New Zealand
I flew to New Zealand from the Philippines. As I arrived at the airport thinking I was fully prepared, I realised that I hadn’t applied for a visa before leaving the UK. What was I going to do! Like any strong independent woman, I cried and rang my parents. What would we do without them hey! Thankfully mum and dad came to the rescue, ringing New Zealand’s immigration office for me. It was about 5.30 in the morning for them. They still haven’t let that one go! With 10 minutes to spare I manged to get on the flight. That was probably the most stressful 4 hours of my life to date, and I have definitely learnt that planning and preparation is a key part of any adventure!
New Zealand is absolutely incredible for a number of reasons. The Maori culture is all about love, appreciating the natural world around you, family and good food! What more is there to like! The scenery is so diverse in such a small space, and within a couple of hours, you can go from being in a rainforest to hiking on top of a glacier! I am an absolute adrenaline junkie; And so, for me, this has to be one of the best places I have ever visited, due to the sheer number of activities you can do here! Throughout my trip I went bungy jumping, skydiving, jet boating, ice climbing on the Franz Josef Glacier, hiking, swimming with 300 dolphins, white water rafting down a 7m waterfall and surfing just to name a few!
I travelled around the North and South Islands via the Kiwi bus. This is a hop on and hop off bus service which takes you to all of New Zealand’s must see’s; as well as heading off the beaten track to places such as Mt Cook village. The ticket is flexible, and you can choose what days you would like to jump on and off the bus. I met some amazing people throughout my trip thanks to Kiwi, and I am still in contact with some of them today! I was travelling on the Kiwi bus throughout Christmas, and the drivers and instructors made the experience so memorable; even when we were away from our family’s during the festive period. I spent 6 weeks in total exploring this fantastic country.
One of my highlights whilst travelling New Zealand was Christmas Eve, and it has to be one of the best Christmas Eve’s I’ve ever had! Myself and a group of 3 guys had booked onto the “Black Abyss” in the Waitomo caves. This involves abseiling into a cave full of glow worms, flying down a zipwire, and floating in a black rubber ring through the waters within. We scrambled up waterfalls and enjoyed homemade flapjacks and hot chocolate half way. As we floated along on our rubber rings, our guide sang this incredible folk song, the glow worms lighting up the walls like a night sky. I have never seen anything like it! Our guides were amazing, and we had a couple of other participants join us for the trip. One was a Japanese lady and her son. She spoke little English and her son translated for her throughout the trip. She must have been around late 50’s, early 60’s; and she absolutely made the trip! She front flipped onto her rubber ring and would wonder off exploring and touching the cave when she wasn’t meant to. Her nick name for the session was mum and she absolutely crushed it!
We arrived back at our accommodation absolutely buzzing. Earlier on in the day, Konrad (a newly found friend from the Kiwi bus,) leant over to me and said “we should organise a buffet dinner for tonight.” Many of us on the bus were from different countries including Sweden, Australia and Germany; and a lot of countries celebrate Christmas day on our Christmas Eve e.g., Sweden. Word spread quickly around the bus and we managed to pull it off. Everyone brought a dish and, in some cases, prepared a home favourite or a dish that was native to their country. Nearly the entire bus got involved and Tané our amazing bus driver (who is a chief of his own Maori tribe,) blessed our food with a traditional blessing. We all took part in a traditional Maori greeting; wishing each other a Merry Christmas. (Meri Kirihimete in Maori!) I have never felt so close to people that I’ve pretty much just met, and I felt a real sense of belonging. Just like one big happy family. A perfect end to a perfect day! If anyone needs an excuse to travel, it’s to experience moments like this!
A day hiking in New Zealand - Mount Cook in the background