Bye for now!

Thought I'd sign off with a final little blog whilst awaiting my final plane in Abu Dhabi Airport. It's been a long and fairly uneventful day, so far everything has gone around about as it should. I didn't find the long flight as bad as I did on the way out...perhaps because I was anticipating it's tedium more, and so I made a more concerted effort to sleep! Which I didn't exactly succeed in, but I was in quite a relaxed not quite awake state, so time drifted by fairly pleasantly. Plus I had the luxury of an empty seat beside me, which meant I had free access to the isle and some extra leg room. Hurray! It seems like ages since I left Auckland, so it's strange to think there hasn't been a proper nights sleep since then. But a small price to pay for the fun adventures I've had! 

I'm living on the edge as I bought a milkshake with my credit card in this airport...in a country I didn't pre warn the bank I was going to, as I'm just passing through. So will they block my card, or will they figure out its part of the journey... Who knows! Exciting huh? Hmm, perhaps not, hehe.

Best get in the queue to board my plane now, so it's over and out, until my next adventures, whenever and wherever they might be!

8th

7th, Paihia, and 8th, Volcanoes and shipwrecks!

Started typing up the parasailing adventures yesterday, but unfortunately my battery died and it was lost! So I'm trying again this evening! 

My last day in Paihia was lovely, with beautiful sun...slightly breezy, but this worked well for the parasailing! But before that I took out a kayak once more and revisited some of the islands, as they were too nice to only see once! The tide was slightly further out than the first time, which meant there were more little rocks sticking out of the water to explore and circumnavigate. I thought I would be slower than in the double kayak, but this was a slightly more streamlined version, so all in all it didn't feel too difficult. It was quite a soggy boat to sit in though, as there were two holes in it (deliberate holes, not accidental ones!) so I got quite wet.

I returned to the hostel for lunch, and then went out for the exciting parasailing adventure. This was great. We got about 12 minutes in the air each, which feels like plenty of time when you're up there. It's strangely calm, and you can't hear or see anything from the boat, it's just a speck far below. So you're out on your own for a bit, but it was nice :-) we had the option to get wet feet on the way back in if we liked (I did), it was most exciting to be partially dunked in the water on the way back, though I was glad the driver didn't misjudge and fully dunk me!

After that excitement I hopped back on the bus to Auckland, my final NZ stopover. The hostel is massive and busy, but at least it's cheap :-)

Today I visited the Island of Rangitoto for the day. Much more peaceful than staying in the busy city centre. It is a conservation island, with no 'pests' including humans... You can't camp or stay on the island at all, though there is a campsite on its very close neighbouring island. They are aiming to preserve the flora and fauna as NZ should be without introduced species. There are animal traps everywhere and you are asked to clean your shoes and check bags for any stowaways. I've never found a mouse in my bag before, but I guess you never know!

Rangitoto is a volcanic island, so walking in places is hard going, as it's all made of lava rocks. There aren't any roads on the island, except a dust track...and some walking tracks are a little easier underfoot and others. I however chose the tricky track first, which lead to Boulder Bay, or Wreck bay as it is also know...for it has been the site of about 13 deliberate shipwrecks. They put them there as it is out of sight... I guess before the days of stringent conservation laws! It made for an exciting adventure. I only managed to find the remains of about 5 wrecks, as the others were around the bay, and would have required hacking my way through a lot of vegetation, swimming, or cliffhanging. Perhaps I'll save those challenges for another time, as it was a bit cold and grey, so getting lost/wet/injured wouldn't have been ideal when quite literally in the middle of nowhere with the whole place to myself. (All the other ferry passengers had headed straight for the summit track, but I was more excited by the shipwrecks!)

After sheltering from a downpour in the rocks, I headed up towards the summit track myself. You reach the volcano's crater, and from there can head up to the highest viewpoint from which you can see pretty much the whole island. It was very marvellous. And it didn't rain again after that first conveniently timed downpour, which was a bonus. I made it back with plenty of time before the last ferry back, so sat in a field just over the causeway to the other island, and wandered along the beach. I spotted a few jellyfish (after paddling!) and went back for the ferry.

I now write to you from the 51st level (I can't call it floor, most of the floors don't exist as this building is more like a giant concrete stick) of the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere (the Sky Tower) watching the sun set for the last time in NZ. It has very spectacular views, and I'm sure is preparing me nicely for the idea of being in the sky, which I mostly shall be for the next couple of days!

Parasailing! :-)

Hopefully these people will email through the pictures of me we agreed to do a swap!

The bay

Magical bay of islands adventures

Myself and Liv, my friend from the coach yesterday, headed out in search of water activities on the bay. Because I had a repeat trip on the dolphin cruise on stand by, we decided to try that in the morning...but they sold out, so instead we deferred that until the afternoon and went in search of kayaks. We hired a double kayak and set out on the lovely sunny sea to find islands. Upon the advice of the kayak hire man we first went across to a bay on the other side that you can do a five minute walk from to a view point. This was a good plan as it had very lovely views. Technically it was an island that we had landed on, although the tide was low enough that it appeared to be attached to the main land. It was rather unfortunate timing as we approached the main land, as there were some waves coming across from a boat. For some reason we thought it would be fun to stay in the water while the waves passed, but because we were right at the beach the waves just broke over the boat, and we got rather wet! Oops! We pulled the boat up high enough on the shore to make sure the tide didn't come up and strand us whilst we looked at the view. Then we returned to the boats for more island hunting, and stopped off at two or three other bays to explore and photograph. Then it was back to the mainland for lunch, and to board our dolphin cruise.

We hadn't been travelling long this time when we found dolphins! Hurray! There was a pod of 6 or 7, and they came over to say hello. Unlike the ones I saw way back in Akaroa, these were the larger species of bottlenose dolphins. They were so graceful and effortless as they swirled round the boat. There were a lot of people on board so sometimes you had to wait patiently for the dolphins to come back in to view, as you couldn't see from all sides due to the numbers of other people trying to see. It was very exciting. We might have been allowed to swim, but the waters were too shallow for the boat to easily move around so it was deemed not safe on this occasion. After a while we moved on to see more islands and search for more marine life. We found a rock (not an island, for an island has vegetation on it apparently!) that had four seals on it, basking in the sun. And later we saw one solitary dolphin, but the best sighting had been the first. We did get treated to a drive through the 'hole in the rock', which marked the furthest point in the journey. I didn't think the driver was going to attempt it due to the swell of the the ocean (I think the tide was higher than on my first trip), but we did, and it was most exciting, as the hole in said rock (this rock actually being an island, not a rock, for it has vegetation on it...confusing!!) is not all that much larger than the boat!

Turns out that they didn't see any dolphins on the morning cruise, so we were lucky to not have got on to that one! :-)

When back in Paihia, I decided to have a swim (cold, but not too bad!), then some food and an evening walk along the beach. Glad I decided to stay here an extra night! its much nicer than being in a city!

Cape Reinga pictures

Another coachful day out!

Today was a fun coach excursion. We went to the far north most point of the island, Cape Reinga, but there were several stops on the way there and back. First was a forest walk amongst 1000 year old Kauri trees, putting our major oak to shame! They were very tall and wide, as you might expect! The next stop by a lovely beach for refreshments, and next was possibly the most exciting thing that can happen in a coach...we drove along the beach and in the sea!:-) it's a special 4 wheel drive coach for the occasion, and as long as it doesn't stop in the wet stuff it's able to keep going! It was such fun. It was obvious the driver enjoyed that bit the most! We did circles and swerving and spraying water. And it wasn't a slow tootle along, it was faaaast. That beach, the 90 mile beach, (actually about 60 miles, incorrectly measured as 90 by cattle drovers who had failed to account for the extra time taken walking on sand to other terrain), is listed as a public highway, with a speed limit and everything! Though there wasn't exactly the traffic you'd expect on a highway...we passed one vehicle, and a seal. We circled the seal for a closer look, and moved on to a spot where there was firm enough sand to park up and have a paddle :-) unfortunately a girl dropped her phone, and the tide whisked it away before anything could be done. Maybe one day it shall be found again, but it's pretty unlikely, on a beach that length! She seemed to cope relatively well though. 

Next we stopped at a massive sand dune. We didn't drive the full length of the beach as the tide was too high. The sand dune is a popular spot for sand boarding, a bit like sledging and body boarding combined. We trudged up it with our boards in hand (hanging on to them for dear life, it was rather windy!) if you don't know what a body board is, it's fairly self explanatory, a slice of foam big enough for your upper body to lie on. Then the fun part, sliding down the dune! Yaaaay! It was pretty fast, but you could steer with your feet, and there weren't any obstacles except other people. I think I shall still be finding sand for some time to come... The wind and the sliding had it flying into our hair, ears, nails, clothes, everything!!

Onwards to the official tip of the country, there was a similar vibe to a visit to sands end. People all getting their pictures taken to prove the box has been ticked! There was a signpost denoting a horrifying number of km to London, a nice big lighthouse on the cliff, and crashing waves down either side of the outcrop of land. There was a request not to eat or drink on the site, as is the Maori custom in that place. It is believed to be the place that the deceased travel through on their way to wherever it is they are going next.

After this it was time to begin the journey back to Paihia. We had a most welcome stop at a fish and chip shop by another of the many lovely beaches, and rather marvellously the fish and chips were included in our coach tickets, woohoo! One more refreshment stop, and we were back, 11 hours after setting off. Quite a lot of sitting on a coach, but it was very fun, and I made friends with a girl who I'm planning to see tomorrow. If there's space we shall go on the dolphin cruise again (she hasn't been yet, and I get a free repeat journey owing to the lack of Dolphins previously), but if there isn't space we shall hire kayaks. Either shall be fun!

This evening I had another walk along the beach as the light slowly disappeared, and now sitting in the hostel overlooking the lights on the water :-)

Paihia pictures

To Paihia

I'm now in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. It's very lovely, as such a name suggests. It's all sunny and starting to feel like summer. It's going to be a shock when I come home to the onset of winter! There are jettys going out into the sea, and lots of islands easily visible from here. Some are near, but there are some larger ones quite far out. It's all very sheltered so doesn't often get wavey. I went on a boat cruise today which is called a dolphin cruise, although we didn't see any! A large splash was spotted ahead, and the driver thought it might be a whale judging by its size, but we didn't see it again sadly. It was a nice scenic cruise none the less, and I do have the option of going again, on the basis of the lack of Dolphins. I might see what other options I have though, as there are other things I'd like to see around here too, and it would be a shame to go out again and not see the Dolphins again! The Trip took us past some lovely looking beaches, I felt it was a shame not to have time to disembark and have a splash around. But it was nice to see them, as there's no other way of getting out there without your own boat! 

I really like the hostel I'm in tonight, as it has a large kitchen and dining room which overlooks the bay, with a whole wall of large windows. There were some buskers outside earlier, which almost sounded very nice, but were just a little on the flat side. But it did add to the atmosphere if you didn't listen too carefully! There's also a piano outside which is just waiting for anyone to play. Perhaps I won't inflict that on people, especially after my criticism of the performance of others.

Waitomo lambs

My hostel in waitomo had an excellent selection of animals...these two lambs were roaming free, and there was also a friendly deer and goat, and two baby cows. Awww! I might have stayed another night, except there was very little to do, even walking wise, aside from the caves which I'd already seen! Here is also a slightly contrasting pictures from the back yard of tonight's hostel!

Another cave and on to Auckland

I visited the waitomo glow worm caves today...this is probably the busiest and most established of caves in the waitomo area, hence the name I suppose! It is very accessible, and has the best collection of glow worms. The guides show around large groups pretty much none stop one after another. It was a spectacular trip beneath the ground. We were lead through a sequence of caves down to a lake, where we boarded a boat. We were all asked to be quiet, so I was wondering how they were planning to quietly move a boat full of about thirty people, without asking us to row (which probably wouldn't have been all that quiet anyway!). The solution was that our guide stayed standing, and pulled us along on a network of ropes webbed across the ceiling. Very clever I thought, though I do wonder if any guide has ever fallen in ( I wish I'd thought of this question soon enough to ask!) it was very peaceful down there, and was nice that everyone was quiet to take in the many thousands of lights glowing above us. It could feel a little stressful to be rammed into a cave with so many other people, but that bit was very calm and relaxing.

Like many of these attractions, they take photos of you to try and sell at the end. Mine was awful, my eyes were closed. So I didn't fork out for that one! Hehe. I met a couple of nice Australian ladies on the way out of the caves who were in New Zealand for a felting craft week, so I told them about my WOW adventures in return and we had a nice chat :-)

Then onto the coach from outside the caves, and on to Auckland. I'm only staying here one night, then going further north. But I will be back here after my travels to further places! This is where I fly home from, in less than a week! How time flies! So I've done a little exploring this evening along the harbour, where I had fish and chips. Nice, but not like Yorkshire ones. There was a random crazy golf course inside some disused silo chimneys on the dock (very peculiar!) which I had a nosey at, and was most interested to see inside. Didn't play though, thought perhaps the novelty would wear off if playing an 18 hole course solo, haha! 

I've arranged a hostel for my return to Auckland, as it's very busy here, and for the first time on my travels there was almost no room at the inn! It's getting near summer, it's the school holidays and apparently there's a band playing tonight (maroon 5) which has brought the crowds to town. This is quite a hilly city, with lots of tall buildings. I'd say it easily feels as big as Wellington, the capital, but I could be mistaken. There are lots of nearby islands to explore though, which I shall do when I'm back!

Caves

2nd October, caves!

Today has featured many caves. I got the bus from rotorua this morning in the rain. I felt this could go one of two ways.... The good way is that a rainy day is the perfect day to be inside...the bad way is that too much rain means flooded caves! As it turns out it was somewhere in between...the trip I meant to be doing was cancelled due to flooding. This should have involved abseiling in, and floating around on an inflatable ring (or tube as they call it here), jumping in and out of the water, and sliding down waterfalls. The good news was that another option was available, which took a higher route through the caves, and involved more climbing and zip wires. This was good fun, so all in all the day was a success! And most importantly, the glow worms were out and sparkling in the ceiling. We got to see some close up. The bit that glows is a dot at the end of their tail, and they glow in order to attract flies who are looking for a way out of the cave. The flies get trapped in sticky web like strings that the worms trail from the ceiling. Glow worms are actually maggots, eventually bceoming flies themselves to lay more eggs. Pretty from afar though!

Because this wasn't the trip I should have had, I also get to do a tour of another cave in the morning before getting my bus, which is a walking and boat tour of a particularly glow worm filled cave. Hurray!

After the caves today I went for a walk in some countryside that was doing a very good impression of Yorkshire, especially in the rain! There was green grass, cows, undulating hills, muddy paths and a full muddy river. It took me to some excellent bonus caves that you could look inside, which were very impressive, and worth getting soggy for!

1st October (!) Hobbiton and Maoris!

Such an exciting day it has been!

I was up early in the morning to catch the coach to the Hobbition film set. It was truly delightful! all sunny and springtimeish, it's as it should be! The drive was about an hour, and once there we were met by a guide who took us round in a group, talking through a few film locations, and sharing a bit about the history of the set- how the original Lord of the Rings one should have been instantly taken down after filming, but due to bad weather it was postponed after the props were removed, but the basic buildings still remained. This allowed the first tourists chance to have a look behind the scenesat the skeleton version of the set. When the farm was approached to be a location for the Hobbit films, they accepted on the condition that the set be built with sustainable materials, and be left exactly as it was used for filming. A very wise business venture! They are shipping in coach load after coach load every day! It's amazing how many people go. And even some people in our group who had not seen any of the films or read any of the books! It was a surprisingly extensive area, with something like 42 hobbit-holes...I had expected maybe 5! Unfortunately the lake was at a lower level than it should be as they were extending one of the buildings near it...which was a not so hobbity sight to behold. But there was so much else to see that this was okay! And we got to enjoy a drink in the green dragon :-)

In the evening I went on another adventure to a different world...that of a traditional Maori village. They greet you with a traditional sacred welcome ceremony (in which you were asked not to move, laugh or smile! Fortunately my sister was not present, we do manage to set each other off in serious situations!!!) then they invite you in to relax (phew!), and show you into the village where you move around little houses where they talk to you about (and sometimes get you to join in) different things, such as weaving, games, dancing, body art and of course, the Haka! After this introduction we were shown how they cook food (in this instance our dinner!) in the ground, on hot stones. They unburied our veg and meat (carefully wrapped to avoid dirt), and took it to be served up while we were given a short performance of singing, dancing  and Haka-ing. It was most excellent. And then dinner, too, was very good, with second portions on offer, and some not so traditional puddings also on offer for afters. Our bus driver was very jolly, and talked and made us sing songs all the way home, which was also rather fun!

30th pictures

Ducks are surprisingly resilient to nasty swamps! Also,I liked this bicycle tree :-)

Wednesday 30th September

I caught the bus from Taupo to Rotarua this morning...and being only an hours journey I arrived with plenty of time to explore my new surroundings. I have a couple of excursions planned for tomorrow, so decided to stay around town today and see what was on offer. It turns out there are bubbling mud pools and steam vents everywhere... The geothermal park I saw the other day was just the tip of the iceberg! That one had larger craters, but here they are everywhere. Steam is even bubbling up through the lake, up the occasional drain and cracks in the pavement! There is stinky pond after stinky pond. And let me assure you, it really does smell pretty bad! There are windows of fresh air (my hostel is nice and odour free), but I was trying to think of a way to describe the smell when you get near the ponds. I think it's like if a dead tuna fish were put out to rot for several days with a heap of seaweed, and then slowly burned (not cooked evenly, so some is still raw and the other side is smoking) you might get something like the smell. Not that I put too much thought into it! Still, it's all pretty fascinating!

I also discovered equally fascinating St Faith's church, it's Anglican, established by missionaries and the Maori people who apparently in this area were happy to accept Christianity. The building that stands today was built in 1914, and its unlike any church I've been to.... In shape much like a European church but fully decked out in Maori carving and pattern. Quite an amazing collision of two cultures. I particularly liked the window of Jesus walking on water, wearing traditional Maori clothes.

I wandered on along the shoreline, saw and smelt more geothermal peculiarities, and enjoyed a spot of live music in a bar, with a drink and a book.

Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th

I moved hostels this morning, but within the same town, as yesterday's was closing for refurbishment. It was a bit of a claustrophobic room though, and lacking in sufficient plug sockets, so this one is possibly marginally better. Hired a bike from my new hotel, and headed out of Taupo to the Huka falls, a very spectacular waterfall series where I wide river goes through a much smaller gap... Think "the strid" in Yorkshire, but many times bigger! The mountain biking track was good too, just the right amount of technically difficulty without being dangerous. I decided to head on further as it was still looking sunny, and much of the day remained. A bit further along I found the Craters of the Moon park, an area with lots of geothermal activity, such as steami craters and bubbling mud pools. They've had the occasional eruption in the past, but not for a little while... And there's a nice wooden walkway all the way round to keep you on safe ground. Like yesterday's steam, there. Was a somewhat interesting aroma to e place! But all in all rather interesting. 

I had more time, so went on to the dam further down the river, which like Huka falls, created some spectacular waterfalls. The water is such a vivid example blue here, which adds to the prettiness. Then headed back up the other side of the river, and decided I had to stop for food at Huka falls, which was handy, as there was a massive hail storm just as I got there! I had a hot pie, which was great to begin with, but slightly concerningly I found to be cold in the middle, so asked for it to be further heated up...but I'm hoping there are no sicky repercussions as I'm booked on a trip tomorrow to do a famous walk...the Tongariro Crossing. It's meant to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and I've spent a bit of money to go with a group with a coach transfer, guides and equipment. So really hoping I don't get food poisoning, as this could somewhat put paid to my plans!!

I was fine on Tuesday, phew! So I was able to partake in my planned walking of the Tongariro Crossing. This is a 20km trail that takes you through the highest mountains (actually volcanoes) on the North Island. Because it's so snowy up there, and the track doesn't return to he same start point, the best way of doing it is to go with a group who transport and guide you. In summer it's easier to get the shuttle bus and walk it on your own, but that option isn't running at the moment. Which is good, because they were expecting up to 150 people to do the route today, as opposed to the summertime average of 3000 people. It must be extremely crowded in summer, as it felt like there were a lot in our group! It was a beautiful walk, and there was much fresh snow from yesterday. The guides didn't run the walk yesterday as it was predicted to be poor conditions...and I'm sure that hail storm would have been troublesome up there! The walk bypasses the highest peaks, which are more commonly attempted in summer, but they did look enticing. We all were supplied with crampons just in case, but the snow was stable enough not to require them. It was so unspoiled with yesterday's fresh snow! We got to slide down some slopes, as it was easier than walking, and safe due to the thickness of the snow, and the flat areas at the bottom of said slopes. The area didn't quite resemble the Mordor of Lord of the Rings that I am more familiar with, as in the films the area is so dry and snowless! There were a couple of bare patches without snow, where the geothermal activity beneath us had turned the snow to steam... And one volcano in particular the route takes a wide course around, as it last erupted only in 2012, and it still produces quite a torrent of steam! I asked the guides if there's any advance warning of such an eruption, to which they said there are usually earthquakes and a loud cracking noise first, and that if we saw them running we were to follow. Reassurance at its greatest I thought!!! It was a long descent to the car park at the bottom, but our bus was waiting, with drinks ready for us :-) A very lovely day out!

29th pictures

Again, writing to follow when there is better Wi-Fi... in short, today I walked the Tongariro crossing, a very popular walk.It was snowy and fun :-)

28th pictures

Words to follow when I have Wi-Fi!

Pictures 27th

Sunday 27th

I woke up in Napier this morning, and hired a bike for an hour in order to see as much as I could in the short time I was there. It was nice enough...though a bit of a grey day, with showers! Lots of beaches, with quite dark coloured sand rather than a typical golden sand, which was interesting. I think it's quite a popular place with water sports and surfing types, but for a visitor, it's not the most exciting place on this Island when the weather isn't great...one overnight was fine for me! The experience of getting on the coach was fairly unpleasant, and three coaches arrived, and shed their passengers, each to get onto a different coach to continue their journeys. But it was fairly unclear which coach was going where, and there were so many confused people that it was difficult to navigate through them with a large rucksack, in order to try and find someone who knew!

But eventually I got on the bus, and had an interesting journey chatting to the man next to me who was of a combination of Maori and English descent- so he was able to tell me loads of things about the land and it's traditions, and he also pointed me in the direction of the youth hostel his friends run and we all had a nice drink and piece of cake together :-) 

After settling into my room, I went for a walk to the geothermal stream, and had a brief dunk in the water (was too hot to stay long, I went all headachey!) it had a somewhat unpleasant aroma, which may not have helped. Sulfurous and nasty!

There's lots to explore here...oh I didn't say where I am! I'm at Lake Taupo... There are lots of bike and walking trails, so think I'll have another cycle tomorrow!

The pictures show the beach in Napier, and a lovely sunset in Taupo, which of course looked better in real life.

To Napier, 26th

Had another lovely breakfast at the Rydges, and said farewell to a few other wow contestants. Then met a friend of a friend for a drink and a wander, nice to see a bit more of Wellington and have a good chat. Straight on from there to the coach station.not the most exciting journey as this was one of those buses with an image over the windows, so looking out was a little blurry! And this coach was furnished with an arguing couple, and some excitable children, so not as relaxing as it might be! But anyway I arrived in Napier...which was flattened by an earthquake in the 30s and so has lots of art deco architecture from when they rebuilt the town.I'll explore tomorrow! This evening I found another hot pools establishment on the seafront, and had a nice relaxing soak :-)

Pictures from 25th

WOW awards day 25th

Running behind with blogging from yesterday as it was such a busy long day, so I'll quickly try to summarise lest I don't have time later!

Went for morning tea at the British embassy, which was great...felt like we were celebrities for the day. They were all really friendly and interested in what we do (4 British contestants were there) so we did lots of chatting and sharing tips with some local students who were also invited.  Afterwards we were driving back to town, and I asked to be dropped at the botanical  gardens  to have a look round... All very nice. They cover quite a steep hill, and a cable car goes to get top (this is where I got dropped off) and you can wander down the gardens back into town.

Then I met up with a friend of my sisters, Bethany, who showed me round the museum and shared some local insights. Was great to have her to show me around as it's such a huge museum you could spend half the time trying to figure out which bits to see. Then we had a piece of cake and I returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening. Was exciting to get dressed up, and I was pleased to see several designers had outfits, or accesories, to match their garments on stage (which is what I had done too!). the show was great once again, Nd the awards were somewhat nerve wracking even though I hadn't gone with any expectation of winning anything (which I didn't). Feeling throughly fuelled with ideas, and definelty thinking of entering again...I need to raise my game!

I spoke to a lady from the wardrobe department on the show who said that at least twice as many garments were sent to New Zealamd as were used in the show...which makes me all the more proud to have been in it at all :-)

"Designer's Day" 24th

I'll see if I can sit still long enough to write this!! What a day!!

It began by heading down to breakfast in search of other WOW contestants. At first I didn't find them, but I did find an amazing breakfast spread of everything from full English, to milkshakes, croissants, fruit, cereal, toast.....tried not to make a pig of myself. I have two more mornings to enjoy the bits I didn't try today! Slowly but surely, unmistakably designer types started appearing...well, they are very varied in nationality, age, gender etc, but you could just tell by various tell tale signs...who was looking out for others like me, who was greeting old friends, some people had badges. Some people looked plain wacky...and that's coming from me! There's a real community of people who enter every year, but they are very welcoming to newcomers too. So I spoke to many people over second and third breakfast courses (well, I have been roughing it in hostels!), and continued to chat as we got in coaches to whisk us away to the Roxy Cinema (apparently owned by Peter Jackson) for a day of Weta Workshops (film effects specialists) talks, tours and demonstrations. One lady got transformed into a dwarf (she only volunteered to have prosthetic elf ears applied, but got coerced into a full beard, eyebrows, nose, wig and face paint!) they had displays of Lord of the rings and Hobbit costume, as well as various unpleasant things like hobbit feet, and most excitingly of course armour made of scales... We got to hear about the digital work that Weta Workshops does on films, and how there is a shift in that direction as it's quicker than making everything in real life when directors are being demanding and time is of the essence. They showed us things from lots of other films too, but LOTR is a special one for me :-) 

Many people had been to see the preview show yesterday evening, but I wasn't here in time for that...but after hearing so many wonderful things I just couldn't wait until tomorrow so went tonight as well! You could easily watch it twice, as there's so much information that you're just not able to remember everything. Which is kind of interesting, I wonder if the judges will favour the entries that are most memorable to the masses...or are they looking or something different having seen year on year of shows. I was a little worried mine wouldn't hold its own out there with so many distractions, but I was pleased with how it was performed in. There are often several garments on stage at any one time, as well as a great troope of backing dancers, so there's lots to look at. They tend to circuit round the stage so that at some point during their time on stage they stand on each of the five walkways into the audience, and perform their little sequence of movement in that direction. Naturally I couldn't stop watching mine...let's hope other people felt the same. I didn't want him to leave the stage!

Strangely enough there was room in my head all the while to contemplate what I could make for next year...having seen what kind of trends appear more often, it perhaps informs what might make for a more unique entry. Although I think pretty much everything is covered, it's so varied. Perhaps the best thing is to not compare, but just keep my ideas going and see what occurs!

Can't wait to see it again!

Oh, did I say I'm invited to the British embassy for morning tea tomorrow? Swanky!!!:-)

Pictures from 23rd

World of wearable art, 23rd and on to Wellington!

This morning I just about had time to visit the world of wearable art museum in Nelson, before making my way to Wellington.it was very extremely exciting to see some previous entries and winners close up, and to watch some film footage of previous shows. It looks like such a spectacular show, I'm so excited to have been allowed to be a part of it! Slightly overwhelming in that so many amazing outfits have been created already, that trying to think of ideas that have never been done before, or coming up with something that will make the judges say "wow, that's different!" Is rather a daunting prospect! (This competition has been running since the year I was born-1987, that's many years of incredible outfits) Whether they think that of mine or not, I'm just very grateful to be a part of this show, and can't wait to see how they choose to stage my angel.

I'm now in Wellington, after a relatively calm ferry crossing. I feared it wouldn't be so, as the weather at the other end was extremely windy and rainy, but I found a sofa in the middle of the boat, and curled up and it was fine! Phew. The Rydges hotel, where I have been put up by Wellington City Council (how very nice!) is somewhat posher than the hostels I've been used to...and to have a whole room to myself is such a treat! I've spilled the contents of my rucksack everywhere...and most importantly hung my dress for awards night up to get the creases out. My room is supplied with an iron if needs be, as well as TV, microwave, fridge, mini bar (must resist the chocolate!) oh what luxury! There's a swimming pool and sauna downstairs too, but that shall have to wait as it's an early start tomorrow for 'designers day' meeting the other contestants from around the world, and having presentations and workshops. Which I'll tell you more about tomorrow!

To Nelson... 22nd

Not a massive amount to report today! I went kayaking up a river in punakaiki this morning, which was quite fun. If a little hard work going upstream.. Sometimes had to get out and wade up the faster moving bits...but there were some exciting bits going downstream! Probably going to have achey arms tomorrow!

Not the most exciting journey today, as little featured amongst the lovely but seemingly endless forests! Afraid no pictures to show, as I didn't take my phone kayaking.

Now nearly completed my bus journey to Nelson, and I'm so very excited to go to the World of wearable art museum tomorrow! Eeee!

Travel to Punakaiki, 21st

Time to say bye to the lovely Franz Josef and head on the coach to Punakaiki. There were a few familiar faces on the coach from the journey to Franz, and so we had a nice chat along the way, and all got throughly confused over which mountain was which when trying to identify the tallest one from a distance.cthere were a few stops along the way as usual, and we passed by a few sights including a sawmill and gold mine. Both these things have been fairly big industries in these parts. The journey took us out of glacier country and further up the west coast, taking in a lot of seaside along the way, and finally bringing us to Punakaiki where I disembarked. 

It is a very small place, with a couple of short streets of predominantly holiday accommodation, and that's about it. My hostel is a lovely place, all done out in a surfy beachy style, with upstairs windows looking out to sea. Glad I arrived early enough to grab a bottom bunk though as there are no rails around the top ones! There's a rock formation on the coast here know as the pancake rocks, where they have weathered in layers like stacked pancakes. Theres also a lovely beach with lots of driftwood, and a river flowing out through a gorge to the beach with a walk along its banks. I have taken in all of these sights, and watched the sun set out to sea. The coach to Nelson leaves tomorrow afternoon, so if it's another beautiful day tomorrow I may hire a kayak in the morning, we shall see!