Manila

Manila new
Manila old

Are the jeepneys racing each other?

Hot, humid, hectic and just a little fumey. You take your life into your own hands trying to cross the road and put your life into someone elses hands if you jump on to one of the many jeepneys or peddle carts that are all over the city - which I haven't done as I have no idea where the jeepneys are going and most places can be walked to relatively easily. There isn't much to see here in terms of sights and buildings but there are a few nicely laid out and clean parks and the Spanish have left their mark in the older part of a walled in town and fort. There is also a hectic and bustling chinatown with market stalls strewn about the streets, some streets pedestrian only but others you are sharing with all the colourful jeepneys. I haven't taken many pictures as although I feel quite safe walking around I do stand out quite a bit as a westerner and I get stared at quite a bit so I have left my camera tucked away in my bag. The people are very friendly and there is a bit of a western feel here, with a Marks and Spencers in the mall and starbucks in quite a few places, as well as restaurants selling wide and varied types of food - I have succumbed to an iced chocolate in Starbucks -it was lovely and cost US$2 :-) I have also, for US$10, bought myself a sarong, a towel, a few new t-shirts and stocked up on toiletries so I am all set to move on and go and find an idealic beach somewhere and chill - destination Palawan.

Hong Kong

Oh my! I had forgotten just how busy the real world can be and especially the Asia world - so many people, such big buildings, so much traffic - take me back to New Zealand forthwith! By accident rather than by plan I arrive in Hong Kong just as they are all ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Now maybe, I thought, it would be a quiet time with shops closed and people off visiting and staying with family. But no! Everyone was visiting family but the whole family was then out and about walking the streets, parks and shopping malls that remained open, all be it opening a little later than normal. Oh, and it is cold, 14c, I hadn't expected that. Quite nice to walk around in a fleece. What has been even nicer is a room to myself in a nice hotel, with a big do not disturb sign on my door. Not that the hostels were bad in NZ but I had been sharing dorm rooms or sleeping in a tent over the past 3+ weeks so a little luxury and solitude was certainly in order. My choice of eating estblishment has been reduced a tad here as I refuse to eat anywhere that has shark fin soup on the menu and unfortunately that is a lot of restaurants. Perhaps I should investigate a spell on the Sea Shephard as it really does get up my nose that peolpe can destroy such a magnificent animal, in such an horrendous way, for the sake of an unneeded food source. Welcome to Asia!

New Zealand

Back in Christchurch and awaiting my flight back to Auckland after seven weeks in this beautiful country. I have seen volcanoes and geysers, glaciers and fiords, glacial lakes and oceans, quiet bays and storming oceans, mountains and valleys. I have seen dolphins and seals, penguins and sea lions. I have travelled like a hippy in my hippie mobile, slept in a hut in the middle of nowhere, camped by a river miles from habitation, slept in an old railway carriage (I was allowed to!) and shared dormatories with fellow travellers all with their own tales to tell. I have met like minded people and eaten my way around a lot of fresh produce that New Zealand has to offer. I've never met a person who has a bad word to say about NZ and I am not going to be any different, it has been a great visit and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys the outdoors and great scenery.

Arthur's Pass

The final drive back towards Christchurch and this time it is up and over Arthur's pass, which is even more impressive than Lewis Pass - sorry Lewis. Initially, although the views are magnificent there are too many signs of man - rail tracks, over head cables etc, but it doesn't take long before this disappears and you are just left with the magnificent mountains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, and views views views. If there is one thing that NZ is lacking it is not views or scenery. Oh, or fresh yummy food! I continued how I started and ate my way around the north half of the south island. I am such a sucker for good bread and cheese, and the eggs have been like eggs used to be - bright bright yellow and oh so tasty, very nice fried with a fresh slice of bread in the mornings :-)

West Coast

The west coast is even less inhabited than the east coast and is a lot more rugged. The road winds quite close to the sea and it is a great drive just pootling south along side the sea. There are loads of places to pull over and stop to picnic or take photos along this strech of road - which hasn't been the case in a lot of places - I have just been finding drive ways or flat verges to pull over in. The rocks above are the 'pancake rocks' that appear to exist in just one location along the coast, the rock is limestone and it is layered from top to bottom - the reason for this or its method of formation is unknown.

Clouds

No camera filters so I took this through my sunglasses - moody huh!

So the weather isn't always blue skies in New Zealand! But it makes for a pleasant change, and some good photography, to have some cloudy and moody skies. The rain is a little less pleasant but we don't need to mention that! These photos were taken on the drive back from Abel Tasman - one of the few places where I had no choice but to back track on myself - everywhere else I have driven in circles (purposely!!??) - but there is only one road in and one road out to Abel Tasman and the northern west tip of the south island.

Abel Tasman

Taxi stand 2

Taxi stand 1

Views from the track

Taxi!

Storming through the waves

Another one of New Zealands great walks - but how they chose from so many I am not sure. This is a 3-5 day wlk all told or, like me, you can get a water taxi to one spot and walk just a bit of the track. Compared to my other tramps this was a very tame walk and although beautiful it is all very much the same along the way so i am glad I did not do the full tramp - that's my excuse and I am sticking to it. It was good to be back on the water, although it felt a little odd without my dive gear, and I got to see George the resident dolphin and the New Zealand fur selas taking it easy on the rocks.

Nelson

The cathedral
Cathedral from the tree lined streets

Sunset in Nelson, over the ocean

So I go to a city every now and again, even the hard worn country bumpkins need a little civilisation and a cinema fix every now and again. I am not sure it was worth my money sitting through "the marvellous adventures of Benjamin Button" but it was nice to take a break in Nelson, a small town rather than a city, and take in the art gallery, the cathedral and the odd iced chocolate (too hot for a hot chocolate), along with chilled meander along the streets and a sit in the park. I even had a beginners tango lesson in my backpackers accomodation this evening - it is a lot harder than those celebraties are making it look on the tv.

The Lewis Pass and Hanmer Springs

Mountains and valleys everywhere
River valleys - a little low on water

The land is quite barren around here

Anyone for a bungy jump?

Snow on the far mountains still

Nelson lakes

This is another Nelson Lake (forgotten the name of each one)

Waterfalls along the route

Mountains all around

From the east coast to the west coast north of Christchurch there are two passes - the Lewis pass and Arthur's pass, if you do not take one of these passes then you have to drive the full coastal road all the way around the north of the island. I chose to take the Lewis pass one way and would come back over the Arthur's pass on my way back to Christchurch. The pass was very empty and I hardly saw another car all day - and if I did I usually had to pull over and let them pass - one because I go so slow and have a tendancy to stop all of a sudden to take a photo, and two because the locals all drive like maniacs anyway and are usually going way fastest than the speed limit. They are quiet freindly though as they usually bib to thank me for pulling over.

Kaikora

The sea got a little rough - but not much
The day before and the sea was flat calm
A few clouds in the sky but make for a great photo

Walking the penisula

Taking in the sun

Kaikora is the whale watching place to be in NZ, but as I have been there and done that I wasn't ready to fork out a small fortune to go and see the whales - sorry whales. Instead I opted for an 11km penisula walk - from the town centre to the sea lion colony on one side of the penisula, up and over the penisula and back round to the town. It was a very hot day and the first hour of the walk was a little dull, walking along the eslanade, but it was mainly on the road but once I was up on the penisula it was a lovely walk with far reaching views. The sea lions had the right idea for the heat of the day - just taking it easy, lounging about on the rocks, and the cows also were in no hurry to remove themsleves from the footpath along the penisula - anyone would thick it was their feeding time I was interupting! Stayed in a bit of a party hostel here - accidently - must check whether the 'Magic bus' stops right outsode a hostel before I decide to pay for a room!

Banks Penisula

Views from summit road
One side of the coast to the other

The view from my tent in the morning

A serene picnic spot

Estuary into the sea

A remote beach

More views

I am running out of words to describe the breath taking scenery in New Zealand. Banks penisula is right on the doorstep of Christchurch but is very much up hill and down dale, leaving the distances into Christchurch small but the commute time long due to the winding roads so this also leaves the people behind, another recurring theme here. The penisula is high with the main scenic drive being called summit road and on both sides of the summit you can see down to the many coves and bays that spot the coast. Although this is not a well inhabited area there is still room for plenty of cafes and small shops and farm produced goods along the way, I think this two weeks may turn into an eat my way around NZ - well, there are so many fresh and yummy foods to chose from - lunch is off the farm cheese, with freshly baked bread and a locally made mango, lime and chilli chutney, all eaten on a picnic bench by the sea witht he sun streaming down - ahhhhhh!

What to do?

Back in Christchurch and said goodbye to my fellow trampers as they head off in their own directions - most back to work, one to continue tramping and another to skydive, canyon, white water raft and all that other fun and adrenalin filled stuff that you can do here in New Zealand. So what shall I do and where shall I head? I am now in 'free' mode and from this point on I have nothing booked or planned other than my flights to different countries, though I always have a few thoughts knocking around in my head - usually too many thoughts but I am getting better at that! As I am well into my NZ budget I need to consider costs as well as what and where I want to go. After a day trolling the internet and visitng the Christchurch tourist information I opt for car hire, a map, a tent and a picnic cool bag. The cheapest camper van I could find was $102 per day whereas the cheapest car was $30 so considering I would still need to pay for fuel and campsites on both I opted for the car. Having been in NZ for a little while now I also decided the car gave me a little more freedom as I could choose between camping and staying in Backpacker hostels (dorm ~ $25) - both of which are usually fully equiped with big kitchens and cooking equipment, and if I needed a little extra luxury I could book into a motel for a night. The Backpackers are also a little more sociable than being in a campervan as there are usually people milling around and willing to talk about their adventures. The destination would be the north of the south island, east and west, but no real plan - and I am off again!

Tramp #3

The hut in the valley - comfortable sleeping for 20+

A slightly differnet approach to tramping for tramp number 3 - this time we would be tramping in up a river! Perhaps a creek would be a more appropraite description but even still, it was wet, it was scambling over big rocks, with full packs, and it was great fun. Luckily the sun was out so it didn't take long to get used to the cold water. As the group varied in height from about 5ft3 to 6ft3 the water depth varied from thigh deep to knee deep along the way - yes I was in the thigh deep category. After a few hours scambling up the creep we were all very hot and sweety so a nice big deep plunge pool at the end of hour hike was a very welcome sight - off with packs (and t-shirts!!??) and into the icey cold water - ah, how refreshing! The night was spent in a hut and as it was our last proper night out and about we had mulled wine and cheesecake - and even some whiskey for those that were happy to drink it out of a squeezey bottle. The morning was spent getting wet again - this time through the water caves - no packs but deeper water, waterfalls and tight squeezes into, around and through crevices - ha! this time being short was an advantage :-) Great great fun! Witha change of socks it was a 3 hour hike back to the van where we all packed up and headed back to Christchurch, the end of our 11 days. A great way to see New Zealand, to get off the beaten track, to be out in the fresh air, to see some marvellous sights and to spend it in the company of like minded people.

Mount Cook

The tallest mountain in New Zealand, but no, I wasn't due to climb it, this wasn't even an over night tramp, just a leisurely day hike into the valley leading up to the mountain and to see the glacial lakes on the way. It was a glorious day - far too hot to be tramping with a big pack on ones back, but not quite warm enouhg to have melted the last iceberg floating inthe lake below the mountain. Even the mountain was happy that the sun was out - you would be able to see his smile but I am unable to load any photos at this time - again! We drove out of the valley leading to Mt Cook but camped at the entrance to the valley by the side of a lake and watched the most amazing sunset over the lake and the mountain (I have some great photos - honest) and awoke to yet more blue skies and a great view over the valley - not a bad spot for a free campsite.