Gob...

My boyfriend Andrew Mackie was recently asked to shoot the album artwork for the new Dels album Gob. Just thought I'd share the art work with you as I think it looks pretty awesome! It has been released on CD and vinyl or you could get a digital download from itunes which means you can have the artwork on your iPod which I think is pretty cool. Andrew should have a website up and running soon and will post a link to it as soon as it is ready but until then why not check out some of his older work...

www.abinaday.blogspot.com

Home...

And so that is it, after months of planning and saving my 4 months of carefree travels are over. I had a few low times but mainly I had great times and meet some brilliant people along the way who I hope to stay in contact with. I saw some of the most beautiful sights and did some pretty cool stuff. I conquered some fears and learnt a lot about myself. Those few months went over so quickly, much quicker than I would have liked but I am happy to be home and back in London and am pretty excited about whats next in life...

So thanks to all who kept up with my travels, sorry for boring you for so long!

Much love

x

Christchurch and Fiji...

I got onto my final journey on the kiwi bus which turned out to be quite an interesting journey. They put 2 buses on, one going to Christchurch and the other going straight through and on to the next place Kaikoura as with the recent devastating earthquake in Christchurch it was advised that we didn't stay there but as my flight was from Christchurch I didn't have much choice. After about 6 hours on the road we came to a stop as the bus about an hour behind us had broken down so our bus dropped us off at the side of the road and went back to get the passengers from the broken bus whilst we waited to get picked up from a tiny school bus. It was quite a squeeze getting all of us onto this bus each with our huge backpacks and suitcases which as they had no storage underneath we had to put on the seats taking up half the bus. After another hour on the road we were picked up by another big green kiwi bus and after another hour finally made it to Christchurch. There wasn't much to do there as the whole of the city centre is still closed off. It was really sad to see some of the destruction, the place was like a ghost town with crumbled down buildings on every corner. I got an early night as the next day was the start of my epic journey back home. I flew from Christchurch back to Auckland then eventually making it to Fiji later that night. On the bus from Nadi airport to my hostel for the night I got talking to a guy who as it turns out lives around the corner from me back home in Durham, we went to all the same schools and his brother and my brother were in the same year...once again, small world! I spent what little time I had in Fiji chilling out on the beach. I was meant to be spending nearly 2 weeks here but as I had run out of money and was quite honestly more than ready to come home I thought I would cut my trip short. After seeing a lot beaches on my travels I didn't feel like I really missed out on much and at least got to dip my toes in the warm sea one last time before heading home. I got a flight that evening to LA which took about 10 hours. After a grueling few hours trying to get through Americas customs and security just to get my connecting flight I was back on a plane, this time to London Heathrow. Feeling pretty happy to be back in the UK my journey still wasn't over as I got onto my last flight and the only flight of my whole trip to be delayed...typical...my flight home to Newcastle. I was thrilled to be back and so happy my 30 hour journey home was over and was made that much happier to be greeted at the airport by my parents and my boyfriend. Hugs all round then back home and sleep!

Wanaka and Queenstown...

After 2 nights in Franz Josef we set off for Wanaka where we stopped off at a cafe for some breakfast and a walk to Lake Matheson where the water acts like a mirror and reflects Mount Cook, after a few pictures we got back on the bus. A few hours later we arrived at Wanaka where we were told we could see dolphins in the wild as they come in to feed at 5 so when we turned up at 5 we were a little disappointed to find out they had been and gone as they actually come at 4.30 although we were a little impressed that the dolphins seem to know what time it is?! Wanaka was a pretty small place and as we were all trying to save money for Queenstown we just spent the night in the hostel. The next morning before heading off to Queenstown we stopped at Puzzle World. After getting quickly getting bored of the maze we went inside, this place was crazy with various different illusions but the weirdest thing was the perspective room, it really messed with your head as the whole room was tilted and was pretty hard to stand up in. After getting a bit motion sick from this room we got back on the bus stopping for one last time for a big group photo in front of our big green bus.

I wasn't sure I would like Queenstown as all I had heard about it was that it is the adventure capital of the New Zealand and is where everyone does their bungys and such like. I'm not the biggest adrenalin junky and was running pretty low on funds so thought I might get a bit bored here for 4 days but the place was beautiful. It was like a ski village, everywhere had a sort of log cabin feel to it and the scenery of the lakes and mountains were amazing. While the braver people of the group went to do their bungys and canyon swings those of us who were too scared did a bit of souvenir shopping. It was the royal wedding while we were away which I was pretty gutted about not being in London for but after much convincing they finally put it on one of the teles in the bar. After we all got a glimpse of Kates dress we headed on the next bar and the place were we ended up spending most of our nights, the World Bar. On one of the more quiter nights we went to a pub quiz after sharing a 20 inch pizza and realising it definitely wasn't enough to fill 8 people we were hoping to win second prize in the quiz...another 20 inch pizza. Sadly we missed out on this ending up coming third but we did end up winning 2 massive bags full of some pretty disgusting looking sausages...speaking of food I have to mention the wonder that is Ferg Burger, a tiny burger place only in Queenstown that do the most amazing burgers, definitely the best burger I have ever had. They had all sorts of varieties, lamb, chicken, beef with a great selection of extras and sauces. Over 3 days the 8 of us managed to scoff down a total of I think 21 burgers averaging an overall spend of around $250 which we were quite proud of! Queenstown was my last night with the lovely people I had spent the last 2 weeks travelling around New Zealand with and was really sad to say goodbye and quite sad that my time in New Zealand was nearly over.

Franz Josef...

After the madness of the poo party we got on the bus to travel to Fanz Josef, one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The hostel we stayed in was lovely and first things first we went to try out the huge hot tub, this place reminded of Switzerland with a landscape full of huge snow tipped mountains (not that I have been but it is what I imagine Switzerland to be like). After some food we headed to the bar to find out that me and my lovely barbies had won best costume at the poo party and received our winnings of a free canyon swing. The canyon swing was in Queenstown and involved a 60 metre free fall a bit like a bungy jump except you don’t bounce back, you swing through the canyon. After seeing our drivers dvd of his canyon swing and being terrified just by watching it Lottie and I decided we didn’t really fancy it so gave it to Connie. After hearing of our triumph we went back to our rooms, some of our group had been given an upgrade meaning they had a pretty nice room with a T.V. so we all went back to theirs to watch a film.

Day 2 in Franz Josef was a day I had been really excited about, it was glacier hike day! We arrived early at the centre and got all kitted out in hiking boots, spikes, windproof jackets, trousers, hat and gloves. After a quick talk about what the day involved we got on the bus to the glacier. It was the weirdest thing when we got there as even though the thing looked huge it also kind of looked small in the sense that it didn’t look like it would take that long even to walk to the bottom of it but then you could see people in the distance the size of ants and it gave a sense of perspective. We were really lucky with the weather, it was blue skies and despite the ice it was pretty hot so we climbed up in pretty much just shorts and t-shirts and managed to even get a bit of a tan on our faces. It took us about an hour to get the bottom of the glacier and was time to get spiked up. It took a while to get used to walking with spikes on our already chunky hiking boots and the noise on the stone was like nails on a chalkboard. Finally on the ice we made our way up to the top. Our guide had a pick axe, which he used to carve steps into the ice to make it a bit easier for us. The hike up was brilliant as we went through big cracks and tunnels in the ice. About half way up we stopped for a picnic, possible one of the strangest and prettiest places I have ever had a picnic. We had to wait a while before we set off again as there were too many groups around and there are rules on the glacier that groups most stay at least 50 metres apart or it is classed as visual pollution. Eventually we were back on our way, it probably took about 5 hours to get to the top where had a much deserved rest and took in the stunning view. A few rocks came tumbling down from the mountains whilst we were up there which was pretty cool to see although we were glad it didn’t happen anywhere near us. After a while we started to head back down. We climbed down a pretty big crack in the ice and it all started to get a bit claustrophobic for my liking but I went with it and was quite proud of myself after having to climb out by squeezing through a tiny space without freaking out too much. It took another few hours to get back down to the bottom and with the sun starting to set it started to get pretty cold so coats, hats and gloves were all back on. Finally back at the bottom we got the bus back to the centre handed all of our gear back in and headed back to the hostel.We were all pretty tired but it was our friend Andrews birthday so we all went out for a meal and a few drinks before heading back to the upgrade room to watch a bit more tele.

Lake Mahinapua, the poo party...

After Nelson we headed out to Lake Mahinapua, a place we had all heard a lot about as it is where the famous poo parties are held. An 86 year old kiwi guy called Les owns this strange little place in the middle of nowhere, cooks up a feast for everyone then holds a fancy dress party in his pub. He does this everyday and has done so for years especially for the kiwi experience buses. We were given the theme of plastic bags with which would could do whatever we liked. We stopped at a few stores on the ways to pick up supplies and after we found pink and purple bin bags 3 of us decided to go as barbie dolls so then went on the hunt for tiaras and pink lipstick. We arrived at our hostel later that afternoon where we were greeted by Les who was an interesting man with some rather old fashioned view points and opinions but seemed pretty fun and harmless. Once in our room we were quick to get on with our costumes, we were all pretty keen to win. Connie, Lottie and I were pretty proud of our barbie doll costumes, its amazing what you can do with some bin bags. Also in our little group of nine we had a crayola crayon, a panda, the men in black and of course keeping it current we had our very own royal wedding with a bin bag version of Kate and Will. We had to leave our costumes for a bit as our feast was ready. We all waited in line whilst Les slopped a huge steak on everyone's plates and the bus drivers filled up the remainder of our plates with veg, pasta and venison casserole. Now nicely full we finished off our costumes and headed out to the party. There were some interesting costumes and it all got a bit hot with a small pub packed full of people wearing nothing but bin bags but we had a pretty good night.

Nelson and Westport...

After a good night out in Wellington we got up pretty early feeling rather sorry for ourselves and boarded the ferry over to Nelson in the South Island. Most people spent the 2 hour ferry journey sleeping but me and a few others who get a bit sea sick sat at the back to play cards and take our mind off the swaying. Once at the other side we got onto our new bus with our new bus driver, Kane who was really fun and however irritating the morning song he played every morning was I'm sure that song will remind me of that trip every time I hear it...good morning, good morning, we've talked the whole night through, good morning, good morning to you!
Our next hostel was a bit weird and with the weather being yet again rubbish we didn't do much, however, that night we did head out to watch a rugby match between the Highlanders and the Crusaders. It was pretty cool to see a rugby match in New Zealand, the atmosphere was great. The next morning we headed off to our next destination, Westport where the weather was again rubbish so again we didn't really do much. We did stop off at a lake on the way however which from the kiwi experience broucher seems to be the place to get typical travelling photos of groups of people jumping into the lake but as it was freezing and there were massive eels swimming around we didn't really fancy. 2 of the guys manned up and jumped in coming out pretty pink and shivering but we got some good pictures. That evening we were going to head out to the local pub for a game of killer pool but after that was cancelled we spent the night in our room telling embarrassing tales and maybe heard a few too many from some people (New Zealand guys you know who I'm on about!!) although I'm not sure we would have had such a laugh without those notorious stories.

River Valley and Wellington...

After 2 nights in Taupo we set off to River Valley stopping off on the way to take a walk through the Tongariro National Park getting a closer look at mount doom and after a picnic lunch we got back on the bus and arrived at River Valley later in the afternoon. The bus pulled up at a spot in the middle of nowhere, we piled our bags onto the back of a pickup truck and had to walk down a huge hill to our accommodation for the night. It was a lovely little place run by some strange but lovely people. We were in a 32 bed dorm which we were all curious as to how it would be, I don't think anyone expected what we saw when we entered the room, it was like a giant bunk bed with no real separation from anyone. We had a wander around the place, it was really pretty. We were completely secluded at the bottom of a valley right next to a river. The only way to get across the river provided some entertainment, there was no bridge just a sort of wooden seat on a pulley system. That night we had some drinks in the main room of the place we were staying and after quite a few games of giant jenga most of us went to bed soon realising that no one would be getting any sleep but it was one of the funniest nights I had had. The next morning a few people went off on a horse ride, others went white water rafting whilst me and a few other people thought we would try out yoga. I had had a few yoga classes years ago and had forgotten how hard it was and how funny it is especially when during our relaxation part at the end of the session when everyone was silent a bird decided to commit suicide by flying into the window with a huge thud leading to yet more giggles. After a relaxing morning it was back to the bus to head to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington.
It was Easter weekend so New Zealand had kind of shut down and as we arrived at our hostel pretty late we didn't really get to see any of Wellington. The hostel we were staying at opened its bar for guests only and as this was the last night for some of our group we went out for some drinks and said our goodbyes to those not coming with us to the South Island.

Taupo...

Taupo was another place I was excited to visit as you could do the Tongariro crossing in the national park home to Mount Doom featured in Lord of the Rings which we were to explore on our second day. First off though most of the group went off to do a skydive, having already done one I opted to have a nap, a much more relaxing way to spend this afternoon. When the others returned we went to get some supplies for our hike the next day then went to the bar downstairs for the pub quiz which was one of the longest and most boring pub quizzes I have ever done, the questions were way too hard and I quickly lost interest although we did come second with a lot of help from a blackberry. The next morning a few of us eagerly got up at 5am to catch the bus to Mount Doom for an all day hike only to be disappointed after an hour in the bus the driver had told us reports had come through to say the weather was too bad around the mountain meaning the conditions would have been too dangerous for us to do the hike. We were gutted. The buss dropped us back at the hostel and we all went back to bed. The weather there being much better we decided to head down to the river where there was a natural hot spring. The water was lovely, just like sitting in a hot tub. The further you went out into the river the water was still hot on top but cold at the bottom it was really strange. Once we got too hot we messed around for a while taking standard traveling pictures of us all jumping which took a while and also turned out to look pretty cool. On the way back to the hostel we picked up some drink, played some drinking games in our room before heading out. Turned out to be a good day after such a bad start.

Waitomo...

Next stop on the Kiwi Experience bus was Waitomo, a place I had really been looking forward to going to as you can go into caves and see glow worms! Rather than taking a relaxing boat cruise through the cave we opted to try black water rafting or also know as the Black Labyrinth. As so many of us had signed up our group of 12 had to go early the next morning so to kill time during the day 3 of us found a weird little museum showing an educational film about glow worms. After being thoroughly bored by that we went back to the hostel to watch whatever New Zealand T.V. had to offer, we settled with the Ellen Degeneres show. So up bright an early again the next day the 12 of us made our way to the caves. We first had to get into our wetsuits which was by far the worst part of the experience. It was already a pretty cold day and the wetsuits were already wet and really, really cold. Once suited, booted and helmeted up we headed down to the caves each grabbing a rubber ring and had a practise jumping backwards into the water holding the rubber rings on our bums as we were to be jumping this way from waterfalls inside. The water was freezing and we were told was only going to be colder once we were in the cave. Being a little claustrophobic I was quite nervous going into the cave especially when I saw the entrance but I was assured it was huge once we were inside and after finding a fellow claustrophobic in the group felt a bit better as we decided to stick together. We all took it in turns to enter the cave and wait in the dark for everyone to get in, after a few group photos we made our way through the cave. The water level got higher the further we went in so we all sat in our tubes and then we came to a part that terrified me, we had to lie right back in our tubes and push ourselves through a tiny space with the roof of the cave uncomfortably close to my face. This only took at the most a minute to get through however and we were back into a big space just in time for our first waterfall which we were to jump off, backwards, into the dark. After this we formed a human eel with our tubes by hooking our feet under the arms of the person in front and floated through the cave. We turned off our headlights making it pitch black, we all looked up and all you could see was the glow worms, they looked like stars it was brilliant. Finally we made our way to the exit of the caves, made our way back to the office where we struggled to get out of our wetsuits, had a hot shower followed by bagels and soup. It was then back to the bus to head straight to Taupo.

Mercury Bay and Rotorua...

Up bright and early I made my way to the bus stop and found some other travellers, I was excited and got chatting to a few people then our big green Kiwi bus pulled up. Our driver was hilarious but the kind of hilarious that soon becomes annoying especially when she just doesn't shut up. We had a long drive out to Mercury Bay, we were meant to be making a few stops on the way but as it rained and rained and rained we just drove straight through to our first hostel. A cute little place called Turtle Cove. There wasn't really much to do here so we spent the night drinking and getting to know each other. Another early start the next morning as we set off for Roturua. The weather was a bit better so we managed to make a few touristy stops along the way. The best stop was at Hobbiton, a great stop for any Lord of the Rings geeks. So we all got our pictures taken with Gollum had a quick subway then it was back on our bus with a new driver, a driver who barely spoke, was really unorganised and kept telling us about cool things to see out of the window only once we had just past them...useful. We got to Rotorua quite early in the afternoon, a great place for any Geography geeks this time as the place is full of geysers, mud pools and various other geothermal activities and has a constant smell of rotten eggs due to the amount of sulphur in the air. A group of us decided to head out and try a bit of luging. Luging is basically sitting on a kind of skateboard looking thing made out of plastic that breaks if you pull the handles back. You throw yourself down a big concrete hill and go so fast that at points you even get air. We all absolutely loved this, had a few goes and even thought a drag race would be a good idea, it was but those who came out with grazed arms and legs after falling off probably didn't think so. That evening most of us chose to go to a cultural evening at Tamaki Maori Village. We were picked up by a funny old man in a bus which was meant to be our boat for our tribe. Adam, a pretty cool guy from Scotland who I had been talking to was chosen as our chief, it was his job to represent our tribe as we attempted to be welcomed into the village. Once in we were told that a Maori tribe would come and attempt to scare us away, one chief would be chosen to make a peace offering and only then would we be let in. We were told this was very serious and we weren't to laugh or even smile. The Maori people arrived, their traditional way of scaring off other tribes was very intimidating and quite scary but the peace offering was made and we all made our way through to the village where everything was a lot more chilled out. We learnt a lot about Maori culture, about their games, tattoos, wood carvings etc. before watching them perform some traditional dances and songs, this was amazing to see. They also performed the Haka, which most people know from New Zealands All Blacks at rugby matches. I had only ever seen it on T.V. before and was blown away, it was brilliant and terrifying at the same time. After this it was time for a feast which had been cooked in a makeshift oven, a hole dug into the ground filled with hot rocks giving all the food a real earthy taste. Once we were all nice and full we were again treated to some songs and a final Haka before we got back on the bus to the hostel.