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The Hulk goes Down Under!
a travel blog by
The Hulk
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Lake Mahinapua and the legendary Poo Party!
Hokitika
,
New Zealand
Early rise this morning as we had a walk along the coast on the cards. It was a short drive down the coast to Cape Foulwind where we were to begin the stroll. The cape is a beautiful spot and is the furthest western part of New Zealand, it also has a large colony of Fur Seals and it is their pleasant odour that gives the place its name!!
Tauranga Bay
The walk took us along the cliff tops of the cape and round to Tauranga Bay. After Bodhi our driver telling us that it was about a 30min walk, 2hrs later we arrived at the bay to find him surfing his ass off and having a good time in the sea.. Despite the length of the walk it was really enjoyable, the views were really nice and it was good to get out of the bus and have some fresh air, despite the seals!!
Cape Foulwind
Tauranga Bay.... again.
Once everyone had made their way round the bay to the bus we headed off on the amazing State Highway 6 again. The landscape contantly changes along this brilliant stretch of road and from the Scottish looking scenery of Cape Foulwind and Tauranga Bay into the Hawaiian looking coastline of the Paparoa National Park and Punakaiki (Poo-na-kai-key).
Irimahuwhero Viewpoint (easy for you to say!!)
It was in Punakaiki where we stopped off for a bit of lunch and a walk down to the Pancake rocks. Some of the rock formations are really cool and along with the beautiful coastline I couldnt help myself but fire off yet more piccies!! Beacause of my tight schedule I was a bit disappointed I didnt have time to stop off but it is definately somewhere I'd want to come back to.
Pancake Rocks
Upon getting back on the bus Bodhi advised us that tonight, along with the BBQ, there was going to be a fancy dress party.... mmmm, that should be interesting. We would have 1hr in Greymouth our next stop to get anything we needed. Thinking caps were on!!
After much thought and upon seeing a Bob the Builder helmet in the kiddies section of the local Target Store my mind was made up..
Lake Mahinapua
Tonight we were staying at what can only be described as the legendary Lake Mahinapua Hotel, owned by the even more legendary Les. The place isnt very much to look at but it is one of the funniest nights off my entire travels if not the wierdest!! Les is the landlord and owner of the hotel and i reckon he has been around since biblical times!! As you can see from the picture he has certainly got character.
Les the Legend
The meal was really, really good and due to me being a big lad Les kept piling my plate with more and more venison. I wasnt complaning coz it was some of the best food I'd had in 6mnths..
After the food was done and dusted I took a walk down to the lake on my own to walk off some of the food and make way for the copious amounts of beer and other alcoholic beverages that were to be consumed later. The lake itself has great views was really quiet and it was nice to have a bit of "me" time. It was then back to the hotel to get ready with the fancy dress and party time.
Some of the fancy dress ideas were strange to say the least, there were 6 gimps, numerous prostitutes, drug dealers, policewomen and some I have no idea what they were!! Make up your own mind by looking at the piccies!! After all the drinking was over and the gimp off (dont ask!) was finished a few of us headed down to the lake, all be it a little worse for wear to check out the glow worms. Amazing little things if not a real bugger to find..
eh...eh......ehhhhhhh!!!
Bring out the Gimps!
written by
The Hulk
on April 11, 2007
from
Hokitika
,
New Zealand
from the travel blog:
The Hulk goes Down Under!
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Jet Boating
Westport
,
New Zealand
After leaving sunny
Nelson
we headed inland across to the west coast and the town of
Westport
. On the way we passed through the
Nelson
Lakes National Park and stopped off for a bit of lunch at the beautiful Lake Rotoiti. The only thing to spoil the whole experience was the first meeting with the lovely NZ sandflies. They are like a mix of fruit flies with mosquitoes! Nasty little b'stards...
Lake Rotoiti
From the lake we headed through some amazing countryside and on to Buller Gorge. Not suprising when this stretch of road is ranked in the top ten best drives in the world!!
Once in the gorge its time for some jet boating again. After being kitted out with all the gear, waterproofs, goggles, buoyancy aids etc we headed out for the boat with our driver Kane. It has to be said, it was really good fun but not as enjoyable as it was in
Sydney
for my B'day. The driver in
Sydney
was a little bit more mental, there were bigger waves, we got soaked and it was much longer. When both groups had gone out in the boats it was time to head into
Westport
our destination for the night.
Florian and me ready for action!
Despite the beautiful surroundings
Westport
could only be described as a "hole!". It is pretty small and consisted of one street, large playing fields and a supermarket. Despite my previous comments it took us 15/20 mins to find the said supermarket as we turned left on the one street instead of right!! Ooops.. After a fairly average pasta meal washed down with a few stubbies it was time for bed. Not much else to do!! Lake Mahinapua here we come...
written by
The Hulk
on April 11, 2007
from
Westport
,
New Zealand
from the travel blog:
The Hulk goes Down Under!
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Wild Boars and Helicopters
Franz Josef Glacier
,
New Zealand
With some very sore heads in the group it was time to thank Les for his hospitality and head off into the mountains to our next destination Franz Josef. First port of call was Pukekura and the Bushman Centre. The centre itself is run by some bloke who used to catch wild deer on the surrounding mountains and hills by jumping out of a helicopter! He was also a bit of a knob!! After watching a film of people shooting and jumping on deer to the Top Gun theme tune I drew the short straw and had to get in and feed a massive Wild Boar by hand. Not something I particularly enjoyed after seeing Hannibal the film where they are trained to eat human flesh!!
Once we had finished our feeding the possums and stuffing ourselves with brekkie we headed off in the now really warm sunny day and left the wierd kiwi bushmen to themselves. Next on the agenda was a walk up to a viewpoint at Okarito through rainforest. Yet again Bodhi did his usual of telling us it was a 30/40 minute walk. What he didnt say was it was 30/40 mins each way!! He even covered up the signs with his t-shirt! It was a really nice walk despite the suprising heat and the views from the top were quality and you could get a full 360 degree view which included Mt.Cook and the Franz Josef Glacier our destination for today. What wasnt too good was the fact that I was sweating so much it looked like i'd jumped in a swimming pool! Thankfully I wasnt the only one. The walk down was alot easier and I managed to cool off before we got back down to the bottom where we had lunch and fannied around on the beach for an hour or so catching a few welcome rays. Not something I expected to do in NZ!
Over the rainforest to Mt.Cook
It was now off to Franz Josef village to book our trips for tomorrow. The choices being, a half or full day hike up the glacier or a HeliHike. Despite the expense I didnt think there was a decision to be made and went for the HeliHike, sod it you only live once! Once we had booked in and got all the arrangements sorted it was off to the hostel to for dinner, a few drinks, a couple of games of pool then to bed praying for the weather to be clear the next day.....
After a bit of cloudy morning the weather started to break just as we were heading to the meeting point. Because I'd chosen to do the HeliHike I got a nice lie-in in the morning and didnt have to get out of bed till 10.30! Everyone else in my dorm were doing the full day hike and had to meet up at about 7.30! Ha ha ha... You could now see all the way up the valley to the glacier and mountains behind! Once we were all kitted out with our jackets, socks, boots and crampons it was time to head to the helipad. Being afraid of heights and never having been in a helicopter I have to admit I was on the verge of wetting my shorts. Once in the chopper I all my nerves disappeared and the ride up the glacier was one of the best experiences of my travels. Despite the pilot throwing it around like a mad man the views were absolutely amazing and I had a stupidly big smile on my face. Being worried about weeing myself with fright was quickly replaced by the fear of weeing myself with excitement!!!
The 15/20 minute ride took us up to the top of the glacier and around then we were dropped off about half way up to start our trek. Our guide for the couple of hours we were to spend up there was only 18yrs old!! There are no paths or tracks to follow, the routes you take are cut out of the fresh ice by the guide with an ice axe. Dozy arse me was the first person to take a tumble as I was carefully making my way up away from the landing area. I soon learnt that the more confident and quicker you got, the safer and easier it
was as the crampons got more of a grip and you maintained your balance. By the end I was like Stallone in "Cliffhanger" jumping across crevasses and running about like a loon.. Some of the others in the group didn't cope as well and were scared shitless for most of the trek pottering around sliding and slipping all over the shop!! It is really hard to get perspective while on the glacier as everything is so huge. Something that looks like a little overhang of ice is in fact a 100ft cliff face!
The 2 and a half hrs seemed to fly by in no time and it was time to catch the chopper back down to Franz Josef township. I had the window seat on the way up so I decided to let Jimmy have my place on the way back down. Having initially been thankful of my kind jesture he wasnt too keen when we hit a bit of turbulence and the door was wobbling so much it looked like it was going to fall off!!
Thankfully the helicopter stayed in one piece and we headed out for a bite to eat then back to the hostel for a bit of a power nap to prepare ourselves for a bit of a session on the beers to crown a very, very enjoyable day!!
written by
The Hulk
on April 12, 2007
from
Franz Josef Glacier
,
New Zealand
from the travel blog:
The Hulk goes Down Under!
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Picture overload and the lovely Wanaka
Haast
,
New Zealand
After 2 days in Franz Josef it was an early start, not particularly easy after having only got to bed at about 3am!! Not one to sleep on the bus today was going to be hard work....It was time to head further inland and across the Southern Alps.
First stop of the day and the reason for the early rise was Lake Matheson. The morning was fairly misty but the mountains were clear and after being dropped off we headed off into the woods to find the lake. After to 15/20min walk we came to a little jetty on the banks of the water and beyond that one of the best views ive ever seen!
First Viewpoint
Once everyone had got their fill of piccies they all headed back to the cafe to get some brekkie. Me on the other hand had the urge to walk round the lake as there was another viewpoint on the other bank which looked to be in a better position. It was only half way round the lake on the 1hr 15min walk that I realised I didnt have a watch and had no idea what time the bus was leaving!! Add to this, the fact that it was starting to get pretty warm and the track wasn't particulary put together for people jogging round with flip flops (jangles to the kiwi's). It has to be said I started to poo myself!! The sweat was starting to flow and my feet were hurting. I must have looked like a right peanut to all the Derby and Joan's that I was meeting going in either direction, some of them even making witty comments as I passed them!!
Now THAT is a view!!
Much to my relief the view from the other viewpoint was absolutely amazing, considerably better than the first and fully justified me looking like a plum.... Dodging the amused OAP's I darted down to the front of the jetty and fired off about a hundred piccies then as quickly as I arrived buggered off back down the track.. With my camera fully loaded I upped the pace and made my way to the cafe and waiting bus stopping occaisionally to snap a couple more piccies as the landscape was as breathtaking as my jogging!!
Looking like a right sweaty mess I got back to the cafe and found everyone still sat round having breakfast. I sat down with the lads and asked them when the bus was leaving, after they stopped laughing at the state I was in they said it wasn't leaving for another 20mins! BUM!! Once the sweating had ceased I got a sausage roll and drink and got back on the bus..
From Lake Matheson we headed away from the coast through the town of Haast and over the Haast Pass, one of only 3 roads that cross the Southern Alps. Yet again the scenery is amazing and we stopped a number of times to get a look at some of the waterfalls and
Random Waterfall
other stuff. Once over the top we headed down into the province of Otago and Mt Aspiring National Park where Wanaka is to be found.
Otago's Dingle Burn Range
Wanaka is a cool little town and is fairly busy all year round. In the summer there are loads of water based activities to do on the lake and in the winter it is a major skiing and snow boarding resort. Due again to my tight schedule i only had time for one nights stay. After a free BBQ and a few beers we headed back to our room and watched Lord of the Rings which was on the hostels movie channel (when in Rome!)....
written by
The Hulk
on April 16, 2007
from
Haast
,
New Zealand
from the travel blog:
The Hulk goes Down Under!
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Queenstown: Extreme sports and extreme drinking!!
Queensbury
,
New Zealand
After a good nights sleep it was back on the bus for a little drive to the outskirts of Wanaka where we were to visit Puzzling World. It pretty much speaks for itself and is like a museum with loads of puzzles, brain teasers and funny mirrored rooms. After about an hour of fannying around and a bit of breakfast it was time to head out and make our way to the amazing Queenstown..
Puzzling World, Wanaka
The journey between Wanaka and Queenstown takes you from the fruit picking and winery area through to some pretty baron and rugged terrain. After stopping off just outside Cromwell to stock up on some amazing fresh fruit and ice creams we made our way down the Kawarau Gorge. The gorge is home to all sorts of water based extreme sports from white water rafting to river boarding. However its most famous for one thing BUNGEE!!! Kawarau Bridge is home to the worlds first commercially operated bungee jump run by Kiwi loon AJ Hackett.
It is with great embarrassment that I have to tell you that I didn't actually do a jump and is the biggest regret of my whole trip! Having seen loads of others from our bus do it and really enjoy it I felt like I missed out. Oh well, just means i'll have to go back!!! With me wimping out I took on the role of designated photographer.
From The K Bridge we headed onto Queenstown where i would be spending the next few day before heading round the remote southern tip of the south island. As we arrived into Q'town Bodhi told us of an interesting challenge that all is bus loads take. With this being the last night when everyone on the bus would be together we were all up for a bit of a laugh. The task infront of us was the Jagerbomb Challenge,
written by
The Hulk
on April 17, 2007
from
Queensbury
,
New Zealand
from the travel blog:
The Hulk goes Down Under!
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