Life after the farm......

Well we have certainly come down to earth with a bump after the comfort and pampering we experienced with Paula, Roger and Ruby on the farm. After waiting for so long for rain we finally came across some rain on our first night camping. Just a slight drizzle of what we heard was predicted to be 200mls in one night!!!! We spent most of the night driving around the small town of Fox Glacier looking for alternative accomodation as neither of us fancied even trying to put the tent up, however everywhere was booked and we settled for the cosy and intimate lodgings of the McKinleys automotive lodge. If any of you are thinking about sleeping in a car take it from us it isnt all its cracked up to be but it sure beats putting a tent up in driving rain. Jess thought she would capture this moment on camera as we are sure that we will want to look back on it fondly in years to come.

Modern day sleeping beauty

Well the night in the car proved to be worth it as the weather cleared and we had a perfect day for climbing on the glacier. We were properly kitted out with crampons and looked like real everest climbers! I think Jess liked this as it was one step closer to her dream of base camp.

The proud explorers after overcoming the famous "McKinley Step"


Fox Glacier in all her glory (well a bit of her!)

After this icey environment we decided we needed more of a tropical beachy feel and we headed up the coast to Abel Tasman National park. On day one we got a water taxi up the coast (as there are no roads throughout the park) and walked 16Kms back to the campsite. It was a beautiful walk through the forests and we stopped off a secluded beaches for a swim and a relax along the way. Sounds perfect....and it was until two naked people ran past us into the water and seemed not to be embarrased at all. We shoved our picnic down our throats and politely and calmly walked onto the next beach. The next day we took a kayak along the coast and experienced the park from the water. This proved to be a fitting goodbye to the south island as it is a beautiful island full of majestic and stunning sites.

A view from the track of Abel Tasman


A busy little beach in Abel Tasman (Appletree Bay)


More beautiful scenery this time seen from the water (well the background anyway)

Now we are on the north island and we have been to see the Waitoma caves. We weren't really expecting this to be high on our list of highlights but walking through the limestone caves composed from Stalactites and Stalagmites was spectactular. The next part was completely different as we took a boat journey, in pitch darkness, through a cave filled with glowworms. No one was allowed to talk throughout the boat trip as we slowly weaved in and out of Stalactites, it reminded us of something you would see on the BBC planet earth series. We have now spent the last two days staying just below Lake Taupo waiting to walk on the Tongariro crossing, which is meant to be New Zealand's best one day walk. Unfortunately the weather has not been good (yes this has meant another night in a rain swept tent! See its not all sunshine out here!) but we are booked on for tomorrow morning. We will be passing a certain mountain where a famous hobbit lost a finger (Mount Doom in Lord of the rings).
Hopefully if we survive the trip and are not attacked by orcs we will post some pictures on our return. Hope all is well with you all and we will be in touch soon.

The Kepler

Well what can we say, we haven't showered for 4 days and have just returned to civilisation. The Kepler was fantastic and the alpine scenary was spectacular. On our way there we went to Milford Sound to relax before the big hike. We had beautiful blue skies and the boat trip was wonderful. We saw every Peak including the famous Mitre Peak which is the highest mountain coming out of a fiord. We were also lucky enough to see New Zealand fur seals and bottlenose dolphins.

Mitre Peak:

Then the onslaught of the Kepler began. We adorned our thermal leggings and shorts and looked very fetching.. let me say now no man should wear leggings without shorts! We will let you make your own mind from the pic below.


Speaking of weird things we did meet a man that constantly walked around in his y-front pants.. interesting, he even had a knack of picking a bed right beside us. First thing in the morning, the sight of a 50+ man climbing out of bed in nothing but y-fronts was just the thing to make you forget about any sore legs!

However all scenery was not bad and especially on day 2 when we walked along ridges and saddles all day. We were so fortunate that the weather was amazing as we could see for miles and miles. At certain stages along the route there were toilets and we had our most dramatic and scenic wee's ever!



We met loads of interesting people and had lots of noisy card games late into the night with just head torches for light.. you can imagine the hilarity.

Even though we were miles from any shops, etc and had to carry all our own equipment including pots, food and sleeping bags we found out we weren't totally out of contact with the outside world. Gav managed to sweet talk the warden at the first hut (a warden is there in summer to give you a weather forecast each morning as if it is too windy you could get blown off the top of the ridge as you walk along!) and get her to listen to the sport on her radio to find out if Man U managed to beat Arsenal. She brought great news the next morning of a 4-0 win which pleased Gavin no end. This of course was much more important than the weather forecast that I was waiting for, thankfully the winds were not too high and so it was safe to walk to the next hut. That was the day we scaled Mount Luxmore as a wee detour and stood on the top and felt very proud.



We can honestly say we really enjoyed the Kepler and would recommend it to anyone. The most scary thing was having to carry this huge pack but it was actually not too bad and I surprised myself with the ease of it. The only signs I have are some bruises on my hip bones!

The Ridge:




Next on the hit list is to head up the west coast and have a walk on a glacier and kayak at Abel Tasman National Park.

The Old McKinleys had a farm e i e i o!

Well things have changed since we last posted. We have packed the tent away for two weeks and now we are living on a farm! This move was already planned and had nothing to do with the vicious attack from the cochroaches. I think Jess had left out some vital details of that night. It would appear that the cochroaches breed with albatross to create a mutant hybrid beast. They seem to attack with some sort of Churchill guided masterplan and display gladiator-esque attacking qualities.
However in the safety of the farm we are having an absolute ball (no pun for a story later in this blog!) and seem to have unearthed farming talents that we didnt know we had. The farmstay is comprised of a 750 acre farm (Deer, sheep and cattle) and a 4star Bed and Breakfast. I am helping out on the farm and Jess is helping with the B and B and doing a little farming (Finally she has got her dream of chickens and she collects the eggs every morning).

Sunrise on the farm:


We are eating like kings and i am putting on some of the weight that i lost in Oz. Jess still thinks i am very handsome and as she is a smart girl who knows what she is talking about i will continue to eat the roast dinners and home made cookies to keep the energy up. However as always with the McKinleys nothing is plain sailing. On our first full day, the family had to go off to a funeral and they left me to meet a vet on the other end of the farm and treat some cattle. After treatment the vet and i had thought that all the cattle had got out of the treatment pen and so i proceeded to walk the cattle back down the lane. However on my return I noticed that a calf had got its whole body stuck between a two posts and couldnt get out due to its hips and ribcage wedging it. It just happened to be pouring with rain and i tried for 25 minutes to get the calf out but she wasnt budging. I drove back to the house to get Jess and a sledgehammer but even with this amazing support team we failed to budge the posts. We ended up driving out onto the road and flagging down another farmer who said that the same thing had happened to him once. Finally we ended up lifting the calf about five feet into the air and over the posts! Over the next few days it was really touch and go for the wee calf who we have now called Houdini as she wouldn't stand up for two days which is dangerous for a cow because it stops the circulation, but we brought her back to the farm and looked after her and fed her milk and it looks like she will make a good recovery! I went to visit her yesterday as we have returned her to the field, but she ran away even though i called after her. Women eh!

Gav feeding Houdini:


We have had so many wonderful experiences at our farmstay and we are surrounded by beautiful scenery. This is definately the highlight of our travels so far and it will be sad to leave the beautiful scenery and the nice people that we have met. For a while i feared that i might be returning to Bonnie Scotland wifeless but i think i have convinced her to join me for the rest of our trip! I have also had the chance to explore the wild side of my character and on Saturday Roger (with the disturbing encouragement of Jess) was so kind to take me along with him to castrate bulls. There are some things in life that people shouldn't see and i reckon this is one. I did however provide some entertainment as when i was chasing some of the bulls around the pen i accidently stood on a disposed "gland" which exploded upwards and on to my jumper......Happy days. In the evening i was taken out to do some "pest control" on the hills which involved hanging out the back window of the landrover with shotguns and blasting Buggs Bunny and his mates in the head. I am sad to say it but i really enjoyed it and i even surprised myself at how handy i can be with a gun! Jess was asked if she wanted to come but her decision to stay behind proved to be a wise one as she was once the proud owner of a pet rabbit!
Next Saturday after our farmstay finshes we are going to do a 4 day walk in the mountains, called the Kepler walk. It is one of New Zealand's great walks and we can't wait to get up into the mountains and see the scenery which is meant to be breathtaking. Almost forgot to tell you, last weekend we went to a rodeo and Jess was very excited! I had to keep a close eye on her as i reckon she would have been in and jumping on one of the bulls given half the chance. We have also explored Queenstown and had a fun filled afternoon, needless to say we couldn't bring ourselves to do a bungy jump but we did go on a chair lift and zoom down on the luge which is like go-karting on the side of a mountain - pure genious and def something that should start in Scotland. We also did a practice walk for the Kepler around Lake Hayes which was really beautiful.

Queenstown and the beautiful Remarkables:


Here are a couple from our adventures before the farmstay:

This is on the beach at New Plymouth which is just beside Mount Taranki/Egmont:


Hamner Springs (where we dipped in the spa!)


The amazing Mount Cook - spectacular!

New Zealand, New Zealand!

Hey folks

Where do we start! We arrived in New Zealand nearly 2 weeks ago now and are having such a blast. The climate suits me much better (that is Jess) not as hot as Oz but still lovely, plus we have air conditioning in our car which is great... feels like luxury.

I have left our camera cable in the depths of my back pack somewhere and so no pics this time, but we will put some up the next time.

We started our travels in Auckland and then headed down the west coast of the North Island before crossing to the South Island a few days ago. Heading down the rest of the East coast for the next week and then we will start our farmstay for 2 weeks before going back up the west coast and then back over to do the west coast and north of the North Island. Did that confuse you or are you still with me?

We are well into the swing of camping now however Gav nearly had a heart attack last night as 2 cockroaches were trying to get into the tent. He was freaking out so much and saying things like "they know we are in here and they keep trying to get us" I hate to think how he will react if he come across a grizzly in Canada!!!

Yesterday we were relaxing in geothermal and sulphur pools and we sat in one that was 40 degrees and stunk of rotten eggs! Apparently it is good for the skin. Anyway it was really relaxing and sitting there looking out at the mountains while you steam in a pool was blissful.

We are going to go to Mount Cook in a couple of days and that is the mountain where Sir Edmund Hillary trained for his Everest trip. So if anyone is planning to climb Everest you could come over and have a practice! Don't think we will try it but maybe a trip to base camp will be our next adventure.... Sarah you up for it?

Anyway sorry no pics, but didn't think we were going to an internet cafe today! Will post some pics soon. Hope you are all well.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everybody!

Its been a long time since we were last near a computer as we have now started our proper travels. Before we got sacked we left our jobs just before new years and faced up to life living out of rucksacks and sleeping in our little tent! For our last night in Sydney the ozzies were so kind and put on a firework display/tried to blow up the harbour bridge. We were so touched as thousands and thousands of people turned out for our party. On the stroke of 12 the fireworks went off and it was amazing, here is a picture!(it was well worth the bum numbing 8 hours we sat waiting for them!)



On the 1st of Jan we left Sydney for our first big road trip in thundercat! We drove down the south coast of Oz along the great ocean road which is a beautiful road which hugs the sea. At the end of the road are the world famous 12 apostles along with other eroded structures which stand out in the sea. It was absolutely amazing to see them and it has definately been a highlight in our time away so far. We then went over to Kangaroo island which is situated off the south coast. The island is full of wildlife, beautiful beaches and various rock formations (the most famous being the remarkable rocks, which were truely remarkable!). On the island we saw kangaroos, koalas, seals and our first snake! We were literally only 2 or 3 feet away from it (this is my highlight of the trip!)it was a black tiger snake and we have been told that it is the 3rd most deadliest snake in the world, yee ha!
Surprisingly we have adapted to life on the road very easily and we have a good wee system going for putting up our tent in record time! We have bonded greatly over our time on the road, not just from all the time that we have to talk but when you drive in a car with no air conditioning in 40 degree heat you have to like each other a lot as when you change drivers you have the pleasure of seeing the others sweat marks on the car seat and the sensation of sitting in a salty pool! When we sell the car i intend to include the seats are marinated with the sweat of an irish man and a beautiful scottish lassie (but as girls dont sweat as much the emphasis will be more on the former!).
We have also enjoyed talking with people on the road and in campsites and one couple so far that stands out have been from a 64 thousand acre farm in Queensland, who just recently attended a family get together in which 102 grand children were present!
We have just arrived back in Sydney and leave for new zealand tomorrow. Sorry about the short blog hopefully the pictures will speak louder than thousands of rambling words and cheesy jokes. We will fill you in with the finer details during our 10 hour slide show when we return, that will give you all something to look forward to!



The great ocean road



The 12 Apostles



Look it's a koala!



The remarkable rocks (and a remarkable lady!)



More remarkable rocks

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from down under. It is hard to believe there are only 3 more sleeps till Christmas (well 4 for you!) as it is so warm here. However, last night we were treated to how the Aussie's like to dress up their houses for Christmas. Recently the newspapers have been reporting on the best decorated houses, so we went to check it out. Gav thought he was in wonder world and expressed this by squealing with delight when we rounded the corner of the street in our little car. I on the other hand thought they were rather tacky and were not as good as my Mum's lovely clear Christmas tree lights. We have taken some pictures which are below.



What do you think Dad?

A very happy Gav





I finally got round to decorating our Christmas cake which I have been feeding with sherry for some weeks now, hopefully it will taste good. Here is a wee picture of it:

The only other thing we wanted to tell you (well Gav wanted to tell you) was that he held this huge boaconstrictor snake last weekend. We were chilling out at 'The Rocks' the oldest part of Sydney and I nipped to the bathroom (some things will never change!) when I came back Gav had this snake in his arms! He is rather proud and wanted to post a picture.

Although we (really Gav) love all the lights and festive decorations lets not forget what Christmas is really about and how God's amazing love was shown to us all by sending His son in order that we may have a new relationship with Him. We both want to wish you a Merry Christmas. We hope you have a wonderful time and that during this coming week you will be blessed with a new realisation of the true meaning behind why we celebrate Christmas.

December Already!

A Big Decemberish Howdy hi ho to everyone!

Seems ages since the last blog, and what changes there have been! Sydney has had the wettest November for ages, but the weather has been a million times better than the UK. However it is really cool how the weather develops, it is hot during the day and then late afternoon a huge thunderstorm happens and i mean huge! It really is awesome to watch and the thunder is deafening! On Sunday we were hit by a hail storm, on the TV it said that our region and two others were classified as being areas of natural disaster (the closest i have been involved with a natural disaster was during my crazy batchelor days when my good friend Dave Rankin and i decided to have a wild night and make brownies. Eggs, flour and rock and roll lifestyle! What came out was not really natural but a total disaster!) Houses had their roofs totally smashed and windows broken as the hail was the size of golf and cricket balls. Thankfully the hail that fell over our house was just the size of golf balls. I dont know if this will work but i made a video of it and i have posted it at the bottom of this blog. For a wee bit of info whilst i was making it i was hit by a piece of hail and as a result let out a manly roar. As our camera isnt as good as others once again my character has been tarnished with slurs of girly screaming. However, here is a pic for starters:


Because it is so sunny and warm it is hard to believe it is coming up to Christmas, however we have done our best and tried to make it more christmasy by embracing the tack! Seriously although i dont ever want the true meaning of Christmas to be lost, the big kid inside me loves nothing more but a bit of tack! And the aussies appear to love it too! Infact a newspaper has named and shamed the tackiest streets, so being the true romantic i will take Jess on a drive around the suburbs of sydney and admire the glistening, flashing and glowing lights. We have got an advent calendar, as you can see Jess is so happy with it! Nothing says Christmas like Barbie and Chocolates!

Saying that Jess and Lin did a great job decorating the house with tasteful decorations and now we have a tree made out of lights in the window.


Our work is still going well and we are managing to save some pennies. Personally i think i will be quite sad to leave my job as i have got on really well with the guys and they seem to be so grateful for the little bit of Ireland i have brought into their lives. It has also been really satisfying going to jobs and seeing sites and gardens transformed and knowing that people will get many weeks of happiness from the walls and stuff i have helped build before they eventually fall down! Only joking only top quality work gets done here..........
Actually, this week in work this thing called a bush turkey walked through the garden that we were working with, guess you had to be there to fully understand how bizzare it was but apparently this thing has a nest in the neighbours garden and just strolls around the local gardens! Here is a picture of the beast/possible Christmas dinner!

On the first of Jan we plan to head down the south coast to as far as Adelaide and then hop over to an Island called Kangaroo Island which is meant to be beautiful and full of wildlife. Then on the 14th of Jan we head off to New Zealand for 9 weeks and then back to Australia for 7 weeks during which we will just head off in our faithful volvo and see as much as we can. Both of us can not wait and both of us are enjoying spending so much time together and Jess is loving the new jokes that i have been able to make up since being here, needless to say the old ones are used on a regular basis!

A wee bonus this week was that we met up with Jess' Brother's girlfriend for dinner. She is over in Australia for hols with her Dad, it was really good to hear voices from back home and do a bit of catching up. As you can see from the picture she looks really happy and seeing us obviously was the highlight so far during her trip down under.


Anyway this has turned out to be far longer than it should have been so i will stop it here, unfortunately there is no time to discuss how well Man Utd are doing both domestically and in Europe and not even time to reflect on how Chelsea and Liverpool have once again blown their chances of winning the league. Give me a break i had to make reference to football at least once!

Hope you are all well as you read this and it been great hearing from you and your updates of home.

Gav and Jess