30th October 2009

Well here we go again and this trip can only be described as fantastic. I am in the Sports Bar in Whitianga on the East coast of the North Island of New Zealand. I have been here an hour! The sports bar is great. To the right are the fruit machines (pokeys) and in front is the betting shop. To the left is the Bar, behind me is the kitchen and in front of me is a pint of Lion Red and the keyboard, email in a pub amazing.
So now you know where I typed this message from. I have been on quite a journey. I have seen and experienced so much so far, seems a shame I have to work next year!!!

So I am travelling with Annette (yes a girl, no I am not ok...) and I have known her since I was 18 and we are here for different reasons and I aint telling you what they are, they might come out as I type they might not.
We left London on the 18th and flew to LA via Air New Zealand (this will be a very long email, they dont start serving food for another hour and apart from drinking there is absolutely nothing to do in this 1 horse by the sea town) and the flight was great, a little bumpy but great.

Before I go on lets all wish Sharon a happy birthday, 35 ha ha (just for you x) any way, we get to LA and after finger prints and pictures we get outside to get a shared bus to Mid Wilshire. It took only 40 mins to get through immigration and get our bags and then from LAX to our hotel 2.5 hours. We get to the Ramada Mid Wilshire at 10pm!!!! Whats that all about. The hotel is a hotel. Next to the hotel is a Korean wine bar and Karaoke bar, so drop bags, drink and sit and listen. The Korean people blast out and murder any song they can which is nice and then after 10 hours flying and 6 bottles of hieneken I get up bang out a few songs and then got to sleep for 6 hours.
The first day in LA we get on the bus to go to Santa Monica. Not as scary as first thought, $3 all day any bus, metro anywhere and so we go. Santa Monica Pier is just up from the wierd, tacky and wonderful Venice Beach and it is hot, sunny, the ocean is cold and the weirdos of LA are just waking up!!! The area is great, a long beach walk and the sands are golden and empty, the people are unassuming and there were plenty of police around to make you feel safe. Muscle beach was a bit of a let down although Venice beach does live up to its reputation as a strange and hippy place with lots of street performers, aritists, strange shops and murials on the walls. When I can be bothered I will post the photos on ringo, but as I already have taken 900 then I am not sure when I will have time, but trust me they are all amazing esp the dolphins but thats to come.
We spend most of the day there and we find the british bar drink guiness and have cheese and pickle sandwiches which were great. Getting back to the hotel took about 2 hours and we went through Sunset Boulvard, past the Tar Pits down through beverly hills and the like so that was fun if a little uninteresting as the city is full of cars and not people and that is a shame but there you go.
We are staying in the heart of Korea Town and thats fine by me and near by is the Famous Wiltern Theatre which used to be owned by the Warner Brothers, nearly got destroyed in the recent riots there but is still standing. This night The Pogues were in town and for 30 quid we could go and see them. WOW that was some performance, Saun Macgowan was completely drunk and kept slurring, drinking and staggering all over the stage but the music was great and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. It was a great performace and a top night out.
The next day we went Down town on the metro subway and saw the Disney hall, some other big buildings and not much else really. It again was devoid of people and so you had to get everywhere by car or bus. We then moved up to Hollywood and walked the streets paved with stars of music and film. The most interesting bit about Hollywood was the shop windows as Halloween was coming and so they had all the costumes etc in the windows. The Chinese theatre area was ok except the rubbish looking film stars stood about to have photos with, A crap looking Gandalf, Zorro yeah right and wait to you see the photo of Chewy.... The pavement around the theatre has foot and hand prints of all the stars so thats nice.
Moving on we went to Universal Studios for the rest of the day and did the rides. We did the Mummy returns, Jurrasic Park, Backdraft and then to the Terminator show which was great until the fire alarm went off and we had to leave the show half way through. There wasa traditional Irish bar opp in the london area of the studios and so we had a beer and then when it reopened did the show again and it was great. I managed to get in the show by stealing the lines of one of the actors so I got some abuse which is always welcome.!!!
Shrek 4d and the Back to Future rides were also good.
Our final day was spent at Long Beach. This involved a 2 hr metro journey from the hotel to the coast going through Compton, Pico and the like where all the gangs and trouble apparently comes from but we saw none of it.
Long beach is beautiful, the Queen Mary is there, a russian sub, the aqaurium and lots of boats and we saw it all despite only having 3 hours there.
But it was a good way to spend the day.
We head back to the hotel and then leave to go to LAX on the same metro we went to Long Beach, check in and then wait for 6 hours to catch the flight to Auckland. Thats a long time. Esp as there is absolutely noting to do there in the international departure lounge.
The flight to NZ is 14 hours, We leave on Sat night and get there Monday am, I dont know why but we do. For all those in the UK I am 12 hours ahead.
Its raining in NZ when land, cold and wet and also a bank holiday and so the most populated area of the whole country is deserted. We are staying in a hotel and thats nice.
All I manage to do on my first day in Auckland is drink 6 pints of guiness and by 6pm I am asleep to the world and then I wake the next morning at about 7am, still jet lag over.
We do the harbour tour, hire a car (173 pounds for 14 days thats not bad, mind the car has done 220000 kms and is covered in knocks and dents but hey its a car) and thats about it. A few drinks in the evening.
The next day we leave to go north to Whangarei in the northlands. We stop on the way up at the Waipo caves to see glowworms. Trouble is the cave is in the middle of nowhere, you have to cross fields then enter the cave, cross the river twice and then try to not get lost. Well as it was free it was cool and the glow worms were great.
Getting to the Backpackers Hostel in Whangarei was cool. Even better when we found out they had an all you can drink for 10 bucks night and the town got involved as well. Wow thats a place to party!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I did and what a hangover the next day!!
The strangest thing was that I met 2 lads from England who lived at Chew Valley and used to drink in the Railway in Clutton which I did in my younger days and so we had a lot to chat about and got very drunk. I never made it to my dorm that night I passed out in the TV room
The next day we headed north to The Bay of Islands and for anyone who has heard of it, it is as pretty as they say and the views, the islands and the like are great. We stay at the Mousetrap hostel with views of the bay and it is really beautiful.
We get on our first trip around the bay and get on the Mack Attack a fast jet boat which goes out to the famous hole in the rock place and through it and stuff. This was a great trip and we saw loads of dolphins in the bays and they swim and dive around in front of you. That was truly awesome.
The next day we go on a full day tour of the bay of Islands and also some dolphin and sea mammal watching. WOW I have never seen so many creatures anywhere ever. We saw 3 lots of Dolphins. The first pod were swimming around and under the boat and that was spectactular. The second pod I can only describe as WOW WOW WOW. We had headed far out to the South Pacific on our way to South America and there were about 200 common dolphins fishing and then they took off and it was the best thing. They were all diving in and out the water in groups all round the boat and we followed them for about 20 minutes and to be fair I cant describe it to you. I have movie footage which is amazing and once I learn how to send 25mb of footage I will send it. But it truly was the best sight ever.
After that excitement a few penguins swimming were cool, fur seals asleep around the hole in the rock were good. We then got dropped off on an island for lunch that was nice and then we carried on with the tour. We had the opportunity to swim with dolphins if any could be found without young but they werent so I never swam with any.
Our 3rd pod were resting and then woke up and splashed around. The best thing was when we left them, some the dolphines followed in the wake and they were jumping through it and that was again amazing and I got some pictures.
Have you had enough yet as I have so much more to tell you about........
The next day we got a bus to go to Cape Reigna and the 90 mile beach, Sand Tobogganing and see the Mighty Kauri Trees.
90 mile beach is a highway where buses can go at speed through the incoming tide and through quicksand and it was an amazing trip. the waves were crashing about 3m high and the tide was coming in as we sped through down the beach, we then turned up a fresh water stream through some buried old cars that got stuck and through into Sand Dunes, Laurence of Arabia would have been proud of. We then went sand boarding down them for a while which was different and if you like the taste of sand a meal as well.
On to the Cape, where you can post post cards, take photos of the most northern dirt of NZ and of a lighthouse and signpost. I am 18000 nautical kms away from the UK.
You can also see where the Tasman sea and the Pacific hit and that was cool.
On the way back we stop in a forest to see the mighty Kauri Pines which are like the redwoods of California only better and they are huge and tall.
That was the tour. The driver sang mauri songs, told crap jokes and the bus was full of fat aussies and germans but it was ok.
Yesterday we left the bay of Islands and headed to The Kauri forests on the West side of the northlands. It rained. It rained all day so I never nothing except drive to an offy, buy beer and sit in the Forestry Lodge hut drinking. I did pop outside to do some star gazing and take photos of possums but that was about it.
And there we go that was my first 10 days or so. The weather is like England, changeable, It is cheap the lager is great, the food tops and the people fine. The hostels good my car goes and thats all.

I am off to sit in pools of hot water tomorrow on a beach and then onward to White Island for more fun and adventures.

I love travelling I really do. This is so much fun.

Take care and be safe and look out for more photos and stories.

Luke