang three songs and was very good! We also went to Puzzleworldhere, and luckily managed to avoid getting lost in the maze, just.
Queenstown was next and it’s great. We love it! Like Taupo it is full of things to do. Pete and I didn’t want to do a bunji jump so instead we did the canyon swing. It is similar to the bunji jump, with the only difference between the two being that your harness is by your waist, and instead of the pull back of bouncing back, you just free fall and then swing. You can also jump in different ways. I wanted to go forwards, but chickened out and opted for the cut away, which is where they dangle you and cut the rope. It was supposed to be the least scary but in the end I was pushed off backwards. There is video footage and photos on both our Facebook pages.
Pete did ‘The Chair of Death’ which is what Oliver, our tour operator did. Basically you have three garden chairs strapped together and you push yourself of backwards whilst sitting in the chair. Pete took a while to push himself off but at least he did it himself. So brave!
We also discovered Frisbee Golf, which is just like golf but with a Frisbee! It’s so much fun. We played it with our two Scottish friends and I beat Pete!We also tried a Fergburger, which is the best burger on the planet. I will try to put more pictures up soon but now that we are in Fiji the internet is a bit too weak for photos.
We love Queenstown and had so much fun there. We went to Milford Sound which is home to thousands of waterfalls. It was stunning and is considered by locals to be the 8th wonder of the world. It was amazing!
Our last night in New Zealand was our worst. As you probably know we had to fly out of Christchurch. We stayed at the airport and found some chairs to sleep on. It was uncomfortable, but we managed. A lot of the café’s at the airport were closed due to the damage from the earthquake. Pete and I brought our own food and drink with us because we knew supplies would be low. At about 8pm there was a big after shock. It was terrifying. Pete and I had found a small seating area in the airport away from the main seating area, and there were about 5 other people with us. When the After Shock came we all froze and looked at each other. One guy was in the city centre the day the big earthquake came and his school was crushed and a lot of his friends have not been found. He went to the language school to learn English and when the aftershock came, he panicked a lot. It lasted about 10 seconds, and it felt like 100’s of trains were passing all at the same time or being dragged along by a truck.
When it stopped and we felt safe, I went to see a member of staff. The staff all seemed calmand one said he thought it was about a level 5 of the Richter scale. He said the area we are in is good because we are next to a pillar, and just to stay away from glass. There was an announcement to say the airport will remain open and I found it hard to settle to fall asleep. I managed to sleep a bit however and I just couldn’t wait to get out of Christchurch.
The flight was short, sweet and fine. We got to Nadi airport and when we got off the plane we were greeted by song. There was a group of people playing music and singing, it was so lovely. We stayed one night in Nadi at a place called sky lodge and it poured with rain all night.
We got a catamaran to our first island on our Bula Combo pass, which allows us to travel up and down the Yasawa Islands and gives us accommodation and meals that we’ve already paid for as part of the pass. Our first stop was the northern most island of Nacula, which took us four hours to get to by boat. We stayed at a resort called Safe Landing. It was the ideal place to start our time on the islands.
Fiji is paradise, I didnt know how well I would adapt to doing nothing, but everything is on Fiji time and never on time. It is quite nice. It’s so hot here and we are now at long beach, where the storms are insane and extremely scary but when the sun shines it’s stunning.
We are doing ok, we miss the fact Uk has no natural disaters or freaky storms.
Hitchin Thespians are currently performing The Gondolers at The Gordon Craig Theatre, which I would recommend that you should definitely check out. I was unable to be in it because we are on our travels, but it promises to be an excellent show, and has a fantastic cast!
Anyway, speak to soon
From
Kat & Pete
Kat and Pete are currently on a New Zealand Gap Year as part of their round the world tour. The above activities can be done on the New Zealand Adrenaline Tour.
Thailand gap year | Kenya gap year | Brazil gap year | Tanzania gap year | Mozambique gap year | Ecuador gap year | Namibia gap year | Brazil gap year | Tanzania gap year | Mozambique gap year | Ecuador gap year | Venezuela gap year | | south africa gap year | | australia gap year | | africa gap year | | asia gap year | | Fiji gap year | | New Zealand gap year | fitness holiday | Gap Year Diving
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