East Coast

Have just arrived in Perth and am now staying with my friend Emma who i worked with in London. It is so nice to spend time with her and she has a lovely house in a place called Alfred Cove. Have been having a lazy time since i got here as travelling up the east coast has exhausted me!

I loved Sydney and met some really nice people there. I met up with my friend George and her boyfriend and a couple of his mates. It was so nice to be with friends and we had a great time, we had a lovely day out at Manley and gorgeous dinner and drinks at Darling Harbour. I also experienced mardi Gras which was fun......! From there i went up to the Blue Mountains and saw the 3 sisters and a few more cool sights. Unfortunately we had the most boring tour guide in the world who sent everyone to sleep on the coach and half the time i had no idea where we were or what is hould be doing!

After Sydney i headed up to Port Macquarie which i really liked, although i came face to face with a massive water monitor when i was doing a 6k coastal walk which scared the hell out of me and then i was convinced i was going to be bitten by something horrible and be left in the middle of the bush all alone! Quite clearly that didn't happen but then as i came down onto one of the most beautiful beaches ever i cam face to face with a nude man! No one told me it was a nudist beach, i was doing my best to not look down but it was difficult especially when he seemed intent on having a chat with me! It was a very eventful walk!

I thought Byron Bay was highly over-rated, maybe because i was staying at an awful hostel with awful people but i didn't stick around there for very long and then headed up to Hervey Bay and went over to Fraser Island for a few days. I loved Fraser island and ended up meeting some people that i had met in NZ so we had a great time, it was lovely to see them again. I spotted a dingo in the bush behind the beach, although at first i was thinking to myself, 'that's strange that someone has brought a dog on the beach!" Then clicked that it was a dingo! He was pretty cheeky as he came up and started sniffing our bags looking for food. I like Australia but there are far too many scary animals here, the other day i almost trod on a snake, have seen the biggest spiders ever, seen salt water crocs and even the cute koalas can be bloody vicious!

Then it was off to Airlie Beach and over to the Whitsundays. Had a great time there and a very drunken time as it was St. Patrick's Day so a few green (!?) beers were drunk that night! I then went up to Cairns, i really enjoyed Cairns and had a lot of fun there, i met up with some really nice people and stayed for a while. I went out to the outer reef and did some snorkeling, it was amazing! The visibility was fabulous and the fish and coral are so cool. Although i felt terrible on the way back to Cairns, i probably shouldn't have drunk so much red wine the night before!

I also headed up to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest which was stunning, again though far too many big spiders for my liking!

The east coast was great and i saw some really cool stuff but i am so happy to be in Perth now, so far i love it! It's nice not to be in hostels anymore and having my own room is luxury and Emma has made me feel so welcome. The weather has been fantastic for most of my time in Oz, much better than the UK weather i'm told!

Sydney II

i met up with George and Danny and a couple of Danny's mates from home. We went over to Manley on the ferry and had lunch in the sunshine, it was so nice to see George, i have been missing being in the company of really good friends. Danny and his friend were doing a shark dive in the aquarium so we had fun watching that, i'm glad i was watching and not doing it as they looked pretty scary! We all went out in Darling Harbour that evening after champayne in their hotel suite, a bit of much needed luxory for me! Had the best seafood and drank far too much, it was such a lovely evening and Danny's friends were really good fun. Managed to find my way back to the hostel, (moved to the YHA, much nicer!) and coped with my hangover the next morning.

Sydney

Arrived in the pouring rain and didn't think much of that! Found my hostel,a glorious place called 'The Globe Backpackers', was completed paranoid about bed bugs as a girl that i met in Auckland told me she was eaten alive by them when she stayed in Sydney! Anyway all ok and bed bug free! Thankfully the rain stopped and Friday was a lovely day, spent most of it wandering around the city and taking in all of the touristy sights. Yesterday was Mardi Gras and it was a crazy day.I went to a bar with a whole load of people from the hostel and obviously started drinking, by the time the parade came around everyone was pretty merry. It was difficult to see the whole parade as it was so busy but i managed to see lots of it and it was outrageous!

North Island - New Zealand

I'm just about finished in New Zealand and have had the best time! The north island has been very different to the south but equally as enjoyable. I am now back in Auckland and fly out to Sydney tomorrow, unfortunately i diddn't realise it was Mardi Gras and have had a nightmare getting accommodation but have managed to get a hostel so it's all good, or as they say here in NZ - sweet as!
I started in the north by staying with Iris, who has a lovely house in Waipukarau, which is about an hour south of Napier. We travelled down to Wellington together and met up with Glenda and we all spent a few days exploring 'windy Wellington'. It was great to spend time with them both and i'm looking forward to seeing Glenda again soon in Perth. I met up with Sally in Wellington and we had a quick whizz around Te Papa which was good. It was so nice to see Sally and i'm so pleased about your news! (I hope you are looking after yourself). We spent a day in Napier which was great as it was the Art Deco weekend and there was so much going on. Everyone was dressed up for it and it was an excellent day. I visited a place called Roturua which was really smelly, Miri told me to take a clothes peg and i wish i had as it was really bad at times! Had a great time there and met some really nice people.
I have just got back from a trip up to the Bay of Islands which was brilliant. The first few days weren't great though as there was a freak rain storm and it didn't stop raining for about 3 days, but i was in good company and we all had a good laugh. We couldn't get up to the Cape as the road had to be closed due to flooding so i ended staying there longer than anticipated but i loved it. We went in a massive 4x4 on the 90 mile beach and our guide said that out of the 200 trips he has made on the beach our one was in the top 10 of the scariest! It was such fun although at times (the ones where the driver couldn't see where he was going) i was a little worried that we weren't going to make it! But we did and it was great. i went sand surfing on the biggest dunes i have ever seen! I was absolutely petrified when i had finally walked to the top but the only way was down so off i went! It was so funny, i did it 5 more times!
So here ends my New Zealand adventure, it has been such a lovely experience and i know for sure that i will be back here soon as there is still so much for me to see and do.
Thanks New Zealand, you've been 'sweet as....'

South Island Trip

I have just been on a short trip around some of the sights in the south island. I am completely in love with New Zealand, it's such a beautiful country and the people are so nice. I went over to the glaciers and did a glacier walk on Franz Josef which was really good, my legs were aching a tad the next day but well worth it, it was amazing! I then headed through Wanaka and into Queenstown where i stayed in a really cool hostel and met a ton of really nice people, we had one day of rain so we all stayed in and played monopoly, quite amusing with a load of different nationalities. I didn't throw myself off any bridges on a piece of elastic or out of any planes but had lots of fun. I then went down to Te Anau and over to Milford Sound where i went kayaking for a day. That was the highlight of my trip as i just loved it! (thanks Rocky for the advice, you were right it was so cool!) Had a really good group and guide so it turned out to be a really lovely day, and no rain, which considering it rains about 300 days a year there, i was pretty lucky! I went back to Queenstown for a night and caught the bus back to Christchurch the next day. I really enjoyed the travelling thing, i was a bit concerned about the 'dorm' living but ended up meeting so many people that putting up with a few broken nights sleep was was well worth it!

I now only have a couple of days left here in Christchurch before i go up to the north island. I will be sad to leave here as i have had such a lovely time here and staying with Miriam & Mikey and Claudia & Zane has been so nice. They have all made me feel so welcome and part of their family that it's going to hard to move on, but i am looking forward to seeing what the north island has to offer, it has stiff competition from the south! Plus i have a few people to visit there so that will be great.

Miriam has been doing her up-most to turn me into a domestic goddess, i am now an expert sushi maker and we even made a dress for me yesterday! I say 'we', i cut out the pattern and then tried it on at the end! I feel my input was adequate! It really has been great to relax and un-wind after the hecticness of India and i am very much getting into the kiwi way of life, i have even sometimes started saying 'aye' at the end of my sentences!

The next chapter - New Zealand

Have now been in Christchurch for 2 weeks and loving it. I feel so relaxed and have been made to feel so welcome by the CC crew it's going to be difficult to move on. I have been staying with Miriam & Mikey and Claudia & Zane, it's been great spending time with them all, it beats Streatham any day! Have swam with dolphins, which was just amazing and learnt to make sushi (so doing all the important things in life)!

I really feel like i have recharged my batteries and feel ready for another trip. On Friday i head off for a short trip around the south island, taking in a glacier walk and hopefully some kayaking.

Yesterday i experienced the thrills of a football match, Mikey and i went to watch Canterbury v Auckland at the ground in Christchurch. Their football isn't quite in the same league as English footie, one man shouted out a few chants but even he sounded half asleep. As for the players, it took a while for some of them to get warmed up. It had a good old community feel to it and it was good wholesome fun. Auckland beat Canterbury 3-0 just in case anyone is interested!

Had the pleasure of meeting up with Emma Andrews last week as she was down for a wedding with her new boyfriend, had a lovely lunch at Claudia & Zane's and then we headed out for a few more drinks in town. It was so lovely to see her and am looking forward to my time in Perth with her.

I think I could definitely live in New Zealand, everyone is so friendly and welcoming. They even talk to you in shops! A little scary at first but now i am chatting away like a local!

Things I won't miss about India!

Things I will not miss about India

1. The flies! They bug me so much.
2. Being stared at constantly, it feels like i have just fallen from a different planet, everyone stares at me!
3. Sitting on a bus and being expected to chat to every single child on the bus so that they can practise their english. I don't mind usually but after being on a bus for 7 hours or so it gets a bit much.
4. Being invisible in queues.
5. The litter. It really is bad.
6. Men going to the loo everywhere, i have seen too many random willies for my liking!
7. Men spitting and hoiking their guts up.
8. Rickshaw drivers who say they know where you want to go but never do!

Apart from that i love India and i miss it a lot.