NZ to Oz

NZ to Oz

At time of last writing we were expecting Vicky’s mums arrival in NZ. Shirley had a good journey out and we met her at Christchurch airport where it was hard to keep Charlie contained. He was so excited to see her and we spent the next couple of days relaxing in Hanmer Springs. Predominantly in hot springs but with a walk or two thrown in and the odd round of mini golf. We had planned to spend a few days in and around Christchurch but due to the earthquake we were not able to do this. We went for a walk to try and show Shirley the Christchurch that we had seen just a few weeks earlier but the whole centre was simply cordoned off due to damaged buildings and it looks like it will be at least 3 -6 months before the city is up and running.

We then went back to the campervan and headed north on the ferry to the North island. Shirley headed off south on her ‘backpacker’ tour that I think she thoroughly enjoyed. It was funny hearing about her staying in the hostels where she had to spend a night or two in the top bunk of bunk beds and even encountering three tier bunk beds !

For our part we headed north on the north island taking in Wellington, Hastings, Napier and then spending a few days in the centre at Lake Taupo and Rotorua that were great fun. One of the highlights being a large, bouncy cushion at one of the camps. Approximately 20 metres long and 5 metres wide this is simply a large bouncy pillow (like a bouncy castle but better) that Charlie and I spent hours jumping on. I say hours, but after a while my calf muscles had tightened somewhat and I had also grazed both knees (as if on astroturf) by overjumping ! It really is the adults that you have to watch ! This area of NZ is very volcanic with lots of natural hot springs – literally boiling water pouring out of the ground and we saw some real great scenery.

We headed north still onto the north coast where we had a great couple of days on the beach and then we went to Auckland to meet up again with Shirley. We then spent 3 days on the Coromandel which is a scenic peninsula a couple of hours from Auckland and again we spent a great couple of days here. We dug a hole on hot water beach and experienced more boiling water pouring up from the beach. We also had the fallout from Typhoon Yoshi in Australia that led to some very feisty waves. What is it with all the weather extremes ?  Earthquakes, Tsunami’s, Floods and Typhoons – not sure if it is always like this or this is just a feisty year. Almost makes you miss the monotony of UK’s weather (only almost!)

We then headed through Auckland up to the top of the north island for the last few days and we had some real highlights. We stayed in KeriKeri and the Fudge and Chocolate shops were simply magnificent ! On top of this we had a boat trip in the Bay of Islands and we saw multitudes of Dolphins jumping in our boats wake and Vix and I went in to try and swim with them but they were too quick for us. We also saw Penguins, fluorescent blue fish and some further great scenery. The next day we went on a bus tour to the northernmost tip of the north island and also drove down 90 mile beach (approx. 64 miles long !?!). We also went Sand boarding that is basically walking up a large sand dune and then tobogganing down. Charlie was very brave and did it as did Nana ! Following her Boom netting the previous day we were certainly with the leading ‘adrenaline Nana’ on the islands. Boom netting was jumping off the boat into a net that the boat pulled along whilst you enjoyed the swell (fought for your life). Nana queued up behind Vicky and thought to mention as it was their turn that she had never even jumped into a swimming pool ! I have the wholethin in photo and video so some great memories there.

We popped in to see some long standing family friends of ours – Roy and Marie Bills in Dargeville and had a lovely afternoon catching up after many years. Leaving New Zealand was very sad as we had spent a great couple of months there. Shirley flew off to UK and we boarded the plane to Oz – Melbourne here we come.

We arrived in Melbourne to a very sunny autumnal Melbourne. They are all wearing coats as they think it is cold but the initial 24-26 degrees felt lovely to us ! We are spending approx. 10 days in St Kilda south of Melbourne and we are taking in the sights of Melbourne. The trams / trains / buses are fantastic and we have been up the Sky Tower, done the Museum and spent time on the beach. We have also met up with Chris James from Gladstone days and had a nice afternoon and her fiancée (yes, fiancée) Jeff is going to take me to an aussie rules game at the MCG next Saturday (80,000 crowd).

I have also popped in and seen the Melbourne Crown casino that is basically a Vegas type resort and we also took Charlie to see the new kids film RIO (3d) which was fun.  After these 10 days we will be taking in the Great Ocean road for a few days before moving on the Brisbane and the East coast.

We also had an interesting experience applying for our Chinese visa’s. I took in all the relevant info but once I mentioned that my brother worked for the British Council (government organisation) it was like we were MI6 and things got a little tricky – anyway hopefully all should be ok.

Today Vix is getting a pass to do some shopping in the Docklands area whilst Charlie and I take on the indoor glow in the dark mini golf ! Melbourne literally is sports mad and having gone 2 months in NZ away from any real news, sport or TV, the last couple of days here has been aussie rules, The Masters golf (Rory has done a Rupert for my golfing friends), the grand National (I managed to back Ballabriggs from here after seeing Nancy had backed it on facebook !), cricket and all the premier league football – I saw the gooners game last night vs Blackpool.

Charlie is still having a ball – he seems to be growing before our eyes – taller, more cheeky and the other night he started reading off the page from a book we had not shown him before !?! How does that happen ? Vix is also really enjoying the trip – we are starting to cast our minds to July and our return – well I am and Vix is trying not to !!

That’s all for now – we do think of UK often and whilst we miss family and friends etc we are trying to enjoy the moment and make the most of this great opportunity. More soon from the East coast…

Where are we up to...

Next instalment…

Been a while and can’t remember when I wrote last – must have been just after Sydney so…

We loved Sydney and there was a heatwave whilst we were there – 40 degrees you beauty – but we also found it pretty pricey – worse than London with a dodgy exchange rate. So we went south for a few days to Woologong and had a great couple of days on the beach.

Then we flew onto New Zealand and we will be returning to Oz so lots to look forward to. We flew in over the South island and you could tell immediately that there was going to be some great scenery – mountains, glaciers, craggy rocks and great weather greeted our first few days in Christchurch. We found Christchurch very pretty, friendly, tidy and pleasant and we had a couple of great days with some friends of mine from Volleyball days, Paul and Gail and their son Sam. Little did any of us know that only a few days later central Christchurch was to be changed forever – for the worse – and a large loss of life has left the whole country shocked. We were obviously lucky to miss the earthquake but feel for all those involved and our friends who have substantial damage to their house. The whole nation continues to rally round however, and everywhere you turn there are donation boxes etc for the city and we hope they recover as soon as they can.

We initially headed north and enjoyed the hot springs in Hanmer Springs and also some beach time in Momorangi. We met 2 nice Kiwi families who took us out on their speedboat and Charlie was water skiing on an inflatable police car ! We also caught a large red Snapper (well we smacked it with the speedboat !) - beats fishing any day.

We also enjoyed Kaiteri beach in the north that basically had its own tidal lazy river / rapids. When the tide was coming in you jumped in and it carried you up a stream, when the tide was going out – you jumped in and it basically carried you out to sea ! The sight of both Vix and myself with our bathers full of sand was really very funny. We got right to the top of the South island and then headed down the West coast.

In Murchison we met up (again) with our friends Clive and Paul who we met in Sydney and their friend Nicky. We had a great evening and barbecue and watched a sheep being sheared and fed Emu’s, deer and sheep from our hands. Great to see friendly faces and we wished them well on the rest of their trip.

We stopped off in glacier country and for the first time had to dig out socks and trousers (I had forgotten how to put these on !). Both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are great scenic and geographic sites and Vix did a glacier climb while I took Charlie up to the mouth of the glacier.

We headed on further south to Queenstown – the adrenalin capital – and I was happy with a ride in the gondola up to a scenic viewpoint but Vix managed to book us 1 hour on a Jetboat in the worst (windiest) weather on record. After 30 seconds Charlie wanted to go back as the lake was like an ocean, however, once we got onto the Shotover river it was a lot calmer and Charlie couldn’t get enough. The driver pulled 360’s – yes 360 degree turns in a speedboat and we whistled past trees, bushes and bridges. Afterwards we could barely walk but it was a great ride.

From here we went to Milford Sound which is again very scenic – a beautiful Fjord that is totally protected and we had a great mini boat trip up and down the fjord. We then headed further south through Invercargill and onto Dunedin where we are now and it is safe to say that these are a little quieter than the rest of the island. In the next few days we head back to Christchurch to meet Vicky’s Mum and we are going to spend a few days just out of Christchurch and then head on to the North Island.

We are 2 months in and the time is flying by – however, still have Oz, Thailand and China to come. Being so far away you do start to miss your family and friends but we are on such a great trip that every day there is something new to experience. Like today in a Dunedin swimming pool – I nearly drowned in the Lazy river in the childrens pool that was basically a set of rapids !

We are staying vaguely up to date with the news (sports results) and see that there has been terrible trouble in Libya (we are glad to hear our friends Rich, Vix, Archie and Nel have managed to get out). Still happy to get any e-mails or Skypes from anyone that fancies a chat.

Charlie is having a whale of a time – he really is adaptable – he is sleeping great, chatting away to people and keeps meeting new kids everywhere we stop. It has been fantastic to spend so much time with him.

The campervan has also been a great experience – it is great to get on the road – you can drive miles and miles without seeing another car and so the driving is really very easy, and we have slept in little laybys as well as campsites and it has been a lot of fun.  Whilst our van is about the oldest on the island we do have plenty of room and it has held up well. We are going to have a few days in a motel and hire a car Whilst Vickys mum is here and then we are back in the van for the final 2-3 weeks.

More soon (ish)

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry here is a quick summary of the first 4 weeks...

Nearly 4 weeks in and I am aware that I have not posted anything. I have received nagging mails from blog followers with nothing to follow so these have spurred me into action. Not sure what to call this – Oli Blog, Captain slog, Adams blog but anyway will try not to bore but give a summary of what we have encountered so far.

Surprisingly, for me anyway, internet access has been quite tricky in South Africa – but in their words – “This is Africa”, so we have had to make do.

The days leading up to departure were filled with excitement, various goodbye’s and last minute packing but there are a couple of moments that stick in the mind. The first is that following the long xmas break I had just re-shaped my ‘xmas goatee’ into a handlebar ‘Mo’ moustache as a joke for Vicky and her sister Sarah and then out of the blue I had two visitors who popped in to say farewell and there was I looking like something out of a YMCA video ! SO apologies to Paul and Lucinda and Dougal as they managed to keep straight faces whilst we chatted !

Everyone has been really supportive of our adventure, none more so than both our families, and the way that Nana said goodbye to Charlie at the airport was hilarious. In essence she gave him 55 kisses on his cheek in a ‘machine-gun’ fashion whilst he giggled uncontrollably – a really great way to say goodbye.

What is all the fuss about Terminal 5 ? I have found it to be quite superb. British Airways have performed a masterstroke by upsetting all their customers with all of their cabin crew strikes, meaning less people fly their airline which means their new airport is empty – and therefore highly efficient !

So we board the plane and the Captain announces that everything is on schedule and we should be leaving in 10 minutes time. 5 miinutes later he announces that one of the stewardesses has banged her head (clearly she wasn’t wearing the new compulsory hard hat uniform) and she had to be taken off the plane and we had to wait for a replacement – no more than 45 minutes the Captain announces – 2 hours later we leave the tarmac ! However, our adrenalin was still flowing and the flight was reasonable with Charlie having a reasonable sleep. Due to the delay we missed our connection in Jo’Burg and there was a certain amount of faff at the airport but we eventually got the next flight to Durban where we were met by our hosts for the first part of our journey – Pip, Tim, Amy and Nicole.

We settle in immediately and have been enjoying the 25 Celsius temperature – albeit with the odd shower, as we see that the UK is still wet and cold ! In our first week we have enjoyed trips to the Aquarium and seen the dolphins, the beach and walks around the lakes in Pip’s garden. We have picked lemons and got to know a BlessBok (like an antelope) that has taken up residence next to Pip’s house – it is a bit like Dances with Wolves where every day I get a bit closer to him ! I don’t remember Kevin Costner having a four year old with him though as Charlie always simply wants to run straight up to him.  Add to this a couple of afternoons in their hot tub (or hot water bottle as Charlie calls it) I think we can say we have had a good first week !

Notable injuries are mostly to Charlie – A split lip from a slip on the rocks whilst rock-pooling (we think he might have killed a tooth too!) as well as a badly grazed knee that he keeps knocking but that is finally healing now.  Only Sunburnt feet for me and a day feeling poorly for Vix, but so far so good.

Week 2 in Durban started with a trip to a local Game reserve – a place called Tala. You drive yourselves, so fairly informal, but no real predators. However, we saw Hippo’s, giraffes, zebra, rhino and various antelopes  and we had a nice swim in a warm pool – all for £20 so felt like great value.

We also spent a day at the water park in Durban where we had great fun in the lazy river and on the tube rides. At the end of the week we managed to fit in a short week-end break away with Pip and Tim in Southbroom, 2 hours south of Durban. A beautiful spot with wonderful beaches was a great way to relax. Deserted beaches with rock pools and swimming pools and some naked sand-diving (children only) led to a great week-end. We also managed to see some Crocs and snakes at a Croc park.

The last few days we have been in Cape Town.  A great journey from Durban to Cape Town via Mango airlines which to Charlie’s delight served mango juice !?! We also left and arrived early which is something very unusual for us to have experienced. On Day 1 we tried to go up Table Mountain as it was a clear day but it was too windy up top and so the cable car was not running – much to Charlie’s disapproval.

However, on Day 2 on an equally clear and sunny day we did get up the mountain in the morning and the views were spectacular. We also visited Robben island in the afternoon and saw Nelson Mandela’s cell and heard about how the political prisoners were treated up until quite recently – quite moving stuff.

We then took a road trip to Cape Point and spent the day getting there and back, taking in crazy golf (!), penguins, Eland (more antelope), ostriches and baboons.  Cape Point is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet but it was fairly calm when we were there. A great signpost showed London to be circa 10,000 kms away, Sydney (our next destination) 12,000 kms away and Beijing 12,000 kms away. This reminded us how remote we are, however with technology (Skype) and good old fashioned telephones we have been able to stay in touch with family.

A quiet, but still very hot day today has allowed us to relax some more and given me some time to wrote some of this down. Tomorrow is the Botanical gardens in Kirstenbosch and a walk in the local forest with the baboons ! Then back to Durban on Tuesday and then Jo’Burg and Sydney at the week-end – Oz here we come…

A quick update from Oz…

A 12 hour flight from Jo’Burg to Sydney went pretty well with Charlie sleeping for approx. 7 hours and we had to wake him for breakfast. We arrived in Sydney to a near 40 degree heatwave !! we have been on a round the city bus trip and up the highest towere and the Aquarium and wildlife place to see Kangaroos and Koalas. I even managed to see England lose to Australia at the SCG where I sat for 4 hours in the boiling sun but managed tonot to burn thanks to Factor 40 and plenty of VB Mild !!

Met up with our friends Clive and Paul today and we may see them again in New Zealand – great to see friendly faces and share stories etc. Off to Bondi beach this evening with Vicky’s friend Nikki and Dave and then we are going to a 3 year old’s birthday party tomorrow that Charlie should enjoy. The next few days we are staying south of Sydney on the coast for a mini break !!

More soon….. hopefully !

2 sleeps to go...

Having set up the test page I think it is all working so I thought I should post something.
There are now 2 sleeps to go until lift off and the last few days has been a collection of cleaning, packing, trips to the shops as well as trying to remember everything we need !
We have had great support from everyone for which we are very grateful and we urge you to stay in touch on e-mail that we will check as regularly as we can and we will try and fill you in on our news as we visit these great countries.
So until we have news of the sunny weather in Durban, or pictures of Table Mountain or Charlie's take on the Sydney Opera House and the Blue Mountains, I had better log off whilst asking you to pray for good weather, no traffic on Tuesday and a safe flight
Until next time...

First Post

Just testing to see how this all works