Last days.

18/04/12-21/04/12 With tickets still be used in my city pass I decided to still local to my hostel and visit two museums just on the edge of Central park. The first one I visited was the Natural History Museum as made famous by the Night at the Museum film. Inside I was quite surprised at how old and tired most of the exhibits were; it was like a Victorian museum in parts with stuff displayed in old grand glass cases. One aspect which certainly was modern was the museum’s planetarium; your entry ticket included one ticket to a timed show. The film was about the life and death of stars and was hugely impressive, actually felt like you were being shuttled through the universe. In the afternoon I crossed over to the other side of Central Park to explore the world’s most visited museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The MMOA is massive, it houses objects from the Egyptians all the way to modern art. You could easily spend a whole day wondering around the maze of rooms but having been in museum all day my brain was fried by the late afternoon so I retreated back to my hostel. In the evening I ventured out to see Times Square in all it’s lit up glory. On my last full day in New York I returned to Ground Zero in the morning to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The memorial is sited on the ground where the Twin Towers use to stand. At the location of the bases of each tower there is now a memorial pool where water flows down a square hole in the middle. Surrounding the pools are the names of all those who lost there life’s in the attacks. A tree which survived the after mass of the attacks also stands in the grounds as well as a museum which is still under construction. I think it is quite a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives that day, well worth a visit. After I popped into the nearby Trinity Church which survived major damage and acted as a relief centre in the days after the attacks, it still displays information about the role during that time. Moving on I took a quick stroll over to visit Wall Street home of the New York Stock Exchange before continuing north to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to grab some impressive views of the Midtown sky line. Back on Manhattan Island I continued north once again to visit the cities first skyscraper, the impressive looking Flatiron building which is shaped like a wedge. In the evening I once again ventured down to Times Square to check out a burger place I had seen packed the night before, Shake Shack which was definitely worth the visit – awesome burgers. My last full day in my trip had finally arrived after nearly seven and a half months of travels which had taken quite literally around the world. With my flight not until the late evening I had nearly another full day to explore the city so I decided to head for Midtown to mop up some of the most obvious sights I had missed. Firstly I had one more ticket to use up in my city pass which of course was for the iconic Empire State Building. This building will always hold special memories for me as I spent the morning of my 21st birthday enjoying the views from the top. Things haven’t changed much since I was last here, but it was interesting to see the new buildings rising out of World Trade Centre once again. A short walk again took me to the equally impressive Grand Central station which is almost choked up by the surrounding skyscrapers. Inside is the famous grand lobby which has star constellations painted on the ceiling. Downstairs it also houses a great food court filled with foods from around the world. Heading back to towards Times Square I quickly stopped to have lunch outside the Central Library which starred in the first Ghostbusters film before carrying on. I spent my remaining time wondering around the tourist shops looking for any last minute gifts which took my fancy, popping into Midtown Comics to pick some American editions for my collection. Then it was time to pick up my backpack and make my way to the airport for my last and mercifully short flight back home to Blighty. My epic trip had finally come to an end; I had been to the far edge and back and full filled a lifelong dream.

NYC

15/04/12-17/04/12 The last coach journey of my trip was only a short hop over to the island of Manhattan in New York City. I had finally reached my final destination for my epic round the world trip and I couldn’t think of a better place to spend my last 5 days. I had last been to NYC 3 three years ago for my 21st birthday so I was interested to see what had actually changed during that time. After being dropped off at Penn Station I had a quick metro journey north up to my hostel. I had real problems booking accommodation for my five nights, most places I couldn’t get five consecutive nights in a row but lucky I managed to find one place though it had no cooking facilities. With prices so expensive in Midtown I had to stay in the upper west side of Central Park, but with Metro stations so close to my hostel it would be easy to get into central NYC. Knowing I had a few days to look round I only took a quick walk round the local area before crashing out in the hostel for the rest of the day. With the sun out and clear skies I decided to walk through Central Park in the morning down towards 5th Avenue. The park for me is one of the best places to visit in NYC, an amazing expanse of green space in such an urban environment. As I wondered along I was surrounded my people out keeping fit by either jogging or riding bikes. There is also an abundance of wildlife in the park, birds scatter into and out of bushes as you pass. I checked out the main attractions as I strolled through, from the castle by the lake to Strawberry Fields, the memorial garden to John Lennon who was famously shot outside the Dakota apartment building which is only a few hundred metres away from the garden. Leaving the park behind me I headed into the grid system of the city to be engulfed on either side by the famous skyscrapers, it’s like walking through a corridor of steel. I eventually made my way to Times Square, the home of advertisements in the city. All around you are massive billboards and electronic screens advertising the latest films to well known consumer products. At night the place really comes alive when the light show from the signs luminates the place spectaterly. Moving on I headed to the Rockefeller Centre dominated by the GE Building. Here I queued up to do my first activity, the Top of the Rock tour to the observation decks on top of the building. I bought a NYC Pass here, basically a voucher system which allows you to enter several of New York’s most famous attractions. You only pay a one off fee for the pass so you save quite a bit of money compared to buying individual tickets at each site. The observation decks at the top are very impressive, I think you get a lot better views here than from the top of the Empire State Buildings. There are three floors of observation decks that you can visit at your own pace; the best thing apart from the views is that two of them are open air with no glass or steel bars to block your photos – real bonus again compared to the Empire State Building. After lunch I used another ticket in the pass to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) which is only a few blocks away from the Rockefeller Centre. It houses an impressive collection of modern art from all over the world; I started at the top floor and worked by way down through the galleries stopping off to listen to parts of the audio guide I had picked up at the entrance. My most favorite piece had to be Van Gogh’s Starry Night, something I have always wanted to see with my own eyes. After a long day I headed back to the hostel to relax. Another sunny day greeted me as I made my way to the other end of Manhattan Island to join the long queue to board the ferry over to visit the iconic Statue of Liberty. This was another attraction covered by my city pass, though I had to wait nearly an hour and a half before I was through security and able to board the ferry for the short hop over to the island. The Statue of Liberty is another of the world’s attractions that looks a lot bigger on TV, when you actually get to see it from the shore of Battery Park it is only a tiny feature out in the Hudson River. Nevertheless this monument had great significance to those who immigrated out to the new world at the beginning of the last century, a symbol to them that they had finally reached their new home. The last time I had been here three years ago the upper observation deck in the crown had been closed due to the heighten security measures put in placed after 9/11, though it has since reopened unfortunately it was closed once again due to refurbishment works – maybe next time! On the island I made my way straight to the front of the statue to grab my pictures, the island also serves as a great location to observe the fantastic New York skyline from afar. The ferry then takes you to the neighboring Ellis Island which served as the immigration centre for the new arrivals. Of course those you came here were only in the lower ticket classes as first class passengers would be dealt with on the cruise ships. Ellis Island was closed down in the 1950s and quickly fell into a state of disrepair until the main building was restored in the late 80’s to serve as an immigration museum. It is fascinating to walk through the building and think of all those people who passed through there to start a new life, but more important those select few who were denied entry mainly due to illness after travelling all that way. After spending several hours visiting the two islands I returned to the main land and made my way north up to the infamous former site of the Twin Towers. The last time I visited the World Trade Centre site there was nothing to be seen off ground level only the ring of the construction site fencing, how things have changed. Now there are the shells of several buildings rising up into the sky once again the most impressive being the new One World Trade building. A new memorial park and museum have also been constructed but to visit the park you have to book timed entry tickets so that night back at the hostel I booked a ticket for my last full day.

Philadelphia

12/04/12-14/04/12

Having seen Washington I was moving on again this time back to Pennsylvania to visited one of America’s first cities – Philadelphia. After my long bus rides with Greyhound this trip would only take 3 hours to make the journey eastwards. I arrived in the afternoon so only went out to take a quick look around the town. Having missed lunch because I was stuck on the bus I made for one of the local street vendors to try out the local Philly Cheese Steak, literally a roll filled with little cuts of steak covered in cheese. It turned out to be very filling, back home I guess we would have a bacon roll instead.

Out early the next day I was going to stick to the old town part of the city, the area which contains a variety of important sites relating to the establishment of the United States. I first made for the visitor centre to pick up my ticket to visit the Independence Hall and to watch the short film ‘Independence’ about the creation of the founding documents. After the film I walked a short distance across the road to see the grave of Benjamin Franklin. He was a local man who played a prominent role during the war of independence. Next it was time for me to join my tour of Independence Hall. Inside this building the founding documents were debated and revised before being formerly adopted an act of treason at the time. The first governments also operated in buildings on this site before they were moved to Washington DC in 1800. Next I joined the queue to see the famous cracked Liberty Bell, luckily the queue moved quickly so it wasn’t long before I got to see it with my own eyes. The bell has more meaning to certain campaign groups who used it as a symbol in their struggle of equality. After I entered the Second Bank of America to see portraits of all the famous figures that had a role in creating the United States. I then followed the road all the way down to Penn’s Landing which runs along the nearby river before working my way back to see the site where Franklin had his property in the old town, a ‘ghost’ house now stands on the site, steel beams outline where the house would have stood. As it was still early I made a quick visit to the city hall in the downtown area before retracing my steps back to the hostel.

Picking up where I left off the day before I head back to the city hall before bypassing it to continue further west to the museum district of the city. Following the straight road it took me all the way to the steps of the Philadelphia art gallery, the steps are being known for being the ones the character Rocky runs up in the original film which I was tempted to repeat. Seeing that the gallery had a Van Gogh exhibition on I couldn’t resist purchasing a ticket to see some of his artwork up close. I spent the main part of the morning and early afternoon looking round the gallery before heading out into the sun to take a walk down by the riverside to check out the various boat houses sat on the bank of the river. I was surrounded by locals out jogging and riding bikes, it made me look forward to when I could play sport again back home. Heading back to the city centre I made a division to first check out the notorious Eastern Penitentiary Prison that held some of America’s most famous prisoners but only walking around the outside I didn’t get much of a view due to the imposing surrounding wall, it looked more like a medieval castle rather than a prison. Back in town I walked round the Chinatown area before taking my last tour of the old town.

Washington DC

08/04/12-11/04/12

I arrived in DC in the morning having passed through the state of Maryland in the early hours. As I couldn’t check in till the afternoon at my hostel I went for a quick wonder of the local area to get my bearings. As I was walking I came across the National Achieves so with time to kill I joined the line to pass through security. This building holds all of America’s most important documents, none more so than the original founding documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They are housed within the buildings Rotunda so after joining another queue I finally got my chance to get to see these incredibly important documents with my own eyes. The major shock is how faded the Declaration of Independence is, it is almost ineligible to read or even see the signatures at the bottom of the page; years of sunlight damage have taken their toll. The other documents are thankfully in a much better condition, you cannot deny the important role they played not only America’s history but also their impact in the wider world.

On my first full day I headed immediately down to the Holocaust museum to take up my place in the line to get free tickets for the museum’s main exhibition. Luckily I didn’t have too long a wait till I could enter the main area so I quickly wondered around an exhibition of Nazis propaganda – that took me back to my secondary school days. When it was time I entered the main area of the museum that documents the Holocaust from the rise of the Nazis party through to the end of the war and the discovery of the camps. You cannot help but be moved by the images and films on show, from the footage of mobile execution squads and the conditions of camps to the pictures of those involved in ‘medical’ experiments, no matter how many times you have seen them they are still as shocking. In the afternoon I moved outside to explore the many memorials DC has to various individuals and wars. In the centre of the mall, a huge national park stands the Washington Memorial. It has a look out platform at the top but due to recent earthquake damage it is currently closed off to the public. West of it lays the World War Two memorial which stands at the eastern foot of the Reflecting Pools, though they weren’t reflecting much due to the fact that they were dry because of upgrade work. At their western end stands the Lincoln Memorial, an impressive tomb-like structure that houses a sitting statue of the former president along with some of his famous addresses. In the grounds nearby is the Vietnam memorial, a simple V shape line of black facings listed with the names of the dead. On the opposite side lays the Korean War memorial that has a series of white ghost-like statues of a unit out on patrol. Instead of names the memorial displays faces in various situations. Further around is the Martin Luther King memorial and the impressive Roosevelt memorial which displays various quotes from the former president in chronological order of his three terms. On the other side on the lake sits the circular Jefferson memorial. North of all this stretching off of the mall is the office of the current president – the White House. I headed there to try and get a picture of the front but due to a ticketed Easter event the whole front was blocked off so I had to settle with the view of the back of the building.

My second day consisted with museums. In the morning I made my way up to the top of the Post Office tower to get an overview of the capital before venturing down to the Air and Space museum, reportedly the most visited museum in the world. It contains a wealth of exhibits from the Wight Brothers plane that made the first powered flight in history to the Apollo 11 command module, there’s even a moon rock you can touch. After exhausting all the exhibits I made my way up the mall to see the mighty Capitol building where the senate is housed. It is an impressive structure, I joined the queue to visit but was refused enter because I was carrying a water bottle on me! Denied entry I instead popped into the Library of Congress to check out the impressive classical interior and Franklin’s book collection. On the north side of the mall I checked out the West Art museum quickly following the highlight guide they provided. With my attention span running out of patience I only took a quick tour of the Natural History museum next door seeing the massive Hope diamond in the process before retiring back to my hostel for the evening.

At the Air and Space museum the day before I had hope to see the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic weapon in history but I discovered it was housed at the museum’s sister site in neighbouring Virginia. Not prepared to miss one of the objects that I had always wanted to see I set out early on the third day to catch the first bus I would need to visit the site. After a lengthy journey consisting of two bus rides I eventually made it to the other site. Inside was the Enola Gay as well as hundreds of other important exhibits that simply cannot fit into the main site on the mall. It was certainly worth the journey and I had finally seen the plane I had always wanted to see. Back in Washington in the afternoon I visited the American History museum to see the original star spangled banner among other artefacts. After dinner in the evening I made one last visit to the mall to finally see the front of the White House as well as to see some of the memorials lit up, the Lincoln one in particular was quite spectacular under floodlights.

Chicago

04/04/12-07/04/12

On my first full day in Chicago I stuck to exploring the downtown area of the city near to where my hostel was. I first followed Grant Park along to the modern Millennium Park at its northern end. The park contains a variety of different public art installations; one which was closed for the winter period was a fountain that projects different films of local people’s faces onto a huge screen, from the month water is occasionally jetted out but unfortunately I didn’t get to see it in action only the faces showed on the screen. The main one in the park that has become the new unofficial icon of the city is the Cloud Gate, or as the locals refer to it the ‘Bean’ due to its shape. The bean sculpture has a smooth reflective surface that acts as a mirror so it encourages you to of course take reflected pictures of yourself with Chicago’s skyline in the background, a fantastic interactive public artwork. Every city should have its own bean; hours could be wasted trying to take the most unique photo. The park also houses an outdoor theatre that holds various events throughout the year. Moving on I continued north till I hit the river that divides the city and followed its course west for a time being all the time checking out various famous buildings. I concluded my downtown tour by taking in the views from North America’s tallest building the Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower). From the top you could see nearly four different states, it was a great view. The tower also had glass sections that extended out of the main building so you could walk over the street below.

The next day I crossed over the river to the north side of the city to a street called the Magnificent Mile to once again do some sightseeing. The street has all the designer shops you could expect running along it. I made my way up to the Hancock Tower to see the city skyline from an alternate perspective. Once again you cannot be but impressed by Chicago’s architecture, every building although different definitely adds to the city, all the different forms seamlessly blend together it’s a real treat to see. In the afternoon I headed down to the lakefront to visit the attractions on Navy Pier, site of the world’s first Ferris wheel. The pier has all sorts of attractions ranging from an amusement park to a stain glass window museum!

On my last full day I once again headed north to check out Lincoln Park which is home to the cities zoo, which is free to get in to. It houses an impressive array of animals from lions and tigers to even a polar bear; it has a better selection than some of the pay zoos I have been to. I spent a few hours looking at the animals and had a Chicago style hotdog (no ketchup allowed!) before I took one last stroll back through the city checking out the old town part. In the evening despite the cold I ventured back into Grant Park to watch the sun set behind the city skyline.

Time to move on again further east, this time my destination was to be the capital Washington DC. Once again I would have to spend nearly one whole day on a bus to get there back on the road with Greyhound. On route that day we passed through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Like before the land is extremely flat and mainly consists of cornfields and barns though to my surprise a lot of these seemed to be white instead of red in this part of the States – a break with tradition!

Greyhound

01/04/12-03/04/12

My next destination was Chicago but to get there I would first have to spend nearly two full days travelling on buses across the States, this of course meant travelling with Greyhound. Now Greyhound has a mixed representation, mainly it is negative so I was a bit apprehensive as to what to expect. Boarding my first bus in the afternoon we were soon on our way through travelling through Utah in the evening where I encountered snow for the first time on my trip, I had finally experienced all the seasons. We had several heavy snow showers that night but luckily they didn’t hinder us.

I woke up the next day to discover we had crossed over into rocky Colorado where I was to catch my next bus in Denver. This all went smoothly so that afternoon I found myself in the agricultural state of Nebraska, the view out of the window repeatedly was either of cornfields or barns. Mile after mile the view never changed but the time went by quickly enough as I eventually made my last transfer in Omaha that evening. The next state Iowa was much the same, a continuation of the flat cornfields and barns.

Early on my third day of travel I finally made it to Chicago, Illinois. I was super tried after two nights of little sleep on the buses but I couldn’t check into my hostel till later in the afternoon so I had almost 9 hours of waiting time. I ventured out only for a little while to quickly see nearby Grant Park where all the major museums are located before heading back to check in and crash out for the evening.

Las Vegas

28/03/12-31/03/12

Splitting up our time in Vegas had at least one added bonus in the fact that it allowed us to stay at two different complexes on the strip. Having stayed at Circus Circus our first time we had booked four nights at Excalibur this time, a nice stretch of time to relax and not worry about the hassle of moving around as we had experienced for most of our road trip. Our first full day was mainly spent wondering along the length of the strip, the road that rounds through the middle of all the casinos. We first headed to the iconic Vegas welcome sign at the start of the strip to grab some snaps before we proceed up the west side to check out the complexes. The one that most impressed me on the outside was New York New York which was made up in the style of several of the city’s famous skyscrapers as well as having a miniature Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge; it had really captured the essence of the city including the infamous fire escapes on the side of the buildings. But for interior the Venetian’s shopping mall was spectacular, the clever trick it had was the lit painted ceiling made out as the sky so it felt like you was outdoors even though you were inside, confusing for the brain. It also had an indoor canal which offered gondola rides. That evening we had dinner in the Luxor before hitting the casino floor back in the Excalibur.

Having covered one end of the strip the day before we headed to the other end to go up to the top of the Stratosphere, the highest structure in Vegas. At the top is indoor as well as outdoor viewing platforms, also there are several theme park attractions. The attraction I had always wanted to do was the Big Shot, the world's highest amusement ride. It is basically a tower on which you sit on a platform that is shot up and down several times, scary on ground level let alone on top of a tall structure. After a bit of persuading I managed to encourage my sister to join me on the ride. Take off was fine as we were shot 40 miles an hour straight up in the air, on hitting the top we experienced weightlessness for a few seconds before dropping back down. The drop back down for me gave the biggest thrill as your stomach felt like it had been turned inside out, the added height of being on top of the tower making the drop seem endless. With our feet back on solid ground afterwards, I think everyone had shaky legs! In the afternoon we hit the outlet stores to see what discounts we could get on famous brands, I was most interested in getting a new pair of Converse after I had worn out my favourite pair during my travels – I ended up getting two new pairs. In the evening we hit the strip again to see the famous shows that several casinos hold outside including the fountains outside the Bellagio. Later back at the resort we were treated to a really good rock cover band as we drunk the night away.

On our last full day together we done some more shopping in the morning before retreating to the hotel pool in the afternoon to spend some time relaxing. We had dinner that night in New York New York before having our last goes on the slot machines; I ended up being in debt, no such luck for me.

Time to move on again as another chapter of my travels had come to an end, over the course of two weeks and nearly 2000 miles we had travelled all the way from chilly San Francisco to the bright lights of Vegas. I never would have been able to see half the stuff we did if I had been travelling by myself. After a final walk along the strip I was dropped off at my overnight hostel to resume my travels by myself. To be honest I was glad to be moving on from Vegas its dazzling effect quickly wears off, the casinos are full of cigarette smoke, hundreds of people walk around with alcoholic drinks in their hands and on the strip you are constantly harassed by people trying to hand out call girl adverts – but it was fun!

Grand Canyon

26/03/12-27/03/12

Having only spent the night in Vegas we were once again on the move eastwards towards Arizona. As we were approaching the border just a short distance from Vegas our first stop off for the day was at the mighty Hoover Dam. Built to provide water for the west coast the dam is right on the border, on one side lays Nevada on the other Arizona. Parking up we first got a view of the dam from the bridge built so traffic can bypass going over it. Looking down on it only gives you a small sense of the scale of the construction; it is only when you actually walk across the top of the dam that you fully appreciate how much water it contains in Lake Mead stretching through the canyon behind it. Without the dam settlement in states such as California would have been impossible without the vital water supply it provides, a true wonder of engineering in the modern world. Crossing the bridge we found ourselves in our second new state in two days – Arizona. Our destination was to be the Grand Canyon National Park, to get there we would only have to make two left hand turns in total over a course of 250 miles. Arizona is a vast state but practically empty and you really get a sense of this emptiness when travelling along the straight desert roads. Mile after mile the landscape around you stays the same, mountain ranges seem follow you, the road just keeps dragging you along. To break up the long drive we stopped off at the town of Kingman to have lunch. There we discovered part of the longest surviving stretch of the historic Route 66 road left in the States. Over 100 miles of the original road still exists in Arizona, the modern Interstate that lead to the downfall of the route practically follows the same route today. Moving on we eventually got to our overnight accommodation just outside of the national park, tomorrow it was the turn of nature to cause us wonder.

Having done the major part of the driving yesterday we only had 9 miles to cover to get to the Grand Canyon National Park. After paying the entrance fee and finding a place to park we watched the brief introductory film at the visitor centre, it was one of those typical patriotic American films you expect and as I predicted a hearty round of applause erupted at the end. With a view in our head of what to expect we followed the path to get our first actual view of the Grand Canyon and upon arriving at the edge a sense of speechlessness overcame all of us. The statistics themselves make for impressive reading, the canyon is a mile deep and at its widest it is 10 miles across from one side to the other. When you see this with your own eyes the numbers go out of the window, the scale and size is just too much of your brain to register properly. It’s huge and unless you see it with your own eyes you cannot remotely know what it’s like to be witness to this natural vastness, and to think it has all been created by the process of erosion. The thing that most surprised me was how quiet it was, I thought we would be continually hearing the wind roaring through but there was nothing, it was like being near a vast vacuum – the canyon just consumed noise. We drove along and stop off at several viewpoints but the canyon’s effect was just the same, a true wonder of the natural world and a sight that cannot be matched elsewhere on this planet. Eventually we made our way back to the strip of Vegas following the same route we had taken the day before, I hoped we would arrive in time to see the strip lit up but the sun just held out long enough to deny me this wish.

Hollywood

23/03/12-25/03/12

Before leaving San Diego we drive around the bay to the headline on the other side to take in the views of the city as well as the distant coastline of Mexico. Moving on we hit the Interstate to take us back north to Los Angeles where we have another two night stopover. Our hostel is located right on Hollywood Boulevard so after arriving in the afternoon we quickly hit the streets to walk down towards where I stayed nearly a week before hand. Only a few blocks away from our accommodation we pick up the start of the Hollywood Walk of Frame and followed it right down to its conclusion nearly 2 miles down. Of course most of the walk was done with our gaze fixed firmly at the ground as we periodically shout out the names of stars we recognise even if we can’t remember what they had actually been in. We do the same on the other side whilst stopping off to grab photos at the Chinese Theatre of all the famous hand prints in the concrete.

To make the most of our one full day in LA we book up two tours so we can see the most of the Hollywood area. The first one is on an open top bus as it dashes us around the nearby streets to see all sorts of famous buildings connected with the stars, our guide doesn’t have time to pause for a breath as he continuously feeds information to us. Our next tour in the afternoon is around the Beverly Hills area, this is where all the famous stars have their big Hollywood mansions. It is like entering a completely different universe; expensive cars line the streets and each building is bigger and more flasher than the one next to it. We see various homes of big stars but unfortunately we don’t get to see any of them in the flesh, but it is a real insight into the lives of others.

The next day we wake up to dull skies as light rain drenches the city, despite the weather we make our way up to the Griffith Observatory to try and get views across the city but with the rain visibility is heavily reduced, the Hollywood sign can only just be seen in the distance. Leaving grey LA and California behind us we make our way east towards our next state – Nevada. Almost as soon as we join the Interstate going eastwards the scenery completely changes, we are now in desert country. Barren stretches of vast sand spill out either side of us, before man ventured over to the Pacific Coast the whole of California use to be the same terrain. To break up the journey for lunch we stop off at the ghost town of Calico, a former silver mining town in the desert. Much of it has now been reconstructed apart from the five original buildings that remained but to me it all felt very false, almost like a theme park done in an old western town style – interesting none the less. Later on we finally crossed the state border to Nevada to be instantly greeted by a large casino complex. That evening we finally made it to our destination for the night, Circus Circus hotel and casino complex rooted in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. Instantly we were thrown into the chaos of Vegas as hundreds of people where making their way through the casino. After checking in for the evening we grabbed some food before having our first gamble on the slot machines, after making our money back we happily retreated back to our room for the night. Vegas would have to wait; we had another grander sight to see first.

Highway One/San Diego

19/03/12-22/03/12

Time to hit the tarmac as our road trip officially began, for the next two weeks that my sister was out for we would be making our way from San Francisco to Las Vegas. That morning we cruised across the golden gate bridge to check out the view points on the other side of the bay looking back at the city. While there we also visited a local national park which unknown to us contained a rescue centre for sea lions which are taken to the centre to be treated so they can be released back into the wild. The highlight of the park though had to be the Hawk Hill lookout alongside the road that follows the coast round. The views of the bridge and city from there where stunning, you couldn’t have imagined a better view, it was almost like the city had been built just to accommodate the view from this point, I will definitely be recommending it to people as my number one thing to do in San Francisco. Heading back to town we made a quick stop off to pick up some last minute bits before we drove down the road with the most curves in the world, eight in total each one directly after the other, before we hit the road south out of town to make a start on Highway One – the road that follows the Pacific coast from San Francisco all the way to San Diego. Our first nights stop off was to be at Monterey only a few miles south of San Francisco so along the way we took a quick break to check out Santa Cruz, a traditional seaside town complete with an amusement park and a boardwalk and pier. Once again we were confronted with sea lions sleeping under the pier. Our brief stint on the Highway One had only gave us a glimpse of what we would be treated with the next day.

The next day we said goodbye to Monterey as we followed the 10 Mile Drive coast road through the grounds of the famous Pebble Beach golf course. The coastline was dwarfed by ragged rocks and plenty of wildlife including sea otters. The next 120 miles south on Highway One has to be one of the most stunning driving roads in the world. The first 40 miles takes you over an hour to cover as the road twists and turns through the mountains until it once again re-emerges by the coast to some of the most spectacular scenery as the deep blue Pacific Ocean stretches out into the distance. At one point we stopped off to take in the view only to be greeted by the distance stray of water of passing whales as they migrate north for the summer. Later at Morro Bay we stop to take photos of a volcanic cone just off the beach. That night we stop off at the edge Santa Barbara.

In the morning before continuing on we pay a quick visit to Santa Barbara beach, the town has a very Mediterranean look and feel to it. The beach gives you the first hints to the warm climate enjoyed by Californian coastal areas with the amount of palm trees growing alongside the road. Moving on we soon hit the outskirts of Los Angeles as we follow the road through the coastal towns of Malabo, Saint Monica, Long Beach and Orange County. We stopped off at Saint Monica for lunch and to see the start/finishing point of the historic Route 66 at the edge of the pier as well as Long Beach to see the famous Queen Mary ocean liner in its new home. In the afternoon we finally reached the end of Highway One as we enter the city of San Diego for a two night stay. It had been a wonderful journey on Highway One; we had seen some spectacular scenery, interesting wildlife and pretty towns along the way.

With a full day in San Diego we made our way straight to the world famous zoo located in the cities parkland. The zoo was one of the first in the world to house animals in open landscaped exhibits instead of behind solid bars, a practice that is still continued today and its example is followed by zoos around the world. We spent most of the day wondering around exploring the animals which include pandas and polar bears. Later in the afternoon we quickly popped downtown to explore the old Gas lamp Quarter which is full of historic buildings, apart from that there isn’t much else to see in the city.

Stateside

15/03/12-18/03/12

Ever had one of those days when it seems to stretch on forever? Well for me the 15th March 2012 was literally the longest day of my life. My flight to Los Angeles was at 10pm that night so I had a whole day to wait for my flight at my hostel; taking off on time I was for the first time in my life to cross the international time line. After a 10 hour flight taking off at 22.00 on March 15th from Fiji, I landed at LAX at 13.20 on March 15th – I’m now officially a time traveller! Tired and with my body clock firmly out of sync, I made my way to my overnight stay at my hostel located directly on Hollywood Boulevard, exactly opposite the Kodak Theatre and right on the Hollywood walk of fame! Knowing I would be back in a few days to explore the area properly I only had a quick look round before retiring back to relax; after all it had been the longest day of my life.

No time to wait around in Los Angeles as the next day I boarded a bus for San Francisco, I had an important meeting with someone I hadn’t seen in over a year to keep to. I arrived in the city later that evening after an eight hour journey to find it was pouring down with rain – not the best introduction to what many people refer to as the best city in the world. That night I grabbed a free beer and went to bed early as the jet lag had caught up with me.

With the morning to kill as I waited for my VIP guests to arrive I headed straight down to Fisherman’s Wharf by the water’s edge to get my first look at the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz. This was no simple walk as I discovered just how hilly San Francisco is; you walk up very steep streets to only be greeted by more steep streets further along. In the afternoon I was finally reunited with my sister and her boyfriend after having not seen either for over six months, the most surprising thing was that it felt like I had only seen her a few days before, the length of time apart instantly disappeared the moment I saw her. It felt so strange that I was actually standing alongside her and on the other side of the world of all places! Reunited that evening we went out to do some exploring and to take in the manic atmosphere as it was St Patricks Day, it seemed like the whole city was out on the streets celebrating.

Our first full day was spent down at Fisherman’s Wharf; in the morning we hopped on a ferry to jump over to Alcatraz Island to visit one of the most iconic prisons in history. Alcatraz lies out in the middle of the bay with the city and the golden gate bridge in full sight. It closed a few years ago due to the failing conditions of the buildings but has since reopened as a national park. In its day it used to house some of the most violent gangsters including Al Capone. Today you take an excellent audio tour around the former prison and surrounding grounds. When it was a prison a lot of guards families used to live on the island at the same time and you can instantly see the appeal in living out in the bay as you graze back at the city – what a place to live. Back on the main land we walked across to Pier 39 which has been transformed into a pleasant tourist attraction, it is filled with a variety of shops and food outlets including a shop dedicated to selling left handed items . Off to one side you can see the local Californian sea lions relaxing in the sun on some special jetties. We continued to wonder along the remaining piers before heading back to our hostel via some of the steepest streets in the city.

Fiji

09/03/12-14/03/12

Time to move on as I boarded a half empty plane to make the short hop across the Pacific Ocean to the islands of Fiji. I ended up having the whole row on the aircraft to myself resulting in me having two lunches as well. I landed in Nadi at mid-afternoon and was promptly picked up by my hostel, on arriving I discovered that the dorm was full so I was instead upgraded to a private room, I was certainly having a nice introduction to Fiji. The journey from the airport revealed that I was no longer in a first class country anymore, pothole roads and the shabbiness of local buildings instantly brought back memories of South East Asia but without the cultural shock I first experienced out there. I took a quick dip in the pool before relaxing for the evening as I had an early start in the morning.

Waking up just past 6 o’clock in the morning I had an early pickup down to the local harbour to board my ferry which was to take me to my island paradise. With only 6 nights in Fiji I decided instead of doing a series of quick island hops I would instead just stick to one for an extended stay. My destination was to be Waya Lailai, part of the Yasawa Islands group. The reason I choose Waya was because the resort was completely run by the locals, no foreign partners were involved, and all the profit went back to the villagers. Setting off from the harbour it wasn’t long till we started dropping off passengers at various islands, some which only take 3 minutes to walk around others hours. It took just over 2 hours to reach Waya, on arriving a small stream of launches come alongside the ferry to drop off and pick up passengers and luggage. As we neared the beach to be dropped off the song of some of the staff grew louder as they welcome as to the resort, when they finished we shouted Bula (hello) to them, my stay had officially started. All the islands are much the same - sand, sea and palm trees, though Waya Lailai is rocky in the middle. This led me to join in the afternoon’s hike up to the summit of the rocky outcrop. The views from the top where stunning, you could see islands stretching out into the distance as the sun started to set.

As it was Sunday the locals where having a day of rest so there was no planned activities apart from going to the morning’s church service at the village next to the resort. On arriving we took off our shoes before entering into the church to await the start of the service, the local kids sung hymns as we waited. This was to be a taste of the stuff we were later to hear when the adults took their turn to sing during the main service with their beautiful and powerful chorus singing, it was very moving. After a few fire and brimstone readings by the priest we were finally able to escape the heat of the church, I spent the rest of the day mainly lounging in a hammock.

The start of a new week meant that all activities where available again so in the morning I jumped on a boat to be taken out to the local reefs to do a bit of snorkelling. Diving over the side of the boat I was instantly surprised how shallow the ocean floor was, it was only a couple of meters deep. There was reefs everywhere, all covered it a variety of coral and brightly coloured fish all shades of the rainbow. The main treat though was the friendly reef sharks which patrol the waters around here, the day before they saw no sharks but luckily for me three had decided to come and investigate what was happening. Compared to most sharks they are quite small but still impressive creatures. With food being provided by the locals who took as us we spent an enjoyable hour exploring the reefs and watching the sharks, though I was glad to get out of the mask at the end.

Having made friends with two British couples the night before today we decided to do a visit to the village on the other side of the island where most of the resort staff families live. The first thing we checked out was the sand bank that connects our island with the neighbouring one; this can be crossed during low tide. After we were taken to the school to visit the children who attend, we were eagerly grabbed by different children who took us for tours of the classrooms. I was amazed at how many pupils there were, must have been over a hundred kids. The highlight definitely was seeing the youngest kids singing songs as they learned. Next we were taken for a tour of the village to see how the locals live and to be introduced to some of them. It was a pleasant trip and a real cultural insight into everyday life for the people who live out on the islands.

My last day on the island resulting in me just making the most of the weather as I had to wait until the afternoon to be picked up and transferred back to the main land. On leaving a few of the staff sung as off, it was a fitting end to my island stay. The locals always had a smile on their faces during my stay, all the time you could hear them either laughing or singing, a very relaxed cultural. Everything as they say is done to ‘Fijian’ time – it will happen when it happens.

Auckland

27/02/12-02/03/12

My last bus ride in New Zealand took me to Auckland, where I was going to be staying with some family relatives till the end of my stay in NZ. I hadn’t planned on arriving so early in Auckland but that’s the way things go. After dropping off my stuff I was whisked straight up to the top of One Tree Hill (now minus the tree) to get an excellent overview of the city. The Auckland region is filled with volcanic cones, there are over 40 of them scattered around. From the top you could get 360 degree views of the surroundings. After we heading south to another one called Mount Wellington before we heading to the local McDonalds to meet another of my relations.

On my first full day we headed west to the black sand beach of Muriwai. There out on the bare rocks is a large Gannet colony where chicks are currently being raised before they make their epic journey across the ocean to Australia before returning several years later to have their own offspring. After a walk along the beach we headed inland to the Waitakere ranges to see some of the impressive kauri trees which have amazing girth sizes, the biggest one of which at this park measures nearly 7 metres. One of the largest in New Zealand takes 12 people holding hands to circle its truck! Later on the way home we followed the road around the coast near the city centre pass places such as St Heliers Bay.

A morning ferry ride across the harbour took me to the little village town of Devonport nestled between the cones of two volcanoes. One of these on the edge of the coast is called North Head and has been continually used as a defensive position to defend the port. There is still evidence of this left in the form of old mutation tunnels and concrete emplacements scattered across the cone. I was quite surprised to find these kind of defences existed in New Zealand which has seen threats from Russia, Germany and Japan in the modern era. Also in Devonport is the Navy museum which we paid a quick visit to in the afternoon.

A day to myself as I was dropped off in the morning at the Domain, the site of the Auckland war memorial museum. It contains material on a variety of pacific nations including a large collection of Maori objects as well as national history elements. It also functions as the cities war memorial with the top floor containing names of those killed in conflicts around the war. In the afternoon I ventured through the Parnell area of the city to look at some of the old architecture of the buildings including the old wooden cathedral which is now dwarfed by its modern replacement.

Another nice day as I once again jumped on a ferry this time to be taken to Rangitoto Island which is the result of an old volcanic eruption out at the edge of the harbour. The shape of the cone can be seen throughout the city lying off the shore. The main activity on the island is to take in the view from the summit so immediately after docking I began the climb up to the top diverting off at one point to look at some lava caves along the way. After a steady climb as the island is egg shaped I got an amazing view at the summit looking back at the city centre and the Auckland region. It was a fine clear day so it couldn’t have been more prefect. Later I walked to the adjoining Motatapu Island which is joined by a causeway. The different in the two islands is absolute, were as Rangitoto is littered with black volcanic rock and trees, Motatapu is completely covered with green grass and livestock. On my way back to the ferry I was hoping to check out a Second World War mine control centre on Rangitoto but after following the path by the coast to it I discovered the pathway off to the site was closed.

03/03/12-08/03/12

Today was the day that the weathermen predicted that New Zealand would be hit by a mega ‘weather bomb’ bringing with it serve rain and strong gusts. The weather front had made its way across the Tasman weather causing the east coast of Australia to be effected by floods. With this prediction I decided to spend the day in the city centre, in the morning I headed to the city library to do some travel booking. In the afternoon I crossed the street to the art gallery to have a look around especially to see the famous Maori portrait paintings it housed. Of course like all good storm warnings when I left the gallery it was to bright clear skies with only faint gusts of warm. With the good weather I took the time to do some sightseeing popping into the Skytower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere and down to the quay side where they were busy preparing to host the Great Ocean Race crews who were due in the next weekend.

Sunday resulted in me going to the morning service at my host’s local Baptist church, which in fact was housed in a warehouse. It was the first time I had attended a Sunday service probably since my days in the Cubs when we used to go fortnightly so it was a fresh experience for me. The service to me seemed very American in its form, with modern hymns performed by guitars and keyboards accompanied by an overhead projector displaying the lyrics. This was a different service as well as it mainly involved the introduction of new person’s to the church involving at one point a chat show style Q&A session. As a new face I was picked out at the beginning to introduce myself, but this did result in a melted chocolate bar. I was surprised that no hymns I recognised were sang but without an organ I guess they can’t be reproduced on a guitar, now simple chord hymns are the norm. With everything now days churches have to move with the times especially if they are going to attract the younger generation were everything is received in a visual format. Watching people passionately singing and saying prayers, being very animated and connected you might think would have a positive effect, but for me it just highlighted my lack of religious faith, it only further dispelled any belief I might have had in an almighty God. I guess that’s just one of the side-effects you experience when you travel aboard especially to some of the poorest countries in the world, life is what it is, and you have to make the best of what it throws at you.

Another day, another ferry as this time I was on my way to Waiheke Island which is a comparable length to the Isle of Wight back home. On disembarking at the port I turned round to look back where I had come from to find that the entrance to the harbour perfectly framed the city centre. I choose to do a coastal walk which went around the north coast of the island taking in some isolated bays and rocky outcrops. It truly was a coastal walk, I don’t think one part was level for even one metre, but it was a welcome challenge after several days having not done a proper walk. It took me to the beaches next to the first town on the island, I think it was the first shell beach I had seen in New Zealand, shells of all variety littered the yellow sand. After I headed south to walk along another beach before venturing along the town’s main road back in the direction of the port. On the way back I decided to take a walk through a nature reserve but this turned out to be a nightmare due to the swarms of cricket like animals that lived in the bushes that ran either side of the path. Every bush I passed resulted in a swarm of insects jumping out and attaching themselves either to my face or hair. After several minutes of this I had had enough and ran the rest of the distance to the end of the track cursing as I went. Luckily no one met me coming the other way; I must have been a picture fleeing between the bushes!

Auckland is surrounded by two oceans, the Tasman and the Pacific, today I did a coast to coast walk which took me from one to the other finishing up at the harbour next to the city centre. The walk was around 16km long; on route I passed around One Tree Hill leaving the summit as I had already been to the top. Instead I waited till I hit Mount Eden to do a summit walk; Mount Eden is the highest volcanic cone in the region at just over 300m. The views from the top were spectacular providing all round 360 degree sights of the whole region. After I moved on to the Domain where I stopped off to have lunch watching the local school kids playing cricket on the greens before moving on to the city centre. That evening I was invited round to my host’s son’s house to meet his family and my distant relatives. His youngest son invited me out to play football down at his church so after borrowing a pair of trainers and a sports shirt I was soon joining in the 5 aside matches inside their sports hall – best to say that I think I will stick to playing hockey!

After several trips by myself today my hosts took me down south of Auckland to visit Duder Park on the east coast. The park is situated on a peninsula that sticks out to give great views of the surrounding islands and coastline. Next we continue north following the coast before stopping off near to a place called Maraetai (‘My-right-eye’ – An easy name to remember). After a quick walk and ice cream we continued on to Pine Harbour where you can catch a ferry to the city centre and is the area of some luxury properties.

My last full day in New Zealand and of course it had to be rainy, after being so luckily with the weather throughout my journey it’s a shame it didn’t last for one more day. That afternoon I took my hosts out for lunch to thank them for letting me stay while they treated me to a spider drink – ice cream and coke in a glass (one to look out for in the future!). That evening the weather cleared up with the clouds parting to reveal a full moon and more fixing for my trip the Southern Cross star consolation which can only be seen in the southern hemisphere and is on the flag of New Zealand. What can I say, New Zealand has been amazing, definitely my best travel experience so far. Everything from the scenery to the people stunned me time and time again, just went you think you have seen the best that New Zealand can offer you move on to another incredible location. I definitely have taken it to heart, hopefully the health and safety culture we suffer back home wouldn’t take hold, a truly liveable place.

Hobbiton & Hamilton

25/02/12-26/02/12

Unless you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings films you probably would never make the journey to the little town of Matamata. Once known for the quality of the race horses bred there Matamata is now more famous for being the home of Hobbiton, the film set for the Shire-folk it is just a short journey out of town. After the original films were shot the set was dismantled due to confidentiality reasons but you could still tour it though the decorative hobbit holes where blank board fronts. Luckily for me a new set of films based on The Hobbit are being shot which meant that the whole set had been reconstructed back to its former glory and this time it is for permanent. When visiting it really is like being transported into another world, the set isn’t separated into parts but covers a whole area. All around you there are hobbit holes and gardens, each fully decorated with props and plants. The attention to detail is amazing when you think that for the most part none of this will eventually be seen on screen, if indeed it is only for a few seconds. After my visit I still had a little while to wait for my bus to nearby Hamilton so I went for a quick walk around town. I eventually arrived in Hamilton that evening to discover that an opening match of the Super Rugby season was being held that night at the local stadium so after a rushed dinner, I scrabbled down to the pitch to watch the game. Like most early season games it was a scrappy match which saw the local ‘Chiefs’ team narrowly lose.

I had one full day in Hamilton so in the morning I went to the local museum which included an exhibition entitled ‘Never a dull day’ about the history of the city. In the afternoon I spent a few pleasant hours wondering the Hamilton gardens which are located just on the edge of town. Their summer events program was in full swing so a variety of different artists and shows were on throughout the day. The most interesting part was the historic show gardens that represented certain historic periods such as a Tudor garden. After I followed the local river along its course back to the city centre.

Rotorua

21/02/12-24/02/12

The morning begun with a short bus ride to my next destination Rotorua, or ‘Rotovegas’ as it is known to the locals due to the mass tourist industry that has sprung up there. The drive up had been along the thermal highway, this whole area of New Zealand is on top of a very thin area of the earth’s crust meaning that over hundreds of years there has been mass volcanic activity just occurring below your feet. The evidence of this can be seen in the plumes of hot stream that escapes through holes in the ground, from all sides of our journey up white steam streams through bushes and trees. After checking in at my hostel I made my way to the lake front through the Government Gardens. One thing you quickly notice as you walk around is the eggy smell in the air due to the sulphur gas escaping from earth’s core. Thermal activity is everywhere to be seen, from bubbling pools and mud steam bellows out continually. I followed the gardens round the lake till I hit a little bit of park land to find that the rugby world cup or the Web Ellis trophy is there on display as part of a nationwide tour, eagerly I have my photo taken next to it. Moving on I took a quick look around a Maori village with a meeting house and European style church before heading to Kuirau Park which is a large area of thermal activity just on the other side of the town, I stopped off to dip my feet in a free hot pool.

The north island had been experiencing one of its worst summers weather-wise for a while, no more would this be evident than over the next two days as heavy drizzle (similar to what we get back home) settled over Rotorua. Not that it mattered for my morning activity as I was picked up to be driven to Hell’s Gate, the base of my white water rafting company. My mornings rafting was to be down the local Kaituna River which includes dropping down three waterfalls, the highest of which is a 7 metre fall. Due to the bad weather a lot of people had cancelled so in the end there was only three of us on our raft including our guide, not that this was a bad thing because it meant we could mess around more in the rapids as there was less people to look after, a VIP tour! After suiting up we drove a short way to the start of our run before boarding our raft and setting out. After a crash course in the commands we would obey we were soon flowing on through the rapids. The big waterfall was halfway through our run, that day the drop was only 6 metres due to the water level but even so our raft was only 4.5 metres long. We stop off to prepare ourselves and hope that we would submerge the right way up at the bottom before casting ourselves adrift to tackle it. Somehow despite not getting myself probably into the raft as we fell we emerged unscathed at the bottom of the drop. Later on I jumped out of the raft to feel how strong the flow of water was under us before holding on to the side as we descended over some drops. It was a great experience overall but hard work as well. I had bought a combo ticket so after arriving back at base and waiting for a low in the rain I popped next door to visit Hell’s Gate, a very thermal area with various bubbling pools and featuring a ‘hot’ waterfall. While there I also got to have a go at Maori wood craving.

With the drizzle continuing for a second day I headed out to a nature park near to the town that features a forest full of redwood trees, these massive trees stretch straight up into the sky. I did a circuit walk before heading back due to the rain. That evening some Kiwi’s (the human kind) who were staying at my hostel took me out for the evening to a local historic pub called The Pig and Whistle to show me how Kiwi’s party to the live music of a band.

I awoke to find that the sun once again filled the sky so with an afternoon bus to catch I once again headed to the area round by the Government Gardens to walk some tracks I had missed before. I moved on to a little town near to Hamilton called Matamata to stay for the evening, with no hostels in the area I had to spend the night in a room above a pub. The next day I was to be transported to a different world.

Taupo

19/02/12-20/02/12

With the sun shining I did a good day’s hike first up to the Huka Falls, an area where the local river is squeezed through a canyon until the water pours into a pool at the end. If you want to grab a better photo of the falls you can go on a boat cruise which will take you directly to the pool at the end, as the boats engines struggles against the massive flow of water. After I continued along the path by the side of the river up to the Aratiatia Dam where four times a day the control are opened, flooding the river downstream. The rocks that are clearly visible at the bottom of the dam are soon submersed under water as the quantity of flow is dramatically increased.

The next day I choose to walk along the side of the lake up to a point called 5 Mile Bay. Just as I made the decision to turn around I noticed that on the brambles by the side of the track that there were ripe blackberries to be picked, so grabbing my plastic container out of my bag I precede to pick berries – the first time I had ever had the opportunity to do it in February! I spent the afternoon in the library doing researching into Fiji, planning my island get away.

National Park

16/02/12-18/02/12

I had an early start as I made my way up through the middle of the north island to National Park Village, which was to be my base so I could tackle one of the most famous one day hikes in the world the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. After traveling for most of the day on arriving I just did a quick hike to nearby waterfalls located deep in the bush. On my return a thunder storm crept over forcing me to make a dash back along the trail to find some shelter to avoid the downpour of rain.

Luckily the next day the rain had passed so we were given the ok from the shuttle bus company to go ahead and tackle the crossing. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is actually a section of a longer circular multi day great walk through the national park. As it starts and finishes in different places you need transport to ferry you to one end and pick you up from the other. As its name suggests the 20km walk crosses the shelf between the middle of two volcanoes, one of which was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films. The walk starts at the bottom of a volcanic valley before you make a 1000m assent up to the shelf; the climb to my surprise was actually quite steady. After arriving at the shelf you have another shorter climb before you hit the peak for the track. You can climb to the summits of the two volcanoes if you want to, my plan had been to climb to the top of Mount Doom but unfortunately due to yesterday’s rain there was low cloud cover which meant that it was too unsafe to even attempt to try climbing them – if you can’t see the top then steer clear! After reaching the peak for the track you are greeted by the sight of three lakes in the next valley below, filled with bright green blue water. Passing these the track leaves the volcanic landscape behind as you start to make your decent surrounded by alpine plants, the sight of white alpine flowers filling your sight. The last part of the track runs through an area of rainforest before you reach the end of the 20km hike. The variety of landscapes you witness on the crossing is stunning; my only wish was that we didn’t have the low cloud cover. Having escaped the rain for most of the day that evening we have another more violent thunder storm.

With the crossing complete it was time to move one once again this time up to the largest fresh water lake on the north island, Taupo. I had to wait until the afternoon for my bus which promptly got a flat tire after only 20 minutes of driving. Luckily a passing shuttle bus offer to take us so we would make our connections on time. With most of the day gone I only did a quick walk around Taupo that evening stopping off to watch punters take a shot at getting a hole in one on the floating golf course on the lake.

Wellington

12/02/12-15/02/12

A busy travel day as I first had to make my way to Picton so I could catch my ferry over to the north island. I was jumping on the early afternoon Interislander ferry, the first part of the journey saw the ferry flanked on both sides by pretty green hills as we made our way to the open sea. Luckily unlike my experience of the crossing to Stewart Island the sea was at least calm today so I spent most of my time on the sun deck taking in the views. It took around 3 hours to make the jump across before we were safety pulling into Wellington harbour, the most southern capital city in the world. After a quick shuttle bus to the train station and a brief walk I was checked into my hostel, I had three full days to explore the city. It felt strange to be back in a built up place again after so many weeks spent in small towns. One of the first things I noticed was the amount of Polynesian people around; there existence was not to be seen in the south island.

On my first full day I decided to first jump on the cable car to the top of the botanical gardens. Wellington is surrounded by hills so as soon as you leave the city centre the streets quickly become steep! This isn’t the only cable car in the city; local residents who live up in the mountains often have their own private ones to get them from the street below to their front door. From the cable car station I ventured through the gardens following a declining route which led to the water front near to the harbour. On route to the water front I passed by the parliament building with the iconic ‘beehive’ structure which to me looked like the top of a darlek. I followed the path next to the waterfront until I came across the local museum which I popped into to learn about the history of the city.

The next day was dedicated to one place, Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. The building on the water front is huge containing items related to the natural world, Maori culture and national history. One of my personal favourites was the giant squid they had on display, the only one in the world on public display. In total I spent just over 6 hours wondering round before I was all museumed out for the day.

On my last full day the weather had turned nasty so in the morning I jumped on a bus to the Weta Cave. Weta are the driving force behind most of Peter Jackson’s work, the movies they have worked on included the Lord of the Rings, King Kong and Tintin to name a few. At their studios at the edge of Wellington they provide weapons, miniatures and special effort work for varies films. I am a massive fan of their work, especially their use of miniatures. Though you are not allowed into the actual studios due to confidential reasons on films their working on, the Cave contains a shop and mini museum you can visit on the site. On display are varies props from all the movies they have worked on, they also screen a short film to give you a behind the scenes look at the daily running of the studios. After my visit I took a quick look round some of the local warehouses to discover sets for the fore coming Hobbit film where being constructed in plain view. In the afternoon, I used my bus ticket to avoid the walk up Mount Victoria to get to the lookout platforms at the top which give excellent views of the whole of the city.

Nelson

09/02/12-11/02/12

I had a full day in Nelson so I first headed up one of the local hills to get a view of the city and the coast. After I climbed another hill to go to the centre of New Zealand, maybe not quite the centre of the country but the place where all surveys take their reference from. In the afternoon I ventured along the bike path that runs alongside the coast line before returning through a Japanese garden to round off my day.

The next day I jump on a local shuttle bus to go and do a one day walk on one of New Zealand’s great walks that runs through Abel Tasman national park. I walked from the start of the track to the first hut at Anchorage bay before returning, passing through native bush as well as several golden (or to the locals rust) coloured beaches. This had to be one of the busiest walks I had been on with people passing by in both directions throughout the day. The track is very assessable with you having the option to jump on water taxis and kayaks to start and jump off where you want.

On my last full day on the south island, I returned to Nelson in preparation for my journey across the Cook Straights the next day. This time I had booked a hostel near the port area of Nelson to get a different perspective of the town. While there I took a walk along by the beach which follows the coastline, a relaxing day to round off my time in the beautiful south.

West Coast

05/02/12-08/02/12

On my first full day I had booked to do my glacier walk on the ice so after a quick breakfast in the morning I popped down to the guide office to check-in. On arriving I was given my gear for the days walk including waterproof trousers, rain jacket, hat, gloves, boots and crampons. All geared up I jumped in the bus as we were driven to the car park near to the base of the glacier, from there it was only a short walk to the glacier front. The group was first split up to form two separate groups, one for those who were fit and confident on their feet the other for those who wanted to take things more slowly. Of course I joined the first group which was then split again into two so the guides had a small number of people to look after. Having made conservation with Ben the guide who would be leading the first group I naturally joined him so I was the first person on the ice. Once the groups were sorted we had to attach our crampons to our boots, these are basically a series of small spikes on a metal frame that dig into the ice to give you grip. They take a while to get use to because at first your brain continually tells you that you’re slipping but of course if you do slip the crampons only become more secure to the ice as the spikes are driven further in. You can mostly walk normally with them on you except you can’t bend your foot and you have to keep your feet straight so they plant correctly on the ice, sideways is a big no go! On the walk you make your way up to a certain level of the glacier by way of steps cut into the ice, through crevasses and at one point through an ice tunnel. The going is quite easy and the climb proceeds at a steady pace as you stop and start as a path is made through the ice. The most surprising thing for me was how hot it was as a steady warm breeze rolled down the glacier like a hair dryer. Lunch was eaten on the glacier and after we did my most favourite part as our guide took as free walking, cutting a path as we went along. As we made our way back down we were constantly hearing bits of falling ice around us, each sounding like a freight train. In total we spent over 6 hours on the ice, I was glad to get the crampons off at the end as my feet were very tried. In the evening I popped down to the hot pools to sit back and relax while my body cooked in temperatures up to 40 degrees.

I had another full day in Franz Josef so I decided to explore some of the local walks. The first one was quite interesting, after following a short path up the local mountain I emerged at the entrance to the Tatare tunnels. These tunnels where carved out by miners at the start of the last century and head deep into the rock face, they are free to explore. Before I could venture in I had to wait for a party of 17 Americans to come out first! Left by myself and with just two torches for light I slowly made my way into the dark, having to stop every so often as the tunnel floor was covered with freezing water. One of the main reason people make the effort to explore these tunnels is to see glow worms, after walking about 100 metres I turned off my torches and was instantly surrounded by the eerie green light from the glow worms trying to attract their lunch. The hungrier they are the more they glow, it was a special sight. I did several more walks after but in the end I had to head back to the hostel to seek shelter as rain washed the rest of the afternoon away.

The next day I was on the move again as I hop on a bus to Greymouth, the main town along the west coast. I arrived to excellent weather and after arriving at my hostel I instantly jumped on one of the free bikes and rode down to the sea front. From the end of the pier I was able to get a view of the whole Southern Alps including my first view of Mount Cook. After I headed down to the beach to try my luck at gem hunting, trying to find the famous green jade that is so iconic of Maori weapons and jewellery, though my search was unsuccessful. In the evening I headed down to the pier once again to watch the sunset and was greeted by the sight of a pod of dolphins playing with local surfers.

Another day another bus as this time I was heading to Nelson near to the top of the south island. It was a long journey but we had an interesting stop-off at the pancake rocks, a series of rocks sticking out of the sea which look like a stack of fat pancakes piled by top of each other. I arrived in Nelson in the evening so just relaxed that night.

Wanaka

02/02/12-04/02/12

Only a short bus ride as I was just moving on to Wanaka which is only around an hour away from Queenstown. I arrived to find that the weather was pleasant once again so with only a short time to explore the surroundings I did an afternoon hike around the bay to Beacon Point passing a variety of mountain ranges before I continued a short way in the direction of Arthurs Town.

The next day I hiked up to the top of Mount Iron to get some good views of the surrounding area. In the afternoon I walked along the other side of the bay to see the town nestled at the end of the bay.

Another long travel day as I left Central Otago behind and made my way further north by way of the West Coast. On route we passed through scenic Haust and then followed the road next to the coast as the rainforest grew around us. Finally in the late afternoon we emerged into glacier country and my jump off point of Franz Josef.

Queenstown

29/01/12-01/01/12

My first day in Queenstown was a slow one as I went around town and sorted out what I was going to do during my stay. The first thing I did was get my bungy jump sorted, thinking this was maybe the only time in my life that I do a bungy I decided to do the biggest jump I could which was the Nevis Bungy with AJ Hackett the first people to offer bungy jumping in New Zealand. The jump was a massive 134m over the Nevis River so wasting no time I booked a jump for the next day. In the afternoon I did a series of walks in the mountains that overlooked the town first making my way up the track with leads to the top of the gondola. From here I had planned to climb to the highest peak but on my way along the track I saw another path which branched off that led to another peak which overlooked the town so I decided to follow that one instead. I was richly rewarded which stunning views of the Remarkables on the other side of the bay. Happy with the views I made my way down back to ground level following the Skyline track.

The next day was the big one – my 134m bungy jump. We were picked up from outside the booking office and driven to the jump site. On the way we passed by the bridge where the original jump is still operating from a modest high of 43m. At the jump site the first priority was to make a toilet stop before I was strapped into my harness and weighted for safety reasons (72kg – haven’t lost that much weight then!). The jump was to be from a pod suspended in the middle of a valley, it looked high – very high. Our first test was to just get to it by the way of a small transport cage. As we made our way across the ground quickly disappeared from under us. Once in the safety of the pod we were made to wait for our name to be called out to jump, all the time we waited while others did theirs. This for me was the worst moment, just hanging around waiting to jump, eventually my leg straps where put on and it was my turn. First I had to sit in what can only be described as a dentist’s chair while I was connected to the bungy rope. Once hooked on I was quickly led to the jump point and swiftly the instructor started the countdown – ‘Three, two, one, jump. Go boy!’ As speedy as that I was freefalling towards the earth for 8 seconds in what I can only say passed very peacefully for me, all the nerves and tension left me as say as I departed the pod. I had two bounces before I grab the cord by my leg and pulled to release my legs so I was up-right once more, my head was in a rush. The next thing I heard was the sound of the winch locking on to me and pulling me up to the mouth of the pod again. In the matter of a minute and a half I was once again back soundly on my feet. I was still buzzing by the time I got back to my hostel and proudly put on my jump t-shirt. After my mornings excitement I choose to do a flat walk in the afternoon along by the waterfront to Frankton to chill out.

Waking up to sunny weather once again I jumped on a bus in the morning to head to Arrowtown, an old gold mining town just down the road from Queenstown. It still has an oldie world feel to the place, after a brief visit to the local museum I ventured down to the river to check out the old Chinese settlement where Asian immigrants had settled to try their luck at finding riches in the local river. Here several of the old buildings have been reconstructed to show you the basic conditions they lived in.

On my last full day in Queenstown I took a leisurely stroll up to the summit of Queenstown hill to get some different views of the stunning scenery once again. The rest of the day was mainly spent doing some travel planning as I had purchased an internet pass.

Milford Sound

25/01/12-28/01/12

Time to move on again and electing to wear my sandals for the next few days to let my feet heal I walked into town to jump onto my next bus which was to take me further into the mountains to the natural wonder Milford Sound. I thought I would be on a basic shuttle bus but it turned out that I was to be travelling on one of the many tourist buses which cart people to the many ferries that depart from Milford. This was an added bonus as along the route the bus stopped at several destinations to allow us to take pictures, and what a journey it was, the drive form Te Anau to Milford Sound has to be one of the most stunning driving roads in the world. As the bus steadily made its way along we passed by various lakes and mountains all getting more spectacular the further along we went. During the winter the road is a dangerous place to be as avalanches can happen at any time, several drifts of snow pointed out where last season’s ones had come down. I was booked in to spend 3 nights at Milford lodge only 1km away from the Sound. Ever since I had made the booking I know I had made a mistake in staying so many nights but with a bus ticket already in hand I knew it was going to be a long stay. On arriving I checked in but I jumped on the free shuttle bus down to the Sound to get my first look at what some regard as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’. It is a beautiful sight; the valley was carved out by a glacier. Knowing I had plenty of time here I only spent a little time walking round before I headed back.

Well the weather had other ideas, the next day I woke up to rain and strong winds and these continued for the rest of the day right through to when I went to bed that night. I took refuse all day and didn’t even attempt to head out – a boring rain day.
A new day and a change in weather once again as the sun was out shining when I got up. Once again I headed down to the Sound to look at a few things I missed out the last time I was down there including several short walks. With little else to do I headed back to the hostel to avoid the afternoon tourist coaches before returning later in the afternoon to sit out and read in the sun.

Time to move on (finally) to what is considered the extreme capital of New Zealand – Queenstown. My bus wasn’t until the afternoon so by the time I got there it was already evening so I only managed to have a quick walk round that evening.

Te Anau

22/01/12-24/01/12

An early morning saw me jumping back on the ferry to make the crossing to Bluff again. This time it was near empty so I was able to get a sit next to a window at the back of the craft. For the entire hour’s crossing I fixed my glaze on the horizon and thought about as much rubbish as I could to keep my mind off the rolling waves. It must have worked because as we came in to shore again I hadn’t had a repeat experience of my earlier crossing. Back on the south island I would now be heading north up the length of the west coast, my first destination was to be Te Anau located in the Fiordland area of New Zealand. I discovered my hostel was located right on the edge of the lake with the view of mountains dominating the surrounding shoreline. I made a brief visit to the main street to pick up supplies while later that night I took a stroll along the lake front to check out the scenery.

The next day I undertook a day hike up to the first hut on the Kelper trail. Starting off at my hostel I followed the lakefront round to the water control gates which act as the entrance to the national park. From here there was a brief stroll by the lakefront in the trees to the start of the 1000m climb up to the top of the mountain range where the hut was nested. The climb was a lot easier than I had expected it to be, it wasn’t too steep and ascended at a steady pace, and I was able to climb up without stops. On reaching the top I found you came out above the tree line to be treated to spectacular views of the surrounding ranges and lakes, it really was a pleasure to be able to see so far. During the winter months the track would be under snow as it is an alpine track. By the time I had reached the hut I found that it had only taken me 3 and a half hour to get here from my accommodation - a shock even to me! The hut is infamous for having the best views of any in New Zealand and I would have to agree as I looked down at the lake and mountains that surrounded it. After stopping off to grab lunch I took a quick diversion to explore the nearby cave system you can enter nearby, but after stepping down into the dark I decided not to adventure too far inside as the floor was very slippery and I was by myself. Turning back to make my way down I passed several of the groups I had passed on the way up once again, some looked like the climb had taken its toll. I too discovered that all the recent walking I had been doing had had a negative impact on my feet in the way of blisters which were on my heels and toes. Nearing home I was struggling to walk comfortably by the end, maybe my haste up the track hadn’t been a good idea.

With my feet patched up the best I could manage, the following day I once again took to the Kepler track to walk in the other direction to a place called Rainbow Reach. With my feet in a bad condition it was hard going and after walking for nearly two hours I had to give up, even when I was told I was less than half hour from my goal I still turned round and headed home, the first time I had failed to get to where I wanted. In was a perfect clear day and the view from Rainbow Reach would have been amazing but I was in too much discomfort to go on any further knowing that the pain would only get worse. I was disappointed in myself but sometimes you have to do the sensible thing, walking back though I did managed to find a gap in the trees to get down to the river front to chill out for several minutes.

Steward Island

17/01/12-18/01/12

Today I jumped on the ferry to Stewart Island sometimes considered as New Zealand’s third island, the ride out was to be very rough. It is widely known that the crossing can be wild almost to the point that it is considered a standing joke among those who know about it – but to people like me who don’t have sea legs the crossing is a bit of a nightmare. Without even leaving the harbour the boat was already being thrown up and down with each passing wave, I’ve had a few rough crossings on boats before but this took the biscuit. I managed to last about 15 minutes before I lost my breakfast, fortunately it only takes an hour to cross! Very shaken I’m glad when we safely pull into Oban harbour and I can have a much needed nap at my hostel. In the afternoon not feeling my best I have a slow wonder around town, sorting out hire gear for my trek and letting the local DOC office know what my plans are.

Awaking up feeling refreshed the next day, I do several local walks to get a feeling of what terrain I can expect on my walk. Immediately it becomes clear that most of the bush is made up from fern plants, all different sizes and colours of green. My first track takes me along the coast before heading inland to follow an old bullock trail that was used to shift wood to the old lumber mills that use to operate around the island. Halfway back I divert off to follow another path further into the ferns. In the afternoon I head east around the harbour to follow the coastal road round to a 100 year old stone house that use to be owned by a local shipbuilder to a secluded beach looking out at the small islands that surround the northern approach to Oban. That evening I went down to the harbour front to wait behind the fuel storage tanks to see if I could see the little blue penguins that come to the nearby rocks at night to sleep. After a half hour wait sure enough three tiny penguins swam up and settled down behind the rocks to sleep.

19/01/12-21/01/12

My next three days would consist of tramping the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island. My first day trek was from Oban harbour and took me along the north east coast to my night’s stay at Port William hut. The first leg was 12km long but the first few kilometres included the walk from the harbour along sealed roads to the official start of the track under the anchor structure at Lee Bay. It was raining in the morning but by the time I started off the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. For the first half of the trek I didn’t meet any other people until I reached Maori beach and suddenly everyone seemed to appear. I stopped off here for lunch to let a shower pass before setting off again to continue the track which went along the beach. By early afternoon I had finally reached Port William hut, the day’s leg had only taken me 3.5 hours with breaks. The estimated time given was 6 hours but speaking to the hut warden later I discovered that all the great walks times in New Zealand are overly generous as people of all levels of fitness under take them. The days walking had been pretty easy as most of it was on gravelled paths through the bush, but my backpack was starting to cause me pain near to the end. The hut itself was situated next to a large beach, inside it was separated into sleeping and living quarters with toilets outside. The kitchen area didn’t have gas stoves but I had brought my hired out one with me, there was running water which is safe to drink. Throughout the day various other hikers turned up, most of these would be continuing on the same route as me after so we got to know each other well. After settling down and reading and cooking our volunteer hut warden gave us a brief safety talk that night before we agreed that if anyone heard a kiwi that night we would wake up the others and sit outside to try and see it. One had been seen two nights before but unfortunately none appeared that night, or none woke us up.

On day two I set off with a fellow young hiker to make our way to our next overnight stay at North Arm hut, south of our current position. The weather was terrible, all night it had poured down with rain and it didn’t look like clearing when we set off. With Stewart Island being situated in the roaring forties the weather was very unpredictable, one moment it would be bright and sunny the next there would be gale force winds with pouring rain. Today’s leg took us through the middle of the island to a bay on the other side. Shortly after setting off we came across a deer posing in the bush on top of a rock, out here they are considered a pest with hunters coming to the island to kill them. Today’s route was 13km long and proved to be tougher than the previous day, all day we were battered by gale force winds and rain. There was a steep climb halfway through and the second section was riddled with tree roots and heavy mud. With little rain having fell for the last two weeks the water just set on the surface, even faced with these conditions we safely made it to the hut in 4 hours with breaks. Once inside and clothes changed, we set about getting the hut’s wood stove working so we had some heat to dry our clothes. Once again the hut filled up that afternoon though there were more people this time; one was nearing the end of doing the 10 day North West track. The same routine as yesterday took place though there was no hut warden, the rain continued to pour down that night.

The third and final leg of the Rakiura Track finished off back where I had started at Oban; once again I was accompanied by the same fellow hiker as the day before. As soon as we set off the rain stopped and luckily it was to hold off for the rest of our trek that day. The first part was on a new track; it had only been open shortly before and took us along the coast line to several beaches. Some parts where still waiting to be gravelled as they had replaced the old boardwalks which use to be there. The track continued along the coast throughout the day though mostly it was over boardwalks. The final part was along an old bullock track which use to be used when the saw mills were operational; the evidence of them had been present over the length of the great walk in the form of old rusty machinery. The days walk proved to be quite easy as the most of the in climbs were steady and the mud wasn’t too bad along the track. In just under 4 hours I was back at my hostel where my walk had started several days before. It was the first multi-day trek I had ever done and over three days I had covered around 37km. To be honest it was easier than I had expected and my pack hadn’t caused me as much trouble as I thought it would. If you pushed yourself you could complete the trek in one day but for the experience I was glad I had done it in three. The landscape had been amazing; it had been like stepping back in time to a prest age with the bush made up of different ferns and trees. The only shame was that the weather had kept the wildlife away, but I still managed to see a variety of animals from oyster catchers to deer’s and even jellyfish. The elusive kiwi didn’t make an appearance, maybe another time.

Steward Island

17/01/12-18/01/12

Today I jumped on the ferry to Stewart Island sometimes considered as New Zealand’s third island, the ride out was to be very rough. It is widely known that the crossing can be wild almost to the point that it is considered a standing joke among those who know about it – but to people like me who don’t have sea legs the crossing is a bit of a nightmare. Without even leaving the harbour the boat was already being thrown up and down with each passing wave, I’ve had a few rough crossings on boats before but this took the biscuit. I managed to last about 15 minutes before I lost my breakfast, fortunately it only takes an hour to cross! Very shaken I’m glad when we safely pull into Oban harbour and I can have a much needed nap at my hostel. In the afternoon not feeling my best I have a slow wonder around town, sorting out hire gear for my trek and letting the local DOC office know what my plans are.

Awaking up feeling refreshed the next day, I do several local walks to get a feeling of what terrain I can expect on my walk. Immediately it becomes clear that most of the bush is made up from fern plants, all different sizes and colours of green. My first track takes me along the coast before heading inland to follow an old bullock trail that was used to shift wood to the old lumber mills that use to operate around the island. Halfway back I divert off to follow another path further into the ferns. In the afternoon I head east around the harbour to follow the coastal road round to a 100 year old stone house that use to be owned by a local shipbuilder to a secluded beach looking out at the small islands that surround the northern approach to Oban. That evening I went down to the harbour front to wait behind the fuel storage tanks to see if I could see the little blue penguins that come to the nearby rocks at night to sleep. After a half hour wait sure enough three tiny penguins swam up and settled down behind the rocks to sleep.

19/01/12-21/01/12

My next three days would consist of tramping the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island. My first day trek was from Oban harbour and took me along the north east coast to my night’s stay at Port William hut. The first leg was 12km long but the first few kilometres included the walk from the harbour along sealed roads to the official start of the track under the anchor structure at Lee Bay. It was raining in the morning but by the time I started off the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. For the first half of the trek I didn’t meet any other people until I reached Maori beach and suddenly everyone seemed to appear. I stopped off here for lunch to let a shower pass before setting off again to continue the track which went along the beach. By early afternoon I had finally reached Port William hut, the day’s leg had only taken me 3.5 hours with breaks. The estimated time given was 6 hours but speaking to the hut warden later I discovered that all the great walks times in New Zealand are overly generous as people of all levels of fitness under take them. The days walking had been pretty easy as most of it was on gravelled paths through the bush, but my backpack was starting to cause me pain near to the end. The hut itself was situated next to a large beach, inside it was separated into sleeping and living quarters with toilets outside. The kitchen area didn’t have gas stoves but I had brought my hired out one with me, there was running water which is safe to drink. Throughout the day various other hikers turned up, most of these would be continuing on the same route as me after so we got to know each other well. After settling down and reading and cooking our volunteer hut warden gave us a brief safety talk that night before we agreed that if anyone heard a kiwi that night we would wake up the others and sit outside to try and see it. One had been seen two nights before but unfortunately none appeared that night, or none woke us up.

On day two I set off with a fellow young hiker to make our way to our next overnight stay at North Arm hut, south of our current position. The weather was terrible, all night it had poured down with rain and it didn’t look like clearing when we set off. With Stewart Island being situated in the roaring forties the weather was very unpredictable, one moment it would be bright and sunny the next there would be gale force winds with pouring rain. Today’s leg took us through the middle of the island to a bay on the other side. Shortly after setting off we came across a deer posing in the bush on top of a rock, out here they are considered a pest with hunters coming to the island to kill them. Today’s route was 13km long and proved to be tougher than the previous day, all day we were battered by gale force winds and rain. There was a steep climb halfway through and the second section was riddled with tree roots and heavy mud. With little rain having fell for the last two weeks the water just set on the surface, even faced with these conditions we safely made it to the hut in 4 hours with breaks. Once inside and clothes changed, we set about getting the hut’s wood stove working so we had some heat to dry our clothes. Once again the hut filled up that afternoon though there were more people this time; one was nearing the end of doing the 10 day North West track. The same routine as yesterday took place though there was no hut warden, the rain continued to pour down that night.

The third and final leg of the Rakiura Track finished off back where I had started at Oban; once again I was accompanied by the same fellow hiker as the day before. As soon as we set off the rain stopped and luckily it was to hold off for the rest of our trek that day. The first part was on a new track; it had only been open shortly before and took us along the coast line to several beaches. Some parts where still waiting to be gravelled as they had replaced the old boardwalks which use to be there. The track continued along the coast throughout the day though mostly it was over boardwalks. The final part was along an old bullock track which use to be used when the saw mills were operational; the evidence of them had been present over the length of the great walk in the form of old rusty machinery. The days walk proved to be quite easy as the most of the in climbs were steady and the mud wasn’t too bad along the track. In just under 4 hours I was back at my hostel where my walk had started several days before. It was the first multi-day trek I had ever done and over three days I had covered around 37km. To be honest it was easier than I had expected and my pack hadn’t caused me as much trouble as I thought it would. If you pushed yourself you could complete the trek in one day but for the experience I was glad I had done it in three. The landscape had been amazing; it had been like stepping back in time to a prest age with the bush made up of different ferns and trees. The only shame was that the weather had kept the wildlife away, but I still managed to see a variety of animals from oyster catchers to deer’s and even jellyfish. The elusive kiwi didn’t make an appearance, maybe another time.