Wellington Road Trip

After my Wellington birthday experience I managed to persuade my flatmate Victor to come along with me on another trip. We managed to book a cheap car relocation deal again so got a brand new Toyota Corolla for just $9 a day from Wellington to Auckland. If anyone is thinking of buying a new car I'd highly recommend a Corolla. It was lovely inside, great to drive and very economical. Much better than the Nissan Wingroad heap I got lumbered with last time!

We flew down from Auckland on Wednesday night, and spent the night in Wellington. We were trying to do things as cheaply as possible so planned to camp most of the time, but we did book a hotel in Wellington for the first night. It was basic, but clean, and the staff were friendly and helpful. We were also right in the city centre so we went out for food and for a bit of a walk round.

We had decided that we wanted to spend the next morning at Wellington Zoo so we got up early, had breakfast and drove up to the Zoo. As it was mid week, it was really quiet which was nice. There were plenty of animals to see, and most of them were out and about for photo opportunities.

There was one animal that gave a bit of a show - the baboon. The alpha male walked all the way from the back of the enclosure to come and see us. I thought he was just going to have a look at what we were doing and then wander off again. Instead, as he got within a few metres of us, he decided to run as fast as he could towards the glass, jump (while turning 180 degrees), bum-print the glass and slide back on to the floor. He then casually wandered off towards the rest of the group. It was pretty amazing, and left Victor and I laughing uncontrollably. 

After spending the morning in Wellington, we drove on up the coast to a place called Wanganui. Wanganui is famous for the river that runs through it - it's huge! By the time we arrived it was early evening so we decided to find a campsite, get set up and eat some dinner. We stopped at the supermarket in Wanganui and bought some sausages, lamb chops and sweetcorn, and had a big BBQ. Once we had eaten we took a walk down to the beach (about 2 minutes walk). Just by the beach there was a play area complete with flying fox. The flying fox went over one of the small streams leading to the sea so I sent Victor on it first before having a go myself! It was fine though, and neither one of us got soaked. 

We had a very comfortable night in Wanganui. The campsite was well maintained, the toilets were spotless and the showers were nice and warm. We got up quite early to go to the local information centre and find out what we could do in Wanganui. We found a leaflet that described a drive you could do alongside the river; it took a few hours, but was very scenic, and well worth it.

After our river drive, we carried on up the coast to New Plymouth. Again, we arrived early evening and quickly found a campsite. Although the toilets and shower blocks weren't quite as nice, the view from the tent was much better. Once we had the tent set up we popped into town and bought some sausages and bread rolls, and then some bacon, mushrooms and eggs for the morning. We then got out the trusty BBQ and had hot dogs while watching the sunset.

That night, just before we went to bed, we noticed some bright coloured lights coming from the other side of the campsite. We wandered down to have a look and found what can only be described as 'Santa's Grotto'. Obviously there are people that live permanently on the campsite and they decided to make it as festive as possible. I was quite impressed at the number of lights they had!

After all that excitement, we slept like logs! When we did eventually surface, we found that the weather was stunning. The local surf school were up and out on the waves, and we watched them while we made breakfast. We grilled some bacon, mushroom and tomato, and boiled some eggs. We also had some bread left over from the hot dogs. It was great - we sat on a picnic bench with a great view of the beach while basking in brilliant sunshine. 

After breakfast, we packed up the tent and headed back to Auckland. On the way back we stopped at a place called Pokeno for some ice cream. I can't remember how many flavours they had, but there was plenty to choose from. You could also have up to 8 scoops in a giant cone! Victor and I were very restrained and chose two flavours each. I would have taken some photos, but it was so hot they were melting VERY quickly. I highly recommend Pokeno though, the ice cream was phenomenal!

We had a fantastic time, and are currently looking out for another car relocation deal. I'm hoping for a good South Island adventure next time.

Thailand - The Final Adventure(s)

It was only recently that I realised I had never finished blogging all my Thailand-based stories. I think this was partly as a result of having too many NZ-based adventures in between, and partly due age-induced memory loss (yes I recently hit the big 3-0)! My last stories involve monkey feeding, an elephant trek and canoeing adventure, and a cruise to some of the outlying Islands.

I had already decided as soon as I arrived in Phuket that I would like to do an elephant trek, so began searching for suitable outings immediately. The one that seemed to fit perfectly with my plans was a day trek that began with canoeing down the Khao Sok river, monkey feeding at a local temple, and then a short elephant safari. Lunch was included, and it was a pretty good deal for the amount of activities on offer.

The mini bus collected me from the hotel at 8am, and it was a fairly long drive (2-3 hours) to the Khao Sok River from Phuket. On the way we made a brief stop at the tsunami 'museum'. It wasn't really much of a museum, just a few pictures on a market stall and a 90ft police boat. Apparently the boat had been anchored approximately 1 nautical mile offshore when the tsunami hit, and got carried 2km on to the mainland. It was quite impressive! 

After spending a few minutes at the museum, we moved on to the river and began the canoeing experience. Although I didn't actually get to do any paddling, it was quite nice because I could just take in the views and the sounds of the wildlife. It was very relaxing, and despite a muddy river (due to heavy rainfall), there was plenty to see. The canoeing lasted around 40 mins and I got given 2 bamboo cups and spoons carved by the guide. Unfortunately I couldn't take them back to NZ due to their strict rules and regulations on the importation of biological items. I did take a photo of them though, and gave them to the hotel receptionist who was very pleased with them!

After canoeing had finished, we moved on to the monkey temple. There were lots of monkeys around, mostly adults, but a few babies. We could purchase peanuts to feed them with, and they were more than happy to take it from our hands. I loved it, as it was the first time I had ever had such close contact with them. They were very friendly, and obviously used to tourists. We were all told to hang on tightly to our belongings as they had been known to steal things. Luckily nothing happened to our group, and we made it past them without incident!

Following the monkey experience, we travelled on to the elephant trek. We were put into pairs and assigned an elephant. The trek itself was around 45 minutes long, and we went through some forest, lots of mud, and through the river. There was a guide that walked alongside the elephant directing it where to go. My elephant was a bit naughty and kept stopping to eat some of the fruit that had fallen from the trees. I didn't mind though as it made the experience last longer! After the trek, we got the opportunity to feed our elephant, and pet them. As I was feeding him some bananas, a huge butterfly came and landed on my hand, so I made sure I got a photograph of that too. The whole day was fantastic, and I was so glad I went as I got to experience so many things I had never done before, and may never have the opportunity to do again.

The day after this amazing experience, myself and my friend headed out on a tour to some of the surrounding islands. We visited so many, including the set of 'The Beach' which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Everywhere we stopped, the sand was white and the water so blue. We stopped for a swim and snorkel part way round, and were also given time on each of the islands to explore and take photos. The only downside was that all the tours went to the same places so there were always lots of other people where ever we went. It was still nice to experience island paradise though and of course walk in the steps of film stars!

Right, I think that's Thailand covered... Next stop Wellington (mark II) and then on to Sydney!