Our Kiwi Road Trip Part 3: Wellington to Rotoura

Day 9:

A drizzly start this morning, we booked up another night at the caravan site so we would have all day to explore Wellington. We left the wagon behind and hopped on the bus towards the city centre. Our first stop was the visitors centre to book up the Weta Cave Workshop Tour, where we would be able to explore the props made for the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films.

The tour didn't start until 2pm, so we had two hours to kill before we had to catch the bus. So we headed to Te Papa, New Zealand's National Museum, because we couldn't resist a free trip. We only had an hour to explore here, so it was a bit rushed but we still enjoyed it nonetheless. The museum had a lot more science exhibits which were good to interact with. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do the World War exhibit. Hopefully there will be another one somewhere else.

We then grabbed a Nandos for lunch, before catching the bus for our 40 minute journey to Weta Cave. Once we arrived, we explored the shop and watched a behind the scenes video before heading into the workshop its self. Photography was prohibited, so we couldn't get any snaps of all the amazing props. We were both so unaware of how many films Weta have been involved in (Avatar, iRobot, Hunger Games, District 9, The Adventures of Tin Tin, Mad Max, Fast and the Furious 7, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are just a few examples), which pleased Leigh who is not the greatest fan of J.R.R. Tolkien novels. We were also completely unaware that about 90% of the props used in films are all made of plastic, with help from a 3D printer and during fight scenes where they cause contact with other actors/actresses, they tend to be made of foam. The artists here are truly incredible, turning a piece of foam to make it look like a metal battle axe can't be an easy job. When it comes to making costumes, the actor/actress is put into a scanner and their measurements are recorded and then they produce a plastic copy of the actor/actress (On the 3D printer) so the individual doesn't have to be there for a costume fitting. How amazing is that! The workshop itself isn't very big, as they can only show past props due to confidentiality issues, but it is packed full of props from a wide selection of films. 

At the end of the tour we were introduced to an artist who had built this amazing castle out of tin foil, yes tin foil! She was then beginning to cover it with a revolutionary outdoor modelling clay called Pal Tiya, which would naturally harden to a stone like material. It was pretty amazing and she said she would post the finishing product online in a few months time. So I will be definitely be keeping an eye out for that one. 

The tour lasted about 45 minutes, I wanted to get a book which showed all their work as I knew a few children who would have loved to have seen it, but it would have increased my luggage limitations by a few more kilograms. So I will leave that one to Amazon when I get home.

We then caught the bus back to the city centre and grabbed a Starbucks before jumping on another bus to Lower Hutt where the caravan site was. We've had a busy but brilliant day, it has got me excited to find Hobbition. I think I am slowly getting Leigh on the Peter Jackson movie band wagon. 

Day 10:

I can't believe we are half way through our trip already, how time truly flies when you are having fun. It has been another wet and dull day today, but that hasn't mattered as much as it has been another driving day as we move on from Wellington and head 338km North towards Taupo.

It rained for the whole journey and as we got higher up into the mountains, visibility became very poor. But we arrived at the caravan site by 3pm. We didn't want to spend all afternoon stuck in the wagon, so we took a drive down to Huka Falłs, not caring about the rain. I have never seen a river look so rough as it rushed over the edge of the cliff. The drop is only 9m high, but the speed and the force of the water could clearly give you a fright. We had planned to find the thermal pools, but we decided we would wait until tomorrow and hope the Sun might show it's face. 

We popped to the supermarket then headed back to the site. We will explore Taupo in more depth tomorrow, fingers crossed that the weather might improve. 

Day 11:

As Bob Marley would say, 'The sun is shining, the weather is sweet'. It was nice to wake up to some sunshine this morning as we had a lot of walking planned. We started our morning with a stroll through Spa Thermal Park, were we headed towards Huka Falls, passing the hot thermal stream which was packed with tourists. Maybe we will visit that one later. 

We then jumped back in the wagon and headed to the Craters of the Moon. The track around the craters is around 45 minutes long and you weave in and out of 6 main areas consisting of different mud craters and dormant blowholes. It was a very easy walk, surrounded by lots of steam rising from all angles of the earth. Not bad for only $8 each.

We were going to take a boat trip to see the Maori Rock Carvings, but the sea looked so rough and I really wasn't up for the sea sickness today. So instead we headed to Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Health Spa and what a good choice that was. The spa was made up of a series of hot thermal pools and mineral enriched waters, which felt like sitting in a really hot bath with the benefit of never getting cold. We spent a good hour and a half, soaking in the clear blue waters whilst the boiling hot streams passed beside us. This definitly beat the tourist packed stream from earlier today.

Before heading back to cook dinner at the site, we grabbed a drink at a bar, which was just what we needed after a relaxing afternoon. We picked up a few DVDs on the way back and settled down for the night. Tomorrow we move onto Rotoura to go exploring for some volcanic activity. I'm pretty excited as I've never seen a volcano before, but I'm not looking forward to the smell.

Day 12:

Still with a lay in and a slow start, we arrived at Rotoura by 11am as we didn't have far to drive. It is a lot different to Australia in regards to not having to drive all day to get somewhere, quite nice actually. 

We booked the site for one night, we will see what we get done today to whether we will stay another night. We didn't hang around though, we put on our walking boots aka our trainers and drove down to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. The Valley was filled with a variety of hydrothermal and volcanic pools, geysers and springs which were spread over a 4km walk. We spent a few hours here, wandering around the different environments, taking lots of pictures. Unfortunately the worlds largest geyser here has been inactive for many years, so we didn't get to see one go off. There are a few other parks around where you can see an active geyser but for once we didn't do our research and we paid for it. It was a pleasant walk and at the end you were able to return by bus to the entrance, which saved us walking back. At $70 a time, I'm not sure we will be visiting another one too soon though.

For the evening we had booked ourselves into a Maori tribal experience. A mini bus picked us up at 5pm and took us to their sacred ground, Fairy Spring, where we met the rest of the group. It turned out there was at least 50 of us, so with my teacher head on I wondered how they were going to keep us all engaged. We started the night by a few question and answer activities about the traditional Maori meal (The Hangi) and their war canoe (The Waka Taua) we then headed down to the river where we saw 6 Maori people rowing down, in full ancient Maori costumes. 

After we went to watch a show where we were shown a variety of traditional weapons, different ways of fighting, dancing and much more. This was definitely the highlight of the night, especially the Haka Warrior Dance which I was desperate to see at least once during this visit.

Once the show had finished, we sat down for the Hangi. I'm not sure a frozen vegetable mix was quite traditional, nevertheless it filled a hole. To finish off the night, we took a stroll through the woods to see a typical ancient Maori village and the sacred spring which was meant to be full of glow worms. This is where the size of the group caused havoc, as you couldn't hear the guide, let alone see what he was pointing out. We weren't too bothered, as we knew we would be visiting the famous glow worm caves at Waitomo, which I'm sure would put their glow worm display to shame. But overall we had a good night, as we didn't take the activity too seriously (Neither did the people running it).

We arrived back at the site by 9pm and planned our route ahead. We decided we were going to move on to Waitomo tomorrow to see the caves that everyone raves about.

Our Kiwi Road Trip Part 2: Christchurch to Wellington

Day 5:

IT'S SNOWING! We woke up this morning to find a fine layer of snow covering the ground. It has been a long time since we have both seen snow and I was very excited. Leigh on the other hand did not share the enthusiasm as we had lots of kilometres and steep roads to cross today in a 7.2m long vehicle which has no four wheel drive. 

We packed up early and skipped breakfast to get a good start on the drive in case the weather got worse. It wasn't long before signs appeared saying that certain roads could only be accessed by small vehicles or wheel chains must be worn. This didn't look hopeful. But luckily the Sun started to burn through the clouds and the roads were fine. The wind was still strong and it felt like it was rocking us from side to side, so we took it easy.

We had 482 km to travel to reach Christchurch, which meant we spent all day driving. The view was still spectacular throughout the whole drive and I've never seen water look so blue. 

We finally arrived at the campsite by 4pm and booked in for 2 nights so we could properly explore Christchurch tomorrow. But for tonight, it was time to chill out in the wagon with some good food and a DVD.

Day 6:

We set no alarm this morning so we could have a bit of a lay in. We booked up the ferry to cross over to the North Island in a few days time and then hopped on the bus to the city centre. In 2011 Christchurch was hit by an earthquake which reached 6.3 on the Richter scale and the evidence is still present today. The majority of the city is still under construction and some parts look completely derelict, but in a few years time, it seems Christchurch will be better than ever. 

Most of the shops had been partly destroyed, so they had been reconstructed in shipping containers. There was a variety of different shops and a load of different pop up diners and coffee shops. 

We stayed here for lunch and grabbed a coffee from the cafe. There was an Art Exhibition on, but unfortunately you had to prebook the tickets, so we had to give that a miss. Being a Sunday little was open so we hopped back on the bus and headed back towards the caravan site, stopping off at our new favourite supermarket Pak'n'Save to pick up a few pieces. Then we settled in for another night in the wagon.

Day 7:

1 alarm snoozed. 2 alarms snoozed. 3 alarms snoozed. That pretty much summed up this morning. We started a bit later than planned, but we only had 180km to travel today.

We arrived at the caravan site in Kaikoura by lunchtime and grabbed a bite to eat. Afterwards we decided to take a leisurely stroll down to the Seal Colony to see if we could spot some seal pups. Little did we know it was a 10km round trip, luckily it was a nice day for it. There were seals lounging around in the sun everywhere. One even scared the life out of me as it made a noise as we walked along the boardwalk above it. It was definitely worth the trek. 

Obviously we couldn't walk all that way without a coffee break at a little cafe along the high street. 

By the time we got back to the wagon it wasn't far off dinner time, so we settled in for the night. 

We are catching the ferry tomorrow to the North Island, so no more snoozing.  

Day 8:

Even though we only had 138km to travel, we still had an early start. We booked to catch the ferry to Wellington at 2pm but the latest check in was at 1.15pm, so we wanted to make sure we were there in good time.

The journey to Picton wasn't very exciting, we did however see a few a deer farms on the way (Which has not been a rare sight in New Zealand), it feels like New Zealand must be the main supplier for venison as this is the only country I have seen as many deer farms as there are cows. 

We arrived in Picton by 11am, which gave us the perfect amount of time to grab a coffee and some lunch before heading down to the ferry terminal. Just like when catching the ferry to France, you have to sit in a long vehicle queue which you wait in for what seems like forever, before they cram you into a space that seems way too small for your wagon. However, we successfully parked the beast in one piece and headed up to the higher decks to find a seat by the window as apparently you get some pretty good views.

There was no chance of us paying attention to any views, the journey was horrible. The sea was so rough and choppy, we were being thrown about left, right and centre. A child a few seats away from us was nicely honking up into a paper bag and apparently, according Leigh, I had turned as white as a ghost. I'm not surprised though and one point I thought I would be following in the child's footsteps. So we moved to the back of the boat, sick bag in hand, where we found it a lot calmer and my face regained its colour. 

The journey lasted around 3 hours and once we had finally got off the boat at around 5.45pm, we headed straight to the caravan site. We then cooked dinner and headed to the sports bar down the road, as we felt we definitely deserved a beverage after that journey. 

Tomorrow we will explore what Wellington has to offer.

A Quick Pit Stop in Melbourne

After a long day of travelling on a coach and a train, we finally arrived in Melbourne. We had booked to stay in Melbourne for a week to make the most out of the city before heading onto our next adventure. We didn't arrive until late in the evening, we had just enough time to have a quick wander around the main streets and grab some dinner before crashing out back at the hostel. 

We had a few places in mind to visit during our stay, with plenty of time to do so, so there was no rush and for a change we took things easy. We began by exploring the Queen Victoria Markets. Unfortunately it did feel a bit like we were wandering around Felixstowe Market with all the fake brand goods, so we didn't stay there long. Instead we headed straight to the high street shops, oh what a bad idea that was. Of course we needed some new clothes and trainers, we have earned them... Right?

It wasn't long before I got Leigh hooked on coffee stops and even onto coffee. So Starbucks became our new best friend over all 7 of the days of our visit, free wifi definitely encouraged this relationship. Whilst walking around Fitzroy, there was a number of quirky coffee shops dotted around. Melbourne definitely loves a good coffee as they were always packed with people. I suppose it is just the same at home.

Being an awkward eater, we thought it would be difficult to find delicious places to eat out. Turns out that was not the case. Melbourne is packed with tempting food stalls and restaurants which cater to the needs of everyone. We tended to eat out for lunch or dinner every day during our stay. Yes we did end up in Nandos at one point, however it still doesn't compare to the Nandos at home. Nowhere does a good spicy rice like English Nandos! We also found the trusty Spud Bar, which was ideal for a quick lunch. It is funny that even after speaking with other people from England, we all seem to miss the same things, the main one being good restaurants and food. Leigh and I have already produced a list of where we will eat as soon as we get home, oh how I miss Prezzos! 

Like so many other cities we have been to on our travels, we couldn't resist to see Melbourne from above. So we took a trip to the Eureka Skydeck, where we travelled 88 levels up to get a 360 degree view of the city below. We booked a Sun and Star package, where you could travel up during the day and night on consecutive days. However, the evening we were meant to go it was pouring down with rain and you couldn't even see the tower due to the low clouds, so we decided it wasn't worth getting soaked in the rain for to get there. The view during the day though was spectacular, we were able to identify key landmarks and places we would like to go see a bit closer up. I'm sure we will take another trip up here when we are back in a few weeks time with the parents. 

The weather throughout our stay in Melbourne was pretty dismal. It was either freezing cold or raining, sometimes a mixture of them both. So trying to find activities which weren't ridiculously expensive but were inside proved to be quite tricky at times. There is only so many times you can wander around the shops without breaking into the funds reserved for better things. So on the day the heavens decided to completely open their flood gates, we took a trip to the Melbourne Museum. After the success of the museum in Adelaide, we were very open minded and it turned out to be the best educational visit yet. After exploring the traditional animal/dinosaur displays and further developing our knowledge of aboriginal history, we encountered an exhibit all related to the history of psychological disorders. Reading the information took me right back to sixth form, sitting in a classroom reciting Erikson's 8 stages of development and wrapping my brain around Freud's bizarre way of thinking. It all came flooding back to me and I totally forgot about how much I thoroughly enjoyed this subject. We spent ages at this exhibit, comparing the different ways the disorders were dealt with back in the day compared to now. All I can say is that I am so glad theories have developed since then! We both were surprised by how much we enjoyed this visit, definitely a must do if you are in Melbourne.

On one of the days we travelled to St Kilda to have a quick view of the beach. So we jumped on the tram and headed out. It was absolutely freezing! A perfect excuse to find a cafe and watch the sea from inside. I'm sure it is probably lovely on a warm day, but today we just weren't feeling the gail force winds sweeping us off our feet. 

The next day we thought we would visit Victoria Harbour and we chose the perfect day to do it. It was Melbourne Day (Which we were completely unaware of), so there was live music and lots of little stalls set up along the waters edge. We grabbed a gluten free pizza for lunch and sat and ate it by the waters edge, luckily the weather was pretty pleasant today and the live music in the background made it very relaxing.

We checked out of the hostel this morning but had all day spare before we needed to be at the airport. So we left our huge rucksacks behind and tried the think of somewhere to go for the day. Neither Leigh or myself have ever seen a gorilla before, so we couldn't turn down the chance to see one in the flesh at Melbourne Zoo. The Zoo was packed with excited children on school trips, clipboards in hand, wandering off in directions they weren't meant to go. Oh how I do not envy their teachers today. The gorillas were the first and the last animal we encountered (As we had to go back to see them one last time before we left). There were some magnificent animals throughout the whole on the zoo. My favourite were the gorillas (Obviously) and the Honey Bear. She didn't quite come across as the same as the bear in the film Over The Hedge, but I'm sure when she is rattled she is a creature not to be messed with. A brilliant trip to end our visit in Melbourne and the weather held out too.

We will be returning to Melbourne in a few weeks time when the parents arrive, so anything we have missed I'm sure we will have time to cover then. But for now it's time to sling on our backpacks again and board our next flight because for the next 20 days we will be in... New Zealand!