Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

24^th December

Today was a special day in the Haynes family. Christmas eve is also Mum’s birthday! She got a few present from the kids, and then we went to have lunch at the Boathouse restaurant overlooking the water. It was most delicious.

We then said goodbye to Julz as she flew to see her husband in Auckland. We then spent the night singing carols at a service held by the Salvation Army. They were small but welcoming, and the message and songs were very fitting.

Day 9

23^rd December

Tania and Jono came to NZ with the intention of bungy jumping. Today was the fulfillment of this expectation and the release of much built up tension. Both of them were very nervous as they neared the Kawaru Bridge, 43 metres above the Kawaru River. The jumps can be seen in the videos below! Tania acknowledges that her ‘jump’ cannot really be classified as a jump, and she laughs whenever she sees it.

After bungy jumping we had a great lunch in at the Queenstown waterfront, enjoying the best weather of the trip thus far.

We all needed a break from each other, so we split up for the afternoon, and then met back together again to go to an Ice Bar aptly titled “Minus 5”. The photos speak for themselves.

Day 8

22nd December 2006

Yep… that’s right! Today we all went skydiving!! Yes, ALL of us … including mum! After having a relaxing morning shopping in town we arrived at the airstrip at midday. We boarded a tiny little plane. Our respective instructors were all awesome and from all over; Hungary, Holland, Canada and New Zealand. We’re all really glad we got the opportunity to do it, and our nerves were pretty good for most of the way, although the three women on the trip seem to think that Jono was looking a little more nervous than anyone else (Jono – I disagree!)

After the sky diving, Julz and Mieneke continued shopping while Tania and Jono went a checked out 'Puzzling World'

Jono showing his dark side

Tania and Jono finishing the giant maze in record time!

Day 7

21^st December

Today we drove from Fox Glacier to Wanaka. Wanaka is an extremely beautiful town, with a large lake (Lake Wanaka!) right beside it, with snow capped mountains behind it. Once in Wanaka we went to see the Bond movie at Cinema Paridiso (Thanks Pat!). This cinema is very funky with huge arm chairs and couches instead of normal cinema seating. There is even a yellow beetle positioned in front of the screen from which people can watch the film. One of the most enjoyable experiences was during the intermission when they served homemade cookies straight out of the oven! Yuummmmmmy!

Day 6

20th December 2006

Today Jono, Tania and Julz went ice climbing on Fox Glacier for the entire day (starting at 8am). Initially Tania was going to do a “helihike” which would have avoided any strenuous activity however due to the weather conditions it was cancelled. It was an unforgettable experience. We had a fantastic guide, and another guy (Vic) from Israel came with us.

Tania, Julz and Jono in front of Fox Glacier before the ice climb.

Julz emulating the scene from Vertical Limits (with Chris O'Donnell).

Tania taking a break from the ice climbing.

By the time we returned to the campervan we were absolutely exhausted. Our feet had all started to swell (plastic boots are a killer!) and despite our great time we were not in a state to look after ourselve. Mieneke took care of us so well when we got back that we were even calling her “mummy” for that night.

Day 5

19th December 2006

Coming soon!! :)

Day 4

18th December 2006

Day 3

17th December 2006

We had an early start to the day with a 5:30am appointment to see some wild dusky dolphins in Kaikoura. Prior to boarding the catamaran we were encouraged by the guides to make sounds into our snorkels while swimming, dive down into the water and to swim with our hands by our sides in order to emulate the dolphins. It was not guaranteed that the dolphins would want to play with us as they are wild. It was an awesome experience. The dusky dolphins are absolutely beautiful creatures – so playful – and we all felt that we had a special connection with these creatures and were ‘Dolphin Whisperers’ – only to find that everyone felt the same!

We then traveled inland to place called Hanmer Springs. This visit was a little disappointing, as the springs resembled a glorified series of swimming pools and did not have the natural feel we expected. It may have been a good experience, but none of us decided to go for a swim so we continued our drive.

We found a beautiful spot to park in Lewis pass. Unfortunately a massive amount of mosquitoes joined us and Julia started to freak out. This resulted in us driving away from any form of water which was actually a difficult task in that area considering there is myriad of creeks and lakes until the west coast.

Day 2

16th December 2006

The day commenced with a lamb rescue. This unusual start began when Tania spotted a little lamb bleating outside the campervan trying to get back to his friends on the other side of the fence. After congradulating ourselves on the rescue we began our day’s journey only to discover two other stranded lambs less than a kilometer away… being the good Samaritans that we are, we kept driving.

Julia joined the tribe in Christchurch. Julz and Will had gone to a friend's wedding the night before which is why she could not join us earlier. She said goodbye to her husband (who she will be reunited with in Auckland).



As Tania and Julia lay reclining on the make-shift bed they decided that Jono would be the first voted off Caravan Survivor. He just keeps doing stuff and being helpful and …. just too nice considering the strenuous conditions involved with traveling.

As Jono is the alpha male on this trip he has become a lot more confident and assertive … and it has only been 3 days!!! We now call him Alph.

After a long drive we are now in a seaside town called Kaikoura, north of Christchurch. The area is well known for its wildlife. The scenery is breathtaking.

Day 1

15th December 2006

Although we have only been traveling in our campervan for one day we are already feeling quite a connection with other Winnebago drivers. We consider these people to be “fellow travelers”. This started by checking out their vans and comparing them to ours. It has now progressed to waving at them enthusiastically when we go past (not overtaking them obviously … we are too slow to even aspire to that).

A few moments ago Jono discovered that a “punter” is not a “pimp” … unfortunately he did not realise this earlier today when we went punting along the River Avon in Christchurch. The whole time he tried to make bad jokes about “punters” taking his money. Tania thought this was a little strange …

We spent the afternoon in Akaroa, a beautiful town that was settled by the French. The town is beautiful, although the photo does not do it justice. We have a feeling we might be saying that a fair bit this trip!

Intro

14th December 2006

You may not know it yet but Jono, Tania, Julz and Mieneke will be in New Zealand for the next 3 weeks!!! We will be spending 2 weeks in the South Island traveling around in a campervan. The final week (starting just before New Years) we will be going to Auckland and spending time with Will (Julz’ husband) and his family at their beach house.

This blog is written in the third person because we are all contributing and otherwise we are pretty sure it’ll just get way too confusing.