Hey,
So eventful few days to talk about,
The day I wrote the last blog, I was meeting Sandy in Wellington...We went to the museum, then had a lovely Italian meal (first time I'd had Peroni since being away).
The following morning was an early one for both of us as we had to catch separate ferries across to the south island. I had to be up at 7am, urgh. Anyway, on the ferry I met Rob, who has been on our bus for a little bit but we'd only had a couple conversations...we spent 3 hours talking about films like Anchorman, Dumb & Dumber and so on...plus I had to teach him about how the league system works in English football (as he is a Canadian...which means the only sport he knows anything about is Ice Hockey) I had to teach him this as the Reading vs Cardiff playoff game was on live. Good game.
So the trip went pretty quickly, and on the other side I was reunited with the wolf-pack...and on to Nelson we went.
Nelson is known as the sunniest place in New Zealand, apparently it gets far more sun than anywhere else, and to be fair the weather was pretty good for the few days we stayed there. We booked a half day Kayak, half day walk at Abel Tasman, a National park nearby. Its absolutely stunning there, beautiful beaches, waterfalls, clear blue ocean and rain-forests...what more could you want. Spent the morning kayaking out to a couple of Islands and watching the Seals (while singing the lyrics 'And we'e never gonna surviiiiiive unless...we get a little crazy) every time we saw a seal....classic.
The walk back was awesome, and considering I'm not a big fan of walking, that says a lot. Oh, by the way, Hi-top white converse are not pleasant for walking in...I cut my tow and tore my heels to shreds...but at least I looked good.
Being modern day Indiana Jones figures, the wolf-pack decided to walk up to the centre of New Zealand, a pinpoint showing the exact centre of the country. Some lovely views, but not much more than that.
That night seemed like a good night to go out, so we did (we only had to catch the bus at 8am...so) Hit a few places with Rob, Zoe and Rachel - some cracking banter as per including a complete Air-Band...I was on drums.
So from Nelson to Franz Josef, there's an overnight stop in Greymouth...They (Magic) only recommend staying one night as theres not a lot to do for tourists, so we took their advice. We did, however do the one thing there is to do in Greymouth, the Monteith's brewery tour, which includes a meal and plenty of beer tasting. The tour itself was pretty boring, and you could tel everyone was just waiting for the bit at the end where you get to taste all the beers, and then pour a pint of your favourite to drink. The woman didnt seem to notice that I brought two glasses up to the bar each time for the tasters. Win. After pouring ourselves a few sneaky extra drinks, we went to the restaurant for probably the best meal Ive had since being away, minted lamb, caramelized onions, potato salad with rocket, and a burger...washed down with Monteith's finest.
The next day we boarded the bus again, this time with an even more painful head...
Franz Josef is amazing...the township is named after the big old Glacier that runs from the mountains down a valley..one of the activities there is to do a hike up the glacier...options being a half day or full day hike (or a helicopter hike if you're Bill Gates) we chose the full day and we were so glad we did. Although it was knackering, it was my favourite activity to that point...climbing up a glacier of bright blue ice, surrounded by rain-forest covered mountains with waterfalls streaming down the side...unbelievable...I was convinced I was at Alton Towers or something, queuing up for their latest roller-coaster. We squeezed through naturallly formed ice-caves (one of which I got stuck for a while, but managed to just about get through by doing a sort of hand-stand and diving through the small hole...then got stuck again because I was facing the wrong way...eventually got out, but with a nice ice graze on my hip) Our guide was quite the adventurous type, and took us through huge crevasses ( I think thats the right term) in the ice which is like shimmying between two huge ice walls with barely enough room to breath. It was awesome. In fact, we were the first ever people to squeeze through one of them, as they'd been waiting a while for the ice to move just enough to fit people through. Such a great day, recommend to anyone.
So the next morning I had a morning kayaking trip booked along with Rob and Sarah (Sarah was staying at the same hostel). Our instructor looked just like Oz from American Pie (we only noticed as we'd watched the film the night before) but it was a spitting image. Anyway, we kayaked across a lake and down an estuary, really chilled out morning, very tranquil.
That night there was a quiz on at one of the many pubs (two in total I think) so we went down, our dream team being Craig, Chris, Rob, Sarah, Matthius (a German guy from our hostel) and my good self. It turned out it was all about the 1995 Rugby World Cup...brilliant. None of us really had a clue so we resorted to giving the most stupid answers we could think of...my personal favourite being our answer to the question "Which French winger scored the most points in some game" to which we answered "Pierre Baguette Le Beof" or something along those lines. Obviously we lost the quiz, but we were given a round of beers and a rugby ball for our amusing answers. There was a free pool table there which we made the most of, and once the drinking became more heavy, the pole was also used. I wont go into it, just check facebook soon.
The next morning, Craig and Chris had there sky-dive booked, so they were already gone when I woke up. I was feeling rough, but as soon as I saw the view from the window it all went away...Clear blue skies over a snow topped mountain, right out the kitchen window...I decided I'd give myself a treat as it was the day before my 23rd Birthday, so I went and booked an 18,000 foot sky-dive, walked to the shop, signed the forms, got in the van, driven to the hanger, met with Craig and Chris, got suited up, got on he plane, flew for 20 minutes enjoying the spectacular views, jumped out, free-fell for 75 seconds, did a few back-flips, steered the parachute, landed, went back. Thats how quick the whole process felt like, although it was probably around 3 hours in total. But what an amazing 3 hours it was. Absolutely unbelievable.
Rob was officially inaugurated into the wolf-pack by this point, so he joined us the following morning to Wanaka, an optional stop-off on the way to Queenstown. On the journey down, we pulled up at a cafe...the driver said for everyone to remain on the bus as he needed to sort something out...then he said on the microphone "Is there a James Hampshire? (pronounced wrong)" I put my hand up and he said I needed to bring my I.D to the front of the bus because he needed it for a hostel booking..so I walked all the way to the front of the bus (as we were right at the back...cool kids.), handed him my ID...Then I realised what was going on...Craig had told him it was my Birthday, so the driver announced this to the entire bus (which was packed) that it was my Birthday and started the song...so embarrassing..I had to walk all the way to the back of the bus with everyone singing to me. Anyone who knows me well enough will know how much I hated this...but it was a good stitch up by Craig, fair play.
Got to Wanaka, an amazing lake with a small township...went to Salvation Army to mooch around and the idea came up that the lads will buy me a disgusting shirt that I was to wear that night. It was an old Asics cycle shirt, from the 90's...God knows how many people have worn it...I was also egged onto shave for the evening so I ended up going out with this awful shirt, and a goatee.
It wouldn't have been so bad if we were going to the cinema to watch Hangover 2...by the time we got there, Id forgotten about my appearance, so I was surprised when 50 people were staring at me as I walked to my seat. The film was distinctly average but there were a few laughs...I would give my full review here, but Ive been typing for 45 minutes...I think average sums it up. Anyway, out we went to a few bars, managed to get some free birthday shots, plus a 30 dollar bar-tab at one place. Really good night out, once again.
So that brings me to now, recovering slowly in Wanaka...planning to head to Puzzle-land or something along those lines...meant to be a good laugh.
I think thats everything covered, although with the amount hats happened I'm bound to have left some things out
Hope all is well
Jay
Friday 27 May 2011
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Big 3-0
So this is my 30th post on this blog. Yay.
OK its been a while, so this will be a lengthy blog, my apologies.
Right, so the last time I blogged was just after the sky-jump in Auckland and I was contemplating going out for a few beers that night with Arj. It got to about midnight and I was feeling very tired...Chris was asleep, as was Craig. Jules, the Dutch girl who had been with us at the Bay of Islands, was in our room, and she had just watched the first episode of Flight of the Concords on my Ipod...So when I got the text saying to meet them at the bar, I asked if she wanted to come. We went. It was packed, so we met quite a few people, some of which were other comedians on tour. Ended up on Tequila at 3am. Needless to say, getting up for the magic bus at 7.30am wasn't pretty, but I made it on time to make our way to Rotorua.
As we chucked our bags in the cargo, the driver introduced himself to us personally...very personally. He leaned in and we had to touch noses. Now, this would be weird under any circumstances, but at 7.30 on a hangover, the last thing you want to do is touch noses with a hobbit.
Id like to say that he didn't talk over the microphone much, or repeat himself over and over again....but that would be a lie. We even stopped at his sisters house so he could wish them well on their holiday. Luckily I had the whole back row of seats to spread out on and sleep. I must have looked awful...I was wearing the same clothes Id been out in, slept in, and woke up in. Nice. We stopped at a giant L+P bottle (Lemon and Paeroa, its a lemonade that is "World famous in New Zealand"...they have a good sense of humour, these Kiwis).
Anyway got to Rotorua, probably the worst smelling place on the planet (Due to the Sulphur in the air). Besides the smell, its a pretty awesome place, with loads of steaming pools of water, boiling mud baths, rivers and what not. We booked our white-water-rafting for the following day, but it was cancelled due to high water levels. Luckily we were staying a few days, so re-booked for the next slot available. Obviously, I took the opportunity to sleep in for as long as possible. Craig and Chris went Zorbing (that big inflatable ball that you get in, and then roll down a steep hill) while I slept. If it wasn't for the receptionist waking me up at 1pm, saying I had a phone call, I would have slept forever. The call was from Craig, saying that the next bus to the luge was at 2. Now, the luge is basically go-karting down hill without an engine, but its just as fun. I made it to the 2pm bus and met the two C's (I mean Chris and Craig...not the bad C-word) at the hill. It was dead cheap, roughly 24 quid for 6 goes, including the lift pass. The first two goes, we took pretty steady, getting photos and what not. Then we decided to go onto the advanced track and race. Now, being rather competitive, Craig and I battled our way down the hill...I managed to overtake him, but then forgot to brake...ended up flying into a sand bank which stopped me from falling down the hill. No injury. Then on the next run, I decided to go as fast as possible down the long straight towards the end of the track...again, I forgot to brake, and smashed straight into a curb, flew out of the luge and ended up a couple of yards away on the side of the track. Injury. My left shin took a battering, ripped quite a bit of skin off. Luckily though, it was right under the chair lift, so everyone saw...and laughed. Id like to say I learnt my lesson...but again, that would be a lie. I came off again on the next run, scraping the same shin all along the curb this time. Im pretty sure most of my shin is still there, so if anyone does the luge in Rotorua, please collect it and send it to me, thanks.
The next day was white water rafting time...Which was absolutely amazing. It was a grade 3 (which means nothing to me) and we dropped down a 7m waterfall. Our guide was a bit mental, and rather inappropriate. When explaining the position to get in when dropping down the waterfall, he described it as this: "Get into the rape position...you know, as if you're being raped" The girls were not impressed. Neither were we to be honest, but we let him off. There were plenty of falls, but the 7m one was awesome...the entire raft submerged, then flipped, so we all ended up under the raft for a bit. We were rescued by one of the other rafts (which was a bit extreme...we didn't really need rescuing, I think they just liked the drama) Either way, it was great fun.
The next morning, we got back on the Magic bus to head to Taupo. On the way, we stopped at some of the boiling mud bath things, and a Geyser that shot out water at 10am every morning. It was pretty impressive, but not as impressive as the guy running the show... This was his best joke: "Now, I know some of you are thinking, thats not a very big Geeza, and you're right...Im the geeza, this is the Geyser" No one laughed.
We were then dropped off at a place called something wonderland...It was 28 dollars to get in, to see more mud and holes shooting water. We didn't fancy it, so the driver pointed us in the direction of a place where a hot river met a cold river. You can swim there, and find the right position to get a hot bath-type-swim. We did, and it was pretty sweet. You only had to move and metre or so, and the temperature would completely change...plus it was all natural. The only thing was, there was a sign saying that if you put your head under, you can get meningitis. Getting meningitis isn't on my to-do list, so we kept our heads well out of the water.
Arrived at Taupo and watched some of the passengers do a little bungy jump, then settled into our hostel. We were only staying one night here, as we will return on the way back up to Auckland. There was a pub quiz at a local bar, so we headed down with most of the guys in the hostel, after a couple of beers and a game of killer. We lost. But it was a good quiz...I learned a few things, which was nice. After the quiz, they started playing classic games such as, 'men and women have to swap their clothes really fast' and 'men have to go find 4 different colour bra's' so we left.
The next day was the journey to National Park, which stopped at the Waitomo caves. These are pretty awesome, as the house thousands of glow-worms. We did a little tour and saw loads of them....then played pool in the local bar before leaving again.
There is only one thing to do in National Park, and thats a massive 19km hike through the Tongariro mountain range, which includes Mount Doom, from the Lord of The Rings films. It was mental, took about 6 hours, was hot, then freezing, then nice, then boring, then tiring, then monotonous. I'm not the biggest fan of just walking, but I can see why people rave about this walk. As far as walks go, I suppose it was pretty good. But I'm not going to put it on my 'best things I did in NZ ' list.
Watched a few VHS's ( I think DVD's are just coming out in NZ) and played a few games of killer, while recovering from our big walk.
Next stop - Wellington, the capital of NZ. We arrived at about 2ish in the afternoon, stocked up on food and beer, slept, woke up, ate, met with the other Magic Bus people and started drinking. It was a Saturday night, plus one of the girls was celebrating her 25th Birthday...Happy Birthday Niamh. Was such a good night, even though Rhianna was played a stupid amount of times...but there was so much banter flying about. Great Craic, as Niamh would say. (as she's Irish...but you guessed that)
Most of the Magic people got the ferry across the the south Island the following morning, but a group of lads and the three of us were staying a few nights, so we spent the next day watching films and playing pool.
Yesterday, we went to the Te Papa museum here. Its completely free and actually quite good. Im not the biggest lover of museums, but this one is one of those fun ones, with loads of games and interactive stuff. I think its meant to be for kids, which is why I loved it. I got inside an actual-sized, replica whale heart. I had to crawl in through what I think was the Vena-Cava. When I crawled out again, there was a kid with his Mum waiting to get in. I felt a little silly.
So, that brings us onto today...The two C's have taken the ferry over to the South, but Ive stayed here, as Sandy arrives this afternoon for one night. So we're going to chill out, then get the ferry first thing tomorrow morning. Then I'll meet back up with the two C's and the other lads on the Magic Bus, from Picton to Nelson.
Wow, that took nearly an hour to type. Apologies.
Hope all is well
Jay
OK its been a while, so this will be a lengthy blog, my apologies.
Right, so the last time I blogged was just after the sky-jump in Auckland and I was contemplating going out for a few beers that night with Arj. It got to about midnight and I was feeling very tired...Chris was asleep, as was Craig. Jules, the Dutch girl who had been with us at the Bay of Islands, was in our room, and she had just watched the first episode of Flight of the Concords on my Ipod...So when I got the text saying to meet them at the bar, I asked if she wanted to come. We went. It was packed, so we met quite a few people, some of which were other comedians on tour. Ended up on Tequila at 3am. Needless to say, getting up for the magic bus at 7.30am wasn't pretty, but I made it on time to make our way to Rotorua.
As we chucked our bags in the cargo, the driver introduced himself to us personally...very personally. He leaned in and we had to touch noses. Now, this would be weird under any circumstances, but at 7.30 on a hangover, the last thing you want to do is touch noses with a hobbit.
Id like to say that he didn't talk over the microphone much, or repeat himself over and over again....but that would be a lie. We even stopped at his sisters house so he could wish them well on their holiday. Luckily I had the whole back row of seats to spread out on and sleep. I must have looked awful...I was wearing the same clothes Id been out in, slept in, and woke up in. Nice. We stopped at a giant L+P bottle (Lemon and Paeroa, its a lemonade that is "World famous in New Zealand"...they have a good sense of humour, these Kiwis).
Anyway got to Rotorua, probably the worst smelling place on the planet (Due to the Sulphur in the air). Besides the smell, its a pretty awesome place, with loads of steaming pools of water, boiling mud baths, rivers and what not. We booked our white-water-rafting for the following day, but it was cancelled due to high water levels. Luckily we were staying a few days, so re-booked for the next slot available. Obviously, I took the opportunity to sleep in for as long as possible. Craig and Chris went Zorbing (that big inflatable ball that you get in, and then roll down a steep hill) while I slept. If it wasn't for the receptionist waking me up at 1pm, saying I had a phone call, I would have slept forever. The call was from Craig, saying that the next bus to the luge was at 2. Now, the luge is basically go-karting down hill without an engine, but its just as fun. I made it to the 2pm bus and met the two C's (I mean Chris and Craig...not the bad C-word) at the hill. It was dead cheap, roughly 24 quid for 6 goes, including the lift pass. The first two goes, we took pretty steady, getting photos and what not. Then we decided to go onto the advanced track and race. Now, being rather competitive, Craig and I battled our way down the hill...I managed to overtake him, but then forgot to brake...ended up flying into a sand bank which stopped me from falling down the hill. No injury. Then on the next run, I decided to go as fast as possible down the long straight towards the end of the track...again, I forgot to brake, and smashed straight into a curb, flew out of the luge and ended up a couple of yards away on the side of the track. Injury. My left shin took a battering, ripped quite a bit of skin off. Luckily though, it was right under the chair lift, so everyone saw...and laughed. Id like to say I learnt my lesson...but again, that would be a lie. I came off again on the next run, scraping the same shin all along the curb this time. Im pretty sure most of my shin is still there, so if anyone does the luge in Rotorua, please collect it and send it to me, thanks.
The next day was white water rafting time...Which was absolutely amazing. It was a grade 3 (which means nothing to me) and we dropped down a 7m waterfall. Our guide was a bit mental, and rather inappropriate. When explaining the position to get in when dropping down the waterfall, he described it as this: "Get into the rape position...you know, as if you're being raped" The girls were not impressed. Neither were we to be honest, but we let him off. There were plenty of falls, but the 7m one was awesome...the entire raft submerged, then flipped, so we all ended up under the raft for a bit. We were rescued by one of the other rafts (which was a bit extreme...we didn't really need rescuing, I think they just liked the drama) Either way, it was great fun.
The next morning, we got back on the Magic bus to head to Taupo. On the way, we stopped at some of the boiling mud bath things, and a Geyser that shot out water at 10am every morning. It was pretty impressive, but not as impressive as the guy running the show... This was his best joke: "Now, I know some of you are thinking, thats not a very big Geeza, and you're right...Im the geeza, this is the Geyser" No one laughed.
We were then dropped off at a place called something wonderland...It was 28 dollars to get in, to see more mud and holes shooting water. We didn't fancy it, so the driver pointed us in the direction of a place where a hot river met a cold river. You can swim there, and find the right position to get a hot bath-type-swim. We did, and it was pretty sweet. You only had to move and metre or so, and the temperature would completely change...plus it was all natural. The only thing was, there was a sign saying that if you put your head under, you can get meningitis. Getting meningitis isn't on my to-do list, so we kept our heads well out of the water.
Arrived at Taupo and watched some of the passengers do a little bungy jump, then settled into our hostel. We were only staying one night here, as we will return on the way back up to Auckland. There was a pub quiz at a local bar, so we headed down with most of the guys in the hostel, after a couple of beers and a game of killer. We lost. But it was a good quiz...I learned a few things, which was nice. After the quiz, they started playing classic games such as, 'men and women have to swap their clothes really fast' and 'men have to go find 4 different colour bra's' so we left.
The next day was the journey to National Park, which stopped at the Waitomo caves. These are pretty awesome, as the house thousands of glow-worms. We did a little tour and saw loads of them....then played pool in the local bar before leaving again.
There is only one thing to do in National Park, and thats a massive 19km hike through the Tongariro mountain range, which includes Mount Doom, from the Lord of The Rings films. It was mental, took about 6 hours, was hot, then freezing, then nice, then boring, then tiring, then monotonous. I'm not the biggest fan of just walking, but I can see why people rave about this walk. As far as walks go, I suppose it was pretty good. But I'm not going to put it on my 'best things I did in NZ ' list.
Watched a few VHS's ( I think DVD's are just coming out in NZ) and played a few games of killer, while recovering from our big walk.
Next stop - Wellington, the capital of NZ. We arrived at about 2ish in the afternoon, stocked up on food and beer, slept, woke up, ate, met with the other Magic Bus people and started drinking. It was a Saturday night, plus one of the girls was celebrating her 25th Birthday...Happy Birthday Niamh. Was such a good night, even though Rhianna was played a stupid amount of times...but there was so much banter flying about. Great Craic, as Niamh would say. (as she's Irish...but you guessed that)
Most of the Magic people got the ferry across the the south Island the following morning, but a group of lads and the three of us were staying a few nights, so we spent the next day watching films and playing pool.
Yesterday, we went to the Te Papa museum here. Its completely free and actually quite good. Im not the biggest lover of museums, but this one is one of those fun ones, with loads of games and interactive stuff. I think its meant to be for kids, which is why I loved it. I got inside an actual-sized, replica whale heart. I had to crawl in through what I think was the Vena-Cava. When I crawled out again, there was a kid with his Mum waiting to get in. I felt a little silly.
So, that brings us onto today...The two C's have taken the ferry over to the South, but Ive stayed here, as Sandy arrives this afternoon for one night. So we're going to chill out, then get the ferry first thing tomorrow morning. Then I'll meet back up with the two C's and the other lads on the Magic Bus, from Picton to Nelson.
Wow, that took nearly an hour to type. Apologies.
Hope all is well
Jay
Friday 6 May 2011
Ridiculously Sweet az few days bro.
Well, the title says it all in this one...since the last blog, its been amazing. Absolutely amazing...and surreal.
We left for the Bay of Islands first thing in the morning on the Magic Bus, Didn't take too long to get there, so took the ferry over to a place called Russel. Had a couple of pints in the first ever licenced hotel to sell alcohol in New Zealand. Beautiful place, Russel I mean, not the hotel...that was pretty standard but we sat outside to look at the beach, water and boats. Headed back and booked a couple of trips, one of which was to Cape Reinga (the most North-western place in NZ...I think) and the other was a dolphin viewing trip.
So up again early doors for this day trip to Cape Reinga, I only took shorts and a singlet (vest)...I immediately regretted this decision as it started pissing down. Luckily by the time we got to our first stop of the day, it had brightened up. This first stop was at a gum-tree forest. It was so boring, and the guide cracked terrible jokes that only the oldies enjoyed. But the forest itself was pretty good looking. Luckily we weren't there too long, and headed up to the most northern tip, where there's a lighthouse and the most spectacular views Ive seen so far (although I'm sure it will be topped at some point in NZ). You could see where the Tasman sea met the ocean. I mean, that wasn't too impressive, but it still looked pretty incredible. Next stop was at the massive sand dunes, where you can 'boogie-board' down from the top. It was awesome...took ages to climb to the top, but it was well worth it. Had a few goes, and managed to reach the little stream at the bottom, got soaked, then covered in sand. This was by far the highlight of the day. We were then driven along the beach to see the "hole in the rock" ...guess what that is. Saw some wild horses pottering about as well which was good. Our guide, by the way, didn't enjoy talking...he f**king loved it. Allllll the way he just didn't stop, some things he said were mildly interesting, but this was about 4% of the content. He told us how to tow another truck out of the sand, how they had a power cut recently and other such fascinating things. Harmless though.
The next day was the dolphin trip around the bay of islands...another tour-guide who enjoyed his own voice, but this one sounded like he was auditioning for radio 4. Every word over pronounced, with no ers or urms, and of course classic jokes that he's made every day forever. Again, harmless though. We saw a huge pod (as its called) of Dolphins, around 30 apparently. We got all excited as we thought we'd be able to swim with them...sadly its against the law to swim with a pod that has a baby in it. This one did. We didn't swim. They still put on a show for us though, leaping 5 metres into the air and flipping and what not. If it wasn't for the dolphins, the day would have been a non-event...being shown rocks in the sea isn't the most exciting thing in the world.
Had a few drinks that night in the hostel then hit the hay as it was an early departure on the Magic bus the following morning. Magic, by the way, are the company we are travelling with...And I'm impressed so far...they book your hostels for you, sort out trips, and book you on the next bus so you don't have to sort it all out yourself. Not bad.
On the way back, we stopped at a cafe. We were told no longer than 30 minutes before we were to be back on the bus. Everyone was back in time, apart from a Japanese lady. We drove down to the museum to see if she was there, but she wasn't. In fact she was nowhere to be seen. About 20 minutes later, a guy flagged us down and said he'd seen an Asian woman walking on the other side of Bogey (I don't know either)...This place, though, was about 4 miles away, and when we finally caught up with her, she was still walking away from where she started. No idea what she was playing at, but we gave her a massive cheer and applause when she got on...plonker.
Anyway, onto the best part...
I saw in a book that Arj Barker, (Dave from Flight of the Concords) was performing his stand up tour at the Sky theatre in Auckland that night. Chris and I wandered down to see if there were any tickets left, and there were...third row to the right. Buzzing. Came back and had a few beers at the bar (free I might add...an hour of free beer in a hostel that gives you a free mini-meal at 7pm and only charge you 9 pounds a night...Fat Camel its called) Then headed back for the show. It was class...some woman on the front row kept getting up and touching Arj's feet and shouting during jokes, so eventually she was escorted out....A bit later on, Chris need the toilet so headed out...when he came back, he stayed near the back as there wasn't long left. He was lucky enough to be sat right by the foot-fetish woman. He text me saying that he was at the back, and she had a go at him for using his mobile...unbelievable!
So after the show, we thought we'd pop up to see if he was doing any meeting and greeting. He was...having photo's with people etc etc. We didn't have a camera so we just went up to say hello and that we enjoyed it and what not. Got chatting, then he introduced us to a couple of his mates...then invited us for a couple of beers. Obviously we said yes, and went along. It was awesome, just sat having a few beers with Arj Barker and 2 of his mates, chatting about all sorts of comedy etc. We even recommended a comedy to him that he hadn't seen (Garth Marenghi's Dark Place). So anyway, Facebooks got exchanged and we went back to the hostel feeling pretty excited about the whole thing...decided to go out with Julie from our hostel. Ended up in Burger King (standard) at 3 am, throwing gherkins at each other.
Now onto the really amazing bit...
Get a call from Alison, Arj's friend who tours with him...asking us if we want to do the Sky Jump off the Sky Tower. Yes please. So we hurried down, paid a heavily discounted price, kitted up and headed up in the lift to the top floor. Again, it was quite surreal (as we were about to jump off a building with Dave off F.O.T.C) and frightening as we were about to jump off a building. Chris was petrified. Absolutely petrified, it was hilarious.
What happens is, you walk to the end of the platform and jump off....your suspended about 180m above the ground for a few seconds and a photo...then dropped all the way to the bottom. It was mental.
So yeh, that's been the last few days...been invited to have a few more beers with Arj and co after his show tonight, as its his last one in NZ. Might pop along.
Cheers,
Jay
We left for the Bay of Islands first thing in the morning on the Magic Bus, Didn't take too long to get there, so took the ferry over to a place called Russel. Had a couple of pints in the first ever licenced hotel to sell alcohol in New Zealand. Beautiful place, Russel I mean, not the hotel...that was pretty standard but we sat outside to look at the beach, water and boats. Headed back and booked a couple of trips, one of which was to Cape Reinga (the most North-western place in NZ...I think) and the other was a dolphin viewing trip.
So up again early doors for this day trip to Cape Reinga, I only took shorts and a singlet (vest)...I immediately regretted this decision as it started pissing down. Luckily by the time we got to our first stop of the day, it had brightened up. This first stop was at a gum-tree forest. It was so boring, and the guide cracked terrible jokes that only the oldies enjoyed. But the forest itself was pretty good looking. Luckily we weren't there too long, and headed up to the most northern tip, where there's a lighthouse and the most spectacular views Ive seen so far (although I'm sure it will be topped at some point in NZ). You could see where the Tasman sea met the ocean. I mean, that wasn't too impressive, but it still looked pretty incredible. Next stop was at the massive sand dunes, where you can 'boogie-board' down from the top. It was awesome...took ages to climb to the top, but it was well worth it. Had a few goes, and managed to reach the little stream at the bottom, got soaked, then covered in sand. This was by far the highlight of the day. We were then driven along the beach to see the "hole in the rock" ...guess what that is. Saw some wild horses pottering about as well which was good. Our guide, by the way, didn't enjoy talking...he f**king loved it. Allllll the way he just didn't stop, some things he said were mildly interesting, but this was about 4% of the content. He told us how to tow another truck out of the sand, how they had a power cut recently and other such fascinating things. Harmless though.
The next day was the dolphin trip around the bay of islands...another tour-guide who enjoyed his own voice, but this one sounded like he was auditioning for radio 4. Every word over pronounced, with no ers or urms, and of course classic jokes that he's made every day forever. Again, harmless though. We saw a huge pod (as its called) of Dolphins, around 30 apparently. We got all excited as we thought we'd be able to swim with them...sadly its against the law to swim with a pod that has a baby in it. This one did. We didn't swim. They still put on a show for us though, leaping 5 metres into the air and flipping and what not. If it wasn't for the dolphins, the day would have been a non-event...being shown rocks in the sea isn't the most exciting thing in the world.
Had a few drinks that night in the hostel then hit the hay as it was an early departure on the Magic bus the following morning. Magic, by the way, are the company we are travelling with...And I'm impressed so far...they book your hostels for you, sort out trips, and book you on the next bus so you don't have to sort it all out yourself. Not bad.
On the way back, we stopped at a cafe. We were told no longer than 30 minutes before we were to be back on the bus. Everyone was back in time, apart from a Japanese lady. We drove down to the museum to see if she was there, but she wasn't. In fact she was nowhere to be seen. About 20 minutes later, a guy flagged us down and said he'd seen an Asian woman walking on the other side of Bogey (I don't know either)...This place, though, was about 4 miles away, and when we finally caught up with her, she was still walking away from where she started. No idea what she was playing at, but we gave her a massive cheer and applause when she got on...plonker.
Anyway, onto the best part...
I saw in a book that Arj Barker, (Dave from Flight of the Concords) was performing his stand up tour at the Sky theatre in Auckland that night. Chris and I wandered down to see if there were any tickets left, and there were...third row to the right. Buzzing. Came back and had a few beers at the bar (free I might add...an hour of free beer in a hostel that gives you a free mini-meal at 7pm and only charge you 9 pounds a night...Fat Camel its called) Then headed back for the show. It was class...some woman on the front row kept getting up and touching Arj's feet and shouting during jokes, so eventually she was escorted out....A bit later on, Chris need the toilet so headed out...when he came back, he stayed near the back as there wasn't long left. He was lucky enough to be sat right by the foot-fetish woman. He text me saying that he was at the back, and she had a go at him for using his mobile...unbelievable!
So after the show, we thought we'd pop up to see if he was doing any meeting and greeting. He was...having photo's with people etc etc. We didn't have a camera so we just went up to say hello and that we enjoyed it and what not. Got chatting, then he introduced us to a couple of his mates...then invited us for a couple of beers. Obviously we said yes, and went along. It was awesome, just sat having a few beers with Arj Barker and 2 of his mates, chatting about all sorts of comedy etc. We even recommended a comedy to him that he hadn't seen (Garth Marenghi's Dark Place). So anyway, Facebooks got exchanged and we went back to the hostel feeling pretty excited about the whole thing...decided to go out with Julie from our hostel. Ended up in Burger King (standard) at 3 am, throwing gherkins at each other.
Now onto the really amazing bit...
Get a call from Alison, Arj's friend who tours with him...asking us if we want to do the Sky Jump off the Sky Tower. Yes please. So we hurried down, paid a heavily discounted price, kitted up and headed up in the lift to the top floor. Again, it was quite surreal (as we were about to jump off a building with Dave off F.O.T.C) and frightening as we were about to jump off a building. Chris was petrified. Absolutely petrified, it was hilarious.
What happens is, you walk to the end of the platform and jump off....your suspended about 180m above the ground for a few seconds and a photo...then dropped all the way to the bottom. It was mental.
So yeh, that's been the last few days...been invited to have a few more beers with Arj and co after his show tonight, as its his last one in NZ. Might pop along.
Cheers,
Jay
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