Nadi

Saturday 25th February - Monday 27th February 2017

(Wifi isn't great so will add photos at a later point!)

We arrived in Nadi at 6:15pm and the sun was already setting. As we got off the plane we were hit by a blast of hot, humid air. One of my favourite things about going on holiday! As we walked out to get our bags, I could see the miner birds dad was telling me about, playing on the airfield. The sun was setting over the sea and it looked stunning. It didn't take us long to get through the airport, everyone was so kind and welcoming and there were even a few people singing traditional Fijian songs as we left! We met the guy picking us up and we had to wait around a bit, I didn't have insect repellant on so the mosquitos attacked my legs!

Eventually we made it to Smugglers Cove, and it was already pitch black by the time we got there at around 7ish. We checked in and went and had a look at our dorm. It is a 34 bed dorm so we didn't expect much from it, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected! It's split into 4 bed cubicles so it's more private than anticipated which is good.

We had a look around the bar and restaurant, there are a family of cats here with a few kittens which made our day! I'd eaten loads on the plane so wasn't hungry, but emma was so she grabbed a pizza and we chilled out for a few hours before deciding to go to bed!

We overslept this morning so missed out on breakfast (turns out it was included but we didn't realise!) so instead we got ready at a leisurely pace and had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast.

We then decided to have a look around the shops in Nadi, so we got a taxi to the Main Street. However, as it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed! The driver took us to Jacks who warned us about going out on the street as men would try and get us to go to dodgy shops... which they did but we didn't go with them! I ended up buying a sarong from Jacks as I need something lighter to cover up with when we go to the villages. Whilst we were waiting for our taxi, we started watching a few guys who were performing a few songs. One of them asked us where we were from and after saying England they started playing 'Hey Jude'! Emma and I looked at each other and laughed as that's exactly what happened to us in China! I lost count of the amount of times we were made to sing it at CC English school!

We then got back to the hostel and spent about an hour sunbathing. The sea is super warm, felt like getting in a hot bath! Although it didn't look particularly clean so I just paddled and didn't go in swimming properly!

We then grabbed lunch and as it was super hot went in to our air conditioned room for a nap! Although I couldn't sleep so went back to the beach for a bit... not that it's far away as our hostel is right on the sand! After about an hour and a half, it looked like it was going to rain so I headed back inside and showered.

Plastering on insect repellant, I came back outside to meet Emma and by this point it had started raining. But there is something so refreshing about being in the heat with rain... plus it makes the place more like home! Haha. We sat outside, sheltered from the rain, reading our books (I finally finished Frankenstein today! Not what I thought the novel would be like at all but I enjoyed it nonetheless!) before grabbing some food. Well I got too hungry so I ordered an hour or so before Emma.

At 8 o clock, there was a complimentary show in which some islanders showed us dances from Tahiti, Hawaii and obviously Fiji. After the Mauri show in Rotorua, where avoiding eye contact meant I didn't have to go up to the front, I thought I would be safe and not get chosen. I thought wrong! Emma was pretending to eat her noodles (her plate was empty, she wasn't fooling anyone) so they didn't pick her, but one of the guys pointed at me and I thought eh, what's he worst that could happen! They taught us the Fiji Macarena (still not sure if this is a real thing or if they were taking the mick!). It was fun... til they made us do it on our own and I was quite happy hiding in the middle!!

After a few more dances it was time for the fire show down on the beach. I'd like to say it was awesome... well it was awesome but it was also absolutely hilarious. Two guys (not entirely sure whether they lived in Fiji or if they were tourists... my bets are on the latter though!) were up first, they kept dropping it and cursing and was more of a comedy show! Then some of the islanders did it, most of them were better but a few did drop them! At one point a guy went to shake my hand so I put my hand out, he tapped his fire and so we shook hands with fire... weirdly it didn't feel hot though! Then for the finale, four of the guys did cool tricks in the sea, jumping on each other's backs, setting the sea on fire amongst other things. Was pretty cool!

We then went back to the main bit where I got pulled up with some others again to do a 'snake dance' to 'cotton eyed joe'. Yeah this one was way less legit, he just got us to do stupid stuff but it was a lot of fun!

After the show had finished we went to bed, as we've got an early wake up tomorrow for Feejee Experience! I'm very excited!

Return to Christchurch

Wednesday 22nd February - Saturday 25th February 2017

The journey to Christchurch had to be the worst journey of my life - even more so than the flight here! I was super hungover and felt sooooo ill (self-inflicted I know). So we're just gonna skip over Wednesday!! 

I will say that today was my Great Uncle Jim's funeral and I was sad to not be there to pay my respects, but have been thinking about my family in this hard time and praying hard for them. 

It was super sad saying goodbye to everyone after dinner tonight (I only managed two slices of pizza). I will miss everyone so much... Contiki was the best decision I have ever made and these past three weeks have been the best of my life! 

The hostel we are staying at in Christchurch is called Tranquil Lodge and it is basic but really homey. The lady who runs it, Shiona, is so friendly and happy to help with anything! I'm definitely glad this is the case as I wasn't too sure at how I would feel about going from staying in hotels back to hostels but it's been good so far!

The next day I had a super lie in, I definitely needed it! Emma's snoring didn't even wake me up in the night! (Although at one point the other guy in our room was sleep talking about Mo Farah weirdly). 

We wandered in to town and bumped into Shenae and Liz so decided to grab dinner with them, and Ashna and Kathleen met us too. I had dumplings, but I am yet to find dumplings as good as at the place I found in Auckland. We spent a few hours chilling and not really doing a whole lot, but finally it was time to say goodbye to Shenae and Kathleen as their flights were tomorrow morning. 

The following day was our last full day before Fiji! I made sure I got some photos of the trams for my Popa, and I also finished my au Pair application today, bar a few documents I need so it was a pretty productive day! We met Ashna and Liz for brunch at Black Betty Cafe. Most of the menu had eggs or cheese in it and I didn't fancy spending the day feeling sick again so I thought I'd go for the vegan burrito. It was super yummy... that was until I got about half way! The bean - mushroom ration wasn't great, and here was no rice so it was basically all black beans! It was fine just got a bit boring! 

We said goodbye to Ashna after shopping round for a bit (well window shopping) and went to countdown to grab bits for dinner. Eventually it was time to say goodbye to Liz and then we were the only people form Contiki left! We headed back to the hostel, sorted out my bag for Fiji and then made the blandest tomato spaghetti I have ever seen... it was like being back in my first year of uni! 

We got speaking to Shiona about our travel plans and she managed to get us talking to another pair of German girls, Simone and Simone (makes it easier to remember!) who were on the same flight as us and had a hire car they needed to take back to the airport in the morning. They said they would give us a lift which was super kind! 

So now I'm sitting in the airport waiting for check in as I'm super early! I'm so excited to go to Fiji, it has been the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, due to Nana and Grandad living there in the late 1980s. I really hope I can meet up with some of the people they knew, but I'm not entirely sure what our timeline will be as we've booked through a few different companies, but we'll see! 

Lake Ohau - The Big Tiki

Tuesday 21st February - Wednesday 22nd February 2017

Our trip to Dunedin was short and sweet but now it was time for our last full day headed to Lake Ohau!

Our lunch stop today was at the Moeraki Boulders. Unfortunately it was quite a misty morning, but I can't really complain as we have had awesome weather so far! We grabbed a bite to eat before heading down to the boulders and taking the standard posey tourist pictures.

When we got to Ohau, we headed straight down to the lake to check it out. As it was a glacial lake the water was freezing so we decided against going for a swim.

It was then time for dinner where we had lasagne and salad and then sticky date pudding for dessert. The lasagne was ok but the pudding was delish!

We then got our togas on ready for the toga party! I drank way more than I should. We finished the night in the hot tubs which was awesome!

Dunedin - The Big Tiki

Monday 20th February - Tuesday 21st February 2017

I was sad to leave Queenstown this morning, it is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Hopefully I'll be able to get a job here, but if not I'll be back to do a swing (and maybe a bungy if someone bullies me into it!). We also said goodbye to a few more of our Contiki fam sadly.

When we arrived at Dunedin, we had a few hours to use up before going out for he evening. So we had a wander and, much to my excitement, there was a Cadbury factory! I immediately booked on to the factory tour for the following morning... it only worked it to be around £13 so I couldn't resist!! Kirsten and I shared a galaxy cake and I got a hot chocolate - honestly the nicest hot chocolate I have ever had in my life!

We then went to find Kathleen and Emma, who we expected to find with a pint of beer at a bar somewhere. Instead we found them with a tasting rack of 6 half pints! They had also been talking to two American couples who had come here on a cruise. It was so hot and I ended up burning a bit typically!

After gathering at the hotel, we all got the coach up to Speights brewery for the brewery tour. The tour guide cut it short so we could have more time at the bar... not that I'm complaining at all! I tasted all the beers and poured my first (half) pint successfully!

Following this we had a group meal at the alehouse. I had tomato soup then a chicken salad and it was one of the most delicious meals I had had in a while.

As I didn't want to spend more money on going out, me and some of the others went back to the hotel. Some of us went back to a room to play heads up and drinking games, but after a while Asha, Ashna, Tayla and I decided to go back to the room to watch Insidious. I've seen it before so spent most of the time scaring Tayla haha.

The following morning it was time for my Cadbury factory tour! Tash and I were the only ones who wanted to do it so we had quite a small group which meant more chocolate! In the chocolate tasting room I waaayyy over did it with white chocolate so spent most of the tour feeling super sick... it was so worth it though! We saw how most of the chocolate they made at that factory was made, and more importantly got free samples along the way!

After getting on the coach, Hayley and Ricky spent a few minutes trying to locate the student house that six sixty started out in. 'White lines, blue skies' by six sixty is our day song, so we listen to it every time we get in the coach in the morning, so it was a special stop for our group!

Our final stop in Dunedin was to the world's steepest residential street: Baldwin street. It was a right trek getting to the top and the views weren't even that good but I guess we can say we've done it now!

Queenstown: Part Two - The Big Tiki

Saturday 18th February - Monday 20th February 2017

After we got back from Milford Sound, we didn't have long before we had to go down to the Ice Bar to meet the rest of our Contiki group. I've never been in an ice bar before but it was pretty cool... well absolutely freezing actually! 😂We took quite a few photos in there...

... as well as making full use of their photo booth!

After a while, a few of us decided to leave as it was flipping freezing! So we made our way to Cowboys next door. I went on my first bucking bronco which was hilarious, even though I hit my head on the bulls head after my involuntary dismount! Lasted more than 20 seconds though but I have no idea how good or bad that is!

Cowboys was super crowded, apparently there was the 'cowboys' football team there.   So we decided to go to Winnie's and they were playing 90s cheesy music which was awesome! I wasn't drinking to save a bit of money, but somewhere along the line Kirsten got pretty merry and started dancing on the tables, kicking the glasses off! It was hilarious, even though she nearly got kicked out... we were leaving anyway!

We then managed to find a few others singing along with a busker, before meeting Kathleen at another bar. However, we weren't there for too long as everyone started to get hungry so we went to Fergburger! Both emma and Kirsten ordered a burger but didn't eat most of it so I ended up making a whole burger out of their burgers! Interestingly, I didn't eat all of Kirsten's burger so left it on the side, but in the morning it had moved and the meat had gone! We have no idea what happened but we think Kirsten must've eaten it!

The next day we had horse riding at Walter Peak farm scheduled. We got into town at 9:40am to catch the 10am steam boat across the lake.

The boat ride itself wasn't the most thrilling, especially in comparison to Milford Sound yesterday, but as soon as we got close to Walter Peak Farm I knew it was going to be somewhere special. It looked idyllic.

We met our guide after we got off the boat and made our way up to the stables. My horse was called Cooper and bless his heart he was rather fat and was intolerant to hay so he would not stop farting. (Much to Asha's dismay as she was riding behind us!)

The ride was beautiful. The views were insanely stunning. We only had a small group and most of the others hadn't ridden much before if at all so it was more of a beginners ride. I didn't mind though as it was so nice to be back in the saddle!

After our hack we played with the dogs for a bit (obviously we couldn't resist!) before going down to the house for afternoon (well morning) tea. The scones and cakes were super delicious.. I ended up eating all of mine as well as some of the cakes the others didn't like!

We caught the same steamboat back to Queenstown and met up with Emma who had just done her Nevis bungy and swing! I'm so proud of her.. you'll never catch me doing the Nevis bungy it looks horrible!!

We had an included dinner at Winnie's this evening, and it was so delicious! I stupidly filled up on garlic bread and fries so I only had enough room for two slices of pizza! This was terrible as they kept being out pizza after pizza and it all looked amazing but I just felt sick!

After we had finished, a few of us decided to go to the Fear Factory. It. Was. Terrifying. But also really really funny. It's basically a haunted house type attraction, where the whole thing is pitch black and you have to follow the red lights around, everyone in your group holding on to each other whilst live actors talk to you, touch you and breathe on you. All we did was scream all the way round, I was grabbing hold of Asha's hands on my shoulder, Asha was shouting all sorts of rubbish at the actors, Tayla was quieter but not quiet and Kathleen kept having people touch her back so she was pushing us to go forward! I really didn't want to use my hands to find my way so when the lights went out I felt my way around with my foot. It was such a weird mix of scared and hilarious! The video of us coming out is brilliant as I ninja kick the door and we all run out sweating like crazy! Andre was at the front of the other group and they looked like they were barely scared at all, just kinda walked out normally!

After this traumatic ordeal, we decided to get ice cream at Patagonia's. This place is awesome. You pick the type of ice cream you want, what type of melted chocolate you want on top and then what sprinkles you want. Katie and I shared as I was still so full from dins!

We spent a few hours in the parlour before reluctantly heading home. It was so sad saying goodbye to Katie and Alex as they have become such close friends! But I know I'll be seeing them soon in England or Australia!

Milford Sound - The Big Tiki

Saturday 18th February 2017

It was an early start, my alarm went off at 5:30am so that I could get breakfast at 6 and get on the coach for 6:20am. We were the first pick up so there were a lot more stops making it hard to nap! Eventually, the driver turned down the lights and we had two hours of uninterrupted sleep... which was well needed! Our first stop was in a small town called Te Anau, where we dropped off a few people going to Doubtful Sound and picked up a few more people coming to Milford. I also managed to have a long over due catch up with my mumma which is always lovely!

We then made our way down the long winding highway to get to Milford Sound. Our first stop was at the beautiful Eglinton Valley, which was once filled with a glacier. Kirsten and I had previously taken quite a few awkward selfies over the past couple of days, mainly so we could fit a mountain or lake in  the background, so we decided to keep up this tradition here!

I think Kirsten had most of the other awkward selfies so when I get a hold of them (and if I remember) I'll pop them on here as well!

Our next stop was at the mirrored lake, we were super lucky that the water was very calm so it looked amazing! As it was a short walk, our driver dropped us off at one end and picked us up at the other. It was here that Kirsten, Emma and I noticed that there were quite a few people who spend a lot of time taking 50 billion trillion photos of the same place with slightly different angles and lighting. We pretty much got off, took a photo, appreciated the view and got back on! There was a particular pair of men who would get off first and get on last... the bus driver had to chase them down a few times!

We then stopped over at a view point overlooking the beautiful mountains and river. Our driver kept telling us that he personally felt the fiordland is even more stunning when it rains as there are tons and tons of waterfalls consuming the mountains, and this creates the sparkling rainbows, making there whole place seem magical. So I would definitely like to come back on a rainy day.

We had some time before going though the Homer Tunnel so stopped to look at the glacier and surrounding mountains. It wasn't long before we had to all jump back on the coach, although we nearly didn't make it as one of the guys saw a Kea and 'couldn't resist taken a few photos of it'! The lights are green for 7 and a half minutes so we were on a very limited time slot so driver wasn't too happy about that!

After ten more minutes of driving, we finally made it to the Milford Sound terminal. We boarded our bright orange boat, greeted by the smell of the fish and chips cooking. We started off on the top deck and absorbed the incredible sights around us.

L

About fifteen minutes into the cruise, we were called down to grab our complimentary fish and chips. We raced down to grab them but just before we were about to go down to the kitchen, the captain announced that we were cruising past a pod of dolphins. Food vs dolphins was a tough choice but ultimately the food could wait so I raced to the bow and sure enough there were about fifteen bottlenose dolphins and also two fur seals swimming around our boat. It was incredible to see! Unfortunately it took me too long to get my camera out so I only have a mediocre picture of their fins but I'll never forget how amazing that experience was!

After a few minutes I decided I couldn't wait any longer for food so I went and grabbed the fish and chips. We sat inside and watched the dolphins playing out the window. Truly amazing.

We then made our way out onto the Tasmanian Sea and we were all desperately searching for whales, as apparently there is a mum and baby orca around these parts. But unfortunately we didn't get to see them today.

On our way back to the terminal, we passed a rock covered in fur seals. Even the captain seemed surprised to see them as they are pretty rare - most of the colonies were wiped out due to humans hunting them and the numbers have only recently started to rise again. However the highlight for me was Emma looking around saying 'I can't see any!'  Turns out she just thought the seals were brown blobs on the rocks!

After leaving the seals behind, the captain took the boat into the waterfall. As it was a hot day it was pretty refreshing... until we stayed there for a bit longer than anticipated then I started to get freezing! It didn't take long to warm up after though!

We then got back to the terminal and got off the boat and back on the coach. We stopped off at the same place before the tunnel and the Keas were still there so it was pretty awesome to see them up close.

Monkey creek was the next places we stopped at, because everyone took too long at the other places before we got to Milford we didn't get a chance to stop before hand. The water in the creek is fed by the glacier so the water is icy cold and pure so I filled up my water bottle there!

The drive back was long but ultimately it was definitely worth it. It was such a magical day and Milford Sound is so beautiful, I really hope I can make it back in the colder months. 

Queenstown: Part One - The Big Tiki

Thursday 16th February - Monday 20th February 2017

On the way to Queenstown we stopped off at a beach and a few lakes. I can't remember he name if the beach now, but Hayley said that when the water is calm you can often see dolphins. So we all jumped off the coach excitedly hoping to glimpse dolphins, when all we actually got were bites from the copious amounts of sandflies around the area!

One of my favourite lakes we stopped off at was Lake Hāwea, the weather is still amazing so the lake really sparkled and the colours were also vibrant and stunning. 

For lunch, we stopped off at Eely point. I had a butter chicken pie. They sell pies at every bakery here, so I figured it was about time I tried one, and I was not disappointed! A few of us are down by the lake and the ducks attacked Tayla! It was pretty funny (I may or may not have egged them on by throwing chips near to her) I've never seen ducks this aggressive before, they were worse than the seagulls! 

Before we got into Queenstown, we stopped off at the Kawarau bridge bungy and watched a few of our Contiki friends do the jump. I feel like out of all the bungys, this is the one I could potentially do... I'll really need to work myself up to it though!! When we finally got to Queenstown I was taken aback. The mountains, lake and town make it look idyllic and the view from our hotel was awesome!

We all got the coach down to the lake to have a group photo, the sun was directly in our eyes so I'm not banking in the photos turning out to be any good! They were only $18 but I have such limited space and such a long time before I get home that I decided against getting it. Some of the others were going for a group dinner at the skyline place, but we decided to go to the famous Fergburger. I got the Bombay chicken and it was the tastiest burger I have ever had hands down! It was only $12.50 and it filled me right up..: still felt full the day after! We got there shortly after 7 and had to queue for about 40 minutes to order and then another 20 minutes before they were ready but it was sooooo worth it! 

After we got our burgers, we wandered around for a bit before going to Loco for drinks, someone gave us a voucher for free drinks so it would've been rude not to! And then we met the others at a different bar when they had come back from their meal. We also bumped into Rory and Hannah as well as Sid as they left our Contiki group before the South Island so it was great to see them again. After a bit, we went next door to Winnie's, but I didn't want to stay out too late so some point around 12:30 Tayla and I rounded up some people to get a taxi back to the hostel. 

The following morning we all went to shotover jet, the most exhilarating boat ride I have ever been on! Our group managed to get the craziest driver so when we all got off we were soaked to the skin, whereas everyone else barely looked damp. The spins were the most fun, but I thought we were going to die a fair few times when he drove it close to the rocks. It's a shame the video was so expensive as it was pretty funny! 

This afternoon Emma and I didn't have any activities planned, so we had a look around town for a bit before heading back to the hotel. I planned to have a cheap night in but then I got a message from Katie and Alec who were back from their hike so I walked down into town to meet them! But tomorrow we are going to Milford Sound and are getting picked up at 6:20am so I didn't stay out too late but it was so awesome to see them both! 

Franz Josef - The Big Tiki

Tuesday 14th February - Thursday 16th February 2016

Saying goodbye to the people not doing the South Island with Contiki meant that we had another load of people join us! We had to do the get to know you type stuff that we have been doing each time new people join, except this time, as it's Valentines Day, Hayley made us do 'speed dating' with the new people. It was a great idea, but everyone was so knackered so wasn't as fun as it could've been! Our first stop was at Springfield. Hayley played 'The Simpsons' theme tune before we got there and said they had a big pink donut in the park. After the whole cloud maker incident Emma and I were reluctant to believe her... but there actually was one there!

We got to Franz Josef with enough time to check out our rooms and get changed ready for dinner and the traffic light party. I did not have anything green and the closest I had to orange was peach so I just rolled with that! The food  was good, pork with potatoes and coleslaw and then the choice for pudding was either chocolate cake with a fruit garnish or a baileys and butterscotch shot. Honestly, it was the hardest choice of my life, but ultimately I decided to do the shot as we were staying at that place for the party! 

The traffic light party was fun... but the dj (dj panda) was terrible! Although he did take my cheesy request for Peter Andre haha!

The following day it was time to walk the glacier! Something I never even thought I would do in my lifetime! 

We got a helicopter over to the glacier, you used to be able to walk there but it has receded so much that it is only accessible by air now. It was my first helicopter ride and I got to sit at the front which was awesome! 

Our guide was brilliant, he'd only been working there for a week months but he really knew his stuff and made the whole experience awesome! Once we landed, we were instructed on how to attach our crampons and were told to stomp our feet in to keep walking steady. We trekked around for a bit and it was so incredible to see such an amazing natural formation up close. It is beautiful. 

At one section the guide found a cave and, after checking it out for us, he let us crawl through. It was weirdly bright inside as the glacial ice is more of a translucent blue so it let the light inside. It was incredible. 

                                     

                                                

In total we had just over 2 hours on the ice and it was he most surreal experience of my life (second to skydiving!)   It's so crazy to think that the Franz Josef glacier may not be here in a few decades time so it was really an honour to get to see it so close and personal. 

After we got the helicopter back to town, we chilled out a bit and grabbed some food before heading to the glacial hot pools. They were stunning. There were three pools in total, ranging from 36 degrees to 40 degrees. We bumped into our guide there as well which was pretty cool! 

However me being me, I forgot to bring a towel and didn't have any money on me to hire one so I basically had to run back to the hotel in my wet stuff! Not my brightest idea (you'd think I'd learn after taupo!) I decided to chill in the room tonight, watch a bit of greys anatomy and grab an early night for a change!