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Rainbow Beach

When we got to Rainbow Beach we parked outside Dingo’s hostel and it ended up being a huge piss up. We played Dingo Bingo and it all got a little out of hand… Christie won the bingo and got a $50 bar tab, a kayak with dolphins and a private room for the night! So unfair.

The next day I was pretty hungover and when I woke up in Fran it was so hot. We attempted to tan all day but it kept periodically raining – we should really stop being surprised at the weather. The day passed quite quickly and we had our safety briefing for Fraser Island in the evening and met our group. We also got to sleep in a hostel room that night which we were so looking forward to!

Fraser Island

Okay so sleeping in an actual bed was not as lush as I’d thought it would be. I was so so knackered that I went to bed at 10pm but these girls were repacking their bags with about a million different plastic bags – you know what fair enough, do it at night so that you don’t wake someone up in the morning. BUT at 5:30am they 1. snooze their alarms a million time AND 2. re-pack their bags all over again! They also turned on the main light – now that’ juts bad hostel etiquette. We had to get up for Fraser Island at 6:45am and it’s safe to say that I didn’t get back to sleep after those girls woke me up.

On a happier note, Fraser Island was amazing. Definitely my favourite part of the trip so far. We did the 2 night/3 day tag-along tour with Dingos. This involves driving a 4×4 behind a lead driver over beaches, in the sea and through jungles. Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world – now that doesn’t sound that impressive until you realise that its covered in rainforest (how on earth do trees grow in sand!?), it has loads of beautiful lakes – the most famous one being the perched Lake McKenzie and is home to a huge variety of animals, the top of the food chain being the Dingos themselves.

Our lead driver was a guy called Geoff and he absolutely made the trip for us. He was such good laugh. When you set off from the Dingo’s hostel on the mainland, you get given all your food and drink for the next 3 days (you camp at the Dingo’s campsite on the Island), you also get given all the alcohol you had pre-ordered in the previous evening’s safety briefing. As usual, we really outdid ourselves with our car being the only one to have an extra crate of alcohol because we couldn’t fit it all in the cool box. You’re only allowed to bring a small bag of clothes and things with you so we cramed that all in the car and set off!

You get a small ferry across to the Island and then boom, beach/sand driving from there on out. So, I’ve never driven a 4×4 before and in fact, I hadn’t driven a manual car in months. They also have a rule here where you have to park it in 1st gear so obviously everyone keep forgetting and starting the car, lurching forward and then rolling back down hills – when Christie did it I was in the front with her, both of us freaking out and me pulling on the hand-break with two hands, with our guide laughing at us from the other car.

We were actually put in Group 1 with 3 other boys; two French brothers called Jean and Pierre (you couldn’t make it up), and a German called Max. They were all lovely and we had such a good time with them. Being in group 1 meant we were actually in Geoff’s car – it was a bit annoying as we couldn’t drive the lead car, but we did get swapped out with group 2 halfway through the first day; they only had 2 drivers (you have to have a manual license and be over 21), while we had 5.

Driving along a beach is a pretty surreal experience, it was so beautiful. Our first stop was lunch which was wraps with some form of meat (we had the same lunch every day). But I’ll tell you what, they definitely don’t let you go hungry – there was SO much food! After lunch we got swapped with Group 2 and Riss was the first to drive. She did amazingly well and made it look so easy! The non-road roads were obviously pure sand and she was driving through pretty tough jungle terrain. I was very impressed. Next, we headed to Lake McKenzie. This is the picturesque lake that everyone imagines when they think of Fraser Island. Lake McKenzie is a perched lake, which means it sits above the water table. This, in turn, means that the whole lake is actually rainwater which is pretty cool in itself. Fraser Island also had hardly any air pollution so the rainwater is actually so pure – your not allowed to go in if you’ve just put suncream on as it would just pollute the lake. What does go in the lake, however, is all the tea tree oils from the surrounding forest so the water is actually really good for your skin! The lake is freezing and it wasn’t particularly hot that day but the whole group got in for a swim.

After Lake McKenzie Christie was in the driver’s seat. This was when we had the rolling back experience. There is also an aux in the car so those poor European boys had to listen to our tunes for 3 days straight! (we were loving it obviously). I won’t lie, after Christie’s driving, she made me a bit nervous to drive! I thought it would be easy but after seeing her I was thinking otherwise!

After Christie it was my turn – I definitely stalled the car a few times getting it going (how do you use a clutch again!?) but I got the hang of it eventually. What wasn’t ideal (although it turned out to be great fun) was that we were running a bit late and therefore the tide had come in a lot more than was anticipating or what they would usually get people to drive through! One of the main rules is to never drive in salt water unless you absolutely have to because it can damage the car. When I was driving you had to anticipate the waves and quickly get around rocks and over sand dunes before the wave could come in and hit you! At one point the sea was halfway up the car! The most tricky part of the drive was a huge hill, about 45 degrees of soft sand. You just had to put it in first gear and hope for the best! I’ll admit I was pretty proud of my driving when we finally made it to the campsite. Geoff even said we did a good job – go me.

The Dingo’s campsite is pretty cool, you really are in tents but there are bonfires, kitchens and even a small club! I mean, by a club I mean a room with lights, speakers and an aux cable but we still ended up there every night!

The first night was hysterical. You cook in your groups and they give you all the food and the instructions. We had stir fry that night and it worked great as we cooked and the 3 boys cleaned. Next came the drinking – the bottle of gin got finished within the hour but not to fret! We still had 30 ciders, 10 beers and 8L of goon.

We all went down to the beach, dingo sticks in hand (yes these are a real thing!). If a dingo starts getting close you have to fight it off with a stick! Very unlikely in a big group but we all had our sticks just in case. We went down to the beach to see the stars. And OMG. I have never seen stars like it. You could see the WHOLE milky way, the stars covered the whole sky – it was like being in a planetarium. You could also see mars – it was very red, Jupiter was amazingly bright and you could even see Venus in the distance. It’s hard to explain how truly breathtaking the sight was, it was actually a little emotional! I would a million per cent recommend going to Fraser just to see the night sky.

Obviously not my photo but this is really what the sky looked like. It was amazing.

After a lot of fun in the ‘club’ Gabby and I were sat in my tent forcing malteasers down us. One of the rules is to not have food in your tents because it attracted animals. Gabby (who was absolutely terrified of dingos) was adamant that we had to eat every last one to keep them away. We were so full and didn’t even want and I felt so sick but we just kept eating… one after another… until the dingos couldn’t get us.

The next day we were all a little bit hungover but not as bad as we should have been! We all had to do a breathalyser before we could drive and Riss was the only one over the limit out in the entire campsite. First, we drove to Indian Head Lookout which has 360-degree views of Fraser Island and the ocean, it supposed to be the perfect place to spot whales, dolphins and sharks but we didn’t see any. We really cannot complain though, we saw so many whales while driving along the beach, it was so cool. I’d never seen a whale before! Geoff would be driving and would simultaneously be able to spot the plume of water a whale shoots up, quite impressive.

Next we visited the Champagne Pools. As the ocean’s tide comes in over this collection of rocks, shallow pools of water are created, almost like a natural jacuzzi (although the temperatures aren’t comparable). After a quick lunch back at camp, we filled up the cars with beers and ciders and headed to Eli Creek.

Eli Creek is a beautiful stream amongst towering trees. The fresh water pours into the sea from a natural spring and it is said to be some of the purest water on earth because they estimate it takes 200 years to filter through the sand before it reaches the surface! We went tubing along it and then played beach volleyball with some beers watching the sun go down. A pretty spectacular day all around.

On our way back to camp we stopped off at the Maheno shipwreck. Maheno means island in Maori (native New Zealanders). Originally built in Scotland, the ship was used as an ocean liner that travelled between New Zealand and Australia. In 1936 the ship washed up on shore due to a cyclone and soon became an iconic part of Fraser Island. There isn’t much of the ship left to see due to erosion, plus In WW1 Fraser island because a SAS training ground and they blew a lot of it up.

Naturally, that night we got drunk again. We weren’t nearly as hammered as the night before but still had a great time nonetheless. I was pretty impressed but we managed to finish every drop of alcohol we had brought (which was no mean feat!)

For the second day in a row I was hungover and for some reason, I was a lot more hungover this day than the previous! (probably a 2 day hang). We only made one stop before heading back on the ferry to the mainland and that was to Lake Wabby. Lake Wabby is an emerald green lake sat in the sand dunes. The colour is quite striking and even though the trek up and down the sand dunes and through the forest to get there was not easy on the hang (it takes about 45 mins each way), it was so worth it for a dip in this lake.

It was safe to say we were pretty gutted that we were back in Rainbow Beach after such an amazing weekend. However, Geoff was not going to let us off lightly! We all headed to the hostel bar and Geoff was kind enough to buy us jugs of beer and cider. He said we’d been one of the most fun groups he’d had in ages and want to thank us for it – it was really sweet. So shout out to Geoff, and our whole group for making our trip so memorable!

Rainbow Beach

So, obviously, after Fraser Island, we were all completely knackered. I was tucked up in my hostel bed by 10pm and passed out hard. However, I woke up in the night to hear a very drunk guy snoring but the snoring was coming and going to I managed to get back to sleep okay. At around 7am I woke up to see Christie on the bed opposite me, white in the face, staring at me and mouthing ‘look at your phone!!’ I opened up my message to find out that the snorer had come back blackout drunk, had PISSED ON HIS BED THINKING IT WAS THE LOO, then realised what he’d done and got into bed with this girlfriend. The reason the snoring was starting and stopping was that she would hit him every time it started – the whole room stank of piss. I felt quite bad for the girlfriend, to be honest, she had no idea what had happened until Christie mentioned it the next morning. God, don’t you just love hostels?

Thankfully we had something pretty cool to look forward to after the piss incident, we were going sea kayaking. This the kayak that Christie won during Dingo Bingo but we agreed to chip in $30 towards my trip so that she didn’t have to go alone. The tour is taken by these two quintessentially Aussie blokes and in the end, Christie and I ended up getting split up because two people need to go with the guides – typical! In the end, I’m so glad we were with the guides, I really didn’t have to paddle at all and they were so good at spotting all the animals (they also seemed a lot more invested in seeing the animals themselves than helping the group see them – oops!). The best thing we saw was probably the manta ray, it was HUGE and came right up to the kayak – it was really amazing to see. We also saw dolphins, turtles, a sting ray, a load of fish and even a little crab that had somehow got lost and ended up out in the ocean!

That evening we drove to Hervey Bay and parked up next to two English girls (Alex and her sister Libby) we get on Fraser as well as their van, now called Stan aka Franny’s boyfriend.

Newcastle

It took us an amazing amount of time to drive the 2-hour drive from Sydney to Newcastle. Manoeuvring Franny is no small feat! She’s a wee bit temperamental and hates going up hills.

When we pulled up to Jacko’s (Christie’s friend’s) house, we were greeted by a huge amount of pointing and laughing by Jacko and all of his mates. We looked so ridiculous in our huge fluorescent green campervan pulling up to this house full of labourers. Jacko and all of his friends were really lovely and made us feel very welcome. We had a few drinks that evening but passed out by 10pm. Jacko was working the night shift so Christie and I got to sleep in his bed while the other two braved Franny for the first night.

Jacko’s house was an interesting experience, they had huge decks and speakers but failed to have a kitchen table. Instead, they had a pingpong table with various Disney characters on different drugs drawn across it. I can’t say it the life I’d particularly want to lead but they can surf and skate and host parties (I guess not dinner parties) so I guess that counts for something.

The next day Jacko took us on his world famous tour of Newcastle. Even though I can’t say I felt 100% safe in his car as we spun around the corners of the small and one way streets, he did manage to give us quite a comprehensive tour. He took us to a natural swimming pool created by the waves crashing over rock edge called the Bogey Hole, after that he gave us a quick wizz around the city and the port in the car. Following that, we lay on Newcastle beach for an hour or so but it wasn’t very sunny so it was wishful thinking, to say the least. Our final stop on the tour was to Blackbutt reserve to see some birds and koalas! Jacko nearly got nipped by a bird as he tried to coheres it onto his hand. We had lunch at a nice spot called The Edwards, I had the brisket sandwich and it was just what the doctor ordered. That evening ended up quite funny when we all started getting on the beers quite early and a load ion Jackos friends came round. Even though it was quite a large night we started drinking at lunchtime so by 10 we were knackered! All of us apart from Christie slept in the van, I slept on the top bed and it was very claustrophobic. It’s so dark that you feel so disorientated!

The next morning we left quite early and headed to Coffs Harbour.

Coffs Harbour

We chose to stay at Coffs Harbour purely because it was on the way to Byron Bay. We stopped off at a stunning little spot called Seal Rocks. This small secluded beach was so lovely and we really wished we could have camped here but we needed to get further up the coast. By the time we got to Coffs Harbour, it was dark and we had no idea where to park Franny. We ended up sneaking into a camping ground without paying and managed to cook dinner, get the van set up and get ready for bed before we got kicked out. After that we ended up just parking on the street in the first free parking area we could find. It was an omen of what was to come – sleeping on the street like Gypsies!

When I awoke the next morning to see a man walking his dog outside, I promptly got the rest of the girls up and got out of there. We were literally outside someone’s house!

Christie drove us to the nearest Mcdonalds were we really did look like homeless people as we all piled in to brush our teeth and have baby wipe showers in the loos. Once we were as clean as we’d ever been, we jumped back in Franny and headed up to Byron Bay.

Byron Bay

While in Byron we stayed at a hostel called The Arts Factory (this is where the Inbetweeners stayed in their second movie!). This hostel is really stoner-hippie vibe which really isn’t us at all. Even though we stayed in their car park for 3 nights we managed to only pay for 2 nights and only for 2 people! Now, this hostel was super cool and we were the opposite of it with Franny! When we drove in we saw all these cool campers with people who had been living there for months and we rock up in our bright green van with the slogan ‘The glass is half full and the other half was delicious!’ Written on the side. Safe to say I was very glad Christie was the one in the driver’s seat.

After getting set up at the hostel we went to the beach for a couple of hours, we were so desperate to get a tan! Although it wasn’t super hot we did get to see some dolphins! There was a load of surfers who panicked at the sight of a fin  but it turned out to be some friendly dolphins only 20m out and not terrifying Great Whites. That evening we had some goon in the hostel but called it quite early – I don’t know what it is about Fran but we are knackered by 10pm every night.

The next morning Christie and Riss went to get their hair done (god we are so terrible at being backpackers) while Gabby and I tried to get some beach time in. I think we were on the beach for about 40minutes before it started to rain! We ended up just chilling in Fran for the rest of the afternoon – there really isn’t much to do in Byron when it’s raining and you have no money.

When the others were back we had some goon and made sushi in the hostel, people were very impressed with the sushi gun Christie’s family had left us to use!

On our last full day in Byron, we woke up super early to go and see the lighthouse at sunrise. Of course, it was bloody cloudy and cold! Even though we didn’t get to see the full sunrise we got some nice photos so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. The rest of the day was spent on the beach, living for the short, cloudless moments.

That evening we went to Miss Margarita for dinner & drinks which was such a treat! After that, we went to a bar called The Rails. We had a bag of goon in Christie’s grotty sack so just bought 1 bottle between us and then filled it up each time! God, we are cheap. The bar had live music and we played pool. Gabby and Riss went home at 9 because they were so drunk – how funny.

Miss Margarita herself

After the other two had bailed, Christie and I headed to a bar called The Northern. We were so tired so we wanted a shot to pick us up, however, because of the stupid drinking laws in Byron they cant sell shots. What we had to end up getting was a shot of jäger with a whole can of Red Bull. We had 2 each! We then went to both the clubs we’d been recommended in Bryon – Cheeky Monkeys for shit tunes and the supposedly edgy one called Woody’s. Both of them were pretty terrible if I’m honest but we had a good laugh anyway! On the way home, we got pizza and Christie nearly got into a fight with some guy at the pizza place! I then fell on the way home and completely fucked up my elbow – some hippies also pointed and laughed at me which I thought was a bit mean.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around we were very ready to get out of the Arts Factory. So many people say that Byron is their favourite place on the East Coast and I’d imagine if the weather had been better we would have loved it too, but it was just a bit too stoner/hippie for us (especially in the rain!). We left the hostel (and we got away with only paying for 2 people for 1 night so pretty good seeing as 4 of us stayed for 3) and went to Wategos beach, another beach in Byron near the lighthouse. It was such a nice secluded beach but obviously, after 10 minutes of attempted tanning, it started to rain!

Next, we drove to probably the most stunning beach I have been to in my entire life called Wooyoung. We arrived and we were the only people on the beach which stretched for miles in either direction. It was covered in fine white sand and about 20m out there must have been a huge dip in the sea floor as it created almost a pool of shallow flat water at the front and then just behind were roaring huge waves. We could have stayed there all day – we had lunch on our camping chairs and tables on the beach but then guess what? It started to rain!!

By this point I had admitted defeat – I refuse to sit on a beach in the rain no matter how beautiful it is! We packed up Fran again and decided to head inland an hour to the famous weed capital of Australia – Nimbin.

Now Nimbin is a bizarre little town in the hills of Eastern Queensland. The whole place boasts a strong aroma of weed 24/7 with many hemp and smoke shops. We wandered around for an hour or so but that’s really all you need. It’s tiny and we looked so out of place! There we groups of people meditating in the small park in the centre and a few ‘legalise weed!’, ‘peace and love!’ floating around. Naturally, it started to rain again so we decided it was time to head further North in search of the sun – Next stop the Gold Coast.

It’s quite exciting to feel like we’re back to really travelling. Melbourne was this weird bubble I felt like we existed in. It was half work and half play but with one often interrupting the other. Don’t get me wrong, I had an absolutely fantastic time. I made great friends and Melbourne is definitely a city I could see myself living in again, but I was very ready to leave and get back to the real holiday part of my holiday working visa.

Naturally, when we arrive in Sydney we were all completely and utterly knackered. I managed to nap most of the day which was so nice. Having my own room and bed! I got a deliveroo Nandos for lunch and then my Aunt and I went out for dinner to a local pub.

On my first proper day in Syndey, I headed out to the famous Bondi Beach and did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. In complete honesty, I did it backwards (Coogee to Bondi) and spent the afternoon chilling on Bondi beach. The walk is easy, it’s around 6km and the scenery is lovely. It was quite cold so the beach was uncharacteristically empty but I still managed to get a couple hours of tanning in.

The next day I signed up for a free week of F45 workout classes. I actually really enjoyed the class so Riss and I have decided to do them all the way up the coast together – we have to at least attempt to get bikini bod ready for Bali! In the afternoon I got the ferry over to Manly where Rosie is currently living. She’s staying with her cousin and working as a nanny for them three times a week – pretty chilled lifestyle if you ask me! When I arrived the kids were in the car and I suspect we were already a little bit late for the 4-year-olds football practice (or soccer, as it’s referred to here).

Now for those of you who know me, I am not the best person in the world with kids – I wish I was and although one of my new years’ resolutions was to be more tolerant, I still don’t have the patience! As we pulled up the house the younger of the two goes “Rosie, can Alex please wash me?”

Therefore, I was left in the bathroom with a hyperactive four-year-old trying to wash his hair from a distance without getting shampoo in his eyes (or on me), much to Rosie’s amusement. Once the kids were in bed, Rosie and I retired to the sofa with a bottle of wine, a Thai takeaway and the Hottub time machine – a very chilled evening indeed.

I was woken up by the sound of screaming children at 7am but if I’m honest I was up anyways (although I did complain about it, obviously). Once the kids were at school, Rosie and I walked along the coast to Shelly Beach, a smaller beach 15 mins away from Manly beach. We had a fantastic brunch (well I did, Rosie had a coffee) at a place called The Boathouse. I had the bacon flatbread – basically a breakfast pizza… what could be more perfect. We then jumped in the car and headed to a smaller, more secluded beach called Balmoral Beach. We spent the rest of the day tanning and thank god we did, it seems as if it was the last day of sun we’ll get for a while!

Nearing the end of the week I was starting to quite like being a lone traveller and went to the Australian Museum (so cultured). It’s relatively cheap and quite informative. For once in my life, I had time to kill and actually read a lot of what was in the museum! Knowledge is power, my friends. Following the museum, I went to Hyde Park (yes there is one in Sydney too) to catch a bit of the sun and read my book. My relaxing afternoon was mildly interrupted by a load of white Ibis (also affectionately known as a Bin Chicken) which have become somewhat of a pest in Sydney. These birds are huge! I have enough of a problem with pigeons and seagulls but these things are a whole new kettle of fish. When two of them started fighting right next to me I knew it was my cue to leave.

Friday was the day I was really looking forward to because drum roll please…. my dad was in Australia on business and had come to see me. We went across to Manly for lunch and had it in this great place called The Pantry. It’s right on the beach and the food (and cocktails) were so good. My parents lived in Manly for a while straight after uni so I think my dad was feeling a bit nostalgic. We went for a couple of drinks at his old watering-hole, the now ‘New’ Brighton hotel. Time kind of got away from us and we realised we were already late in meeting my Aunt for after-work drinks, it was safe to say we were a bit giddy on the ferry back over!

We went for some fantastic cocktails at the Shangri-La’s bar on the 36th floor – the views from up there are phenomenal. You can see the whole harbour and beyond. We then headed to Phillip’s foote, a restaurant on The Rocks for some good-old-fashioned steak. You have to cook it yourself on the BBQ but the meat was delicious. Our final stop of the evening was to the Opera bar – great wine and a spectacular view of the Sydney Opera house, the perfect way to end such a good day.

The next morning we were all feeling a bit worse for wear but we struggled on just the same. We caught the ferry to Watson’s bay, I think we were all very thankful for the surprisingly smooth ride across the harbour. Normally Watson’s bay is packed with tourists grabbing fish and chips and enjoying the quaint beauty of this small beach, but it was absolutely freezing when we went to the place was like a ghost town! It did mean that we got a fab seats inside the Beach Club and ended up chilling there for the most of the afternoon, slowly nursing our drinks to see if hair of the dog was the answer to all of our problems (it wasn’t).

For the final meal with my dad (as you can probably tell we love to eat and drink), we went to an Italian on The Rocks called Appetito. The pizzas there are so good, nothing better than a good, fluffy pizza base to send you into a well-needed food coma. We said goodbye and it was actually really sad! I am seeing him in a couple months for our family holiday to Tuscany so can’t complain too much. I slept like a baby on that night.

After a gluttonous weekend, I actually managed to squeeze 4 F45 classes in during my second week in Sydney. I signed up for another free trial at the Leicham studio this time. I kind of got caught out as there is one instructor that floats between that one and the Petersham one! They didn’t seem to mind though! I then went for a walk along the harbour and through the Botanic gardens. It really is stunning in there, especially on a sunny day. I then walked all the way to Darling Harbour and by the end of it I was exhausted but feeling good. It’s always nice to get your steps in while exploring a city.

The next day I went to Taronga zoo with Christie’s family and Riss. We saw all the classic Australian animals; Kangaroos, Wallabies, Emus etc. It was quite a funny day and we got a good show from the gorillas at the end – the silverback was banging on his chest and everything! After the zoo, we all went for a drink and a nibble at a fantastic restaurant and bar called The Winery. The garden is covered in fairy lights and it had a great ambience. I had a fab dinner at Christie’s family’s Airbnb and a few glasses of wine, it was really lovely to feel part of a family again!

On the Wednesday, I went across to Manly again and Rosie and I did the Manly to Spit walk. It’s a really stunning walk and would definitely recommend it. We also had a very tasty brunch at Three beans and then chilled and watch a ‘docco’ as they call them here. I then went for a few pints and a Pho with my Aunt, always the perfect way to end the day!

Now I know this isn’t really true backpacker style but I ended up getting my hair done as my time in Sydney came to an end. Although it was mildly out of my budget (and by mildly, I mean completely), it was so worth it. I mean can you really put a price on looking fab?

I was lucky enough to tag along with Christie’s family for their trip to the Blue Mountains. It was a beautiful day and the scenery stunning. The reason they are called the Blue Mountains is because the eucalyptus trees release a vapour reacts with the air to give a faint blue haze. We did a couple of hour-long hikes – one at Wentworth falls and another at Evans lookout, The way down was pretty easy but getting back up the hills really got our hearts going. After those two counts of exercise, we indulged in a fantastic lunch. The tour ended with going to view the Three Sisters. It was a really nice day so a big thank you to the Knight family for letting me come along!

On my final weekend in Sydney, I did an F45 in the morning (go me) and then met Rosie at Glebe Market. The market was really cool, full of old vintage clothing and jewellery, as well as some good food. After saying goodbye to Rosie, probably won’t see her until September at the earliest, I headed to Christie’s family’s aribnb in Surry Hill for a fajita dinner and pres. We were all going see Huxely at the Chinese Laundry that night. On our way to the club, we stopped at a speakeasy called The Door Knock. I can’t say it was very difficult (or subtle) to find, with a huge sign on the main road, but at least having to knock a big pineapple door knocker before being let in had some novelty. The night was really good fun, the club was cool and the music great, a really nice way to end our time in Sydney.

Gabby arrived early in the morning the next day and we had a hangover day watching movies. I’ll admit we were super naughty and both had two mcdonalds that day. Ordering Mcdonalds to your door – what a time to be alive.

The next morning we packed up all our stuff and set off up the East Coast in Fran the Van, aka Franny.

 The pre-work period

After managing to get into the longue at Auckland airport we mildly panicked that we wouldn’t be fed on the 4 hour flight to Melbourne (god forbid). So in true traveller fashion, we filled up our tupperware with butter chicken from the buffet. This meant that Christie had to carry curry-filled tupperware onto the flight in her handbag. In the end we did get fed on the flight and guess what was for dinner? Butter chicken.

When we first arrived in Melbourne we stayed at a hostel in Fitzroy called the Nunnery. It’s an alright hostel, it’s in a good location and it used to be an old convent so the rooms are cozy. It’s main downfall is that the kitchen is way too small for the size of the hostel and the beds were really old. Also, a lot of people are actually living there full time and working – I can’t imagine having to sleep in those creaky beds and fight your way to the toaster each morning for a 8:30am start but I guess they’re just made of stronger stuff than me!

Our first day involved us sorting out our sim card – we got a $40/month sim from Optus. This gave us 15GB for the first month (7GB thereafter but your data can roll over), unlimited text and calls and free calls to UK numbers. We also set up our bank account. Christie and I signed up to Westpac – they have a free current and savings account for 6 months and you have to pay a small fee after that but as we are only here for 5 months this worked perfectly for us. They don’t even mind you saying your address is a hostel and the whole process was super easy.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the CBD. We had coffee and lunch on Flinders Lane, which is an almost European looking street with cafes crowding either side of the lane and some amazing places to eat and drink. Melbourne has been crowned the ‘coffee capital’ of Australia and we had been told that Duke’s Coffee Roasters was the place to go. I’m not the best to ask about the quality of coffee as I only drink mochas, but Riss says it was fabulous.

That evening we met some of Rissbrook’s friends, a group of boys from Manchester. We went to happy hour at a bar called The Aviary Hotel – it does $5 pints and wine so can’t really complain. The boys were lovely and now we’re all the best of friends (how sweet).  The following day, Christie managed to drag me around the length of Church and Chapel street (the main bar street) giving in CVs. She got a job at the first bar she went into but we still walked for another 40 minutes having in CVs ‘just in case’ – she works at the first bar, a new restaurant and bar called Café Brass. By the end of the day I was so crabby and it took us over an hour to get back on the tram!

Although I complain, the public transport in Melbourne is pretty good – as long as you’re going in, or coming out of the city. If you want to get from suburb to suburb you’re in trouble. All the trams go into the CBD and back out again, none go around it. This situation proved to be very annoying as for the first couple of weeks at my job which was on St. Kilda road, it would have only taken me 10 minutes to drive from home in Richmond, but actually took me 40 minutes on the tram. They are really easy to use however, and you can get away with not tapping your ‘Myki’ card for the majority of journeys – if you want to really live on the edge.

That weekend we were lucky enough to have been invited to a girl (Bridget’s) which the others had met in South America, beach house down in the Boneo on the Mornington Peninsula. On the Friday night we arrived and made pizzas in a real pizza oven – how dreamy! The next day Bridget had booked us a winery lunch which was just fantastic. We drank lovely wine and ate lovely food in the Australian sunshine – we even got to see a Kangaroo! What this did mean however was that we had all passed out by 9pm, I had to beg Christie to try and at least stay up till 9:30pm as a 9pm bed time is unacceptable but my efforts were useless.

Riss was really excited about the pizza ft. Bridget

GET IN MY BELLY

Briget cooked up a storm

Resiling makes me happy

My favourite breakfast ever

What a view!

On the Sunday we headed back into town quite early and checked back into the Nunnery. We were getting pretty fed up of hostels by this point and one of Bridget’s friends Ellen, who Riss and Christe also met in South America, offered to let us stay in her gorgeous family home in Brighton. It was music to our ears! We were going to move in the following day until the festival. When we got back from the peninsula, we had a very quick turnaround of check back into the hostel, get dressed and head down to the boys for pres before a street party on Sydney road in Brunswick. We were feeling a bit ropey and not really ready to get back on the wine but we somehow managed to power through, with aid from a maccers I’m embarrassed to say! The street party was alright, the company was better than the music but all in all it was a pretty good day.

This looks like a shit band cover

There is wine in that cup

Street perfomers

We moved into Ellen’s house the next morning and it was just as dreamy as we had imagined it. A kitchen with no one else in it! It had things like spices and oil and a coffee machine and a blender – we were in heaven. The house had a pool and the back garden was such a sun trap. We spent our 4 days there just chilling and tanning and preparing ourselves for the festival that weekend! Christie’s friend from home, Sophie, had also arrived and was staying with us and coming to the festival – was really nice to have her along as well. Bridget was kind enough to lend us our car so that we could go to the world famous K-mart (I literally love this place), to buy all our camping gear. Now, I’ve been to enough festivals to know that I am never going to one again without a tent that is at least +2 people larger than the actual number of people that will be sleeping in it, a blow up bed and a chair. It was pain in the arse to carry all of this stuff to the festival but it was 100% worth it!

Christie & Sophie

Ellen’s beaut house

On the bus on the way to Pitch, the girl who actually interviewed Riss the previous day was actually sat behind us. We got chatting to them and ended up camping with them for the whole weekend. The girl and her boyfriend were so lovely, but the other two guys they were with, these ‘geezers’ from Essex were less lovely. They were rude to the bus driver which immediately put me off them and they were the type of boys whereby if you didn’t laugh along to their misogynistic comments or have good ‘bants’ then you were a stuck up bitch. I may or may not have gone off at the worst of the two, a boy called Harry, I guess I’m just not very good at pretending to find awful people funny. Safe to say we weren’t really friends after that. I managed to lose everyone and my phone on the first night but still had an absolute blast. Luckily for us, we had a few friends from home at the festival as well so we didn’t have to spend all our time with the people we were camping with! A boy called Harry Fox who Christie and I actually inter-railed around Europe with when we were 18, and a bunch of his friends. These boys were so lovely and we were so glad they were there. Some of the people we met at pitch, to name a few; a boy called Doron and another called Ratbag (real name Rupert) we’ve actually seen since getting back to Melbourne so having Fox there turned out really useful for us!

Pitch was my first every Australian festival and it was so different from festivals in the UK, for example:

1. It didn’t rain – I think this honestly makes such a difference, trainers instead of wellies! What a treat!
2. You can park your car in amongst the tents which means people brought sofas and decks and everything you could imagine because you didn’t have to carry anything!
3. There was literally no security at all so although they had a limit on what alcohol you could bring there wasn’t even anyone pretending to check it.
4. The festival itself was BYOB – so we just had our sacks of goon in our backpacks and camping cups in our hands – like the classy gals we are! This on its own saved us so much money and not having to queue for drinks!
5. The outfits insane – very burning man-esque. I felt very underdressed!

The only downfalls were that it was SO hot. Thank god we made friends with people that had gazebos, if you go to a Australian festival – BRING A GAZEBO. It is physically impossible to sit out in the blazing sun with a hangover. We also made sure we had factor 50 on the entire time, there was no way I was going to figure out how to sleep in a sleeping bag sunburnt. The evenings were also terribly cold, cold enough to the point we would get into jeans and jumpers after sweating our arses off in tiny skirts and crop tops during the day. Thank god our $12 sleeping bags actually held out! Finally, although the dryness of the festival was amazing, it did mean that the entire place was so dusty. In retrospect wearing a bandana over your mouth of some sort of mask would have probably been a good idea, I can’t imagine how much dust I probably inhaled.

My favourite acts of the weekend were probably DJ EZ and Bicep (how typical I know, I can hear Harry Fox crying at that statement from here). All in all we all had a fantastic weekend although 4 nights at a festival left us feeling like shells of women. We got back and checked into our Aribnb in Richmond which I then didn’t leave for 36 hours.

Me and Doron

The gals and our new friends

Christie, Riss and Sophie

Campsite pres

Sexy dancing from me (I lost my hat that night)

Helen, Riss’s interviewe

Christie loves a festival

We got back from Pitch on The Tuesday and by the on the Thursday I was still feeling crap. I manage to get into town to buy some work clothes and Rosie (friend from uni living in Australia) arrived from Sydney that night to come visit! The next day we went to Queen Victoria market and wandered around the CBD. We had dinner at this healthy burger joint called ‘Grill’d’. It was quite expensive and probably not worth the money but the burgers were good! Christie was working that night so we popped into Café Brass 1 happy hour cocktail – this place is way too expensive for us!

Just as we were trying to the manager stopped us. He said that we could ‘work something out’ in terms of food and drink and in the end we managed to get a full sharing board, we were drinking $200 Resiling and pretty much got a free ride all night! Our bill was supposed to be $120 but it ended up only being $40… what an absolute steal. Now I know he only want to keep us there to attract in rich business men but honestly this was some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. In this whole process we also got introduced to a man called Paddy who is the manager of another restaurant/bar in town called Higher Ground – it’s in an old church and really cool. Paddy called ahead so when we got there we got taken up to a private landing upstairs and got free drinks there as well, it was turning out to be a pretty decent (and cheap) night. After Higher Ground, Rosie took me to meet some of her friends that lived in Melbourne. On our way there she warned me that I may not like them, not exactly what you want to hear when you’re about to walk into their flat! The guy that opened the door looked 45. He was 23 but had a receding hairline and wrinkles. I felt so bad for him. In all honesty he was nice enough but me and his friends ended up in a stupid drunk political argument about healthcare (lol) and if I’m completely honest it gave me the perfect excuse to leave, I wasn’t really feeling it!

The next day we were quite lazy.. We didn’t really leave the flat all day until the evening when we went to this great rooftop bar called Naked for Satan. The views were great and it had a very cool vibe to it, however it was really expensive and we were so tired – how pathetic! Instead we went for a Mexican (Fonda Mexican) dinner and a shitter version of Wahaca, made brownies, drank tea and watched a movie. On the Sunday Rosie and I went for brunch just down the road from the flat. We went to a place called Touchwood and had the most amazing pulled-pork eggs benedict. Now, the reason we had been so boring the night before was that we were hosting a big BBQ that afternoon for all our new friends in Melbourne. It was a really nice afternoon, however we ended up at this day rave thing which we thought would be a couple chilled beers on a rooftop, not heavy techno with very intoxicated people! I was starting work the next day so was on my best behaviour, going to one of those things sober was quite the experience. I’ll admit I excused myself around 9:30pm to head home and try and get a good night’s sleep!

BBQ vibes

Gals ft. Doron

Working holiday visa

I kind of cheated with the work aspect of my working-holiday visa. The company my dad works for has a Melbourne office so he managed to wangle me a temporary job there. It’s an engineering and construction company, both things which I know nothing about, but he managed to get me a job assisting the environment team – my official title being “Environment Team Support Officer”. My role pretty much just involves helping the team out with anything they need, I’ve been helping sustainability create a climate change adaptation tool for another company, or helping HR create a process document.

On my second day, they sent me out to the middle of nowhere in Victoria to do a letter drop with a very quiet, recent civil engineering graduate. He was nice enough but don’t’ think we’ll be best mates. To be honest I don’t think I’m going to make many work friends, I’m probably the youngest by a few years, especially in terms of the environment team. I mean there are some 28/30 year olds. I still think that’s old compared to me but I guess it’s not really… When we were discussing Easter plans, they all had family things with Easter egg hunts for the kids etc. I’m going to a day party because there is one every Sunday and having the Monday off means it’s the only week I can actually go. There is one guy, Nick, who sits opposite me who I think is around 28. From what I can gather he is (or was) a bit of a smasher. I went out to a meeting with him on bike lanes which was probably 2 of the most boring hours of my life – I now know more about bike lane construction than I ever thought I would.

Christie was an absolute babe and when the festival found my phone she went to the office for me and picked it up. I was SO glad to have it back! After work I popped by her bar to pick it up and then went into town to meet Riss, Ellen and one her friends Paris. They dragged me up to this Rooftop bar called.. Wait for it.. Rooftop bar. But it was shut – they have an outdoor cinema up there and the screening was starting soon – I REALLY want to go one night! It looks so cool. In the end we went to this Asian bar called Asian Beer Café which is found upstairs in Melbourne Central. It had super cheap food and drinks so actually hit the spot – it had $25 jugs!

What is very handy about my work is that there is a gym in the building. I have to physically walk past it to exit the building so it makes it quite hard to find excuses not to go! It’s a tiny gym and it costs $20/week. The staff were quite nice about it and let me just pay it all upfront so I wouldn’t have a members joining fee or have to remember to cancel it a month before I left! I’ve been trying to use my time here to train for a 10km or at least get back up to be able to run that far without too much of a problem and I’m trying to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I’ve been doing OK so far so let’s just hope it continues!

That Friday we had a big night out planned to see Jane Fitz at the Lounge – don’t know who that is? Yeah either did I but her tunes were banging. Nothing at all like what you find on Spotify or her boiler room. Two of my best guy friends from uni arrived, Henry and Roddy, which was pretty funny – of course they didn’t get into the club first time round because they were too drunk (I have a very love-hate relationship with these boys). The whole crew was out that night, honestly think I have more friends in Melbourne than I do in London at the moment. Riss’s best pal from Leeds arrived that evening, Gabby, she’s living and doing the East Coast with us. I was very impressed that she managed to go out after the a flight from the UK! Everyone has a great night and we had the Manchester boys back for an after party. I’ll admit we were probably being too loud but we got screamed at by one of the neighbours which was a bit excessive – apparently we’ve kept him up all week? I was trying to work out when we might have kept him up. We had had that BBQ the previous Sunday but everyone had left by 8pm and we all worked the rest of the week and were in bed by 10pm! Fair enough we were being loud but it was a Friday night and when he asked us to turn down the music, we shut it all off and moved inside. He came round the next morning again and shouted at us. In all honestly, if we’d been keeping him ‘up all week’, you’d have thought he would have come round to let us know that the sound was travelling? He shouted something about telling the landlord that the tenants were renting it illegally on Airbnb. I tried to talk him out of it saying it was unfair and that we were sorry but he was having none of it. Anyways, Christie called the Airbnb people to let them know and they seemed find about it, seems like they have a problem with this neighbour quite a lot, what a shame.

Due to the very late night I actually ended up sleeping until 3pm on Saturday – it felt like I was back at uni! I emerged from my room only to shower and eat Nandos and went back to bed (Mum please don’t judge me!). We were supposed to be having another BBQ that Sunday to make use of the Airbnb and its lovely outside area but because of Mr. Grumpy down the street we didn’t want to get the Airbnb people in any more trouble we cancelled it. To be honest it was probably the right thing to do as we were moving the next day and needed to pack and clean.

My Second week at work was very dull, thank god it was only a 4 day week. I was falling asleep all over the place as a result of not getting a good night’s sleep since I left Houston (probably). I did end up goig for drinks on the Tuesday night with the boys from uni at Rooftop bar even though I was exhausted. I’m terrible at sharing beds with people and sharing a bed with Christie for 2 months might actually be the death of me. She’s a tiny bit of a heavy breather (she’s going to kill me when she reads this) and I swear to god she has more than four limbs, I honestly don’t understand how they get everywhere. I’m mentally and physically drained from sharing a bed with that girl.

MINI UPDATE: I’m officially going back to Edinburgh for my masters. The decision has been made! Feels quite nice to have a solid plan for the next year or so.

Since starting work I’ve become (I think) a lot more sensible again! My third week on the job was only a 4 day week as it was Easter weekend. Fantastic news socially, terrible news financially. On the Thursday night we went to see our friends from Edinburgh. We went to some people we’d met through them/at pitch’s flat and had a house/street party? They had a really cool set up with decks in the garage which was, I think, also someone’s room. They just opened up the garage door and it spilled out onto the street. Was really nice to spend some quality time with Henry and Rod but I never made it to any form of club. I have this weird thing were I’ll be having a good time and then suddenly my drunk mind decides that’s enough and I will then immediately, without hesitation or a second thought, leave. So, around 1am this happened and I jumped in an uber home expecting Christie to be home from work and to welcome be back with open arms. Instead I got back and she told me she’d lost the keys. This resulted in me having to sit on the side of the road while Christie got an $80 uber to the party and back to get the other set of the girls – rather her than me I guess.

The next day of course we were hungover but ended up going for a BYOB Vietnamese dinner with the Manchester boys at a place called Ha Long Bay in Collingwood. I don’t know how it happened but our civilized dinner turned into the rowdiest night of all. I think it was 4am before we managed to stumble into an uber and head home. It was such a fun evening though and the food was great and quite cheap. This evening did result in my uber rating going down – why am I always the only one ever sober enough to be able to order the uber and shepherd everyone into the car (don’t worry my rating is back up now). By the time Saturday rolled around it felt like I’d been off work for about two weeks! I put my foot down and refused to drink this day as the main event of the weekend was actually on Sunday. Matty, one of the Manchester boys band, Fool Child, had a gig though so I went to that and had 1 beer and then went home.

Christie, Joe & Haby at Ha Long Bay

Matty doing this thing on stage

Finally it was Sunday and the event we had planned – a day party called Piknic Electronik was on. As the boys had bought all the wine on Friday night, we offered to buy and cook a boozy brunch. As of course none of us have cars and the boys were only living a 10 minute walk away so couldn’t justify an uber, we had to figure out how to carry a case of beer, 10 ciders, vodka and mixers for four and enough brunch food for 10 all the way to theirs. Luckily for us, our new Airbnb was next to quite a dodgy estate and therefore it was littered with trolleys, a trolley graveyard if you will, so we just nicked one. Although we got some very weird looks pushing this trolley down the street it was probably the best idea we had all day. Christie and I actually got offered a job in Sydney by a club owner on our walk down which was pretty weird.

The whole day/night was fantastic – the brunch was a hit and we got to the event around 4pm. Everyone was there and the weather was great – hot but not blazing sun, the drinks weren’t cheap but not too bad either (~$10) and the music was great. It was a smaller venue than I was expecting and the music could have been a bit louder, but I guess that’s what you expect from a mini-festival in the CBD. The music ended at 9pm so we headed back to the Manchester boys for an afters. We invited our uni friends along but they arrived with a trolley and I’m not 100% sure the two groups mixed (they definitely didn’t). As a method of escape and because it was only 10pm, Gaby (another of Riss’s friends from Leeds) and I decided to go clubbing. We went to a club called the Lucky coq, it’s small and quiet downstairs but the upstairs is alright with a small dance floor and a nice outside area.

The next morning we had to move flat. Top tip: don’t move flat on the hang. The experience wasn’t great but thankfully I didn’t feel as bad as I was expecting too. We had to check out of our Richmond flat at 12pm but couldn’t check into our St. Kilda one till 3pm. Thankfully we were able to dump our bags and then had to wander around St. Kilda for a while. St. Kilda is where most of the backpackers live. The boys had made it out that it was a horrible little place and that all the ‘cool’ things to do were north of the CBD – I mean, not that surprising that St. Kilda isn’t ‘cool’ enough for them. Anyways, we all quite like it! It’s like being on a real holiday with a beach and a theme park right next door. Our flat is in a brilliant location just a 5 minute walk away from the main street and now we don’t have to move again until we go to Sydney! 5 whole weeks in 1 place – bliss (although sharing a bed with Christie is starting to take a toll on my mental health).

I had a great time in New Zealand but the Kiwi Experience is exactly that, an experience. After spending a month in the country, hopping on and off those big green buses, here are my top tips!

Before you do anything – download the Kiwi Experience App!

The app is genuinely great. It tells you all the stops, accommodation, activities and even the weather. It was really a life-saver on our way around the country.

1. Make sure you’ve done a little bit of reading first and figure out where you would like to stay for longer than the minimum time. Get that booked in with the Kiwi Experience office so that you don’t have to worry about it! Don’t worry, you can still change it on your way around but it’s always good to have a vague idea first.
2. Don’t be surprised when the driver drones on and on – you are on a school trip basically. Just be patient and it won’t bother you nearly as much.
3. If you are staying more than the guaranteed nights in a place, book hostels and buses in advance! During the summer months, try and do this as soon as possible as the buses and accommodation are super busy.
4. When you call the Kiwi office to book yourselves on to buses, if it’s far enough in advance and you’re on standby, chances on you’ll get on the bus. If you want to leave tomorrow, chances are you won’t. There’s a $50 fine for a no-show so only the people with the money or who are too hungover to move don’t make it to the bus. Also, make sure they email you a copy of your itinerary and keep it handy.
5. There are cheaper and nicer places to stay, especially in the bigger towns/cities than where the bus brings you to, so do your research.
6. It is a great way to make friends and if you do this early on, you’ll end up with nearly private rooms your whole trip – I found that the Maori experience was a great place to really meet people as you all eat and drink together.
7. Places I would advise hopping off the bus are:
8. 1. Wellington – you get there really late at night, so try and get at least 3 nights there.
   2. Wanaka – you could easily do 2 nights here, it’s called starting to become the ‘New Queenstown’ as Queenstown is always so fully booked
   3. Taupo – you get given 2 nights here but you could easily do more if the weather is nice. Having a few more also gives an extra day in case the crossing gets called off due to bad conditions
   4. Queenstown – get 4 or 5 nights here if you can. If you have the money there are so many activities you can do (just check the Kiwi Experience app), it’s also just a bit more lively than the small towns you’ll pass through
   5. Kaiteriteri – on the Kiwi app/online it says that you stop in Abel Tasman, but in fact, the hostel is in slightly south in Kaiteriteri. Truth is, Kiwi still doesn’t any accommodation in Abel Tasman national park and therefore if you’d like to go explore it, your best bet would be to hop-off here for a couple of days. I didn’t personally get to go but i’ve heard the national park is beautiful.
9. Get the sheepdog pass and not the funky chicken. This is the one that ends in Christchurch and avoids you having to pay for the ferry a second time and going to places you have been before (it’s also cheaper). The reason funky chicken goes on sale so often is if there are bums on seats, it’s easier to get the buses back up to Auckland where most people start their journey.

   

10. Pick and choose which activities you want to do carefully – unless you have the money to do them all! The 3 that I did which I really enjoy and thought were worth the money were the Nevis Swing, the glowworm tubing/blackwater rafting and the white water rafting, however, I really wish I had the money to do the Franz Josef glacier heli-hike.
11. New Zealand as a country is beautiful. The scenery is stunning and there are a lot of lovely walks/hikes you can go on. However, not a lot of people live here. Auckland has a population of 1.2  million and that is more than the whole of the South Island. Most of your time is spent driving through the country-side and staying in tiny little towns. Even the big towns such as Queenstown and Christchurch feel small and quite deserted. This isn’t a bad thing at all, just very different to what I’m used and what I was expecting.

Although it may sound like I’ve complained a lot, not having to think too much about where you’re going or what to do is lovely. The free app they have is amazing, it tells you about the place, the activities you can do, the itinerary for the travel days as well as the accommodation and weather. It’s a really easy way to meet people and we made some really good friends and although some of our bus drivers were nuts, there were also some golden ones and they really do go out of their way to help you with anything you might need.

It is definitely the easiest way to see New Zealand and the drivers take you to places you would have never found on your own. If you do your research and go in with the frame of mind that this is somewhere in the middle of a school trip, a tour bus and just a normal bus, you’ll have an absolutely fantastic time.

Now, because we are idiots, and by we, I mean Christie, we booked our flight to Melbourne out of Auckland and not Christchurch. This meant we had to get the bus all the way back up north repeating Wellington and Taupo on our way back up. In the end, it wasn’t that bad at all, we can definitely say we’ve seen the whole of New Zeland now and luckily Wellington and Taupo were two of our favourite places!

Somehow, Riss had managed to wangle her way into staying with Nick, Misha and Ruby in that beautiful house, while Christie and I boarded the big green bus once again. If we weren’t depressed already, a cyclone decided to hit just as we were leaving. This meant there was torrential rain and when we got to Lake Tekapo, which is supposed to be this beautiful lake where the water meets the sky, we couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of us. I’ll admit that even through the rain we could see the intense aqua colour of the water so were pretty gutted at the weather. Lake Tekapo is also in the centre of a UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve which means one of the main activities there is to go to the hot pools in the evening and star gaze.

Our day, however, consisted of walking 15 mins to the supermarket in the rain, bought the cheapest dinner we could, and then walking 15 minutes back. There was a slight panic when a state of emergency was delayed in Christchurch due to the cyclone and if we were stuck in Lake Tekapo for another night it would have been less than ideal.

Thankfully the bus was still on and Christchurch was not flooded. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island, however after the 2011 6.3 magnitude earthquake, it is still being rebuilt and therefore it’s littered with large empty lots. We arrived in the early afternoon but once again it was raining – as you can tell we were very lucky with the weather. By this point, we’d realised we only had enough money to spend £20 a day and therefore had to actually start budgeting like real travellers. Going out in New Zealand is the same as the UK, drinks average £5 each, so pre-drink hard.

We went for quite a nice (and free) walk through the botanic gardens and then decided to walk 25 minutes to the cheapest supermarket in New Zealand, our one and only love; Pak N’ Save. Again we had a very chilled evening and we were lucky enough to have been put in a 3-bed dorm (with no bunk beds!), it also had a balcony and a single bathroom with a power-shower right next door. We only stayed in Christchurch for one night and I really think that’s all you need, there really isn’t much to do there.

The next day was a travel day. We spent the whole day on the bus and arrived into Nelson late afternoon which gave us enough time to make dinner and walk to the beach to watch the sunset. We didn’t even stay for the whole sunset because it gets cold very fast. This stop is just mandatory if you’re planning on getting the ferry the next morning. All in all, the most interesting part of this day was that I’m pretty sure the hostel we were in was an old brothel.

The lake at sunrise

Nelson Beach

Despite being a weird little town, the beach and lake in Nelson were very picturesque

After a broken night’s sleep due to two huge snorers, we got up and got on the bus (yay). Christie was very good, we were both supposed to go on a run that morning. When the alarm went off we both decided absolutely not, but then Christie actually got up and went. Apparently, I was in such a deep sleep there was no waking me. I felt very lazy and promised myself I’d do better. I was so good at the start of the trip! To be fair, she did have fish and chips for dinner while I refrained and had a chicken salad instead… just saying.

The rest of the day consisted of bus-ferry-bus with the aim of getting back to the North Island and Wellington. That evening we went back to Cuba street for those delicious wraps again, and the Arborist for frozen margaritas.

Next, we went to a bar called Dirty Little Secret, it’s a speak-easy. There are no signs, just a bouncer and a lift. When you get to the bar it’s got some great R&B tunes and has a really cool vibe to it. I would really recommend going.

While we were there this lady comes up to us and says “You girls are too pretty to be from here!” and proceeds to drag us over to her group of very weird friends. We chilled with them for a bit before ‘going to the loo’ and splitting. Obviously our last stop was back at Danger Danger. We danced to the cheese there until we realised we physically couldn’t afford any more drinks and went home.

We were rudely awoken at 7am by the girls in our room getting up and repacking their whole bags, thankfully the hangover wasn’t too bad! We then realised that we didn’t have accommodation for that evening and when we asked reception they said they wouldn’t know until the kiwi bus sent in their numbers. Check out is at 10am and we still didn’t know if we had a bed. All other hostels, hotels, Airbnb’s were fully booked. It had got to the point where we were posting asking if anyone had any friends or relatives that would take us in for the night! Thankfully, in the end, the hostel did have a bed.

While waiting to check back into the same hostel we ended up chatting with these two boys who then came to the beach with us. These were possibly the weirdest blokes I have ever met. One claimed he was a dating coach, comparing himself to ‘Hitch’ and that he made $100/hour teaching boys how to talk to girls and girls on how to be more approachable by guys. I swear I could physically smell the bullshit coming out of his mouth. The other one was a nice enough Welsh boy but then proceeded to tell us about he had somehow ended up going home with two 40-year-old women the night before. It’s safe to say we ignored their messages to meet up for dinner and drinks.

Instead, the plan for that evening had been to go to the supermarket, watch a film, eat the free meal the Base provides and go to bed. However, on the way to the supermarket we noticed a lovely little bar out in the sun serving $6 glasses of wine, I mean, it would be rude not to! Next thing we know its 11pm, we’ve met these two English guys who live in Wellington and were quite drunk. They showed us this amazing burger place though called Ekim burgers. The food is served out of a van and the place is covered in graffiti, but the food is fantastic! Definitely, give it a go and get the corn fritters (they’re like mini-hashbrowns).

The bus the next morning to Taupo was at 8am, we woke up at 7:45am. We pelted it own the road to the pickup point, me with my 30kg bag on my back.. but thankfully we didn’t miss the bus. We did bump into some people we had met on the way down so it was nice to have friends again! If you’ve read my previous posts, the first time we went to Taupo we stayed in a brilliant hostel called Haka Lodge. Obviously, I had thought that I had booked this one again. We get dropped off and try to check in and they don’t have our booking. Mildly confused I check my Hostelworld app only to discover I had booked a different hostel. This would normally have been fine, however, we had just been boasting about how nice this hostel is to other people on the bus and then had to turn up with our tails between our legs when we realised we had actually booked the hostel the kiwi experience books for you.

In all ended well however as this hostel was really nice as well. It had a cheap bar and it was nice to spend time with the friends that we had made. The Tongariro crossing had been cancelled AGAIN because of bad weather so instead, we got super drunk with a stag-do staying in the hostel – it’s hard to say no to $5 beers when you have nothing to do the next day.

As the weather was so awful the following day, we really didn’t have anything to do. We ended up barricading ourselves in the TV room, did admin and watched films. To be fair, Christie did go to a yoga class and I went to the gym so all in all, it was quite a productive day.

After Taupo, we boarded our final Kiwi bus ever!! We were quite excited by this prospect. On your way to Auckland, you get to stop off at a Kiwi sanctuary. Entry is about $20 but it all goes towards conservation so I really did mind paying it – plus you can’t go to New Zealand and not see a live kiwi! I would like to point out that Christie was the only one on our entire but who didn’t pay to go in because she “would rather spend it on food”  – like you can’t get that anywhere else? We got to see some baby kiwis which were SO cute. What the centre does is track the kiwi’s in the wild and when they’re nesting they take the egg, rear it in the centre and then release them back into the wild, either once they are old enough to fend for themselves, or into a predator-free area. Once we’d arrived in Aukland we checked into our hostel, went for dinner at this delicious Malaysian restaurant called Mamak. We tried to have a few drinks but ended up asleep by 10pm.

We had to check out of the hostel at 10am and our flight wasn’t until 6pm, thankfully the hostel had a bag store next door. As we had time to kill we actually ended up going to the gym! We found one that had a 7-day free pass called Tepid Baths, signed up and went (just say you’re moving to Auckland but are currently living in a hostel). After the gym, we were feeling rather proud and treated ourselves to a bagel from the amazing place called Best Ugly Bagels. The staff in there are really cool and the food is even better. It’s a bit pricey for a bagel but worth it.

By the time we’d done all of that, it was time to get to the airport and head to Melbourne. The easiest (and cheapest) way to get to the airport is the Skybus. Luckily for us, Christie was able to use her mum’s pass to get into the lounge! A couple of glasses of wine and copious amounts of butter chicken, cheese and biscuits later we were ready to board and ready for the next chapter of our adventure – Australia we’re coming for you!

Hostels

Lake Tekapo: Lakefront Lodge – This is pretty much the only place to stay in Lake Tekapo. It was alright, the rooms were nice and warm but tiny and the kitchen was quite small for the number of people there as well. There was a  nice outside area with BBQs although we didn’t get to test them out!

Christchurch: YMCA – really great hostel, definitely stay here. You have to pay for wifi but its cheap and pretty good. The kitchen is nice and there are chill areas on each floor as well. There is also a gym in the building, I’m sure you have to pay for it but I doubt it’s very much!

Nelson: The Custom House – pretty sure this used to be an old brothel. There is a stripper pole in reception and a really small number of rooms with sinks in them. Anyways, they give you 1GB of free data and there’s free laundry. It’s a 20-minute walk into town and 20 minutes in the other direction to the beach. Its alright for 1 night and I don’t think Nelson’s a place worth the effort of trying to find a nicer place.

Wellington: Base – Average hostel. Rooms are quite small but the kitchen and lounge space is big. They give you a free shot and a free meal ticket when you arrive which was great for us as we were very much out of money. Didn’t try the bar but believe they have cheap deals on most nights! The first night we stayed, booked through Kiwi Experience was $33, however, our second night was $49. The prices change day-to-day depending on demand. I can’t say it’s worth $50/night but there was nowhere else we could have stayed.

Taupo: Urban Retreat – This is actually also a great hostel. It has a super cheap bar ($5 beer, $4 wine), a nice outside area to sit in, a big kitchen, pool table and a nice TV room. They also have a deal with a local gym so you can get $5 entry. I went, it’s a basic gym but has absolutely everything you’d need. The rooms and beds aren’t as nice as Haka Lodge but I’d say that’s its only downfall.

Auckland: Nomads – I’ve already explained how bad this hostel is but the second time round confirmed my suspicions. I got bed bugs. The next morning I woke covered in bites which ended up being itchy for weeks. I left a trip advisor review explaining this and sent them an email but go no response from either.

As the adventure capital of the world (and the only place we stayed for more than 2 nights), I thought that Queenstown deserved its own post. Even though this was the only place we hopped off for a considerable amount of time,  I wish we’d been organised enough to have been able to stay longer. Our journey down there from Wanaka was another example of when the school trip vibe of the Kiwi Experience really did our nut in.

We were picked up at 9am and had to wait at ‘Puzzling World’; a very average optical illusion and puzzle museum for an hour and a half before actually heading for Queenstown. Puzzling world is only about 10 minutes from the hostel so I’m not sure why it couldn’t just come back for the people that didn’t want to spend $20 on entry. Riss and I jumped the barrier and got in for free and it still wasn’t worth it. We did get the $3 bacon sandwich though.. it was quite terrible if I’m completely honest. Soggy white bread with slimy bits of bacon in it – we still all ate it though

All this thing did was rotate on it’s edges and How ‘puzzled’ does Riss look?

On your way into Queenstown you stop off at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy; the original bungy centre. This is where you can book your bungy jump or the swing for when you’re in Queenstown. They show you quite a cool promo video about the history of bungy jumping and about AJ Hackett, the guy who invented it. They also show you all the different things you can book: the Kawarau Bridge Bungy is the classic one, then you have the Ledge Bungy, the Canyon Swing, the Nevis Bungy or the Nevis Swing. Each site/activity have their pros and cons e.g. the Nevis swing is the biggest in the world, which is why I chose it. But if you’re a real thrill seeker you can do the Canyon one where you allow the staff to really fuck with your head before you do it and if you do the bungy there around 100 different ways you can ‘jump off’ e.g. you can ride a tricycle off the edge or you can sit in a chair backwards and they tip you off, that kind of thing.

That evening we had booked to get the Kiwi Experience meal and pub crawl as a cheap and easy way to get to know the bars in Queenstown. The food was only $5 and you got a huge plate of ribs, chicken and chips at the Red Rock bar. I can’t remember the names of the bars that followed, but you end in The World Bar which a trendy place and really fun. Its also turns into a bit of a club the later it gets, like most of the bars we were in. It’s also directly opposite Nomad’s hostel as well as Devil burger which is open until 3am and is delicious – apparently only second in Queenstown to the famous Ferg Burger!

Queenstown is beautiful but really small town. It has a small park on the waters edge and you’re completely surrounded by the Southern Alps. If the weather is good there are tons of hikes you can do or if that’s not your thing, you can just lie on the grass and sunbathe. However, if the weather isn’t great there really isn’t very much to do.

Luckily for us, our second day in Queenstown was glorious. We got breakfast at this place called Balls and bangles, they do the most amazing bagels, doughnuts and coffee. An absolute must-have if you’re there.  In the afternoon we got the gondola up to the top of the Skyline and with the Kiwi App you get a huge discount; the gondola up and down plus 4 luge rides for $50. The views from the top are spectacular and the luge was genuinely so much fun. I would definitely recommend going. That evening Christie, Riss and I went out while the rest slept. We had such a good time, we went to World Bar again and to another club Winnies, which was also great fun, cheesy tunes but fun. I think that Winnies is actually a pizza restaurant during the day!

Everyone looks good in a helmet and a luge with a view

Our third day in Queenstown was the day we had all been waiting for, after leaving Nick, Misha and Ruby in Wellington, today was the day they were finally catching up with us! We spent the day on the grass with the whole fam in the sun and drank these lethal 8% ciders and had another great night out. That night for dinner we got the world famous Ferg Burgers. Normally, you have to wait in a queue for around an hour to get one, but pro tip: if you call and order them over the phone, you can just go collect them when they’re ready! I’ll admit that they did not disappoint. As you can probably tell by now we didn’t do many cultural or activities in general while in Queenstown. It’s supposed to be the adventure capital of the world but if you have no money for any of the activities, it becomes a party town instead.

Technically we should have left the day after the others had arrived as we had nowhere to stay. There was literally no accommodation in the whole of Queenstown  (seriously guys, book this a couple weeks in advance!). We were thankfully very lucky and Nick’s family friend had kindly offered to let him, Misha and Ruby stay in their holiday home, which meant they weren’t using the 3 nights they were guaranteed at Nomads by the Kiwi Experience. Therefore Christie, Riss and I were able to sleep in their hostel beds for the night.

This was probably the worst hangover day of the whole trip. It was raining and everyone was grumpy, but Misha, Nick and I had booked to do the world largest swing (the Nevis Swing) in the afternoon! Just so you know, this is a half-day activity. You go to the in-town centre where they weigh you and write your weight on your hand!! (Not what I wanted to see after 4 days of solid drinking). They then take you on a 40 min bus to get there. The Nevis grounds is on private property so you’re not allowed to drive there yourself, you have to get the bus. Then you do your swing or bungy and have to get the bus back. Now the actual swing. You get to watch a few people go before you do and I have honestly never been so terrified in my life. Have a google if you’ve never seen it before. Basically, they just strap you in and then drop you. You have a 70m free fall before the swing catches you. I thought this was way scarier than a skydive because you never know when they’re going to push that button!

It was so much fun though and I would 100% recommend doing it while you’re there! You can do a bungy anywhere in the world but you can’t do this and it was safe to say it was the hangover cure of all hangover cures. The funniest thing about the whole afternoon was probably poor Nick. He was petrified. He was shaking like a leaf and admitted that he didn’t even know if he’d had fun or not. Misha and I were howling with laughter at him shouting “Get me on dry land!” on his way back up to the top. That evening we went to Nick’s family friends for a meal and a movie which was lovely. Such a fantastic house! So jealous but such nice way to end our time as a big group.

Hostel: Nomad’s Queenstown is actually a really nice Nomads, much nicer than the one in Auckland. We were given a private room (8-bed dorm) with a balcony which got the sun. It was also a lot bigger than the room we had in Wanaka! Tip: if you plan on staying longer than the designated 3 nights in QT, book weeks in advance! All the accommodation gets booked up seriously quickly and we were only able to stay a 4th night by pure luck

The trip down to the south island was less than lovely. I’d actually go as far as saying that we were quite disgusting. Apart from me, everyone was lying underneath the tables in the relatively fancy ferry café. So glad my friends were upholding the high opinion everyone has of millennials these days. We didn’t get to the hostel until around 6pm so we just made dinner and chilled. Kaiteriteri is supposed to be this beautiful beach but it rained the entire time we were there and I got eaten by sandflies.

The weather was shocking and the whole day was pretty much dedicated to this very bizarre stop off in a tiny town called Westport.  We somehow drew the short straw and ended up in this horrible little minibus and I was shoved in the back row in the corner. In all honesty, it would have been fine as we were supposed to be stopping off Nelson Lakes for a picnic, however about 10 minutes into the journey the bus broke down. So to set the scene: it was raining cats and dogs, it was hot and humid and we were stuck in this dingy little town in the middle of no-where for an hour while a new bus came. Once we got on the new bus all seemed to be looking up, until a car coming towards us span out and we stopped to make sure they were okay. After our selfless act, we were all rewarded with the second bus breaking down. By the time the driver had got this bus working again, we were practically sliding off the fake leather seats we were so covered in sweat and were starting to feel a little sorry for ourselves.

In the end, we made it to the lake and even though it was misty and raining was still stunning. The mist actually gave it this beautiful but eerie feel, with the mountains in the background shrouded in a grey fog. A few of the boys went for a dip and for the classic ‘diving off the pier with the mountains in the background ‘gram’ (see exhibit A and exhibit B), there were eels in the lake so that was a firm no from me.

Exhibit A: Nick Russell

Exhibit B: Cam & Jordan

My point exactly

We eventually got to Westport around 9pm and so had enough time to watch a movie and go to bed, thank god our room was nice! It was a self-contained unit with a double bed, 2 bunk beds upstairs, an ensuite, a mini kitchen and a TV with a DVD player. On Riss & Christie’s recommendation, we watched a terrible rom-com called the Ugly Truth and I don’t think I’ll ever get those hours back.

Westport used to be a big mining town and is famous for its surfing, apparently. I went for a run around it the following morning, and even though I only ran 6km, I was able to run the perimeter of the town, twice. I didn’t see a beach and the creepy ghost town-esque streets were completely deserted. What I did find out, later on, was that when the coal mines shut down (New Zealand is now 80% run on clean energy), everyone just got hooked on meth. Lovely little town.

We all boarded our awful minibus the next morning and headed for Lake Mahinapua. We stopped for a short walk along the coast at Cape Foulwing and then again at the Pancake Rocks walkways; the views were really lovely and the walk easy so it was a nice break from the bus!

Where to wander to next?

The next stop was Greymouth (also a weird, small town) where we had to get food and a costume for the evening! The hostel you stay at by Lake Mahinapua is basically just a big party and each night has a theme, our was anything beginning with the letter ‘P’. Luckily for me I already had a snake dress (python obviously) so found some fishnet tights for a fiver to do my makeup and that was that. Once we got there Cam and I opted to do some Greenstone carving, for $20 you get to make your own peeve of green stone jewellery. The Greenstone is a sacred stone to Maori people and if you buy what I made in a shop it would cost you around $100 (and you don’t get the joy of making it yourself… I was very much an ‘Art Attack’ kid.

So proud of my necklace

Two pirates and a python walk into a bar…

All the fun activities you can do at Lake Mahinapua

There were quite a few pirates that evening, Cam was prince charming, Jamie a princess and Jordan Paddington bear – very creative I thought for a group on a budget! We partied into the small hours to cheesy tunes and it was a very fun night!

Feeling a little bit ropey,  we got on the bus to head to Franz Josef. Luckily the ride wasn’t long and got here just after lunchtime. We didn’t realise beforehand, but this place is a bit of a party hotel as well! Looks like we’re going for 2 days on the trot guys and gals. In the afternoon we got some good old admin done, washing, Cam and I went to go pay for our kayaking we were doing the next day. We also all went shopping for our secret Valentines. As we were all single or our other halves weren’t with us, we decided to do a secret Santa style valentines day. We all got given a random name to buy a present for and a $10 limit.

Franz Josef is a tiny but beautiful town, set in a valley between rainforest covered mountains, it’s extremely picturesque. That evening’s theme was a traffic light party (where you go as either green (your keen), orange (it’s complicated), or red (your taken) –  how incredibly cringey. Obviously, it still ended up being a very fun night as they had $5 cocktails and we had such a good group of us.

Getting Cam up for an 8am Kayak on a hangover was quite a task. He silenced his alarm 3 times and it took me physically pulling the duvet and pillows off his bed to make him get up. After the ropey start, the kayak was actually beautiful, so glad we did it. There was so wind so the lake produced fantastic mirror images of us and our kayaks with the glacier as the backdrop. It was slightly romantic (sorry, Lewis!) and the best bit was that Cam is a genuine powerhouse at kayaking… I didn’t really have to paddle at all.

When we got back and once the rest of the crew and slowly pulled themselves away from their beds, we all started the walk to see the Franz Josef glacier. We didn’t realise at the time but it was about a 16km/4 hour round trip. 20 minutes into the walk it started POURING. Not just a drizzle, or even a shower, the rain was bouncing off the road it was coming down so hard. Luckily being the prepared woman I am, I was the only one that had brought a rain jacket with me.

Luckily, the rain did stop after about 10 minutes and the sun came out and we dried off pretty quick. I can’t say that I was that impressed with the Glacier. If you actually had any money, you can get a helicopter up to the top and walk through it. Two of our friends, Jess and Ollie, did the Heli-hike and the pictures looked insane! If I’d had a spare $500 I definitely would have done it. Instead, I walked 4 hours in the rain to see a lump of ice from afar.

That evening we all exchanged our secret Valentines gifts; it was actually very cute. Some people may have taken it more serious than others e.g. Rissbrook got me a cuddly Kiwi toy (now called Kevin), a flake and a box of Shapes – my favourite childhood snack! Jordan, on the other hand, got Jess some self-tanning moisturiser because she’s so pale…. That night it was the all you can eat pizza fest, they have this every second night – I mean, fancy restaurant or pizza fest? I think you know what my choice would be.  Being the completive bunch we are, we couldn’t have an all-you-can-eat without a slice competition. It’s safe to say we practically rolled ourselves into bed after that for a well-needed, food-coma induced early night.

The next stop on our trip was Wanaka, a place which is apparently fast becoming the ‘New Queenstown’. One our en route stops was at Lake Matheson which gave unreal reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. I’ll admit I indulged a bit here and got the cafe’s breakfast special which included rye bread, poached eggs and black pudding!! Dreamy.

The weather had thankfully perked up a bit and when we got to Wanaka we went to the beach for quick tanning sesh. We did that for about 2 minutes because it was unbelievably windy. Riss and I then headed to a bar while the rest went to find ‘the most Instagrammed tree’ which is on the edge of the Lake Wanaka. I’ll admit the pictures did look quite cool and the travelling pianist was there as well! (V. good for the gram).

We spent the rest of the early evening drinking wine and playing pool on the lakefront. After eating, me Ollie and Jess went out to this weird Irish pub which had live music. The hostel bar had given us a few free drinks and if there had been a huge group of us it could have been a great night but because but there wasn’t we’d all started quite early so ended up being in bed by 11:30. The rest made a blanket fort and watched Paddington 2, I have no idea when we turned 40 or 4, respectively.

Hostels

Kaiteriteri:Kaiteri Lodge – a very average which charges a $20 deposit for cutlery and a key. The Kitchen small but adequate with a few BBQs. Our room was a bit smelly but beds quite comfy.

Westport:Bazils – had really nice rooms. Didn’t have enough time to actually check out any of the facilities but in a town this small (and weird) I think just take when you can get.

Lake Mahinapua: Lake Mahinapua Hotel – this is the only hostel here but its great. It caters only to Kiwi Experience people. For $55 (around 27 pounds) you get dinner, accommodation, a free shot and breakfast; a really good deal and the food was actually so good.  They have volleyball court, two hot tubs, a fully stocked bar, the rooms are basic but clean and it’s only a short walk to the lake

Franz Josef: Rainforest Retreat – I really liked this hostel. The rooms had small kitchens and their own bathrooms/showers. We were lucky as by this point we were travelling as a group of 8 and therefore could basically have a private room. They had a really nice bar and restaurant there as well. I don’t really think there are many other places to stay in Franz Josef, to be honest! It’s a very small town.

Wanaka:Base Wanaka – actually quite a nice hostel. Again there was 8 of us so we managed to get a ‘private room’. The room was quite small for 8 people but the hostel is very central. Didn’t cook here so not sure how the kitchen was.

My god, it feels good to be back travelling. Working is actually the worst. My journey did start with the usual process of me thinking I’m going to miss my flight (I didn’t). For once my flight was actually fantastic, as I mentioned in my last post, I’d been upgraded to business for the long part of the journey so I genuinely enjoyed the flight. When I arrived Christie and Rissbrook were waiting for me at arrivals which was lovely, and then we jumped in an Uber, picked up Mischa and headed to Christie’s uncle’s house out in Whangaparaoa – about an hour outside of Auckland.

The weather was glorious, the house beautiful and it was just such a nice way to start the trip. We were all being very active and actually worked out every day when we were there. I did get a bit burned (I even put factor 30 on!) but apart from that everything was fantastic and we went to bed early to get rid of the jet lag quickly!

After two days of very un-backpacker way of life, we checked into Nomads hostel in Auckland as we started the Kiwi Experience the next day. We had a little wander around but it was really just like any big city. We drank a few glasses of wine with one of Rissbrook’s friends living out there but ultimately went to bed early as our bus was at 9am.

Naturally, the first thing we did when we got on the bus was to try and suss out who looked like a good time. We had also been joined by another Edinburgh grad – Nick Russell, or as we like to call him ‘Itinerary Nick’. The first stop on the bus was Hot Water Beach – at this beach around an hour before or after low tide, you can dig a hole and sit in the hot water that comes through the sand as a natural hot spring. Despite our best efforts, we failed to dig a big or deep enough hole so eventually just nicked someone else’s already previously dug one. This is where we made our first kiwi friends (yay) Jamie, Jordan and Cam – who we actually ended up travelling all the way down to Queenstown with. That afternoon we headed to  Cathedral Cove which involved a 40 min round trip hike to a… wait for it… cove. Although slightly sweaty and sandy, the beach really was lovely and worth the walk. That evening we made a huge BBQ and drank a lot of boxed wine resulting in a very good first day.

What I failed to mention earlier was our bus driver Dylan. Man, this guy had ADHD to a new level – he NEVER stopped talking over the mic! Bless his heart, he knows so much about New Zealand but you couldn’t hear yourself think over his constant mumbling and awful one-liners. Luckily, he was just the overload driver so we didn’t have him for the full trip!

The next stop after Hot Water Beach was Waitomo. We had booked to go on the black water rafting in the caves with glowworms in the afternoon. This was actually great fun. It was more tubing than rafting however and the whole thing was actually a bit scary at times! We had to jump off waterfalls backwards in the dark and we knew there were eels in the water. Despite all of this, when you turned your head torch off and floated in the pitch black, the glowworms were fantastic, they looked like stars in the sky. We did the labyrinth tour and not the abyss and we were so glad, 2 hours in the caves was enough! The Abyss has abseiling and zip-lining but it was 5 hours long and I couldn’t have hacked that, after 2 hours I was ready to see daylight and dry off.

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Wetsuits are a very good all-round look. It was way scarier than it looks by the way!

Now this next bit surprises even me, but we got up the next day at 7am and went for a run…. what? I’ll admit that I’m quite smug about that! On our way to Rotorua we dropped some people off at Hobbiton; as I’ve never seen Lord of the rings (don’t hate me) I couldn’t justify paying for a ticket but everyone that went said it was amazing.  Instead of Hobbiton, Christie and I wandered around Rotorua for a couple of hours. We had a glass of wine by the lake and went to the market (there isn’t very much to do there). Rotorua is famous for its natural hot springs/geothermal activity which is neat, but the town smelt of sulphur the entire time which was less than ideal.

Big smiles to not be at Hobbiton!

You’re lucky we can’t smell through the internet yet

Before Christie nearly got attacked my a black swan

That evening we stayed in the Tamaki Maori village overnight. When we arrived we were given afternoon tea which was such a treat and then learnt a song in Maori and played some traditional games with sticks. All of which was genuinely so much fun. We then got ready and headed to the actual experience where we were shown a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony and learnt a lot about their culture. Despite it all being an act, I really enjoyed learning about their traditions and found it very interesting. After the experience, we had a huge buffet dinner which has been cooked in the traditional style – steamed underground using the natural hot springs. We then performed our song to the rest of the people at the dinner and spent the night in the hot tubs drinking wine – it was an extremely enjoyable evening and I would highly recommend it to anyone going. Everyone had a good time and it was a great way to meet people on your bus, although some of us (Rissbrook) may have had a little TOO much wine.

Entrance to the Tamaki Maori Village

Pals and their sticks

The following morning we were all a bit hungover as we had to be up at 7am and didn’t get to bed til around 2am. Everyone was feeling a bit cranky and there was so much faffing about. One of the main negatives of the Kiwi Experience for me is that it is very much like a school trip. It’s not as easy as we had originally thought to hop on and off, you need to call the office and confirm your Itinerary and going southbound in the summer months is extremely busy, it’s very likely you’ll be on waiting lists for buses. In addition to this, obviously you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but the bus will often stop off at walks/places of interest/cafes and you will have to sit there and wait for anyone that does the activity before the bus moves on to the actual destination. This was our first real experience of this, really feeling worse for wear. After the really early start, the bus pulls us to the Geothermal Park. I can’t say this sulphur-smelling centre was exactly where I wanted to be or spend my money one so instead, we just sat by the lake and waited. The next stop was (i’ll admit) a beautiful redwood forest. Our first impression was “I can’t believe we had to get up at 7am for all of these activities we don’t even want to do”, but we ended up doing an hours walk in the forest and we ended up really enjoying it.

By the time we’d finally got to Taupo and checked into the hostel, it was quite late in the afternoon and everyone was extremely hungry and getting quite snappy so we hurried to the nearest restaurant. The lakefront in Taupo is great. It has a load of nice bars, restaurants and cafes with a very chilled atmosphere. Lake Taupo is actually the largest lake in New Zealand, it’s roughly the size of Singapore! After eating, we all felt a little better and spent the rest of the evening just chilling in the hostel.

Everyone stays 2 nights in Taupo because you are supposed to do the Tongariro crossing – apparently the most beautiful hike you’ll ever do – the next day, however, the wind at the top of the mountain that day was exceeding 60km/h so it was called off. As we couldn’t do the hike, we all went for a family run along the lake and Mischa and I did a quick legs, bums and tums set in the grass at the hostel (I literally don’t know who I am anymore).

Despite the walk being called off, the weather in Taupo was glorious so we headed to the free hot springs called Spa Thermal Park. It was a good 40-minute walk away but so worth it, It ended up being a really great day, even if I did get a bit sunburnt. We spent the evening watching the sunset over the lake with a G&T; how very civilised.

We got on the bus to River Valley the next morning and one of our mandatory activities was an hour and a half round trip to see the Taranaki falls. We ate our lunch by the falls but it ended up actually being quite chilly! In River Valley, everyone stays at the River Valley Lodge and it’s basically just a huge piss up – really great fun. Our new bus driver Benni, this larger than life Maori, has 100% been the best bus driver we’ve had. He straight up told us that he hates the mic, he’ll only stop if he has to and honestly was so much fun on that night. He was wandering around with a rasta hat on, listening to Maori-pop on his headphones, having a few beers and ciggies. We even got him to play ‘Heads up’ which was quite an experience. If you ever do the Kiwi Experience and have Benni, honestly, send him my love, we all had so much time for him.

The whole point of going to River Vally is for the whitewater rafting, which we had the next day at 8am. The rafting was actually awesome, although Christie and I got kicked out of our boats and had to go with randomers… safe to say Cam and Jordan were in the dog-house for a while. I would definitely recommend doing this while you’re there though, it’s supposed to be some of the most technical (and therefore fun) rafting in the world. By the time we got back to the hostel we had a quick turn around and headed for Wellington. We ended up getting a free upgrade to a private room which was lovely, so all of us girls just stayed in and watched a movie.

That morning we slept in for so long; this was the first chance for a proper lie in. The Kiwi Experience only guarantees you 1 night in Wellington but you get there at 6pm on the first day. We were only able to book an extra night but 3 would have probably been better. Despite getting up a bit later than normal, I still managed to go for a lovely run along the water. We then hiked up Mount Vic which had spectacular views of the city from the top and then made our way down to Oriental bay – a small beach right near the centre of Wellington. Just as we were reaching the beach a local pointed out that a whole pod of dolphins in the centre of the bay, such a treat! There is a small pontoon you can swim out to from the beach which was really nice until we realised we were surrounded by jellyfish and had to make some mission impossible style moves to get out of the water unharmed.

Another must-do in Wellington is the Te Papa museum. It’s completely free and so informative. We didn’t really have enough time to see it properly but I wish that we had. A fourth and final Edinburgh pal arrived that evening, Ruby – we were building up quite the group!

For dinner we had street food on Cuba street,  I had a butter chicken roti wrap which was mouth watering. You have to go to this market if you’re in Wellington. After the food everyone was seriously ready for a drink, we found a lovely rooftop bar called the Arborist which made fantastic margaritas – for anyone that knows me I am obsessed with margaritas, specifically frozen ones.

We had been told that the best bar in Wellington is the edgy, cool bar called the Laundry Cafe. I’ll admit it was actually quite cool. It had super out-there decor and while it was still a bar and not a club, the music was quite good. That all changed when the tables were packed away and we realised there was very loud techno playing and we were suddenly very outnumbered by people in studded leather jackets, shaved-headed and huge doc martens. Honestly, on a normal night in the UK I actually quite like a bit of techno but this just wasn’t the vibe we were looking for. Instead, we ended up at a super-cheesy night in a club called Danger Danger. There was a lot of Shania Twain and finger wagging (I’d imagine the tequila probably helped with this part) but it was perfect. The late night didn’t bode well for the 6:30am wake up we had the next morning to get the ferry.

Hostels

NOTE: The hostels in New Zealand have quite weird drinking rules. A lot of hostels are completely dry and therefore you aren’t allowed to have any alcohol on the premises. Some have bars but honestly quite a few force you to take a few nights off!

Auckland: Nomads – Average hostel but did what it said on the tin! Very close to the bus pick up so that was helpful.

Hot water beach: Hot Water beach top 10 Holiday park – so, we ended up staying in a glamping tent but there were nice cabins as well there as well. This place was really nice, it didn’t have enough showers but the kitchen was decent, there was outside benches and a BBQ. It was freezing in the tent though! Try and stay in a cabin if you can.

Waitomo:Kiwi Aka – Such a cute hostel! We stayed in a room that was almost like a house. It had 2 floors, really comfy beds and its own bathroom. The kitchen was quite big, you cant bring alcohol but there a pub literally next door, although we didn’t check it out. A lot of the hostels here are ‘dry hostels’ but it was actually quite nice as certain places forced you to to take a night off.

Rotorua: We did the overnight stay at the Maori village so don’t know anything about the hostels here. Would really recommend doing the overnight stay, it’s not cheap but the rooms and nice and the whole evening is well worth the money. It’s also a great way to get to know your bus-mates.

Taupo: Haka Lodge – This was a really nice hostel with a hot tub and beds with curtains and plugs. We didn’t stay in Base because we were told it was disgusting – think staying here was a good idea! The only negative was when we did a wash nothing dried, although I suspect this was because we overfilled it by quite a lot.

River Valley:River Valley Lodge – there is nowhere else to stay and this place is quite nice. It’s the only place in New Zealand that only caters to the Kiwi Experience. They have reasonably priced bar and really nice food. We stayed the dorm room which was basically like 1 really long bunk bed with a load of mattresses next to each other. Luckily we were a bit too drunk to worry about how close everyone was and actually ended up having a great sleep.

Wellington:YHA– Great hostel, would highly recommend it. We had a very complicated booking with people coming and going, different rooms and different dates. They sorted it all out for us and gave us a private room for the price of a dorm. The kitchen is huge and well equipped – definitely stay here and not at Base if you can.