30 long hours......

At the weekend I travelled from Paihia which is at the top of the North Island down to the Windy City, Wellington. I left the beautiful Bay of Islands at 130pm on Friday and arrived in Wellington at 630 am on Saturday. After getting off the coach I was met by wind and rain and I was simply not in the mood. There had been some right characters on the overnight bus from Auckland to Wellington and all the seats were taken the whole way because the final of the four nations was on in Wellington on Saturday night. So I had not slept much! Once I had found a strong cup of coffee and eaten  3 slices of bread and peanut butter I was ready to face the day! 

 

I was actually in Wellington for an audition which was super fun and I met some cool people. It felt like I was just back at uni in a new class!

 

After the audition I made my way back to the station and found a McDonald's with free WiFi and a plug point to charge my gadgets. Before I knew it, it was time to get back on the bus and make my way back to Auckland. Back on the bus but it was a much nicer ride this time as I had two seats to myself and could actually fall asleep.

 

Once in Auckland, at 630am, I found another strong cup of coffee and some more free WiFi (as a traveller you get good at spotting free WiFi) and had some breakfast before heading off to another audition. Luckily enough I managed to find the right bus (this is nothing short of a small miracle) and met a girl who was also heading to the audition. Thankfully she knew the way as I'm not sure I would have found it.

 

After the audition it was time to head back to the station and get back on a bus to Paihia. I was away from the Bay for no more than 60 hours and I spent 30 of these on buses. It's safe to say I'm using my feet to get around for the foreseeable future!

 

Ciao for Now!

Jess

xx

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot: Kiwi Style

We are now well and truly settled in to the Kiwi lifestyle in the Bay of Islands and it is now no biggy to walk to town with no shoes on, think you've had a tiring day if you walk further than the shop, or end up on the beach after a night out.

But last night was Bonfire night and in the UK we are made well aware of the dangers of fireworks. At any UK firework event there are countless members of staff in hi-vis jackets and a million and one barriers keeping you away from the fire. NOT HERE! Oh no! We heard some fireworks were going happen down on the beach so we took a stroll down there and there were several groups just setting fireworks off and a couple of bonfires. Not a hi-vis jacket in sight! Even kids were setting the fireworks off and it was no big deal.

It's interesting how health and safety have different in different cultures. No one was hurt here and everyone just had a good time!

 

In other news I've started learning French with DuoLingo. When it rains here there is very little to do so this passes the time. (Rachel's trying to learn Spanish too)

 

We now both have jobs. Rachel works in Russell (she has to get a boat to work) and I work at 35 Degrees south (which is The Waterfront in NZ).

 

We went to play Mini Golf yesterday and it was the hardest mini golf course ever!!!!!!! ( we'll bring the course plans back and enlighten the UK with a tricky course)

 

I'll Keep you posted

 

Ciao for Now

Jess

xx

A day at the Bay of Islands

It's rainy here today and so that is a good reason to write a new blog for you all. We are currently staying in Paihia which is small seaside town that is full of tourists. Most of the people who visit only stay for a few days as there isn't that much to do. Most people go on a dolphin cruise or go skydiving or parasailing. But for us, and all the other 'longtimers', we spend a lot of time just chilling out.

 

A typical day for me starts with getting up (always a good start) at 9 -930am and having a black coffee (saves on buying milk) and a kiwi. Then from 10-12 we clean the hostel and change all the beds that need to be done. (we are working for our accommodation at Bay Adventurer Hostel and Resort which means we are spending very little money!!) Then I'll have some food. Maybe some toast or noodles. After going in the shower I usually go for a walk and find a nice quiet  spot on the beach. I stayed for hours ready and playing Ukulele here the other day.....

 

 

... and I was the only person there.

 

I also  sat here.....

the views are pretty cool!

 

After a few hard hours of doing nothing I'd usually head back to the hostel and cook some dinner. Maybe some pasta or noodles (nodes are good). And then chill out with the guys with a few beers (even Rachel has started drinking beer). If it's a nice evening we'll all sit outside  and chat the night away and if it's a bit cold we'll chill whilst watching a movie. Unfortunately the hostel only has about 30 movies on their hard drive so I've seen Superbad about 20 times since being here.

 

As I said the weather is rubbish here today so everyone is just chilling in their rooms or playing board games.

 

Ciao for Now

Jess

xxxx

The Meeting of Two Seas

As part of our Kiwi Experience pass we had trip up to Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is the most northerly point in New Zealand and holds huge spiritual value to the Māori people. Many of the guys we were traveling on the Kiwi bus with were going up to the cape and so the bus picked us up from outside our hostel at 7 something am. It is a fairly long drive from the Bay of Islands but it is made a hell of lot better by the fact you get to travel along 90 mile beach.

 

The coach we travelled on is specially designed to travel on the beach and our driver played some wicked tunes as we cruised along.

 

Norman thought it was pretty cool.

 

Despites it's name 90 Mile Beach isn't actually 90 miles long. It is only 55 miles which is 90 km. One theory as to why it is called 90MB is because old traveller beloved they walked at a 30 mile a day pace and it took them 3 days to walk the length of it.

 

As we came off the beach we stopped by some sand dunes and went sand boarding which was EPIC!!!!!! It was bloody hard work getting up there though as the sand just slipped back when you stood on it.

 

Look at that bad boy:

 

From here we travelled up a stream, back inland and towards the cape. Once in side the gates of the cape we were asked not to eat or drink as it such a spiritual place of Māori's. The Māori people believe that once someone has died, their spirit travels up to the cape and then flows off of the land and in to a peaceful resting place.

 

The views from the end of Cape Reina are beautiful.......

 

 

 The Tasman Sea

 The Pacific Ocean

 

.......But it is along way from everywhere.

 

 

 

In this picture ^^^^ you can see the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meeting. The came together at the head of the cape and you can sea the difference in colour. I must admit the Tasman Sea looks a lot more appealing.

 

Our time at the cape drew to an end and to all hopped back on to the bus and went to a quiet local beach for a picnic lunch. It was beautiful and it was only our coach there. I even went in the sea (because Rachel bet me $20).

 

After lunch we headed south again and back towards the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped at a Kauri Forrest. These are the huge native trees that the Māori's built their canoes out of. Many houses if NZ are actually built of the wood. The trees now are protected as 97% of the trees were cut down and there is no way they can be replenished at the rate they were being torn down. Apparently the biggest tree in NZ could fit two coaches in length ways.

 

Here's one, but it's only small in comparison

 

We then went to see a staircases that had be carved out of the trunk of one of these huge trees! - Pretty Impressive- and then headed back to the hostel and after a busy day we were knackered so had a hot chocolate and went to bed.

 

Ciao for Now

Jess

xxxx

 

Dinner: Kiwi Style

Two nights ago we were invited back to the hostel we stayed at previously (we moved because we had the opportunity to work for our accommodation) for a smoked fish diner. Our friend Wayne had caught the fish the day before and ha managed to get hold of a smoker. We went round with our contribution to the meal, some rice, veggies and soy sauce, but we then asked to leave by the owner of the hostel as we were no longer staying there.

So Rachel and I went down to the beach and the other guys said they would meet us down there and sure enough 10 minutes later, the cavalry came round the coroner with pans of rice ad the fish in the smoker.

We chilled out all night by the beach and people came and went. A Stag Party joined us an some of them went skinny dipping and a guy with a guitar. It was a lovely night with some lovely people!

This is what memories are made of!

Ciao for Now

Jess

x

Northerly City

We wanted to get out of Auckland as soon as we could as we didn’t want to end up like the guys on our room at Base. So we headed north to the country’s most northerly city, Whangarei  (pronounces phang-a-ray or wong-a-ray). We stayed with a family who owned farm and for few hours work a day we received accommodation and food (and really good food at that). Just to the back of the main house was a little cottage which is where we stayed. We helped clear out some of the cottage and made a cool den for the children and painted the window frames.

Shirley and Ian were really nice and Shirley took us to see the local sights like Whangarei Falls and some of the local beaches. We arranged this stay through HelpX.org and would do it again as it gave us a real insight in to kiwi life.

and there's Norman on the beach....

and in the mandarin tree at the Herbert House.....

 

Ciao for now

xx

Auckland: a city like any other

After arriving in Auckland we took our pre-paid transfer to the centre of the city, found our hostel and it was all going pretty smoothly. (We stayed at Base just off Queen Street, which is located right in the centre of the city.) We were given a room and we planned to go out and have a little explore. This was not to be as, once we had found our room, we found there was only one bed free. We tried to explain to reception but they weren’t having it and after an hour of us explaining and housekeeping having a look and some members of staff displaying some not-so-fantastic attitude, we were finally assigned a much smaller and dingier room. The room had 6 beds and, in reality 4 would have been plenty. The people we shared with were nice enough but they were all living in in the room and working in Auckland, so we led different lifestyles. Which made it difficult when we wanted to get up at 8 am when they had only got in at 5. The hostel itself was ok but just a bit too big for its boots. If I had to go back to Auckland, I would not be staying at Base.

Enough of the hostel.

The city itself had a relaxed and calm atmosphere, not at all like London which, to say it’s the country’s largest city, surprised us. New Zealand has 4 million people living here and between 1/3  and ½ of those live in Auckland. Within the city there wasn’t that much to do. We went down to the harbour which was lovely but expensive and went up the Sky Tower.

 

The Sky Tower was pretty cool and offered some amazing views of Auckland. We paid only $20 to get to the top. (The usual price is $24 but it’s defiantly worth a visit). After a good look around we went to the café which is on (now don’t quote me) I think the 60^th floor. The prices here were really reasonable and we had iced coffers for $5.50. Bargain with a view!

 

Our favourite day in Auckland actually happened on an island just off of Auckland. We took a ferry to Rangitoto Island which is a dormant volcano. (It’s actually Auckland’s newest volcano and rose from the see 600 years ago.) We caught the ferry from Auckland’s port which cost around $30 and took between 20-30 minutes.

 

The beauty of this place is that once you jumped off the ferry and the ferry had left, you were alone. There was nothing else on the island apart from the people who had hopped off the ferry with you.

 

We walked and followed the signs to some ‘lava caves’. IF YOU GET THE CHANCE YOU NEED TO GO HERE!! (It was awesome, just make sure you wear good shoes and take a torch.) Once we had stumbled through a couple of dark caves we came to an opening with tree roots exposed. Here is a photo but it just does not do it justice.

 

This is a cool day out and it’s only $30 ish. Just be warned that some of the signs regarding walking time are a bit inaccurate. We walked for well over an hour trying to find a coastal path that should have taken 45 mins, before we turned back.

Our favourite evening in Auckland had to be when we went to the Rugby at Eden Park and watched Auckland Vs Waikato. We didn’t have tickets but we met some guys who did so just tagged along with them and bought ours at the stadium. We hopped on a train that cost $2 which took us right to the stadium (if you already have your ticket you don’t have to pay for the train). Once we got there the queue was short so we hopped in and paid $15 for our ticket. (I didn’t actually as a guy gave me a free ticket but that’s another story). It was a lovely night out and we even got a free flag. Winner!!!

 

Basically Auckland itself is just like any other city and it felt as though we could still be in the UK. It’s full of chains and shopping and, apart from the Sky Tower, there’s not much to do. Auckland: good for a day or two but we were glad to leave.

Ciao for now

Xx

KK, Sabah and Malaysian Borneo

After our time in KLit was time to fly over to Malaysian Borneo or, as the locals call it Sabah. Sabah is the largest region of Malaysia and  there is a bit of rivalry between those who live in Sabah and those who live on the peninsula.
We booked tour at STA travel and we couldn't believe how easy it all was. After our bags were the last to come round on the conveyer belt and we were the last out of the arrivals hall we walked out to see a man holding a sign with our name on it. He then drove us to our 3* hotel. And after hostelling, this was a lovely sight....

 

Our tour began the next day with a guided walk around the city and the spice market. Our itinary said to meet down stairs at 930am. At 940am our room phone rang and we had overslept! We chucked on some clothes and ran downstairs to meet our tour guide Dan (he's actually called Fabian, but that's a different story). Dan took us round and showed us some of the original buildings in Kota Kinabalu most of which were built after WW2 as the city was destroyed during the war. He then took us round the market and this is where I smelt Durian. Durian is a Malaysian fruit that smells vile! Dan told us a story about a Malaysian person who craved a durian whilst in the UK. He managed to find one but it ended in his university halls being evacuated because someone thought there was a gas leak. They are pretty grim!

 

On day two of the tour we had an early start and left our hotel at 730 am (we set an alarm and a wake up call). We travelled for about an hour an a half to a small market village at the 'knee' of Mount Kinabalu. Check out the view!

 

From here we wet up to Mount Kinabalu National Park where there is a garden that showcases all the plants in the park in one place. This causes less impact on the land visitors can see all the plants in one place rather than having to trek across miles of terrain to find one plant.

Here are a few cool plants native plants of Malaysia.

 

 

We also saw some dandelions and asked Dan how they got there. He said that people had brought them in on their boots over from England. They are seen as a weed over there too. NZ have very strict biodiversity laws and so, when we came in, we had to have our bags and boots checked and we got our boots cleaned to make sure we didn't bring anything harmful to the environment.

 

We stopped for buffet lunch in this idyllic setting before we climbed to the rainforest canopy to do a canopy walk.

 

 

The canopy walk was pretty spectacular! Some of the views were breath taking but we could only take one camera so look our for Rachel's photos on Facebook.

 

After we went to take a dip in the hot pools. The water is naturally warmed by tectonic activity.

 

 

 You could enter the public pools for free but we decided to rent our own Jacuzzi for RM20 (that's £4) for an hour.

 

Lovely way to finish the day!

 

Onto the third day of the tour we were taken to some lovely picture perfect islands where we snorkelled and lay in the sun. I promise these photos are real and have not been photo shopped at all.

 

The tour we booked though STA was a right bargin and great value for money. We had our own private tour guide, stayed n a lovely hotel, had some food paid for and it was just a lovely experience. I would recommend if you only have a short time to spend in one place.

 

Ciao for now

xx

Church: Kiwi Style

We are currently staying with a Kiwi family about 2 hours north of Auckland in the county’s most northerly city Whangarai (try and pronounce that :p). Shirley offered us the opportunity to go to church with her on Sunday. She said it was not like normal church and that it would be an experience as this is how the kiwi’s do it. A bit apprehensively we said we would go (we didn’t know Shirley’s daughter would be taking us out the night before) even though we are not religious.

And what an experience it was! We walked in to an old night club where a band was playing a song that could be from the charts, and people dancing. In the front there were two young guys having a fantastic time who, Shirley later told us, were the pastors. Everyone looked like they were having such a good time and there was no pressure to join in or to worship. Everyone just wanted to be there. After the song had finished the two pastors led some talks that were actually quite interesting and the second talk grabbed my attention particularly as it reminded me of my dissertation. He began talking about the second coming of Christ and how many churches teach about the warnings. He complete turned their teachings on their head and analysed the bible in a different way that proved to be really interesting.

The service ended with the band playing some music and it really was breath taking how everyone came together to celebrate their beliefs. It felt like a family.

Ciao for now

X

Clubbing: Kiwi Style

On our second night in Auckland we decided to go or a few drinks in Globe bar, just downstairs from our hostel. We had free drinks vouchers and it was double your money so I handed in my $15 and got $30 to spend on drinks. Cider was $8 a pint (a NZ pint is smaller hat an UK pint too, so it’s pretty pricey!) We were only going for a few so were just chilling in out jeans and flip flops. Before we knew it was 2 am and we had found 2 English, 1 Dutch and 1 French Canadian friend and the jugs of cider and shots of Jaeger just kept of rolling! After a fire alarm, evacuation and our Dutch friend being kicked out, we found ourselves heading back upstairs to our room. I guess that’s how it’s done!

Ciao for now

X

"you've even got a window"

We're all here safe and sound in Auckland and after a bit of a mess around with the rooms we were finally directed to the room we would be staying in. We opened the door and were met by a member of the house keeping team who enthusiastically told us that we even had a window. She was so pleased to announce this bit of information and it just made us laugh.

 

Blog about Malaysian Borneo to come.......

 

Ciao for Now!

The big KL!

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia has a population of 1.5 million but despite this there is a relaxed and layed back pace of life. The locals are really friendly and will always be happy to help you (especially if you look lost). Several times locals had pointed us in the right direction and helped us get to grip with the transport links in the city. We travelled mainly by train and monorail which was really cheap and simple when you got the hang of it. You pay for each journey individually and are given a token which acts as your ticket. All the transport is clean and well looked after.

 

Our first night we stayed at BackHome which is near Masid Jamek, a main transport hub. Very nice and open plan. We then moved to PODs Backpackers home which was conveniently located near KL Sentral and had a much more chilled out vibe and seemed less like a party destination. Which suited us just fine! We shared a four bed female dorm and met some lovely ladies who shared their travel experiences with us.

 

The food here is super cheap and although Rachel is sometimes a bit of a fussy eater, we had no problem finding stuff to eat. China town's food is good quality and cheep and comes out super quick. A typical meal for us would cost about RM20-40 (which is way less than £10 for us both.)

 

We tired his yummy coconut ice cream too!!!

 

 

We saw the usual sights:

The Patronas Towers

 

 

 

 

KL Tower

 

China Town

 



 

The Royal Palace

 

Central Market

 

Most of this we saw on the KL Hop on Hop Off bus which took us around the city to the major landmarks. Is cost something like £5 with a student card.

 

We also went to Batu Caves which is a half hour train ride out of the city. It cost RM2 each way on KTM Kommuter train and entry was free.

 

 

It looks pretty spectacular from the outside and the gold statue has a real presence. However, once you have hauled yourself  up the mountain of steps

it feels like a bit of a let down. The temple is inside some amazing caves which also seems to house a lot of junk. The temple is surrounded by discarded plastic bottles and old chairs and broken tables. I think they have tried to commercialize something that was meant to be holy and they could have left it in it's former beauty.

I would still recommend a vist though as it is a good half day out away form the city.

 

KL is home to the world largest in-flight Aviary which cost less than RM 50 to get in (that's less than £10). Again is a really cool half day our and you many colourful and interesting birds.

 

 

Norman even managed to find some of his friends....

 

 

However our favourite things has god to be the secret walk we found though Bukit Nanas (the original rainforest in KL city centre) up to KL tower. We stumbled upon it kind of by accident as it was a bit off the beaten path. We took some steps that seemed to be hidden behind what used to be a café, near the exit of Bukit Nanas monorail station and it took us up high above the city. After about 10/15 minute assent, and getting very sweaty, there was an opening with a stage and seating.

 

 

 

We continued on and found these bridges which were hung above the ground and took us up through the rain forest. We were the only people around the entire time and thought it was such a shame noone else was here to experience a hidden hem right in the middle of the city.

 

 Once we got to the top we realise it brought us out at the base of KL Tower which we found was the most touristy spot of the city. Most of the city has retained it's culture yet KL tower

 seemed a bit westernized and felt, to us, a little out of place. This is where we came out ....

.... it such a shame that this hidden hem is hidden away!!!

 

Although a large city, we both felt safe and in control in KL and would recommend t to anyone who wants to visit Asia.

 

Ciao for now.

xxx