South Island

My first annual leave in New Zealand was spent in South Island with James' parents.
Early on Saturday morning we got up to catch a flight from Auckland to Nelson. We landed in Nelson at 09.30 and collected our hire car (Toyota Camry) before heading straight out to Renwick in the Marlborough wine region. In Renwick we exchanged our car for bikes and set off on a cycle wine tour around some of the world renowned wineries in Marlborough including Cloudy bay, Bouldevines, Huia and Forrest. Each winery offered an excellent service with plenty of wine offered for free tastings (the idea is that you end up spending a lot of money on their produce - which we did of course). After visiting 6 wineries and feeling a little less steady on the bikes than when we started, we headed back to the hostel. That evening we had a quiet night out in a local pub for food followed by an early night.

The next day we got up after a bit of a lie in and headed down the east coast to Kaikoura driving through some beautiful scenery and along the coastal road. Kaikoura is a quaint town with a town centre comprising of a single street running parallel to the beach. We checked in to our backpackers hostel before heading over to the dolphin encounter centre. Ever since I was 5 years old when I wrote to Jim'll fix it to ask him to let me swim with dolphins it has been a dream of mine, and since he couldn't do that for me, I arranged it myself - and it didn't disappoint! We donned our thick wetsuits and hoods and boarded a boat with 25 other people to head out in to the pacific ocean. 30 mins in to the boat trip we found the first signs of dolphin activity. We then all jumped in to the ocean with a pod of 3 - 400 dolphins! Absolutely awesome experience, they were circling, jumping around and generally being playful - amazing. I also got the opportunity to use the new underwater case for my camera that I got for my birthday managing some close up photos. That evening after plenty of excitement and having spent all our energy in the water we wandered through Kaikoura before heading back to the backpackers for a BBQ put on by the hostel - a great opportunity to hear other travellers stories and a great end to the day.

Monday morning we got up and drove the 2 1/2 hrs to Christchurch. We arrived in Christchurch at around 11am, checked in to our hotel (a weird ultra modern experience in a hotel So..) We then wandered through the city along the tram route to the art centre where we bought a harbourside canvas and Ian and Karen bought us a beautiful ceramic bowl to remind us of the trip. After that we wandered around the botanical gardens and had a lovely lunch out in the sunshine. After wandering round the beautiful Catherdral we headed out to Sumner beach, a small coastal town 20mins out of Christchurch - a place I could easily move to! That evening after dinner in the city Katie and Julia joined us in the hotel bar for cocktails and a good catch up.

Tuesday morning we had a good lie in followed by a big breakfast before setting off on the long drive over Arthurs pass. One of the early stops was in Sheffield, Canterbury, New Zealand (we felt we had to have a photo) we then crossed through some amazing scenery with the dramatic landscapes moving from gorgeous blue sky in Canterbury to the wet and windy west coast. We stopped for cake and coffee along the pass and met some rather friendly Kea (Parrot like birds always on the lookout for food). We arrived in Franz Josef in the pouring rain at around 6pm, went for a pint before getting some food and turning in for the night.

Wednesday was a early start as we split up for a Franz Josef glacier walk. James and I headed off early to get all our gear for a full day glacier hike whilst Karen and Ian left a little later for the half day tour. We were given all our equipment including gortex jacket and trousers, hats and gloves, hiking boots and crampons and headed out on to the glacier. We walked through ice caves, along side deep crevasses and over tall ice waves- an amazing experience. After the full day we headed to the pub for a pint with an Irish couple we met on the glacier before relaxing from the days activity in the thermal spa pools. After food we turned in for the night.

The next day we had a bit more of a sedate start with breakfast followed by a walk around the beautiful lake Matheson, a mirror lake in the shadow of the fox glacier. Following coffee we drove the scenic drive to Wanaka where we had ice cream by the lakeside (back into the beautiful sunshine) before heading over to Queenstown. Once in Queenstown we wandered around the city grabbed a lovely dinner in a good seafood restaurant, had a few drinks then headed back to the hotel.

Friday was spent in Queenstown. We got up early Friday morning and headed out to the waterfront for some breakfast. Our 1st stop in Queenstown was the underwater observatory - a small room underwater where you put a dollar in a machine and it releases pelts in the water - the novelty is seeing the ducks diving for food (bit weird). We then wandered along the waterfront and into the gardens where they have all these memorials to fallen climbers and mountaineers including Captain Scott - a very serene place. We then headed through the town and up the gondola for an amazing view of the city - we couldn't resist the luge (a track similar to a fast downhill go-kart track) and so decided to race ( I won - although I did get a bit of a head start!). After the gondola we were getting hungry so headed down to Queenstown for a late lunch at the infamous Fergburger. After lunch we picked up the car and headed on the 2 1/2 hr drive to Te Anau on route to Milford Sound.

Our final day on South Island was spent at Milford Sound. Words and photographs can't do this place justice, truly one of the most beautiful and amazing places I have been to. There had been a recent storm which meant that all the mountains had beautiful waterfalls streaming down them - apparently these streams only last 2 weeks after heavy rainfall so we got very lucky with the weather - a recent storm, yet blue sky on the day we were there - Perfect! We drove back to Queenstown and spent our last night in an amazing restaurant (only a shame we couldn't see what we were eating due to lights out for earth hour!) We then had a couple of drinks in the Dux de Lux bar before heading back to our beautiful apartment on the lake front in the shadow of the remarkables - the perfect end to an amazing holiday.

Mine and Sal's Birthday

So our first birthday in New Zealand was spent together. Sal had a few days off from work so she came up to Auckland on the 15th to stay for a few days. I managed to get away early so we wandered in to Auckland for a spot of shopping. That evening was spent relaxing at home with lasagne and TV. The next day (our birthday!) I had to get up early to head in to work. Luckily all my work colleges went soft on me and let me get away early to spend my birthday in Auckland with Sal. I managed to get home around 11am so we spent the rest of the morning talking to friends and family on skype and opening our birthday presents from each other before heading in to the city center for lunch.
We had made a reservation up Sky Tower for lunch so headed to the observation deck pre-food. The weather wasn't great but all the same, a great way to spend our birthday and some fantastic views of the city! The food was amazing with a 2 course lunch and wine tasters with each course. After finishing lunch we wandered round the city and I bought Sal a new charm of a surf board for her pandora bracelet which I had bought her for her birthday.
We got home that evening and opened the rest of the presents from family and friends back home along with Champagne from James and birthday cake. That evening James treated Sal and me to a lovely meal in Iguacu in Parnell with James parents, overall a very successful birthday & I was thoroughly spoilt!

James' parents arrive in NZ

I finished nights at 8am on Friday morning and after an hour sat in Auckland rush hour I arrived home. After a lovely chat with dad for about 2 hours on skype I went and picked up Emma and Johan (A Swedish couple that Si got to know well on his Erasmus in 2007) from Auckland. We then had a lovely catch up on their trip to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand whilst driving down to Raglan. We arrived in Raglan at 1.30 and just as we went in to a cafe for some food it started to bucket it down with rain. Luckily it rained at all the right times and just as we finished lunch it stopped raining and we headed out to the beach. As the weather wasn't quite swimming weather we went for a paddle and wandered up the beach (we managed to get caught by 1 rogue wave and got my jeans soaked up beyond my knees - not amused!) At around 3pm we went back into Raglan town for an ice cream before heading back into Hamilton to meet Sal after work. That evening after grabbing something quick to eat we headed out to watch the rugby.
The major rugby tornament on at the moment is the super 14 championship. The super 14 is the biggest rugby team in the southern hemisphere with teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand playing in a league. We watched the Waikato Chiefs versus the Canterbury Crusaders, we were supporting the Chiefs and unfortunately they lost but a good game all the same.
The next day Sal, Si, Emma and Johan headed down to Rotorua, as that was a little far for us for half a day, James and I took our surf boards back to Raglan. We had an amazing surf with both of us managing to ride the waves all the way to the beach several times and managed to get to our feet almost every wave, awesome fun!
After lunch we headed back to Auckland to pick up James' parents. Karen and Ian arrived on time at 4.30 and we took them straight back to ours to shower and refresh themselves before heading into Mt Eden for dinner. We had a lovely evening with plenty of catching up, and managed to keep them awake until gone 10pm.
Sunday morning we got up at 9.30 and after coffee and pancakes we packed the car and headed up to goat island for some snorkeling. We hired Karen and Ian wetsuits and snorkels and went into the marine reserve. After an hour in the water and having seen plenty of fish we got out and headed slightly north to a beautiful beach for a picnic lunch. The sun came out and we enjoyed a nice lazy afternoon. (Karen and Ian managed to get a nap in) We then headed back to Auckland. (via Matakana for ice cream) That evening I then cooked BBQ Gurnard with hollandaise and new potatoes, we talked to our mothers/ grandmothers before turning in for the night. Back to work tomorrow!

My week of nights

So the week begun with me on nights. Luckily due to the job I'm currently doing, (elective surgery in a separate unit) they are generally quiet with the opportunity to get between 4 and 6 hours sleep a night.
Saturday afternoon, after grabbing a couple of hours sleep we decided to go and get a bit of exercise and headed over to the tennis court where James has joined the club. James has certainly improved his game and was passing on a few tips to me. That evening we chilled out with a BBQ before I headed out to work. On the Sunday we had our first trip out to Piha. Piha is the beautiful surf beach 45mins away from Auckland with a large rocky out crop in the middle of the beach known as Lion rock. We spent the day walking along the beach and exploring the local area.
A few of my nights were busier than others and I spent a few days chilling at home and catching up on some sleep whilst James was at work.
On Wednesday as Sal had the day off work and James had to be down in Hamilton that day for a meeting I headed down to Sal & Si's straight from work. (Actually took about the same time as it would to get home due to the terrible traffic entering Auckland at 8am) Soon after grabbing breakfast in Hamilton we headed out to Raglan to catch some surf. We had recently picked up my beautiful new surf board from the surf shop (Early birthday present from James) so it was amazing to go out and give it a go. We spent a couple of hours out in the water catching a few waves before heading in to town for a wander round the shops and ice cream before heading back to Hamilton for Si to start work at 4pm. Around 4.30 James arrived at Sal and Si's flat and we grabbed a coffee together before heading back up to Auckland. Not bad way to spend nights!
Thursday was a more exciting day for James than it was for me. Ever since we talked about moving to NZ James had set his sights on a new rifle. (apparently the barnard action which is made in NZ is the best action in the world) He almost had his hopes of a new rifle shattered when we went and spoke to the guy who makes them who said due to the short supply of stocks (the wooden handle bit) the waiting list for a rifle would be over 1 year. They had recently made a rifle for a British women who was supposed to be coming over to shoot in the NZ national championships -Luckily (or unluckily for me - however you see it!) she never turned up, so the rifle went to James! I picked him up straight from work and drove him along to the warehouse where Barnard rifles are made to pick up his new rifle. (even I can admit that it is a thing of beauty - even if it made James into a bit of a geek for the evening!)

Weekend in the Coromandel

It was Charlie and Kieran's last weekend in New Zealand so we all headed off to a quiet campsite just off the beach on the Coromandel for a weekend of surfing and beach fun. Unfortunately I had to work on friday night till 10pm (hopefully my last ever medical house officer on-call, although I did say that 2 years ago!) so we headed over on saturday morning.
So saturday morning after getting up early (and after James had played Alex on Xbox live) we headed over to Opoutere on the Coromandel. We arrived around midday to find Sal, Si, Charlie, Kieran and Charlies dad Peter all waiting for us before hitting the beach. After a full afternoon of surfing, volleyball and relaxing on the beach we went into Whangamata to pick up food for a BBQ and grab a sneaky drink in a rather odd bar/ cafe. We had a very successful BBQ, however it wouldn't be a complete evening without Si taking part in a bit of Gemma bating (of which I always seem so good at walking in to!) A few bottles of wine later and we all turned in for the night.

Sunday morning was certainly the least expected wake up call. We got woken up at 07:50 by the campsite owner telling us an 8.8 magnitude earthquake had just hit Chile and a tsunami was expected to hit in 30mins. Always nice to have plenty of warning! Minor drama's followed as Charlie's dad had gone out for an early morning walk without a phone completely unaware of the likely tsunami and Kieran's realisation that he and Charlie were due to fly into Santiago in 24hours! So that morning we spend off the beach on higher ground hoping we were protected from any high waves, eating pancakes and entertaining si with a rugby ball.

After all that waiting and drama we finally heard at 12.30 that the tsunami had passed and the waves had only hit NZ at a grand size of 30cm! Since it was already getting late and Charlie had to drop her dad off in Tauranga for 3pm we all decided to head home. Since Charlie and Kieran were due to spend the night with us before heading off to Chile, Sal and Si decided to come up to Auckland for the evening and have a nice BBQ all together before saying goodbye. It was a lovely evening and really sad to see Charlie and Kieran leave. (incase you were wondering they managed to sort out there flights and flew via Sydney where they are spending the week on Manley beach surfing before flying out to Buenos Aires, completely bypassing Chile)