Dunedin - World's Steepest Street

This is truly a one of a kind, and I have to say I don't envy the people who live on this street.

We drove up to the bottom of the hill, looked at it and said "Nope, I don't trust that the car will make it".
So we got out and walked, took photos, commented on how much our calves were complaining, had a breather at the top, walked back to the bottom and got certificates to prove we were here.

 Sadly, we weren't there at the Jaffa Festival...  THAT is the only way it could get better ;)
http://chocolatecarnival.co.nz/jaffa_race

Kaikoura Seal Colony

I am going to be using the words - amazing, astounding and beautiful a lot for a while. 

The south island of New Zealand has some of the best natural features of anywhere in the globe in an extremely compact space. Fjordlands? Forget Norway, head for Te Anau. Glaciers? Go to Fox or Franz Josef. Outstanding Rock Formations - go to Punakaiki. 

Wild colonies of seals by the roadside? Kaikouri is you destination!

This was a great surprise for us, one of the things we hadn't researched and had the fortune to stop at. We were following the ocean road on the East Coast and simply stopped at a lookout for a break and a view. 

We got out of the car, looked over the water and said... hey... there's a seal out there... and another one... and another!! Then we realised what we were looking at and went a little crazy watching the antics of this purely wild creature so close by.

They were noisy, and they stank, and they frolicked in the rock pools with every wave that came in. Amazing!

 

 

 

 

Interislander Ferry

Ok, this is one cool boat!
We took a different ferry each way, and the first one we rode was 10 storeys high! Inside was movie cinemas, a 2 storey kids play area, multiple places to get food and drinks, you could get wi-fi and hire a cabin. This also takes cars in it's belly, but over 2 storeys - and there was an entire row over motorhomes... on the way back was a few rows on trains!

Seeing as we got an early trip over, we hired a cabin for people to rest in. Rob and Daniel spent time in there and the rest of us went upstairs and downstairs all over the boat.

I didn't realise just how close the North and South islands were to each other. My last major crossing like this was heading to Tasmania from Melbourne - which is around 500km and 10 hours, this is only around 100km and 3 hours.

However, you pretty much leave land sight on the North Island to see land on the south, it's not just going on a southern journey, it's also going east to get to the next port. The actual distance between wellington and Picton is 92 kilometres but the shortest distance between the 2 islands is 24 kilometres.

On the way down, we hoped to see dolphins, and when the captain called it we were too busy racing around the ship to see them... good thing we had another crossing to do.

Action World Auckland

If you enjoy danger safely, if you desire the high wire under your own steam, if you ever wanted to run away to the circus, you need to spend a day at Action World Auckland!

These oversized blow up jumping castles give you all the options you need to perform heart pulling mini adventures.

To start with, you go to the suspended ladder, and try to climb up it, inevitably falling off within a dozen rungs, and learn to always land safely when you fall.

After this, you can move on to a choice of exciting activities. The most amazing thing is the fact you are doing it all without a harness, this is completely up to you, your strength, and facing your fears.

Walking a high wire suspended 2 storeys off the ground with nothing to hang on to, and no where to go but down is a real challenge. I think the best we managed was half a dozen steps.

The slide and jump was cool, and the trapeeze was ridiculous (only one of us tried it out - its so very far off the ground)... but the absolute best was the battle arena.

Holding an oversized cotton tip, you walk along an air filled beam towards your oponent, and battle to be the last person standing... we found the greatest challenges were the balance... and then the laughter... it's very hard to knock someone over when you are laughing so much you fall over yourself.

We had a great day out, and are considering it for a future birthday party, something different, fun, active and challenging!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

Auckland Skytower Skyjump

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ok, now I got that out of my system, let me tell you about the Skytower Skyjump.

Free Fall Base Jumping from 192 metres is not your usual way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and this morning it was not the way I had planned to spend it.

However, this was something I had wanted to do since we got to Auckland, I had a voucher, it was going to expire soon, and the the time.. so it seemed.. was now!

When I arrived, they told me I was going to jump a little earlier than planned as I had arrived so early, this got my nerves going and I spent the next 10 minutes wriggling, shaking and entirely failing to sit still. When I realised that it was going to be a little longer I calmed down.

The guy who got us ready was calm, happy and helpful - gave the little group I was in a tonne of confidence. We suited up, got the harnesses on, then headed to the top of the tower.

At the top I offered for the other girl to go first and observed what she did. When it was my turn I knew they would be stopping me 10m down for a photo and felt good about the checks they did of the harness and gear.

My turn came very quickly. I've been up the tower before, more than once, and even jumped on the glass platforms looking down to the ground, feeling completely safe. Standing on the OUTSIDE of the glass with the wind hitting you and walking along a skinny platform is a completely different experience.

When I got to the end of the platform, I glanced down briefly and instantly felt uncomfortable, so I decided not to do that again. The wind chill factor was -6degrees Celsius, and every time I grabbed the railing for stability, my fingers froze. Oh yeah I knew I was alive!

Then my harness got attached to the rigging, I got told to step forward until my feet were on the edge... oh how everything in my body was yelling at me about how wrong that was to do... and then... on the count of three... Let Go!

Getting off the top was the hardest part. Then, for the next 11 seconds I took in the view, the ground that was coming ever closer and as I neared the large red target I knew... YEAH I've done it.

Exhilarating!

 

 

 

 

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

Well, I thought Craters of the Moon was astounding - and it is! but Wai-O-Tapu - WooooooW!

Instead of walking in the belly of a mountain, you are walking through tracks in the forest, around the edges of thermal pools and waterfalls, which have been there for thousands of years.

The tracks are unobtrusive in many places, more a few guide rails to help you along the journey, and the walk is not overly difficult, and well worth going the full length of the tracks.

The most astounding part here was the colours! Each pool was different depending on the minerals in the area, from yellows to rich oranges to a green so unreal I kept on saying "this looks like it's Photoshopped, I can't believe it's here in real life!"

This is more expensive than the craters, but so very worth it! If you arrive in the morning you can also see the geyser in action, which is another fantastic experience.

 

 

Driving in Auckland

We've been here getting close to a year now... and I'm finding myself driving like the locals.

At first I found the right-hand turning rule confusing... but have almost gotten used to that now.

I've had a friend here describe it as having manners for the other person, but I simply found it odd.

We both want to turn into the same street, from opposite directions. The person who is the in the lane closest has to give way to the person in the further lane... In this case, blue car gives way to red car.

So the person who 'can' turn easily, waits for the person who can't turn in as easily... however, if a car is traveling straight through the intersection behind the blue car, then the blue car can go and doesn't have to give way.



No I haven't had an accident... yet, but my brain has taken a long while to switch over.

The other thing I find most odd?
Freeway Driving in Auckland.

On the Freeways around Auckland, the speed is 100km/hour. Most times I am on the freeway, (which are generally 2 lanes) the people in the right lane are going 100, the speed they are allowed to go... and people in the left lane go anywhere from 70km-90km/hour... and sometimes slower.

The road is the same both lanes, the speed is the same, and yet there is a 30km discrepancy... today I found myself doing it as well... left lane, slow down by 20km... I think I may have been here too long ;)

Magic Broomsticks Devonport Segway Tour!

ok, this is a MUST!!

Magic Broomsticks do a fantastic tourist experience with the Devonport Segway Tour. They are remarkably easy to ride, it's a real in the moment experience, rather than sitting in a bus and looking out the window, and you get training prior to going out!

I saw them once we were visiting North Head as a family, and took a quick photo from the car window. I was inspired!

Now just to find an occasion to warrant such a treat. Luckily my Mum was coming over to New Zealand... and it happened to be her birthday while she was here. So, I had a plan, an event, and made a booking!

We were in a group of 5 people, and while out on the tour, we had people pointing, staring and taking photos, we 'were' the tourist attraction for the day, which just added to the fun! A few people fell over, but not many, and we had fun racing around a park for a while between North Head and Mount Victoria.

Brilliant day out, we all left with the Segway smile!