Phillip Island (Isle of Wight)

After some more exciting action at the Commonwealths including the two ABs we left a rather hectic Melbourne behind and caught the ferry to Cowes on Phillip Island (there's a Ventnor there too if anyone's interested!!). After getting rid of our bags at the hostel we headed to the beach for some well-earnt chilling and of course a dip in the sea.
Yesterday despite the 30 degree heat we decided to hire some slightly suspect bicycles and helmets and explore the island. First stop was the koala conservation centre. V v cute :-)

We then continued our sunbaked cycling through the Aussie bush and past some wetlands before arriving at the coast in time for lunch and an icecream. Then it was down to the other end of the island for a stroll along the beach and up to the Pinnacles, the highest point on the island at a wapping 123 metres!!

We're currently back in Melbourne killing some time before our train to Wagga Wagga...
Matt and Claire xx
P.S. I've just accepted a PhD studentship at Bristol so that's where I'll be for the next few years - Claire
P.P.S. We know what happens in Neighbours :-p

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

From Matt and Claire!
xxx

Melbourne (Commonwealth-tastic!)

Hi everyone!
We're having a great time in Melbourne though it took a bit of time to adjust at first - a big change coming to a crowded city from near-deserted NZ. We watched some of the marathons at the weekend but it wasn't as exciting without Paula :-(
On Monday we went searching for gold in the old goldfields at Ballarat. Unfortunately we weren't successful and Claire got arrested as we didn't have a license. Luckily she managed to slip out of the handcuffs though and we escaped without being shot by the scary aussie with the musket and sabre! (We do have a photographic record of the escapade but the computer has forbidden us from publishing it as it obviously feels that we will incriminate ourselves too much!!)
The excitement continued on Tuesday as we had tickets for both sessions of athletics. Dean Macey was outstanding although we had a bit of a panic when he dropped out of the javelin after just one throw.

Deano celebrating (honest!)

Was great seeing the Heptathlon too and Lisa Dobriskey's 1500 was v v v impressive.

Prince Edward presenting Lisa's medal

We also went to both sessions yesterday so we got to see the rest of the Heptathlon. The only downside to all the England golds was that Matt insisted on singing along to the national anthem (very embarrassing!).


An attempt at a fishy photo for Sarah!! (We couldn't get any good ones cos the camera doesn't like shooting bright lights at night)

Oamaru (Penguin country)

On our way to Christchurch to link up with out flight to Melbourne, we stopped off one night at a small, rundown town called Oamaru. We wouldn't have bothered, but for one thing...

Unfortunately, the penguin sanctuary didn't allow photography, so the only photos we have are from the top of a cliff with penguin-like specks in the distance. (A penguin did also jump out of the bushes right in front of us, but by the time we had the camera in hand it had run off) Here are the penguins!

After Oamaru we came straight to Christchurch and had a brief trip round the city before popping in to a bar for some St Paddys celebrations. Later we went to a lovely seafood restauraunt for Claire's birthday meal:

Matt did eat some of it too, honest!!

Now off to Oz...

Milford Sound (=stunning!)

Finally we have had some luck with the weather - we went to the rainiest place in New Zealand and had glorious sunshine. Also, if we hadn't been delayed by the bad weather on North Island then we'd have been at Milford Sound a day earlier and it was absolutely pouring apparently!!
Milford Sound is in the Fiordland National Park and has some of the most breathtaking coastline you are ever likely to see!! (trust me, this is no overexaggeration!) The best view is from the water so we went off on a cruise around the Sound and out into the Tasman sea. Our pictures don't quite do it justice but here's a couple anyways!













As well as the snowcapped mountains and waterfalls we also saw some seals on the cruise...

Wellington to South Island

We stayed in Wellington overnight on our way to the South Island. Although we only had a short stay in the city we managed to do a whirlwind tour - visiting the very interesting museum (lots about the early European settlers in NZ) and taking a cable car up t the botanic gardens (almost as good as the ones in Cam!). We would put a photo in now to show you a lovely view of Wellington but the silly computer keeps crashing every time we try to upload something so you'll have to wait til the next internet cafe...
Here's Wellington as promised!

And the harbour by night...

From Wellington we took the ferry to Picton, a very scenic journey - lots of great views of the NZ coastline. Next stop was Nelson, our base for exploring the Abel Tasman National Park which we did via cruise and some more bushwalking. The cruise took us past a fur seal colony with a baby seal sitting on the rocks so Claire was happy :-) (and Matt thought it was cute too but he's not allowed to admit that!) The bushwalking took us past some great beaches and we had time for a dip in the sea which was crystal clear and not too cold so a nice change from the British coast.



We are currently in Franz Josef, on the West coast of South Island - it is a small town near a glacier and lots of beautiful snowcapped mountains. We have some lovely pictures but we'll have to leave you in suspense!
Suspense over...

We managed to see the last 20 minutes of THE football match last night and one of us enjoyed it :-D

Hope all is well in England and people aren't getting too cold. We're out in the tent again tonight and it's a good thing that it's so small and cosy cos it's quite nippy outside now under the mountains!!

Claire & Matt xx

Weather update

Unfortunately, the weather didn't clear from Tongariro so we had to content ourselves with climbing a mountainous hill overlooking Lake Taupo, and missing out on Mount Doom. We got to trek through some near-deserted kiwi bush though, so all was not lost.

Today, we were due to climb Mount Taranaki, whose film credits include the starring role of Mount Fuji in The Last Samurai, but the wind off the Pacific brought fog, cloud and rain to thwart our plans yet again. Doh! However, we did get more bush walking in and did make it most of the way up before the cloud hit.

Hope everyone is well back in England and thanks for the coments, it's good to hear from you!

Rotorua and Taupo

We arrived in Rotorua to be greeted by the smell of rotten eggs as promised in the guidebook. The smell was worth it though as it was due to all the sulphur and thermal activity in the area. Visiting the thermal springs was a somewhat unworldly experience with steam swirling around bubbling pools and geysers in the hills. We also saw a Maori Haka and concert in the traditional Maori meeting house.
We went on from Rotorua to Taupo, which sits on the shore of the lake of the same name. The plan was for this to be our base for a trip to Mordor (The Tongariro Crossing) but unfortuately Saruman has been working his magic with the weather again and all trips were cancelled for today. Hopefully he will be vanquished by tomorrow.....

Meanwhile we have had to content ourselves with some strolls around the lake and also a run out to Huka Falls. On the way back from the Falls we found time for a dip in a thermal spa (rather like having a nice soak in the bath except while surrounded by beautiful river and woodland!). The falls themselves were pretty good too...

Waiheke Island

Good news! We've enrolled on a course at Auckland University, so we're staying in NZ for a while yet...


We visited Waiheke Island today and trekked round the coast with our big heavy backpacks - there were some painful hills but the breathtaking views more than made up for it!!

As well as the beautiful coves we also passed some vineyards and olive groves - was like being in Italy or something! We had a barbie on the beach in the evening, a good day. :-)