Christchurch/Wanaka/Queenstown Woo Hoo!

Campervan with children: we are having a great, if not cramped and sometimes exhausting time. We started in Christchurch with the Antarctic Museum - went on a few Haggelund rides, got frozen in the Arctic chill room, checked out the ice, watched blue penguins at feeding time. It was a really good start for all of us. The next morning we drove mostly all day long and ended up in Wanaka at Puzzling World, they had a huge maze and illusion rooms which were fantastic.

Next morning we drove down to Queenstown, the views were amazing, even though there was not a lot of snow up top anymore. We based ourselves at Queenstown for a couple of nights, wandered around the lovely little town, looked at shops, bought some souvenirs and I had my much-anticipated Fergburger (the best hamburgers ever!!). We took the Skyline Gondola up to the top of the mountain right in town and had some great rides on the luge. We surprised them with a visit to the Minus Five Ice Bar and had drinks out of glasses made of ice. The kids loved it! We had a hilarious experience at Underwater World which I cannot really explain here. I think it may go down in history as one of those funny family stories that only we can understand!! I can’t believe the weather here, it’s almost 20C during the day and sunny, a big difference to our first week on the west and north coasts…..

Today we went on the Skippers Canyon jet boat ride, heaps of thrills and very very cold wind, plus driving in a 4WD bus over narrow and windy roads. Great views. Later we took a drive out to the old mining village of Arrowtown and tried our luck panning for gold (which would have been helpful, seeing the amount of money spent so far). Tomorrow we are heading for the East Coast to see some albatross and seals!!

Rainy hike and sunny sea kayak in Kaikoura

The view from our campervan last night was fantastic (snow capped mountains)! However, we woke up this morning to rain and more rain. I was being quite optimistic and thought we should push on and do the 3hr hike around the Kaikoura Peninsula…..oh my god we were soaked within 5 minutes and it never got better….we had a severe case of the crankies when we finished, plus we were freezing cold and soaked to the bone. Then we had an hour to dry off, find dry clothes and voila! The sun came out! We crammed a sandwich down and went off on our afternoon sea kayak tour, which was fantastic. We had a small group, just us, our guide and 3 Irish girls. We paddled around the rocks and the point, and watched the fur seals sunning themselves, watching us! and swimming. On our way back to the beach, the sky blackened and we got massive thunder and lightning. While packing up the sea kayaks, we were soaked again……we are staying in Kaikoura tonight, doing some washing and drying our clothes, and then heading down to Hanmer Springs tomorrow…..what a day!

Kaikoura's baby seals :)

After much debate (due to weather conditions, driving time etc) we decided against backtracking to Abel Tasman National Park (this will have to wait until we come to the South Island again!! They have great 3-4 day treks here!), we headed over to Picton via a very very very windy, narrow, but scenic! route. All through the mountains to Queen Charlotte Sound, where there is a lovely ferry harbour and town. We took full advantage of the rare sunshine and enjoyed fish & chips on the harbour front. Then, on to Kaikoura, the MOST AMAZING town!! Oh. My. God. What a gorgeous scenic drive down the coast: snow-capped mountains, turquoise ocean, black sand beaches…..wow. I can’t say enough about this incredible place. We stopped a few times so I could get my wildlife kick and watch the NZ fur seals playing in the ocean and lounging on the rocks. Later we did a short walk up to a waterfall where - believe me, it’s incredible - baby seal pups swim up the creek from the beach and play in the waterfall lagoon while their mums feed. They are just ADORABLE and I can’t believe you can just walk up to the waterfall and enjoy watching them, for free and without fence guards or anything. I was just mesmerised. Tomorrow we are off on a 2.5hr walk around the point, the lighthouse and to watch MORE SEALS!!!! Then if weather is cooperating, we will be doing a sea kayak all afternoon to see the seals feeding on octopus and other exciting things. What a wonderful day. I love New Zealand!

NZ fur seals and wild coastal scenery!

Greymouth was windy and rainy and cold. We did, however, wake up to sunshine - even if it was short-lived. We drove the amazing coastal road up north and it was rugged and wild. Stopping off in Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks and the loud blowholes was pretty spectacular. Later we stopped near Westport to see a small NZ fur-seal colony, they were just adorable! Breeding season is next month so I imagine lots more fur seals to come…..I just love seeing wildlife. Apart from those 2 special non-rainy moments in our day, it pretty much rained the whole time. We are over it! And drove to Nelson. Tomorrow heading up to Abel Tasman National Park to see if we can do a few walks, or a sea kayak.

Fox Glacier heli-hike, NZ

Spending the night near Franz Josef village, it was freezing cold and pouring with rain, not to mention cloudy. I seriously doubted the possibility of our heli-hike at Fox Glacier down the road the next morning. It was touch-and-go but we did manage to get onto the helicopter and fly into the Fox Glacier, land the chopper, and do a 2-3hr hike around the glacier. It was amazing! There had been snow during the night and the glacier was covered in about a foot of snow, which made it more difficult for the guides to navigate our way around. But they did a fantastic job and we loved every minute! We wore crampons on our boots for extra grip, and used a trekking pole to gauge the depth of the snow in front of our steps. Sometimes the pole went straight through with no bottom in sight! Luckily the guide, Passang always went first. He had been guiding at Fox for five years, and spent a few months each year leading treks around Mt Everest. He was great. The conditions were changing constantly, from sunny and cool to freezing, windy, hail and snow and cloudy. We had our thermals on and we were good. This has been the most spectacular day, I’m stoked we did this. When the sky was clear, it was SO clear and crisp, and the views are just stunning. Yay for Fox Glacier! It’s a shame the weather is so crap on this western coast of the south island of NZ because the scenery is spectacular. We are now in Grey mouth (windy rainy coastal town) and will head up north tomorrow.

Not-so-sunny NZ!

Leaving Christchurch in our SAM Mercedes 6-berth luxury campervan for the West Coast, we were happily driving along in the sunshine and enjoying the magnificent views of the Alps, towering, majestic and snow covered (WOW!). Along the way, heaps of sheep and baby sheep!! And alpacas and cows and baby cows! Sadly, the closer we got to the Alps, the more it rained, and rained, and rained. It was very reminiscent of our adventure last year on the North Island, where it rained, and rained, and rained. We were hoping to do a few short walks at Arthur’s Pass, but the weather was wild. Instead I tried to at least get a photo of the Arthur’s Pass train station (we got in trouble for driving too close to the tracks). It was a long 7-hour day of driving with a few short stops to get to our destination: Franz Josef. Tomorrow we are booked on a heli-hike 28kms further at the Fox Glacier. Although the rain has stopped for the moment, the cloud is hanging over and we can’t even see the views of the mountains. We don’t know if we are going to be able to fly in the morning due to all the cloud and inclement weather…..up early and we’ll see what happens! Am loving being in NZ again, however I must protest the ridiculous internet rates at the holiday parks. WiFi should be free for goodness sake - at the very least, free if you have your own laptop!! P.S. it is fricking FREEZING!

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai has changed a lot in the 2 years since I last visited. Many more buildings, more hotels, more skyscrapers, and the new Dubai Mall with over 1200 shops! And the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world. It was hot and humid too, the temperature was in the 40Cs during the day and in the high 30Cs at night. There is so much to do here. We went out the Arabian Desert, ‘dune bashing’ in a 4WD and having dinner at a desert camp. Very touristy but being out in the desert was a lot of fun (kind of the same sick feeling you get on a roller coaster). For accommodation, this time I stayed in 5-star luxury which was fabulous. I can handle average accommodation but after the low budget accommodation for 2 weeks in Morocco I loved the luxury! People say that Dubai is an expensive city, and I suppose that although this may be true, especially when purchasing alcohol, any city can be expensive if you make it so. We spent a lot of time in the shopping malls (air conditioning was fantastic) and there was plenty of choice for eating out there, from the fast-food outlets (which were comparable to home price-wise) to decent restaurants and high-class places. You get what you pay for! It is fascinating to see the Arab men dressed in white robes and head coverings, their robes are just crisp and spotless and they look fantastic! ( I would hate to be the one doing all that laundry, starching and pressing). The Arab women dress in black robes and burkas, so only their eyes are visible. This is a little off-putting as you can’t see their facial expressions or anything. Very different. The women’s robes are somehow stylish and elegant, some are embroidered with silver or gold thread, sequins, very classy and flowing beautifully. The Arab women are huge shoppers: jewellery, designer clothing and handbags and shoes, which they wear at home. There is a lot of money here, evident by the ever-present Lamborghinis, Porsches, Audis, BMWs, Rolls-Royces and so on. The new metro system (under construction 2yrs ago) needed a try-out. Unfortunately no-one has much information about it and it was very confusing! Some of the stations, although constructed, are not in use yet. But it is fast, clean, and efficient. I loved Dubai the last time, and loved it this time too. Can’t wait to visit here again. They have a massive 5-year plan in the works, building the biggest/tallest/brightest/most expensive things in the world. I have often heard horror stories about slave labour, poor working conditions, 3yr old Indian children being 'bought' for use as camel jockeys (as recently as a few years ago). I have not seen this part of Dubai, only the good stuff.

Goodbye Morocco!

Morocco will always invoke the most exotic and wonderful memories for me.

1. CATS. Cats everywhere. Cats in the street, in alleyways, wandering around terraces, restaurants and cafes. Surprisingly, the cats do not seem overly hungry or malnourished in any way and are treated with respect and tolerance everywhere. The nicest thing I witnessed was an old street cleaning man, who, after spotting a tiny kitten in an alleyway, went off and brought him back a little saucer of milk.

2. CHANGE. Money. There is much reluctance to give change in shops and market stalls. No-one seems to have any bloody change anywhere! Sometimes I think the vendor is hoping that the customer will say, don't worry about it, and leave. But most of the time I think there is someone in Morocco who is sitting on billions of coins and not sharing them.

3. SUGAR. Moroccans love their sugar! The green mint tea is delicious, but I learned to ask for it 'sans sucre' (without sugar). Much more palatable that way. The sweet pastries for dessert were also very tasty but very, very sweet. Is it any wonder so many people there are missing teeth??

4. PRAYER CALLS. Five times a day you hear this awesome Muslim wailing music blasting throughout the town's many loudspeakers, calling people to prayer. If you are out and about during this time, you notice a lot of men rolling out prayer rugs in their market stalls or even on the streets.

5. GREEN MINT TEA. Loving the green mint tea! Except for the high sugar content, it is delicious and refreshing and a huge part of Moroccan culture. Nothing better than to sit at a cafe, people watching, and sipping green mint tea out of a small glass, poured from a silver engraved teapot. Bliss!

Morocco was a fascinating place to visit. The grand mosques, the intricate plaster and wood carvings, the tiny mosaic tiling, elaborate wrought iron window grilles and fences, just lovely. The people are friendly, and I was happy that my (although limited) French came in handy. One thing I did miss was ICE in my drinks! the drinks are not that cool, and no ice is available (but since I was not drinking the water, ice would have been wasted on me anyway).

Essaouira, Morocco

Essoueira is a fishing village on the coast of Morocco. Wandering around the town (it’s a GRID PATTERN for a change, yahoo!!) I see a lot of backpackers, young and ageing hippies. We had lunch in a small café of fresh sardines (they were very salty) and salad. I am here to try the seafood, which is caught fresh and sold daily - you buy them whole, and then there are a lot of men with knives around, ready to clean them for you. The whole village paints their shutters, their doorways, and their boats in a lovely blue wash colour (a little like you see in Greece). The idea of that is no-one wants to be seen by the 'evil eye' and so they copy what others do, so they don't stand out.
After breakfast we wandered down to the fishing boats and met Abdul, an elderly fisherman who explained (in French and using a notebook with drawings) they types of fish caught here, and now the nets work and so on. They catch sardines, tuna,
This morning, 5 of us decided to take a Moroccan cooking class www.lateliermadada.com and it was well worth it! The kitchen was beautifully decorated, modern, soft music playing, candles. Our instructor Mona and her assistant Nourdenne were so helpful and it was the most relaxing and enjoyable thing we have done this whole trip. Ten stars! We made a Moroccan cooked salad and chicken pastille (which has been our favorite meal here in Morocco) and then we got to eat it! There was only 8 in the class, a perfect number. We each had our own station for preparing, and cooking the flavourful delicious lunch. I would recommend this class to anyone coming to Essouiera.

Goats in trees on the way to Essaouira

Goats in trees, you ask? Well...it all has to do with the argane tree, which is famous for producing nuts that are then made into argane oil. The oil has 3 separate phases, one is for cooking, and the others are for medicinal/cosmetic purposes. Mixing equal drops of argane oil and arnica is a great massage oil for bad backs. Now, the goats. Well, they love munching on the nuts. So in the mountainous areas (apparently) they climb up the trees themselves and spend the day gorging on the nuts. Below the mountains, enterprising Moroccans put them up in the trees and wait for unsuspecting tourists to drive by, stop to take photos, and get charged a 'fee'. I hope the goats are getting something out of it!

Marrakech

Today we explored Marrakech, visiting the museum and an old palace, viewing the wives’ quarters (4 huge rooms, the largest for the main wife) and the concubines’ quarters (12 rooms, 2 to a room). The concubines were virtually slaves, bought for the king, entrapped in the palace for the purposes of giving birth to the King’s children, belly dancing and entertaining. Interesting. I picked up a few things I had the riad staff wash for me. My new favorite crisp white shirt is now…BLUE! Anyway, I digress. Meandering through the souks, it was fascinating to see the welders welding wrought iron window grilles without safety goggles, or in some cases, even shoes…yikes. People fashioning leather slippers, sewing fabrics, making buckets and even picture frames out of old Michelin tyres (leaving the Michelin name on the photo frames!). We passed by a line of women, sitting on the edge of the alleyway. Apparently they sell and trade stolen gold. I did a little shopping. Well, a lot of bargaining, and a little shopping. There is so much to see in Marrakech. Lunch was at a restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the town square. I could spend days just people watching, hunchbacked men and women, motorcycles hurtling down the narrow alleyways, the whole place is fascinating. The boys went on a mission to find a hidden grog shop to buy beer and wine for dinner tonight, they were successful, bringing back newspaper and black plastic bag-wrapped bottles. I also won another game of Scrabble (yeah!).

Skoura Oasis and Ait Bennhadou

Visiting an ancient Kasbah in Skoura Oasis was a wonderful sight of mud brick fortification, extravagantly decorated rooms and a labyrinth of rooms, corridors, and stairs. What a great place to play hide and seek.
Arriving in Marrakesh today later a long, spirally, windy old road through the Atlas Mountains, it felt like another world. Lots and lots of people, traffic, noise. A lot of the women here, especially the younger ones, dress in a more Western style than we have seen lately. There are heaps of tourist and backpacker/hippy types wandering around the town square. And what a town square it is….monkeys, snakes being charmed, water carriers, chaos. Motorbikes are everywhere, zooming around. It is really difficult to get a handle on anything because you are constantly watching what is going on around you, while dodging traffic, because it is the town square, not an actual road. The markets and souks are immense, stalls selling mirrors, shoes, pottery, djellabas, hats, bags, anything you want is available here. I am glad I was able to buy a new memory stick as mine is full of photos already. The funniest thing we saw was a table in the middle of the town square, with nothing but TEETH on it. Yes. Human teeth. Plus a few false teeth and forceps. Is this the town dentist? would you get a tooth extracted here?? Shopping is not for the faint hearted. You need to bargain, and bargain hard. Luckily my French is coming along rather nicely, and I remember numbers. Now the only thing I need to do is convert the currency in my head quickly enough so I know what I’m spending. Mum bought a beautiful lantern, and I picked up a great Moroccan wall hanging yay!! I’ve been looking for one all week. The shopkeepers hassle you incessantly, so browsing is virtually impossible without being harassed. Tonight we went back to the town square, only a few minutes’ walk. Around 10pm it was packed full of people and chaos and traffic and horses pulling carriages and people wanting you to pay to take a picture of their monkey/snake/clothing/stall etc. We are staying in a beautiful riad here. The entrance is a tiny doorway in a nondescript street and is a little daunting. But once inside, is a big courtyard with tables and chairs and plants and mosaic tile and it is just lovely. I kicked ass playing Scrabble with the girls over a cold drink and steamed almonds. This place is an oasis in the middle of such chaos. Only about 12 rooms here and our group are the only ones staying at the moment….my room is on the third floor, up steep and narrow stairs, overlooking the courtyard. Above me is a rooftop terrace where you can see all around for miles, it’s just immense. This trip is incredible.