Fun And Games

After the stress of the previous course I took a day off to go get loosed in the mountains. Talking to the other guys they had suggested a day trip up MT Lebanon as a nice day trip, only a bit over 2000meters above sea level. So on the morning of the 4^th me and Sanele woke early and embarked on our little stole. Going up wasn’t as bad as expected and at the peak we were treated to a fly by from the cape vultures. It was a rather awesome experience to be sitting about these birds watching the flock of about 30 fly beneath us and begin to circle. We then pushed on to the beacon stopping to fill up on some good old mountain spring water. Once at the beacon the top of the mountain become a bit thin but this allowed for spectacular views of the country side below. On our way back we bumped into a heard of buck and some baboons, before eventually making our way back to base meeting a few more creepy crawlies on the way. The following day was quite the contrast as I was on standby meaning I had to feed the cranes in the morning and sit around waiting for something to happen. But on the 6^th it was business as normal with a course of 96 boys coming. For this course I was assigned a group for the whole time and luckily I had quite a good enthusiastic group. So for the forest exploration we had good fun climbing up the river, followed by a good game of stalk the lantern. After all this I was ready for bed but just as I was about to head off there was this almighty bagging on the roof. Personally I was happy to stay inside and to leave what ever was on the roof to its own business. But the others weren’t so there we were at 2300 running round the house, Sanele in his boxers with a stick, matt with his damaged wrist from an earlier accident and myself armed with the mop looking for whatever made this noise. But as you can tell nothing ate us and whatever it was had gone so it was finally time for bed. A morning of wall climbing followed by some bunda bashing (wild walking) on the way to bushman paintings in the scorching heat, must have been around 35^o, but no one died and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves so it was all good. In the evening it was another night of stalk the lantern.  The following day was rather hectic up early to pick up the ladies before starting on the days activities but these were cut short by the mother of all thunderstorms, which put a stop to all proceedings, then in the evening I had to try and get 96boys into and to shut up before I could go to sleep. But the rat in my room had other plans but not been in the mood for a rat in my room I called matt and Geoff and with stick, spear and bin we managed to chase it away. The following day the course left and down at the office I met a baby crown crane. The crane decided it liked me so for the day I was on crane sitting duty, trying to teach it to forage and that it wasn’t a human, you know the standard. In the evening the daddy of all storms hit making yesterdays seem like a wee breeze.  Me and mat were just chilling outside watching the storm role in when I looked behind me and too my horror saw that it was also approaching from behind and we could see the rain falling ever closer, so we grabbed our chairs and raced for cover and just as we got under the porch the crash of rain on a tin roof arrived. For the next hour or so we watching and listened to the thunder and lighting crash through the valley. In the gap of the storm we went in search of the hit tree but failed to find it but the paths ran like rivers with the fresh rainfall. The following day I was meant to have off but as the only qualified driver left on sight I was called in to be support for the course. The basically met a day of driving. I had to get a bus onto the tar road, me the experienced off roader was supposed to pull the bus out if it got stuck. Luckily the bus didn’t get stuck so it was all good. When I got back I then had to drive the boss and his wife to the tar road to pick up another car. No pressure Jonny. Then in the afternoon I had to drive and drop the calf carcass off at a neighbouring far. It will only be a short drive to the house I though. Wrong it was a proper off-roading session over big rocks and river you know the stuff, to what I though was the drop off sight. However upon returning was told I had put the dead cow in the camp sight. But in the evening we had another bonfire to chill in front of so its all good. The next day I spent cleaning the mud I had plashed all over the off before enjoying my first proper evening off, oh it felt good to put my feet up.

The Bus Driver, The Sympathiser And The Fat One

There’s always one teacher in every school that a bit of a hypocrite, the one that’s just blames others for all their mistakes, the one that’s so old they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a kid. Well I was about to meet this one such person who would make the next course the toughest one yet. After my course left we had a days planning before they arrived. This was to be our first educational course and to help matters the teacher coming was meant to be quite the hand full. Well on the course day they arrived (2hrs late) and I met the fat one, at first not appearing to be too bad just a bit snooty, so the first day went off without a hitch. The following day was an early start as I had to drive to the next village to collect the cooks. After breakfast it was off to do an educational hike round the forest and plantation. This was going fine until we arrived at the forest and the fat one insisted that the other group not visit the plantation. So to avoid giving our group an unfair advantage we just took then on an exploration of the forest, climbing up waterfalls and so on, much more fun than any study sheet. After the mornings slight hiccup the rest of the day was plan sailing. Doing GDs and Obstacle course was fine, but this group has to be by far the worst and least organised team. In the evening I was called out on an emergency supply run, fetching medication from one neighbour to give to the other; although it turned out to not really be an emergency at all. However it was a good excuse to go for a drive and practise on dirt road in the poring rain, a lot of counter steering was done. Night duty was painful, the kids were kept up till 2300hrs doing work in silence whiles been pumped full of sweets and hot chocolate, so when the work was done it was no wonder they didn’t want to go to sleep. But after a painful hour of pleading with them to go to sleep I final got them all in bed and could get some sleep myself. The next day I was fetching the ladies again and I learnt along the way that I couldn’t really drive and drink coffee at the same time. After breakfast it was off to do a small environmental trail, but the fat one had other plans insisting on a full ecology talk and then a trip too the bushman paintings. Well there was just not enough time for this and by the time magic waterfall had been added to the wish list we arrived back at camp 2hrs 30mins late with some very hungry kids. Back at camp I was called out on another errand to fetch the missing potji pot before re-joining the group to do a crane tour. The rest of the day went smoothly after this and we made a big fire with flames taller than me to celebrate the last night. Round the fire we made stick bread and the sympathiser reassured us that we had done a good job and reminded us that we only had to spend 4 days with the fat one. The last day, it was nearly all over but there was still time for a few more dramas. Firstly my alarm not going off so I was late picking up the ladies but luckily it was an easy meal to prepare so breakfast wasn’t delayed. Then we were demanded to put on the Entabeni Olympics so we did so before doing the final prizing giving session, but it’s not over till the fat lady sings and she demanded more work be done. So we waited patiently outside with the now nervous bus driver (there was a group at 1300 to pick up and right now it looked like it was going to be a late pick up) who had been good company waiting for them to finally GO!

Calm And The Storme

After all the existent of the first few weeks I needed a break or at the least a couple of chilled days. Luckily for me that’s exactly what was in line for me, boring days in the office. After being here a bit less than 2 week I had been deemed capable of running a course so on the23rd I started the 8-5shifts, (sorry dolly we start at 8 not 9). The first day wasn’t too bad I had a few things to plan, such as what on earth I was going to do with 28kids for 2 days and what they were going to eat. But after at most the first 2 hours had gone by this was pretty much sorted. So for the rest of the day I spoke to the cranes. Oh yer, the sight has a crane sanctuary on, of which the have the grey crowned crane, the wattle cane and the blue crane, all 3 of SA cranes. The following day the office life was getting to me but luckily in a strange twist of fate having no food turned out to be a good thing. It meant I had to go into the not so beating heart of Mooi River for a few supplies. As you can probably guess from the pervious sentence this was uneventful, buying rice was the highlight of the trp. On the 25th it was the same old torture so after ‘work’, I went for a run. My first proper run in far too long but it felt good to stretch my legs. What wasn’t so good was the lack of water in the shower. But TIA, so we went in trough the bathroom window of the neighbour empty teacher’s cottage and after waiting for the boil to heat up had a warmish shower. A day of absolute boredom follow then on the 27th my predicament was lifted as I had work to do, preparing all the last minute details for the courses arrival. Finally I had something to do on Saturday the course arrived and in the morning I had roads to check, keys to drop off, people to pick up at the office then a second trip to pick up what we’d forgotten. Id started early but after all these check it was 10 and they were due to arrive any minute. Upon arrival it became evident that these weren’t 8th graders as id been expecting but a mix from 7th to 12th, but never mind the show must go on. The course got off to a good start and apart from a quick jog and drive to pick up some keys which had gone walk about the day went smoothly and after a marvellous game of stalk the lantern and a campfire I went to bed a satisfied chap. But there’s no time for rest round hear as I was up at 0530 to pick up the laddies (our cooks) from the nearest settlement. After this early start I took my fist trip up to abseil rock where I was at a bit of a loose end not know what to do, but I enjoyed the view and got to see some baboons from a far. After a morning of abseiling I was down for lunch a quick crane tour then goodbye to my first group which had a fascination with my “adorable English accent”. As there were still plenty of daylight hours left we requested permission to drive to the nearest township to get some essential supplies (beer). But after hours of waiting were heard nothing so I went to drop off the car. It was then that I bumped into the boss who was looking for me thinking id driven off. Thanks to the marvellous of modern technology I had been given permission hours ago but the text never reached me. Once that predicament had been sorted I hit the road with the crew and went for a drive to one of South Africa’s finest establishments. NOT. Townships aren’t really the place to be at the best of times, so a Sunday at dusk wouldn’t be advised. Well at least not by any tour book, but me, it was fine, just don’t be a dick and you won’t get in the…trouble. So Sunday evening was spent relaxing and celebrating a successful course.

MEDIC!!!

It seems you don’t need something until you have it. For example before mobile phones we were fine but now we all need then or a new smoothie machine you never needed on but now you’ve got it everyday your having smoothies for breakfast, or a lv 2 first aid certificate. After the course had left my wish for sleep was not granted instead I had 2 and a half days of intense first aid training lined up. On the 16^th pretty much straight after the course leaving we also left for town, stopping to fix the car with a shoe lace and dropping some rubbish of fat the dump. As none of the staff had a current first aid certificate we had been rushed onto a weekend course which appear to be at a wine hose, no complaints there. But sadly we didn’t have a chance to taste. However in the evening after the ½ day of first aid and to celebrate and relax from the first 2 successful camps all the staff went out for a wee snifter at a couple of pubs having a lot of banter along the way. The following two days however were much more serious with a lot of learning, on the 18^th we completed our training sitting both a practical and theory test before been taken on a tour of the local paramedic/ any other problem you may have service to meet the guys and know how it all works, just incase. The following day they returned and it was back into the swing of 630. As the school bus drew into camp there was this strange feeling that something was going to go wrong, but all the 12^th graders got off and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and they all behaved rather well so that feeling subsided. However when the groups got back from the orienteering exersize one young landy wanted ice for her ankle. Not a problem just a swollen ankle sure we can sort that, and I did. However when I returned with the ice there was another who appeared to be in a bit more pain, so I did as id been taught and with no reason to suspect a break applied ice then bandaged for support. Done, no more problems from this lot then. Wrong the following morning the foot and swelled massively and the pain increased so absolutely baffled we passed the problem onto someone more qualified and got on with the day. I was leading a group out on summit with Sanele but less than 1km in one member had to pull out with fatigue, but after that it was plain sailing all the way to the summit. To my displeasure it was reviled to me that one of the groups was suffering severally with shin splints and after less than 100 meters down couldn’t walk on her own. So we radio in just to update camp on our situation but thanks to doggy radios couldn’t get camp so had settle for second best, but this would be fine. However some members of the group disagreed so went running off for help. This wasn’t too helpful as it left me with a group in disarray spread out all over the mountain. But not much I could do about that, so I carried on with what I had, putting a support bandage on the leg and help the patient down the hill. Half way down the hill we reached another group waiting for me where I discovered we had a badly sprained ankle, so now I was half way down a mountain with 2 people unable/struggling to walk, hear I decided to radio in for a vehicle pick up for the wounded which as a group we would help them get to. An that exactly what we did slowly but surly working our way down the mountain carrying the guys in places to make it to the pick up, simple really. That enough first aid for one day surly. Well it wasn’t and don’t call me Sheryl. Back at base someone though they would faint on us, well there was already enough staff there so I was keen to stay out of this one. But it seems someone had other plans and soon I found myself at the center of the situation in charge once again. But like all the other incidents of the day it was nothing too serious and the patient eventually stabilized and my work was done. The following day was rather straight forward, summit cut shot by a thunderstorm and the same fate for rock climbing. So I just had night duty making sure they all went to bed and stayed there. The following day due to the rain we transported the kid in the back of a truck to there coach and waved goodbye with a sigh of relief.  

T.I.A

This Is Africa and you know its not too bad. Well apart from having to wait 3hours at the airport to be picked up but this was just a taste of things to come and something I would get used to. On the 9^th I eventually made it to Entabeni my home for the next 6 months where I met my co-workers for the next 6 months. Luckily there an alright bunch, Matt a local lad who seems to know every farmer in S.A, Senela he likes his book maybe a bit too much but for his own good but if you prefer reading to sleeping that’s fine by me and final S’mangele or sma the only woman in the house. The following day I was thrown in at the deep as a course of 112, 8^th grade (our year 7 I think)  boys were arriving. So I was quickly briefed on the basic, built 2 volleyball nets and then in was to work for the next howevermany days. The introduction was very formal the boys were to call us sir or madam and take caps off when been spoken too; I think it was a bit of a posh school. But the formalities were cut short but the African rain and we had to rush to get 112 boys into the correct dorms. This didn’t happen, instead we had about 30boys crammed into one room soaked through and slowly creating a sauna. Eventually the rain stopped and we got back to the activities nothing too flash just basic icebreakers to settle the kids in. On the 11^th it was up a 630 (this was to become the norm) to get breakfast ready before I accompanied Matt on a trek to the summit. Its not the most straight forward walk scrambling through the forest and up rather steep hills but it is rather good fun, but unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to summit. Obstacle course in the afternoon was the first group I took on my own but all went well with no broken legs and everyone behaving so that was jolly good fun as well. In the evening I was introduce to stalk the lantern, one of the best outdoor games IV played. As instructors we confiscated the kids torches, ran ahead and planted a lantern high up a hill a lay in wait for the kids to try and reach the lantern. But if they made a noise and only if, we could then shine our torch on them and they would be out, closest to the lantern wins. The following morning was rather plane sailing but in the afternoon I was asked to lead a group to the summit not think anything of it I accepted. But I son realized I was the only staff member going and I had 2 prefects for support to get 24 kids up a mountain and down. Well I didn’t kill any of them so that’s a positive. No there were a few hiccup such as not finding the entrance to the forest but I successfully made it to the summit and down again so really it was a very successful trip. The following day was a bit of a stressful one with some basic things not been done and much lateness and disorganization but in the evening I built a missive fire, shouting go big or go home, as I battled to get a tree truck close to my size onto the fire much to the amusement of my colleges. But they must have though it was a good idea and soon followed suit. So by the end of the days all my troubles had been forgotten and I slept like a baby. Somebody though it would be funny to get the kids up at 6 for an early departure but this meant I had to be up at 530, not cool and as per usual something wen wrong so they left late anyway, TIA. There’s no rest for the wicked, as almost as soon as the first group had left the second arrived and the fun continued. A smaller group of 12^th graders. The 15^th was a day full of actives, belaying for rock climbing in the morning and running the group dynamics (GDs) in the afternoon with another bonfire in the evening and for me bed, but the unlucky chaps on night duty had a night of mischievous kids. The following day we said as-ta-la-vista to the group and all of a sunned I had completed my first to camps just like that and I felt rather good. Id been thrown in at the deep end but id managed to swim and now I felt rather confident in myself and was ready for the next group, although a chance to sleep would be appreciated.

Welcome To Africa

Here we are again another 3 am start to drive down to the airport, this is my final escapades across the colonies (for now anyway) and Im' ending big with six months volunteering in South Africa. Upon arriving at the airport i met my fellow travelers at Neros and we departed for the adventure. It felt wired to be the oldest and most experienced traveler in the group, thinking back it made such a change to the first time i left home for a foreign land. The flight as per usual was uneventful. Etihad was a disappointment no hot towel, only one meal and fat annoying families who just wont shut up about wanting to get off the plane, if you wont to get off so badly love ill be more than happy to assist you in your wish. Eventually we arrived in South Africa. Getting off the plane i was not hit my a wave of heat or a hectic airport in fact it was quite tame, we found our driver with no hitches and made it too the hostel with not so much as a pop shot fired. Maybe the subdued nature of the city had something to do with it been 5.30 in the morning. Eventually we began our arrival briefing getting the usual quick history of the country and essential information before a shopping break and lunch before back to the hard graft of learning a country culture in an afternoon. No problem. The 8^th was a more interesting day with a trip to Soweto, the Birth place of modern South Africa, quite literally. Soweto is was the home town for both nelson Mandela and bishop Desmond tutu, as well as the sight of a high school protest gone wrong which kick started the revolution. After such an intense day I found a bar in which to experience some of the countries finest beverages and spend my last night with the Lattitude folks before starting my placement. But the bar wasn’t another for these guys who proceeded to through me a party back at the door. Good job the place was empty as this went on for a while.  After the previous night a 6am start wasn’t too appreciated but it had to be done take catch my plane in time. However for one the plane ride was quite enjoyable, catching a tinny plane from Jo’burg (a Jetstream if you must know) I had about an hrs flight looking out of the window before landing at Pietermaritzburg airport, basically one hanger with a friendly chap to greet you off the plane and make sure you don’t walk into any propellers.

Road Trip

Well it only seems right to fill you in on the last escapade of New Zealand before i head back to the sunny southern hemisphere. So here we go. On the 18th of December we pack our bags and said goodbye to Ashburton and hello car relocation. Somehow we'd managed to swindle a free car to get us from Christchurch back to Auckland airport and home in time for tea. After picking up the car Craig had one last treat for us, taking us to Christchurch's largest markets. The Market, like most, was filled to the brim with wired and wonderful items all of which were absolutely no use to anyone, still we had good fun looking around and after an hour or two of wandering we said our goodbyes to Craig and Christchurch and begun the 1,700km journey back. The wheel for this trip were a rather flash 1.3, silver, Daihatsu Sirion complete with CD player, but no AUX lead or cassette player so we had to install our own sound system, a minor setback. The drive to Picton was quite a pleasant 4 hr where we accidentally stumbled across a seal on a photo stop and saw a seagull at the whale spotting beach. On the 19th we had the ferry crossing, this time on the supposedly better InterIslander, but i wasn't converted and personally I'm a Bluebridge man. After the uneventful crossing we made our way up to Napier stopping at Greytown for lunch. It seemed the logical having stayed a week in Greymouth to visit another grey town. But it was rather no discript stop so will skip to Napier. In the 1920s an earthquake destroyed most of the town and due to art deco been; cheap, safe and in fashion, most of the town was styled accordingly. So its a very grand place with all the Art Deco structures and sculptures, even our hoslte had a grand art deco scheme, complete with pool table ( as everyone knows a well know accompaniment to the art deco scheme). In the evening we treated ourselves to a fair well New Zealand meal at GMK, no idea what it stands for but the food was good and Angus the bull was tasty (red wine) so it was a most enjoyable send off to New Zealand; unless you were the lamb i ate. The following day we cruseise the town admierign the art deco some more and took a trip up bluff point to take in the spectacular view. After that it was off to gisboren for lunch, 'only a shot drive away', 'shouldnt be more than an hour' I was informed. well i was misinformed but 2 and a bit hours later we reached our lunch stop and it was so werth it. Gisbore in the Mairo capital of the world and so instantly the coolest place in New Zealand. After getting our fill of cool it was back to the road. We had hoped to take in the beaches on the bay of plenty and at Whakatane we got our icecream and headed over the flood defences to find the estry. It appeared we pick the only stop along the coast with out miles of golden sands and cystal clear waters. But never mind we invented ice cream cruising, the best form of transportation, driving along the sunny highway keeping cool by nibbling on an ice cream. Our night stop was our old friend the MacGreger. It was great to see them again and have a little reminder of our first wwoofing place and how much we'd done since then. So after spending as long as we could there playing in the paddock fixing motorbikes and other boyish behaviour we said our sad goodbyes again and headed for Taupo. Here we met up with another old friend and celebrated our last day in New Zealand in style with ice cream, lake swims and relaxing in the hot river with a few beers we into the night. On the 22nd we drove up to Auckland giving our American Friends a life to the hostel. Stopping for lunch at mount Eden, over looking the city that had borught us into New Zealand all those months ago and would now take us away from the land we had come to love. but we hadent left yet and after our lunch stop I drove our friends right to the hostle door, much to there delight and surprise and then after driving round the airport for a lengthy time stumbled across the car drop-off left the car and legged it. only jocking the car was fine so we got a lift to the airport and after the usual waiting around said goodbye to New Zealand and 48 hours later with another uneventful plane journey. well i did convince an Aussie that we all live in castles so it was better than most. we arrived back in a dark, wet, cold, grey, England. Oh how i missed New Zealand. 

Ashburton

After the fun of Christchurch it was off to Ashburton to meet up with Craig and Jaquie. After a day in the Canterbury museum we were kindly picked up buy Craig and taken to our home for the week. on the 13th we went exploring the town which didn't take too long, turns out there not a lot to do in ashburton, but not to worry Craig had quite a bit install for us so there was defiantly no chance of us getting bored, quite the opposite. In the evening it just so happened that Craig was going to Methvens local radio station to do his show so we went along for the ride. the studio itself wasn't the most flash or roomy but it did the job and as the sun was shinning we relocated outside cranked up the volume and enjoyed the evening sun sitting back with a few beers listing to the show, with the odd local popping by to pass there compliments. but it wasn't all listen and no play (well it was for me) but for Davey he was a special guest and was given a 4 song slot in which to do his thing. which was done very nicely if i do say so myself. the following day we took to the tennis courts and after eventually getting in to the courts no thanks to the grumpiest hag in New Zealand we got our game on. well at least until we lost all the balls over the fence but by then we had had a pretty good session so headed home before another evening of entertainment. this time we drove out well into the foothills of mount cook and near to one of the many sets from the lord of the rings movies. the following day wasn't the most eventful apart from a bit of awesome off-roading, driving down river beds and what not we didn't really do much. After a day of rain stopping all procedures we were up at 3.30am on the Saturday to go fishing. the weather was perfect (not raining) and thing were looking good until about the 2nd hr of not catching anything and having freezing cold wet feet, so for a bit I was wondering why people did this for fun. But after a chance of location i suddenly discovered why. The new spot was sheltered so now waves lapping over my boots and had a wonderful view of the mountains behind the lake. the only problem was there was a slight lack of fish. so for the 3rd time we changed location, not as pretty but i caught a fish, which i then proceeded to drop, through rocks at to try and halt its get away; this failed so it was back to fishing again. However my luck was in as in the last few minuets I hooked a beauty of a Salomon which wasn't going any where but into my belly. After the fishing trip the fun was far from over as we had a waterfall to walk to and then a private bar to attend before going home and cooking up the salmon before finally getting to bed around the reasonable time of 11.30pm.

Catch Up



mega meal



Recently we've been rather busy lads so busy infact that to recount the hole venture would take to long, so your getting the abeviated version. From Fox we bused to QT (Queens Town). Named not due to a large homosexual population but rather because it was fit for a Queen. Next it was bungy time not sure how I jumped but I did. So we celebrated with a mega meal. On the 6th we were off to Milford sounds for the day. 4 hrs on a bus, 2 he cruise of the sounds ( which are actually a fiord but dose it really matter obsessive locals?) seeing pretty hills, dolphins and a large seagull called an Albatross then 4hrs back and to bed. After that excitement we took the following day to unwind eating a Mr Big Ferg Burger, lots of meat in a bun. Followed by 2 games of frisbee golf which after a frustrating start was surprisingly fun. In the evening it was off to the pub a QT way of life. Next it was back on the bus to earthquake centural. After 10 house on the bus we arrived in Christ Church where we met up with Mark ate a venison pizza then picked up P to he Clark before going on a pub hunt. This was harder than expected but after an hr we found one it was Irish with a band but by then we didn't really care and to be honest it was quite a good pub. The following day we all drove to hammer springs with the Christmas playlist blasting out the one working speaker. The springs we a bad spa crossed with a bad water park so made an alright place. We spent a few hours there sliding and chilling befor more Christmas tunes stoping for beer tasting, getting a bit lost trying to find a resident that was shut when we did find it befor stumbling across a good Thai eatery. In the evening we entertained the Dutch playing a game of 'who am I?'  on the Sunday we swapped hostels found a fancy chocolate shop complete with chocolate chia before saying goodbye to Parb's and Mark and catching up on our sleep. The 12 was spent time killing in the rather interesting cantbery museum and surrounding park before meeting up with Craig and starting our stay at Ashburton. Oh we also went to the antarctic exhibition but that was a bit of an over priced excursion so enough said.



QT sunset




said dolphin




said albatross




unsaid waterfall




milford sounds





earthquake central



Foxy Glacier

It seems everywhere we stay in New Zealand we don't want to leave, but the trip must go on, so on the 1st of December we said goodbye to Greymouth and made our way south to Fox Glacier. Not as popular as Franz Joseph but unlike Franz Fox had other attractions within walking distance. We arrived on the 1st quite late in the day to find a small alpine village and our hostel complete with free hot tub so not a bad place at all. The following day we had booked ourselves in for an ice climb. Instead of just going prancing around the glacier taking pretty pictures (which we did as well) we got the chance to climb all over that bad boy, much more exciting than a stole on ice. When we arrived at the base camp we met the fellow climber an Asian family complete with grandad, so quite how they though he would get on with an ice clime i don't know but that was up too them. From the base the bus took us about half the way to the glacier but eventually it could go no further and we had to walk the last few kilometres to the glacier. Once on the ice we were shown the ropes and then let loose to clime some ice. The first wall wasn't too challenging only a 10 meter face and the one after that was even easier but our guides had a surprise lined up for us. The final wall was about 40meter of hard ice (so getting a grip was a bit tricky) and too make things more interesting the was a slight over hang. On my first attempt after a few falls i came agonisingly close to the top but as i went to pull up my axe lost all its grip and i found myself dangling a good 35meters up completely exhausted and had to accept defeat. But the second time i change the route slightly and made it up with no hitches; well i nearly put my axe though the rope but will ignore that part. After this we called it a day and slowly made our way down off the glacier then back on the bus to the village for a relaxing evening it the hot tub. The following day we walked to lake Matheson. Only 6km from the village we still got there surprisingly fast so took the pace down for a strolled round the lake taking in the stunning views of mount cook in the background. For the keen you can get there for sunrise and use the lake as a mirror in the still of the morning reflecting the mountain range behind, but personally a 4am start was a bit too keen. Once we'd got our fill of lake view we headed back just getting caught in the starts of a storm. But back at the hostel we saw how lucky we were as the storm worsened into a proper down pour. So this would be the perfect chance for a hot tub session right? Wrong, the last person to use it had left the standby temp too low and the cover slightly open so it was a rather disappointing luke-warm tub. But still we'd enjoyed our time in the foxy glacier even if we didn't get the goodbye hot tub session in the rain we wanted.

Greymouth...!

Why on earth are yo going to Greymouth. Well thats what every kiwi we spoke to would ask us and when we arrived on the 23rd of November for our final wwoofing sight we saw exactly why there was such supprise and confusion that two tourist would want to go to Greymouth. Its and old mining community on the coast and upon first arriving gave an ipswich vibe. Once we reached our new location thing didnt get much better. There was no one to greet us, the hostel didn't look the most flash and nobody seemed to know what was going on. However from here thing started to get better. This time we were cleaning and making beds for a backpackers the work itself was rather simple and a bit boring but i said it gets better and here's the good news. We were working with 4 other people 2 Germans an American and for the first few days a Fin. So with our fellow wwoofers we were able to have a laugh, relax watching movies of an evening and make a few friends. Our dinner of an evening was soup, the same soup everyday and it wasn't the most appertising soup, but we seemed to be a charmed pair and the evening we arrived and on several other evenings we were treated to pizza, so know complaints there. After a few day there we were introduced to the Stray bus. A tour operator that shows young tourist the sight and activities of New Zealand; so why they were in greymouth i dont know but they were so that irellivent. Anyway something of relivance is that on sight there is a bar, at which we got a few free drink each day. So everyday the bus was in town, Dory would open up the bar and put on a fancy dress party. But not any old fancy dress, oh no you have to fashion your costume out of a bin bag. The first night the bus was in we joined the spirit of the dress up but unfortunately the bus didn't so that night ended a bit early. However the following time the bus was definitely up for it. Two Brits, of course, had put together the most impressive us of a bin bag id ever seen, using the base as a little black dress and detailing the edges and main body with tinsel and other glittery items. Most impressive and quite rightly they won best dressed. But everyone who dressed up was entered into the bingo game. Which with the help of our new kiwi friend we won both the straight and full house, so a most enjoyable night was had by all. The following night we were at it again but this time we had no such luck with the bingo, but did put in a good few games on the pool table. On our last night we decided to take advantaged of been on the west coast and watched the sun set over the sea. It was quite a beautiful sight watching the sun set peacefully behind the raging Tasman sea. So a fitting end to our staying Greymouth, and after a grey start it had definitely been a worth while place to visit. 

Welcome To The Tasman

Once upon a time a man by the name of Aebl Tasman discovered the northern tip of the south island but ran away as he was too scared to discover more. For this Honor he has had the Abel Tasman national park named after him and on the 19th of November we bravely went where Abel Tasman never reached and begun our exploration of the national park A.T-ing as we like to call it. Upon arriving at our hostel we dropped our bag and head straight for the beach. Apart from consistent smooth sand it has everything you could possibly want from a beach. Rocks to clime, room to chill and good clear waters to swim in. At first we stuck mainly to the rocks. At just the right size to climb over we made our way round the coast and tried to get to a small island. But our plans met a comeuppance when the water which from a far had looked passable was in fact quit a deep rivine with a distance just that little bit too far to jump. Frustrated we headed back to the beach and relaxed there for most of the day. In the evening the kiwi experience arrived, a tour busy with quite a reputation for mischief. But to our surprise our room mates were incredibly well mannered, easy to talk to and they didn't stay up all night drinking. The following day we took a water taxi deep into the national park to walk an 8hr section of the track. We were dropped at Tonga bay and steadily made our way up and down the hills that littered the coast line. The path itself stuck mainly to the shore line but at points veered more inland to give a lovely mix of forest and coastal views with some points providing both. One of the highlights of the walk was crossing the suspension bridge which dangled around 100ft above the raging waters on there way to the sea. But by far the most interesting discovery was what seemed to be a memorial to ships lost at sea. Each ship had had its name carved the rock of one remote bay that was only accessible at low tide. After completing the walk we waited at anchorage bay to be pick up. While waiting we discovered why people had such a dislike to sand fly, having not encountered them before it sound like they were just been a bit squeamish but those little chaps sure pack a good bite and are relentless in their numbers. Eventually we were saved from the onslaught of flys and went back to our hostel to find it deserted. Without the experience the place was empty. The following day we took the opportunity to go waking closer to home, however it seems the local council didn't have the same idea as no more than 10 meters out of the center of the village the footpaths all but disappear and on those wiggly windy roads it would be suicide to try walk them, especially with tour bus after tour bus trundling by. So instead we found a local park at the top of a cliff and spent most of the morning exploring that. After lunch it was time for a round of golf, but not golf as the chaps from the club house would know its. Opposite the hostel there was a small, but fun crazy golf course and as we had the place all to our selves we took the opportunity to pass the time with a few rounds. As this was our last full day in the A.T. and we got a 10% discount from the golf people we decided to eat out at a rather nice restaurant which looked our across the bay. The following day we still had a bit of time before the bus arrived to pick us up so we hired two kayaks of the morning and explored the coast line closer to home. firstly heading for split rock, apparently created when them Maori gods were fighting over the magical ball, one wanted it for the sea one for the forest and in the argument it was spilt and lost its powers so neither wanted it thus it was left between the forest and the sea. After our cultural lesson we braved the open waters and went round the bay a bit to discover some cool rock to explore and arch and our own private beach to chill on. Groovy baby. After living the dream we haded back, got ourselves and ice cream and chilled next to the sea waiting for the bus to, get us out of there!