Stateside

It was my first white Christmas - that I can remember anyhow. Beth and I spent a fantastic Christmas with family in Laramie enjoying the delights of a Christmas in the U.S of A. It is probably fair to say that we were spoilt, but after the last few months of travelling we were more than ready to stop and be looked after. So Auntie Margaret, Uncle Mel, Ian, Lisa and the triplets together with Eric and Lindsey - thank you all SO much!

Although we were looked after, this didn't mean that we just sat around. Our first suprise came on Christmas Day in the form of hand warmers, feet warmers and toe warmers together with a little slip of paper which gained us access to numerous ski lifts across the vast Winter Park - a world class skiing area in the Rockies. A few days later, donned in various layers of warm clothing, and armed with our snowboards, we headed out into the hills (if British read: mountains - as we were at 10000') to carve up some powder. I'm not sure if we carved powder or whether the mountain carved us. Both Beth and I managed to do the occasional full flip, notching a few g-forces on the way as the downhill edge of our snowboard cut into the snow. There was no warning - just the thud as you hit the deck and the slight whiplash that made you feel like you had been in a mosh pit for a week or so. But snowboarding was such great fun and the scenery at Winter Park was so picturesque, trees loaded down with snow and occasioanlly outstanding views of the rest of the Rockies.

Not content to treat us to one snow based activity, we headed across to the Snowy Range, to try our hand at snowmobiling. I'm not sure how you describe sitting on 150bhp of raw power whilst skimming over 3' powder across an alpine meadow doing 60mph holding onto the handgrips for all you're worth - adrenalin pumping to say the least. These machines can easily get you to speeds of over 120mph - very very quickly. Our guide through the maze of snow capped mountains, deep forests with trees heavily laden with snow and across frozen lakes was one of the photo shoot riders for Yamaha, a rancher by the name of Chad, who was particularly quick through the woods and could turn one of these machines on a dime, akin to cutting back when surfing. Chad thought it would be good fun to take us tandem on his supercharged snow mobile and blast up a huge hill, normally a good hour or so walk over boulders in the summer but only seconds over deep snow on a snowmobile! Our hats go off to Auntie Margaret who clung on and not only made the quickest ascent of the massive hill but also popped over the lip and caught some air! We covered over 70 miles in one day even stopping for a sizeable lunch in a refuge in the snowed in hills.

Not far from the snowmobiling is another ski area in the Snowies where Aunite Margeret patiently taught us the skills of skiing. One classic memory is of one section of downhill slope where I was carefully practising my turns. I was just beginning to feel I was making some progress when I heard someone shout at me and so instinctively got out of the way. Who should come by but Beth, flying down the slope like she had waxed her skiis, tearing into the corners and disappearing out of view, the light settling of carved snow the only indication that she had passed that way. Eventaully I caught up with her, swallowed my pride, and congratulated her on an outstanding performance. It was only then she told me that when I had heard someone shout, and courteously got out of the way, Beth was in fact out of control and figured the best option was just to point and shoot straight down the mountain as any sharp turns would have meant painfully hugging a tree. I was still impressed!

But it was not just out on the slopes where we were introduced to new things. American football, once shrouded in mystery, has now become an exciting spectator sport. I still can't work out why it is called football when virtually everyone uses their hands - but there are some things that are just..well..American. Take eating. We're used, in the UK, to have a savoury main course followed by either a sweet dessert or a cheese board. But we were introduced to new combinations like chilli with jell-o (if British read: jelly). The jell-o is used to cool the mouth rather than for the flavour. I also finally had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (if British read: peanut butter and jam sandwich). But when it comes to doughnuts, burgers, cinamon roles and the like, our cousins across the pond definitely have the upper hand. Very tasty indeed.

Too soon our time in the States came to an end and we were packing once more, heading to warmer climes in the mountains of Ecuador.

Picturesque New Zealand

We couldn't leave the blog of New Zealand without a few more pictures of our adventures...

1. Doubtless Bay
2. Uretiti Beach looking out to Taranga Island
3. Picnic Thanksgiving meal with Alan, Sarah and friends
4. Cathedral Cove
5. Doris getting friendly with the locals!
6. Wenderholm Regional Park
7. McLean Falls
8. Arthur's Pass
9. Kauri tree - Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) the second largest tree in NZ!
10. Beth learning to surf!
11. Matt cooking outside the campervan
12. Beth's 30th birthday meal at Long Beach, Russel in the Bay of Islands!
13. & 14. Mouraki Boulders

Naturally New Zealand

Some of the best experiences we had in New Zealand were encounters with nature. Some of them closer than others.

For example, the humble sandfly may be low on the food chain but when it comes at you, you might want to get out of the way - you're lunch. And when it bites you know about it. All those precautionary injections were good practice for these flying needles. Our rabies injection was nothing! Unlike mosquitoes, you generally don't hear the sandfly approach, so the first thing you know about it is a sharp stinging sensation followed by a heavily laden black object disappearing out of view. Nasty suckers.

So what can be done to help poor humanity in its fight against the relentless attacks of the sandfly? One option is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, that's DEET to me and you. Designed to keep the bugs at bay it also has enough nasty ingredients to make you more likely to have "insomnia, mood swings and impaired cognitive function" when used extensively, according to Correll University. The thought of a sandfly with insomnia, mood swings and impaired cognitive functions is a little disturbing to say the least - things are looking bad for humanity. It's only when you apply the DEET that you realise its ferocious power. If you look closely you'll see a haze coming off your skin. That's right, you're flammable, and the bugs just get frazzled in the haze. Pure genius. Just keep away from fires for the next 4 hours after application.

Thankfully there were far more pleasant and wonderful experiences other than the dreaded sandfly. The following day after Beth's big 'three-o' celebrations we were sailing once more, out in the Bay of Islands. Aboard Gungha II, a 65' go-fast maxi ocean sailing yacht, captained by the excellent Mike, who had ditched law to sail the oceans of the world. We sailed from Paihai on the east coast, past millionaire superyachts and out across Wairoa Bay to Moturoahia Island. Suddenly there were shrieks from the bow as someone on board had seen dolphins riding the bow wave. Needless to say we all rushed forwards and there they were, a pod of about six young males, performing underwater acrobats and showing off their skills, even jumping clear out of the water. These dolphins are found only within the Bay of Islands and its environs and are one of the biggest bottle nose dolphins in the world. At times, the usual white underside of the dolphin becomes red as the blood vessels near the surface are flushed through, allowing the dolphin to cool off. And judging by the way these dolphins were jumping around I'd say they needed to cool off! Later we anchored in a small bay at Moturohia Island and as we came ashore in our little dinghy, the dolphins suprised us again with a stunning show, within 10' at times. It made up for the one day of mixed weather!

On the theme of dolphins we met another New Zealand only dolphin, the Hector dolphin, one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world. What was especially exciting was the fact we were surfing at the time in a small bay, Curio Bay, one of the most southern points on South Island. With nothing between us and Antarctica we paddled out early one morning to catch some waves. It is so incredible, quietly paddling out, as dolphins surge past you as 'surf' within the waves, catching their food. Although I didn't managed to surf with them, the dolphins came within a few feet of both Beth and me. A magical experience!

In the same area are the equally rare yellow eyed penguins. These little dudes hang out at the beach in the evenings after they have been fishing all day. If you wait quietly at the top of the beach you will see these birds riding in on the small surf and then hopping from rock to rock as they get out of the water. A few shakes later, a quick check that the tail feathers are still looking good and then the prolonged voice identification process with the mate, who is carefully hidden away in the scrub at the top of the beach. We were fortunate to have a penguin hop very close to us on his hike up to the scrub.


Alpacas may not sound an exciting animal to meet, but with names like Whisky, Donald and Lady Di and their huge big eyes, they're actually quite a characterful bunch. At All Day Bay, a neat name considering it does remain a bay all day, we met the alpacas. I couldn't see how these overgrown sheep/camel hybrids had ever managed to survive so long - surely without mans' help these animals would have been lunch and extinct years ago. That's where I was wrong. These split lip toothless wonders (well on the upper jaw anyhow) are actually used in the States to corral cattle - unbelievable when you look at these dozy creatures. Those big eyes capture any movement and the whole herd of alpacas stops and stares. If it's looking like a dangerous situation, the alpacas move in. And what do these woolly airheads do to ward off wolves and the like? They sit. To be precise they sit on the wolves. That's right folks, the wolf has had it, smothered in luxury wooled bottoms without a hope. Apparently these gentle alpacas had done this trick on a golden retriever - it's never been the same following its ordeal.

If you see a bunch of alpacas heading your way with a look of intent in those oh so big eyes, my advice is to dig deep and pull out a few straw pellets from your pocket and give them a feed. They love it. Alternatively, and this sounds equally as nuts, start humming. Not only do alpacas make good wool they're also musical. If you start humming they gather round and start humming too. In fact, they get lost in their little hum-world, staring up into the sky for hours just humming away. This dude is Donald.

But you cannot blog about New Zealand without a least some mention of the stunning scenery. As soon as you leave any of the cities you are in the most wonderful scenery imaginable; pretty much anywhere you go. We stopped at Abel Tasman National Park, graceful mountains clothed in rich forests. There are very few, and sometimes no roads in this beautiful park. To gain access you either walk in, get a water taxi round or sea kayak. We did the later starting at Marahau and paddled the coastline, exploring hidden caves and coves, discovering beautiful isolated beaches and venturing across open sea to islands with seal colonies, red eyed oyster catchers and even the rare New Zealand dotterel. I even managed an afternoon's mountain biking through the forests, realising quickly how unfit I was.

One of the most awe inspiring locations were the fjords in the south-west of South Island. Here the dramatic mountains plunge 700m below the surface of the fjords. Although incorrectly named a 'Sound' (a 'sound' being a flooded valley formed by a river whilst a fjord is a flooded valley formed by glacial action), Milford Sound has an atmosphere you don't get in many places. Gargantuan waterfalls plummet into the fjord at colosal rates, amazingly forming a freshwater layer over the sea water, anywhere between 2m and 16m deep depending on the weather. Trees and grasses somehow grow out of the fractured rock, their roots matted together to provide as much stability as possible, adjacent there may be massive scars formed on the rock where there has been a tree avalanche. It will take another seventy years for the trees to grow back. Seals bask on the rocks and below the surface black corral grows at a much shallower depth. All the tannins from organic matter washed into the fresh water means light does not penetrate to the depths normally expected. And so the black coral can grow at much shallower depths. The coral is in fact white whilst it is alive, but was found in deep sea fishing nets black in colour because it wasby that time dead - hence the name.

There are just too many places we visited, too many stories to tell of this beautiful land to be able to include it all in a blog. You'll just have to ask us when we get back....

Aotearoa - The Land of the Long White Cloud

Ever since I was young lad I dreamt of coming to New Zealand. It is one of those countries where I had heard of its unique beauty, amazing and sometimes curious wildlife; somewhere unspoilt and not wrecked by mans' negative influence. And what did I find? A country that not only lived up to its reputation, but far exceeded what I had dreamt.


The Maori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, probably refers to the magnificent Southern Alps on the west coast of South Island. The snow is found along these majestic mountains throughout the year forming the 'Long White Cloud'. Apart from the obvious Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and other major towns, the majority of town and place names are Maori - each one having a significant meaning. A place name was not simply given in any old fashion, it had to be passed and approved by the elders and chiefs!


New Zealand has a reputation for being green and eco-friendly and as you travel around the country you can see why. In one country there is virtually everything you can want; beautiful old sub-tropical forests, stunning coastline with vast tracts of golden sands (and hot black sands on the west coast), unspoilt and unpolluted lakes, gently rolling pasture lands, magnificent mountain ranges, fjordlands and wilderness areas as well as plenty of geothermal and volcanic excitement.

But when you look around in some of the bigger cities you realise something strange is also happening. Take your general everyday shopping for instance. There you are at the checkout, the assistant asking you if you are having a good day and being generally friendly and chatty. You purchases are scanned and as you look across to the packing area your eyes bulge as three or four items are dropped into a plastic bag and then another bag is plucked from the seemingly endless supply and a few more items are dropped in - and so the process continues. By the time you have a few pieces of fruit, a bit of cheese and maybe your favourite slab of steak you have three or four badly packed bags. Beth and I were astounded! But this is New Zealand - surely things like this are a thing of the past? Oh no they're not!
Or maybe take a look at what people are driving. Electro-petrol hybrids perhaps, or maybe hydrogen cars? Nope. We're talking here about thumping big pickups with lowered suspension, alloy wheels, metallic paint and a very impressive sounding engines. We're talking big RV's and it seems anything that doesn't have a particularly good mpg. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh - it just didn't fit with the eco-world I was expecting. And recycling - just going!! Maybe the small population of 4 million in a country the size of the UK simply doesn't make so much of a dent.


Enter Alan, Beth's cousin and eco-warrior, together with girlfriend Sarah. These guys were our guides when we first arrived in Auckland. To get around they have a classic 1976 Datsun 100A, an absolute beauty, which if I'm honest, I'm a bit jealous of! This car has character! Although in New Zealand, Auckland is regarded as the stress pot and not a pleasant place to be, after our time in China, and having just left a city with five times the population of the whole of New Zealand, we were more than happy to wander the tree lined streets and enjoy the seemingly generous amount of greenery around the city. Here is a picture of Alan and Sarah with the backdrop of Auckland and Skytower. Directly behind them is the crater of an old volcano, this one is known as Mount Eden. As you scan the horizon from this viewpoint you'll see many more of these now grassed former volcanoes.


To kick start our time in Auckland, I had my belated birthday present, sailing an Americas Cup racing yacht NZL41, a 77' brute of a boat made entirely from carbon fibre. To make this monster move there are a variety of ridiculously large sails, we started with the mainsail and jib - a collosal 320 square meters. Just think about how much area that is!
To ensure you have at least a chance of not capsizing, a 20 tonne torpedo shaped ballast hangs from the hull attached by a worryingly thin fin! Just to give you a feel for the speed of this boat, we were heading out of the harbour towards Rangitoto Island lighthouse, close hauled in a 15 to 20 knot breeze, easily cruising at 12 knots and heeling at about 25 degrees! Awesome. Taking the helm of this Formula 1 boat was simply fantastic - pure adrenalin and delight. With the heel of the boat you are easily high enough to see the gusts coming, and when they do the battle is on. The bow swings ferociously windward and you have to wrestle the wheel to bring her round, all 2m of rudder in the water trying to direct this wild animal. Not content with the current sail set up, on our return into Auckland, up went the gennaker, another 220 square meters of sail - I've never been so fast in a sailing boat!




In the afternoon we picked up our home for two of the four weeks - a bright orange Toyota Lucida people carrier converted into a camper van, otherwise known as Alf. Although Alf is getting on a bit, the old lines betray a very neat interior which has a gas cooker, fridge, water tank and pump, double bed and - get this - a plasma DVD TV with FM surround sound meaning all six speakers in the camper blast out the DVD soundtrack. We tried not to use the DVD player too often - why would you in such an outstandingly beautiful country?



And so began our journey through New Zealand, one awesome landscape after another.....