What’s that coming out the volcano?

As I sit watching the sun gently set over Lake Taupo I feel like now would be a lovely time to reflect on our day.

The day started by heading up to Hukka Falls, one of the most spectacular and powerful waterfalls I have come to see. Watching the glacial blue waters thundering between a gorge 8 metres wide was incredible. Instantly I said to Dad ‘Well you’d be fucked if you fell in there’ bit different to most people’s responses to this beautiful place. We hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and soon spotted signs for a café which was up a shared pedestrian/mountain bike route. We didn’t see either luckily as we kept walking higher and higher up this track, I couldn’t help but think of my friends who mountain bike and think they would absolutely love this! Forrest one side of you, the lush waterfall the other. It was stunning!

After reaching the café and having a full cooked breakfast to keep us going for the day we got back to the car and headed out on a road trip around the lake. Last night we had watched the sunset over what looked like a volcano on the far side of the lake…. Turns out it was a volcano on the far side of the lake so we decided to go for an explore. What we found was incredible. We got a chair lift up a ski field, saw some sort of substance come out of a vent in the volcano and had the most awesome road trip.

Returning back to our accommodation I have a quick dip in the jacuzzi and dangle my legs into the cold pool whilst reading my third book of the trip (I’m a really slow reader so quite proud!). We crack open a couple of ciders and start to feel happily pissed in the sun on the balcony – only just realising we hadn’t eaten anything since this morning! This leads us up to where I am writing this from. The sun is due to set within the next hour, I’m sat overlooking the lake and the mountains/volcanos we were up earlier on, I have a cocktail in one hand and my blog in the other. The evening is chilled out and a perfect way to finish an incredible day in Lake Taupo.

H x

Wellington

The capital city of New Zealand is a funny little place. In England, at the weekend, the cafés and bars are alive with people enjoying having a few days off from work. Here it’s the opposite. The other night we decided that we quite fancied going out for a drink, we’d eaten well during the day so was just after somewhere to maybe have an anti pasta kind of dish. Everywhere was dead! It was like a ghost town walking around the city, our hotel bar that online boasted that it was a cool place to be didn’t open up at all over the weekend.

We settled into this quite funky little place and started to make our way through a few glasses of wine. It was a cool place, lots of big armchairs, open fires, fairy lights and the remains of peanuts of the floor. Walking back to the hotel it seemed that the only places that were alive were the countless amounts of strip bars! I’m not even joking, we were walking down the Main Street with all the bars and restaurants and there were about 5 in the space of 20 metres.

Nursing a small hangover we got up the next day and headed over to the Wellington Zoo hoping that as it was the week and everyone would be working/at school it would be nice a quiet. We were right for the first hour or so. Walking around this very hilly zoo we found ourselves face to face with lemurs, sun bears, tigers, lions, all sort. Sometimes I get a bit iffy about zoos but not this one, it was lovely and the animals looked very happy with where they were. We positioned ourself well for the chimp talk at 12:30. We were the only ones there bar a few other people and we thought this was great! It’s like our own private zoo. That thought had gone by the next 5 minutes as we were then greeted by about 50 kids, ranging at a guess from year 2 to year 3. Watching the adults trying to control these kids was quite funny. It triggered me to think of the children of Hallow and compare them to these before me. When a little girl sat next to me getting banging her feet off the chair – very irritatingly, I had to fight the urge to be Miss Jackson and tell her to pack it in.

We had a lovely day out at the zoo and saw some beautiful animals. It was a nice way to finish off our time in Wellington for now we are picking up a car and starting our road trip of the North Island.

We’re spending the night at Lake Taupo tonight although we’re not driving direct. Heading between the mountains we’re going to drive to a city on the east coast called Napier, have some lunch and then head on to Taupo for a few nights. I’m sure there will be lots of photos to follow but for now, here are some from the last few days.

H x

Occupying The Mind

Now that my trip is almost over I thought it would be a good idea to start planning for my return home. My first priority is fixing my shoulder. I know I need surgery on it to reattach things so once that’s sorted I’ll be a lot happier!

I’ve taken the pressure off myself to search for a job immediately when I get home. I’ll be living with my parents again and I’m very lucky that they don’t charge rent or anything. I’m going to be their handy woman! Doing housework, walking Bailey, decorating ect. Stuff are both helpful and I can see the result of the job.

My mind is a lot healthier than when I came out here so I’m in a good place to sort through the stuff under my bed. It’s quite a therapeutic thing to do. Chuck out the old stuff and start fresh.

My other plan is to explore England, although we as a nation are proud to be British, I still find that everyone says ‘Back to shitty England’. I was having this conversation with Dad earlier on, what makes people say that? Is it the weather? The fact that we associate our country with our problems or in other words reality? You may not agree with me but I want to restart my thought pattern on England too.

So over the next few days I’m going to think of 20 different things to do across the UK, with 10 months left of the year that means 2 things a month. I live in a city which has a cathedral that in my opinion is way too big and I can’t remember the last time I just walked around it!

I’m going to have a think and decide how I can re inject my love for both England and life upon my return. Well after all, I’ll need something to blog about 😉

H x

Queenstown through our eyes

New Zealand or Scotland?

Day 1 in Queenstown!

The day started wet and miserable. Immediately as I woke up to find Dad was already in the breakfast I become very aware that although I’ve been on the road for the last 5 weeks he hasn’t. I thought day 1 and it’s raining – shit.

After a little stroll around the shops and a few purchases of some wicked t shirts to layer up with whilst I ski the sun started to break through. We decided to book onto a steam boat ride that went across the lake with the option of a tour around a sheep farm to which we did just for a giggle. It actually turned out to be a pretty cool tour and the scenery took your breath away.

You can definitely see Scotland here – not just because it full of Scottish people but also in the landscape.

Feeling very windswept today so I’ll keep it short 🙂

H x

Queenstown

We have landed! After a 3 hour flight over from Sydney we touched down and it is stunning! There is a bit of snow dusting the caps of the mountains.

Arriving at our hotel we do a quick turn around and go and search for a beer. Overlooking the lake, listening to some live music, finally seeing my Dad, it was perfect!

H x

Airports are filled with love

Ok I must be having a fresh bout of hormones because I am sat at the gate sobbing.

A flight from Sydney has just landed and there are so many people eagerly waiting to see their loved ones. I see an elderly couple embracing eachother, smiling and crying as they kiss each other hello. A man in uniform greet his partner and hold his baby girl for the first time. A young girl runs up to her Mum with a big bouquet of flowers and a homemade sign and holds her tightly. A grandmother sees her grandson for the first time since he was 2 months old, he is now 3. Twenty students from Germany to do a foreign exchanges, being greeted with smiles and hugs from their host families.

I sit here sobbing, feeling overwhelmed watching everyone be united with each other. There is so much love in the air here, it’s a truly wonderful to experience this.

I know I will be reunited with my Dad tomorrow and I know already I will cry when I see him and more so in two weeks time when I see my Mum after two months away. It is the longest I have been away from them.

Such a wonderful evening 🙂

The night is alive

Once again I found myself in the cinema, this time watching Kingsman. Let me tell you, a man in a well tailored suit is like lingerie to women, between that and the trailer for 50 shades of Grey I found myself in quite a fluster!

Walking out afterward and I am immediately greeted by the heat despite it being 9pm. I head down the Main Street and find that it is completely buzzing… I also find I can’t remember where my hotel is but I pleasantly enjoy getting lost in this magical city.

Fairy lights fill the tree and buskers entertain. The streets are full of people dining Al fresco and there is a happy buzz in the air. Adelaide is a truly wonderful city, in fact shortly follows Byron Bay. I didn’t know what to expect of this city, to be honest I wanted to go to Kangaroo Island and thought I couldn’t go there and not come here.

It’s been a lovely way to finish off my tour of Australia and I’ll be gutted to leave. This country will always hold a place deep in my heart as the country that healed me. This journey has made me feel whole again, not going back to being the person I was before the clouds but into the woman I want to become. The things I want to do with my future.

What good timing that I walk into my hotel as I finish this post. I feel a bit emotional tonight, happy emotions though, emotions that I’ve been wanted to feel for such a long time now.

It’s one thing to say to someone things will get better, you’ll get there in the end but it’s another thing to feel like you’ve got there. So as my eyes well up I feel this would be a good time to sign off.

Here from Adelaide,

Good night x

I went to see a lighthouse & ended up in a music festival

It is a scorcher today, my God is it hot. 39 degrees to be precise. After I bathed myself in Australia factor 50 suncream I went to find the botanical gardens to work out my plan of action for the rest of the day.

Walking to the train station I realised I had far too many clothes on to cope with the heat and by far too many I mean I had them on. Now I’m a ski instructor, I love the cold and I love the snow, I don’t mind the heat but wanting to walk around with your own personal aircon unit is abit much. I decided I was going to have a morning of heritage and culture. I saw a lovely lighthouse and read all about the sailors who had been lost at sea and the history of how it was built. I walked around a little aviation museum but unfortunately by 11 I was bored and wanted to do something else. Taking a detour to find a pub I found myself in a queue for a music festival – Laneway Festival. I had no idea who was playing but for 50 bucks I thought fuck it I’ll see what it’s about. The music was good but the sun was vicious, seeing that I was beginning to turn the colour of satan’s arse I heading to find food. I sat and watched a dude called Jesse Davidson – who people were going mad for. He was quite funky so I happily sat and got semi pissed in the sun.

A few hours past and the novelty has worn off, I’d watch four acts and only liked one of them so took to people watching instead. Travelling has definitely changed how I feel about myself in the sense that I have worn makeup maybe three times in the last month! At home I’d never go out without it on. I watch the girls and see that they have gone to much detail in finding the accessories to go with their skirt and the shoes to go with the bag. They have thought everything through. I used to dread being asked to go out because I’d always fret about what to wear, weather to have my hair up and down, weather I could face the pain those shoes gave me. Now I don’t care. My hair is shoved high to stop my neck from sweating, I have flip flops on which are falling apart because they are comfy, I have no makeup on because I’d just sweat it off and you know what? I feel so much happier doing this!! I hope it carries on when I get back home.

Jesus did I mention it’s hot? I’m sat waiting for the train back to the city and I literally have beads of sweat pouring off me – nice image for you there! Finding a Movenpick café I proceeded to have a very public relationship with my two scoop, caramel and white chocolate ice cream much to the amusement of passers by. It was heavenly!!

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Family

Arriving in Adelaide after a six hour journey I flop onto the bed. All I want to do is sleep but the grumbling in my tummy tells me that I need food. I’m staying right in the city centre so there are countless amount of eateries on my door step. After nearly falling asleep in a bowl of pasta I decide to give in and head back to the hotel, I can’t enjoy myself whilst I am so tired. I couldn’t sleep last night with the pain in my shoulder and then with the drive as well it is killing me. Pressing floor 6 in the lift I notice on the basement level there is a pool and a spa… OOOOOO!! It wasn’t so much as a spa as it was a jacuzzi but none the less I was grateful to sit in it reading my book for an hour.

It seems right that at the end of my time in Australia exhaustion hits me. I have experienced so many wonderful things, memories that I will be able to tell when I am an old lady. Tomorrow is my last full day here and then I shall fly to Sydney to meet my Dad and then onwards to Queenstown, New Zealand. I’m really looking forward to seeing Dad, this journey has been an amazing experience for me and I feel like I’ve grown as a person. I needed to take this step on my own but now I really miss my family.

Family is such an important thing to me, they have always supported me with everything I’ve done. Everything I’ve achieved I could not have done it without their love and guidance. Only three more days until I get to share my journey 🙂

H x