Back to reality

So i've been hope for a week now and spent my time relaxing and chilling out. Unfortunately this lifestyle can't go on forever and I have to start looking for a job so today I am getting my CV sorted - well that's the plan anyway we'll see what happens!

However I still have no plan as to what to do now - part of me is saying me sensible and get a proper job etc but i'm not so sure I like that plan. what I really want to do is go travelling again and see all those other places and still want to see. I'm also considering heading back to Africa but this time for slightly longer maybe about a year and do something useful and meaningful out there!

Places I still want to go - I want to see more of Africa, south Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the east and west coasts of Australia, and south America...

Home sweet Home

Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end and after nearly 6 months of travelling I am now back in the UK. I arrived home safely this morning and have spent my day organising and unpacking. Very wired to be home but I don't think i'm quite used to the idea yet!

I have had the most amazing experience of my life, been to some quality places and met some fantastic people. It was definitely the best decision i've made in my life. However I have now go the travel bug and want to go travelling again. A few destinations on the list for my next trip include - Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, south Africa, South America, India, and I definitely want to see more of Africa as well as going back to oz to do the East and West coasts!

Final stop - America

I spent two weeks in America with my friends Suz and Michelle then Tamsyn came out to join us in my last few days! Ti begin with I spent a few days in San Francisco and got the chance to catch up with Conor1. San Fran was really cool we saw all the sites and luckily there was a little spare cash for shopping and I purchased the most gorgeous green dress ever. San Francisco is a really great city and definitely worth a visit! While we were there we saw the golden gate bridge, pier 30. Fisherman’s wharf, Lombard street (which is really fun to look), we got the boat across to Alcatraz which was definitely worth the tour. After a few days we left San Fran and started our ROAD TRIP!!! you'll all be pleased to know I left the others to do the driving so we drove along the pacific coast highway stopping for lunch in Santa Cruz and then spent the night in Monterey which was cool. The drive was good but not quite as impressive as he Great Ocean Road. The towns along the way were pretty cool though just a shame we didn't have more time! Then the next day we went on the 17 mile scenic drive around Monterey which has some very cool scenic spots and some cool wildlife, including a rock completely covered in birds. Then we headed on to Santa Barbara stopping in Sian Luis Obispo which is a very lovely little town and arrived in time to explore Santa Barbara and have yummy mexican for dinner (how i've missed my fajitas!). The pacific highway has loads of pretty little seaside towns along the way and a huge amount of places to make stops.

The next day we headed down to orange county and made a stop at Newport Beach we thought it would be rude not to seeing as we love the OC! Unfortunately Seth and Ryan didn’t put in an appearance but the beach was really nice altho the sand was boiling on our poor feet. Then we went into LA and stopped off at the hall of fame and went to check out the Hollywood sign before heading to the hotel. In the evening we checked out the pier in Santa Monica and attempted to have Indian for dinner but unfortunately they don’t open on a Monday so instead it was Thai. We made it in just in time before they closed – we were really surprised to find out how early restaurants closed in America especially as most of the time we were disorganised and didn’t tend to go out for food until late. The next day we went to the six flags theme park which has loads of roller coasters and was a lot of fun and being in charge of fun ment I got to choose where we went. Unfortunately Michelle was a bit too light for one of the rides and provided a lot of amusement for the crowds but don't worry I had a word! We left LA and headed on to Las Vegas and we splashed out and stayed in the Bellagio - check us out! Its really wired driving into vegas as there’s nothing but desert for miles and miles and then in the distance you see this city approaching – something you wouldn’t experience if you just flew into vegas. vegas is actually even bigger and tackier in real life but good fun all the same. It was also ridiculously hot. Don't fear I didn't loose my millions gambling and neither did I make them! I also attracted some unwanted attention from an Alabama man who seemed to think I couldn’t possibly be English because apparently I dont like guys from Alabama and that I must be from Mississippi! not really sure how that works but I managed to convince him I was English as I knew England doesn’t have a king! Anyway managed to ditch him in the end! The following day we drove on to the Grand Canyon for a couple of days and wow the canyon was amazing and just when you think the sights can't get any better oh yes they do! Quite possibly some of the amazing scenery I have ever seen. Then we came to DC for some sightseeing where we went to George town, saw the Lincoln memorial, the white house, the monument, world war 2 memorial, the capital, botanical gardens, the white house, union station and made a visit to some museums - which was all good fun! and we did the most amount of walking that we all came home with sore feet!

Leaving NZ and off to Fiji!

After Taupo I then headed up to Rotorura for a couple of days and treated myself to a mudbath and sulphur spa and ended up with gorgeous skin! I also went to a Maori concert and Hangi which was good fun. I next headed up to Auckland for one last drunken night out with my travelling buddy Helen before she left me for Sydney. Then I spent a few days chilling out in Auckland and making new fiends. I also went to Watimo caves for some black water rafting which was awesome!

After 5 weeks in New Zealand it was finaly time to leave and head on to Fiji. I spent 2 weeks relaxing and being lazy. My days consisted of sleeping, sunbathing, eating and drinking! I went to 9 island in total which were cool and very beautiful! I made some more new friends along the way and we had a few drunken nights out playing ring of fire and there was a whole lot of card playing going on mainly playing Le Presidente! All in all Fii was good fun!

Tongariro Crossing

So my day started at 5.15am when I had to drag myself out of bed to be ready for the bus picking us up at 5.40am and i'm thinking to myself whatever made me think this was a good idea! So we travel on the bus to our starting point and the guy next to me falls asleep on my shoulder - thin he felt a little embarrassed! Bless! We start the walk about 7.45am ish a time when we should all still be in bed! I wrap up nice and warm with lots of extra layers and my hat, scarf and gloves as its cold outside! Then about 10 minutes after we start walking i'l far to hot and have to take my extra layers off again! The walk starts off really nice really flat and very manageable. Then it starts to go up hill which is still ok to start with but then it gets to a part called the devils staircase (and as the name suggests its not very pleasant!) I thought I would never make it to the top at one point its really steep with lots of rocks to climb and overall very hard work and everytime you think you're nearly at the top you realise in actual fact there's more to climb! The poor guy I was doing the walk with would always be up the top way before me waiting till I finally reached the top! So we finally get to the top and there it is Mt Doom! So then we climb Mt Doom - yeah whatever - only joking - think you would have to be crazy to climb Mount Doom. It is covered in loose rocks and apparently you more or less have to climb on your hands and knees and for every one step forward its to steps back. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to climb and 15 mins to get back down - so I guess you just tumble to the ground and hope for the best! Then there is a nice crater to cross with very pretty views and another small uphill part which takes you up to the emerald lakes which are very gorgeous green lakes. The next part is downhill which was quite entertaining as its covered in loose soil so you pretty much slide down and somehow I didn't fall over! Then you come to the blue lake which is a big pretty and as the name suggests blue lake! After this its downhill the rest of the way but a Nice manageable walk and not steep at all. We stopped for lunch at a hut along the way which had a gorgeous view of one of the lakes with amazing scenery - we sat there for ages just enjoying the view! The last part of the walk is then through a forest area with waterfalls and a river - so there is a really good mix of scenery to see! All in all a very enjoyable day and worth the early morning start! I had sore legs the following day though!

Christchurch, Kaikoura & Wellington

So i've been doing lots more moving around! I spent a few days in Christchurch checking out what it has to offer - not a huge amount to do but we checked out the main sites - the cathedral, The cable cars, the cool old fashioned tram, botanical gardens - they also had loads of street performers some of which were so funny they really had me in stitches! The bar in the hostel also had glasses of wine $3 so I was happy. Oh and me and Helen became master card players and yes she is a bad loser! It got a little worrying though when I felt drunk after only 3 glasses of wine in the space of about 5 hours - oh dear I must be getting old!

I then spent another night in Kaikoura a very pretty seaside town where we went on a walk along the cliff tops which was very pretty. Just a short walk totalling 3 hours! Helen was doubting by ability at taking the right route but I got us home safe and sound and we didn't even get lost once!

It was then time to move on to Wellington - we had a 3 hour boat ride from Picton to Wellington and I filled in the time nicely by sleeping - good work me! Then on arrival in Wellington Helen and I decided to treat ourselves to a yummy dinner of roast chicken, yes we did buy the chicken already cooked but we cooked all the veg ourselves and it was soooooooooooooo tasty. sometimes I wander where I get such good ideas from!

I have been in Wellington 3 days now and have had a good chance to really chill out as well as see all the sites - the botanic gardens, the cable cars, Te pap museum, beehive and Parliament buildings and old St Paul's! The botanic gardens are gorgeous with a massive rose garden and it is all on a hill so lots of ups and downs. I also got lots of culture at the museum!

Moving on again tomorrow to Napier!

Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo and Christchurch!

So Queestown was immense amounts of fun - absolutely loved it there but the bank balance wouldn't let me stay any longer! As well as the bungy I went on the shot over jet boat which was awesome fun goes really fast and spins you round and you nearly crash into rocks - great stuff! and of course there were a few amusing drunken nights out with all the cool people I met! The Irish seem to be a bad influence on me! Oh and there is also some lovely scenery its right next to a lake and there are pretty walks you can go on! Fresh air is good for the hangover after all!

Eventually I left Queenstown and headed onto Dunedin which is a student town and founded by the Scottish. I spent 2 chilled out days there which was cool! We went on a wildlife tour and we saw a Albatross as well as cute little penguins, sea lions and fur seals - all good! We got so close up to the sea lions it was quality and watched them fighting!

On Wednesday - my birthday! - we headed on to Lake Tekapo after climbing the highest street in the world - Baldwin Street. Lake Tekapo is a very pretty lake in the middle of no where but don't worry we did manage to find a pub so went out for some food and a few beverages!

Today I arrived in Christchurch and am planning on spending a few days here checking out the place. Nearly time to move on to the North Island...

Queenstown!

On Tuesday we arrived in Queenstown! and decided it wiuld be rude not to check out the night life! Most of the bus were out so we had a really good turn out for the night out! We checked out a couple of the bars and danced the night away!

On Wednesday we decided to do the nevis bungy its the 3rd tallest bungy in the world and at 134 metres tall is very impressive! I never thought in a million years I would ever do a bungy then the previous day we were watching people bungy off a bridge and it was very tempting so i booked myself in to do nevis! Its about a 45 minute drive outside of queenstown and the platform is suspended in the air and you have to get a cable car accross to it!

Supprosongly I wasn't that scared or nervous although some of the others were and 2 of the girls nearly didn;t do it! When it got to my turn I walked up to the platform and junped straight off - such an amazing experience flying through the air!

Hike on the glazier!

So after a big night out in Franz Josef we all woke up with hangovers and headed off to the fox glazier for a 3/4 day hike! Not the best thing to be doing with a hangover! They supply you with boots and spikes so you don't fall over on the ice! First you have to walk for 45 mins to 1 hour to get there and then its on to the ice! The views were absolutely beautiful and it was a great experience and luckily I actually manager not to fall over! now that must be a first! We spent about 3 hours climbing upwards then an hour to an hour and a half going down! I was dreading the down but it wasn't as bad as expected! It was a pretty tiring day though and we were all knackered when we got home!