Day 48 - Boxing Day Kayak

Chaggie, after a fantastic Christmas day, woke up to yet another superb morning in Kaiteriteri. This was ideal for Chaggie as we had planned to go Kayaking with Staggie's cousin, David.

We went to go and pick up David from just down the road at 10.30 before getting back to Kaiteriteri beach for an 11.00 briefing. After a pretty long brief, Chaggie (including David), set off around the bays and beaches that are situated around the area. The Staggie's paired up and went in the double kayak whilst Chino went in the single kayak.

After an hour of kayaking, Chaggie stopped at Split Apple Rock beach for lunch. We had originally bought 3 hours worth of kayaking, however, we realised that 3 hours was probably too much as we couldn't venture out any further than where we had stopped for lunch. So, we leisurely made our way back towards Kaiteriteri beach, looking at the fantastic views on the way back. Chino had now joined Staggie in the double kayak whilst David took the single.

We got back to Kaiteriteri at around 14.00 and got ready to head off to Staggie's aunties once again, for the left overs of the Christmas dinner! We chilled out with the Stagg family for a couple of hours, watching the Ashes (which was very satisfying) before eating at around 18.00. Yet again, the food was fantastic, you've got to love Christmas really!

After relaxing and drinking for a while after, Chaggie set off back to 'The Plum'. Staggie was considering whether or not to stay up and watch Newcastle again, which would be at 04.00, but Chino decided to go to bed, after another cracking day in paradise!

Chaggie x

Day 47 - Christmas Day with the Stagg's! (Saturday 25th December)

Finally Christmas Day had arrived for Chaggie!!!! We were born again 7 year olds as we woke up to the sight of... a beach? Hold on a second.. this isn't right?! It certainly felt strange! Although Staggie had done it before, it didn't make it any more normal!

After adjusting to the sight of a beach on Christmas Day and after calming down after running around shouting with excitement, Chaggie got themselves into their swimming stuff (again, very strange) and headed off to the beach! It just didn't feel like Christmas, swimming in the sea? Batheing on the beach? Something just didn't feel right? Not that we were complaining, not at all!! We knew exactly where we would rather be right now and in the snow definately wasn't it! However, if we could somehow have all the family and friends with us, then that would have made it perfect. As it happended, Staggie had some of his family with him, which did also make it easier for Chino, after Staggie's uncle declared Chino an adopted Stagg!

After a swim and a bathe, Chaggie got themselves showered and changed and headed off to Staggie's auntie's (Eleanor) house down the road in Motueka where the rest of the Stagg clan were. We couldn't have wished for a better day weather wise, although it was quite blustery, that was a minor issue! The company, the food and the booze, was perfect! As usual it was full of laughs and the secret santa that we did again provided many a laugh and cheer!

After beeing stuffed from eating a fantastic dinner cooked by Eleanor, Staggie's other auntie Gill and uncle Colin, and Staggie's cousin Pip as well as others probably too, we sat down to drink more booze and chill out in the New Zealand sun! We felt much more Christmasy after the meal, however, it still wasn't quite right, but who's complaining!!??

Chaggie headed back to 'The Plum' after a fantastic day with the Stagg's, Chino enjoyed it immencely also which was great to hear, although missing his family dearly at the same time which is only natural.

After getting back, Chaggie headed for the pool which we also have at the place we are staying and had a superb few hour session in the pool looking over Kaiteriteri beach as the sun went down, sounds quite romantic doesn't it, worringly.

Anyway it was strange to go on the beach first thing, then go in a pool at the end of the day, oh well, it was one hell of an experience!

So, yet another Christmas passes, but one Chaggie will never forget!
We hope everyone else had an amazing Christmas too whether you be in the UK or not!

Chaggie x

Day 46 - Christmas Eve in Nelson (Fri 24th Dec)

Chaggie woke up to fantastic weather again this morning, had breakfast and got ready to go out to Nelson for the day.

We left at around 10:30 popping in at Staggie's Aunty's house on the way so that Staggie could ask his niece's husband, Andreas, to fix his Laptop. After about 10 seconds and one press of the 'On' button, Andreas had done a superb effort in fixing it. Staggie was pleased.

We carried on to Nelson with a primary objective to buy Secret Santa presents for tomorrow as well as presents for family members. We got to the main highstreet at around 12:00 where Staggie had planned to meet a Cricket friend; Richard. We had a pint and a chat before moving onto the shops!

We had lunch at Burger King and bought a few bits and bobs by the end of this afternoon. We got everything we needed so a pretty successful day! We bought food and bits to keep us going after Christmas, presents for tomorrow as well as a mobile specifically to be used in New Zealand, called 'Alan'. The car's called 'Brian' by the way.

This afternoon once we got back to 'The Plum' (our appartment). We had to rush and get ready for this evenings meal with the 'Stagg' family. Staggie's Uncle Colin and family are staying in a flat just 10 minutes down the road from where we're staying. This evening Chino chose to drive and save his drinking time for tomorrow.

This evening was a seafood buffet with most of Staggie's family, Chino is now a temporary adopted member of the family over Christmas. Was a good night and great for the family to all reunite.

We got back in time for Christmas Day to begin at 00:00, celebrated it with a few beers of course. Here's to Christmas on the Beach.

Chaggie x

Day 45 - The Golden Bay

Today Chaggie woke up to the most glorious view over Kaiteriteri beach. The sun was shining for the first time like this, the whole time we had been in New Zealand, about time too!

We had planned to go on a short boat ride then walk with Staggie's Dad and fiance (Kate) at a beach called Anchorage! The weather was perfect, not too hot with a nice breeze! The walk took about 2 hours, through spectacular bush that looked out onto amazing beaches and extreme terrain! This without doubt, is the most spectacular place we have been to yet!

After the walk, we headed to the Anchorage beach were we would catch the boat back to Kaiteriteri. We caught some rays, jumped into the lovely sea for about an hour or so, before catching the ferry back to Kaiteriteri at about 16.45.
We headed back to our accommodation, stopping at Staggie's aunties house on the way where we were hoping to see the rest of Staggie's family who are here for Christmas also, quite nearby. Sadly, they had already been and gone by the time we got there but we spent some time with Staggie's auntie and other cousin, who is married with two little kids.

We got back to 'Rowling Heights' where we are staying in an appartment called 'The Plum'. This evening Kate cooked us pasta. We ate at Chaggie's place once Kate had cooked where her and Daddy Staggie are staying, just down the road from us. We ate around the amazing views looking out on the beach and Nelson at night before going on the net for the first time to catch up on the blog and with friends/family, before heading to bed! Only 2 more sleeps till Christmas!!

Chaggie x

Day 44 - To Nelson, Christmas Time! (Wednesday 22nd December)

Today we were ready to set off to our location near Nelson called Kaiteriteri, which is a beach town/village situated about 5 miles from Nelson.
The weather at the start of the day didn't look too promising, which wasn't a good sign as it would be likely that we would have a rough ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. Staggie was a little concerned due to his occasional issues with sea sickness!

Thankfully the weather picked up as it reached 13.00 as we set off to the ferry port. Typically we had a delay, an hours delay, with the ferry! So we got onto the ferry at around 14.30 and left just after 15.00. The trip would take about 3 hours, and fortunately, the journey was very calm, so sea sickness was infact avoided! The sun came out and the scenery as we entered the South Island was just amazing!

We got off the ferry at about 18.00 and set off for Nelson, or more specifically Motueka where Staggie's Auntie lives. Then onto Kaiteriteri where Chaggie are staying until Jan 1st! The journey took around 2 and a half hours, with some amazing views on the journey down!

We got to Motueka at 20.30 staying for a bite to eat at Staggie's Aunties before heading off to our accommodation in Kaiteriteri, which in one word, is sensational. The views from the part of the place we are staying is breath taking.

The rest of the evening involved Staggie's Dad and fiance, sharing a beer with us before hitting the sack after a long day!

Chaggie x

Day 43 - A Day Out In Wellington (Tue 21st Dec)

Today Staggie woke up early and headed up to have breakfast with the family whilst Chino stayed to contact his Dad. At about 11:00 we left to the city. The weather was pretty rough but we managed to do a little sight seeing. 'The Beehive' and the 'Parliament House' were two of the sights we managed to see, staying in the car taking pictures.

Later on we made a visit to 'Te Papa Museum', New Zealand's National Museum based on 6 floors.

We got back to Brent and Jeanettes for a feast this evening, a delicious BBQ before spending the evening with the family.

Tomorrow is the day we catch the ferry to the South Island where we will be staying for Christmas. Chaggie were very excited and hit the bed at around 00:00.

Chaggie x

Day 42 - To Wellington (Mon 20th Dec)

Today was our trip to Wellington, the last place we'd stay before our ferry to the South Island. We left Jock and Sue's at 10:30 this morning after breakfast, was fantastic to also see the weather had no rain for us this morning.

It took us 2 hours to get to the small village, 'Paraparaumu' where Chaggie made a stop to visit Phills great Aunty Chester. At 91 years of age, she was at the door to greet us, an amazing woman of her age still driving at times even! It was good for Phill to see her, it had only been 18 years since he last saw her at 9 months old!

This afternoon on the way to Wellington, we stopped off to chill out on Paraparaumu Beach, just to take in the sun we had eventually got. Not far away though were the black clouds that must have followed us as we went South. We got to Wellington at 16:00 where we stopped for a late lunch in the city before making our way to Brent and Jeanette's. Brent is a second cousin of Phill's and once again, Chaggie had found themselves staying with amazing hosts. A roast dinner was served soon after our arrival!

During our stay with Brent and Jeanette, Chaggie were staying in their own studio built on top of Brent's garage. With great views, we were certainly happy to be in Wellington. We spent the evening with Brent, Jeanette and their son Tim watching 'Queen' live whilst playing cards and catching up.

Chaggie planned what to do tomorrow, the rain had caught up with us by the end of this evening and so indoor plans had to be made.

Chaggie x

Day 41 - To Wanganui (Sun 19th Dec)

This morning Chino was pretty gutted to see that the weather was shocking. It was today that he had booked a Skydive over Lake Taupo for 09:20. Waking at 08:30, Chino called the Skydiving company to check whether it would still be on, unfortunately 'no' was the answer. Gutting. Will have to wait a little longer for that opportunity.

So Chaggie thought to leave a little earlier this morning to continue their road trip to the South Island for Christmas. Today we were driving the chunk from Taupo to Wanganui where our plans were to stay with good friends of Daddy Staggie (Graeme); Jock and Sue. We left at 09:00 and had breakfast next to the Lake before Taupo.

As already mentioned, the weather today was awful. Torrential rain hit down hard onto the Honda today on our way to New Plymouth. It took about 4 hours of driving, Staggie drove the first half before Chino took over for the final leg of the journey. We had lunch in New Plymouth, was still raining so lunch was all we could do before heading to Wanganui.

Another big plan for the day was to have a helicopter ride over 'Mount Taranaki' (Mount Egmont), a 2518 -metre high mountain. This had to be cancelled also due to the weather which sucked. So driving past it was our plan B. Once we got to a spot where we could see it, we found we couldn't see much. Was a huge mountain we could tell, just couldn't see the top due to the fog!! Bummer!

Our trip to Wanganui was shortly continued, no need to stay looking at half a mountain for long. A lot earlier than planned, we got to Jock and Sue's house in quite a sunny Wanganui at 16:30. Thats right, the sun finally came out just in time for us to arrive. Jock and Sue were very welcoming hosts, we had a Pizza and settled in.

This evening we joined Jock and Sue to a Christmas celebration at the local, traditional Church. We enjoyed meeting all the locals and were given free food and wine which is always good. We returned at about 21:00 and were shattered from the amount of driving done today. A well deserved sleep was soon to come.

Chaggie x

Day 40 - Black Water Rafting...Eventually

Chaggie had planned a busy day for today and busy is most certainly what we got! We woke at 07:00 and had breakfast with Peter this morning before leaving the house at 07:45. A lot of high expectations and excitement for our first road trip around NZ!

First on the planner was to get to Hamilton, would be an hour and 45 minute journey approximately, we'd get there all with the thanks to Staggie's Sat-nav so a stress free trip was planned. Is that what we got? Oh no...you couldn't think we'd get away with a stress free trip on our first day travelling around New Zealand now.

Chino was the chosen driver to start off with this morning. Chaggie had just got onto the highway to Hamilton, just 15 minutes from Peter and Esther's house. Chino all of a sudden found the steering wheel loose and the balance difficult to control, a loud sound then occurred followed by the car starting to shake. Yep you've got it....A punctured tyre. Staggie looked into his wind mirror and found the back wheel was shockingly flat so Chino pulled into the shoulder safely.

Well, could our trip have started any worse? Perhaps.. Not only one tyre was punctured but two. Something that just goes unheard of today. Both on the left side of the vehicle, the front tyre looked to have a small puncture but the back tyre had been torn up badly. Chaggie were very confused as we would have felt it and heard whenever it occurred but no, it slowly started until Staggie realised what the problem was. Yet they couldn't have been flat back at Peter and Esther's as we would have noticed. An enigma.

Luckily, when Graeme bought the car, he also covered it with breakdown and third party, fire and theft insurance with AA. So Staggie immediately called them and they soon sent over a tow truck. Whilst Chino got in contact with Graeme who is currently in Queenstown, Staggie rang Peter just to inform him of our situation. Without asking, he very kindly drove to us, it was safer to wait in his car rather than by our car on the shoulder. The tow truck soon arrived after about 45 minutes, we got taken to a tyre place called 'Budget Tyres'. They replaced our tyres with previously used ones, ones that were slightly more balanced in size! After seeing the state the tyres were in, they reckon they were low on air to start off with, so we had been driving on them without enough. This meant the rim cut through the rubber and tore it. We found a 3rd tyre was quite low on air also. Peter and Chaggie believe somebody must have let out some air of 3 of our tyres, leaving them low. It was 2 hours since we called the AA till Chaggie got back on the road. Chino had to call the Black Water Rafting company that he had already reserved a spot with at 12:45 to cancel.

We got to Hamilton ok, Chino drove the way. The weather on this trip was pretty good so some nice scenery was taken in. We had a look round the shops at Hamilton, finding a cheap clothes shop. We took full advantage buying Jeans and T-shirts before leaving to Waitomo where we planned to catch a later time for the Black Water Rafting. Staggie drove, getting us there for 14:00 when we had lunch in a cafe at the Black Water Rafting base. We managed to book a place for the 15:45 trip down Ruakuri Cave.

Waitomo is well known for it's 'Glow-worm Caves' and 'Black Water Rafting'. We geared up, put on a wet suit and a helmet with a torch light. Grabbed a rubber ring and headed to Ruakuri Cave with the rest of our group. Over 3 hours we took leaps of faith over cascading waterfalls and floated serenely down an underground river as we enjoyed the glow-worm show (they're actually glow-maggots! Not as good for advertising though!) All done 65 metres underground in times of complete darkness. Was pretty cool! We got soup and bagels afterwards which came with the price as it was bloody cold water.

After a good afternoon in Waitomo we headed for Taupo at 19:00, arriving at 21:30. An amazing drive, driving past about 5 cars in one hour. All cross country roads with plenty of sheep along the way.

Once in Taupo we got given the keys to our room at a Hostel next to the Lake. Went to the pub for a couple of bevvies and watched the Cricket. Chino is praying for good weather tomorrow.

Chaggie x

Day 39 - Remuera (Fri 17th Dec)

This morning Chaggie woke at 10:30. Peter and Esther had a lot of work going on around the house as they are currently going through a period of extending their house. Busy times!

Staggie got onto the internet to update the blog whilst Chino worked out whereabouts the closest town centre was. Luckily not more than a 15 minute walk. So we headed off about 11:00.

The weather today was again pretty miserable, we got to the town centre where Chaggie had planned to stock up on well needed toiletries etc. We got a bite to eat and Chino bought another suitcase, to make things easier with packing. We got back to Peter and Esther's around 14:00 after lugging a suitcase back in the rain. Pretty gutted about the weather we've obviously brought with us!

We watched a bit of the Ashes (3rd test), England not doing so well. It got to 16:00 when Chaggie went out for a drive. This time to get some good shots of Auckland and to again, get used to the car and the road rules different to those back home. We drove to Michael Savage Memorial which has great views of Auckland, had motorway driving on the way home too.

This evening Chaggie had Spaghetti Bolognese cooked by Esther. Had an evening planning what to do for the next few days thouroughly. Chino managed to book Black Water Rafting at Waitomo tomorrow and has something pretty exciting planned for Sunday, fingers crossed the weather gets better!

This evening was a reasonable early finish, we got to sleep around 23:00 for an early start tomorrow with a lot of driving!

Chaggie x

Day 38 - Destination, New Zealand! (Thursday 16th December)

The day had finally arrived where we were to head off to our main-stay of our trip, New Zealand!
After a struggle to wake up at 05.00, we caught a 05.30 taxi to Southern Cross station where we hopped on the 'SkyBus' taking us direct to the Airport, our last flight for 3 months after five flights in five weeks!!
This time, compared to Canberra, we got to the airport with over an hour to spare before we had to start bording the flight. Chaggie, calmly went through bag drop and security with no issues and got themselves a well earned hot drink and some breakfast.
We boarded the plane at 07.40, half an hour later than scheduled, before our flight took off at around 08.30 with a travel time of around 3 and a half hours.

It was a bumpy flight due to plenty of cloud cover around New Zealand (not a good sign!). It was a shocking landing to be honest with you too, it was so bumpy that some of the over head lockers flew open! However, as they say, any landing you walk away from is a good landing! Our hosts for the next few days were Peter and Esther. Peter is an old RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force) buddy of Staggie's Dad, he picked us up and took us to get our car! It wasn't far from their house in Remuera so we were to drive it back to theirs, following Peter! Staggie was to drive it back, no pressure but having never driven an automatic, he needed some help from Peter to actually get going! After Staggie knew how to get the thing moving, we followed Peter back with no issues! We were quite relieved, Staggie felt like he was learning to drive again!

After settling in, Chaggie went out to go and get used to the car as we would begin our trip down to Nelson on Saturday and needed the practice! Chino now had the chance to drive it, as we ventured around Auckland with Staggie's TomTom sat-nav, which will become very useful for us! After about half an hour of driving, Staggie drove it back to Peter and Esthers. No problems at all, but manuals are definately better!

Peter and Esthers daughter, Sarah, then took us out to eat with her mate, at a place called 'BurgerFuel' which, she said, do the best burgers. She was probably right! They were superb! After eating, we went to get a beer at a bar but Chaggie were rejected as in New Zealand, they can't accept non NZ or Aus driving licences as ID! Only passports! We felt underage! Sarah then took us under a huge Christmas tree made purely of lights, then had some beers at the top of a small mountain over looking Auckland. Shame it was so foggy we couldn't see anything! Nevermind, it was a good first evening out. We got back at around 23.00 and collapsed on the bed. A very long day, but our New Zealand adventure has officially started! Get in!!

Chaggie x

Chaggie have a Car!!!

Whilst Chaggie were enjoying their last couple of weeks in OZ, Staggie's Dad was working hard in New Zealand to get us both a car for the trip. We both owe him a lot!!

He went to a local Car Auction in Auckland near where he was staying and it must have been love at first sight. The first car he saw was the Honda CRV and ended up becoming Chaggie's new transport for the next few months. What a beaut she is too!

It is a 4x4, 1996/7 model imported second hand from Japan. It has had one owner since then and has done just over 60,000 miles. An automatic with a 2 litre engine.

Chaggie were thrilled to hear what Graeme had been getting up to and what he had found for us. Our plan is to re-sell it at the end of our trip, although it's good enough to keep!

Chaggie x

Day 37 - Chino meets some Staggs! (Wednesday 15th December)

Finally, Chaggie started a day this week with something they had planned before hand and look forward to. Staggie had organised to meet his Uncle, Aunty, Cousin Richard and Richard's girlfriend, Sabrina that afternoon in Melbourne for a drink and a meal!

Chaggie rose at around 11.00 and started to think about packing for New Zealand. We didn't want to leave it untill after we had met up with Staggie's family incase we had had too much to drink. We managed to get all that sorted by 13.00. We were expecting a call from Staggie's Uncle at any time after that, so we decided to relax and watch TV untill we got that call.
He rang at around 14.00 to say they were ready to meet up when we were. We set off to South Yarra station with the intention of meeting them at around 15.00 at Flinders Street station. Chaggie got there no problem but with transport issues, Staggie's family couldn't meet us at that particular place due to the tram they caught taking them to the wrong place. We did manage to meet up with them at the city square (more like a little rectangle with a few cafe's on it) where we would have our first drink.

After that we set off and had a good look around Southbank, situated along the Yarra river. This was where we had our first alcoholic beverage. This first round cost Staggie's cousin, Richard, $40 roughly!! If you haven't realised already through our blogs, Australia is a flippin' expensive place to live!

We had a cracking evening. We had Italian for our meal, washed down with a nice amount of wine. Staggies Auntie Gilly and Sabrina caught a taxi after the meal back to their hotel leaving the 4 guys with enough time to get a few more rounds in. We hit a nearby sports pub.

We could have stayed out longer quite easily this evening but had to get some sleep in preparation for our early start and flight tomorrow morning. We finally hit the sack at 01.00 before our 05.00 wake up call for our trip to Auckland, NZ tomorrow!!

Chaggie x

Day 36 - A day in South Yarra

Today, Chaggie took the opportunity to look around the local town we are staying in, South Yarra. After venturing into Melbourne yesterday, we realised its not all about the cities and there is more to a city than the city centre!

South Yarra is a small town just outside Melbourne but unlike normal small towns, this one has sky-scrapers, you don't see that in the UK! Again it was quite a late start due to Chino being on Skype last night, Staggie also joined him when he was online to one of his longest mates, Tim. It was good for Chino to catch up with him.

We rose at around 11.30 and after taking our time getting ourselves sorted, Staggie decided to go and pay for the room as his card was rejected when we checked in. Thankfully it worked this time so that was ticked off the list. After that Staggie rang his Uncle, who is over in Australia with Staggie's Auntie, his son Richard and Richard's girlfriend, who will also be in New Zealand for Christmas. The reason for the phone call was to organise a meet up for tomorrow afternoon/evening for a meal and a good old catch up. Also this will give Chino the opportunity to meet some of the Stagg family before Christmas! So, that was all organised.

After a slow morning, Chaggie set off to explore South Yarra a bit more. It doesn't offer too much but there was the opportunity to play tennis at the courts opposite our hotel, so Chaggie took full advantage of that. The weather was superb, which was ideal! We played tennis for a good few hours, although im sure it wasn't much to look at!
After tennis, we walked into the local park, with a tennis ball, however, we would have liked to have had a cricket bat. Staggie improvised and found a stick, as you do. As I'm sure you can imagine, cricket with a stick isn't easy but it was rather amusing. Staggie managed to break about four sticks before we decided to give up.

That game didn't last long, we were pretty tired by this point. So we headed back to the hotel, showered and decided to have our last meal at the hotel. Staggie had lasgne and Chino had Thai Chicken Curry, lovely. We headed back to our room at around 20.00 to watch Top Gear! Boy do we miss that programme.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Melbourne and indeed Australia before we head off to our 3 month epic trip of New Zealand. The excitement is building once again!!!

Chaggie x

Day 35 - Dedicated to Doss

When the most exciting part of a day is finding a tennis ball on the road side, you know that not much has occurred. Chino got up this morning at 06:00 to contact his family, some of he hadn't spoken to yet since the departure from England. He went straight back to sleep after, Chaggie then eventually woke up at 12:30.

Chino then went to the gym whilst Staggie made contact with friends and family arranging a time to meet up with his Uncle later on in the week. It was 15:30 by the time Chino returned, we were to get ready to go out to Melbourne soon after...once the Mosconi Cup was finished on tv that is (an annual pool tournament between Europe and USA, Chaggie got heavily into this).

We were excited to hit the city for the first time, getting there for 17:00. A late start yes but we had no intentions on leaving early..and sober. One problem Chino was unfortunately soon to find out though was that he had insufficient funds on his card. Ah. Problem.

So with only 10 dollars in cash, Chaggie headed to a pub, got one pint and a bowl of chips looking out on Melbourne's Harbour. Having to leave soon after was a bit of an anti-climax. Money problems will be sorted by tomorrow though thankfully. We managed to check out and get a good look at the Etihad Stadium, yes another stadium before leaving. We got back at around 20:00, bought a snack for dinner and headed back to our hotel, finding a tennis ball on the way (this came in handy to a couple of hours entertainment through garden cricket).

We found today was spent mainly watching sport on tv rather than live at a stadium. Not so magnificent but still following the social norm of watching sport in Melbourne. AFL was a big one as well as Pool.

How Exciting for you guys!!! Thanks for reading!!! Bet you wish you hadn't though.
Still do though.

Chaggie x

Day 34 - A day at the MCG

As already organised, Chaggie were going to spend the day watching more cricket - Victoria vs England. This was England's warm up game before the Thrid Ashes Test in Perth next week. Today was the final day of 3, with England batting to try and chase down 311 to win.
Chaggie decided to get to the game later than the scheduled start time, mainly to catch up on sleep. We left our hotel late after a morning of recovery, mainly for Staggie, who's day had started a lot earlier than Chino's...

Staggie, being a die-hard Newcastle United fan, woke up at 4am to watch his beloved Magpies face Liverpool in Newcastle's new manager (some what controversially, but lets not go into that, otherwise I'll be typing all year) Alan Pardew's first game in charge. Staggie found the game on the internet, to his delight and braced himself for yet another Newcastle rollercoaster ride, or so he thought. It turned out to be well worth the 4am wake up! Newcastle managed to turn over Liverpool 3-1, with goals from Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton (I bet you've heard that name before) and Andy Carroll (of course). After the game, Staggie tried to get some sleep, but it's hard to sleep when you have a huge grin on your face, trust me! He was very satisfied, rightly so. Chino woke up at around 09:45 this morning and had to take advantage of the free gym membership he gets for the week in staying with the hotel.

With a much needed ly-in, Staggie got himself gathered together in time for Chino to return and we set off to the cricket, with a backpack full of food, of course, for the day. We arrived at the MCG at around 13.30, however it was absolutely tipping it down! That is not what you want to see when you are off to watch a game of cricket, as it normally means, you won't see much. However, after about an hour of waiting, the sun came beaming out and it was absolutely roasting! We got a good hour or so of play before, yep you guessed it, rain. This stoppage wasn't as long, but it was a god send for England who were struggling with the bat and in danger of losing to a State side in 3 days (pretty embarrassing). We got some more play up untill 16.00 when it was the Tea break, with England wicket-keeper Matt Prior (who has bought Staggie a drink whilst on a night out in Brighton) holding the innings together on 71 not out.

After tea the rain fell yet again, it was getting quite frustrating for Chaggie, who were looking forward to a nice day, lazing in the sun. Luckerly Chino had his Ricky Gervais, Steven Merchant and Karl Pilkington podcasts on his iPhone, which kept Chaggie very entertained, as you can imagine. Again, the rain stopped (I'm sure the ground staff were getting equally frustrated, having to keep taking the ground covers on and off every hour) and the sun yet again beamed down but for much longer this time, allowing Matt Prior to all but secure a draw for England scoring a quality 102 not out, superb. Chaggie enjoyed seeing that, after seeing nothing from England the day they went to the Ashes in Brisbane!

After the cricket finshed at 18.00, Chaggie headed back to the hotel, chilled out in the room for an hour or so, then headed off to have dinner in the hotel once again at 20.00. Both of us had Pizza, with Chino's being a lot nicer that Staggie's, not to worry, Staggie had a pot noodle he cunningly bought earlier in the day, which filled him up.

We caught up with friends on the internet, watched TV before hitting the sack. We are off into Melbourne itself tomorrow. Lets hope the weather clears up!

Chaggie x

Day 33 - Day of Sport!

Our first day in Melbourne was upon us, however, we had no idea what to do! We both rose at around 10.30 and started to think about what we were to do today. Melbourne is said to be the sports capital of Australia, basically everything in the city evolves around sport! That was perfect for Chaggie, we didn't mind that at all!

Our plan was to go and visit the much recommended National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which was a 5 minute train journey from our nearest station! Staggie had already searched for any A-League football matches taking place whilst we are here and as it happens, there was one tonight! The fixture couldn't be much bigger either, the Melbourne Derby between Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory (their football team names here are extremely cheesey). Our day was sorted!

We headed off to the Sports Museum at around 13.30 at the MCG. Staggie was aware that the England cricketers were playing a tour match against state side Victoria at the MCG, which we were going to watch tomorrow.

The sports museum was very impressive. Mainly focused on the Olympics, AFL (Aussie Rules Football) and Cricket, it had plenty of information and history on all of them. As well as the exhibitions in the museum, there was an interactive area where you could smash footballs, rugby balls and cricket balls at goals or wickets to show off how good you were. We tried.

After the sports museum, we saw that the cricket was still on between Victoria and England, and there didn't seem to be anyone asking for tickets. So, being cheap skates, we decided not to pay the ridiculous $5 and just stroled in for free. Superb. We sat there watching it, chilling out in the sun untill the end of play at 18.00. It was a decent afternoon for the England bowlers who finally took some wickets. Chaggie even managed to see the captain, Andrew Strauss (who basically never bowls, as he's rubbish at bowling) manage to take a wicket! Unheard of! He did get smashed around the park after that though. Maybe stick to batting Andrew. We then headed off to the AAMI Park Stadium (directly opposite the MCG) for the A-League game. We knew after seeing Sydney vs Wellington last week, that the ground wouldnt be full, so we hadn't pre-booked tickets. We were a little concerned when we saw the amount of fans outside the ground but Staggie was adamant we would get tickets, he was right thankfully. The game kicked-off at 19.00 and we were hoping for a more exciting game than the game in Sydney and the atmosphere in the ground certainly seemed to help! There was 23,000 in the ground, compared to the 300 in Sydney! The game was enthrawling and end to end, with plenty of passion, as you would expect in a derby game. Victory ended up winning 3-1 and Staggie was very impressed by their fans, who were loud and passionate. The quality of football was also impressive, so even Chino enjoyed it! He even enjoyed the cricket!

We headed back to the hotel at around 21.00 and we are now watching stand-up comedy. Superb first day in Melbourne, 4 more days and counting untill NEW ZEALAND!

Chaggie x

Day 32 - Hello Melbourne!

Chaggie began day 32 with optimism, as they were leaving Canberra (which in all honesty is not a place for two 18 year olds) for the more attractive Melbourne! Chaggie, as you can probably gather, weren't too bothered about leaving Canberra but to be fair it was worth seeing, maybe not again. Don't let us put you off going though! If you like your history/politics, by all means go to Canberra!

We left our room at 08.00 and asked the lady on reception to call a taxi for as soon as possible. She had already mentioned that they can be unpredictable on their timings but surely booking one for 08.00, and the flight being at 10.15 is more than enough time!? Well, you'd think!

We had our breakfast whilst waiting for our taxi, it was about 08.15, which was fine, we were chillied out looking forward to Melbourne. Suddenly that excitement turned to desparation! It was now 09.00 and our gate was to close in an hour, Chaggie were getting very, very anxious. Strangely enough, Chaggie were not alone in this problem, as two Aussie fellas staying at the Formule 1 were also waiting anxiously for a taxi as well as getting the same plane as us! What are the chances! So we all decided to share the taxi to the airport... if it arrives. It finally did, at 09.20, a full hour and 20 minutes after booking it! Absolute disgrace (another tip for any one wanting to go Canberra, avoid the Taxis) oh, and it didn't stop there, this is where you would expect me to say "and we got there with plenty of time to spare with no more issues", of course that wasn't the case! Our taxi driver, I'm not going to say what race or sex they were but they some how realised about 10 minutes into our journey that they were going the wrong way! We were all livid, surely we were going to miss our flight now! However, our luck finally turned and we managed to get to the airport 5 MINUTES before we would miss out on the flight, now that is what you call cutting it close!

We took a sigh of relief on the plane and set off for Melbourne. We arrived at about 11.15 and after a combination of buses, trains and trams, we arrived at our hotel 'The Albany' at around 14.00. We checked in to our room and we were very impressed with what we got for the price we paid. Chaggie were very satisfied, a complete contrast to Formule 1 (no bugs for a start... so far).

Chaggie settled in for a few hours before going for a walk around the local area. We are situated in South Yarra, which is around 15-20 minutes train journey from the city centre. There isn't a whole lot around the area but the transport links in Melbourne look very impressive, especially with a free tram service, so access to Melbourne shouldn't be an issue, (touch wood).

We went for a meal in the hotel, we both had Lasange, which was very nice, before heading back to the hotel room for the night. We are looking forward to our week in Melbourne (the sports capital of Australia, so they say) before we head off for our 3 month epic trip of New Zealand!

Chaggie x

Day 31 - Parliamentary Zone and War Museum (Thu 9th Dec)

Today was Chaggie's fun day out in Canberra! As excited as we were, we quickly got out of bed at 11:00 and caught the 12:01 bus to the city. Staggie had previously booked his haircut appointment for 13:00 yesterday and was worried he may get the same hairdresser as Chino!

We checked out bus times and ways of getting around this afternoon before making our way to the hairdressers, Staggie was relieved when he found his hairdresser was different. He took in a picture of Fernando Torres and asked for highlights also.

1 hour and 15 mins later, Staggie's hair was complete after having to be darkened before highlighted. Chino, sitting through the whole cut had watched 4 females and 3 males have their hair-cut by the time Staggie's was done, the main thing is that he's chuffed with the outcome. One amusing situation during the hair-cut was Chino being asked by the hair dresser: "Do you have the shits yet?" As you can imagine we were pretty shocked but later found in Aussie terms this means 'are you annoyed yet'?

At 14:30 we caught a bus to the Parliamentary Zone just the other side of the city. We had a quick look at the Old Parliament and found Aboriginal people protesting and camping on the grounds.

We walked round the back of the old Parliament House to find the new one. Was much more impressive but still didn't take too much of Chaggie's time. Just a quick photo did the job.

Later this afternoon Chaggie caught the War Museum and Memorial just before it closed at 17:00, was a peaceful place with a lot of interesting parts to the Museum. Unfortunately we couldn't spend as much time there to see everything in the Museum, after a closing ceremony at 17:00 including a Scotsman playing the bagpipes, Chaggie caught the bus back to 'Formule1' arriving at about 18:00.

Chaggie had the same tea as the night before and were lucky to have some good tv on once again, looking forward to our departure to Melbourne tomorrow morning.

Chaggie x

Day 30 - Eventfull Start in Canberra (Wed 8th Dec)

Chaggie began day 30 at a much earlier time than they had anticipated. 04.20am to be exact. This was not due to any nightmares or even our eagerness to get out and see 'Canberra, Australia's Captial' (as the local adverts kept telling us) but due to the fact, that our room was infested with insects. Chino was the unlucky founder of this fact (who was on the double bed and Staggie was on the single bunk bed above), as little black insects were all over his pillow. Chino had felt little itches during the night but thought nothing of it, untill then. He sprung out of his bed, turned the light on, to be shocked to see his pillow and bed covered with insects. Disgusting! He then woke up Staggie, who was a little spaced out and thought it was time to get up originally, however, Chino showed him the sate of his bed and Staggie was pretty shocked at what he saw. Staggie clambered down from his bed, to discuss with Chino what to do next. We decided to sit around, literally, untill reception was open at around 7/8am. Not ideal. When reception was open, we got the lady who runs the place to have a look. Chino had wisely taken photos of the insects so we could prove that they were there, as most of them had dispursed by the time the lady came up. She agreed to move us to another room later on. She gave us free breakfast and a refund on the night.

We got into our new room at around 09.00. After taking a while to settle and decide what to do next, the overwhelming decision from Chaggie was to just sleep and sleep good. We slept in till around half 12 as we needed to catch up on some much needed sleep. Next on the list was to go and check out the capital city of Australia and see what it offers. We had heard rumours that it was incredibly boring and the only real thing it had of interest was the government buildings. Ah, not terribly encouraging but at least we can say we've been to the capital city.

We had already decided to see the government buildings tomorrow as we would have more time to do so. That left us with the option of going into the city and seeing what was on offer, so we did! We started by going to the 'Canberra's Museum Gallery' which was, in all honesty, rather boring for two 18 year olds. However, we did learn a bit about the history of Canberra and how it became the capital of Australia, so it wasn't a waste of time, well, not really but it was free and we got free tea and coffee so we can't complain really!!

We then checked out the shopping mall where Chino got his hair-cut. Only looking for a trim he managed to pick the only hairdresser who didn't seem to speak much English. So Chino somehow managed to leave the hairdressers with what might as well be a crew cut again. He did ask for a fringe too, not paying attention though within a few seconds that was gone (this woman was fast!). Not to worry, it will grow! Keeping our eyes out for Asian hairdressers though!

After leaving the gallery, the time was already 16.00. We decided to head to a supermarket to buy some cheap food to take back to the motel so that we had food to eat instead of going out and spending too much money. Chaggie are starting to get to grips with this 'saving money' lark! We spent a fair bit of time in the supermarket deciding what to have, before arriving back at the motel for around 17.30. We then settled down for an evening of watching television and eating. Chino opted for crisp sandwiches, followed by a 'Nutella' sandwich, whereas Staggie opted for cold baked bean sandwiches. Yummy!

As well as watching television, Chaggie logged onto the internet for the first time since arriving in Canberra, to check emails, facebook, aswell as write the previous blog entry. We also were delighted to see that at 19.30 'Channel 9' were showing Top Gear, as well as another channel showing an amazing crocodile attack survival. Pretty epic TV! Chino managed to have his second run of the week, finishing just before 'Top Gear', good timing.

As you can tell, I am struggling for things to tell you that we did in the evening but to be totally honest, there is nothing else to say. We hit the sack at around 23.30, ready for our venture into the city once again tomorrow. (Lets hope for no more insects in our sleep!!)

Chaggie x

Day 29 - Greyhound to Canberra (Tue 7th Dec)

Woke up at 07:00 as a lot of packing was to be done, Chaggie got up, showered and had breakfast prior to this. This morning we had to say our farewell's to Kathryn, Jodi and Matt before they left to work. Has been a fantastic week with them so was a shame to leave.

We got the 10:31 bus to Padstow Station this morning after our last few games of pool at the Todd's house. The train left at 10:50ish getting us there an hour before the greyhound bus intended to leave. So in this time, a KFC bucket somehow appeared.

Jumping on the bus at 12:35, Chaggie were both tired enough to sleep most of the trip, as planned. Making 3 and a half hours seem nothing at all.

We arrived to a hot, sunny Canberra and caught a taxi at 16:00 to the 'Formule1' motel. Checked in and due to an electronic shutdown at the motel we had to sleep in a room that wasn't meant to be ours, the receptionist had no internet or anything due to builders cutting the motels electricity. Excellent news for Chaggie...A queen bed and a single, Chino was quick to call for the Queen Bed.

We chilled out this afternoon not having enough time to get us to the city and back. Chino went for a walk around the area whilst Staggie stayed in. We didn't have a key for our room also due to technical difficulties, how that works I don't know so one of us had to be in the room at all time. Chino had a good walk finding Parrots, Kangaroo warning signs and bus times to the city for tomorrow before coming back and changing to go out for a run (the first in a long time). Back 20 mins later (poor effort) we had a sandwich to eat before watching some good nightime tv.

Chaggie x

World's Most Deadly Spider

During our stay in Sydney, we were lucky to come across one of the World's most deadliest Spiders. When I say lucky I mean they were in a jar, so we saw them pretty safely.

They are only common around Sydney and can be highly aggressive! The mature male Sydney funnel-web spider will leave its burrow and wander off during hot humid nights, looking for a mate. At this time it is known to enter homes, lodge in footwear, clothing and swimming pools, where they can survive for several days under the water.

Now Chaggie were fortunate to not come across one other than those put in jars by Jodi before hand. Jodi managed to find a few of them in the swimming pool moments before Chaggie had a swim!

Pretty cool stuff!

Chaggie x

Day 28 - Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb!

Yet another early start for Chaggie, although it was easier to get up this morning compared to yesterday morning. We rose at about 07.30 and made sure we were prepared for another long day in paradise!

We left the house at about 08.30 to catch the 08.46 bus to Padstow station. Typically, that bus didn't turn up and the 09.01 bus was late. We got to Padstow at about 09.20 and got to Circular Quay station (right opposite Sydney Harbour) and power walked to the 'Bridge Walk' reception for our 10.35 climb.

We ended up getting the earlier 10.25 climb and after getting all of our gear on and going through the saftey briefs, which took well over an hour, we began our ascent up the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. Our tour guide (Nick, another legend) tried his best to scare us, mentioning the rusty parts of the bridge and adding the fact that its 78 years old. Thanks mate! All the climb is, is literally walking up a huge flight of stairs. Over a thousand steps! We were so lucky with the weather too, by far our best day weather wise since we have arrived in Sydney! The climb took about 2 hours but it gave us some spectacular views of the Opera House and the Harbour, as well as many other harbours that are situated in and around Sydney. Just and amazing experience.

We finished the walk just after 13.00. By this time Chaggie were feeling rather peckish, as walking that many steps does take its toll! We decided on having a Subway! This was gratefully recieved by Chaggie who didn't waste time in stuffing it down their throats. After this, we jumped on a ferry that would take us to another part of Sydney, down the Harbour, called Manly. Here we went to see the Manly Ocean World. It wasn't as impressive as the Sydney Aquarium but worth seeing none the less! We also got a glimpse of the impressive beach Manly has to offer, shame time was running short otherwise Chaggie may have used it!

We then headed back to Sydney, with the aim to meet up with Staggie's longest mate, who has just arrived in Australia from Namibia, Jamie Parsons. We manged to meet him just after 18.00 outside his hostel. Staggie found it very strange seeing a mate such as Jamie, so far away from home! A little bit surreal to say the least! We went into the centre of town mainly to see if we could find any good presents for Jodi, Kathryn and John after already getting Matt's present at the start of the week! (a book full of famous cricketing sledging, perfect!). In the end we decided to get the presents back in Illawong.

We left Jamie outside his hostel just after 19.00, but it was really good to see him, shame we couldn't have for longer! We caught the train back to Padstow, and arrived back in Illawong just before 20.00. We managed to purchase chocolates, beer and wine to give to Jodie, Kathryn and John!

As it was our last night here, Kathryn ordered in a Thai takeaway, which was superb! Before Chaggie took on Jodi and Matt at pool (we lost, sorry).
After yet another long day, we headed up to bed at about 23.00 with an early start tomorrow packing before our 12.00pm Greyhound Bus trip (3 hours) to Canberra!

We sure will miss Illawong and Sydney. It's been a superb week here, and many thanks have to go to Kathryn, John, Jodie and Matt who have been amazing!
Chaggie x

P.S - There are pictures of Chaggie on the Bridge Climb, however they are on a DVD which we cannot transfer to our laptops! Jammy gits! But we will find a way of getting them on here or on Facebook. Keep an eye out for them!