Wednesday 22nd April
Today I got up nice and early, went to the cafe, had a hot chocolate and then I went to the information centre to start my “Village and Bays Tour”. Basically you take a mini bus around Stewart Island and the driver does a little commentary, telling you all about the different places you visit. It’s quite a short tour; it lasts for about an hour and a half, because Stewart Island is so small. Also, there isn’t a lot of road – I think there is only about 27 kilometres of road on the entire island – I’m not sure, I should really check that, but you get the picture, there isn’t a lot of road! We stopped off at a few beaches, hence the Bay part of the tour title – they were actually really nice. We had a decent enough day for the tour, but if you ever have the chance to go to Stewart Island during the summer then do, because it is really beautiful! The driver also told us a lot about the people that live on the island; it’s actually really nice to hear a bit about the locals. Everybody knows everybody on Stewart Island – probably because there is a population of about 400! There is only one Policeman on the island and there’s pretty much no crime – what a cushy job! There also isn’t a doctor on the island, but there are two fully trained nurses and you can get to the mainland fairly quickly if you get really sick. Stewart Island is really popular for hikers, you can go on trips that last for a few days or a few weeks! It would have been nice to do some “tramping”, that’s what they call it, but I didn’t have enough time and I was still getting over the flu!
After our little bus tour I went on another tour, this one was called the “Pattersons Inlet Cruise” and it was actually really good! Basically it takes you from Stewart Island to a few of the surrounding islands, they do a running commentary and tell you all about the surrounding islands and what they are used for. A lot of the islands down here are bird sanctuaries because there are so many flipping birds in New Zealand! We were actually really lucky, we saw some Penguins! I was actually ridiculously happy about that – I love Penguins and I really wanted to see some when I was in New Zealand, so I was really glad that it happened! They are really tiny and there were only about 5 or 6 Penguins – we couldn’t get too close because they were scared of the boat, but you could see their little heads looking around and watching the boat! It was really hard to get pictures, but I got a few! After we saw the Penguins we saw some Dolphins! I’m all about the Dolphins these days! I think we are kindred spirits... I’m really at one with the Animal Kingdom these days. I would love to be a Zoologist or something like that, but I’m not smart enough/I’m too lazy to actually work for anything. After the Dolphins we just cruised around for a bit, saw some more beautiful islands and I had the desire to learn how to sail. I would love to live down here and then I could just get into my little boat and I could just sail around all the beautiful islands and have little picnics on the beach and I could go swimming with my Dolphin and Penguin friends!
After cruising about for a while we stopped off at a place called Ulva Island. Ulva Island used to be where the Post Office was – a little man and his wife were the only people to live here and every 6-8 weeks the post used to be delivered to Ulva Island. Then the little man would hoist a flag and the people who lived on Stewart Island and the surrounding islands would know that the post had arrived. Because it was such a special occasion everyone would get dressed up and then they would go collect their post and have a bit of a goss! The Post Office was in operation until quite recently, well not that recently, I think it stopped about 50 years ago, but I’m not actually sure, I wasn’t really listening... We stopped on Ulva Island and then went for a walk, saw some cool bird – we saw a relative of the Kiwi and a few cool looking Pigeons. My favourite was a little Robin! But it wasn’t like a regular Robin, it was all Black with a White chest! How cool is that! It was also really friendly – it got really close to me and I was clearing the leaves from the ground so it could find food easily – again, I am at one with the Animal Kingdom. We also saw a really cool green parrot – it probably has some fancy name, but it was just a cool looking bird. The beaches on Ulva Island are also really pretty, so it was definitely worth the trip! On the way back to Stewart Island we saw some Seals which was really cool too... Oh, we also saw loads of Albatross, which I was really happy about! One of the crew members was feeding them from the back of the boat – he was throwing them dead fish and they were getting really close to the boat. I’ve always wanted to see Albatross – it all began with “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”! Does anyone remember studying that poem at G.C.S.E? Good times! Nothing beats a bit of Epic Poetry! I took quite a few pictures of them, I think I got a few good ones, but it’s difficult when there flying all over the place! Then we headed back to Stewart Island! I was really glad I did this trip, I was a bit worried about going on the boat again, but it was fine, there were no traumatic incidents and I got to see Penguins, Dolphins, Seals, Albatross, some really cool birds and some amazing beaches! If you ever go to Stewart Island then you should definitely do this trip! There isn’t a lot to do so you should have plenty of time to fit this in!
After that I just came back to the Hostel, had some Coco Pops and then watched some more Home and Away. I’m sure you have heard enough about my fascination with Home and Away, so I’ll just say that it was great and that I can’t wait to go home and watch it every single night! I watched a bit of T.V and then went to bed – I was the only one in the room, which is actually quite strange. You get really used to sharing a room with other people, so it’s really strange when you are on your own. I’m not even going to lie, I was a bit freaked out – the Hostel is pretty basic, they used regular keys for each room, not cards like the city Hostels, so I hadn’t bothered to lock the room during the day, so when I got ready for bed I checked under every bed, about ten times, to make sure that nobody was going to kill me in my sleep. Don’t worry, I didn’t find anyone! It was actually quite nice getting up in the morning and not having to worry about waking everyone up... I was even able to turn the light on, which is such a luxury over here, normally you just get ready in the dark! But that’s literally another story for another day!
Basically, Stewart Island is really small and there isn’t an awful lot to do, but I really liked it. It’s a village and it feels like a village. The people are really friendly and they are really helpful – I think they understand that the only reason Stewart Island still exists is because of Tourism, so they are grateful that you are there, to help fuel their economy or whatever. It’s just a really chilled out place – I don’t think I would live there, because it wouldn’t be practical, but if I ever marry that millionaire then he can buy me a holiday home there. Oh, and a plane so I never have to cross that channel again. Oh, and a yacht so I can visit all the beautiful islands. Not that I’m demanding or anything.
Xx
Showing posts with label Dolphins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dolphins. Show all posts
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Friday, 13 March 2009
Swimming With Dolphins, Without the Swimming...
On Wednesday I left Auckland – Which as a city isn’t too bad, but it isn’t great either and it’s definitely not what I came to New Zealand for! I had to catch the Kiwi Experience bus at 7.10am (gross) but I was up on time – When I know that I have to get up for something important I can’t sleep, in case I sleep in, so basically my body wakes me up every 2 hours, seriously weird – does anyone else ever get this or is it just me? It only ever happens when it’s something really important that I can’t miss, I.E. it never happens when it’s something trivial like church or school :)
Anyway, I got up on time, got ready and headed down to the front of the Hostel (bye mean hostel workers) and waited for the bus. I got taking to a few people and then our driver arrived – His name is Dave and he is properly mental patient crazy, which was actually quite nice, he was quite funny and he just chatted away to himself. We stopped off at some Honey cafe place and got breakfast, they had a beehive behind plastic so you could see the bees at work, which was pretty cool, especially after I watched “The Secret Life of Bee’s” on the plane! After that we made a few toilet stops and we got to Paihia by about 12 – it’s about a 4 hour drive, which thanks to M.r iPod wasn’t too bad. As soon as we arrived a friend and I booked a Dolphin Spotting trip – I think it was called the Dolphin Eco Encounter and after getting some lunch we got on the boat.
Now, in relation to lunch, I got a “scone”... It was NOT a “scone”. It tasted like meat. No joke. There was nothing buttery and nice about it, which surprised me. I expect imitation “scones” when I go to America, because in America “scones” are called “biscuits” and they are served with “gravy”, but not in New Zealand, especially as N.Z is like home, but nicer. I probably went a bit crazy with quotation marks there, but it’s to emphasise just how wrong everyone else is with their imitation scones and biscuits and gravy.
Back to Dolphins – we got on the little (well medium sized) boat and our two drivers (two women, who were slightly mental, they had names for all the Dolphins and talked to them and about them like they were people “Oh Spot, where’s your girlfriend?” etc) gave us a little talk about Dolphins and basic boat safety... Then we actually got out to the Bay and began our spotting of Dolhins. It only took us about 10 minutes to find some, they were in really shallow water, which was good because you could see them all really clearly. Sadly we couldn’t swim with them as there were a few baby Dolphins with the group and you can’t swim when there are little babies about. It would have been nice to swim with them, but it was still cool to see so many of them. We spent a while there and then we moved on to find some more, I think we saw about 3 or 4 groups in total, which was really good, especially as some people go out and don’t see any!
Seeing the Dolphins was really nice, but the trip would have been worth it even if we hadn’t seen any... The scenery was so beautiful! Everyone says that the North of N.Z isn’t as nice as the South, which is probably true, but they Bay of Islands is just awesome. There are about 150 Islands, which means a lot of nice beaches!
Towards the end of our Dolphin trip we stopped off on one of these islands, it had a little coffee shop and accommodation for campers, it was amazing. I felt like I was in Thailand (not that I’ve ever been, but I have watched the Beach and it was like that). After getting a hot chocolate in the little cafe (strange as it was a beautiful day, but it was free, so meh) we got back on the boat and came back to Paihia.
After checking into the Hostel and getting myself sorted out I went for a swim! I seem to be a bit of a loner these days, but I quite like it, I like my own company, which is quite good, there is nothing worse than hating being alone with yourself! I wasn’t alone for too long, while swimming I met up with a few guys, they were English and German and we had the traditional Backpacker chat – “So where are you from? How long have you been in New Zealand? Are you with Stray or Kiwi? How much longer do you have? What do you think of New Zealand?”. Backpacker chat is pretty much the definition of small talk, but it’s better because the other person always has something interesting to say, not like when you bump into someone you sort-of-but-don’t-really-know in Cafe (or an equally rubbish club of your choice).
After my swim I got a nice shower and went for a walk to try and locate some food. I went for a chippy and ordered a sausage, just for fun. My word it was minging. New Zealanders obviously haven’t got the art of a good chippy sausage down. It was a beast, properly big and fat and it looked like it had been deep fried because of its crispy outer shell. That was quickly given to the seagulls and I came back to the Hostel and went to bed! I’m a bit of a saddo, going to bed early, but I get so tired here, I think it’s because I walk a lot and I mean a lot – it’s a real change from home, where, on a good day, I move from the sofa to the kitchen and then back to bed!
So basically, today was a good day! Paihia is so beautiful. The Pipi Patch Hostel (which is so much nicer than the Base Hostel in Auckland) is really nice and chilled out, it’s also right beside the beach which is a bonus. The beach is really nice, even better than Ballyholme Beach and the water is actually warm and hopefully not as polluted! Chippy Sausages and Scones are just plain wrong in this country, but other than that, no complaints!
xx
Anyway, I got up on time, got ready and headed down to the front of the Hostel (bye mean hostel workers) and waited for the bus. I got taking to a few people and then our driver arrived – His name is Dave and he is properly mental patient crazy, which was actually quite nice, he was quite funny and he just chatted away to himself. We stopped off at some Honey cafe place and got breakfast, they had a beehive behind plastic so you could see the bees at work, which was pretty cool, especially after I watched “The Secret Life of Bee’s” on the plane! After that we made a few toilet stops and we got to Paihia by about 12 – it’s about a 4 hour drive, which thanks to M.r iPod wasn’t too bad. As soon as we arrived a friend and I booked a Dolphin Spotting trip – I think it was called the Dolphin Eco Encounter and after getting some lunch we got on the boat.
Now, in relation to lunch, I got a “scone”... It was NOT a “scone”. It tasted like meat. No joke. There was nothing buttery and nice about it, which surprised me. I expect imitation “scones” when I go to America, because in America “scones” are called “biscuits” and they are served with “gravy”, but not in New Zealand, especially as N.Z is like home, but nicer. I probably went a bit crazy with quotation marks there, but it’s to emphasise just how wrong everyone else is with their imitation scones and biscuits and gravy.
Back to Dolphins – we got on the little (well medium sized) boat and our two drivers (two women, who were slightly mental, they had names for all the Dolphins and talked to them and about them like they were people “Oh Spot, where’s your girlfriend?” etc) gave us a little talk about Dolphins and basic boat safety... Then we actually got out to the Bay and began our spotting of Dolhins. It only took us about 10 minutes to find some, they were in really shallow water, which was good because you could see them all really clearly. Sadly we couldn’t swim with them as there were a few baby Dolphins with the group and you can’t swim when there are little babies about. It would have been nice to swim with them, but it was still cool to see so many of them. We spent a while there and then we moved on to find some more, I think we saw about 3 or 4 groups in total, which was really good, especially as some people go out and don’t see any!
Seeing the Dolphins was really nice, but the trip would have been worth it even if we hadn’t seen any... The scenery was so beautiful! Everyone says that the North of N.Z isn’t as nice as the South, which is probably true, but they Bay of Islands is just awesome. There are about 150 Islands, which means a lot of nice beaches!
Towards the end of our Dolphin trip we stopped off on one of these islands, it had a little coffee shop and accommodation for campers, it was amazing. I felt like I was in Thailand (not that I’ve ever been, but I have watched the Beach and it was like that). After getting a hot chocolate in the little cafe (strange as it was a beautiful day, but it was free, so meh) we got back on the boat and came back to Paihia.
After checking into the Hostel and getting myself sorted out I went for a swim! I seem to be a bit of a loner these days, but I quite like it, I like my own company, which is quite good, there is nothing worse than hating being alone with yourself! I wasn’t alone for too long, while swimming I met up with a few guys, they were English and German and we had the traditional Backpacker chat – “So where are you from? How long have you been in New Zealand? Are you with Stray or Kiwi? How much longer do you have? What do you think of New Zealand?”. Backpacker chat is pretty much the definition of small talk, but it’s better because the other person always has something interesting to say, not like when you bump into someone you sort-of-but-don’t-really-know in Cafe (or an equally rubbish club of your choice).
After my swim I got a nice shower and went for a walk to try and locate some food. I went for a chippy and ordered a sausage, just for fun. My word it was minging. New Zealanders obviously haven’t got the art of a good chippy sausage down. It was a beast, properly big and fat and it looked like it had been deep fried because of its crispy outer shell. That was quickly given to the seagulls and I came back to the Hostel and went to bed! I’m a bit of a saddo, going to bed early, but I get so tired here, I think it’s because I walk a lot and I mean a lot – it’s a real change from home, where, on a good day, I move from the sofa to the kitchen and then back to bed!
So basically, today was a good day! Paihia is so beautiful. The Pipi Patch Hostel (which is so much nicer than the Base Hostel in Auckland) is really nice and chilled out, it’s also right beside the beach which is a bonus. The beach is really nice, even better than Ballyholme Beach and the water is actually warm and hopefully not as polluted! Chippy Sausages and Scones are just plain wrong in this country, but other than that, no complaints!
xx
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