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phileasdogg

74 Blog Entries
1 Trip
26 Photos

Trips:

Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs

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Home from home

Paihia, New Zealand

Since KP had to work for the few days before Christmas, thought I´d head up to the Bay of Islands for a bit of time out on the water. Sun, swimming, sailing, snorkelling, kayaking etc. All very relaxing and enjoyable. Big mistake. It was OK when I arrived in mid-afternoon. Caught the ferry over to Russell (NZ´s oldest white settlement and first capital) and had a look round there which was all very nice. But the next morning woke up to find low grey cloud and persistent drizzle. Very English weather. And it didn´t stop all...sodding...day. So replace sailing and snorkelling with reading and DVDs. Which didn´t really justify a 6-hour bus ride each way. I could have done that in KP´s flat! So the NZ ´summer´weather has succeeded in ruining Milford Sound, Tongariro Crossing and Bay of Islands which according to my Rough Guide are 3 of the best things about New Zealand. Great! Santiago here I come...

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 24, 2008 from Paihia, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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People. Weird.

Auckland, New Zealand

Back to Auckland on Saturday - KP has to go back to work on Monday. I felt a bit like a prisoner who's been in solitary confinement for a month coming out, blinded by the light and unfamiliar with social interaction. Because there's quite a lot of people here. We had to wait at junctions before pulling out. I even had to queue at a bar for a drink. Strange. And it doesn't feel like we're in a 1980s time warp here. Went out in the evening with KP's flatmate, and met up with Geddington CC's former overseas professional Brad and his wife, who invited us over for brunch on Xmas Day.

Also met up with my mum's cousin who has done a load of research into our family history. There's all sorts in there, including convicts and bounders, aristocrats and (possibly) royalty. But of most interest is the large amount of cash and country manors there seemed to be in the family 100-200 years ago. Where the hell have they gone? Why am I still working for a living? (Not that I am right now, but you get the point). Who's squandered the loot?

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 20, 2008 from Auckland, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Snappers. Small ones.

Whitianga, New Zealand

At last. A couple of days that could be classified as summer. In succession. We're up in the Coromandel Peninsula which is a very attractive area filled with bays, quiet beaches and forest that the whole of Auckland descends on in January. So we decided to go out for a spot of fishing in the bay, courtesy of local man Roy, a septuagenarian who clearly enjoyed his catches, and frankly looked like he might keel over at some point. So having established which was the emergency radio channel, he took us out to a few spots that were "reliable" for fish, and over the course of the next 3 hours, KP and I managed to bag the sum total of one small snapper each, both well below the minimum permitted catch size. Fishermen we are not. But nevertheless it was good to get out on the water for an afternoon, and even better that Roy managed to get us back to shore with his heart still ticking.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 19, 2008 from Whitianga, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Golf and parachutes

Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo is a nice town, kind of like the Queenstown of the north island. Huge lake in the middle, and not quite as mountainous as Queenstown, but still pretty rugged terrain around. KP came here a few weeks ago and managed to get himself to the edge of a bungee platform but no further. However, he clearly remembers the town more for the golf challenge, a floating platform about 150 yards out into the lake with a hole in it that you have to try to send a ball into from the shore. In spite of the impossibility of this task, it didn't stop him from pulling in every time we passed it to send 10 balls into the water, including one occasion where it was blowing such a gale that even the proprietor suggested that "you might be lucky to hit the platform today mate".

Anyway, Taupo is also the skydiving capital of New Zealand, and for some strange reason, I saw fit to hurl myself out of a perfectly good aircraft at 15,000ft strapped to someone else who thankfully seemed to know more about the art of opening a parachute than I did. It was great fun, although the 60 seconds of freefall went in a flash. And the view of the lake and surrounding countryside from that angle is incredible.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 18, 2008 from Taupo, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Weather issues

Waiouru, New Zealand

The plan today was to do the Tongariro Crossing, supposedly the best one-day hike in NZ, and judging from the photos, a pretty spectacular one around volcano craters and Bright blue pools. So we got dropped at one end of the trail and set off in sunshine. But as we climbed the edge of the volcano the mist started to descend and the winds got up. Then about 2-3 hours in we hit a Ridge between two craters where the wind was whistling across at about 40mph. Everyone on the trail ground to a halt for about 20 mins hoping it would clear, but to no avail. And as nobody was prepared to be the Guinea pig and see if they could make it across in one piece, we had to decide that discretion was the better part of valour and go back the way we'd come. Which was a bit of a sod as all the best scenery was on the second half of the trail! I've got to say that considering this is supposed to be summer, the weather out here has been bloody awful. If you were leaving the UK to escape the weather there, I wouldn't be heading to NZ - it's exactly the same here.

So onwards to Lake Taupo, where hopefully we'll get better weather, and might even see more than 5 people in a pub at one time.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 16, 2008 from Waiouru, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Ghost town

Napier, New Zealand

Had a fairly long drive up the east coast yesterday to Napier, a city that was flattened by an earthquake in 1931, and has subsequently reinvented itself as "the world's leading art deco city" as a result of the rebuilding style. I don't know whether they're expecting another earthquake imminently, but there was nobody here as we drove into town. We expected to see tumbleweeds blowing across the road and saloon doors swinging in the breeze. Even when we went out for dinner there was nobody bar a couple of waitresses in any of the restaurants. But in spite of that all accommodation options seemed to be fully booked. Very strange. So we ended up staying in Napier Prison, which thankfully has been converted to lodgings now. Although sleeping in a cell less than 20 metres from where 4 people were hanged didn't make for the most peaceful night's sleep. Anyway, it is the most architecturally attractive town I've seen in NZ, not that it's got any stiff competition for that mantle.

Hired some bikes this morning and headed out round some of the Hawke's Bay wine estates to sample their wares. At the first place we visited, it didn't take our host long to figure out we were no connoisseurs but did know our cricket and rugby, so he proceeded to regale us with tales of his playing days, and how many famous sportsmen he knew etc. Thankfully accompanied by several wines. The bikes weren't looking such a good idea. But managed to wobble our way around another 3 estates.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 14, 2008 from Napier, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Windy Welly

Wellington, New Zealand

Came across to Wellington on the ferry a couple of days ago. The journey out of Picton through the Marlborough Sounds is beautiful. And I've finally found somewhere in New Zealand that has a bit of dynamism and vibrancy to it (admittedly that's what people normally come here to get away from). Although Auckland is the commercial centre of NZ, Wellington is its cultural capital, and it's got a nice feel to it - some cool bars and cafes, a nice waterfront strip. Still can't get a sit-down meal between 2pm and 6pm though. NZ opening hours are a bit archaic!

Met up with Sophie a couple of days ago, an ex-colleague from Leo Burnett, and she showed me round the sights of Welly accompanied by 9-week-old Monty. Then the legend that is Keith Graham Potter arrived from Auckland yesterday, so we hit the city bars and pubs for a Saturday night out, NZ-stylee. From what I can remember it was a highly entertaining evening. We've now got 8 days to do the north island before KP has to be back at work, so it's back on the road today - after bussing round the south island, it's good to have a more flexible transport option. And a chauffeur to boot. Music selection is poor though - he's only got 6 CDs, 3 of which are 'Best of 80s'. Not good.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 12, 2008 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Repetition

Picton, New Zealand

Hmm, these blog entries are starting to get a bit repetitive. Travel somewhere, admire scenery via foot/bike/kayak, move on. I guess that's the thing with NZ - beautiful country though it is, there's not a great deal beyond that. And because I've been doing the south island on my own, I haven't got any particularly amusing anecdotes about fellow travellers either, because you only really have time to talk to people long enough to establish country of origin, time away from home, places visited/to visit, and a few other bits and pieces. Anyway, that'll all change when I meet up with KP in Wellington to tour the north island - he's always good value for a few stories.

So Picton was my last stop in the north island. Just time for a day's mountain biking on the Queen Charlotte Track before jumping on the ferry. It was great biking though, with some great single-track downhills (obviously preceded by rather unpleasant climbs).

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 9, 2008 from Picton, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Horatio

Nelson, New Zealand

Looong day's drive to Nelson in the north-west of the north island, gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. Pretty rubbish weather, but went out for a day of kayaking round the coast followed by trekking along the coastal path anyway, which was all very good. Although my knees are giving me a bit of grief - don't think they've fully recovered from the 2-day bike ride a couple of weeks ago. Ageing, it's a terrible thing.

There seem to be an inordinate number of Germans in New Zealand at the moment. Even a German guy said to me that Germany must be empty at the moment. Not that it's a big problem, they're not strutting around barking orders, and most of them seem to be travelling in buses rather than Panzers, it's just a bit of a change from the usual travelling crowd of Brits, Aussies and Americans.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 7, 2008 from Nelson, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Ice cubes

Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

One of the problems with NZ being a fairly large, mountainous country with not many people is that public transport doesn't run especially frequently. So even though it's only quite a short distance as the crow flies, it's taken me two days to get from Te Anau to Franz Josef, via Queenstown. The plus side is that the 8-hour coach ride from Queenstown to Franz Josef was a beautiful drive up the west coast past mountains, lakes and rainforests. And the coach driver gives a running commentary, and makes regular stops for photo opportunities. Can't really seeing that happening on the National Express from London to Newcastle - "and if you look to your left you can see a Moto Services, famous for being the site of the first Little Chef in England..."

I'm now in Glacier country, and spent the day out at Franz Josef Glacier. Recent rain meant I couldn't hike on it, but it was pretty impressive just to walk up to the face of it. Apparently it's very unusual to get a Glacier in a temperate, rainforest-heavy landscape, but it makes for a spectacular sight. They've had 3 water surges in the past 10 days, where a build-up of water bursts through the front of the Glacier, so our guide was a bit nervous, but you get about 10 minutes warning between a booming sound and the water coming through, so there's enough time to get to higher ground. Nothing happened anyway.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on December 5, 2008 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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