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It's been an incredible adventure.. and we're now back in our homes (and dealing with jetlag issues...)..

..just a short note to tell you all -- THANK YOU for following us, commenting, and sharing in our experience! We WILL update this website again as soon as our bodies start functioning normally again with lots and lots of videos which we couldn't post while tramping!

Here's one to keep it rolling ;)

Yes, I scream like a girl. :) A seven year old one with a high pitched voice, to be precise!

Oh, and excuse the video's shakiness. With 'stabilisation' mode switched on, Andrew was still shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. During an earthquake. And a hurricane. On a rollercoaster.

He calmed down later. :)

See ya!

Sail NZ!

I dedicate this post to my dad who introduced me to America's Cup a few years back!

Getting the pass....

America's Cup challenger (mid-nineties)...

Doing 12knots ... in around 12knots of wind...

Taking the helm :) :)

Sailing under Auckland bridge (there was literally nothing left above the mast)

Grinding! (much harder than it seems on TV!)

Sailing back into Auckland bay

A truly unforgettably experience and a great way to spend the last last day in NZ!

Laterz :) 

Last breath!

Hey all!

Hope all your xmas festivities have been great - ours definitely have! Excuse our lack of posts, but every hostel we've been to in the past 3 days either had no internet or simply no memory card reader - and we don't want to bore you without photos, now do we? ;) 

It's been a busy couple of days.. after spending Christmas eve in a hot pool in Rotorua (oh..bliss...) we started our drive up to the Bay of Islands... where we got to in late afternoon on Christmas..passing through a few interesting spots along the way ;)

Hobbiton!! :)

 We finally got to the wonderful bay of islands after a 550km drive... but worth it? You bet...

The next day we were offered the ability to take out a couple of kayaks.. and, well, never being the ones to say no..

We had a gorgeous time exploring an island in the middle of the bay (and getting attacked by seagulls and birds in the process..)

ah yes, we also got slightly (!!!!) sunburnt. 

Again.

Bliss! :)

Anywho, the next day we set off for our final destination ( :( :( )... Auckland, the city of sails! 

Where we are spending our final two days..

We can't believe it's almost over already... *sigh*

But that means we get to see all of you soon! So.. some shopping and lazing about in this magnificent city.. and we're soon off back home!

:) See ya in a bit!!

Wet 'n' Wild Christmas!

Raftinggggg!! What a great experience!  We did a Grade 5 river which consisted of several waterfalls, including a 7m one (the raft itself is only 4m long). Tackling this waterfall gives an adrenaline rush on the lines of bungee and skydiving :) We also body-surfed some rapids and did some other crazy stuff with some awesome instructors. Just in case the images aren't clear I am the one in front and James is behind me!! 

Now off to the Bay of Islands for a long Christmas break :) :) We need it!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

Andrew and James

 

Skydive Photos

Hey all! I think James is saying something about the skydive as we speak. Here are a few of my photos. It was just an awesomee experience !!!

Jumping out of plane

Falling over Lake Taupo

Flying ..... (love this one)

bits of me keep falling off!

Quite literally too... Well, ok, not bits of me. All of us.. very, very fast?

Let me explain..

Let's start with the Tongariro crossing..

An exhilirating, tiring, exhausting, but incredible experience. Walking in the midst of three active volcanoes (yes, active. Yes, there are warnings on what to do if one decides to erupt. yes, it involves a lot of running.) is amazing.. and the 20km trek involved a hell of a lot of ups and downs (around 1200m difference in altitude I think?) so.. well.. was tough. but the terrain is.. spectacular.. 

We were lucky to have an amazing day weatherwise (the next day turned into a rainy, ugly day - we got the timing brilliant, it seems) - and, well - yet another great side to New Zealand - and our last walk here (my legs will thank me..)

Hanywho...

after that, it was a good sleep, an interesting breakfast and drive up to Taupo and.. 

well.. 

a vertical drop of 15,000 ft from a pink (!!) plane... :)

Skydiving rocks. I simply wish I could do it more often - the feeling is simply INCREDIBLE, and the adrenalin rush is something I will not easily forget. There was only one black spot on my experience, and that's the fact that technology hates me. Seriously. A photographer jumped in front of me and took an excellent video and dozens of shots..

...which for me, and me only, didn't come out. The video did, but the shots didn't. Ah well! Andrew's uploading his shots now - someone do a quick photoshop and paste my face on him? Should be a similar experience of gravity at its best ;)

Still. Someone start skydiving in Malta please? I need my fix!!!!

Off for an interesting adventure this morning.. we'll post more updates later! ;)

We'll see you soon.. and.. Happy Christmas to all of you! (our families, friends, work colleagues - all of you, you know who you are!! :) ) 

Kaikoura Day 2 and Wellington

Hi all! Received lots of msgs on the lines that we should change our site name to weareREALLYlostsomewhereinnewzealand.blogspot.com. So a biggggg sorrrrry for the late post. The good news is that we will be up to date from now on, the bad news is that, well, we're not 'really' lost here!

Kaikoura day 2

So Kaikoura day 2 was as eventful as it was bizarre. For a start we had to wake up at 6am to catch a 6:45am boat to go whale spotting. Unfortunately the whales thought it was a bit too cold to surface (or were just being plain lazy) and preferred to let us sit through the stomach-churning, face-colouring process of just the worst sail of my life whilst enjoying this macabre scene from below. According to James there were a good 2% on the boat enjoying people-getting sick spotting, however I was too busy being sick myself to be entertained with such sightings.(edit James: I surfaced briefly from my sick bag to notice that.. but very, very briefly!!) I content myself that I was the subject of attention for some brief moments today! But this is nature, and whilst we were all annoyed that whales didn't decide to rise a few 100m to surface and instead cost the company thousands in refunds (ten points for the whale!), we can't wait till the next opportunity to go out and see these truly splendid creatures.

From then on the day was just great and relaxed. We had the opportunity to taste this marvellous bbqed crayfish with mussels and prawn patty on the side. Delicious. On the way up from Kaikoura we stopped and encountered a seal colony with the baby seals and all. We then had a long drive up to Picton for the ferry to Wellington. A splendid drive complemented with an easy transition across the straits.

Wellington


Ahhh civilization. A house, family, pet cats etc.! Forgot what it's all about. And a truly lovely welcome. Meeting up with family in New Zealand and catching up in a land so far away from home was the best way to end the day! We all talked late into the night and just collapsed in time for an early rise where we were toured around the whole of Wellington which is an absolutely stunnnning place to live in! Lovely beaches, scenerey, thousands of inlets and a buzzing city centre. We had a lunch by the coast (see pic) and spent the rest of the day just talking and driving more around Wellington. Of note was the national museum 'Te Papa' which, unlike many other museums, was very interesting and interactive (similar in style to London museums but solely on NZ). I'm sure James' highlight of the day were the LOTR Weta studios! (Edit James: hooooly yes. Loved the whole day, but the WETA cave was gorgeous! Tiny and cool! Geek ahoy!)

At night we had dinner with the whole family and I got to meet my second cousin! (always nice meeting great new family members). Again, the dinner and chatting went on late into the night so I had no time to write a post until after crashing ... i.e. now :) A wicked two days and a big THANK YOU to Auntie Edwige and Uncle Pete! (edit James: BIG BIG MASSIVE ONE from me too!!! Thanks so much! And I love Morse :) )

Today or tomorrow we head off into the wild again. The much anticipated Tongariro crossing (Mount Doom) (edit James : cue LoTR soundtrack please!) awaits us and loads to come after that too!! :) :)

Cheers
Andrew