New Zealand

We arrived into Kaikoura to try and view some whales. Kaikoura attracts whales due to the depth of the water, less than 2 kilometres from the coast there is an underwater canyon which is over 1000 metres deep. Ideal for whales to relax and eat lots of squid!

We arrived into Kaikoura with beautiful sunshine to be told that, all whale watching tours had been cancelled for the last few days, due to bad weather. Therefore there was a large backlog of bookings waiting to happen. Not expecting to get a chance to view any whales, we booked ourselves on a waitlist for the day and went off to explore a few of the views from the hilltops.

The views were spectacular and there was just so much wildlife around, from seals, to albatrosses and various other sea birds, which names escape us. Having taken in the beautiful views and the incredible blue colour of the sea, we made our way to the whale centre to find out whether we had made it on any of the tours. We stood in the waitlist queue, which felt like some kind of audition or interview as the lucky names were called out. Having been there since 12pm, we finally got our call up at 1.15pm.

We were then bused down to the port and transfered onto a massive speed boat, which took us out into the deep ocean where we would have the opportunity of seeing a few sperm whales. We were more than lucky and were able to site five sperm wales, which was quite unusual (or so they told us). It was incredible to be so close to these magnificent creatures swimming past the boat, squirting water into the air with a big blast and revealing just how enormous they were as the wave broke over them.

When the whales have had enough of roaming the sea, they dive down, around sixty metres into the depths of the sea leaving spectators with a picture perfect flicker of a whale's tale. Once down, they will not resurface for a good few hours. On all five attempts, we kept trying to get the perfect whale tail picture, but failing each time, we resort to videoing it instead.

Watching these massive whales was such an incredible experience and we were then taken over to a group of playful dolphins.

There must have been about fifty to a hundred of them and they absolutely loved playing with the boat, chasing it and also jumping out of the sea numerous of times as though they were performing to the people watching them.

They seemed so tranquil, yet at the same time having the best time, full of fun. We couldn't wait for our experience to swim with dolphins, having seen how playful this lot had behaved, but we would have to wait until near the end of the trip.

After a fantastic day we headed down to Christchurch for the night, after circling the city centre a few times we managed to find our accommodation for the night. This would be the final night in our perspex windowed van. After four days, the sticky tape seemed to have come away, leaving a terrible draught to sleep in. Also there were only so many nights we could tolerate sleeping on the remains of the shattered glass from the incident.

Sam's comments: Due to EJ's directions (or as E-J says"a bad map")I seem to know Christchurch city centre better than most! The whales where a joy to watch.

E-J's comments: Kaikoura is a very special place and I feel so priviledged to have seen these mammals of such incredible size and grace. The dolphins were also just so happy and playful, making it a perfect day.

The next day, the reality of the robbery came back to E-J and she immediately became incredibly moody and angry, which wasn't helped by the hangover from the night before. Sam decided that the best thing would be a new start on a new island, so off to the South Island we went.

The boat journey over to the South island took three and a half hours and luckily it was a sunny day with calm water. Sam enjoyed his book inside, while E-J spent the majority of the journey staring out to sea thinking about the robbery, what had been lost and how we could have prevented it. Repeatedly Sam would come out to see if E-J was alright, reminding her that the South was all about a new start, but E-J being typical E-J, could not stop thinking and talking about the robbery, changing from angry to sad and then angry again.

Finally, when we reached the South Island E-J was able to smile as we past the most beautiful scenery on our way into the harbour.

We arrived into Picton and decided the best thing would be for us to travel across to Nelson to try to relax and enjoy the beaches around it, if not the quaint, little town.

The drive there was relatively pleasant, passing numerous vineyards and a vast mountain range covered in conafors. Sadly, as we drove into Nelson the weather started to go bad with the sky turning a moody, overcast grey. E-J thought how much this reflected her mood.

That night we stayed in a campervan site in Nelson as we only had perspex in place of the windows (the repair garage in Wellington hadn't had the glass to fit them). Over the top about security, E-J wanted to be somewhere enclosed, which was rather a shame as there were plenty of desolate camping places around. Without the proper security, we didn't want to lose anything else.

That night the rain poured down heavily and we awoke to pretty miserable weather. We then decided we would go to Collingwood to escape from people for a day or so and take in some of the beautiful beaches of the Golden Bay.

As we drove along, the weather started to brighten up and we talked about how things were going to improve. Just as we were both laughing together, a siren and flashing blue light suddenly appeared behind us and an undercover police cop pulled us over to the side. He told us that he had actually been hoping to get the guy in front, but since we were speeding too, he'd give us the ticket instead. E-J, in her usual calm and assuring state, started crying and going off on one at the policeman about what a terrible time we'd already had and why not give us a fine just to add to our troubles. With the policeman starting to soften to our story, Sam quickly advised E-J to be quiet and get back in the van (before she started to become too dramatic and irritate the policeman). Then as a school boy to a headmaster, in the politest most responsible way possible, Sam answered all his questions as best he could. To our luck the policeman let us off!

Once we were in Collingwood, we were relieved to finally make it there with no fine and finding it to be pretty deserted. Having found a camp site at the end of the town, we spent the rest of the evening in a local pub down the road. This pub was incredibly large, but also incredibly empty too.

By the early hours of the next morning, the bad weather seemed to have followed us there, so with no chance of enjoying a gentle stroll on the beach, we resorted to returning to Nelson and possibly heading onto Kaikoura from there.

On the way back, we decided to enjoy some more of the scenic views and decided to make our way down a gravel track to a cave, which is suppose to be the biggest cave in New Zealand. Having travelled down it for a good ten minutes, we started to worry about just how far we had to go to get there. With the gravel road narrowing and an almighty, steep edge of a cliff on one side, we decided that luck hadn't really be on our side lately, so perhaps we ought to turn back. This was also influenced by the sight of the remains of an old campervan, which had previously taken a tumble off the edge. Sam skillfully manoeuvred the van round and we made our way back, passing the occasional car, which added more tension to the trip as we found ourselves practically hanging off the edge while passing them. Once off the uneventful track, we both made a packed not to do anything as stupid as that again!

After a brief stop in Nelson, we continued our travels down the East Coast to the town of Kaikoura in the hope of booking a tour to see some Whales.

Sam's Comments: Glad my charm saved me from a speeding ticket. Good to know I have still got it!!

E-J's Comments: These last few days have been very difficult for me, as I am trying to enjoy New Zealand, but there is a part of me that can't let go of what happened in Wellington. I just hope that the next part of our journey has more good excitement.

Having slept rather uncomfortably the night before, E-J was exhausted and Sam wasn't much better, but we decided to head off early to try and get to Wellington for mid morning.

The journey was pretty smooth with E-J singing along as the CD player blurted out "There may be trouble ahead". If only we realised how significant that tune would be. By 11am we were in the city centre. We decided to park it in a multi story car park, we figured that it would be safer in an indoor place rather than out on display for the whole of Wellington to see. As we drove past the two men standing at the front desk we enquired whether it would be alright to park the campervan there. Being as cheery as all New Zealanders we had met so far, they gave us a warm smile and said, "yes it's fine, it's fine, have a good day". The next obstacle was then finding a parking space as the place was chocker blocked, but as we reached near to the top, some spaces became available. We then did our usual check that all the windows and doors were locked and nothing of any value was out on display. In hindsight, we wished we'd locked our bags together with a chain like we usually did but for some reason, whether it was because we were tired or distracted, we forgot.

For the next four hours we wandered around the city taking in the sights and spending some much needed catch up time on the internet.

At about 3pm, we headed back to the car park, wanting to move the car to a less expensive parking space where we had seen a load of campervans while walking around. As we walked up the levels, Sam managed to walk out onto the wrong floor and in a panicked voice, said the van had gone. E-J, more reassuringly told him to calm down as it was on the next level.

As we walked to the van, we were joking away about our equally terrible drivinig skills and the challenge of managing twenty more days in the van without any major incidents. We didn't notice a thing. It was only when E-J jumped into the drivers seat and as she slammed the door, heard the shattering of glass. Shocked by the noise, she turned round to see that the two back windows had been smashed in and all our bags had gone. All she could say was, 'Our bags, our bags, they're gone...."

The next hour or so seemed a bit like a blur as Sam contacted the police. A sweet girl who happened to be there when we discovered the break in, went down to contact the staff on the bottom floor. The two staff were already aware of the situation as they had already been up there and cleaned all the glass away from around the outside of the car. This explains why we didn't notice the damage at first, but also makes us wonder why they didn't think to contact the police when the break in was first realised.

E-J at this point was in a state of shock, but Sam took control, giving a full account to the police, the car hire company and insurance. What E-J couldn't believe was that the police said there was no point in coming to the crime scene as only the windows had been smashed and as there was no blood anywhere, they wouldn't be able to find any fingerprints.

E-J started to take things into her own hands, walking into the offices next door, where she had noticed people having cigarette breaks in the car park. She started to ask whether anyone had seen anything, but sadly to no prevail. She then proceeded to walk around the building checking all the rubbish bins and in the alley ways around the building, but she found nothing.

The irony was that these buggers hadn't bothered to look in the glove box where they would have found an ipod of value. We had also hidden our passports and credit cards in a separate compartment that they hadn't bothered to look in either, so all that they had was a load of worthless clothes and junk, but to us it was priceless memorabilia.

By now it was 4:45pm and we had to drive the car round to a garage by 5pm. Getting slightly lost, Sam started swearing at all traffic as EJ sat in the passanger seat with tears of disbelief and heartache.

All we were left with is what can be seen in the picture above, simply the items that we hadn't packed away. We wish we'd been a little more messy, so that more would have been left...

We took what possessions we had and headed to a nearby hostel. All we had with us were our camera, passports and wallets, two sleeping bags, a jacket and two jumpers and the clothes we were wearing that day. Poor Sam was in a t-shirt and shorts and to add insult to injury, he wasn't wearing any underwear!

The next struggle was trying to find a hostel, as everything was booked up. On our final attempt we finally got into a twelve bed dorm, which we knew would be pretty unpleasant.

A few more insurance calls later and one more large check around the car park and we retreated to a bar to drown our sorrows. Our two glum faces attracted the attention of two girls, called Sue and Sina. On hearing our story these two proud Wellingtonians couldn't believe it. They insisted on showing us the proper Wellington the following evening and offered us the chance to stay in their home.

That night we both slept badly. With the robbery still fresh in our minds and sharing a dorm with loud, drunk eighteen year olds meant E-J started the day at five thirty.

The next day was all about organising ourselves and realising just how much needed to be replaced. This ranged from the mundane items such as buying pants and everyday basic clothes to buying something to be able to wash with. After a day of painful chores, speaking to our banks about security issues, picking up the campervan (which now had perspex in place of the glass windows) and dealing with the ever unhelpful insurance companies, we managed an hour and a half of intense shopping. This is when we constantly saw the genuine sympathy of the Kiwi public. So many people took it upon themselves to help us; the pharmacist gave us a load of free sachets of cleansers, shampoos, etc, the jean shop gave Sam a good discount on his jeans, the phone company gave us a free charger and Sina, one of the girls from the night before provided us both with two rucksacks to put our new belongings in.

Feeling as though we had hit rock bottom, we finally met up with Sue and Sina. With it being Friday night they insisted on showing us the town and raised our moods straight away with a few drinks in the pub before we headed to see the local rugby team, the Wellington Hurricanes.

When we got there the queues for tickets were enormous but somehow we were luckily able to get tickets quickly. We then found our seats and with a few beers watched the Wellington Hurricanes beat the Queensland Reds.

Although the game wasn't the most incredible, E-J thought there was something special about being at a live game and feeling the atmosphere of the stadium. E-J also complained constantly about how poor the teams cheerleaders were and how she would be so much better. Sam observed as E-J's views on this opinion became stronger and stronger with each glass of white wine she had. As we left the ground E-J danced through the aisles ready to hit the town!

After the match we made our way back into town to enjoy some more drinks. In the first bar we stopped in we happened to bump into Graham Henry, the All Black coach, which was an incredible feit for Sam. With Sam trying to talk to him about the new laws being introduced, E-J insisted on telling "Henry Graham" how she had been robbed! Sadly for Sam this ensured Graham wanted to make a quick exit! Then afterwards Sam explained to E-J who he was, as she had no idea.

The rest of the night was spent enjoying more drinks and E-J in her usual state of excitement became more and more out of control on the dance floor until finally at 2am Sam decided it was time to pull her away from the floor and thanked the girls for a great night and for lifting our spirits during our time in Wellington.

Sam's comments: Should have worn some underwear! When purchasing new ones picked up the wrong size and am now a proud owner of 2 pairs of XXL navy blue boxer shorts!

E-J's comments: Wellington to me will always be associated with a sad time, but also an example of just how kind and thoughtful the Kiwi community can be. People were generally devastated to hear our news and willing to help in any way they could.

In our now traditional format we woke up relatively early and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of cereal or for Sam, badly heated bread on a camper gas cooker. After this we made our way down the rest of the coast to Hawkes Bay where we would be staying with friends of E-J''s family, Muff and Selby for a couple of nights. As we drove along the empty roads we continually came across signs warning us about wandering cattle and before long we found our selves surrounded by an abundance of sheep, which must have escaped from one of the nearby fields. Carefully weaving our way through them, we successfully avoided any sheep casualties and drove on.

After a quick stop in Gisborne to buy some CD's for the car, we arrived at Muff and Selby's around 6pm and enjoyed a delicious dinner party along with an incredible American couple who were staying with the Palmer's. They were both over 80 years old and had far more energy than us two put together. After a boozy evening we slept very well that night!

The next day we did some exploring of Hawkes Bay as recommended to us by Muff and Selby. First we drove over to Selby's farm and almost got lost but on finaly finding it we went to look around. Sam decided to drive into a field surrounded by thick grass and thistles. E-J not feeling too confident that the campervan would make it through this, decided to jump out and walk the rest of the stretch of field. Meanwhile, Sam managed to take out a few thistles, avoided a few sheep and finally almost wedged the van in a crevasse. After a few panicked reverses, wheel spins, skids and bumps, he finally got it free and quickly drove the van back onto the gravel path.

After this we then visited a few of the local beaches, which we are sure on a fine day, look absolutely stunning, but while it was raining and gloomily overcast, we really had to use our imagination. After this brief tour we met up with Muff and went to her Cheese Factory for lunch. It was a lovely place and what was more interesting, was to learn just how expensive cheese is in New Zealand. In fact it is thought of as more of a delicacy than a necessity. The cheese here was delicious!

Muff then drove us up to the most incredible look out point. We could see for miles and were really able to take in the beauty of Hawkes Bay.

The day was ended with a few drinks back at Muff and Selby's gorgeous house, which is situated on top of a hill, so that it looks out across the most spendid view of vineyards, fields, trees and mountains. It really was a very special place.

In the evening, we were treated to some lovely tapas down in the village at one of their local haunts.

In the morning we said our goodbyes and thank yous for a wonderful time in Hawkes Bay and headed to Napier to enjoy a day of cricket. The weather was incredible, and as E-J sat on the green basking in the sun, she began to think, that just possibly, she might be able to get into this whole cricket, spectator sport thing; well, provided she had some sun on her anyway.

After a brief appearance on the TV screen as an English supporter, E-J was in her element and enjoying the beers too as Sam had offered to drive.

England were playing brilliantly and by 5pm we had to leave the game just before the end, in order to get to our next destination during daylight.

We headed to a small village called Feilding (yes, spelt this way) just outside Palmerston North where E-J wanted to meet a friend she use to work with. After a couple of hours catching up and exchanging news and stories it was time to say our goodbyes and head to bed.

Sam's comments: What a great game of cricket, Paul Collingwood smashed the fastest fifty by an englishman!

E-J's comments: Hawkes Bay is such a wonderful place. It was just such a shame we didn't get to see it in the best weather as I'm sure we would have been blown away by its beauty.

We arrived back into Auckland around 12pm and met up with friends of ours from London who were heading to Chile that day. After a brief lunch and exchange of places and ideas about South America, New Zealand and Oz, we said goodbye to our friends, Dave and Elle and headed to the campervan company.

After a brief instruction on what and what not to do, Sam managed to successfully reverse the van out of the drive.
We were then on our way and within two minutes E-J managed to get completely confused with the directions to the supermarket! We stopped less than a mile from the campervan depot, so that E-J could drive and Sam could direct! Next was buying food supplies. On first parking the car, E-J decided to change spaces pretty quickly, when she noticed the porch parked next to her had a white scratch mark on the door; looking uncomfortably similar to the colour of our van! After a brief and successful shop, we escaped the supermarket to finally hit the road!

Next was finding somewhere to stay and being novices at this campervan malarkey, we decided to play it safe and stay in Hamilton just outside Auckland in one of the lonely planet recommended campsites. Finding it with nearly no problems, we thought the place looked a bit depressing with all these other campervans parked up around us. We decided this wasn't going to destroy our joyful spirits, so tucked into a good bottle of wine and enjoyed a ready cooked roast chicken and salad. This was the life!

By 8:30 am the next day we were on the road and heading to Rotorua to do the first of our many dare devil challenges, a Zorb ball. For those of you unaware of what this is, it basically looks like a hamster ball which you get inside and then throw yourself down a hill at great speed.

When we got there we were advised to do the option with water and after the necessary briefing and reading the small print that if you were to die it was not the company's fault, we were driven up the hill to begin our experience. E-J at this point was starting to go slightly white and feeling terribly nervous. Having just seen children of the age of 10 and 12 years old throw themselves down a few minutes earlier, E-J felt she really couldn't bring herself to pull out at this stage. E-J decided to go first and then Sam followed. E-J could be heard the whole way down, screaming for dear life. The guide informed Sam that he hadn't seen someone so petrified all day! Sam was silent and unimpressed with the lack of thrill factor involved. As we left this place to continue on the journey, E-J could feel her neck seizing up and realized she had somehow managed to crick it and was in complete agony! This left Sam the duty of taking the wheel!

We decided that we wanted to see as much of the North as possible so chose to follow the highway 35 all the way around the East Coast. This was quite a long distance to our night's destination at Hick's Bay, but we took great delight in taking in the lush scenery and indulging in the rather empty and windy roads.

By the time we reached Hick's Bay, it was 7pm, so we found a campsite for the night and Sam cooked a delicious carbonara while E-J indulged in a bottle of white wine to numb her pain!

Sam's comments: Hitting route 35 across to the East was beautiful. With Hellman's mayonnaise in the fridge I couldn't be happier!

E-J's comments: I'm loving the freedom of having a van. It's great to be able to take off whenever we want rather than having to wait for a bus as we had, had to do in South America. Also despite the fact that the bad weather keeps following us, I am still enjoying the beautiful green countryside and the sparseness of cars on the road.