Backpacking

Well after last nights shenanigans I had an apology this morning which was nice, I suppose you have to expect it is hostels!

We had an early start again - 7.15am. We got on a big yellow bus and headed north up to Cape Reinga. Our first stop was a Kauri Forest but it was raining so I walked through it quite quicly as I hadn't bought a coat! The trees were fascinating and their history amazing! They can live up to 4000 years old. Unfortunatly there aren't many that old left now as since the maoris and europeans arrived they've been logged for timber. They grow really straight and tall so they are perfect for logging.

It was pretty much straight up to 90 mile beach with a quick stop to get food for lunch and also breakfast! The reason as we were in a rush was because the tide was coming in so we needed to get doing before there was no beach left!

Onto 90 mile beach which is about 60 miles, but they worked out that it was 90 miles because on average a cow can be herded about 30 miles a day so they used to use the beach to herd the cows down to the main towns and it took them around 3 days!

The beack was MASSIVE! It was amazing with crashing waves on one side and sand dunes on the other side! We passed a few 4 wheel drives but normal cars can't come along here and rental car agreements have NO DRIVING ON 90 MILE BEACH ALLOWED written very clearly. The result if you take a car on the beach is that it will probably sink - I'll put a photo on soon!

At the end of 90 mile beach are massive sand dunes, they are like sand mountains! I felt really travel sick at this point as Craig our driver was doing turns on the beach - ugh! So whilst everyone went sandboarding - body boards down the sand, I became the official photographer!

After the duning we headed north upto Cape Reinga which is the northern most tip of NZ and before we stopped there we went to a lovely little beach for lunch. Some of the guys got the boards out and went body boarding, I had a paddle then went and sat with the girls and had lunch.

Once full and a bit more relaxed we went to Cape Reinga and the lighthouse where the Maori believe that when someone dies theire soul travels north and along the headland to the Cape and departs this world! It's a very sacred place and it still belongs to the Maori people but the Department of Conservation look after it. We got there and walked down to the lighthouse, unfortunatly there were some workmen there with diggers and stuff building a new wall so trying to get a picture of the lighthouse was a bit difficult! There is ysually a sign like there is at Lands End/ John O Groats and that was down because of the work! However what was spectacular was the surrounding views. This is where the Tasman and the Pacific Oceans meet, you can kind of work it out at the waves are going towards each other, but it was a really calm day so there were no smashing waves! The views of the surrounding coast are amazing as well!

After we ledt here it was a long drive down to Kauri World, basically a stop to try and get us to buy some ancient Kauri tree stuff like coasters, kitchen utensils and other expensive stuff. The workmanship was amazing but it was all very expensive!

The last stop was at a place called Mongonui which has NZ's best fish and chip shop! So we had fish and chips, they were lovely, all the fish and chips are amazing! Mongonui itself is a gorgeous little harbour town with a few islands in the sound, it's situated in an inlet at the north of the Bay of Islands.

I had a few drinks with the group from the dorm again but I couldn't go out on the town as I had run out of cash and my money wallet was in the reception safe which was closed, so an early night for me! Not such a nice night though! The group came in at 2am making a racket and started pulling the mattress off one of the beds, it went out the patio door this time which I was trying to sleep next too! Very cold! They then bought it back in put it back on the bed - top bunk! They then had a crisp fight! Lovely! These people are older than me! Not the best experience as it was my first time in a mixed dorm!

We had a 7.30 am pick up this morning from Base. I popped in to say good bye to Jess as she was luckier and her bus didn't go until 8.00! Haf halped me with all my stuff! Thanks!

On the bus everyone was still asleep and there were only 17 people on a 50 seater so it was fairly quiet. Kane our driver explained that we would head straight up to Paihia so that we would have the afternoon to do what we wanted.

We stopped halfway for breakfast, Kane also arranged the accommodation. I opted for the Pipi Patch Lodge as that was what was suggested and everyone else stayed there! I also booked the Excitor a jet boat tour of the bay of Islands.

Arriving at 12.00 we checked in and I was second into my dorm which was pretty basic but clean. There were no lockers and the top bunks didn't even have railings on! Ouch if you roll over! There were 3 girls and 4 boys in the dorm and they all seemed ok!

They did a trip to some hot springs whilst I went and did the Excitor. The trip was fantastic, we went 45 knots saw loads of fish - no dolphins though! We went through the hole in the rock which is huge! It was such a laugh! As it was quite calm the driver couldn't do as many wave jumps and such but it meant that we saw loads more wildlife and he took us to see more islands!

Back at the hostel that night we had a barbeque which was tasty! I stayed for a few drinks then called it a night as I was knackered! The rest of the dorm stayed out came back around 1-2 am and started chucking the mattresses off the beds! I had been fast asleep and I tried ignoring them but then a sleeping bag landed on me!

Jess came in and woke me up this morning - I had fallen asleep again after my alarm went off! It was raining and miserable so we decided not to do Waiheke Island which has amazing beaches but to do Rangitoto Island as there is a 2-3 hour walk and then we could stop off in Devonport on the way back for lunch!

We got the 9.15 ferry to Rangitoto which is a dormant volcano just across the harbour from Auckland (Auckland has around 48 volcanoes) the weather was pretty awful and we were worried about the views from the summit!

When we got to Rangitoto Island 20 minutes later it had stopped raining and the clouds were beginning to break. We started heading up the track and it was very stony when we cam along a massive lava flow - not really hot lava obviously! It was from when the volcanoe erupted 600 years ago! It was quite freaky as there we were trundling along and wham! There between all the bush was a big rive of black stones!

It was similar all the way up - lush bush then a big black river of stone! It got quite steep and it was literally an hour to get up to the top! At the top you could see the crater and we walked up to the viewing platforms - during the walk the sun came out so we were sweltering having dressed for rain!

The views were amazing, you could see all of the other islands and Auckland. It is literally like being on top of the world!

We walked back down to the lava caves - we didn't have a torch so we couldn't go in but apparently it is quite cool!

We headed down the volcano to the ferry terminal and got the ferry to Devonport - yes it also has a navy base!!!

I've now seen the australian and new zealand navy and they are so small!

In Devonport which was very cute - lots of little boutique shops we went for Fush and Chups (That's how the Kiwi's pronounce it!). Really nice! They don't do curry sauce here though! But you get to decide whether you want your fish battered or crumbed!

We went back to Auckland and we went to the supermarket as both Jess and I leave tomorrow, me to the Bay of Islands and Jess to Rotorua. We got pizza for dinner!

Back at the hostel we scrubbed a baking tray for 15 minutes and black muck was still coming off of it! Then we discovered both the ovens were broken! So we ended up having Thai in an Asian food court!

Back at the hostel I showered and packed then spent the evening on the roof terrace having a few drinks with Laura and Sarah and welsh girl Haf (It means Summer in welsh!)!

Myself and Sarah decided to have a walk around Auckland so we walked down to the harbour and caught the end of the Auckland Swim. This is an annual event where a few hundred crazy fools swim from Devonport on the other side of the harbour into Aucklands Americas Cup Village! Mad!

We then decided that it was a bit to windy and chilly so we went for a coffee and walked up through the main shops! It's reasonably cheap here as well so I mainly window shopped and bought a few essentials!

We went for lunch in the SkyCity food court, basically it's just a cinema but the food was cheap!

I then left Sarah as she had to get ready for work - she's doing a Working Holiday Visa and working in an Italian Restaurant at the moment.

I was in farmers - kind of like BHS, where I met Jess, we started chatting and it turns out she's also staying at Base Backpackers. So we carried on shopping and had dinner. It was a reasonably early night as we decided to visit one of the Islands tommorrow.

My last entry was written waiting for the shuttle to pick me up at 5am! I got to the airport at 6am and check in didn't open until 6.40!

I went through and boarded my flight - very boring! I watched the film Must Love Dogs - Don't bother watching this ever itis sooo boring!

At Auckland I had to declare my boots at the biosecurity point and have them checked out. They were clean of course!

I got the Airbus to my hostel and it was quite nice as we went past Mt Eden and past the sky city.

At the hostel I checked in and my room is a 9 bed dorm this time but the girls are really nice. The bathrooms are well nasty, really old and dark!

Me and Laura from my dorm went for dinner in the hostel cafe and then I came back up and unpacked and had a shower. Sarah in my dorm is here on a working holiday visa and is working in an Italian restaurant so she went out. Two californian girls came along as well who were really nice, they had just come off of doing the Kiwi Experience so they told me all about it. Lots of sugegstions!

My camera is getting full so I'll be transfering them to disc soon so I'll be putting some on soon!

My last day in Melbourne! I am going to miss it as I've had a wicked time here, but I'm excited about going to New Zealand!

Although it was a long day last night I had to get up reasonable early this morning to get my washing done ready to pack! I also went to the post office to send back my pictures of my Bridge Climb as I don't want them getting damaged on my travels!

I met Ursula (I kept calling her Ulrika, but it's Ursula!) and Anne for brunch at Great Flavours. I had a cooked breakfast - WOW! If anyone ever comes or comes back to Melbourne you have to come to St Kilda and go to Great Flavours on Acland Street is so good and really good value for money!

We all headed into Melbourne on the tram and Anne left us as she's going out with this guy she met to a Dracula Themed dinner! So she had to get tickets!

Me and Ursula headed upto the city circle tram which is a free tram that takes you around the main streets in a loop for free. It turns out that part of the loop is closed so we could only do half of it! So we headed back to Hard Rock Cafe and I bought a really nice pin, and we had these amazing cocktails!

We then headed down to the shops and I had a look in Target again!

Back at the hostel I packed most of my gear and then met Ursula for dinner again! Where else but Great Flavours!

We headed back to the hostel and went straight to the bar and met Sonya and Jess. We weren't waiting long before the Irish guys who were on my tour yesterday joined us. A few others joined us and then they started the Karoke! The first person up got a free drink so of course I volunteered! I did Macy Gray I Try! Becky and Abby came along, Becky is also from Bristol so we did our best farmer accents! Can you believe she actually wants to move back to Bristol! Why! More people started singing, then me and Sonya did Locomotion together! The canadian girls from the bus tour yesterday then showed up as well! We had to start bringing in more chairs! After a few more competitions to win drinks I went up and sang again! This time it was Can't Catch the Moonlight by Leanne Rimes!

More cheesy music was put on and I had a bit of a dance where I bumped in to the horny guys from the Neighbours night - there was lots of hugging at this point as they were slaughtered after being at the races today!

I stayed and danced for a bit longer but I had be a Cinderella and call it a night at midnight because I have to be up at 4 am to get to the airport in the morning!

It was way to early to be decent this morning! I got on the bus with 2 Irish lads from my hostel and we picked up loads of other people in Melbourne.

First stop was Bells Beach - famous surf beach (see the end of Point Blank - actually not the real Bells Beach but you get the idea!). It was ok but quite calm so only 3 surfers!

We then stopped at Lorne which was quite nice, we headed on to Kennet River and walked down a road with wild Koalas in the trees, we fed the wild parrots, they eat out of your hand - so cool!

We then headed to Apollo Bay where we had a gorgeous lunch and went down to the beach. Wow this beach was so nice, I got a bit carried away and got absolutely soaked!

We went for a walk through a temperate rainforest which dried me off. The trees were so huge - we stood inside them!

Onto the 12 Apostles - kind of like the Needles on the Isle of Wight! There are only 8 left now though, one fell down a few months ago! It was really busy and there were tonnes of bloody flies! Ugh! I got some nice photos!

We then went to Loch Ard Gorge which was the most beautiful inlet where a ship from England called the Loch Ard crashed in the 1800s. I got wet again!

London Bridge is falling down! Which it did a few years ago! The arch was quite fascinating but the beach was the most gorgeous sight!

Absolutely knackered by this stage so I fell asleep on the bus and then we stopped for tea in this little town, I had the most amazing noodles! Yum!

I got in about 9.30 pm and stayed chatting with the girls for an hour or so before we went to bed!

Really lazy today! I just went down to the beach with a group from the hostel. As it is Melbourne Cup Day all of Melbourne shuts down so everyone was at the beach!

I went for a meal with Ulrika, we went to this great restaurant called Great Flavours. It's a low fat restaurant, they don't use butter eyc when cooking food. All the food it fresh and locally produced! I had a beef burger and wild rice salad, the burger was nearly 2 inches thick! Only $12.00!

We went to the bar after and got our free bubbly, they did it between 6-8 tonight because of the Melbourne Cup. We had a few drinks and I went to bed about 11 as I have to get up early for the
Great Ocean Road Tour!

I headed into Melbourne City today to get some new clothes and a bag to put them in! Another hot one so I stuck to air conditioned shops and malls.

I went to Myer's Dept Store first and got the lift - weird thing - they have a woman who sits in the lift all day and she controls it!

I then went to the outdoors type shops and got some new shorts and a plug for the sink - I didn't realise the hostel bathrooms didn't have them!

I was told about a really good store called Target which is like a cross between Primark and BHS. On my way there were loads of people just watching the middle of the road. I asked what was happening and there was going to be a Parade with all the jockeys and trainers of the horses racing in the Melbourne Cup tommorrow! I stayed and watched - it was really good, they had some local school bands, comedy horses, previous winners, and the sports cars carrying the jockeys and trainers! Really good atmosphere!

I then found Target and wow - it's brilliant! Loads of styles of clothes from casual to dressy! There were a few people getting hats and dresses for the cup tommorrow, I got some vest tops and board trunks!

There were loads of women walking around with huge hat boxes - Watch your legs!

I came back to the hostel and got ready for Neighbours night. I met some Irish people in the bar and shared a taxi with them to the pub, we stood for a while and when I came back from the bar it had gotten so busy I couldn't get through so I started to talk to a girl from Edinburgh - it was her 21st!

When the stars came out - Karl, Sindi and Boyd they asked if it was anyones birthday so we shoved Sarah forward and Dr Karl sung happy birthday to her! We then sat at a table and some welsh lads joined us - very nice! We tried answering questions in the quiz but it was too much fun and the stars came around for photos etc! Yestin - one of the welsh lads bought me a signed Toady postcard!!!

Dr Karl and his band then performed, we all danced for a bit drunk a bit more and I headed back on the tram. A brilliant night though!

Well I flew into Melbourne today. I flew with Vigin Blue who were very nice! I arrived at Sydney airport and checked in, in the departure lounge was Krispy Kreme - yeah! Obviously I wasted some money there!

The flight took like 5 minutes - it was so quick! I was speaking to a girl who was going to the Melbourne Cup. The whole of Melbourne shuts down on Tuesday!

Arriving in Melbourne I got the shuttle to my hostel which is well posh! Base Backpackers - St Kilda. It has a fish tank under the floor, all sanctuary guests get a free glas of bubbly between 6-7, everyone gets a free drinks voucher when they arrive. The bedroom is a bit cramped but we have en suite. The kitchen area is nice and really social. The bar is very modern and there are always drinks promotions on!

I went for a walk along Acland street and then along the beach. I was feeling really homesick at this point so I came back to Base and had a shower and met one of my dorm mates - she lives in NZ but she's Irish (on a working hol visa), we went to the bar for a quick drink and that eased the homesickness quite a bit! I then went to Safeways and got some essentials - bread and butter and pot noodles! Back at the hostel I sat in the lounge and had my dinner watching Australian Idol - really good! I got talking to a few people and then went to bed! Boring I know but I'm knackered - it's neighbours night tommorrow night as well!

Well up and at em' this morning! I walked to the BridgeClimb office and got kitted up in those lovely jumpsuits! Eugh! We had a little safety briefing and we all introduced ourselves - it turned out that 4 of us had birthday's today!

We started the bridgeclimb and had to climb up these nasty ladder/step things, there were four sets of them so it was pretty scary! When we got on to the Bridge itself it was easy. We walked up fairly slowly with our guide telling us all about the bridge and Sydney harbour. We had photos taken at various points including that all important group one - cheese! The group sang happy birthday at the top which was sweet!

When we got back I chose to buy a single photo as the group one was a bit cheesy - the single photo was only 7 quid!

I then went down to the waterfront and to Doyles Restaurant for my birthday lunch - apparently the best fish and chips with the best view in Sydney. Well the view was amazing, right between the harbour bridge and the opera house. The food was okay but I've had better fish and chips - it was a bit pricy as well!

I then walked around the Rocks area which was lovely! It's one of the oldest parts of Sydney and at weekends it has a street market.

Included in my BridgeClimb was a ticket to the Pylon LookOut on the Bridge - This was brilliant too! The stairs up the pylon were worse than the BridgeClimb! Oh well I worked off that lunch!

When I got back to the hostel I updated the journal and Allison an Irish girl I met yesterday came up and invited me for a drink. We went over to Darling Harbour which was all lit up and all the day cruise boats were coming in.

Very stiffly I walked back to the hostel and packed! I broke my bag as it is getting a bit full! I wish I had bought a bigger bag!

Off to Melbourne tomorrow!

Well as I was completely knackered from my Blue Mountains Trip I decided to do the Hop On/Off bus tour of Sydney and Bondi.

First stop was the Sky Tower - the second highest in the southern hemisphere - Auckland's is bigger (yes I shall be doing that!). The views were fantastic and as it was a really nice day they were stunning! Also included in the Sky Tower is the OZ Trek which is a Virtual Australian Experience with a simulator ride at the end! i was at the SkyTower for ages!

Next was Bondi - I stayed on the bus for this as I would have had to waited 2 hours for a bus back. As it was getting late I decided that it was too much! The tours were really interesting and both took about 90 mins to 2 hours each!

Quite a lazy day today but I've booked my BridgeClimb for tommorrow morning!

Today I went on a Blue Mountains tour with OZ Experience, I had to be at the OZ Experience office my 7.30am. Everyone in my dorm was still asleep so I was trying to make as much noise as possible whilst getting ready!! Hehe! No really it was a bit difficult and I forgot a few things!

We headed off to Eureka National Park and saw some wild kangaroos - there was one with a wee joey! It was sooo cute! We saw some cockatoos which were so beautiful! I went to the loo and it was just a big hole! Agh!

We then went to the Blue Mountains National Park and went on a 6 km walk to Wentworth Falls, this was amazing the views were spectacular! It was hard work though! We stopped for lunch and had a go on the didgeridoo! I managed to make some noise!

We headed off to Katoomba and walked down Furber Stairs to see the three sisters and we got the scenic railway back up - this is the world's steepedt railway - they're not kidding, it's almost vertical! It's an old mining railway and they used to walk up the steps! Madness! There's still loads of coal and gold left in the mountains but it's too dangerous with the water to mine!

We finished the day here and I got back to the hostel at 7pm, I was knackered and treated myself to a pot noodle - the life of a backpacker!

Bonza Mate it's Sydney and it's hot!!!

I arrived on Tuesday morning after an absolute killer of a flight! I flew from LA to Auckland (12.5 hours) then transfered to Sydney. I had to declare my Hershey Bars through customs but I had no hassle there!

I got my shuttle to my hostel (Base Backpackers) on Kent Street and checked in. I got a really nice room and practically ran into the shower! Although I hadn't slept for about 16 hours I went for a walk to get myself acquainted with Sydney.

I walked down to Circular Quay and wow there they were - the opera house and the harbour bridge! I started to walk to Macqaurries point and it started pissing it down! But it was still really hot and sunny! Weird! I jumped under a tree for some shade and decided to walk back to the hostel when the rain died off!

The opera house and harbour bridge were massive - way bigger than I expected. The opera house is actually kinda pink!

The only bad thing about Sydney is the flies, there are hundreds of them and they fly into your face, ears and nose - eugh! Apparently the weather was crap last week and only changed the day that I arrived so all the flies cam out with the weather change!

WEDNESDAY

Today I checked out of my single room and checked into a dorm room - I'm really slumming it now! The room is really nice though, I met Catherine (well I woke her up) who is just leaving Oz and has just come down with Hayfever!

I went to Manly today, the ferry is excellent it takes you past the opera house, I was one of the first on so I got to the back of the boat and a prime spot for photos! We crossed the harbour entrance and it got a bit choppy but we arrived in one piece! Manly was great, the beach was not safe for swimming but there were loads of surfers and body boarders! Yum! I went for a paddle and it was a bit rough so I came back in a bit and this wave came up to my thighs - I have a salt line on my shorts now! I then walked back down and got some fish and chips, well nice! I know that Quiksilver etc is cheaper here but I set myself a task that I was not to shop as I can't fit anything extra in my case! Well the Quiksilver shop in Manly was too much to resist! I was good though - I got some wristbands for 5 pounds and a camera strap for 6 pounds! I didn't buy a handbag I saw for a fiver though! Apparently Melbourne is even cheaper for Quiksilver!

I got the ferry back to Circular Quay and went for a stroll through the Rocks and found the BridgeClimb office for My climb on Saturday!

When I got back I met my other dorm mate Peggy from Hanover and we decided to go for a drink, we went down to Darling Harbour which is 5 minutes from the hostel. It was lovely going down to the harbour at night with all the lights!

LA was really good fun, I arrived really late on the Friday night and the hostel was great (Orbit Hostel, Melrose). I had a private room booked so I just flaked out! I didn't actually sleep on the flight and I couldn't sleep on my first night at the hostel either!

Feeling the worst for wear I did the LA City Tour on Saturday - I met a few others travelling alone so we stuck together (hi Eleri!) The City Tour took us pretty much everywhere: Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd (kodak theatre, chinese theatre, handprints). We went to Chinatown, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Compton and Mulholland Drive.

The Weather was pretty crap - we only saw the Hollywood sign in the afternoon!

As tbe tour was a whistlestop tour of LA myself and Eleri headed back up to Hollywood Blvd again and took more photos of the stars and handprints. They have film characters there like Darth Vadar and Chewbacca, Spiderman, Shrek etc so we had our photos taken with them! We then went into the shopping centre and got the obligatory Frappacino - so much cheaper there! We headed back to the hostel and I went straight to bed!!

SUNDAY

Whilst at Venice Beach a couple of lads got some tickets to be in the audience for Family Feud (Family Fortunes), so we went along! It was sooo cheesy! We were taught how to clap, how to go aww when they got the answer wrong! It turned out that the show was a Soap Stars Special with stars from the Bold and the Beautiful, Days of out LIves, The young and the Restless and General Hospital. Of course not knowing any of these soaps we didn't recognise any of them! Apparently they are quite major stars though! The bloke that presented it was in Home Improvement - he played Tim Allen's co-host on the DIY show (bearded dude)!

After the show we headed back to the hostel where I got my shuttle to LAX!