Taupo and the SKYDIVE!!

Hi y'all!

So its been another pretty busy week for me out in sunny New Zealand. And the next stop on my trip was to visit the Waitomo glow worm caves.  This involved going caving (not my favourite activity) but something that I feel that I would like and actually did! But normally, like most people, I avoid dark small places!! But I had a really super group of people doing it with me, a couple who were on their honeymoon from India, an English couple and a family from New Zealand and me! We were first given a quick briefing and then had to get into the lovely wet wetsuits and rather sexy white boots before making our way to the caves.

And these caves just blew my mind! we were crawling, wading and walking our way through the caves with only headlamps to lead the way and at some points we just turned them off for jokes! And we also went over 2 waterfalls and had to jump backwards sitting in a rubber ring into ice freezing water! loved every moment! Had some hilarious guides who were really funny and sweet and totally enjoyed myself. It was the first activity of adventure NZ and it defintately set me up for the next few days in Taupo.






in the caves



practise jump...the water was a rather cold shock!

So left Waitomo Caves and headed south for Taupo which is a gorgeous little town right on the edge of the lake and known for its adventure activities. I started off my time slowly with a gentle walk up to Huku Falls which turned out to be not very gentle- a 3 hrs walk later I was pretty tired and very hot. So jumped into the river and managed to find my own little patch and had my own little beach to myself which was very nice indeed!



Huka Falls



my own little beach by the river

The second day was the SKYDIVE day!!! Yes its something that I have wanted to do for a while and why not eh? For those of you that haven't already watched the video here is the link again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgKiyarwnvg 

It was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done and I wasn't actually that scared about it at all. I was with a fellow traveller who had done one in Abel Tasmen so was telling me a little about it. But to be honest I was far too excited to be scared.  I had a really nice guy called Mikey as my tandem skydive person i.e. the person strapped to the back of me. And despite only talking to him for roughly 10 mins before he strapped me into the harness and lead me out to the plane I was pretty relaxed and put my trust in him completly! So we had a fun little plane ride up to the jump point. And as you can see in the video i spent most of that talking to the tandem skydivers around me!! Then we launched ourselves out of a moving plane at 15,000 ft!

The freefall was AMAZING! I didn't want it to stop but nor did i want the ground to be the thing stopping me! But seeing Taupo from that point and just everything about the skydive is addictive and one of the best things I have ever done!

Here are some of the pics.



me and Mikey post jump...you can see that Leo joined me for the jump!

and as you can see i am pretty much smiling the whole way down!

So it was pretty hard after the skydive day to top any day after that.!!! But the next day me and 2 other travellers I had met on the bus to Taupo, Conner and Steph joined me in walking the Tongariro crossing. This is a pretty hard walk and we had to get up early to get a bus out there but we all had a wicked day. You essentially walk right by an active volcano and up one. We scrambled our way up Mount Doom ( from Lord of the RIngs) and slide down it again! And walked up to see the Emerald Lakes but couldn't complete the whole walk because the path has been shut due to recent volancic activity. It is currently still smoking away!

top of mount doom

the gang!

Mount Doom itself! the white part is where we slide down it!

So its been a pretty adventurous few days. Skydiving, river swimming, volcano climbing. And the next stop is Wellington to see a first cousin once removed for a brief stay before getting on a ferry to the south island. Enjoy...All for now. J xxxx



Hello New Zealand!

So in the space of about 2 and half weeks we travelled from Peru South America to the States and the craziness of Los Angeles to New Zealand. And for this part of the trip Tash and I are splitting up for a bit to do our own thing. Spread our wings if you will. So that all started in a rather cloudy Auckland. I stayed for a few days to get my feet and I actually did a lot of very cultural things. I went to not 1 but 2 museums both of which were really interesting and gave me loads of info on New Zealand. One of which was a maritime museum which is always a fav  and I got to see the winning America's Cup New Zealand boat and learn all about the immigration overseas of people from all over the world to New Zealand.

Aside note. I have used a Thesaurus to look up new words to replace 'cool' because I over use the word and I really should expand my vocab so here is what the internet suggests!

A-OK, adequate, admissible, all right, average, big*, common, cooking with gas, cool*, copacetic, decent, delightful, fair, hep, hip*, hunky-dory, in the swim, kosher*, large, okay, on the ball, on the beam, passable, peachy keen, pleasant, pleasing, respectable, right on, standard, sufficient, swell*, tolerable, trendy, unexceptional, unobjectionable, up to code, up to snuff, welcome

So I also added good because sometimes I want to use that word as well but end up using cool instead so here are all the other words for 'good' Ok! I also went up the sky tower which was a lot of fun but quite a brief visit because i was hoping to catch the sunset but arrived an hour too early so i didn't really want to wait and I was getting hungry. But it was all hunky-dory up there and it was swell stepping on the glass and looking down below. see pics. Also stopped many times around in Auckland for a coffee and read of my book which seemed to be such a luxury! I also spent a day walking around a small volcanic island called Rangitoto. I met this lovely Dutch guy off the boat and we walked around the island and explored the caves! I wasn't so keen on that idea especially as I thought that there was spiders and creepy crawlies but actually New Zealand is very bug and dangerous animal free which was good to know for the future. So after a few relaxing days in Auckland I head up north to Kerikeri to stay with Al Hargrove (extended family) and his wife Jules and their kids Peter and Lily. I had such a peachy time with them. It was such a luxury to be looked after and I also got my own double bed! I was also treated to many beach days on the most gorgeous beaches surrounding the Bay of Islands. me, Al and Al's sister in law Ang me and Jules And Jules was lovely enough to take me out one day just the two of us to look at the sites of Kerikeri which are fairly limited but we had such a lovely time and a gorgeous little walk to Rainbow falls. And squeeze in a girls lunch before picking up the kids again. We also spent another lovely day going over to Russell - which is a cute little village/town on on the Bay of Islands. We took the ferry over and spent a day having another lovely lunch and then going to the beach! Literally have been so spoiled and loving every second. I had been contemplating doing a skydive but the weather wasn't really perfect so instead i took a bus tour which normally I avoid like the plague to Cape Reinga which turned out to be such a delightful day out! I got to see the 90 mile beach, the Cape itself which is the northern most point of New Zealand and had lunch at the most beautiful beach. See the panoramic pic of the beach. me and the kids, peter and lily Cape Reinga Lunch beach! 90 Mile Beach So have had a very relaxed start to my trip to New Zealand. Just been chilling out and don't see that changing much! Getting a wicked tan and very much enjoying the sunny hot weather! All for now J xxx

Los Angeles - a crazy city!

So its the end of one action packed wild week in L.A. and we have done so much I don't even know where to begin.

We firstly had the worst ride from the airport to Richard Bishops house (the family friend) we are staying with. We booked through this shuttle company which sounded great but it wasn't. It took forever and the driver took a dislike to us I swear. We were the last to be dropped and I was super pissed off by then because our flight was also delayed and I thought that we were going to miss our connection but we didn't but I was no a happy bunny!

But on arrival we could not have had a more welcoming host. Richard is such a sweetheart and made us feel so welcome and at home and Tash was a bit crazy about getting some proper tea! So we just slept of the annoying travelness of the day before and then the next day we went into Hollywood to see my school friend Viki Watlington who is an actress in L.A.

Day 1- Ok I have to do it this way because there is so much that we did and I want to get it all down for everyone to read and pics will have to follow. So day one we had a pretty slow start and then got in a taxi down to Viki's in Hollywood very cool. We went to the Grove which is this really cool shopping area and had a very yummy burger which is Viki's fav place and possibly mine as well now. Umami burger...highly recommended. Then we had to be pretty snappy to get back to change....luckily Viki has one of those wardrobes that just accommodates everyone so we changed and went out for drinks followed by going to see the Hollywood men which is a male strip show. Just like the film Magic Mike for those of you that have watched that. It was an interesting experience, I even got a lap dance for $10 which 'interesting'! Then we went out to this super cool club called the Supper Club and partied away the night! very L.A. darling!

Clubbing in L.A. 

Day 2- we decided that the best thing to do on hangovers was to go site seeing and we saw soooo much. We went up to the Hollywood sign which was very cool. Then walked all the way back again and had a bit of lunch in a small cafe near the sign and I saw some famous people. I don't know what their names were but I recognized them from some movies! Very cool indeed! Then we took one of the really tacky tours to see the sites of Hollywood and the famous people houses which was actually really fun if it wasn't so cold. L.A. is cold in January its actually making me a little bit cold from the temperature change. Anyway...moving on we got back and went to see the footprints...the famous people do outside the Chinese Theatre which is were all the big movie premieres are held. After that we got the most delicious but calorific cupcake the size of a cricket ball and went with Viki's friend Ross to the Griffin Observatory. This is a really amazing place in L.A. because you can see the whole city and by night its so gorgeous with all the lights on. we went to a show about space in the Observatory which was very cultured of us and actually really interesting so had fun doing that. They projected the most incredible nights sky onto the screen they had and I thought I was actually looking at the nights sky it was that good. So another super busy day!

L.A. by night

Eating the yummist peanut butter cupcake know to mankind!

Day3- we went and collected the rental car from Enterprise and we got a crysler something and it just happened to be a soft top which was totally rad! We went shopping in the afternoon to Grove again and bought a guide book for New Zealand and Tash got herself a new iPod so all in all we spent loads of money!!!! Went out for dinner with Richard and his girlfriend Niki which was cool and really enjoyed getting to know them a little better.

Day4 - Making use of the car we sped down to Venice beach for the day and walked up and down the boardwalk and saw Muscle beach where all the body builders work out which was really funny! kinda running out of adjectives but it was cool/fun/awesome/cool etc so just hang in there with what I'm saying. But the night part was amazing because Richard invited us to a movie premiere. So as you do...you go! And it was a documentary about celebrities which was fine but the after party in the Hard Rock was cool because there was  a live band and open bar! hell yes! but not feeling too peachy atm so just stuck to diet coke...what a waste!

Movie premier night! After party at the Hard Rock cafe

day 5- so as you can tell its been a few very busy days so today was just a chill day. read my book watch tv etc.

Day 6- LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Road tripped up to Las Vegas via the desert scenic route with Viki and her bessie Ross. So had a full car of peeps.  Just too many things to say but not all for the eyes of the general public so just imagine what we got up to...think of the film 'the hangover' and that should give you a pretty good picture of what occurred. Apart no one won any money.

Road trip through the desert!

all dressed up for a night out in Vegas

Day 7- we checked out a few of the hotels before we left and had our pic by the famous Vegas signs and drove back to L.A. and stopped at the Alien Jerky shop to find an alien but only found beef jerky which is a very odd concoction of dried out beef! I mean ...who does that? But these Americans continue to surprise. So now back atVikis....awkwardly cooking dinner and the fire alarm keeps going off and her roommate is not happy with us....never mind...we're leaving tomorrow! Have around 600 or more to sort through from the trip/week Viki goes overboard and is very snap happy but very appreciative of it all the same because I never take that many photos. And we had an SLR so the quality is incredible! love love love! will upload when i have a chance!

mash up of pics courtesy of Viki! 

So time to leave...going to miss L.A. its a crazy city but as grown on me and apart from the traffic is amazing to live in! whoop!

all for now. J xxx

The last days of Lima

So last few days in Lima, Peru and generally South America were really fun and i was loving being in a city so a longer period of time. I was craving some city life for a bit. We stayed over NYE which turned out to be really fun. I'm not the most NYE person so I literally stayed up to midnight and then went to bed bit sad I know but there we go and thats what happened!

But while we were in the city for a bit longer we did a few more activities, namely walking around to Barranco which is the arty district of Lima and had a really nice lunch in an old train carriage which was a bit different. We did some shopping in the huge markets there which was quite intense because they were big and there were so many stalls all selling the exact same thing. We made friends with a lovely girl called Heather who was from California and we hung around with her for a few days. But generally just chilling and reading and see bits of the city but taking it easy. We did get addicted to this one sandwich place called La Lucha which served this AMAZING pork hog roast type sandwich and it was one of the most delicious things I have eaten in South America! We pretty much went back every day which was very naughty but so great all the same.

The amazing la lucha!

I also did boring chores like sending postcards and getting my laundry done. I took my really smelly walking shoes to the laundry and they cleaned them for me because I was really embarrassed about them because they smelt so bad. They would stink out rooms! no joke! Anyway so got them all cleaned up and skyped some people which was great because the internet is really good in Peru unlike Bolivia which had the worst internet EVER!



But it was actually quite emotional leaving because a- its been 3 months b- I've really gotten used to South America...i love the people, food and there is so much to see. I feel like I have done a lot but could easily go back for more. I really want to do the central america part as well because I feel that would be super cool. But the travels continue onward to Los Angeles for 1 week. I'm staying with a family friend and will be seeing my school friend Viki Watlington so I'm sure wild times are ahead!

As per the photos thing will have to wait. I'm currently working off a mac computer and I have no idea how to use it and so you will all have to wait. But getting on the plane and off we go...

All for now

J xxx

Mancora

So we arrived in Mancora in the morning and it was super hot! Like I mean really hot! We walked around the very small long town and I basically could not cope with that much heat from the colder parts of the south. Mancora is a party beach town and another surfer haven. There isn´t much to do here and to be honest unless you are really into surfing then it is pretty boring.

We did go surfing one morning but I wouldn´t really call it surfing on our part. The instructor paddles you out...you don´t have to do anything! hes wearing flippers and kicks you out there then catchs the wave for you and holds onto the back so it is super easy to stand up and pretend that you are surfing.


 




Now i like surfing and would have loved to have gone solo on this little outing but to be honest it was GREAT! its surfing without all the horrible parts...the aching arms from paddling, the deciding when to catch the wave and the disappointment when you don´t get it. This way you always catch the wave and always stand up! Awesome! Although I would like to be able to surf properly one day...but for an hour and a bit it was great to pretend that I could surf despite the instructor at he back of the board!

 

After much discussion and investigation on prices and available rooms in Mancora a decision was made to return to LIma for NYE. So here we are. Back in sunny Lima for the last few days of South America trip. 3 Months seems to have flown by and I can´t believe how much we have done and all the places we have gone and of course all the lovely people we have met. It seems so weird to be leaving. But there is more to come so I am looking forward to leaving and going to Los Angeles for a few days and then onto the place tthat is probably going to kidnap me - New Zealand.

All for now J xxx

Christmas!

So I know Christmas has passed already but I´m a bit behind on the old blog front. So I am doing a massive catch up and just letting you all plow through the last weeks of activities.

So Christmas.....IT was probably the most random christmas I have ever had but also a really nice one. We are in this little town called Huacayo which is a surfer beach town and so chilled out that i feel that I am asleep most of the time. Everyone is very chilled. In fact if they had to rename the city they should probably call it Chill! Anyway we ended up staying in this hostel called SudAmerica because they said they were doing a christmas dinner and also had this really sweet policy of if you cooked dinner for the whole hostel then you got to eat for free.



We even did secret santa for christmas between the us and the other hostel people which was really cool and hilarious as some the gifts were just so random. This one guy had said very loudly that all he wanted was weed for christmas and that was what he got. others got pieces of fruit, random braclets etc i got this really cool feather earing which was great. And we all cooked this massive turkey for christmas with a random selection of foods including mash potato salad, sweet potato sweetened with more suger (amazing!) , roast potatos, some weird roasted veg mix that should have been deliciuos but was disguesting and we cooked the most amazing cauilflower and white sauce...when i say we i mean tash did as well as a really good gravy!

Christmas tree

I literally had so much food that I was about to explode afterwards! But it was a lot of fun. Next stop Mancora.

All for now J xxx

Huaraz - hiking the Cordillera Blanca in the rain!

So a couple of weeks back we left Cusco to travel down on the most horrible road know to mankind where the person sitting next me, a local peruivan guy clearly could not handle the motion decided to be sick next to me! On my new rucksack and on my shoes! great! i moved swiftly to the back of the bus to avoid gagging from the smell and continued the 14 hr bus journey in peace!

We went to a small oasis called Huachina for 2 days which was really sweet and quaint but nothing really to do apart from sandboarding which Tash did but not me. So we moved on quickly up to Lima for an afternoon before we caught another bus straight on up to Huaraz. We had such a nice afternoon in Lima. Everyone sayes that Lima is really boring but I really liked it and we found some nice places and it was really good to be out of alitude and near the sea. We walked around Miraflores which is the nice part of town and had the most massive milkshake EVER! divine! And even went on a bus tour of Miraflores...very touristy of us but actually quite fun!

Then caught an overnight bus to Huaraz which is the trekking capital of Peru but very quite this time of the year because its the rainy season. Tash wasn´t feeling great so I went on little day trips around the local area and it was really beautiful. Here are a few pics of Lima....

Park of love

police roving the streets!

Huaraz-

The first day I trekked to Lake Churup which is meant to be beautiful but because of the rain and mist I could not see a thing. It was super cold and the final climb up to the lake was really dangerous because of how wet it was and there were several times when I thought I would fall...not cool when you are trekking alone! So Churup was a bit of a disappointment to be honest.




But the next day was gorgeous sunshine so I took a bike and cycled around the city and up the most massive hill know to mankind. I pushed the bike most of the way then chained it to a tree. I didn´t really have much of an idea where I was going and afterwards someone told me that it is unadvisable to go to the area i walked though because people get mugged but it seemed fine to me. Most of the way up the valley hill i was following this local lady who was herding her sheep up to the top for pasture so she was a pretty good guide. But Huaraz is 3052 m so pretty high and even walking around you really feel the altitude on your breathing.



So the last day I decided to go to the famous lake 69 which is a 3 hr drive away from Huaraz and I decided to get local transport there instead of paying over 10 pounds to get there! which was really fun. The hike itself was gorgeous! One of the best I have done in South America and me and the french girl I was with were blessed with good weather and it didn´t rain on us. The lake which is settled between these incredible mountains was actually surrounded by snow and when we were at the top it snowed a little bit! But it was really beautiful and well worth the walk up to it. 











We wanted to hitch hike back to Huaraz but instead got in this taxi by mistake but we got back fine using public transport despite the hostel people warning us repeatly that we would be stuck there!

So a very action packed few days for me. It was gorgeous walking but it would have been even nicer in the rain and there were more longer treks to do as well but as it was we kinda ran out of time as we are heading over to a little beach town for Christmas!

All for now

J xxxx