Vanuatu, 2008

In 2008 Mum came across a travel deal for a four night stay and return flights to Vanuatu. You could take a friend for $1. Awesome! We decided to split the fees and stay a whole week while we were at it. In March we took off on our tropical island get away.

Vanuatu is a small island in the Pacific, a 3 hour flight from Auckland. With a small tourism industry we had the perfect mix of things to do and time to relax by the pool with books and cocktails. mmm cocktails.

I was at the height of my skinny days so I was brave enough to have a bikini! and proud enough to take photos too. Hopefully one day I'll get back to that feeling.

 

 

Of all the things I wanted to do while in Vanuatu, seeing turtles and the underwater mailbox were my top priorities. We signed up for a day trip to Hideaway Island. A tiny island with amazing snorkling and the worlds only underwater mailbox. I'm not much of a diver, but I managed to drag myself down far enough to post a postcard home. I'm also not much of a boat person, but I sucked it up enough to go out on the glass bottom boat to snorkle with a guide in a big group. The waves got the better of me and I paddled back to the boat before long. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun reading books. This was the life!!

The shopping on Vanuatu was much better than Bali, not badgering and very friendly, meant I actually enjoyed shopping for souviners this time around. The local shops consisted of some markets, a dairy, a cafe, a souviner shop and a huge, open air food market that the locals frequented.

The next trip we signed up for was another day trip out to a secluded island. While everyone else in our group went out fishing and diving for the day, we stayed on the island, read, snorkled and spent hours playing with the baby turtles that were being raised by the staff.

We did another trip to a wildlife park. As much as it could be called a wildlife park. The tour guide sounded like she was showing us around her back yard and the animals left a lot to be desired. Although the green lizards were pretty funky to hold on too. I wasn't particulary impressed when we came across an obviously empty cage with a large hole in the side and the guide looked around and esclaimed that the 'large crab must have gotten out'. Um, what now?! She didn't seem to be to surprised.

Being on a holiday, just me and Mum, was great. We had time to relax, chat and enjoy our time together. One of the best parts though, was the Pidgen English the locals spoke and the signs they put up everywhere. And now that I had a new digital camera, I took photos of lots of them.

 

 

When we left Vanuatu after a wonderful week, I felt energised and relaxed. It was the best holiday for a break away. If you're thinking of getting away some some relaxation, I recommend Vanuatu.

2008 was a big travel year for me. Later in the year I finally went to the UK for a whirlwind trip to visit friends with friends. More about that trip next time.

Australia, 2002

For my 21st birthday my Great Aunt gave me a generous amount of money to spend how I wished. I had graduated from teachers college a few months before and was taking some time off after being at school since I was five. I had two girl friends that I hadn't seen since we were very young and I had itchy feet. Now seemed like the perfect time to take a wee holiday.

Another old (as in the amount of time we've known each and not in years - although after last nights conversation, one would be forgiven for mistaking her for a 65 year old) friend Tracy, decided to join me and we set off on a two week overseas adventure to Australia.

We started off with a week in Melbourne where my friend Katy lived. Katy's mother and mine were friends before we were born and we were inseparable until Katy's family moved to Australia when we were four. Ever since then we had stayed in touch through letters, and several short visits over the years. As we've grown older, we haven't made the hugest effort to stay in touch, but the wonder (or evils of) Facebook have put us back in touch. Anyway, I digress.

I'm looking at the photos of the trip in order to jog my memory and I really wish I had a scanner, these fashions are hilarious!!

Being that we were 21 you can imagine that our priorities were drinking, shopping and sight seeing. Probably in that order.

Each day started around lunchtime, because the night before was filled with lots of drinking and adventures out on the town. All the photos I have start out sweet and innocent and quickly evolve to beer bottles, ridiculous poses and blurry eyes. We went to some local pubs, a cocktail bar (that served one of my favourite drinks to this day) and some interesting places in between. We drank a lot of beer, a lot of spirits and even some absinthe at the end. The best bit was that the only toilet in the house was the ensuite of Katy's mother and stepfather. As you can imagine, while we did our best to sneak quietly through their room in the wee hours of the morning, being drunk meant we were terribly loud and boisterous. I remember being so drunk one night that I had to turn on the lights, I'm sure Jenny really appreciated us staying at that point.

During the day we went to the Victoria St Markets, where both Tracy and I bought didgeridoos. We had great intentions of learning to play - yeah, right! I don't know about Tracy, but I finally bit the bullet and threw my away last year during the great move of 2012. We went down to St Kilda, the Melbourne Zoo, the Butterfly House, the Botanic Gardens where I took a photo in front of the Fairy Tree just like the one taken there in 2002.

One day we drove down the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles. Many will know them, they are often used in iconic Australian imagery. They are amazing sea stacks, but only nine exist (or they did then, only eight exist now). I found them to pretty stunning and was pleased we made the journey.

After a week of heavy drinking and more heavy drinking we spent 16 hours on a bus that took us to Sydney. It was a great way to see the country, despite the leg cramp and teeny tiny toilet.

In Sydney we stayed for a week with my friend Linda. I met Linda at primary school, she lived up the road and we walked to school together. Linda was Australian, but that didn't stop me from being friends with her. When we were about eight I think it was, her family moved home to Canberra. We stayed in touch with letters and later emails. She had moved to Sydney to study which is where she was when Tracy and turned up on her doorstep.

After a week of heavy drinking, we were in need of break, so sightseeing took over. We did all those typically touristy things one expects to do in Sydney; See the Opera House, the Aquarium (where I couldn't bring myself to touch a snake or a baby alligator), the Chinese Gardens, Bondi Beach, and the Zoo. Tracy even managed to convince me to go to The Wonderland, an amusement park with a lot of roller coasters. I'm not sure how it happened, but she also convinced me to ride one. And then I was done. We did a day tour in to the Blue Mountains, where we saw the Three Sisters rock formation, another one of those iconic Australian images used to advertise tourism of Australia.

We couldn't leave Sydney without at least some drinking escapades. We went to the local University 'Drinking Olympics' as spectators. While fun to watch, we enjoyed the drinking and chatting up the Uni boys.

After a full on two weeks Tracy and I were exhausted, hungover and broke. It was time to come home. This holiday was the first overseas holiday I had been on that I paid for, that I organised and that I went on with a great friend rather than family. I don't remember being nervous about travelling overseas with out my parents to back me up, but I'm sure I was. Tracy and I had a blast, and there was definitely more travels in my future.

Along the trip I sent emails home to family, but unlike the first few trips I did, they were a lot longer and honestly, you've probably spent too much time of your time reading this blog post as it is. But here are a few highlights:

Day 1:
Check in was fine until we got to security where Tracy became the human starfish! She beeped going through the security thing and they made her spread her arms and legs so they could scan her. It ended up being her bracelet that set it off. While that was happening and I was just dying to pull out my camera and take a photo, her bag beeped on the x-ray machine. The dude looked pissed and told her that she scissors. She tried to tell him she didn't and I thought they were going to start this massive argument. She finally found them and he binned him.

Day 3 and Tracy's birthday:
Today Tracy decided her birthday present to herself was to moan at me to have the first shower, I didn't and she used all the hot water! I was soooo unimpressed! We walked into the city and then went out to the Queen Victoria Markets. We both spent a lot of money, I think Tracy and I have the word 'sucker' written on our foreheads. Our new motto is "Money is meant for spending".
Tracy is hilarious. Everyday I find myself rolling around on the floor with tears pouring out from laughing so hard. I wish I had a video camera! It probably wouldn't be funny for you guys, but we are having a blast and we have only been here three days!

Day 4:
I don't remember whether I told you all about Monday so if you didn't hear, email me and ask - if you want to know that is!
The thing is, 11 years later, I have no recollection of what happened on that Monday. Tracy, Mum, do you remember?! Can anyone clue me in here?!

Day 5:
. . .Once we finally got to the park we suddenly questioned whether we should walk through the park - what about those murders? Once we decided the plan if we were to be attacked (They would attack me, Tracy would flash them and I would run for help while Tracy did her karate on them!) we were fine. Until, we noticed all these possums at the bottom of a tree about five feet away. They weren't a possum family, oh no, it was a possum family reunion. They were all up the tree and one was on a branch about three feet above us. It was ogling us thinking "mmmmm lunch!". We ran screaming.

Bali, 2001

2001 was my third and final year at teachers college. I had stayed at home while studying so that I could study without working to live. With the end of my studies looming so was my time at home. My parents inevitably saw this coming and decided to take the family on one last 'family' holiday. But rather than the family holidays we were used to (Waikanae Beach, Taupo or Waiheke Island), my parents went all out and took us too Bali, with a short stop over in Sydney on the way.

We went during the school holidays at the end of September, only a few weeks after 9/11 and security at the airports were TIGHT! Everywhere had very vigilant and stringent airport security, scanners, rules and regulations. We didn't feel scared or vulnerable, in fact rather safe given the new security measures. Besides, given what we had watched on TV and was still making front page news, we were only too happy to oblige.

In Sydney we stayed in an innercity hotel so that we could explore the city for the few days we were there. We did all the touristy things one expects to do in Sydney - touch the Sydney Opera House, visit Taronga Zoo, ride the Monorail and walk through Chinatown and the Chinese Gardens. An old school friend Linda was living in Sydney and met us for the trip to the Zoo. Her brother had been a friend of Lexi's and the four of us went out drinking on night too.

Lexi, Lee and I shared a room at the hotel and Lexi was dismayed at the Australian's audacity to put a powerful bleach in their hotel soaps. We had great joy in reassuring him that in fact they didn't, he just hadn't been back playing on steam trains since the last time he's washed his hands with soap.

After a few days we flew across Australia and the Indian Ocean to Bali, Indonesia. We stayed at The Grand Bali Beach Resort Hotel in Sanur. It was one of those grand resorts you dream of, with multiple restaurants, swimming pools, spa rooms and of course a beach at the front door. We spent many hours in and around the pool, but to get a lounge chair you had to be out at 6am, and that's just ridiculous!

While we did some shopping, I wasn't a big fan. Bartering was common practice and not something I was good at. I didn't like being harrased and poked and prodded by vendors trying to badger me into buying from them. We soon realised that it wasn't cheaper to buy things in Bali and decided to do more cultural exploration of the island.

We found a small tour company that took van loads of tourists to local spots. Given we were a family of five we managed to get a tour guide to ourselves most times. And we asked for the same guy, Mardi. He was a lovely, young guy that spoke good English and had a genuine interest in showing us his home. He took us to temples and told us about the history and religious significance of each place. I was most excited to see the rice terraces that seemed to be common place in the countryside.

One evening we visited a Monkey Forest where the wild monkeys were in their hundreds, and sneaky buggers too. I have several photos of monkeys climbing all over both Dad and Lee when they thought they had food in their pockets. That same night we went to a show of Balinese dancing. It was rather exotic, but went on and on and on.

We also did one of my favourite life experiences (so far), ride Elephants. At an Elephant Safari park, we could feed the elephants and talk to them before getting on. I was a little skeptical and didn't want to ride alone, so Mum rode with me. Lee went on her own while Dad and Lexi got the rogue, young, Elephant. This elephant ran along the track, ran off the track, head butted a tree to get a coconut down, and leant over a cliff to get leaves from a tree. Needless to say, they were fairly happy to get off at the end. In the gift shop they had paintings done by the elephants and I really regret not buying one, but I do have a small key chain and lots of photos.

We spent a whole day at the water park, it even had a bar in the middle of the pool. I enjoyed relaxing on the slow rides and drinking at the pool, while Lee and Lexi spent ages going on the fast rides. I'd had my hair braided at this point - not a look that I will repeat, but at the time was something that you do when you're on a tropical island.

On Mum's birthday we went to see the sunset at Tanah Lot. Tanah Lot is a temple, built by monks many years ago on the edge of a cliff. Over the years the sea has eroded the cliff and the high tide now cuts it off from the main land. While we were there construction was going on to strengthen the temple and the cliff from eroding into the sea. It was a very spiritual place and a beautiful sight. I only wish now that I had my wonderful camera back then. That evening we had dinner at a small, local restaurant down on the beach. We sat at a table in sand, where a rogue group of reggae singers were busking up and down the beach. We asked the to sing Happy Birthday to Mum, but they clearly didn't know the song, resulting in the longest and funniest Happy Birthday singalong I've ever been part of.

After a wonderful family holiday we came home with many memories and some sadness that this was likely to be the last time the five of us went on a family holiday together. Until this holiday I was always jealous of friends and my cousin that travelled overseas. I wanted to travel too. But I learnt here that I would remember and appreciate this experience now that I was older and that made so much more sense to me now. And, it was cemented in me now, travel was something I had to do a lot more of.

 

Auckland, 2000

The first time I travelled alone - and by alone I mean without my parents and siblings - I was 18 and went with my friend Jo to Auckland. We went to visit another friend Ele who had moved there. I can't remember why, but the point was she was there and we were super excited about a holiday that we booked, we paid for and we went on without any parental supervision.

I'm sure I took lots of photos, this is me we're talking about, but I can't find them right now. Meanwhile, I did find the postcards I wrote each day and sent home to my sister for her to save. And save she did, because I've held on to them ever since.

23 January 2000. 4.50pm
Hi. I got up at 10am and had a shower. Jo and I had peaches for breakie. Ele came over at 10.30, we decided to got to the beach. Put on Jo's suntan lotion (only SPF8 and so now my left arm is really sore from sunburn.) I went for a walk. I bought an iced vanilla latte from Starbucks. I also went to the Warehouse first and bought jandles and a Shania Twain CD. I rang you guys from the beach. Then the three of us drove to One Tree Hill. Jo took some photos. Now we are at our place laughing at our surnburn lines. The plan for tonight is to get chips and some bread for chip sandwhiches for dinner. Then going to movies on Queens St to see 'Double Jeopardy'. Will probably have coffee first. Arm is sore. Jo wants to use the table so I'll go lie down. Hope you guys are having fun. Hug Sixteen for me (and Bunker I suppose). Love Heather. It's REALLY HOT!

24 January 2000.
I didn't get much sleep last night. Don't really know why. Jo and I took Ele to work then cam back here for breakie and a shower. We set off at 11.30am with a walk to the shops around the corner. Then to Skycity. Going down the escalator I saw the Cook family and yelled to them 'Hi' etc. Went up to the observation deck and I took photos of us on glass. Had lunch there. Then on to the cup village where no boats where in sight. I decided to collect shot glasses. Then we went to Kelly Tarltons, I LOVED the penguins. A quick stop at BP for petrol. Then we cleaned Ele's car while waiting for her Uncle and Aunts posh house in Mission Bay for dinner. Where I couldn't stop laughing. Talked to Paul W for ages. Jo bet me at chess twice. Got a pressie for someone. Miss you guys. Weird not being on holiday with you.

25 January 2000
We had a late start this morning. It was cloudy so we decided to go shopping. The car was parked and off we went. Queen St has a lot of shops. I bought two books, two CD's, a candle and had my photos developed. It was raining so I wasn't hot. Jo went to pick up Ele while I stayed at the Backpackers. We decided to have pizza for dinner. We went to get pizza and got some chips too. We watched Dawson's Creek and a guy was laughing at us for cheering at the end of the programme. The Auckland College of Education is around the corner.

26 January 2000
Today Jo and I ran to catch the ferry to Waiheke Island. It was $17 for return ticket and all day bus fare. We had an excellent bus driver, who I'm going to write a letter to the bus company congratulating them on an excellent driver. We had lunch in a restaurant which was good value for $15. I talked to Dad for about 5 minutes. I called Wilma, I will ring again later. Ele, Jo and I had Chinese for dinner then went to see some friends of hers. I enjoyed going to Waiheke. We took a tikky tour around the island and I couldn't find Grandad's beach.

27 January 2000
I didn't get up till 10.30am. We had left over chinese for lunch. We caught the bus to town. We paid $7 for an Auckland bus pass, we could get off anywhere. At the Zoo we took heaps of photos. We saw the elephants and sea lion encounters. At 4.30 we got on a bus and decided to get off when we saw somewhere for an early dinner. We went to Planet Hollywood where I had a huge burger and a cocktail. Very filling. Talked to Mum too. Ele picked us up and now back at our backpackers.

28 January 2000
Jo and I got an Auckland bus pass and go on bus' all day. We went to East Auckland and West Auckland. Often not knowing where we were. We found a shop having a sale and I bought some stuff. We went to Ele's Aunts and Uncles for a swim and dinner. We took the champagne too. We then went to a club called "Leftfierd" where three guys bought us drinks and tried to chat us up. Visited a few more clubs. Now back and Jo's pissed, don't know why.

29 January 2000
Jo woke me early this morning so that the three of us could go sailing with her Aunt and Uncle. We left Bucklands Beach at 11.30am and sailed to Rangitoto Island. It was very windy and the boat was leaning over. We anchored and had lunch. Then on the way back we all had turns of steering. It was calmer on the way back. Jo's cousin took us for a ride in his porshe. Now back at our place, I've had a shower. I got sunburnt on my face and have glasses marks. We are having fish n' chips for dinner, then doing little things like drive up Shortland St etc. Home tomorrow.

30 January 2000
We had to be out of our room by 10. At 9.30 we were waiting for Ele. We went to Vic St markets, then rang Telecom to get the Crawfords address. We went over to their house but they weren't home. Went to get coffee then returned and stayed for half an hour cause there were home. We went for a swim at Ele's relies house and now we are at the airport. I managed to get my bag closed too.

Nice to see a bit more detail in my writing 8 years on, but still got a way to go. And let's be honest, Auckland isn't the most exotic or fun places I've been too. However, it was pretty awesome to go on a holiday that was mine and it definetly sparked that desire to travel and to see much more of the world out there.

Lunatic class

Item number three on "The List" is Go Aqua Jogging.

Aqua Jogging was something my Mum did for years, every Sunday afternoon with her friend Jan. I joined her once in a blue moon. We'd go down to Johnsonville pool and jog laps around the diving pool for about 30 to 45 minutes.

In the winter getting out of the pool was the hardest part. No matter how fast you go to your towel on the side of the pool, it wasn't fast enough. Never mind that hauling yourself out of the pool was when you realised how much excerise you'd been doing while in the pool. All of sudden your legs are tired and your arms are heavy. The water holds you up, supports you and gives you a false sense of calm. Basically, it tricks you in to thinking that you're not really exercising, when you are. And that sounds like my kind of exercise.

For a long time Rach and I have talked about going aqua jogging. Once it was on 'The List' it became a fairly easy thing for us to cross off.

I bought new togs, ooooo new togs. . . We rugged up warm and went to the pool to jog around the dive pool for 35 minutes. It was a good evening and we managed to get lots of wedding planning done in the process. We felt good about it and decided to try out Huia pool in Lower Hutt, a location close to Rach's home. Rather than go around and around the dive pool, we went up and down the lanes, stopping only to try and decipher the exercise instructions at the end.

This seemed like a rather genius exercise plan, how had we not done this earlier?! Anna decided to join us but we could only go at 7pm, which was the same time as the Deep Water Aqua Fit class. Why not? we thought.

We arrived at the class and 'suited up' (aka, put on floaty devices). About 10 other people turned up and jumped in the pool. We quickly realised that they were experienced class goers. The instructor stood on the side of the pool and very energetically 'instructed' us around the pool. And it was at this point that we realised that it wouldn't be just your normal jog around the pool.

For the next 55 minutes we leapt, star jumped, sprinted, squated, floated our way around the pool. We used the floaty dumb bells, we did weird floating exercises that made me giggle so much that I feared I'd wee or drown, or both. There was accidental butt grabbing and jokes about our natural flotation devices.

And after the class we were all exhausted, but in very high spirits. We renamed the class 'Lunatic Class'. It was the funnest and most high impact exercise that I've enjoyed in a long time.

What started out as a desire to cross something off 'The List', has turned into a fun exercise routine and one I hope to keep up. Lunatic Class is on again this Wednesday. Who wants to join us?! You'll get a massive workout and have fun in the process. Come on, you know you want too!

(Tonight was the second time we went to the lunatic class and it was still lots of fun. We had noodles to tame this time round and I'll be honest, me and the noodle are not at one with each other.).

Goodbye to the most Gentlemanly Labrador ever

 

Ruger was a dearly beloved family member of my good friend Anna. I was lucky enough to spend time with the lovable labrador over the last year or so. He was the perfect gentleman in every way.

 

Sadly, he became unwell on Saturday and he was not going to get better. While heartbreaking the family made the humane decision to put him to sleep on Sunday.

 

Thank you Anna for allowing me get to know such a sweet dog. While he may be gone, his spirit will be with you forever. xx

My love of Travel & Melbourne, 1991

I'm not sure when my love of travel kicked in, but I'm guessing pretty early. When I was little our family holidays were long car rides to Waiheke Island where our Grandparents lived, Taupo for summer holidays and up the coast to Waikanae in later years.

I'm pretty sure that I've always wanted travel around the world. I've always wanted to go and see the world, all of it. As a young thing I was totally jealous of my cousin who got to travel around the world before the age of six. It wasn't until much later that I realised that had I travelled young I wouldn't remember it now.

Over the years I've done a lot of travel, and for as long as I can I plan on doing a lot more. In a few months I'm going on a great adventure, but before then I thought it might be fun to look back at some of my previous travels.

When I was 10, Mum took me on my first overseas holiday. We went to Melbourne for a week. I remember snippets of the holiday, mostly some of the touristy things we did and hanging out with my friend. I remember coming home with lots of souvieners. And now I realise that I was smart enough then to know that I would want to remember the holiday. These days when I travel I take about a thousand photos and write emails and my blog, but we're talking 22 (yeesh!) years ago people! At that age I had pretty stationary and wrote a page each night about what we did. I'm also smart enough to know that keeping those pages is a wise idea.

Check out my diary pages from my very first overseas holiday;

Wednesday 16th
The plane arrived at the airport at 8.25. Before we landed the Captain said it was 9 degrees outside, and everybody said "What" really loud. Jenny picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at her house. After that we got a bus out to Box Hill (a shopping mall). We bought a big bag of presents. At 3.30 we went to get Katy and Sarah from after school care. Had dinner.

Thursday 17th
Today I got up at 8.20 in the morning. We had toast for breakfast. We got the tram to the zoo. We spent about 2 hours at the Zoo. We got a tram to the market. We had lunch and bought a huge bag of presents for everybody at home. Katy had netball but we didn't get to watch. We had dinner, and then we watched the Flying Doctors.

Friday 18th
Today we went to Jenny's work, and got a tram out to the middle of the city. We went to see the Art Gallery to look around. We had lunch at McDonalds. After lunch we bought a big bag of lollies to eat as we walked around the HUGE city. We must of walked a thousand miles. We had a spa after tea and played 'blind date'

Saturday 19th
This morning we had croissants and bread for breakfast. We went to Box Hill with the Smiths. I bought a pencil case and two rubbers for School. We went to a School Fete. After lunch John took us to the pool. At 5.00 we went to a barbeque at Katy's friend Greta's house. We got home at 10.30.

Sunday 20th
We had croissants for breakfast again. We packed picnic, and went to the gardens. We had the picnic by a pond. There were ducklings and baby swans. We found out there where no knives so we used an old credit card. We went to 'Pizza by the Metre' and an ice cream for tea.

Monday 21st
Croissants for breakfast again. We went to look out the glass window to see Melbourne from the toilet. I bought a Bedtime Bunny (BB) from The Lost Forest in the Como Center. We had lunch and then we got a taxi home to pack. Had dinner and went to watch Sarah at Jazz.

Tuesday 22nd
Had breakfast and John took us into town. We got a taxi to the airport, boarded the plane at 10.00. When we got to New Zealand it was tea time and we had only just had lunch. We had McDonalds for dinner. They got their presents at home and they really liked them. IT WAS WORTH GOING.

Looking back on these pages, I can see that breakfast and dinner were pretty important and worth remembering. Despite their lack of detail I did actually remember more the trip while reading them and I guess that's the main thing. Needless to say, I'm pretty glad my writing skills have come along since I was 10.

This week I shall hunt down some photos and writing from more travels for everyone to enjoy.