Morgs the brave.

Look how good I am! Only a week since my last blog! I spoil you people.

On Monday we arrived in Arrowtown, a 20 minute drive from Queenstown. We had arranged to stay with a couple called Alf and Louise who put us up and fed us for a week in return for us doing some work for them. They were LOVELY. fed us a ridiculous amount and kept telling us we had done too much work and should finish for the day and make the most of our holiday! We worked on their vines for them for the majority of the week, roses the rest, so I am now adept at pruning - that's going on my CV. Arrowtown is an old gold mining village so we went an explored that one afternoon, and Alf and Louise's house overlooked Lake Hayes so we walked all round that a few times in the gorgeous sunshine. On Thursday we treated ourselves to a little adventure and went horse riding in a place called paradise (did I mention they filmed several lord of the rings scenes there? And a little film called the hobbit? Purely a coincidence of course.) It was a very new experience for both of us but luckily my horse, Monty knew much more about it than I did so I left him to it. I did have to get my stirrups shortened as small as they will go though, but at least I got ON.

Continuing with the theme of new experiences we tried something else new on Friday morning and jumped out of an aeroplane. Did not tell parents until after, although did spend the night before writing my will. I joke. Wasn't actually scared, but I think this is more due to it not sinking in until I was in a harness strapped to a 6 foot Dutch man hanging out the side of the plane. Was COLD. Moving at 200 kmph made my podgy little cheeks very chilly, and I could feel them flapping around with the force. Not sure if the video will be going public as its not my best look. Felt quite ill for the rest of the day, that's intense motion sickness! Views by themselves were worth it though... mountains EVERYWHERE.

We left Arrowtown on Sunday and drove to Milford Sound. Its another very remote location, there is only one tunnel as the sole way to get in. Very beautiful though. Checked in and I did what I do best: napped. Man in our dorm told me I wouldn't sleep that night. Fell asleep at 10 woke up at 830 next morning. That showed him. Went on a boat trip through the Sound and picked up a bottle nosed dolphin tag along, which swam alongside us for a good 15 minutes (and another several thousand pictures). So beautiful. This place is the furthest south we will be, in terms of distance when we leave here we will effectively be on our way home! Its been more than 6 months since we left, but I'm sure you all know that and are counting the days until I get back. Well some of you anyway I hope!

Let me know if anyone wins any medals, I'll be finding glaciers on the west coast!

Love
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PS I think I've managed to attach a pic of my daring feat for those who dont have Facebook!

SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP

I dont know why this always happens, but every time I write a blog, something really exciting happens the day AFTER so I end up having to write it down so I dont forget! The day after I wrote my last blog, we experienced our first ever earthquake! About 10 in the evening I was just telling sean something riveting that had happened at work when I heard a funny crunching noise. Thought it was the neighbors moving furniture around again so carried on with my story until sean eventually grabbed my arm and shouted 'morgan there's an EARTHQUAKE '. That's when I realised... it was an earthquake. Felt like we were on some kind of conveyor belt rolling up and down, but then the walls started to bend and then it was pretty frightening. Watched the news straight away and they said it was 6.3 so obviously got straight on Facebook to tell everyone. So annoyed when they changed it to 7 and I'd already done my status. It was definitely not an experience I'd like to repeat any time soon!

We both finished work on 6th July and I was much sadder to leave than I expected. Who would have thought I'd have so much fun working at inland revenue! Spent the weekend packing, organising and watching harry potter films, and finally our last day in Welly arrived. Sean sold his guitar and we got the deposit back on our flat and then we were off on the ferry, two unemployed hippies again.
First stop on our adventures was kaikoura, a place well known for whalewatching. We didn't get off the ferry until dark so the journey there was a bit dull! When morning came though we could see that its a really gorgeous place, with big mountains going right down to the sea. The morning was spent out at sea, where we managed to see 4 sperm whales and get surrounded by about 200 dolphins which was one of the highlights of the trip so far. Next time I get near a PC you'll all be in for a treat when I upload the 7000 pictures I took of what basically looks like a rock in the sea.
That night was full of drama as a middle aged European woman checked into our lovely quiet little hostel and started screaming at everyone from 8pm onwards that she was trying to sleep. Just to illustrate, it was so quiet that she heard me drop my book on the floor at 850 and she screeched through the wall that I had woken her up. She then woke everyone at 7am the next morning yelling and THEN walked into our private room and woke him up to ask if we would take her to Christchurch with us. Sean told her to ask me. Computer says no.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour was Christchurch, via Hanmer Springs which is famous for its thermal pools. To be nice we gave two backpackers a lift there for free. It was lovely, bloody freezing running between hot pools out doors in a snowy mountain village, but gorgeous when you were in (minus the slight distraction of the strange man asking bikini clad girls to pull his finger...no not sean). Then onwards to chch.

Bit of background info at this point: about 2 years ago there was a massive earthquake that destroyed a lot of chch. We thought that maybe there would be the odd building that they hadn't quite got round to fixing yet, so nothing prepared us for the shock of driving into the centre of this city and finding it deserted. Big wire fences stop you walking into areas that are unsafe, but this is actually a massive area. Sides or fronts of buildings are just gone with broken glass still in the windows. Small businesses like family restaurants still have the open sign on the door and furniture laid out for business, and it makes you realise how much people lost. Its like that scene in 28 days later.

The next place we visited was called mount Potts lodge, a sheep station in literally the middle of nowhere. Why? Well they filmed edoras (two towers) there so obviously I had to go! So remote that they've got no phone signal or anything so I embraced being a country bumpkin for a week. We painted lots of buildings, bottle fed baby goats (sean managed to get covered in goat poo during this venture while I remained immaculate) and I looked after a lovely little boy called Archie who has informed me that sean is my dad and Archie is in fact my boyfriend. Sean didn't seem too fussed about this. Managed to sneak onto a tour of mount Sunday for free (everyone else there paid $240) and sniggered at all the geeks while correcting the tour guides lord of the rings knowledge. I dont think we were very popular as a result, the only person who spoke to me started a conversation about artificial insemination in cows. All in all was a brilliant week, although I think I can now confirm that I would not make a good farmers wife and that I am not ready for children!
Left the station in Sunday and headed to Twizel, via a fair few breathtaking lakes, mountains and eventually a glacier. For now I will leave this blog here, I would hate to run out of things to say in the next instalment!

Hope its stopped raining, weather here is fab!
Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Say goodbye to Wellywood

Well, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see the day but this will be my final blog from the wondrous city of Wellington. The ferry leaves at 230pm Tuesday 10th, and we will be on it ready for some new adventures on the South island! Since I last blogged I have achieved lots, mostly working my way through the library including the entire Harry Potter series. Happy days. We have also been out and about and exploring what there is left – not loads as it turns out! The good thing about Wellington is that even when you run out of sights that you would see as a tourist, you can still just drive for half an hour and get to somewhere amazing and just wander around to your hearts content. The one thing I don’t understand, is that there is so much space in this country but absolutely none in our flat. One of the great mysteries of life that I will never know the answer to. In other big news, nobody was more surprised than me when I ended up at a senior technical tax conference last week. What was worse, was that I actually understood what they were saying! Although most of it was still a blur – phew. Anyway I actually had a brilliant time, for another reason… firstly there was the tea break in the morning. I thought I’d grab a quick tea… but just as I reached for a cup my eye was caught by a huge plate of freshly made scones. And a bowl full of jam. And an even bigger bowl of cream. The poor cup of tea was left abandoned as I got stuck in. Then I had a little break, and it seemed to me the perfect time to polish off my packed lunch, which I did. THEN someone came and got me and told me it was lunch time… and lunch was provided. Upstairs I went obediently, and saw the most food I think I have ever seen in my life. I did what I had to do, told my belly to pretend it wasn’t full of scones and sandwiches, and got involved with the buffet. There were a few funny looks when I came back with a plate full of pasta bake, roast potatoes, 8 different bits of sushi, seafood salad and a Caesar salad, but in my defence I didn’t get any of the veal. I’m a poor backpacker I need to fill up where I can! Did have to take my belt off on the way into the afternoon presentations though… anyway I have decided that I really do enjoy conferences and that I must attend more. We have been doing loads of planning and booking stuff for America, so we have got the itinerary pretty set in stone (allowing plenty of time for Disney World and Universal Studios – don’t worry). We’re both getting pretty excited about that, and have to keep reminding ourselves that we have a little holiday in Fiji before that. Nina told me the other day that she has seen Elijah Wood in Wellington ‘loads of times’ but so far I have seen no evidence of him, which is a bit much I think. There are six days left for him to find me and ask me to live in the shire. That’s pretty much all my juicy gossip, so I will leave you now with this tragic tale of something that happened to me last night. There I was being a domestic goddess and cooking a culinary masterpiece involving quite a lot of cayenne pepper. Forgetting that I had used my hands I adjusted my nose stud, and about 2 seconds later felt a horrific burning sensation. Yes, I got cayenne pepper stuck in my nose piercing. My nose hasn’t felt that horrible since I got a bit of snickers stuck up it. Half an hour later, I couldn’t take anymore and started rinsing my nose out. It was not an experience to be repeated. Dinner was nice though. Lots of love, and not too much cayenne pepper xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

life on the other side

Well, this one is definitely even later than the last one! It just seems silly to write a blog once a week when we are staying put and going to work and coming home again, it would be so boring for you all to read! An annoying thing happened, something brilliant, wonderful, exciting and amazing happened the DAY AFTER I wrote my last blog – so I have been saving it for this one, although anyone who has me on facebook, twitter, or in my phonebook will already know about it… We had decided to go and visit a place called Cape Palliser, which is a very remote spot that you have to drive over mountains and all sorts to get to, but it is well known for being an absolutely beautiful place and further research showed that there was a huge seal colony living there, and a Lord of the Rings location called the Pinnacles just happened to be en route. The day arrived, or at least we think it did – it was hard to tell through the hammering rain and we debated whether or not to bother, but decided that as we are English, we would not let the weather stop us so off we set! After a small stop involving a daredevil hare playing chicken with the car, and a toilet break involving a field of shocked cows, we made it to the Pinnacles. It was still chucking it down, but never mind, off we went and missed the path completely and walked up the river (yes, the wet stuff). Walked past two fellow hikers and looked up to smile at them, and I froze and my jaw absolutely dropped, walking past us was Andy flipping Serkis!!!! (For those not as much of a nerd as I am, that’s Gollum, and the second director of The Hobbit!!) Sean started chatting to him straight away while I stood and stared and hyperventilated – it was not cool on my part, and I couldn’t care less, it’s taken me ten years but I finally met someone from the films!!! The rest of the day was brilliant as well, big fat seals and stunning views as far as we could see. Hmm, what other exciting things have been happening… the weather here is turning horrible day by day as winter sets in, which seems very unfair as I keep seeing people’s pics of them at the beach etc. it’s hard to believe its June tomorrow when I can see snow topped mountains out of my office window. Although I can’t be too jealous, because let’s face it, I bet none of you can see mountains, snow topped or otherwise! This weekend just gone I surprised Sean and took him to see a game of rugby. All Blacks aren’t playing here until August so we’ll miss them, but it was a pretty good game with some of their players in it anyway! The score was ridiculous, 66-24 to the home side, plus one person broke their sternum and another got stretchered off unconscious – I will never understand what possesses people to play rugby but it is definitely fun to watch! Other than that, the only news is that we have finally got the remainder of our flights sorted so now know all our dates and when we will be back in England (October 14th, put it in your diaries). It’s weird to think of the end of the trip, but knowing when the end is means that we both appreciate the time we have left and have been plotting and planning how best to use it – we are both getting pretty excited about the South Island now, and also about America! We have decided to go whale watching when we get to the South Island, which I absolutely cannot wait for! Apparently you get to see ‘real whales’ (sperm whales) and not just orca, which you can see any day in the harbour outside my office (note to self, no swimming anywhere in New Zealand… EVER!). That’s about all the news I have at the moment… but all your news is welcome as are your emails so keep in touch please!! Lots of love and woolly hats xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ducks, but no elves...

Hi strangers! Just about to go to bed but thought I could probably squeeze in a little blog as need to put in some updates on our kiwi life! So I had finally left the horrible bar, as it has officially become known in our house. Horrible because of everything previously reported, but even more horrible because they tried to get away without paying me for the two weeks work I did! I finally got the money on Wednesday this week, only a month late. After quitting there, I decided to only look for day jobs... and spend a lot more time in the library as I no longer need to be nocturnal (anyone who knows how much sleep I need should know that was never going to happen). I bought some wool and needles and have got about a quarter of a scarf, and have also been doing lots of drawing, painting and oil pastelling with the help of a talented long distance tutor in the form of my big sis. The internet is an amazing thing. At the weekend we went to Rivendell and had a picnic. The signposts say kaitoke national park, but I know it really is rivendell. Had a close encounter with a horde of ducks, but the elves must have been hiding as we only saw an old man with a fetching hat lurking in the area. I had my first drive in Ron, our Mitsubishi, on the way home, and decided that driving an automatic is like driving a go kart. I think me and Ron will get on fine, but Cyril will always be my first and only love when it comes to cars. In other news, I started a new job two days ago! I'm working for the inland revenue for a month and already love it. The people are so friendly and helpful, and the girl I sit next to has a passion for backstreet boys and britney spears. Think we are soulmates. The most exciting thing is the offices. They take up 13 floors and every floor has two kitchens, complete with panini grills etc and its all brand new and gorgeous and over looks the whole of Wellington harbour. One floor is dedicated to a cafe, library and massive seating area just to sit and have lunch in, and on every floor there are numerous comfy lounge bits in case you want a change of scenery from your desk. As if I wasn't loving it enough, today I got shown where the stationary section is (two on each floor and a massive one downstairs in case you're interested). I may have mellowed on this trip but I will always love stationary! So far have managed not to do anything too embarrassing, although when my boss mentioned that I'd worked in boots (he used to live in London and has fond memories) I did tell him it was the thing I missed most after family, but I think he understood as New Zealand just does not have an equivalent! Oh and Sean recently found out they don't have central heating over here either! Wierd country. I think that's all I have to say, not been so much a news blog as a rambling train of thought mostly about a random building most of you will probably never see, have tried to take pics of the kitchens but don't want to look like a wierdo taking pictures by myself of other people having lunch! Any way, hope everyone at home is ok and got all the stationary they need, I know I have! With love and highlighters xxxxxxxxxxx

Bodger and Badger

Whoops! I blinked and another 3 weeks has gone by... so much for blogging every week. The trouble is now we have slowed down a bit there is a lot less to report back on... I haven't fallen down any toilets, been accosted by any foreigners or locked myself in any where, its all been very average. So let's see, last time I wrote we were on the hunt for a house and job and had just arrived in Wellington. A fair bit has happened since then I suppose, we switched hostels and made our first friend since leaving England - a girl from New York called keynisha, who is very straight talking and funny so we get on pretty well, she calls us the brits and I tell her when she's being too loud and have taught her how to queue properly ready for when she goes to London in the summer. We stayed in the new hostel just long enough to meet the smelliest man in the world, and then thankfully we signed for our lovely little (emphasis on the little) studio flat. I got a job in a fancy bar where I promptly began to get in trouble for doing terrible things like put the straws on the wrong side of the glass. I was given a 14 page drinks menu and told to memorize it by the next shift... I'm guessing you all know that I did not do this. It has come in useful to use as a tray when I'm eating though. It also turns out that people struggle to understand my accent even more in a noisy bar, I spent a good 5 minutes trying to say badger to a customer, while he repeated back 'mad dog' and looked baffled. Had to resort to saying baaahdger before he understood. (just so this story makes sense, there was a stuffed badger in the bar - don't even ask) 3 shifts in I had an epiphany... I didn't actually want to waste my year off working somewhere that I absolutely hated. And more importantly we are not as poor as I thought! I walked straight into the bar and quit, definitely getting a lot more spontaneous, I've never done anything like that before! Any doubts I had about my decision where wiped away when two of the managers spent a shift trying to guess my bra size. Definitely not the place for me! Sean has got work in a Telesales sort of place, it sounds like one of the least organised places in the country but he has been put in charge of spreadsheets so seems fairly content with that! It's good money as well which is always nice. Not sure what my next step will be. Not a bar though, I know that much! Maybe some sort of hermit that lives in the library? That's kind of it on the news front (i told you it wasn't going to be exciting!) We are just pottering along as always, Sean laid back as usual and me waiting to be asked to star in the hobbit at any moment. Fingers crossed everybody please! Lots of kisses to everyone! Xxxxxxxxxxx

The search for hobbits begins...

Sorry its been a while everyone... time seems to keep sneaking past me out here and I didn't realise it had been so long! Lets see, last time I wrote I was hoping to find some lovely Australian wildlife to boast about. Well, karma got me for that one as I got bitten on the foot that very day and proceeded to swell up and pus up like a beauty! Consulted some of the natives and they seemed to think it was a spider bite, and I agree that that is cool enough so I have decided it definitely was a spider! Plus, when it had deflated a little I am pretty sure I could see fang marks in there. Other than that the rest of Melbourne was very lovely and pretty uneventful. We went to the Museum and I got let in for free as the man thought I was under 16 - Sean and his friend Tynan thought it was absolutely hilarious until I said that he must have thought they were a gay couple and I was their adopted daughter. That shut them up! The only other bits to report were that me and Sean have been introduced to the delights of Chinese dumplings (I believe we ate over 50 of them between 3 of us) and that I went back and got another ceasar pizza. Okay two. Our next stop was Ayers Rock, our christmas present from my lovely Pops. Now this my sound pretty stupid but the one thing I could think as we flew over the outback was... its HUGE! And very very empty, except for one or two big red rocks that is. Our hotel was lovely, and even had a bath in it, so I made sure I had three baths over the two days we were there, just to make the most of such a rare treat. The rock itself is just mind blowing. We walked most of the way around it and there are bits of information about what certain sections are used for in terms of the rituals and traditions which was pretty interesting for us anthropology geeks. There are a lot of rumours about not being able to climb it but you can. The Aboriginal people that own the land don't say don't climb it, as long as you don't think that the purpose is to climb it and ignore the views, sounds and experiences than you can. We climbed about a third of the way up and then sat taking in the surroundings for a while, definitely a once in a life time experience. Following on from there we went to Sydney to stay with Sean's friend Rich from Uni, and his girlfriend and friend. Had to get the ferry to the part of Sydney where they live, little did we realise that the ferry leaves from between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House! More free views and pinch yourself moments. We must have taken that ferry at least 10 times while we stayed there and I don't think there was a single trip where we didn't take a picture. On our first day we went to Palm Beach where they make Home and Away. I don't watch it but took some pictures to make Jenny jealous! Over the next few days explored the sights of Sydney - aquarium and Sydney Tower on Monday and Oceanworld and Wildlife Centre on Tuesday. Oh and Chinatown for lunch on both days- seems we are not ready to leave noodles behind! Met some lovely cuddly koalas and fell in love with a big fat wombat. Sean said it wouldn't fit in my bag though so didn't steal it. Next time. Decided to take a little trip to the Blue Mountains while we were so close, so on Wednesday last week took the train up to Katoomba to see some sights. Saw some. A coffee shop called Morgan's and a shop called Woodys. Oh and a mouse infestation in the hostel. Went walking the next day to Echo Point, a lookout and took in some pretty impressive views, and then wound our way down into the valley to Katoomba Falls. Got caught in a slight down pour en route but didn't mind too much as it meant we could shelter in a cave and eat our sandwiches - every cloud! On the way home saw some wild kookaburras chilling out (and yes I only recognised them because I had been to the wildlife centre two days before), which was quite exciting! On Friday we spent the morning travelling back to Sydney, and the afternoon making the most of our last dregs of Aussie sunshine on the beach - Sean went snorkelling and then exhausted himself on the boogie board while I exhausted myself watching him and worrying that he was going to be swept out to sea - may have been watching too much Australian news. Saturday finally arrived and so did the day I finally (after 10 years of waiting) made it to New Zealand! Our flight wasn't quite as smooth as planned as there was a school rugby team on there, and not one of them, including the teachers, had sat in the right seat. Chaos ensued when they were told they SHOULD be in the allocated seat and after a good 15 minutes a few of them swapped seats and then the teacher got told off by the hostess as he was using his phone. We watched and were smug that we had done the British thing and sat in the allocated seats. Aside from that the journey went ok, and before we knew it we appeared to be flying over the Yorkshire Dales. Checked in to our hostel in Auckland and went out for a Chinese (I think we might be addicted...). Our first day on the other side of the world we decided to go to Auckland Museum and get some culture and knowledge. Who did we see outside when we got there? Some MORRIS DANCERS. Was ashamed to hear a boy say 'oh look, England Dancers' so went in and hid in the museum until they had gone. Museum was really good, surprised myself by remembering a lot of my Pacific Societies Module but we were both a bit upset that the Volcano simulator wasn't working :( Then went for a lovely stroll around the park land and along to the harbour where we discovered that Sean's bank card has stopped working. Chinese Curry for dinner! Next day decided to be even more cultureful and go to the Art Gallery. Really enjoyed it, although still not convinced by a lot of this 'modern art'. Luckily there were discreet little signs that explained what the video of a man screaming meant, and what the piece of sofa with a plug hole in it meant, so that a philistine like me could at least nod and pretend that I 'got' it. Some of the other bits were great though! On Tuesday we got the coach to what will hopefully be our home for the next few months (and yes it also happens to be home to the filming of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit - what a lucky coincidence!) Wellington! Coach journey was long, about 12 hours overally, but made better by the jolly driver who in his welcoming speech forgot where we were going ("oh balls") and then when people were late back from lunch made a speech into his microphone about how selfish they were, that they had made everyone else late, and if any of the on time people wanted to have words with these naughty people he would be only too happy to point them out for us. We loved him! Coach was a double decker and we got prime seats on the top at the front - first few hours was like being on a bus through the Shire and in the afternoon we went past Lake Taupo which is VAST and then drove over the Volcanic Plateau - best coach journey ever without a doubt! Although am pretty sure an elderly german lady was stalking me throughout. At the first toilet stop she wanted to know if we were leaving so she could have our seats, fair enough. At the lunch stop, I came out the toilet cubicle, guess who was there. We sat on a wall to eat our lunch, guess who came and sat next to us. I got a hot chocolate from the machine, guess who was waiting behind me to use it. I wouldn't mind but she looked at me like she wanted to kill me throughout these little meetings. Got to Wellington after dark, my joy was hampered by desperation for a wee - I was a fool not to go when we stopped at 430 and he warned us it was the last stop. Misplaced faith in my bladder. First two days have been a bit of a muddle as we try and work out what we are doing - managed to get NZ sim cards sorted yesterday and do some serious house hunting, and think we may have found somewhere nice, got to go and confirm on Weds though so don't want to jinx it! Will be pretty scary as we have to sign a contract for three months and pay upfront, so as soon as we do that the pressure will really be on to find work :( already applied for a bits though, but everything will shut down over Easter so will be put on hold a bit! Now if you don't mind I need to go out and look for hobbits. I know there must be some around here somewhere! Lots of love, and missing everyone lots. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx