Almost A World Tour!

It's fair to say that French Polynesia had a hard act to follow after the awesome Cook Islands but we ventured off with an open mind and a hearty dose of optimism - this is how our 3 week stint panned out;

Pape'ete - where the frick are we?

Our first stop was Tahiti's capital Pape'ete where we were greeted in arrivals by what's commonly referred to as a culture shock - everyone is so bloody rude and unhelpful. We paid an absolute fortune for a taxi to our accommodation and paid a further fortune for two skanky bunks in a very skanky hostel in the middle of the red light district (got to count your blessing I suppose). The first impressions were not good.

The following morning we set off on an exploration exercise. I was expecting a lush tropical island but what we got was an over expensive, dirty port town. We had originally planned to stay in Pape'ete until New Year but decided to make a move the following day after we had sampled the night life - everyone is either horrifically drunk or proper crazy or both.

Mo'orea - the one we really liked.

We hopped on a ferry across to Mo'orea after 2 nights in hell - now this is more like it. We got ourselves settled with some nice accommodation (by French Polynesia standards) right on the lagoon. We spent alot of time chilling on the beach and saw some awesome sunsets, each evening just after the sun had gone in the reef sharks would come into feed which was a pretty thrilling sight. We met a really good crowd of people and enjoyed seeing in the New Year with our new friends. We ended up staying for just over a week, the sun was shining, we were having a good laugh and quite frankly we were abit scared to move on incase this was as good as it got!

New Years Eve with Jasper & Maria

On shark duty

One evening we treated ourselves to a night out at Tiki Village which is a replication on what a traditional Polynesian village would have looked liked. In addition to the food and dancing they take you on a tour of the village and explain all aspects of Polynesian heritage so it was pretty interesting. The show after the meal (which coincidently was cooked in a ground oven) was more of a theatrical performance and really rather good.

Earth Oven - Dinner is served

Tiki Village perfomance

Huahine - the unspoilt one.

One by one all our mates left Mo'orea so we decided to make a move to Huahine. Huahine isn't a major player on the tourist trail so it is pretty unspoiled. We checked into our accommodation to discover we would be sharing a dorm with Imke and Claudia two Dutch birds we had been hanging around with in Mo'orea (I think they hid thier disappointment well)

The weather wasn't great so we decided to hire a car the following day to explore the island. We visited a pearl farm, fed some wild eels, looked at ancient burial grounds and did some snorkeling. The evenings were spent drinking happy hour Hinano's with drunk fisherman trying to deifier what the hell they were rattling on about. We did incidentally learn some funky new handshakes as noone in French Polynesia does a conventional shake.

Bora Bora - the hideously expensive one.

A strict diet of 2 minute noodles and baguettes with Jambon & Fromage had been adopted from the outset of French Polynesia - we were too poor to eat anything else. When the girls suggested a trip to the Millionaires playground which is Bora Bora we didn't want to look like Pikey's so we tagged along.

Arriving in Bora Bora

The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it rained pretty much solidly for the 2 days we were in Bora Bora putting quite literally abit of a dampener on the proceedings. It's a nice place, the lagoon is beautiful (the Cook Islands were better) but it just isn't set up for the budget traveller unless you have an industrial strength credit card. It's full of load American tourists on cruise ship tours who dress horrifically.

We made a good friend in the guy who ran the place we were staying who doubled as our personal chauffeur. We went to go and watch some more dancing (there is pretty much nothingelse to do of an evening) and got chased by wild dogs alot.

The Band

The Groupies

Ra'iatea - the boring one.

Imke & Claudia headed back to Pape'ette from Bora Bora to catch a flight to LA so myself and Mark headed over to Ra'iatea. We stayed on a guys ranch in a converted barn which in principle was a pretty good idea apart from the weather was awful so we spent 48 hours playing cards and wishing the weather would give us a frickin' break! So we didn't really see much of Ra'iatea and we did brave the weather and chanced a stroll we got chased by wild dog again (is it my cologne..?)

Pape'ette (again)

Back in Pae'ette waiting for our flights to escape. Had abit of a tip off the Dutch girls as to where to stay which was much better. Also, and I am not at all proud of this as I am an honest law abiding citizen most of the time but we did sneak into the Intercontinental Resort and spent the day chilling at their pool and wondering why the hell American people always have to talk so loud and dress like they are stuck in the 80's.

So we survived but only just, luckily I had been having french lessons off Adeline on the sly back in the Seymour days which came in handy although I never did learn the french for "Get your fucking crazy, rabid dog off my chuffin' leg will ya mate" - you can't win 'em all.

My advice if your looking for tropical paradise, give Polynesia a miss and stick to The Cooks.

Next stop - Malaysian Borneo.

Not really fancying spending the festive period with the 'crazy Kiwi Experience crowd' in Auckland, we managed to score ourselves some muchas cheapo flights over to the Cook Islands to bask in a sub-tropical climate instead.

Rarotonga.

Our first stop was Rarotonga the largest of the Cook Islands. We spent our first five days here kicking back and well & truly embracing the island way of life. The first thing which struck me about the Cooks was how amazingly friendly they are. I appreciate I have said this alot on my travels but the Cook Islanders really are in a league of their own when it comes to random acts of kindness to complete strangers. We had only been there for a day when a local lad saved my life advising me against sitting under a coconut tree which was about to drop a coconut on my head. I mean the average youth in England would gather his mates and watch in great anticipation with his mobile poised to record the unfortunate event and then put it on the net for all to enjoy.

We hired bikes for a few days to get around much to the amusement of the locals who all have really cool mopeds. We did dedicate one afternoon to cycling around the island, the coastal road is only 32 kms but it took us all afternoon because everyone stops to have a chat with you 'I am very happy you have come to visit my island - have a wonderful time' how cool is that? I have promised myself that I will do the same to each and every Japanese tourist I have to barge through on Oxford St when I get back home.

The Cook Islanders also enjoy a good drink and a boogie so we spent a few evenings down The Banana Court - Rarotonga's premiere nightspot mixing it up with the locals. We were staying a few Kms out of town but if people see you heading in the same direction they pull over and offer you a lift home in the back of their pick up.

Aitutaki.

Aitutaki International Airport

The super helpful lady who ran our hostel in Rarotonga told us of a flight and accommodation deal to the close by Island of Aitutaki. Aitutaki is the island where they film Survivor Cook Islands and also Shipwrecked if you have ever seen either of those. It is a tiny island set in a lagoon and the offer was just too good to pass up on. After a 45 min flight on the smallest plane I have ever seen we arrived. If it possible, the people of Aitutaki were even more friendly than Rarotonga. Absolutely everyone you pass gives you a wave or stops to say Hi. It felt like being a celebrity at first but with it being such a small island I suppose everyone knows each other. You could be having a beer that evening and someone will come over to you and be like 'remember me, I was the sixteenth person to say Hi to you today - how's it going Bruv?'

One of my highlights of Aitutaki was definitely a lagoon cruise we took. The lagoon is absolutely stunning, crystal clear water and pure white sand. We went snorkeling, visited the Survivor Island and also a tiny island called One Foot Island which has the smallest operating Post Office in the world. You can also get your passport stamped there which we did.

Another hectic Monday Morning

We also went to an Island Night at The Blue Nun. At Island Nights you have a massive traditional Cook Islands feast and then the local dance group put on a performance of traditional dancing. All the blokes do this well cool Haka style dance which involves alot of knocking your knees together really quickly (we both got pretty good at it in the end) the ladies do alot of booty shaking which makes Beyonce look like a pure amateur!

So as you can probably gather we had a great time in The Cooks and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's after some pure island style relaxation.

The End

I will upload some photo's when I have got a faster connection.

Happy New Year!

Our next stop - French Polynesia

Blockbusters Rarotonga Branch

Aitutaki from the plane

Sunset in Aitutaki

A chilled one down The Banana Court

We alighted the ever trusty Intercity in Rotorua and... oh Jesus, what's that awful smell..? We were soon to learn that Rotorua is an absolute hive for geothermal activity and natural springs resulting in a constant smell of Sulphur (eggy farts) in the air.

We spent our first day wandering around. Rotorua is the spiritual home of Maori so there is plenty of opportunity to learn more about the Maori culture but it was the geothermal activity which we got really into. As we strolled through the park there are these massive pools of natural hot bubbling mud - now you don't see that alot at home. We spent the evening at the Polynesian Spa where they have numerous natural springs varying in temperature from 37 degrees to a whopping 43 degrees - pretty hot stuff.

The next day we went on a trip to Wai-O-Tapu a thermal wonderland. Our first stop was at the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts everyday at 10.15am prompt. Initially I was mighty impressed that the Geyser operated like clockwork until we arrived and discovered that they put some soap into the Geyser which generates a reaction which causes it to erupt. Non the less 600 tourists a day turn up to see it in action. It looked just like a water fountain once it was going but it was good to see and hear the build up.

Lady Knox Geyser

After the Geyser we headed into the Wai-O-Tapu park where there is a collection of some 25 natural wonders. My personal favorites where the Devil's Bath - a massive crater filled with florescent yellow / green water a result of excess water mixed with Sulphur and ferrous salts and also the Champagne Pools a spring measuring 65m in diameter and 62m deep. The surface temperature is 74 degrees (you don't want to accidentally fall into this one) the bubbles are caused by carbon dioxide and it has all these mad colours caused by various minerals such as mercury, sulphur, arsenic and thallium.

The Champagne Pools

Geothermal activity at it's best

After being dazzled by Wai-O-Tapu the following day we decided to go Zorbing. The Zorb is a massive inflatable sphere which you climb inside. It is then filled with water, sealed and you are rolled down a steep hill. Sounds silly? It's exactly that but we had so much fun we did it twice. At first you are told to stand up and run the down the hill but its not long before you are sliding all over the place and plop out at the end a soaking, giggling mess.

We're off

Thumbs up to Zorbing

Got to do that again!

Auckland.

We headed up to Auckland as our last stop in New Zealand. We'd heard alot of bad press about Auckland, mainly people saying it wasn't that good a city. I don't mind it too much, I mean it isn't as good as Wellington and it doesn't blow your sox off but we have spent the last 4 days here quite easily. We made a visit to the Sky Tower regarded as Auckland's premiere tourist attraction and it is bloody high, infact 328m high making it the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. We went all the way up to the top and were blessed with a clear day so the views were pretty spectacular.

Sky Tower views

Auckland from Waiheke Island ferry

We also made a trip over to Waiheke Island a 35 minute ferry ride from central Auckland. It offers a good mix of white-sand beaches, green farmland and top wineries. It was a welcome change to the "bright lights" of Auckland City. We had some crackling weather so we got some decent walking done and spent the rest of our time chilling out.

So that's New Zealand.

Our Next stop - Raratonga.

We were heading to Taupo for one reason and one reason only - to Skydive over Lake Taupo. We headed straight down to the I-Site centre and got ourselves booked in for a 10.30am jump the following day (weather permitting). We went to get something to eat and pondered over how to spend the afternoon when Mark pipes up with "fancy a bungy?" "why not" I reply and off we trot to throw ourselves off another high ledge.

The bungy site is set in the volcanic Waikato River Valley and is regarded as one of the world's most spectacular bungy sites - it really was stunning. Ofcourse when you arrive it always looks higher than you think (it's 47 metres) but I liked the idea of it being over water and getting dunked.

It was pretty quiet so we got weighed, signed our lives away and went to get shackled up. We opted for a tandem bungy was a way of celebrating our 7th month of travelling without killing one another. We hobbled to the edge, nervously smiled for the camera, then 3-2-1-BUNGY off we popped. Although it wasn't as high as the Canyon Swing I did in Queenstown I would say it was scarier as your hurtling down head first. We hit the water and bounced around a few times before being collected by the little boat. It was definitely a thrill and we both had that adrenalin rush afterwards when you've done something abit scary.

The bungy site

We went back to see the photo's and watch the DVD. We ended up buying the DVD as it is pure comedy - we are so thick about everything. First we can't locate the camera for the photo and one of the guys has to grab Mark's head and physically turn it to face the camera. Then there is quite alot of swearing as we make the jump. Finally, the guy on the boat hold out a long stick for you to grab hold of as you are lowered into the boat. Mark grabs it and he pulls us in then guy says "Ok you can let go now" Mark still holds on "Ok mate - I've got you, you can let the stick go" Mark's still not letting go. In the end he has to pries his fingers off the bloody stick one by one.

Taupo - The Skydive

We are relieved to wake up the following morning to a perfect blue sky and no wind. There is always a risk the jump will be cancelled if the weather isn't good. We get picked up and its a short drive out to Taupo Airport. I'm feeling pretty good at this stage - no real nerves. We get weighed and paid up then there is about an hour of waiting around so we watch other people coming in to land - I'm getting excited now, everyone who lands says it's awesome. Our names are called so we go and get our jumpsuits on and harnessed up, we are jumping with two birds from Sheffield and a Japanese couple.

The plane

In our jumpsuits

I get introduced to JK my Jump Master who I'll be jumping with and we all climb aboard the smallest plane ever. It takes about 20 mins to reach 12,000 so I'm just looking out the window and I feel we are getting pretty high. JK taps me on the shoulder and I think he's going to say get ready we're almost there, but no he shows me his watch which revels we are only at 2,000 ft another 10,000 ft to go - you've got to be shitting me!

Exit shot - perhaps my goggles ate abit tight..?

The land below finally disappears, we're beyond the clouds and we eventually reach 12,000 ft. Time for final safety checks, the harness is so tight I can hardly breath. I'm the 5th out of 6 to jump but before I know it I am sat on the edge of a plane at 12,000 ft with my legs dangling over the edge. Smile for the camera, wait for the green light and then we're off. The feeling is absolutely amazing, at first you tumble through the air and as I look up I can see the bottom off the plane we've just come from. Then we steady horizontally and JK taps me on the shoulder to indicate that I can hold my arms out. We freefall from 12,000 ft to 5,000 ft in 45 seconds accelerating up to 200 kmp in 9.8 seconds. It's seriously the best rush ever, your just hurtling through clouds and trying to take in the scenery. It feels like you can see the whole world you are so high, you seriously think you are the frickin' Daddy!

At 5,000 ft JK opens the parachute and we start to float, he keeps pulling the cords so we spiral and traverse from left to right. The views are amazing and it is so peaceful. The last 5,000 ft lasts for about 8-10 mins but it all over far too quickly. Soon your back safely on land but you are on the biggest high ever. I would recommend it to anyone.

Our next stop - Rotorua.

I was mighty impressed with the ferry which escorts you from the South to the North Island. It was a proper Titanic affair - apart from we didn't sink which we were pleased about as in my opinion there were nowhere near enough life rafts. We passed the three hours chilling on the top deck taking in the views until it got too cold so retreated to the TV lounge and chilled out watching Martha.

We chanced upon Katie who we originally met at the Arts Factory in Byron whilst on the ferry so we arranged to meet her and some of her Kiwi Experience mates that evening for drinks. Wellington is the first place in New Zealand we've visited which resembles a proper city, lots of cool bars, cafes and restaurants. After a hearty Nando's we ploughed into the beers and proceeded to get a little bit very drunk - but I still have all my teeth so it wasn't quite my best effort.

The following day is a complete haze, we were both sporting world championship hangovers so we just kind of wandered around Wellington doing absolutely nothing. Thankfully, soon it was time for bed so we retired safe in the knowledge that we will be feeling human again when we resurfaced.

We faired better on our 2nd day in Wellington and threw ourselves head first into sightseeing. First up was the Te Papa museum which is without doubt the best museum ever (and I have seen more than my fair share in past 6 months so I recon that's fair comment) It is absolutely massive and has lots of wicked interactive exhibits - for example you can go into a mock-up of a house and they replicate what it feels like to experience a earthquake. There was also lots of information about Maori tradition which was really interesting. Next we took the cable car up the hill so we could get a panoramic shot of Welly.

Wellington Cable Car

We planned for another quite night as we had an early alarm call in the morning but deary me, we got completely seduced by the bright lights of Wellington's night life (again) and rocked in at 3.30am.

Napier

Our next stop was Napier a little Art Deco city a few hours north of Wellington. Napier was pretty much destroyed by fire following a massive earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) on Tuesday 3rd February 1931. The city was rebuilt in the style of that era and by the end of the decade Napier was the newest city on the globe - wow!

Radioactive Fountain

Art Deco Church

I really liked Napier although we only spent a few days wandering around as there isn't anything in particular to do - it was a good opportunity to dry out.

Our next stop - Taupo.