Viva Las Vegas

I had forgotten just how crazy the US and A actually is. In 11 months in NZ I think I saw one crazy dude. It was on the first day we bought Biff. It was hammering down with rain but we decided to drive him to a local beach just to get a feel for him, and to double check he was waterproof. We sat overlooking this huge bay in the rain very happy with ourselves but after a while I needed a wee. I ran across the parking lot to the public toilets through the rain and barged my way into the mens loo, only to be greeted by some crazy Maori dude wiping his butt! I about turned and got the hell out of there but the crazy dude started shouting at me. I swiftly hid/used the ladies toilet next door but while washing my hands I could still hear the loon in the mens shouting and crashing about. I ran back to Biff but it was a good 10 minutes before the nutcase emerged and staggered off through the rain. Seriously though we never saw one other loony for the whole time we were there. America, however, is a lot different from NZ.

Here it is literally packed to the rafters with the mentally unstable! (see what happens when you don’t have an NHS?) We have already seen a bum fight, which I of course found hilarious. We got the bus to Ocean beach to check out what this side of the pacific looks like and had a wander along the cliff tops and past the shops. There were tramps everywhere! I have been to America enough to know they have a huge homeless problem over here but in that short stretch of beach it was like tramp-opolis! We kept ourselves to ourselves, dodged the vast clouds of marijuana smoke and got through it as quick as we could. I couldn’t help but stare though at these two hobo’s going at each other over a reportedly stolen 5 dollars. It was a bit one sided to be fair with the smaller tramp kicking the larger younger tramps arse before the cops pulled up and broke it up. You can totally see how bum fighting became an internet phenomenon a few years back. But I guess this is par for the course when you ride the bus over here. I’ll tell you more about that in a bit.

We have left San Diego now and I am writing this from my hotel room in "The Meadows" or Las Vegas as us non Spanish speakers know it. We pretty much scoped out the whole of San Diego before we left though. Well, we did as much as we could do in the short time we were there. We went to the gas lamp district again and gave it a more thorough inspection, hit up Seaport village and Balboa park and also checked out the world famous San Diego Zoo. I only wanted to go and see Marcel the monkey who used to be Ross’s pet in friends, but after of hours roaming around the monkey section, he was no where to be seen. I was actually a little disappointed with the zoo. Don’t get me wrong, you will have to go a long way to see such a diverse collection of animals in one place but there was just something a bit too cramped about it all. It is spread over a huge expanse of land yet the animal enclosures just felt too small for the animals in them. I felt sorry for the animals, as I do in most zoos, but more so for them not being able to stretch out. The bears for example were in these tiny enclosures, even the pandas. I think I noticed it more because only a few weeks ago we were at Auckland zoo were I was impressed with just how big the animal enclosures were. They didn’t cram in too many animals either. At San Diego they had about 10 yakins (buffalo like animals from China) in a space about as big as my old back garden. These were big animals too. I just felt sad for them. For all the animals really. I know zoos do a lot of breeding programs and have brought some species back from the brink of extinction but I just feel that that work should be done away from their exploitation. OK, save the California condor but don’t charge me $35 to watch you do it. I know that without zoos people wouldn’t be able to see such exotic and endangered animals but it just doesn’t sit right with me. Kate didn’t think much of it either but only because they didn’t have penguins!

The weather turned for the worse again the day we left. The storms had passed and for a while we had some sun but yesterday it all went to shit again. Not a problem really as we spent the day in transit. I hadn’t really considered just how much of a problem it is dragging so much gear around. We left our hotel and walked the relatively short 20 minute walk to the Old Town transit centre but when you are lugging nearly 100 lbs of gear it suddenly becomes a nightmare. Kate had to keep stopping because her elbow (?!) was killing her whereas my hands and shoulders felt strained. We got our bus and struggled on with our big cases and ski bags before the usual comments of "What’s in the bag?" or "You going skiing?" from the bus crazies. We caught the greyhound bus which zoomed us away from San Diego north to San Bernadino. Or maybe that should be called San Murder-dino! What a fucking shit hole. We got dropped at the bus terminal in the outskirts of town where we had a supposed 50 minute layover. I headed out of the terminal to check the surrounding neighbourhood for places to eat but I only got to the corner of the block before fearing for my life and going back to what I thought, was the safety of the terminal. It was rough out there. Derelict buildings, graffiti and dodgy looking characters everywhere. I was back at the terminal maybe 5 minutes though before a fight broke out in the mens bathroom. Well, some dude tried to mug some guy. We were sitting chatting when we heard all this shouting and saw two men come crashing out of the mens onto the floor. Some dude was on top of another pounding the crap out of him. I jumped up, much to Kates dismay who thought I was going to go break it up, and went and grabbed the security guard who I had seen outside when I returned to the terminal. He rushed in and tried to grab the mugger but he just smiled this evil ass smile and sprinted out through a door. He chased him but came back 10 minutes later empty handed. The police arrived a few minutes later and gave us all "scum of the earth looks" before taking the muggee for questioning and to identify a guy matching the muggers description that had been picked up a few blocks away. All pretty frickin scary stuff. I just hope they caught the guy. What a dick! I know they say how some people do these things out of sheer desperation but come on, a bus terminal? Had this guy not seen the dregs who ride the bus? Your not exactly gonna bump into Donald Trump are you? The dude who got mugged can’t have had more than ten bucks and lint in his pockets. I had told Kate about the types that travel on the bus here but it was a real eye opener for both of us. We both looked at each other and said "Hire car?"

The rest of the journey went smoothly though and the guy on the bus next to me said it was a California thing and not to expect the rest of the states to be like that. We chatted for a while about travelling and it was quite refreshing to meet an American who had seen the world. You hear so many tales of the huge percentage of yanks who don’t own passports or that so many people die within 20 miles of where they were born but this guy had seen it all. He had been in the navy as a youngster but when he got out he just kept on going. He’d lived in the UK and in Asia but hadn’t been to NZ. He was on his way home to Boston as he had had his work van and all his tools stolen in Santa Barbara (another California thing apparently). He was gonna be on that bus from Tuesday morning until Friday morning! Screw that! The air fare was only $100 more!

We got in to LV late last night as our bus got a bit delayed in all the rain and trouble in San Murder-dino. Again, the trip from the bus terminal to our hotel was fun with all our gear and of course filled with nutters. Some tramp at the bus stop gave us the third degree and another rough women entertained us on the bus with her speech about god. We dumped our gear in the room then headed for a much needed beer in the casino downstairs. Man this place must have a huge lekky bill! Every hotel is strewn with lights and neon and it’s all 24 hours. I’m looking forward to checking out sin city though and maybe even playing a bit of poker. Well, I already won at video poker. We were walking back to the room last night and I couldn’t resist sticking in a dollar. Played one hand, won 8 bucks. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Yeah right, my next blog entry will be hand written on a napkin because I lost the lap top in a game of craps!

Anyway, I will let you know. I’m off to look at hire car prices.

Peace

D

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A Whales vagina?

'Sup Y'all? Howdy from southern California. Finally made it here after our 21 hour adventure. Well, adventure is a gross understatement, HELL is more of an accurate analogy. Getting all our luggage and skis here was about as much fun as having your pubic hair tweezered out whilst squatting over a BBQ whilst sausages are spitting scorching hot fat onto you! What a hassle! I suppose it wasn't too bad as we only had to repack our bags and suitcases 4 times! We arrived in LA to some of the worst weather they have had in years. In some places in California they have had over 20 inches of rain this week! We got drenched on the short 50 yard walk to the station from the bus but luckily by the time we eventually arrived in San Diego, it had stopped. Now for those of you not familiar with the awesome movie 'Anchorman' which is set in San Diego, Will Ferrell explains that San Diego is in fact German and means "A whales vagina." The train journey was awesome as we had gorgeous windswept beaches on one side and awesome clifftop houses on the other. Shame that all the rain had flooded the tracks so the train couldn't go faster than 10 miles per hour at times. We got to our hotel near Old Town and collapsed. It was an exhausting day and i ache like a bee-atch today. Luckily i bought a roll on pain killer today which has been amazing.

The rain continued at times today with some more hail and cold winds. I hadn't expected it to be 10 degrees either! It's flippin freezing! I hadn't expected to feel this cold until we got to Utah but apparently Las Vegas is colder than here! Good thing we have all our winter gear with us. Today we checked out Old Town with all it's pioneer type buildings and old memorabilia from the gold rush days. I knew it was going to be very Mexican here and it doesn't disappoint. I even tucked away a huge chicken burrito for lunch. Kate also had a steak and bean burrito which i assumed was one of the harbingers of the Apocalypse as it will make her farts truly evil - watch out for reports of people mysteriously dying in California on the news. After Old Town we headed downtown and checked out the GasLamp Quarter. It was awesome. So clean and a great mix of old and modern buildings. It used to be the red light district but has been revamped to be a very trendy boutique styled area of the city. We walked miles today which we will have to do to try and counteract the huge amount of calories in the food here. It seems everything is bigger than i remember. I saw a blueberry muffin yesterday which was as big as my head! We are considering doing Atkins while we are here as it's an easy diet to do and a lot of restaurants here cater for it. We shall see as i am quite partial to pancakes. Kate devised a "rhyme diet" today where you only eat foods that rhyme but i can't imagine losing weight on Steak, pancakes, pasta bake and cheesecake! We'll just have to be careful. I intend to run as well while i am here but not til my body clock adjusts, and this weather gets better.

So, we plan to go to the Big Bay whale day tomorrow. It celebrates the annual migration of the Grey Whales along the pacific coasts twice a year. They have lots of whale related paraphernalia and discounted whale watching trips. If the weather is nice that is. We also have San Diego zoo to go to and maybe Seaworld before heading off to Vegas next week.

We of course will let you know more when we have a bit more time and when we are sure that we are not stealing WiFi from our hotel next door, ahem. Better go.

Peace

D

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Sleepless in Seattle? No, Biff-less in Auckland.

So, yesterday was a good day. We finally sold Biff, got upgraded at our hotel and Kate won 2 free bottles of cider! We are Biff-less. Talk about down to the wire eh? We leave NZ in only 2 days. We took Biff to the car fair again at Ellerslie race course on Sunday. We dropped his price as although we got a fair bit of interest the previous week, I was starting to think we wouldn’t ever sell him and would have to drive him up to Whangarei and leave him with Danny and Catherine, which would have been hassle for all of us. This week we got tons of interest, like last week but people seemed to be talking money more. We handed out numbers and exchanged email addresses with people but it was an old boy who showed most interest. He was there selling a 1999 silver Lexus gs400 for $7500! Bargain. He came over and gave Biff a good once over and left me his number. Although we got a lot of interest I called him yesterday morning and told him Biff was still for sale. We drove over to him and he test drove him then offered to buy him. We then had a bit of a hectic morning booking an apartment in the city and unpacking Biff before dropping him off with the old boy. We then got the train back into the city. He offered to drive us in but by this time it was nearly rush hour.

So Biff is gone and I am sad. I have chatted with Kate at how much we will miss him and how, apart from BUPO (my first car – a faded red/orange 1985 Austin Metro) I have never connected and personalised a vehicle so much. Not personalised as in sticking on my own type of wheels or novelty dashboard ornament, but given it a personality. Old vehicles seem to have character though don’t they? I mean we talked to Biff as if he was a friend or a pet. He responded too. He was so much more than just a fancy van with a bed and a kitchen in the back. He was our home and our transport for nearly a year. He was a member of the family and I will miss him. Apart from a few little act ups he was awesome but those little act ups, like wetting himself the first day we bought him or his alternator brushes needing changing in Gisborne were what gave him character. Considering he was 19 years old he could have pretty much fallen to pieces and broken down every 5 minutes but he never once even overheated. He had done over 350,000km! (260,000 miles!) In a country as small as NZ as well. He must have covered near enough every inch of it too. I often would drive over some random bridge in the middle of nowhere and wonder if Biff had already crossed it, or how many hundreds of times he crossed the Auckland harbour bridge? I hope we did show him some places he hadn’t been to before cos he sure as hell showed us some abso-frickin-lutely amazing sights. Getting a campervan seemed such a cliched thing to do here as just about everyone does it but it is an awesome way to see the country. It gives you such freedom but allows inaccessible areas or off the beaten track locations to become reachable. Although free camping is forbidden in places, you could if you want, find an out of the way place to kip for the night, as many people do. Biff made life for us so different from the usual hotel or tent based accommodations. He was comfortable, convenient and most importantly he was dry. No running through the rain to cook in the kitchen, or bang in tent pegs. He kept us warm in the cold and tried his hardest to make the muggy summer nights comfortable. He was just so much more than a van. We will miss you buddy.

We are now in a nice big apartment in the same place we stayed when we first got to NZ. We looked at staying at other hotels but really liked the independence of having an apartment so decided to stay here again. I tried to book a studio apartment online but the website kept crashing so I had to ring them direct. When I called the reservations department they said that there weren’t any studios available but as the website had said there was, we would get a free upgrade to a 1 bedroom place. Sweet! Except that when we checked in they had actually upgraded us to a 2 bedroom apartment! Super sweet! It’s bloody huge, even with all our gear in it.

Last night we painted the town, not quite red but more of a tame pink. My first drink since New Year but we had to send Biff off with a bevy. Kate was excited as she won this text competition to win 2 free bottles of cider. I wonder if I will ever get over her frugalness. When we were packing up Biff I was amazed at just how much of a needless hoarder she is. It just seems nothing is worth throwing away for her. Sigh.

So we have a few free days in Auckland now. Kate is contemplating jumping from the sky tower again or bungy jumping from the harbour bridge whereas I am once again looking at getting some ink done. I still have to do something with my guitar too as I can’t take it to the states with me. I think mostly we will just relax finally and let the prospect of the next leg of our journey sink in. I am super psyched about going to San Diego (It’s Spanish for a whales vagina don’t you know?) then onto Vegas, then Salt Lake city, then San Francisco, then Seattle, then Vancouver and all the delights of Canadian snow across the Rockies.

I have loved New Zealand. A country with such natural beauty and cultural heritage yet has only really been on the map for a brief sneeze of time. Queenstown will always have a place in my heart and i will always have fond memories of the friends I made there. When I got here I thought I would be bungy jumping off everything and sky diving and all that but I haven’t. Some people would see that as a bad thing but for me it just means I have left some things to do if I ever come back. For me it was more about exploring and feeling free, away from the stresses and strains of ‘normal’ life. I wanted to see the real NZ, to get off the well trodden track and go into the wilderness, which I have done. I have covered near enough all of this fair land. Man, I have seen more of NZ in 11 months than I have of the UK in 33 years! Something I may need to address when I get home. So many places to see and such little time.

So all that’s left to say really is goodbye from New Zealand. If anyone out there is wanting to see a truly amazing and stunningly beautiful yet diverse and cultural gifted place, then NZ has to be high on the list. It helps that most people here are only a few generations departed from being just like you. It is very British here but also with strong pacific influences. Not just from Maoris and other islanders but from Asia too. It is so relaxed and chilled out here which fit me so well. Yes it is a country with troubles but from a tourists point of view it is amazing and like no other country I have ever been to. It is as diverse as you get and the thing I like the most is that you can be on a tropical beach or in a rainforest or on a mountain top or hiking along a glacier or in a modern shopping mall all within 100 miles of each other (at the right time of year of course).

To everyone I have met here, be it in Qtown or on the road, thank you for helping make this past year so memorable. Safe travels to you all.

Right well, I’m off to the states. San Diego here I come. I will of course keep you posted.

Peace

D

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anyone wanna buy a camper?

So, no luck with selling Biff yet. I kinda knew that we wouldn’t get much interest over the holidays. People distracted by beaches and presents don’t really think much about buying a clapped out old camper (We love you really Biff!) That said it has changed this week. We are starting to get a lot more interest in him but although we are expressing urgency to sell people seem to be chilled out about it. I guess they are in a strong position, surrounded by a market flooded with campervans and all the time in the world. We on the other hand would prefer to sell him pretty soon as we leave NZ in 10 days! We have had a few people come and see him, including a ex British family who loved him but wanted to keep looking. It would’ve suited them perfectly as Biff is huge and a small family would’ve found him quite adequate. We also got a call from a German couple who had just got off their flight and were keen to look at campers. They didn’t have a car so we drove over to them. They again, loved Biff but wanted to keep looking as he was the first van they had seen. I doubt they’ll buy him. Biff isn’t what I would call a backpackers van. A lot of backpackers, people who don’t mind slumming it or don’t have tons of money seem to go for the smaller older vans with a permanent bed in. We looked at that option but preferred to have a few creature comforts and a bit of space. I’m 6 foot 3 remember?

So I doubt ze Germans will want to but Biff. We have had a few texts and emails asking questions but no one else has arranged a viewing. We took him to the Ellerslie car fair yesterday. It’s a market for selling cars and vans. You just rock up, pay an administration cost and park up. They give you a for sale sign and provide a sellers information sheet and you sit and wait as hundreds of people wander around looking at all the motors. It was amazing and I’m surprised we don’t have something similar at home (maybe we do and I just don’t know about it). You get to see loads of different, well priced cars and vans all in one place. We got quite a bit of interest and gave our numbers out to a few people so we will just have to see if anything comes of it. We plan to go back next week, if we don’t sell him this week of course.

If we can’t sell him, Danny and Catherine have offered to take him until he sells which is a great relief as it means we will get a reasonable price for him instead of panic selling him for less than he is worth. Even if we sell him for what we paid for him we will make money as the exchange rate has plummeted to favour the NZ dollar. We are in a good position where we are not too dependant on the money from the sale for our further travels. Some people we met at the car fair were desperate to sell their cars or vans as they were relying on the money from the sale to keep travelling. For us, we would like the money before we leave just to tie up loose ends and so we don’t have to transfer money from back home which costs us.

We are still here in Auckland and although I have given it a bit of a slating at times, I am actually liking being here. I think it helps being out of the CBD (central business district or Downtown to the rest of us). We have been staying up in Northshore which was lovely and not too far from access into the city centre but our discount run out so we have moved to Avondale. It is the closest campsite to the centre of Auckland and easily one of the cheapest too. It has been a bit tricky planning to do things though with Biff on sale. We were driving out to the Waitekere ranges the other day when ze Germans called so we about turned and goose stepped our way to them instead. It was fine as I am gonna get my mountain fix in a few weeks anyway! Yeah baby, bring on the snow. I hear that the UK has had it’s worst winter in 30 years! Typical that the one person who would’ve been in heaven in all that snow (me) is thousands of miles away in tropical heat. Bloody nightmare. That said in a month or so I will be in Canada in –20 degrees so will probably be pining for the tropical heat again. Nah man, I am a winter person and can’t wait to feel the snow crunch under my north face boots again. It’s gonna be epic. North America is getting dumped on as well as the UK and Mt Washington on Vancouver Island, where we are going for Kates first experience of Canadian snow, already has over 250cm of snow! 2 and a half metres! I can’t wait.

My new years resolutions are going well too. I’ve been running pretty much every other night. Not for great distances as the heat is a problem but just to find my running legs again. Only 9 months until my triathlon though so have to get a move on. I have to beat my old time but am a little concerned that I won’t be able to swim or cycle until I get home in April. Should be plenty of time though to get my fitness up in those areas. I very much doubt I’ll be doing much running in Canada, unless they have gyms with running machines in our hotels, as it’ll be too cold and snowy but I’ll be skiing all the time which is good exercise for the legs. My diet has been awesome too. I think a combination of determination and reluctance to buy food as we are leaving soon has helped. The weight feels like it is falling off but without scales it is difficult to say how much. I feel slimmer already and my clothes are looser. Kate also said I looked slimmer the other day but it might have been due to the clever use of mirrors and lighting. I feel good though. I always do when I am losing weight or training, release of endorphins and all that I suppose.

The only negative (which I since turned into a positive) is work related. Looks like my job on the birth centre has gone so I have to work elsewhere in the hospital after all. Looks like labour ward is my only option. Not ideal as it is the hub of stress and strain but I reckon I can make it work. I have given myself an ultimatum though that if after a few months it isn’t working out I will look elsewhere for work. Maybe something outside of London, or even outside the UK. Who knows.

It’s amazing how life goes isn’t it? This time last week I felt snowed under with burden yet this week it has been refreshing and the feelings of dread have lifted as i have realised that no matter what happens, everything is going to be OK. I have looked back at the truly horrible things that have happened in my life and in comparison, those burdens were more like annoyances than actual problems. It’s true though eh? Sometimes we worry about stuff that in comparison to real problems, isn’t actually worth getting worked up about. In the words of the great John Mayer "When I find out what it REALLY is, I’ll worry about it. Don’t be scared about next Tuesday cos Tuesday hasn’t happened yet."

So keep your fingers crossed we sell the Biffatron 3000, as we sometimes call him, but if there is someone else who needs your thoughts or love, give it to them instead as we are actually OK. I will keep you updated.

Peace

D

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HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL

So first things first, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Holy shit, where the fuck did the last ten years go? I remember the millennium as if it was only 5 years ago, not ten. Blimey, nothing like a new year to make you feel old. For me, new years have always been a time of reflection. Well, to be honest, from my birthday in late November until that first week of the new year I am always reflective. Inwardly critiquing myself and the past year. It’s amazing how different I feel about myself and everything I do now then I did 10 years ago. So much has happened in that time. Ten years ago I was finishing my degree and embarking on a career path with all the enthusiasm of a man with the world at his feet. I had ideas of owning a home and maybe even starting a family.

This year my goals are so much different, in fact they are almost the reverse of my goals from that distant past. I love my job but at this moment in time the prospect of going back into the same chaotic work force is filling me with dread. I had to email my new boss this week and inform her that I am finishing my work break 3 months earlier than planned. It was hard to do. I mean there are all the stresses and strains of working but with an extra 3 months off and money in the bank, the urge to continue travelling is gnawing at my soul. To carry on this lifestyle would be a dream come true. Anyone who has spent a prolonged period travelling will relate to this. Yes, it sucks being away from loved ones but the freedom you experience and the amazing people you meet is something very hard to give up.

I am worried I will not be able to go back into the role I had before I left work. The NHS is a needy mistress and I may be required in other departments. I could do the work standing on my head whilst simultaneously cupping my balls, it’s not a problem. The problem arises from the stress these other departments inflict. I am known as a very amicable, easy going character at work and that’s mainly due to the fact I don’t get stressed. If I were say, to go back to labour ward I think I wouldn’t be so laid back. Who knows? I may well be worrying over nothing but the thought of looking elsewhere for work has creeped into the back of my mind just in case. I have always been a firm believer of doing a job you love. If I fall out of love with it for whatever reason, it’s going.

Hell, if it gets really bad at work I could always get a job in Tesco just until I get enough money together to hit the road again. Living in a van for the best part of a year has shown to me that I can survive on pretty much nothing. I have rotated the same 4 t shirts for the past 6 months! I have washed them of course but I have a wardrobe full of clothes I never wear. The salvation army have had some pretty nice donations from me already but what the hell do I need all these clothes for at the moment?

So we started the new year in Whakatane (pronounced Fuckatanay which always made me giggle – so immature). We left the Coromandel just after christmas. It was a really pretty part of the country. Especially Cathedral cove which is an amazing secluded beach. It’s called cathedral cove because of this huge natural arch which separates the 2 beaches there. It is pretty isolated and completely enclosed by high white cliffs. It has awesome pohutakowa trees growing over the beach providing shade and giving it a real tropical feel. It was about an hours walk to get to the beach though which Kate gave up on half way. She was sun burnt from the previous day, had no sun screen on and it was frickin scorching. That and she is so unfit! So I did the walk myself and found the 140 steps back up from the beach a bit of a struggle but it was well worth it. Got some pictures but they no way do it justice. I suggest googleing it.

We also went to hot water beach but as we had already dug ourselves a sandy hot tub back in Kawhia all those months ago, we just watched. It was way too hot for us on the beach so we headed for shade and the safety of Biff.

The drive to Whakatane was pretty cool and we even passed through a town called Katikati (pronounced Katie katie we assumed). It was definitely a town for Kate since it had massive traffic jams due to loads of people who couldn’t park! Just like Kate.

We spent the new year just outside Whakatane at Ohope beach. It was nice except it seemed everyone in New Zealand with a tent descended to our campsite. No lie, it looked like a shanty town! The christmas and new year break is a big deal over here. Half the country shuts down and, due to it being summer, heads to the beach. Whakatane is one of the sunniest places in NZ so was bound to attract plenty of sun worshipers. We on the other hand stayed out of the sun. Somehow though Kate managed to get burnt sitting in the shade of Biffs retractable awning! I swear I am married to a vampire sometimes. Meanwhile Kate sits opposite me smothered in aftersun with a bright red head!

We have since departed Whakatane and headed north back to Auckland. We will probably hang around here now for the duration of our stay which is only 3 more weeks! Jeez, that is depressing. No, we need to sell Biff and Auckland is probably the best place. We are outside the main city in Northshore. It’s a leafy suburb with some amazing Asian markets. We have fallen back in love with Japanese food again which is gonna help the ever expanding waistline and the annual new year resolution to loose more weight. That said I just crammed in 2 and a half steamed spicy lamb buns. Oh how I have missed steamed buns since we left Japan.

Being in Auckland has it’s benefits I guess. We got to watch Avatar again but in 3D this time which nearly blew my cock off! How good is that movie? Answer, pretty damn good! It is getting lots of attention here as it is heavily associated with New Zealand. They have the most amazing special effects company here. Just look at Lord of the rings, King Kong and of course Avatar for examples.

We have also been doing a few things we missed last time we were here like Kelly Taltons Aquarium. It was OK I suppose but had emperor penguins so we couldn’t not go. I got a bit sad actually watching a huge turtle flailing around in its tank. Not sure an animal as nomadic and migratory as a turtle should be in a tank, especially as they live for so long too.

So I am all over the place mentally at the moment. Gutted about leaving NZ but excited at the same time about our onward travels. Pensive over last year and determined to make this new year special. Apprehensive about going back to work but desperate to come home to see my family. And then there are the fireworks going off in my mind which is the excitement about my sisters wedding in October.

I hope you all had constructive 2009s. I am proud to say 2009 has been probably the best year of my life for so many reasons and yet I still have so much more to do. I guess I just need to focus on that at the moment and let all the other stuff sort itself out. Happy new year guys. Make the most of it.

Peace

D

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Ho ho ho Mo Fo's!

So we have managed to finally get away from Whangarei. That sounds horrible as it was bliss being at Danny and Catherines with their huge comfy bed, sky TV and big bath tub. Biff is sorted. He went in for his rust repairs and Danny and myself tidied up the body work after he had been welded. Seems I’m a bit of an amateur panel beater. We bogged (filled) in all the rough edges, sanded him down then spray painted him and coined the phrase "bog and blend" which we have been saying to everything (Kate saw a burnt out car the other day and reckoned it’d be fine after a bit of bog and blend!). We were up until midnight to get it all done before Catherines parents arrived for Christmas but it was worth it. So originally we got quoted $2500 to get him fixed but in the end it cost us just $250! Really made up as he now has his WOF (warrant of fitness) for another 6 months and after we sell him he is someone else’s problem.

Best thing though about being in Whangarei was that they have the best Dominos pizza in NZ. They won some award so we had to give it a go. We ordered 4 pizzas online plus some little pastries for pudding. When they delivered them they had forgotten Kates pizza and hadn’t given us any extra cheese on them. Kate rang to complain so they sent us the whole order again! We sat down to 7 pizzas and 2 boxes of pastries. Danny somehow crammed in both his pizzas while the rest of us had them for breakfast and lunch the next day. Result eh?

Kate will probably argue that the best thing about Whangarei was the fact that she got asked for I.D when we bought some thank you beers for Danny. It totally made her day as you can imagine. I remember the last time I got I.D’d and it does make you feel very special for that split second until you give them your I.D and they realise that you are actually over 30!

We left Whangarei then headed north to Kerikeri, so good they named it twice. Totally true as well as the town was beautiful. Quite modern looking too. The far north of NZ is quite long and thin with the land between the Tasman sea and the Pacific ocean sometimes only 10km away from each other. It is also a very spiritual place for it is believed that Cape Reinga at the northern tip is where Maori spirits depart for the underworld. In Maori legend their spirits walk up 90 mile beach on the west coast, past through Matapia, which is a huge hole in the rock of an off shore island. Then to an ancient Pohutakowa tree at Cape Reinga where they pass through the roots of the tree into the sea and travel back to Hawikie, which is the Polynesian island that the Maori people originate from. Amazingly, the pohutakowa tree is still there and spookily has never ever flowered. We got a bus tour up 90 mile beach (which is actually about 60 miles long) and saw the hole in the rock too. As we got to the northern tip of the beach we all got out and climbed these enormous sand dunes with boogie boards to go dune surfing. I made it to the top of one dune and nearly collapsed! I don’t know what happened. I thought I was having an asthma attack and a hypoglycaemic episode all at once. I waited for it to pass but it never so I crawled over to the edge of the dune and threw myself off on my board. I got to the bottom and staggered over to the bus feeling very faint. Kate kept an eye on me as I slumped against the coach. I felt a little better after a banana and some water but it was a good hour before I was right again. It was bizarre! I joked that it was because I was so unfit but I don’t know what it was and don’t care to experience it again.

On the bus route we stopped at the ancient Kauri kingdom workshop. Basically the Kauri tree is the second largest tree in the world. Thousands of years ago, before all the deforestation that the europeans carried out, loads of Kauri trees were mysteriously felled. They’re not sure why but think it may have been some sort of huge tsunami. These felled trees were absorbed into the ground as they were so heavy and some were covered in swamps. These trees are still being found totally preserved even though they are around 30-45,000 years old! They make furniture out of them so I had high hopes of getting a box for my brother. Alas, the biggest box was a cigar box made from 45,000 year old wood. It would’ve been an awesome final resting place for my brother but I guess I’ll have to keep looking. Sigh.

So we left Kerikeri yesterday and drove back south to the Coramandel peninsula. It was a massive 400km trek and brought our 2-day total of travelling to 1000km! We drove along the Pohutakowa coast and numerous blooming trees before arriving in the town of Coramandel. We are right next to the beach and the sunsets have been stunning so far.

As I write this it is Christmas day and it feels so strange being in the sunshine listening to Xmas songs on the laptop and being so far away from my family. I got a text from my little sister who reminded me that this is her first Christmas without seeing me. It made me quite sad but I have made this choice to travel and although the things I have seen and done this past year will never make up for missing a family Christmas, I am still content. I’ll ring my family tonight and wish them all a merry Christmas but words can not purvey just how much I am missing them. Christmas is such a family time and I can honestly say I don’t intend to spend another one away from them in the near future. It is scorching today here and by 9.30am it was already 25 degrees. There is not a cloud in the sky either but I’m a winter kind of guy so give me cold and snow at Christmas any day. The fact that the UK has had loads of snow too is sitting rather ill with me and I am supremely jealous! That said, in a few weeks I will be up to my waist in sweet fluffy powder. Oh yeah!

We have finally booked the finishing touches to our homeward travels too this week. We leave NZ on my mums birthday which is less than a month away now. From here we head to Los Angeles. L.A. is not my most favourite American city so when we arrive we head straight to San Diego for 5 days. It’ll be nice to relax and scout out the city and maybe go on a whale watching cruise or something. From there we bus it to Las Vegas in Nevada for a week. Quite a long time to spend in sin city but we hope to go to the Grand canyon too. I wonder if they have any poker in Vegas? I’m sure we will see how we do. From Vegas we head to Salt Lake city in Utah. Salt lake city has some of the best skiing in the states and a ton of resorts so we are there for 10 days. I have a lot of friends working there too which I used to work with at Coronet so might see if we can meet. From Utah we head off to Reno for some more gambling then onto San Francisco which is one of my favourite places. We are there for a week before heading up the coast to Seattle for a few days. After that we head into Canada and to Vancouver Island for a while. We are going for more skiing and more whale watching before heading back over to Vancouver for our wedding Anniversary. From there we have a car which we’ll drive through the rockies to something like 10 ski resorts before getting to Calgary. We finally fly home in April from Edmonton and that will be that. In all I think we are in North America for nearly 3 months. I am so looking forward to it too. I can’t wait to get back on my skis but also want to show Kate so many of my favourite places.

Anyway, Kate is cooking our Christmas dinner of Moroccan chicken and cous cous. We thought about a BBQ but it just seems such a cliched thing to do while we are here, plus we had so many BBQ’s in Whangarei. Thank you all for your messages of encouragement for Biff, he is back in our good books, hopefully for the rest of our time here.

Merry Christmas to you all from the sun kissed beaches of New Zealand. I would swap it for the cold and snow of home in a heartbeat though. I miss you all so much. HO HO HO MO FO’s!!

Peace

D

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Biff issues

So, another eventful week has passed here. We are currently back up with Danny and Catherine in Whangarei. It is so nice to be in a proper bed, have a nice bath and be with our friends again. Rotorua was fun, once you got over the stench of eggs, or "iggs" as they are pronounced here. The campsite we stayed in had a cool swimming pool which, for once wasn't over run by annoying squealing children which meant we could have a relaxing swim in the summer sun. Kate of course got burnt, but managed to even up the sun burn on her chest so she no longer has just one burnt boob. We did quite a lot in our few days we spent in Rotorua. We went to Te Puia which is a large Moari run geothermal park. It was huge and we traipsed around the boiling mudpools and geysers in the hot sun. They also had a wood carving studio there and i was hopeful of finally getting a nice carved box for my brother to settle into. However the boxes were all too small. I have seen one i like but it's way too small. We have looked all over NZ and have seen some amazingly intricately carved tribal style boxes, but every single one is only jewellery box sized. The hunt continues.

We went zorbing too as Rotorua is the only place in NZ that does it. For the uneducated, a zorb is a huge inflatable ball within an even bigger inflatable ball. Basically you climb ino the inner ball and they roll you down the side of a hill. It was awesome. We hydro zorbed which meant they filled the inner ball with a bit of warm water, then rolled you down the hill. We did the zig zag track too just to proper mess ourselves up. Kate went first and i could hear her squeals and laughs as she hurtled down the track. When it came to my try i of course embarrassed myself. The way you get into a zorb is through a little porthole which you have to run then dive into. On doing this i managed to dive into the zorb in one swift movement but managed to hook my swimming shorts as i dived in. This meant that as i landed in the inner ball of the zorb my shorts were around my ankles! Very graceful but unfortunately quite nude. I apologised to the poor maori dude who was helping but he was already running off clutching his face in pain and screaming something about how his eyes felt like they now had herpes! Oops. So i jumped up and like some sort of huge hamster, rolled my ball onto the track before being thrown around and drenched as it rolled off down the hillside. I imagine it is similar to a cross between a bouncy castle and being in a washing machine. I made it to the bottom were you are ceremoniously "birthed" out of the zorb. They unzip the porthole and you slide out of with all the water. It totally looked like the zorb has just given birth to a wet, disorientated 6 foot baby! Awesome fun though and quite cheap by NZ standards. Definitely something i recommend.

We also went to a Maori evening with the local Mitai tribe. They show you life in an old Maori village and some of their customs, before being greeted by a huge war canoe full of kitted out warriors. You then have a big meal that is cooked in the ground called a 'hangi' When we went outside to see the hangi being unveiled our guide asked us what it was. We all shouted back "hangi!" She then asked if we could smell it? To which one dumb American tourist behind me smugly shouted "H-A-N-G-I" I of course turned and informed her that she said smell, not spell. Her partner also told her this and she then went on to admit that she had never been so embarrassed. I of course found it all hilarious. Our guide, who was this huge tattooed Maori women then led us into a big hall and we had dinner. It was well nice and i stuffed my face with lamb, chicken, kumara and stuffing. I decided that it was gonna be the closest thing we are going to have to a Christmas dinner this year.

I also noticed the similarities between the big tattooed Maori lady and my mum. Maybe there is some Maori blood in us mum? I mean, you are pretty big (tall not fat), you cook an awesome roast and you have tattoos. Hmmm , something to ponder. Any good with a spear?

We also spent some time in the Polynesian spa that they have down by the lake. All the geothermal phenomenon around make it an awesome setting for spas and the Polynesian spa is rated among the top ten in the world. I just sat in the various eggy hot pools while Kate when for a mud polish or something like that. Basically we left very relaxed but stunk of eggs for a few days as it had permeated our skin.

We then headed north and stayed the night in Takapuna beach which is just north of Auckland. It felt very weird driving back through Auckland. I initially liked the place but on further travels around NZ you get to see just how everyone else here loathes it and the people who live there. They are affectionaltely called JAFFAs which stands for "Just another fucking friendly Aucklander" and relates to how Aucklanders are very demanding and unfriendly. Well, only by NZ standards. I guess it's the same with every big city in the world though but you don't want to be a JAFFA in New Zealand. Same as back home really were the term means you are unable to produce children.

Takapuna beach was nice though and we strolled along the golden sand, explored rock pools and i sat in the shade of the pehoutakowa (not sure on that spelling) trees and played my guitar to the waves. It was extremely relaxing. Pehoutakowa trees are also called Christmas trees as they bloom around now and have very vibrant red flowers. I guess that from a distance and with a little imagination, they kinda look like baubles too i guess.

So we are now in Whangarei again. We got here the other day and took Biff to get his WOF. He of course failed. He has a rough wheel bearing which isn't a big deal to sort but also has a lot of new rust from our days at the sea side. The rust failed him big time so we are having to get that sorted. Danny has hooked us up with some dodgy panel beater who reckons he can do it on the cheap for us. So we are without Biff for the weekend but Danny and Catherine have lent us one of their 3 cars. We went to the park the other day to kill a bit of time and i ended up saving a stranded dachshund from a stream! We were walking back to the car park when we heard this man cry out. I went to investigate and saw this elderly gent on his knees trying to get into the stream. I asked him if he was alright but he was clearly distressed. I went over and noticed his tubby little sausage dog had fallen into the stream and due to the steep banks was stuck. I jumped over the stream and crouched down to lift the poor wet dog out for the old guy. He was very appreciative and said he had a dodgy heart and feared he'd have lost his dog. I watched him for a while just to make sure he didn't keel over from the stress but he was fine and i walked back over to Kate. She was more interested in laughing at how i had jumped off a little ledge to go help the old guy and had slipped over and fell. She can be so immature sometimes! I saved a bloody dog! I felt a bit better about myself and even forgot about Biff for a split second. I'm sure he will be fine but it is just a huge pain in the arse for us. It means our 3 days stopover with Danny and Cat is now looking more like a week. They are cool about it all but i don't want to put them out. Danny has already spent time taking Biff apart to see if we could get away with just cleaning up and re greasing his dodgy bearing. They seem to be fine with it though.

It was Catherines birthday the other day so we went up toward Tutukaka and to a nice secluded beach called Sandy bay. It was awesome to be on the beach but sheltered by the huge pehoutakowa trees. Kate didn't even get burnt! I amused myself by making a sand sculpture of a stingray and a dolphin which both came out better than i expected. We then went to Woolleys bay again, the site of our body boarding exploits from our previous visit. We decided to stay in the car this time though as it was getting cold. Danny and Catherine braved the sea while we watched from the warmth of the car. I got involved in my ipod while Kate got distracted by a dog which meant we failed to notice both Danny and Catherine get caught in a riptide and dragged out to sea! They weren't dragged out too far and made it back OK so no harm done eh? Oops.

So we are here for a few more days then might head to the northern tip of NZ before heading back to the Coromendal peninsula for new year. We want to be in close proximity to Auckland so we can try and sell Biff. That is unless he fails his WOF again and i drive him off a bloody cliff!

Peace

D

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