Fleeting impressions of New Zealand

Photos from top- Queenstown from the bungy platform, me at Abel Tasman National Park and the Remarkables mountain range.

I keep thinking of things while I'm driving or doing something else and thinking Oh I must put that into my blog. Of course by the time I get here I've forgotten all about it and waste valuable compter time scratching my head and trying to remember what it was. So I'm just going to put down a few of my impressions of New Zealand while I recall them. These are in no particular order....

The people. Amazing. Friendly. Helpful. Welcoming. At first we had a few problems with the camper van and folks just broke their necks trying to assist us. Lovely.

The scenery. Awesome. Breathtaking. Loads of mountains and hills and lakes, not to mention the most beautiful coast lines I have ever seen. And the funny thing is that you don't get tired of it, you just get progressively drunker on it.

The peace. So many areas are small with small or no population. So when you turn off your engine all you can here are the birds singing and the waterfall running. Wonderful and soothing for the soul.

The driving. There's been a whole lot of it and sometimes I get tired but in reality it gives me time to think and assess my life and try to figure out what I'm doing next.

Having a friend to share it with. I am so used to travelling on my own that it took my a while to adjust to having Hannah there with me. But for some things its wonderful to Ooohhh and Aahhh over them with someone! Waiheke Island, Auckland, Rotorua- it also helped that she is another LOTR geek so interests in common!

These things deserve a whole entry of their own so I'll just briefly mention them:

Swimming with real wild dolphins at Akaroa. The Hector dolphin is the smallest and rarest fo dolphins so it was a real priviledge to have these intelligent and friendly creatures come up to me and say hello. Really puts life in perspective.

And of course the bungy jump. AWESOME thrill and never been so terrified in all my life. Talk about putting life in perspective!!

The last mention goes to Sarah and John, a couple from Auckland that I met while on a wine tour in Blenheim. We chatted for the few hours that we knew each other and on leaving they provided me with John's business card and their home phone number. Also with strict instructions to call them if I was in Auckland and stuck in any way- from needing bailed out from jail to needing a bed for the night. See what I mean about the people.....

Amazing Australia

So although I was in Aus for 3 months I never did get around to blogging anything about it. There are a number of reasons for this but I think it was most likely that I wasn't working and felt I had nothing to say. Also I felt as though I was living there instead of travelling there so it was a different vibe althogether.

Australis is certainly one of my favourite places so far. The people are friendly and welcoming and ready to assist you in any way that they can. Its beautiful- and, of course, its hot which is high on my list of priorites!

I visited Tasmania, Alice Springs, Sydney and lived in Melbourne. For a city, Mel is very laid back and relaxed and I loved the atmosphere there. Alice was small and not very exciting but of course I was really there to be picked up for my camping safari to Uluru which was the height of cool. I have had an interest in this genuine monolith (the only one in the world!) for some time so it was fascinating to really see it and hear more about its history and the importance it represents in Aboriginal history.

Sydney was quite pretty and I liked being there but I was glad that I was only there for three days. It doesn't have much depth to it and its heavily based around the tourists.

Tasmania was beautiful and amazing. I loved Launceston in the north which is tiny and has a real country town feel to it- very few people live there so its not surprising! Hobart is in the south and that was interesting but not terribly exciting. I also visited the stunning and gorgeous east coast in particular Freycinet National Park, which is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen.

But a lot of my time was spent at the gym and just hanging out and appreciating all the things that you don't get to have when you are constantly on the move (you know- a real kitchen, a shower that you don't have to share with dozens of others, playing a cd or watching a movie whenever you feel like it!) I love travelling but it was good to catch my breath, take stock of what I'm doing and just appreciate standing still for a while. I made good friends, stayed with lovely people and was very sad to leave this land behind.

One small comment that I must make is, of course ,regarding the aboriginal people. These folks are in a real sad state. Especially in places like Alice and the more remote regions its not uncommon to see very drunk and drugged up Aboriginies. They have high unemployment, high drug use, high alcoholism, low education- all the worst social problems. For me the saddest thing was seing a proud and beautiful tribe of people reduced to squalour and it all being our fault (as in the white person's) Remants of the Stolen Generation are still around and the effects resonate to this day. The government has only now begun to recognise that much assistance is needed and is now beginning to give land and so on back to various tribes- but there is a strong sense of too little, too late. There is also still an element of Aboriginals being a bit pissed off that white people are still trying to tell them what to do- albeit in a well meaning manner. My feeling is that they need to be given help and support to solve their own problems. White people have no clear idea of the difficulties faced by black people- so of course it makes perfect sense for white people to make it all better- NOT! I could go on in this vein for days as it is a subject very close to my heart. However, I won't. I will say that the Prime Minister of Australia has recently made a very public apology to Aboriginal people for the way that they have been treated. Maybe this will start the healing process and the long road to recovery for this "Lost People".

We can only hope.