New Zealand (South) - Novy Zeland (Jih)

At the end of the 5 hour Trans Coastal train journey we had made it to Christchurch, the capital of the south island. We spent a few days getting to know the city, we went to the excellent Christchurch museum and then walked around the beautiful park next door. The autumn colours were at their magnificent best here so we decided to take a canoe and paddle down the avon river. But we had to get moving pretty quickly as there was plenty to squeeze in to our journey before meeting Luke in Greymouth. So back on the magic bus we moved up to Kaikoura. We checked into Dusky Lodge and made some lunch. Halfway through eating our Magic bus driver showed up and quietly asked us if we would like to join him on a cray-fishing trip that afternoon. We weren't sure as it caught us a little by surprise, but we figured sometimes these things you dont expect end up being the best . . . we were not wrong! 7 of us cramped into the back of a hatchback we were introduced to the captain who drove us to his house and then into the little tin boat on the back of a tractor we were introduced to his 1st mate. Missing one leg and all but one finger he was quite an intimidating no-nonsense knd of guy who didn't hold back when it came to getting out there. We were bumping up over the waves to the first few crayfish traps and we were soon pulling the prehistoric looking water insects by the dozen. Next we did some excellent fishing, together we caught 20 fish Veronika getting the catch of the day with a beautiful blue cod, and as we thought the day was coming to an end we were taken back to captains sea view bungalow for fresh cooked crayfish with wasabi and lovely local white wine, whilst chilling to 50s- 60's tunes. Laughter and stories were flowing, the most shocking of which was the one about how the first mate lost his leg and fingers. It turns out that whilst spear fishing as a 17 year old he was attacked by a shark which took his leg and he lost his fingers trying to pull himself free! Unbelievable, but what a character! At the end we were sent home with a big bag of fish and a crayfish each, which would last us the next 4 days of meals including possibly the best fish and chip and Thai fish curry we've had.

Po 5 hodinove ceste vyletnim vlakem pri pobrezi jsme dorazili do hlavniho mesta jizniho ostrova s nazvem Christchurch. Stravili jsme zde par dni, ktere jsme venovali navsteve zajimaveho muzea a plavbou na kanoi po rece Avon v prilehlem parku, ktery se pysnil vsemi podzimnimi barvami. Nemeli jsme moc casu nazbyt a museli se zacit posouvat dale, aby jsme dorazili do Greymouthu podle planu a setkali se s Lukem. A tak jsme opet byli na ceste v Kouzelnem autobuse na ceste do Kaikoury. Po te, co jsme se ubytovali v Dusky Lodge a poobedvali, objevil se v kuchyni nas ridic autobusu a ptal se, jestli se nepridame s nim na odpoledni rybarsky vylet zachytat si ryby a raky. Po nedlouhem zvazovani, ze takove neocekavane vylety jsou nejlepsi,jsme souhlasili . . a nemylili jsme se! Bylo nas 7. Nejdrive jsme vsichni nastoupili do male motorove lodky, ktera byla na vlecce pripojena k traktoru. Po par kilometrech na ceste jsme dorazili k vode, kde jsme byli doslova vypusteni na vodu. Nejdrive nas kapitan lodi s jeho pomocnikem vzali na misto, kde vytahli par kleci s rakama. Jsou to ale osklive potvory. Ani jsem se nechtela priblizit. Samozrejme jsem vypustila ten nejvyssi ton, kdyz mi jeden z chlapu dal raka primo pred oblicej. Mimochodem jsem byla jedina holka na lodi. Pak nas odvezli na misto, kde jsme rybarili asi hodinku. Ja a Pete jsme dohromady chytili 20 ryb a ulovek dne byl muj, kdyz se mi podarilo vytahnout asi 2kg Modrou tresku. Pote jsme byli na ceste zpet do kapitanova domu, ktery mel vyhled na more, kde nam pripravil cerstve nachytane raky s wasabi (velice ostra zelena omacka), rozdelil ulovek a nalil neskutecne mnozstvi mistniho vina. Pak uz se hrnuli pribehy ze vsech stran za hudby z 50. a 60 let. Pomocnik kapitana mel jen jednu nohu a zadne prsty krome palcu, coz byl pribeh vecera. Kdyz mu bylo 17, napadl ho zralok, ukousl mu nohu a jak se snazil toho zraloka odstrcit, ukousl mu i prsty. A i presto stale chodi rybarit. Klobouk dole teda! S chycenym ulovkem jsme se opili vratili domu. Ryby jsme meli na 4 obedy. Udelali jsme si rybi rizky s hranolkama a rybi curry. Jaka dobrota!

A couple of days later we went out on a whale watch boat, a day that stared with the greatest sunrise since the temples of Angkor and included 3 of the mightiest creatures on the planet, pretty cool day. We also did an excellent 10km costal walk around the peninsula past a seal colony and up on the cliffs finishing by walking though a pine forest. An amazing place, but we had to get back on the road and head to Picton. On the way we stopped of at a waterfall walk where to our surprise there were probably a hundred seal pups play in the water as it flowed from the waterfall to the sea. We arrived in Picton to rain and drizzle, but in awe of the beautiful peaks around us. Unfortunately the weather spoilt our plans to explore them but our consolation was arguably the best hostel of our trip so far Sequoia Lodge where we had the most delicious chocolate pudding free every night.


V Kakioure jsme stravili dalsich par dni, kde jsme meli stesti a pozorovali velryby. Predtim nez jsme byli prevezeni na lod jsme byli svedky dalsiho neskutecneho vychodu Slunce srovnatelny jen s Ankorem Watem v Kambodzi. Ten den pri pozorovani jsme videli 3 ruzne velryby, coz pry se nestava pokazde. Byl to zazitek. Dalsi den jsme se vydali na 10km prochazku podel utesu, kde jsme videli spoustu tulenu. Krasna podivana. Pak uz opet na ceste smerem do Pictonu, kde jsme cestou pristavili u vodopadu, kde si hralo stovky malych tulenu.Skoda, ze jsem si nemohla pribalil par do batuzku, byli tak roztomily. Bouhuzel nam v Pictonu nepralo pocasi a tak jsme nemeli sanci prozkoumat okoli. Zustali jsme tak uvnitr hostelu vetsinu casu. Byli jsme ale ubytovani v jednom z nejlepsich hostelu zatim na nasich cestach a tak nam par dni odpocinku nevadilo. Kazdy vecer servirovali zadarmo cokoladovy piskot s cokoladovym pudinkem, ktery bych prirovnala k raji na zemi.

Next up was Nelson, where we did a 12km hike in Abel Tasman national park followed by a smaller trek up to the Centre of New Zealand. Then headed down to Greymouth where we stayed in Neptunes Backpackers and took full advantage of their generous evening free bakery. We chilled out playing pool, darts and drinking cider in the hot tub until the day arrived our travelling two would become a three! Luke arrived from the Transalpine train and we soon showed him the ropes at the hostel (especially the bakery bit), and that evening we all went on the Monteiths Brewery tour. The following day we booked onto an Atomic Bus to run us to Frans Josef as the Magic timetable had gone into winter time, where we checked into Chateau Frans Backpackers. The three of us took a walk into some little rainforest by the glacier river and took in the fresh alpine air and stunning scenery and then it was time for the Glacier Hike! A quality day, hard work but with all the gear we trek the full day up and down one the the worlds most famous Glaciers. Guided by "Lazer" the buffalo thighed, electric sharp bearded glacier god (at least i'm sure that's what runs through his head every day) we shuffled between narrow corridors of ice, and through stunning blue glacier tunnels whilst lazer carved steps with his pick, i'm sure he could have used his bare hands but he liked to carry the big tool with him. To be fair, he turned out to be a pretty decent guy, especially the moment when the loud Essex daddy's princess was getting all moany and annoying and he pick axed a block of ice the size of fist right between her eyes, priceless!


Dalsi zastavkou bylo mesto Nelson, kde jsme podstoupili 12km turu po Abel Tasman narodnim parku a jeden mensi vyslap do presneho stredu Noveho Zelandu. Pak opet na ceste do mesta Greymouth, kde jsme zustali ubytovani v hostelu Neptunes, kde kazde odpoledne nabizeli cerstve dobroty z pekarny, coz jsme vyuzili naplno. Zkratka jsme snedli, co se do nas vlezlo. Ten vecer jsme popijeli pivecko, ohrivali se v zahradni vyrivce a byli oba nateseni, protoze dalsi den prijede vlakem Luke a z cestovani jako par se z nas stane mala skupina. V den Lukeova prijezdu jsme naplanovali Pivni exkurzi mistniho pivovaru nazvem Monteiths. Dalsi den uz jsme byli vsichni 3 na ceste do Franz Josef. Prvni den jsme se jen tak potulovali podel ledovcove reky a prosli se po mistnim lese. Druhy den prisel na radu vylet, za kterym jsme sem vlastne prijeli a to vystoupat po Franz Josef ledovci! Byl to nezapomenutelny a celkem narocny den, ale s vybavou a nasim pruvodcem jsme to vsichni hrave zvladli. Nas pruvodce vypadal jako vysrizeny z casopisu a kluci ho nazyvali "Lazer" protoze mel oholene vousy tak, ze vypadalo, ze kazdy vous ma sve stale misto. "Lazer" s sebou nesl krumpac ikdyz vypadalo, ze ho snad ani nepotrebuje a hrave by si poradil vlastnima rukama. Vyklubal se z neho ale v pohode typek a kluky obzvlaste "potesilo", kdy se kus ledu o velkosti pesti, zatimco kopal, nechtene odrazilo od hlavy jedne z holek, (Tatinkove prncezny), ktera si stezovala celou cestu na vrch. Ledovec byl plny uzkych sterbin a modrych tunelu. Nadhera!

We had a few nights out but none that really took off and soon it was the turn of Queenstown to put its marker on our trip. It seems like everywhere we go the scenery beats the previous place, unbelievably Queenstown is hard to top. A lake surrounded by snow peaked mountains with a ski resort-like town centre, its almost perfect. Luke and I had a great night out at a Gingers night, lucky for Luke our beard growing competition was well underway and I managed to blend in quite nicely. We then booked on a 13 hour day trip to Milford Sound. Again, absolutely stunning, amazing drive out there where we had numerous photo stops and then a 2hour cruise on the sound (its actually a fjord) out to sea and then back again to a waterfall and back on the journey home. Another night out at World Bar where we had cocktails in teapots followed by a big hangover the next day. What better cure for a hangover than a mighty Fergberger (the worlds greatest burger) and chips. You could stay a life time in Queenstown but unfortunately we now had a pretty strict timetable in order to get back for our flights in Christchurch. Still, there was time to stop a night in Dunedin where we went to the Cadbury's Chocolate factory and saw the chocolate waterfall, made a delicious Lamb chop dinner and shot some pool in the bar downstairs. Then we went to Lake Takeapo, challenger to Queenstown for jaw-dropping beauty award. We had only half a day and the night here so as soon as we got of the bus we got on some warm clothes and took a hike up Mount James. By now the snow was well and truly here, it added to the alpine scenery but was quite what Luke's trainers were designed for. But after a difficult walk up the views from the top were something to behold! We shared a wonderful Kumara and Pumpkin soup in the cafe by the observatory and then as the evening fog and bad light set n headed back down. Luke managed to fashion two tree branches into ski sticks and rather than looking like bambi on ice he now looked like a winter Olympian as we trekked down. Near te bottom bagpipes started playing, a simple but memorable touch to a brilliant adventure. That evening we went to the hot pools at the bottom of the peak, and relaxed.



Parkrat jsme si zasli do baru, ale nic poradneho se z toho nevyklubalo a tak po par dnech jsme opet na ceste tentokrate do mesta Queenstown. Zda se nam, ze kdyz projizdime krajinou a absolutne nam to bere dech, jak je prekrasna uz nemuzeme narazit na nic krasnejsiho a mylime se! Queenstown je prekrasne mestecko s jezerem obklopene zasnezenymi horami. Od te doby, co Luke prijel se kluci rozhodli, ze budou soutezit, kdo to dele vydrzi a necha si rust vousy nez je druhy oholi. Takze se jednoho pekneho slunecneho dne vydavame na vylet do Milford Sound s 2 Rumcajzi. Milford Sound je krasny, je to utvoreny fjord z okolnich rek. Neuveritele prekrasna krajina! Vecer po vylete se vsichni vydavame do ulic a do baru s nazvem World bar. Tak se tam vsichni pripijem, ze nam je vsem druhy den soufl. Serviruji tam koktejly v konvickach na caj. Jedine, co nas muze ten den postavit na nohy je mistne znamy Fergburger. Burger je tak obrovsky, ze mam problem ho snist. Jelikoz se nam nas pobyt na Novem Zelandu krati a my se vcas musime vratit do Christchurch, abychom chytli nas let, musime opustit prekrasny Queenstown. V Dunendinu jsme navstivili Cokoladovnu Cadbury a videli jednotunovy cokoladovy vodopad. Na dalsi zastavce smerem na sever zustavame na noc ve meste Lake Tekapo, kde se to opet stalo. Jsme beze slov! Nikdy jsem nevidela krasnejsi okoli! Hned po prijezdu jsme se poradne prioblekli a sli na vyslap na Mount (horu) James. Snih dodava okoli kouzlo a Lukeovi s bezvrozkovymi podrazkami velke potize. Jak se dostaneme na vrcholek chvilku si posedime v hospudce, dame si polevku a za stmivani se vydavame zpet dolu. Nasli jsme Lukeovi klacky slouzici jako lyzarske hulky a tak cestou na zpet nevypada jako srnka na ledu, ale jako olympijsky sportovec. Za zvuku dud rozhlehajici se po okoli se dostavame do hostelu, kde povecerime a hned pote mirime do Horkych bazenu pod hvezdami, kde si lebedime a uzivame si.

And then the final part of our New Zealand trip was upon us, we thought Christchurch was gonna be a matter of preparing for and leaving to head to Hong Kong, but no . . . lets do some winter surfing! On a miserable winters day we decided that surfing in 13oC water would be for us and we ll had a great day. The lesson started with tips outside sheltered from the rain and then dressing up in wetsuits like tellitubbies and getting out there amongst it. The Waves were pretty good, Luke and Veronika were up fairly regularly, I on the other hand seemed to have lost whatever balance i obtained 4 years ago and spent more time under the water than on the board, still, great fun. Freezing and damp, we found an Irish bar in the evening and warmed up with some good hearty food, tea and Guinness some more pool and then bed. And that was that, New Zealand . . . done, we get the shuttle to the airport, Veronika and I have to stay a night in Sydney to change to Hong Kong and Luke is changing in Brisbane so hopefully it'll all go smooth and we'll manage to meet up in the crazy Chinese land of Hong Kong . . . .

Christchurch, nase posledni destinace Noveho Zeladnu. Jak by si lidi pomysleli, ze nas posledni den stravime balenim, planovanim a pripravami pro nase dalsi dobrodruzstvi byli by na omylu. My se radeji rozhodli pro zimni surfovaci lekci. Takze se za destiveho zimniho dne vydavame na plaz, kde prvni pod striskou prevlikarny dostavame zakladni instrukce a pak se vydavame na plaz s prkny a skaceme do 13 stupnove vody. Urcite musime byt sileni!Kazdemu z nas se podarilo postavit na prkno parkrat. Luke uz zkousel surfovat v Aglii, tak mu to slo mnohem lepe nez me a Peteovi. Ale vsechny nas to bavilo. Ke konci uz byla poradna zima a mym noham trvalo par hodin nez roztaly. Zdalo by se, ze surfovani bude to nejobtiznejsi, ale dostat se z mokreho neoprenu, kdyz jsem se klepala jako ratlik, to je teprve neco. A tak zmrzli a mokri jsme zavitali do irske hospudky zpatky v centru mesta. Tam jsme se zahrali piveckem, cajicky a necim na zub. Pak jsme hrali par her kulecniku a vydali se zpet do hostelu. A tak konci dobrodruzstvi na Novem Zelandu . . .na letiste jsme se dostali autobusem. Luke leti jinou spolecnosti a prestupuje v Brisbane a ja a Pete musime prenocovat v Sydney. Nikdo z nas nema tuseni co nas v Cine ceka a jestli se bez problemu sejdeme v tom silenem shonu Hong Kongu . . . .

. . . To be continued

. . . Pokracovani priste

New Zealand (North) - Novy Zeland (Sever)

We arrived in Auckland quite late, it was nice to have a hostel booked, a nice little place called Pentland Backpackers. Straight away we liked the feeling from the place but i think more generally we got good feelings from New Zealand. A more laid back, trusting feel, no key deposits, linen deposits all the little blood sucking things that frustrated in Australia. We spent one day exploring the city, booking our bus ticket, buying post cards and collecting a package our friends from Asia Ali & Simon had left for us. We spent another day walking up Mount Eden, a stunning extinct volcano with amazing views out on the city. We stayed in Auckland for 5 nights, partly to get used to New Zealand and partly due to the Magic Bus running on a winter timetable. But then it was time to leave, so we were up earl and at the vague place we were told to for the pick up with a good 15mins to spare. We waited and waited, half an hour after the pick time had passed and then at 45 mins we started to panic. A few of the commuters waiting for buses into the city could see our distress and twice we were asked if we needed help with the buses, but we need most to call Magic Bus. We had no number, and getting a number would mean for sure giving up on getting the bus. Until, a third guy, possibly sent from the heavens helped, searched the internet for the number on his blackberry, found it and within 15mins we'd called sorted it all out and the bus had come back for us! It turned out we were waiting slightly away from where the driver expected and we'd missed each other, but the guy with the blackberry saved our journey in ways that would become more apparent later.

Do Aucklandu jsme dorazili kolem pul 11 v noci. Bylo super, ze uz jsme meli rezervovany pokoj a nemuseli si delat starosti. Ubytovali jsme se v Pentland Backpackers, moc pekny hostel s prijemnym personalem. Novy Zeland na nas udelat dobry dojem hnes po tom, co jsme zjistili, ze tady neni zadna zastava za klice, nemusime platit extra za povleceni a vsechny pravidla a zakazy jsou razem fuc, opak, se kterym jsme se setkali po dobu stravenou v Australii. Jeden den v Aucklandu jsme stravili objevovanim centra mesta, rezervovanim nasich mist v autobuse, (Po celou dobu na Novem Zelandu budeme prepravovani autobusovou spolecnosti, ktera se jmenuje Magic Bus), a taky jsme si vyzvedli balicek, ktery pro nas nechali Simon & Ali, kamaradi, se kterymi jsme se parkrat stretli na nasi ceste (v Bangkoku a ve Vietnamu). Dalsi den jsme se vydali na kopec s nazvem Mount Eden. To, ze se skrabeme na vrcholek vyhasle sopky jsme netusili. Jak jsme se dostali na vrcholek cekala na nas neskutecna podivana. Vyhled na mesto byl uzasny a masivni krater, kde lidi na druhe strane vypadaji jako tecky, byl neuveritelny. V Aucklandu jsme zustali celkem 5 noci, protoze jsme museli cekat na autobus na nasi dalsi destinaci, pac Magic jede podle zimniho jizdniho radu a nejezdi tak kazdy den v tydnu. Takze v den naseho prvniho presunu jsme na zastavce o 15 minut drive, aby jsme nezmeskali nas prvni autobus. Po 45 minutach cekani jsme se zacli obavat, ze nas autobus musel prehlednout. Par lidi na zastavce si vsimlo, ze nase nervozita stoupa a nabidli nam pomoc. My ale potrebovali zjistit cislo na Magic a zavolat jim. Internetova kavarne ale nikde. Kdyz v tom se na zastavnce objevil dalsi pomocnik, ktery byl asi v ten dany okamzik seslan z nebe a zjistil nam cislo na jeho Blackberry (telefon s internetem). Vse dopadlo tak, ze jsme se dovolali, autobus uz na ceste smer Rotorura se pro nas vratil a my stastni a klidni jsme mile prekvapeni jak hodni jsou Novozelandane.

So it was off to Rotorua, and although a little shaken by nearly missing our first bus, we really enjoyed the trip. The driver was informative and took us to Hobbiton and then to a redwood forest before arriving at our hostel in Rotorua. We got talking to a couple from our bus called Matt and Sarah ad then decided to head out for a walk to the volcanic park in town. On the way we thought we'd call into the town information centre and pick up some cheap/free things to do, and to our shock (but also delight) standing there were Karen and Sarah, the girls we'd travelled with in Malaysia! There were a few screams and girlie hugs (from Veronika as well) and we arranged to meet them for drinks later that evening. We rushed over to the park, and admittedly we were on a bit of a high from our reunion, but the volcanic mud pools were amazing. As dusk was well and truly upon us and with the volcanic pools bubbling around it felt like a T-rex was gonna jump out the bushes, really eerie and amazing. We met the girls with our new magic bus friends and had a good old catch up over a few drinks. The next day we had a 2 for 1 coffee from abracadabra and made arrangements to go and see a Maori cultural evening. It was a great evening full of song and dance and a hangi the biggest meal we've had for months. Its cooked in a cage in a big hole in the ground with chicken, lamb, fish, carrots, potatoes, etc fantastic! The girls had to leave going up so we say our goodbyes to them again over another 2 for 1 coffee and Veronika and I take a nice walk on the banks of Rotorua’s lake, and soon its time for us to leave too.



A tak uz si sedime v autobuse, stale neverice, ze se nam podarilo privolat autobus zpatky. Jedeme do Rotorua, cesta a prostredi kolem je prekrasne a ja uz se ted nemuzu dockat, co za krasy tady na Novem Zelandu uvidim. Magic autobus neni jen dopravni spolecnost z mista A do B, ale zastavuje i na zajimavych mistech nez se dostane na konecnou. Ten den jsme zastavili u informacniho centra, kde jsme se mohli vyfotit u Hobbitoveho domu a s Golumnem a pak jsme meli sanci projit se v tzv. Cervenem lese. Po prijezdu do hostelu jsme prohodili par slov se Mattem a Sarah, z naseho autobusu, kteri se cestou stali nasimi prateli. Protoze jeste neni pozde, rozhodli jsme se zajit se podivat do mistniho sopecneho parku, ale nez tam dojdeme jdeme si vyzvednout brozury z informacniho centra, kde je spousta poukazek na slevy a veci zadarmo. A koho nevidime! Sok, ktery rychle propuka v hlasity jekot. . . Sarah a Karen, sestry, se kterymi jsme cestovali pres Malaysii! Domluvime se, ze se pozdeji sejdeme a oslavime to s par drinky. Jak si to tak smarujeme do parku oba mame usmev na tvari z naseho neocekavaneho shledani. Park je uzasny, vsude kolem bubla bahno a vychazejici para ze zeme dava mistu prehistoricky dojem. Pozdeji se setkavame s holkama a pribirame i Sarah a Matta. Dalsi den se opet schazime, na kaficko kup 1 a dostan 2 zdarma. Pozdeji na vecer uz mame zakoupeny listek na tradicni Mauri kulturni predstaveni i s veceri. Byl to super zazitek. Zavezli nas do Mauri vesnice, kde pro nas Mauri kmen zazpival, zatancil a take uvaril tradicni a stylovou veceri tzv. Hangi. Hangi spociva v tom, ze jidlo je prakticky pohrbeno do zeme, ktera je vystlana horkymi kameny. Snedli jsme, co jsme mohli. Takhle uz jsme se neprejedli par mesicu. Meli jsme kureci, jehneci, rybu, specialne pripravenou mrkev, brambory atd. Same dobroty. Den pote jsme se sesli s holkama na posledni kup 1 dostan 2 kafe zdarma, rozloucili se - znovu, a pak sli na prochazku kolem Rotorua jezera. Krasne okoli a priroda.

We catch the magic bus with Matt and Sarah, this time the driver is not so good, drivers like a crazy man and gets moody with us all for not talking to each other, idiot! Anyway he took us to the Waitomo caves where we did an excellent tour that ended with us going out on a boat to the caves where we saw thousands of cool glow worms. Then it was into our first YHA in Taupo where we spent many an evening sat in the hot tub with a bottle of cider. Taupo was beautiful, one of our days there we took a walk with the Matt and Sarah to the Huka Falls through some amazing gorges. During the day we checked out some people on a bungee but mostly just strolled through the amazing scenery and crystal clear water. Matt and Sarah left to continue on down south and we stayed an extra few days, We went to see a really cool place called The Beehive where they had some live beehive inside where you could see the bees doing their thing and some brilliant honey tasting, and then we walked up to The Craters on the Moon. That was really something else, similar experience to the park in Rotorua only they seemed far more active, it was almost scary at times.

A uz jsme zase v autobuse, tentokrat smer Taupo. A tak si vsichni i Sarah a Matt sedime v klidu, zatimco nas ridic tlacha nesmysly o tom, aby jsme se vsichni v autobuse seznamili, jaky vylet stoji za to podniknout a jaky ne. Prvni ridic Magicu, ktery na pocit, ze snad pilotuje letadlo, protoze mam silny pocit, ze kdyby jsme meli postrani kridla tak urcite parkrat vzletneme. Ten den autobus zastavuje na miste z nazvem Waitomo jeskyne. Vsichni 4 si zakoupime listek na prohlidku jeskyne, kde nas ke konci vezmou na lodku a my jsme svedky asi 40 tisicu sviticich cerviku prisatych na stropu jeskyne. To byla podivana! Pak uz je nas den v autobuse konci a my se vsichni ubytujeme ve YHA v Taupu, kde travime par veceru pocuckavanim jablecneho pivecka v relaxacni venkovni vyrivce. Behem dne si opet udelame par prochazek. Jednu se Sarah a Mattem. Je to asi 4 hodinova prochazka kolem reky, ktera konci vodopadem. Krajina vypada jako v pohadce. Pak uz je cas pro Sarah a Matta, aby vyrazili na jejich cestu, protoze nemaji na Novem Zelandu tolik casu co my. Rozloucime se a dalsi den uz sami se vydavame do mista, kde chovaji vcely, maji tam spoustu vcelich produktu a ochutnavku asi 12 druhu medu. Po teto sladke prohlidce vyrazime do mista, kteremu rikaji Kratery na Mesici. Misto je uzasne, opet spousta bublajicich dir v zemi a mracka pary kolem ale s jednim rozdilem. Tohle misto se zda mnohem vice aktivnejsi a tak to v nas budi trosku neklidny pocit, co kdyby se zrovna dneska zeme usmyslila, ze by chtela vybouchnout. Posledni vybuch na tomto miste byl preci jen pred 12 lety!

After Taupo we jumped back on the Magic bus to head to Wellington, driving through more beautiful scenery and the famous Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings. We found a special offer online at the YHA in Wellington (which nobody seemed to know about) and we were really impressed with the hostel. Very big and some cool activities, we played plenty of pool, table football and in my opinion made some of the tastiest food in the hostel. On our first day we went to the Chinese Embassy to apply for our visa's, the guys there were very pleasant and made it dead easy for us. Then we walked back through the botanical gardens and stopped off at the fascinating Carter Observatory. We took a walk around the little museum there about the history of the universe and then had a presentation in the planetarium. The visa was going to take over a week which meant quite a lot of time to take it easy, catch up with blog, update our cv's and begin considering work options for back home. During the wait we went to the National Museum, Te Papa, played with their microscopes and saw the exhibition of the worlds largest squid. Another day we went over to the Weta Caves which was a really interesting insight into the special effects company behind movies like Avatar and of course The Lord of the Rings (you cant escape this film over here). One evening we decided to go to see the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra perform in concert for Polish Pride Day, it was the first time we'd been to something like that and it was a great experience.


Po nasi navsteve Taupa uz jsme opet v autobuse smer Wellington, hlavni mesto Noveho Zelandu. Po ceste projizdime krajinou, ktera se jen tezko popisuje. Nadhera v podobe zelenych kopcu plnych ovci a krav. Projizdime take kolem znameho Mount Doon. Je to sopecna hora z filmu Pana Prstenu, v oblasti Mordor, kde Frodo statecne odhazuje prsten. Ve Wellingtonu se ubytujeme v YHA Hostelu. Je to veliky hostel, ktery ma vse, co potrebujeme. Druhy den jsme na ceste do Cinske ambasady, protoze potrebujeme viza pro nas posledni mesic dobrodruzstvi. Viza budou pripraveny pro vyzvednuti az za tyden, coz znamena, ze mame spoustu casu. Behem naseho pobytu navstivime botanickou zahradu, planetarium, museum Te Papa, ktere je velice zajimave, a take jdeme poprve shlednout Orchestr - v doprovodu s polskymi muzikanty. Je to na pocest 200. Chopinove vyroci. Mame take moznost navstivit tzv. Weta Jeskyni, coz je misto s miniaturami a suvenyry, kde nadani lide vytvareji filmove postavy, kostymy a triky pro velke filmy jako Pan Prstenu nebo Avatar. Zajimave misto. Oba jsme nadseni. Kdyz zrovna netravime cas venku, zabavujeme se v hostelu hranim kulecniku, stolniho fotbalu a dalsich her. Taky uz je na case zacit premyslet, co budeme delat az se vratime zpet do Anglie a tak si prepisujeme zivotopisy a dopisujeme nas blog.

After more than a week it was time to collect our passports with Chinese visa stamps and say goodbye to Wellington. We found another winter special offer for a combined ferry and scenic train journey to Christchurch. It was an early start, and although the wind stopped us spending too much time out on the upper viewing some of the views were amazing. Then we were there in the south island ready to catch the train, where we will be finishing one period of our trip and joining up with Luke . . . our hair is scared for its life! To be continued . . .

Po vice nez tydnu jsme si vyzvedli nase pasy s razitkem a cinskymi vizy a bylo na case se rozloucit s Wellingtonem. Pri nasem cestovatelskem stesti jsme nasli dalsi super cenovou nabidku na trajekt ze severniho ostrovu na jizni spolecne s cestou vlakem az do Christchurch. V den kdy jsme opousteli Wellington jsme si privstali a pocasi nam moc nepralo a tak jsme na horni palube trajektu stravili velice kratkou chvili. Trajekt byl tak obrovsky, ze mel dokonce i par restauraci a dve kina. Za par hodin uz jsme byli na jiznim ostrove, kde nas ceka dalsi dobrodruzstvi a take setkani s nasim kamaradem Lukem, ktery se k nam prida a bude s nami cestovat do konce naseho vyletu. Pokracovani priste . . .

During the North Island we also said good bye to the Cowboy hat, not very practical around these parts - yeeha!

Na severnim ostrove jsme za sebou zanechali Peteuv kovbojsky kloubocek. Pete se rozhodl, ze uz vlastne nechce byt kovbojem a proto je mu kloubouk neprakticky - iiiihaaaa

Australia East Coast (PART 2) - Australie Vychodni Pobrezi (2. Cast)

Byron Bay is a really nice town but we arrived at a pretty bad time. They were holding the Blues Music Festival in town, which although it would be an excellent couple of days, as backpackers we couldn't afford that kind of thing. It also meant accommodation and other things we out of our price range so we stayed a few nights in Aquarius, went on a couple of cool night outs with some of the guys from our dorm and took a really nice walk to the lighthouse with some great views of the ocean life below but then decided to get out before the weekend festival started. We decided we'd head inland to spend a few nights in the little village of Nimbin, what a strange place! Nimbin is basically a large hippie commune, where lots of alterative kinds go to do alterative things. We stayed in a place called Rainbow Retreat, which as it turned out was brilliant and they had some top class, homemade, mixed berry and choc chip muffins. A very cute, relaxed place, with lots of long stay people, in fact some looked as though they could have been there since 1973 (and that could have been the last time they showered and shaved). And although some of the alterative goings on were not quite our cuppa tea, like hand painting boomerangs, juggling fire sticks and carving faces in palm tree bark (come on man, free your mind ...) it is a very beautiful place and Veronika and I spent a couple of timeless days walking the countryside and cooking delicious food. We really enjoyed our time in Nimbin a great place for us to go and chill out before we come face to face with city life in Sydney and Melbourne.

Byronuv Zaliv je moc pekne male mestecko, ale jak jsme zjistili prijeli jsme celkem v nevhodnou dobu, kdy se tam konal hudebni festival. Protoze ceny byli prilis vysoke, ne jen za listky,ktere jsme si jako batuzkari nemohli dovolit, ale take za ubytovani, zustali jsme tam jen nekolik noci, ubytovani v hostelu z nazvem Aquarius. Behem techto dnu jsme si udelali jeden den vylet a vyrazili jsme nejvychodnejsi bod Australie. Na kopci stal majak a vyhled na more z tama byl prekrasny. Vubec jsme necekali, ze uvidime tolik podmorskeho zivota z takove vysky. Videli jsme delfiny, zelvy, rejnoky a i zraloka. Jinak jsme behem techto dnu zavitali pakrat do klubu s lidma z naseho pokoje.A pak hlavne kvuli nedostatku a vysokym cenam za ubytovani jsme se rozhodli navstivit vesnici Nimbin. Nimbin je prakticky hippisacka komunita lidi. Jejich vizas a zvlaste u nekterych jedincu (dlouhe vousy a vlasy) vypada, ze se zastavila v 70satych letech. Priroda kolem je ale krasne zelena a misto samo o sobe ma velice poklidnou a relaxacni atmosferu. My se ubytovali v Rainbow Retreat, kde kazdy den pekly cerstve cokoladomalinove buchty, malovali bumerangy a vyrezavali tvare do palmoveho dreva. Stravili jsme tam nekolik dni, chodili na prochazky a varili si dobroty. Bylo to dobre misto na odpocinek pred tim nez se vydame do chaosu a plnych ulic lidi v Sydney.

Another night bus later and we were in central Sydney hunting for a place to stay. We ended up at Wood Duck Inn where we shared a dorm with some cool Dutch guys. We had a couple of nights out, but we were still worrying about our budgets so tried to keep things cheap. We explored a lot of the central city on foot and visited the opera house, walked across the harbour bridge and strolled peacefully through the Chinese gardens. One evening we decided to experience our first 3D film as we'd read all about the fuss it was causing back home, we watched Alice In Wonderland, and I can safely say its one of the greatest cinema experiences of our lives, definitely the future. On our last day we took a trip to the Manly Bay area and chilled out for the afternoon on the beach. On the way back to pick our rucksacks from the hostel we decided to take a walk through the botanical gardens but timed it a bit wrong and got locked in. We were stuck for nearly an hour as the darkness came in around us and when we finally got out again up by the opera house it was getting quite late and we needed to rush to get the bus. A exhausting 45min walk later and there was some more panic as we thought we saw the bus leaving but all was ok it was a different bus, 11 hours later we were in Melbourne.



Po dalsi noci stravene v autobuse jsme rano dorazili do centra Sydney. Po nejake dobe stravene hledanim ubytovani jsme se rozhodli pro Wood Duck Inn. Spolecne jsme sdileli pokoj se super klukama z Holandska, se kteryma jsme parkrat vyrazili vecer do klubu. Behem dnu stravenych v Sydney jsme navstivili znamou Operu, prosli se po Harbour moste a zavitali do krasne a poklidne cisnke zahrady. Jeden vecer jsme se rozhodli zajit shlednout nas prvni 3D film. Slyseli jsme dost o 3D filmech a chteli se ujistit, zda to stoji za to, kdyz tak o tom lidi mluvi. Zrovna promitali Alenku v risi divu a musim rict a oba jsme se shodli, ze je to 100% filmova budoucnost. Posledni den jsme se svezli na trajektu do jine casti Sydney s nazvem Manly Zaliv. Byl to pekny slunecny den. Vraceli jsme se se zapadem slunce a uz byli na ceste zpet vyzvednout naseho batohy z hostelu, kdyz jsme zjistili, ze jsme uzamceni v botanicke zahrade. Trvalo nam dobrych 45 minut rychle chuze se od tama dostat. Nakonec jsme s jazykem na veste dorazili na autobusove nadrazi s batohama na zadech a byli pripraveni na dalsi a posledni nocni autobus v Australii, ktery nas odveze do Melbourne.

Straight away we could feel the drop in temperature, I was still in my shorts and it really hit home that next week we'd be in New Zealand and my hoodie was about the only suitable piece of clothing. We decided we'd head to St Kilda and find some accommodation around there, and on our way to the tram station a lovely lady at the end of her Melbourne trip gave us her 2 weekly tram passes, still with 3 days left on both, must have saved us $30 each over the next couple of days. We took the tram into the city and spent an afternoon at the Museum for the Moving Image, a really interesting place with loads of interactive displays and then spent a few days shopping for warmer clothes bargains. Another day we went to a wonderfully respectful war memorial/museum and then onto the gorgeous Melbourne botanical gardens. We also did a day trip on the great ocean road which was really fun, 6:30am start and 10pm finish so it was a long day, we got to see a cool old rainforest, the twelve apostles, feed some parrots, another wild lazy koala and lots of other landmarks along the coast, and on the long journey home we stopped for massive KFC. A good trip to finish our time in Australia, its been a mixed journey, but I don’t think we have ever been so excited with our next destination as we feel now for New Zealand . . .



Hned jak jsme dorazili do Melbourne pocitili jsme teplotni rozdil, stale v zabkach, jsme vytahli nase mikyny (a v mem pripade i tenisky) z ruksaku a stale se klepali zimou. Ubytovali jsme se na ulici Sv. Kilda a jelikoz jsme meli velke stesti pri prechazeni jednoho z prechodu pro chodce, kdy do nas narazila mlada divcina, zda nechceme jeji tramvajovy listek, ktery ma jeste 3 dny platnost, neodmitly jsme a usetrili tak asi $30. Jelikoz jsme pocitovali zimu ve velkem a nase ruksaky postradali teply odev, stravili jsme par dnu nakupovanim levneho, tepleho obleceni. Taky jsme stihli navstivit botanickou zahradu, pamatnik z 1. Svetove valky a navstivili Muzeum animovaneho filmu - velice zajimave misto. Nas posledni australsky vylet nas zaval na Great Ocean Road - "Velkou oceanskou cestu". Byl to dlouhy super straveny den. Vylet zacinal v 6:30 rano a koncil v 10 vecer. Behem vyletu jsme zastavili na mistech s prekrasnymi vyhledy na krajinu, prosli se po destnem pralese, navstivili tzv. Dvanact apostolu ( je to 12 obrich piliru couhajicich z more), krmili papousky, videli dalsi neochocenou koalu velice zblizka a na ceste zpet byli velice neposlusni, zasli si do KFC a nakoupili kurete asi na mesic. Tak takhle konci nase Australske dobrodruzstvi. A ted prichazi ta cast, kdy nemam slov, jak vyjadrit moje vzruseni a nadsenost z nasi dalsi destinace Noveho Zelandu . . .

. . . To be continued!

. . . Pokracovani priste!