Glowing Underground...

Wednesday 9th November
Yesterday we took the bus from Aukland down to Waitomo Caves, on a bus driven by possibly the most annoying man in New Zealand, he gave us a running commentry the whole way, which seeing as we were on the motoway the whole way was slightly unnecessary and included information such as how grass grows, that Tiger Woods plays golf and what a supermarket was.

Waitomo is famous for having over 380 caves and not much else, so we just had a chilled afternoon in the sun. The real fun happened today when we joined a tour with the Black Water Rafting Company for some adventures in one of the caves. Once we were suited and booted in wet suits, helmets and wellies we were driven to the cave entrance, where we absailed about a 100ft down a tiny hole in the ground into the underground wonderland. After our absail into the darkness we started trecking through the tiny passageways, we then ziplined (with our helmet lights switched off) though the darkness lits by hundreds of glow worms!

As you can probably tell I am a big fan of the glow worms. Basically they are larvae that live in the caves in NZ, and use their little blue-green lights to attract food and mates. It was incredible zooming through the darkness under what looked like a starlight night, when in fact it was the light from thousands of glow worms' bums. The next part was a bit wetter, we were all given black rubber innertubes and had to jump backwards off a small cliff into the cave river below. I did not like this bit so much as when I landed in the water I got about half of it up my nose... inhaling freezing-cold cave water is not pleasent. Anyway despite the freezing water, I soon got settled in my tube and we started to drift down the amazing black waters. The long cave was as high as a cathedral and once we had all linked our tubes together we turned out our helmets and floated along in the pitch black, the many surfaces of the cave ceiling literally plastered with glow worms... it's something that is nearly impossible to do justice to in a blog, it was just incredible.

After being suitably enchanted, we ditched the tubes and crawled, walked and swam through more of the caves, going over mini waterfalls, through tiny tunnels and over rocks and pools. Our final challenge was to climb up two waterfalls to get back out of the caves. Now I love rock climbing, but I've never had to do it without ropes, in a wetsuit, underground and with gallons of water gushing over me, still after a bit of effort I managed to get back to the daylight. The caves have probably been my favourite thing in New Zealand yet.

Thursday 10th Novemeber
Brad, one of our caving guides took me for a hike around the area today, while Juilette caught up on her emails. We walked all around the land above the cave and then did some climbing into some other little caves nearby, and we also visited a really pretty waterfall, it was very nice to have this special treatment from someone who knows the area and all the secret caves that other tourists might not know about.

Lovely as Waitomo is, by late afternoon we had to say goodbye and caught our bus to Lake Taupo for some more adventures, not before a long earned sleep though.

Hangover in Hamilton

Friday 6th Novemeber
So I have been here resting in Hamilton since Wednesday. Hamilton is not an exciting place but I haven't really been looking for excitment. It is a nice town with a gorgeous big river running through it and gardens perfect for wandering rather than hardcore tramping. I'm staying at a lovely little guesthouse run by a truely mad kewi lady. Not much to report, I am looking forward to seeing Juliette tomorrow though.

Sunday 8th November
So Juliette turned up in Hamilton on Saturday and decided to go and paint the town... we left it quite crimson. After dinner we hit the bars and had a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the beginnings of our travels together. Juliette moved out here in July and it was so nice to see her. We had plenty of entertainment from all the passing Hamilton residents, who all seem to have enough material for one dress between them all, and we had no shortage of people buying us drinks... everything gets a bit vague after that but I have a worrying feeling it involved Kareoke. So today we felt a bit special, especially as we had to get back to Aukland where Juliette lives, before setting out on our big adventure on Tuesday.

Goodess on the mountain top!

Monday 2nd November
Today I left Wellington and headed back out into the countryside on my way to New Plymouth, which actually is quite like the old Plymouth, but a bit smaller. The North Island is very different to the South, more gentle rolling hills and smug livestock than dramatic mountains, but is very pretty and reminds me a lot more of home. There are A LOT of cows, which is surprising as NZ cheese is rubbish. Anyway, I arrived in New Plymouth after a five-hour drive and settled in at the cute little Sunflower hostel, which affords fantastic views of Mount Taranaki, the imposing, snow-capped volcano that dominates the region, and which I have a big date with tomorrow…



Tuesday 3rd November
So today I climbed mount Taranaki, not quite to the top, but as far as the snowy bit. I can say for certain it is the most challenging hike I’ve ever done, but totally worth it. Not only was it incredibly steep, but the paths were narrow in places and littered with volcanic rocks, and as I approached the clouds the visibility was quite poor. But further up the mountainside offered panoramic views of, what felt like, half the North Island, and once through the canopy of clouds I could look down on them swirling over the many peaks of Egmont park and the volcano's craggy sides. It took me five hours to walk up and then down again to the visitors centre, which is located about one third of the way up. After lunch I decided to hike further down the mountain into the cloud forests. This hike wasn’t quite so steep, but oh so beautiful. The cloud forests are like a set from a Tim Burton film, with blue skies peeping through twisted, moss-covered branches, vines and tree roots… I half expected some goblin in stripy stockings to jump out and ask me three riddles… or maybe that was just lack of oxygen from the altitude.

My shuttle driver Ian picked me up at 4.30pm, almost literally as I could barely move by that point, and asked me how I got on. I told him that I got as far as the transmitter on the summit. ’You did well’ he said casually, ’that’s the most dangerous trail in New Zealand, we lose about six hikers a year doing that trail, a few ex-army…’ nice of him to tell me all this AFTERWARDS. Oh well, I’m alive, and even more smug now.

Wednesday 4th November
Ow. Feeling the effects of yesterday’s climb I still had to force myself onwards, this time to Hamilton. I had some time to kill in the morning first, so went for a gentle wander around Pukekura Park. This pretty town park has a boating lake, flower gardens, a waterwheel and waterfall, and made for a very pleasant stroll, especially as the weather has turned gorgeous again. Then it was on with my pack and on the bus.

I got to Hamilton around six and soon found my lovely little boarding house. Hamilton is a very pretty city, with a huge river running through it, dotted with high bridges and lined with little parks. I’ve never seen so many joggers in my life. Again, it reminds me a lot of home, and with the weather now a lot more settled I can see it’s going to be a nice place to relax for a few days and rest my bones after my mountain climb.

Windy Wellington

Wednesday 28th October
It was with a very heavy heart that I finally left Nelson today, and Joe, Rob and Diane, not to mention my lovely hostel. I’m surprised at how much I loved Nelson, I am usually either an out-and-out city girl with appreciation of proper country, but small towns have usually left me cold, but Nelson has a great vibe. There are prettier cities in NZ, more cultured ones and more interesting ones, but it will be Nelson that I remember for having the most fun in.

Anyway I took another sickeningly beautiful bus ride to Picton, through the vineyards and mountains of the Blenheim region to the port. I know the ferry crossing was gorgeous but I was too busy pouting about leaving Nelson. When I arrived at Wellington it too left me cold (both spiritually and physically… they don’t call it ’windy Wellington’ for nothing). After a month without traffic, crowds or buildings over two-storeys high, I felt a bit freaked out - a feeling not soothed by the fact that my downtown hostel resembled a large mental asylum. The only saving grace was a TV in my cell, ehem, room, plus takeaway made for at least a gentle ease back into city life.

Thursday 29th October
Ok so Wellington has grown on me. I had a splendid day today, first heading to the W’ton art gallery to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition. I had heard about it when I was still in Christchurch so was very excited to see it. For those who don’t know, Kusama is a Japanese artist in her 80s, she has been an avent garde painter and sculpture since the 1960s and her main theme is dots. It was all very weird and wonderful, with some fantastic large-scale installations. My favourite was this little tiny mirrored room where you walked in and they closed the door, you stood on a platform surrounded by water on all sides the ceiling was hung with lots and lots of hanging coloured fairy lights and the walls and ceiling were made of infinite mirrors… the result was quite spectacular.




I then headed to the much revered Cuba area of Wellington, a few boho streets of bars, cafes, record shops and vintage clothes shops. After an hour browsing the record shops (looking for Soul Motive releases of course… I found 002!) I hit the clothes shops and bought a fabulous knitted top for only $4.50. So all in all, I found a more positive take on Welly today, only took a Japanese madwoman and a few bargains!

Friday 30th October
I hooked up with Caroline this evening, my friend who lives here, but who used to live in Bristol. It was nice to have a girly catch up and then we went out for dinner and drinks with some of her friends who she works in the zoo with, and her lovely boyfriend Andy. Was nice to meet everyone and catch a slice of Welly nightlife.

Saturday 31st October
Was given a proper treat today. I went to the zoo and met Caroline for a special guided tour and her friend Dion let me go in and feed the tamarind monkeys with him! I now, obviously want a pet one. I tried to coax one into my handbag but he was having none of it. Also got to pet a possum, a hedgehog and a giraffe.

I was invited to a Halloween party by the lovely zoo people this evening. It was at a bowling club, and when I say bowling club, I mean like lawn bowls… they love their lawn bowls here, my dad would love it! We got very jolly on some very cheap plonk and I found my way back to the hostel quite late, with pumpkin deelyboppers askew. Win.

South Island Adventures

Wednesday 7th October
Deciding to stretch my legs and give Caroline and Eric a bit of a break, I ventured up the coast to Kaikoura for a few days. The bus drive up was yet again stunning - the Canterbury Plains making way for the mountains and then the rugged East coastline. I was soon settled into the ‘Lazy Shag’ hostel with clear view from my room of the ocean and the snow-capped mountains…

However, by the next day I found out that unless you are blessed with nice weather, there isn’t much to do in Kaikoura. Because of the wind and the threat of rain, all the tours that promised whales and dolphins, kayaking, horse riding and the like were cancelled. In fact the only thing I found that was open was a little petting farm with llamas; a 5km hike from the centre, which weakly promised all those who had come to see majestic sea mammals that ‘llamas are the dolphins of the land’… ok then.

The farm turned out to be a dinky little place run by a group of charming French folk; and although obviously aimed at children I spent a lovely couple of hours there, the weather just holding out on the right side of miserable. I met Milo the kuni kuni pig, who looked a lot like an extra from Labyrinth; Nigel the horse and Simon the Goat, a wallaby, a Shetland pony, and assorted rabbits, chickens, lambs and of course the ‘land dolphins’. Spurred on I walked the long way back to town, another 14km to be precise, through the farmland and along the coast; it started to rain when I was half-way back and by time I made it home I was more than ready for some ‘fush and chups’.



It absolutely chucked it down for the next 36 hours with high winds so I was forced to retreat to my hostel with a good book and a pack of Tim Tams.

With Friday a write-off I decided to make the most of Saturday morning before my bus back. Tours were still off, so I went for a hike down the coast to the seal colony. The sun came out and it was all really rather beautiful. I got to see lots of seals up close, and they seemed happy to pose for pictures, the show offs.

Sunday 11th October
Back to Christchurch, and to say a proper farewell to Eric and Caroline we went out for a gorgeous dinner and drinks in Littleton. Also discovered ‘Ginger Tom’, which I hope to introduce to the UK when I return; it’s real ginger beer, as in lager but ginger flavoured, lush!

Monday 12th October
Early Monday morning, and I mean early, I said my final goodbyes to my lovely hosts and their fantastic hospitality and set out for the next stage of my trip. I took the Tranzalpine over to Greymouth, which is a quaint little train route that cuts right across the South Island, through the Southern Alps. There aren’t many trains in New Zealand as most people drive or fly whereas backpackers usually bus it, and subsequently the train journeys here are like an event in themselves; spotlessly clean in comparison to British trains, with a running commentary on the Tolkinesque scenery, homemade muffins and an open carriage where you can take photos. The ‘stations’ are tiny little alpine stops at ghost towns and old mining villages, and the train winds itself through viaducts and tunnels - it’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and I would have to concur. There was still some snow on some of the mountain tops and the weather was clear and sunny, I don‘t expect a trip on Virgin trains to be like that any time soon.

We got into Greymouth early afternoon and I checked into Noah’s Ark Backpackers hostel, which is an old Colonial style house that used to be a nunnery. It is called Noah’s Ark because years ago the town flooded and everyone headed up here for safety. It has an animal theme throughout and I was fortunate enough to be put in the zebra room, where everything is zebra print - I’ve never stayed in such a boudoiry room at a hostel before, so fabulous. Did a 5km hike up the side of a very steep and wooded hill, almost vertical in places, but was rewarded with some very fine views; and the next day I hiked alongside the river. I was told Greymouth is a fairly dull place, but I’ve found it quite charming and chilled.

Wednesday 14th October
From Greymouth to Punakaiki and again I was told not to expect a big place, which was a bit of an understatement. One hostel, a couple of hotels, a café and a pub was the only life to be found, but I instantly fell in love with the place. When I arrived it was misty and raining, but this only added to the wild, prehistoric-looking rocky coastline. From Tolkin to ‘Walking with Dinosaurs‘, it was craggy-faced rock faces covered in palms and junglesque terrain and an imposing beach with dark grey sands and broken rocks, untamed and unspoilt - I half expected King Kong come lumbering out of the mists.

Once I’d checked into my charming little beach-front hostel I went exploring on the beach; where I found a friendly bunch of Christchurch folk who had travelled over for a whitebaiting holiday. Whitebait is considered a delicacy here and worth its weight in gold and so they intended to catch a haul and take it back to Christchurch to sell. I spent a pleasant afternoon with these cheery fisher folk and even got a piggy back over the estuary from a nice young man called Sam, when the tide eventually came in.

Day two in Punakaiki and I set out to hike the Paparoa trail. Now there are a few hiking trails through the park, ranging from a two-hour trail to a two-day trail. I thought I had chosen the six-hour trail but I actually had made a wrong turn and ended up on the two-dayer. I was quite impressed that I managed a two-day hike in eight hours but was utterly exhausted afterwards, with a sore back and boots falling apart at the seams. It was worth it though for the stunning scenery through the forest, one of the most wild, yet peaceful places I have ever been to. I had intended early night, but then I met Joe. I was laid on the floor, easing my sore bones when a little face popped over the edge of the sofa and offered me a smoke. Joe is 19 and backpacking for a year and is great fun. Once night had fallen we walked up to the famous Pancake rocks to watch the sea spray through the blowholes, then we went exploring some caves nearby with a torch to see if we could find some glow worms. It may have been a bit scary getting in the caves at first in the pitch black, especially as we were a bit stoned, but once inside we saw an amazing colony of glow worms making constellations on the ceiling of the cave - it was so beautiful, sometimes you have to act on stupid ideas as they are often the best ones.

Friday 16th October
And so to Nelson. After a five-hour bus ride through even more gorgeous scenery - I won’t bore you, from this point on just assume that I am constantly surrounded by ‘breathtaking scenery’, it’s just easier - I arrived at Tasman Bay Backpackers, famous for its nightly homemade chocolate pudding (which even has a Facebook Group it‘s so revered). On the bus over I met a really nice Austrian girl called Marina so we decided to share a room. Joe from Punakaiki also turned up and we’ve decided to chill in Nelson for a bit as it seems so relaxed and friendly, plus it’s the perfect base for returning to after my intended five-day guided walk in Abel Tasman National park. On Saturday we decided to check out some of Nelson’s nightlife but as neither of us had drunk much for a while we had to call it quits after a couple of pints, then spent the rest of the weekend, chilling and watching old movies, Nelson does that to a person.

Tuesday 20th October
This morning I left sunny, rainy Nelson for a few days to do my walk of Abel Tasman. As I have been sofa surfing and hostelling this was a treat to myself, and I flash-packed in style. The guided walk included, obviously, a guide; stays at luxury lodges, a personal chef, good wine and all the yummy food you can eat. Pretty flash but still no easy option as we walked about 100k in five days. Here’s what we did:

DAY 1 - met up with my fellow trampers on the bus. Fay and Bill are brother and sister from Melbourne in their late 40s, Fay is absolutely lovely, but I can see me and Bill are going to clash. He is one of these highly-completive over zealous Aussie types who enjoys nothing more than the sound of his own voice, especially if it’s explaining why everything is bigger or better in Australia - I think I’ve got some tactics to deal with him though. Michelle is my roommate and a lovely lady from Sydney who could be anything from 25 to 50; and Eric is a splendid old French gent from Marsaille, who doesn’t speak much English but is very enthusiastic, and very patient with Bill who seems to think he’ll understand English better if he’s shouted at very slowly.

We were also introduced to out guide Marius who is originally from Oxford, but has lived in NZ for 18 years. He is a very spiritual and knowledgeable person who knows everything there is to know about the history and geography of the park, I also like him because he put Bill in his place straight away!

We hiked from our drop off in Marahau for about five hours, stopping along the way to admire the headlands and little islands dotted off the coast. Our walk took us right above the canopy of forests and right down to the custard-yellow and turquoise bays. At Torrent Bay we walked barefoot across the estuary at low-tide, which looked pretty but it was actually fairly painful wading through sharp rocks, icy water and cockle beds. By time we reached our stunning beach-front lodge, we certainly welcomed the luxury. There were other guests staying at the lodge that evening, from another trip heading in the other direction. Ron and Rosemary, your typical British middle-aged couple, posh and funny and very jolly-hockey sticks, and Greg from the US, here for some corporate stress relief… you can imagine how well he got on with Bill. We were served a stunning three-course meal with lots of wine, and for the first time in a long time, I was happily tucked up in bed by 9.30pm.

DAY 2 - Today we hiked the slightly-more challenging, but ultimately more rewarding, inland track. Much steeper and with much clambering over tree-roots and over tiny rocky streams we reached our first destination, River Falls. This waterfall and pool, hidden high up in forest hillside, enchanted us all, even Bill had nothing to complain about! We spread out for a picnic lunch on the rocks and soaked up the scenery and the first glimpse of sun. Marius then took us to the edge of the pool to meet one of his friends - a 3ft conga eel, who was happy to eat scraps of bacon from our fingers and be stroked.

After a decent lunch, we set off again to hike further inland, this time to Cleopatra’s pool, another stunning waterfall. Fay and Eric bailed but there was no way Bill was quitting, even if he did look to be on the verge of a heart attack. He was getting more and more competitive with me, and obviously I was giving him as much bait as possible. When he suggested running the 6km back to the lodge I took the challenge, knowing that being about 20 years younger and six stone lighter I was going to give him a run for his money. I don’t feel that guilty, I mean he was clutching his chest by the end of it, but he didn’t die or anything.

I had been asking Marius if there were any glow worm caves nearby, and tonight he took me to one side and said there were but he liked to keep them secret, it was quite challenging to get there, but would I like to come? I went to get ready. When I came down Bill demanded to know where we were going so Marius had to tell him, but that it involved wading out to sea up to our waists in freezing water, then climbing barefoot over a very rocky headland in the dark, the crawling on our bellies on sand through a very narrow tunnel… did that put Bill off? Did it heck as like… the whole experience was quite beautiful (once I’d deafened myself to Bill shouting at me to hurry up) - once through the tiny tunnel in the cliff face we ended up in a little cave no bigger than a 10-man dome tent. At first there were about 20 glow worms shining, but as we sat there in the dark, more and more came out till there were literally hundreds, and laying on the sand looking up at the domed ceiling was like being in some micro-planetarium, the glowing bugs mapping their own interpretation of the stars.

DAY 3 - Today we bid fairwell to the Lodge at Torrent Bay and set out on our longest hike yet, to Arawoa. I really enjoyed the hike today, even though the weather was mad and kept switching from boiling hot sunshine to mad rain and back about five times.

During a moment of clear sky and warmth we were walking down one of the most stunning beaches I have ever seen, and although I knew the water was icy, it looked so tempting to my tired sweaty being, so I decided to take a dip, freezing but so wonderful… and yes, of course Bill jumped in too!




One very positive thing that came out of today was the I realised I can speak quite good French, I’ve been trying to talk to Eric as I feel quite sorry for him with all the loud English being shouted. With his encouragement I’ve been digging in my brain for all that old forgotten GSCE French and low and behold if I couldn’t hold a conversation! My grammar and tenses may not have been perfect, but Eric understood what I was going on about, and even Marius, who is Fluent said I was doing a good job. I am so pleased with myself, and it has also given me the opportunity to get to know Eric better. He really is a lovely man. He was a heart-surgeon for many, many years but then serious illness made him retire early. For the last ten years he has been re-learning to walk and talk properly again and now here he is on a 100k hike, talking Franglais with me, a total inspiration… and since he told me about his attractive 35-year-old single son who works as an architect in Barcelona and loves English girls, I have started, maybe a little pre-emptively calling him ‘Papa’.

DAY 4 - A slightly more chilled day today, in more ways than one, with the rain coming down and the wind blowing., we took the pace down a little and enjoyed the luxurious lodge’s roaring fire, comfy sofa and seemingly endless supply of hot coffee and fresh baked cookies. However it wasn’t all rest. We took a morning hike before the rains came down, and then in the afternoon, when the tide came in and filled the estuary we took the Kyaks out. It was lovely to boat around the place where we this morning had been walking, but if truth be known, I was rather glad to get back to the fire.

DAY 5 - And so we left our final resting place and hiked to our furthest point of the coast and of the park itself, Totaranui bay. It rained for most of this hike, so we were glad to get on the warm, if slightly rocking, ferry. In true Kiwi style it was soon sunny again, so we got off the boat half-way back for another three-hour hike. The weather stayed fine and as we munched even more food, looking out over the sea we saw a school of dolphins.

*Foodie alert! Today I learned of the joys of scroggin. For non-kiwis this is a sort of trail mix and I urge you to give it a go. Basically scroggin is an acronym for: Sultanas, Chocolate, Raisins, Orange peel, Glucose, Ginger, ‘Imagination/improvisation and nuts. The improve bit means you can add whatever else takes your fancy, in our case it was seeds and dried pineapple, anyway once I get home and am near Scoopaway, all expect boxes of scroggin for your foreseeable birthdays.

We caught the boat back to our starting point and were dropped off at our respective destinations, me back to the comfort of TBB and to a waiting Joe and chocolate pudding, not a bad welcome home!

Sunday 25th October
Had quite possibly the perfect backpacker Sundays today. After a well deserved lie in, I went to the climbing centre in town with Joe, but as the sun came out we abandoned our efforts and headed to the beach instead. Maybe it was the climbing, maybe it was the spliff we had on the beach, but we had a great idea to cook a proper English Sunday roast. We also invited our friends Diana and Rob from Joe’s hostel, who are from Berlin and are absolutely lovely. I commandeered the hostel kitchen for the evening and made everyone very jealous with my herby roast chicken with roast potatoes, honey roast kumara and pumpkin, green beans, crispy spinach stuffing and gravy. Rob brought some proper German beer and a lovely evening was had, until the last few days caught up with me and I crashed out.

Sunshine, Tsunamis and the Aussie Invasion

Spent a very pleasent and chilled week in Christchurch at the continuing hospitality of Eric and Caroline. As Caroline is 15 weeks pregnant I've been enjoying the health benefits of a delicious full-fat, whole grain, organic baby-growing diet, needless to say I'm 'glowing' and mother and growing belly are doing well... so is Caroline.

The mad New Zealand weather kept me indoors for the beginning of the week but when the clouds cleared I managed to venture into Christchurch for a bit of a retail reccy and a look around. I visited the Christchurch aquarium and Kewi centre, where I saw two real live kewi birds and a shark.

We were informed on Wednesday of the Samoan Tsunami, and that it may be heading for NZ. By time it reached us it was low tide and was only 40cm high, but with a big population of Samoans in NZ, it still caused a big shock.

On Wednesday night we were happy to welcome Brad and Kelly from Brisbane. I know Brad and Kelly from when they lived in Bristol and it was great to see them again. The three of us went up to Akaroa for the day, which turned out to be a day of unseasonal warmth and glorious sunshine. Akaroa is a little French town on the edge of an inland harbour and is so pretty. After an hour of driving through Tolkinesque countryside we arrived and had lunch at a restaurant called Bully Heyes; where I ate some of the nicest mussels I've ever eaten (and a kilo of them at that), garlic bread, good wine and lavender honey creme brulee, and the fact that we were sat outside facing the sunny harbour made it all the nicer.



Brad and Kelly left over the weekend so on Monday I took myself on a little day trip to Hanmar Springs, just North of Christchurch. This Spa town has hot springs baths and after the delightful weather in Akaroa, I was suprised to find it sleeting and snowing. Fortunately I had the hot pools to keep me warm, but running between them was freezing. On the way back we stopped at a winery and I got a little tipsy on a selection of samples, but it was all in the name of reserch.

Ice cold in Christchurch

Christchurch

Day 3 in Singapore was another scorcher and also plagued with Jetlag. After a 'Lost in Translation' evening with Ryan where we wandered around Singapore until 1am I managed a whole 3 hours sleep before heading back off into the sprawling metropolis. The first stop was the Gleneagles Hospital for another pilgrimage to see where Neil was born. Fortunately the person I asked for directions from at the metro station was a nurse who worked there, so finding it was a lot less difficult than finding the house. Convieniently enough the hospital was also next to the Singapore Botanical Garden, another tourist spot on my agenda. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours wandering around the beautiful sprawling gardens, including the Orchid garden, Ginger garden and Swan Lake, before the heat and lack of sleep got to me and I had to head back to the sactuary of the air-conditioned hotel for a nap. Unfortunately it wasn't butterfly season, but I got some lovely pictures of orchids (to be published soon).

That evening I was kindly invited for dinner at the home of Louise Pye, the ex-pat daughter of friends of my mum and dad. I was treated to some top-notch hospitality and a gorgeous traditional meal cooked by their Philappino housekeeper Josie. Louise and her husband have a beautiful home that used to be a military house and a much enjoyable evening was had, especially the ride home in an open-top Porche... backpacking, it's all about roughing it!

I couldn't leave Singapore without the obligatory Singapore Sling at Raffles, so Ryan and I headed down there before I headed to the airport. Although it was expensive (especially as we had a couple), I can at least say I've been, and we did have the advantage of being able to listen to the practice laps of the Grand Prix nearby.


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So on Saturday I arrived in Christchurch, where I was met by my hosts, the lovely Caroline and Eric, who have been looking after me very well ever since. It is, however, FREEZING here and my lack of winter clothes is apparent, especially after the heat Ive been enjoying in S'pore.

On Saturday night we went to the opening of the Methven Spring Festival, which featured dirt bike and snowboarding jumps, very entertaining except the bloke who faceplanted the dirt from about 40ft up, the crowd went wild... these Kewis are more bloodthirsty than the Romans.

After finally catching up on some much needed kip spent a chilled Sunday wandering around Christchurch for a bit before heading back out of the cold. Was very excited to find the Soul Motive 4th release (Jah No Dead/Son di Cali) in a record shop, big in the Southern Hemisphere!

The only time I have to write a blog is when suffering jetlag...

Singapore - day 2

I've finally started my travel blog. I wanted to start it in Heathrow, but I couldn't work out the wifi and I got distracted by Yo! Sushi and duty free. Heathrow is HORRIBLE, everyone is angry and miserable, I wasn't sure if Terminal 3 had been reserved for deportation now, rather than sending people merrily off on their holidays. Still my part was a breeze, I checked in without so much as a 'have you packed this bag yourself madam' and the security didn't even check my little sandwich bag of miniature cosmetics; mind you they were more concerned with making the Muslim family in front of me remove their three-year-old daughter's trainers, so I guess they have their priorities.

Good flight and was actually sat next to a normal, a nice Canadian chap called Ryan, who also turned out to be staying in the same hotel as me. As we are staying in Little India, we ended up going for a gorgeous hot curry and cold beer, and I successfully proved that Brits have a higher tolerance to chilli than Canadians.

The Park Royal hotel is amazing, but fantastically posh. I am only staying here because the travel agent booked a package, so basically I can enjoy the luxurious surroundings as long as I don't use or touch anything, as no doubt a large amount of money will be charged to my VISA of which they are holding hostage till I've proven myself as the sort of girl who won't sneak two bathrobes, a hairdryer and a flatscreen TV into her rucksack.

Singapore is just how I expected, but was no less of shock, with its sparklingly-clean streets and demure attitudes. Nobody stares or is pushy, and whereas it is not exactly as friendly as some other places, it is nice to walk around with relative impunity... even if the threat of accidental law-breaking is always hovering nearby. One can't help wondering if these clean, low-crime, virtually beggar free streets are kept so without compromise of civil liberties - maybe I'm reading too much into it.

So today I went on a little mission. I say little, I walked about 10 miles. I wanted to see the house in which Neil first lived. I had a vague address and took the MRT system to the area I believed it to be in. Alas, that area turned out to be massive, and I had to walk through suburbs and along highways to find it, even taxi drivers didn't know where it was. I did feel a wonderful sense of achievement - and mild heat stroke - when I did find it through, and am glad I made this mini pilgrimage.


Once I got back into town I decided to treat my poor feet to a massage, as there are many places offering 'reflexology' for very cheap prices. Apparently the definition of a foot massage here is 'poking your feet very hard and beating you around the ankles with a sharp stick'. After racking my brains for any Nazi war crimes I could confess to, the torture was over but surprisingly my feet did feel bit better, or at least tenderised.

Now back at the hotel for a freshen up and a dip in the pool, I am going to head out for some food with Ryan as I have not eaten all day and am starving after my trek. I have yet to get to grips with Singapore cuisine though, as it doesn't seem to be anything specific. As so many different nationalities live in Singapore food choices range from the sublime to the ridiculous; around lunchtime I was looking for food and came across a stall selling only deep-fried duck heads and feet; the next restaurant along was a McDonalds... needless to say I went hungry hopefully I will find some middle ground this evening.