I was clearly having so much fun on the Coromandel that I actually totally forgot about this....but now have just uploaded all my favourite photos of my 8 days in Thames onto Facebook so remembered! I had such a good week, and was truly sad to leave....but hey, I move into my new flat in Brighton in just over a week, so good things will continue to happen I'm sure! I've been back in Southampton since Monday morning (21st), after my flight got in at the wonderful time of 0550. Thanks M&D for picking me up! Other adventures in the last few days in Thames included a trip with Jen, Genoveva and JR to Raglan/Hamilton on the West Coast (few hours drive) plus an epic road trip around the peninsula with Kirsten visiting Coromandel Town, Whangapoua beach, New Chums Beach (an amazing deserted beach only reached by a 30 min walk) and Tairua. We also all went to Nectar bars opening night, now re-named Mama Gin's, which was fun. Finally, on my last night (Saturday) we had a dress up evening with Jen's present opening before her 39th birthday on the Sunday. My flights home were pretty uneventful, though got talking to a lovely Malaysian lady called Mrs Khoo on the way over to Kuala Lumpur.

So that's it for another year.....next time, Europe. As much as I love New Zealand and that side of the world, I think it's time to enjoy some places closer to home! I had such a great trip, it passed my expectations completely, which is hard to do considering the fantastic time I had in 07/08. Thank god for cheap swine flu affected flights!!! And amazingly good Kiwi weather added with lovely lovely people I stayed with and met. Thank you!



The fantastic New Chums beach



My leaving night! (with Jen and Kirsten)

More photos here

Thames has been a re-visit and more...I'm having such a good time I'm trying to ignore the fact I leave in just a few days. Before that though, Jen, Genoveva, JR (French Canadian traveller) and I are visiting Raglan on the West coast and then it's Jen's birthday on Sunday so of course celebrations beforehand are necessary! So far I've been up the Kauaeranga Valley a few times, up the coast, to Whangamata beach, over to Mt Maunganui too. I'm fitting so much in that it feels like I was in Wellington and the South island a long time ago! (Sorry Caroline and Sandi!)

We have two Germans living in the house at the moment - I arrived here Friday night and then Kirsten arrived Saturday and then Lasse (male!) on Tuesday. One of Jennifer's 'old' travellers (JR) still lives nearby so is basically still living here....so we're having lots of fun and enjoying the sunny warm days. Can't believe it's only September!!



Jen and I on the balcony



Genoveva and I up the coast, 'pushing back the tide'

Take a look at my other photos over the last week or so by clicking on the links below.

Album featuring the end of my time on the South Island

Heading north album

Coromandel photo album

Here I am in Thames, after 16 months. Really surreal, but good surreal! It's so WARM!!! It's so crazy. It's almost 7pm and am going to sit around in short sleeves. Will post photos asap!

I'm off north today, up to catch the ferry this evening, via Picton and Blenheim! Sad to leave! :(

I'm a truly terrible journal/blog writer, but I guess the lack of entries shows how much I'm enjoying my time here...which is the main thing really! So I'm back in Darfield again, which is fantastic (Sandi now reads this....I'm joking, it really is great!). Have had a few really busy days - Wednesday and Thursday morning out exploring Darfield's many sights (Tussock square, amazing local cafes, MOUNTAINS etc) and then to Christchurch to see Nic....visiting Akaroa & the Banks Peninsula, then skiing up at Porters on the Arthurs Pass road, followed by Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo (on a beautifully clear day) and then FINALLY back here in Darfield to see Sandi & family, and a trip up to Arthurs Pass village today! Saying that all in one sentence makes it sound quite epic, but in fact it really has. I've just been uploading my photos onto Facebook (have a look here and here, about 100 of them, and I've just been thinking that some just look so fake because it's all too perfect and too beautiful to look at. I'm really glad I went back to Mt Cook (in Jan 08 it was cloudy and I didn't really see it) it was a perfect weather day so the mountains and lakes were just so clear and truly amazing.

Nic has already written up about Akaroa, skiing and Mt Cook in his journal here so I'm not going to go on too much about all of that...apart from the fact that I DROVE UP A MOUNTAIN!!!! I had to drive up a gravel switchback track to Porters ski field (which most of the time you have to use a 4x4 or snow chains to use) and I'm very proud. I've got a new car by the way, Sam the Nissan, which is pretty much exactly like Nic's new car, just a bit newer. It's got annoying keys though (one opens the car, the other starts the engine) and it's a tiny bit too big for me, but hey, it's a $12 a day car so it's fantastic!!! I enjoyed skiing, though not a huge fan of the ski boots you have to wear - so heavy and I still have aches now!! I was pleased with what I managed to achieve too - going down the beginners slope upright (most of the time), turning and stopping.

The trip to Arthurs Pass village was really cool - was surrounded by mountains for much of the drive, along with lakes and crazy shaped huge rocks. The village was cute (with a nice cafe, as typical in NZ) and we decided to go on a hour return walk to Devils Punchbowl waterfall....which despite all the steps was really worth it. There was lots of snow around, much like Mt Cook, which has been surprising for me. On the way back from the village we stopped at a place you can go caving...again with views of mountains and rather strange looking rocks (much like Elephant Rocks in Otago which I visited in Jan 08).

Anyway, tomorrow I'm visiting Nic again in Christchurch after a morning in Darfield, and then returning here for the night before my long drive up to Picton via Kaikoura for my ferry at 6pm. Can't believe I've only been on the South Island for less than a week; it feels so much longer. But I'm so glad I came down here, it's been really really great. Can't believe I've only got a few weeks left, but yet at the same time I've done so much in the past 11/12 days that I'm really excited for the rest.

All my best photos are up on Facebook as before - photos are linked where I previously mentioned them - but here are a few just for now.



Ski-ing at Porters



Nic and I at Mt Cook (you can see the peak on the right hand side)



The Newbiggings and I at Devils Punchbowl waterfall, Arthurs Pass. From L-R....me! Beth, Sandi, Isaac, Phil.

Back to the South Island!! I'm in Darfield, which is a small town (pop 1500) in the Canterbury plains on the Arthur's Pass road, which leads to the ski fields in the Southern Alps. I'm staying with Sandi, who I worked with at Seaford library before she and her family moved out here to be with other relatives in April this year. It's again really sunny but pretty windy, so much so that I couldn't go skiing as planned today. A bit disappointed, but might go later on this week.

The rest of my time in Wellington (left last night) was really fun; Caroline and I used the car to get to some really remote places, mostly places I had never been before. The day after I last wrote (Friday) we had a mega road trip day and drove all the way up to Palmerston North via highway 1, visiting Massey University (biggest in NZ) which is really similar to Sussex, just not in a valley in the Downs! I got ourselves lost in Palmerston (stopping at Winchester Primary School), which seemed to be a pretty dull place (sorry Dad) and headed south from there, past NZ's biggest windfarm and through this amazing gorge with the railway on one side and the road on the other. Highway 2 all the way back down was quite uneventful until we saw signs for 'Stonehenge Aotearoa' and headed out into the sticks to find it. It was actually closed by then, but we decided to explore the deserted area nearby and actually ended up having a look at 'Stonehenge' from a hill - it was a concrete circle with pillars!!! Bizarre. Highway 2 goes through the Wairarapa, and crosses a mountain range before it reaches the Hutt Valley. By this time it was getting dark and very very windy (there was storms quite a few nights in Wellington) and driving along this road was ever so slightly scary!

Saturday we took it a bit slower, and drove out behind Churton Park to Wellington's west coast which is pretty remote but really pretty all the same. We found Makara beach which was fairly wild, and lots of windy roads. Next stop was Eastbourne, across the bay to Wellington city proper. Really sweet place, we have nice ice creams (Tip top!) here. Seatoun beach was last on the list - it's near the airport and the last place I went in NZ in 2008. We recreated some of my 'last NZ photos' which was fun.

Sunday! I was a bit ambitious and we left quite late to again cross the Wairarapa ranges and head to Wellington's most southernly point (to the right of Wellington city). I really wanted to go to Cape Palliser...though I didn't know it can only be reached by a reallllllllly long (4 hours return) windy no exit, partly gravel road! But hey, we did it anyway...and I was so glad we did!! The landscape round this area is just so alien, really windswept and empty - it reminded me of the West coast of the South island but was actually deserted. There's a lighthouse at the end, plus NZ's largest seal breeding area. From the lighthouse (250 steep steps) you can see the South island. The seals were awesome, looked so much like logs sitting by the side of the road...and then they move!

Ron the Daihutsu had to go back to the rental company on Monday morning, and so our big adventures ended. Monday was a fairly lazy day, though had to drop my bag off at the airport in the absolute pouring rain which wasn't so fun!

Now I'm in Darfield for a few days and am picking a new car up on Thursday, and then have a few days of road trips around here until my ferry back to the North next Tuesday!

I'm not going to post that many photos on here from now on mainly because I've not got much time in NZ and it seems a shame to spend so long uploading photos on here! To put them on facebook is a lot faster so have a look at some of my lower North island photos by clicking here instead!

I'm back in Wellington, home of hills and wind and also Caroline, who I hadn't seen for 16 months! It's fab to be back here and especially because today we picked up our rental car from Kaiwharawhara (Kifarafara). He is bright red, drives like a rocket and is now christened Ronny. Sadly we only have him until Monday but even so, we've had some great adventures already.

During the day the weather here is fairly good, a tiny bit chilly (14/15 degrees) and LOTS of wind...they don't call it the Windy city for nothing I tell you. We've had really big storms (as in, probably among the worst I've ever experienced, especially considering it's all single glazed windows and bedrooms practically made of tin here!!) both nights so far. But hey, as long as it's sunny during the day I'm pretty happy.

Yesterday we had an expedition to Johnsonville to go to Woolworths, the Warehouse, Civic Video for a DVD and Muffin Break (I missed big NZ muffins too much). Today started with the pickup of Ronny and a trip up Mt. Victoria for fantastic views of Wellington harbour and the first of many many hill drives! After lunch at Caroline's house we headed off to Lower Hutt, visiting yet more shops in Westfields mall (Glassons, JayJays, CottonOn, JeansWest, JustJeans!) followed by a spontaneous drive out into the suburbs, up tons of hills and finally into Belmont Regional Park. Belmont was a lovely hilly bush area, with working toilets (this is revolutionary for NZ parks, honestly) and a stream. Oh, and some great one lane hilly roads to get there. Definitely back in NZ then!!!

As soon as I finish this, we're going to ice and eat a Edmonds cake we just made...and plan a roadtrip north for tomorrow!



View from Mt. Victoria

( Click here for more photos )

Here I am, almost two years later after I first arrived in New Zealand, writing in my journal in the exact same internet cafe in Auckland!!! (Though not in the exact same seat as Nic as just pointed out). I'm so happy to be back and really excited for the next few weeks. Kuala Lumpur was a really good experience, tiring (considering I didn't get much sleep on the flight over...screaming babies etc) but really good. A few quick photos before internet time runs out :)




View from Menera KL tower, towards Petronas towers and the mall and food court we spent a lot of time in! (Nice air-con and cheap food)



Me in front of Batu Caves statue - 272 steps leading up to amazing caves with lots of Hindu shrines and WILD MONKEYS!! Really cool.



Nic loving his food (beef noodles with lots of ginger) from the KLCC mall (under Petronas towers)

Hello again! I'm writing this exactly one year and three months after flying back from New Zealand via Hong Kong and Australia. Guess what? I'm going back! On Sunday 23rd I will be flying with my brother to New Zealand again via 12 hours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I'll be visiting both islands for just under a month, primarily going to Wellington, Christchurch and Thames, and lots in between! Our flight arrives in Auckland on Tuesday 25th August, and I then fly out again, on my own while Nic continues living in Christchurch, on Sunday 20th September. Very excited and looking forward to seeing good friends again, but also trying to get prepared for somewhat colder temperatures and possible changes....watch this space for updates!

It's Tuesday so I'm offically been back in England for one full day so far, as well as some strange bewildered hours on Sunday! That day was very strange because I had to leave for the airport at just before 4am, but I couldn't sleep, so I left my guesthouse early...but without sleep it meant that by the time I got on my flight at 7.30am, I had been up for almost 24 hrs already, and had a 12 hr flight to go! Which I also couldn't sleep on. Oh dear!

I didn't do very much during my last day in Hong Kong - a bit of shopping, lots of walking and reflection. Seemed unbelieveable that 8 and a half months had passed since I got on the flight from Heathrow....but then at the same time so much has happened since then! Couldn't now imagine my life without everything that had happened - despite being in slight debt, those experiences can never be taken away from me! It was all absolutely worth it - all that saving & planning for over a year before....gosh! And now bascially over!

But arriving home was fun, opening the box I sent from Thames 4 weeks ago especially. Really glad I did that, it was a great welcome home!! As well as all my post....though it was mostly junk!

Anyway, it's really fun meeting up with people again, can't wait to see you all again! And I hope I don't bore you all with "When I was in New Zealand...." or "In Hong Kong they...."!!

The last photos of my trip!



Bungy time! This is me and the bungy instructor, Kiwi guy Tom! We talked about L&P, mince and cheese pies, Monteiths and Tui beer, and other important things!

( Click here for more photos )