Why live life on the Edge when You can Jump off it...

The Sunday after I arrived in New Zealand I got the bus down to Taupo about 4 hours away from Auckland. I had only one intention for going to Taupo, and that was to Bungy Jump! I arrived Sunday afternoon and for the second time since I started my trip I was going to be staying on my own. But this time I had made no previous plans and I did no plan on staying in 4 star hotel, it was hostelling all the way. So into the information centre I went and I asked the lady to tell me some hostels where I cold stay. I picked Tiki Lodge which was about a 5 minute walk away from the town. I was really nervous because I had never stayed in a place like this before. It was all self service and everyone talked to everyone. I spent the first while in my room, got to know my room mate from Holland and after a while I had the courage to go out and start meeting new people. And meet new people I did. Within hhalf an hour I was on my way down to the local supermarket with 2 guys who work in the lodge- clean every day for about 2 and a half hours for free Accomadation, one from England the other from Auckland- to buy food for making dinner! We all decided to chip in some money and keegan, the Kiwi, was going to cook us dinner!! Probably 3 hours later- I will get n major trouble for saying that but it is true!- We sat down to dinner and I got to meet some more people. A guy from Northern Ireland, another Dutch person, an American,funny stories to follow later, and I also heard about 2 Argentinians who were working there to. We spent the evening chatting and I really had a nice time.

The next day was bungy jump day. I had to be up there before 11 to get a cheap rate and by 10 I was on my way with the rain drizzling around and on me. I arrived about 20 mins later payed my money and the extra for the photos and dvd and I was on my way. I stepped out on the platform and immediately thought "Why the heck did I pay to do this". The view was really fabulous, the water was a gorgeous colour and the surrounding rocks were really stunning. But at that moment in time I would have much preferred to just look at the rocks instead of jumping off them! But at this stage I didnt really have a choice anymore. My feet were tied the ropes were being prepared and I was going bungee jumping. The questions to try and distract me did not really help and my answers were very brief. Finally I was ready to go and I was walking towards the ledge. Attached between my feet was this huge red thing that was holding the rope and I was convinced instead of jumping off the ledge I would be pulled over by this thing. After a few questions about what I was going to do once I had jumped I couldnt put it off any longer! There I was standing on the edge in New Zealand, the mean opened his mouth and said "3 2 1 BUNGY!!" My feet didnt move. I couldnt move.

I looked at the men apologetically, "Im sorry! Try again Ill do it this time!" After a few encouraging and assuring words the words came out again "3 2 1 BUNGY!!" This time I had no choice! I had to do it, and I jumped!! And for a total of about 8 second I was flying through the air! Heading straight for the water and I loved it! I was terrified and at first I let out some terrified screams but after that I was screaming a sense of freedom-and probably relief!- It felt so good! I was rescued by the boat and brought back to shore where my legs felt like jelly and I had to walk a ridiculous amount of steps to get my photos and dvd. But it was all worth it! It felt so good and I have to say I was very proud of myself after it. In the van back to the hostel I asked the question that I couldnt bring myself to ask before, "How many people have died here from doing the bungy jump?" The man looked at me and said "Here none, worst ive seen people look is a few black eyes from going face first into the water". I didnt choose to go into the water but was glad that I picked a place where no one had died yet to bungy jump!!!!

Op Shopping in NZ

So one saturday afternoon I had the privelage of going Op shopping. Op shopping is basically going to a second hand shop and basically going through the rails and rails of clothes to find something that you most likely dont need but like and its only $2! or you might buy think you like it bring it home and never wear it!! Those of you that know me that that is exactly the kind of thing I like!! I decided though because of the limit of space in my suitcase to be very good AND because my choice of stuff for routing through wasnt exactly the kind of stuff I like.

But we spent over and hour there with 3 trips to the changing room and lots of hideous clothes and I came out of it with an 8 dollar pair of jeans!! Which I am proud to say I have worn many times since!!

Dolphin and Whale watching in Auckland

Dolphin and whale waching and been something I really wanted to do and I finally had te opportunity to do it in Auckland. After a hiccup-the first day i went they were all sold out even though i was told the previous day that there would be no problems!-I finally got to go one friday morning/afternoon. After a midmorning snack of none other than icecream-Im beginning to think that Ireland is the only place that doesnt do good icecream!- I set off for the boat in auckland harbuor for a 4 and a half hour trip of exploring for dolphins and whales. Not only was the day stunning, the guys that were doing the tour werent too bad either-they give you good value for your money the Kiwis!! We set off out to see the sun shining and lots of fresh air. We saw loads of penguins birds Islands and other boats but after 2 hours there was still no sign of either dolphins or whales. At this stage i was beginning to think I had wasted my money even though I we get a voucher to come back for free-but with only 10 days in New Zealand I wasnt really prepared to spend another day out on the hunt for dolphins and whales. But ALAS-always wanted to say that word- we get some hope when the driver thinks he has seen dolphins and whales up ahead. Now as we didnt have binochulars like he did, I was still a bit skeptical about it, but he didnt lie. Withing 10 minutes we were surrounded by more than 20 "common dolphins" swimming up and around the boat jumping around and racing the boat. It was so amazing. I couldnt stop taking pictures my camera actually went into a spasm. They stayed for ages around the boat, until we stopped the engine so as to not scare away the whale which we still hadnt seen.

After a few minutes it slowly came out of the water. We had to be super quick with our cameras as it only stayed above water for a few seconds. There was pushing and running across the boat, like girls fighting over the very last pair of designer shoes reduced to 50 euro... you get the picture. We saw the whale a few times after that and before we began to head back to Auckland we saw the mother whale and her baby calf. It was the most incredible thing. So Beautiful. I may only have seen them very briefly and may not have gotten the best pictures but I absolutely loved it. The outing was completely worth while, the day was completely fabulous, all until i got home and realised that I had a 10% discount voucher in one of my books! I couldnt believe I never looked! I contemplated going back and asking for my money but thought I would probably just be laughed out. Not only did I get to see whales and dolphins I also learnt some amazing things about dolphins and water and all that enviroment stuff.. It was such an enjoyable day!

Out and About Exploring in NZ

So after getting up at 7.30 and getting dressed and ready I was on the train into Auckland city centre at 9.35. That is actually amazing for Melanie.. she doesnt do early days!! But New Zealand is changing me. Unlike Argentina the people here are early morning people and early night people to. I bought a day pass on the train which meant I good use the train bus and ferry service however much I wanted for just $13! I arrived in Auckland and coming out of the train station the first place I saw was the ferry station so off I went. My first trip in New Zealand was to a place called Devonport which is about 12 minutes away on the ferry from Auckland. I arrived with the sun shining and the beach before my eyes. So before doing anything I had to dip my feet in the water and walk along the beach. And that I did. It was so pretty. After that I headed to the information centre. Possibly my favorite place in New Zealand because you get books of free information on every possible place here. Im so glad I didnt buy a tourist book back home! Stuff from the Kiwis is much better! As well as information they also have loads of discount coupons for every place possible!! Its fabulous... youd never find this in Ireland!

The lady there was really helpful and gave me the little booklets on places to see in Devonport. Now in fairness there wasnt very much apart from the chocolate factory...which I of course did visit! And then I just walked around enjoying the sun and water, having a delicious bacon and avocado panini in the sun before heading back to Auckland. It really was a lovely place. Back in Auckland I walked around and of course did some exploring in the shops although refrained from buying anything as I dont have very much room at the moment... dont know why!! It was then back to my location in Papakura.. I love the names of the places here, ones called Papatoetoe! Although its not pronounced as it looks!:( ) Although I had an early start I certainly had an early night and was in bed by 8.30/9.00!!

Although I was up again at 8 the next morning and on the 9.35 train back into Auckland! This time I went to explore Kelly Tarltons Underwater Aquarium! AND with my coupons I got discount on my entry fee!! Love New Zealand!! As for Kelly Tarltons it was pretty amazing! It had loads of types of fish that I had never seen before - or else Id just seen them on Finding Nemo, they even had Dora!! They had huge eels and even bigger cray fish! I did some exploring and then went and saw the fish feed which was pretty fascinating! I watched puffer fish crunch mussels and octopus try to escape from their tank! It was really fascinating the information I learnt to, although dont ask me to tell you what it was, I have short term memory!! After that they had a little cinema with a documentary about a man who went to Antarctica, and I do intend on going their on my next world trip!! Before heading back to Auckland I watched the shark feed and had great fun watching stingray being fed directly in front of my face and shark swimming around with fish tails hanging out of their mouth! After that it was back to Auckland city centre for some lunch and a trip to another information centre(telling ya the best part of New Zealand!) before heading back to Papakura where I ate fish for the first time in I dont know how long!! Are you amazed Mum?? I have a feeling Im going to be eating in much more, not by choice of course but out of politeness!!

The Journey to New Zealand

So Sunday evening was my departure from Buenos Aires and the beginning of the extremely long journey to get to Auckland. After a lot of oohing and awhing about flying or getting the bus to Chile I ended up that my adventure would be much more fun if I got the bus to Chile. And bus I did. We left at 5.30 PM and I thought I was lucky with only a few people on the bus before we made 2 more stops and picked up a bunch of men who thought they were studs even though they were nearly 50 years old!! But luckily I still had 2 seats to myself and lots of leg space and a body that was extremely tired! Unfortunately bus food is not as nice as plane food.. and that is saying a lot!!! My stomach, which has been quite adveturous over the past while, was not adventurous enough to eat the slop that was placed in front of me. I did manage 2 forkfuls but decided sleep would be a much better option! Luckily I managed to sleep through most of the night and woke up just in time to take lots of pictures of the Andes. It was a beautiful moring the sky was clear and I could see snow on top of the mountains which was really fabulous. The only not so fabulous part was the getting off the bus to go through customs. It was snowing at this stage and I did not bring the warmest of clothes with me-Oh i forgot to tell you that morning the lady gave me coffee even though I said no thank you and while I was holding it waiting for her to come back it spilt on my hoody!! I was so not impressed and when we arrived in Mendoza I spent my time in the toilet cleaning it, but wasnt very successful!- anyway So i had to get off the bus to go through customs and I was praying that I would not have the same problem as in Brasil. And Luckily I didnt but I did have to take all my luggage off the bus to put it through security check and I was really cold and still tired, and it was like early. Eventually we were back on the bus again on our final route to Santiago. We had to go round these big bends down the Andes and every time we went around the corner I thought the bus was going to goover the edge and I could hear the men up the front of the bus going "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH"! It was very funny for me! After a lot more picture taking we were out of the Andes and The Bucket List was on again! I fell asleep for most of it and woke up just in time for the ending so I have now seen the whole film! We made it to Chile at 2 oclock and I managed to change what little Argentinian pesos I had left and ask for directions and the easiest way to get to the airport. I was told to get the bus but after walking for a while to find the bus stop without success and having a sore hand I decided a taxi would be a much better option! With my I changed 100 of my argentinian pesos and got 13000 Chilean pesos.. that was not enough to get me to the airport.. I ended up having to pay the man in Argentinian and Chilean pesos.. thank goodness he was nice! Once again there was more money changing some food getting and a phonecall to mother to say I was alive and I have 3 and a half hours to wait till I could check in. No internet access in the airport, and not very compfy seats I sat my bum down with my Ipod and listened frm where I left off- Im listening to all my songs in alphabetical order... I made it to g by the time I got on the plane!- eventualy i could check in and after confusion of where to go I was finally checked in and cold go through security to the other side to do some more waiting there.

21.45 arrived and I could finally board the plane, I could not wait. But I was majorly let down. In Argentina I had done my research to see what films I could watch on the plane etc and I was so excited about what I saw I didnt intend on sleeping at all. But settling into my seat I realised I didnt have my own personal TV and would have to make do with the screen to my left which I couldnt see very well.. I was so disappointed!! After an edible meal I decided that sleeping would be the better option and after lots of tossing and turning I managed to get a couple of hours sleep.

I arrived in New Zealand at 4.00am on Wednesday the 9 th of April.. I left Argentina on Sunday the 6th April! And after making it through customs with lots of friendly faces can I add, I only had the wait till I was collected.. Ive become a professional waiter can I say.. very experienced at it all!! Thanks Luke for buying me my Ipod!!! I was collected at 5 am and managed to get an hour and a bits sleep before I was up for the day. But I made it and Im alive and Im glad to be here, and thats all that matters right now.

Time to Say Goodbye

My last week in Argentina will probably be my most memorable as I spent most of it in bed with flu temperature fever.. you name it I had it!! This was due to the getting wet wet wet in Iguazu and although it seemed fun at the time, theres always consequences!! Sunday morning I was feeling miserable but managed to make it to the cxountry for a BBQ but that night the illness hit hard and for a long time! I finally was feeling a bit better on thursday and managed to leave the house to go to Saras house, with nothing more than a few bleeding noses. Friday was my first day out and I felt like a stranger to Buenos Aires again. Having been cooped up for so long indoors I felt weird walking out on the streets! I only managed to go and do some shopping and then returned completely exhausted and ready for bed! Saturday was the saying goodbye to Mums friends day and I had lunch in one house and dinner in another. As well as doing some packing in the morning and when I got home that night. I managed to fit some ice cream in for the last time to. Sunday morning was spent packing and then lunch of pasta and sauce.. that i will miss.. was had in Saras house before jetting off to the bus station to catch the bus to Chile.

I was sad to say goodbye but there are some things that I certainly will not miss.
1. People making my business there business- I found that a lot of the time people were telling me what I should and shouldnt do. Where I should and shouldnt go, what way I should do things and this really frustrated me. I know it may all have been an act of kindness but I did find it quite annoying sometimes. This will not be missed.
2. Skinny girls- In my guide from 2005 it says that one in 10 girls has an eating disorder in Argentina. This did not surprise me one bit. The adds on Argentinian tv are about losing weights, family criticises you if you have a bit of weight on your body and girls certainly do not eat enough. I certainly will not miss feeling paranoid for enjoying my food.
3. MOsquitos.. oh the blessed creatures.. Ill be glad to get rid of them but as a final farewell present they decided to leave me with 10 bits on my legs... perfect for travelling!!
4.the openness of women- they have no problem walking around the house half naked or getting dressed in front of men or breastfeeding openly on the Subte... this I will not miss!!!


And of course there are the things I am going to miss to..
1 ICECREAM! I dont think I will ever be able to eat icecream again.. it will never taste the same
2Food.. Yes the icecream may have been good but so was the mountains of meat..
3. Sun.. First time I had sun in over 1 and a half years... My skin is returning to a normal colour!!
4. People finding out Im from Ireland and then after a bit more conversation telling me how good my spanish is.. A bit of a boost in the confidence alright!!!
5. Nights out with the girls.. geting ready doing lots of make up and having a giggle! Late nights and early mornings.. all will be missed!!

Ive made it to New Zealand.. Im alive and well.. I skipped atuesday and am having lots of early mornings but am really enjoying it. The journey here will be another blog but for now I just bought a ticket to go whale and dolphin seeing tomorrow I already have been on boat trips and thing Im going to go to the aquarium now.. I like it here.

Iguazu: Day 2 (Argentinian Side)

Another early morning but luckily no more queueing up in customs!! The Argentinian side contains up to 80% of the falls. So theres a lot more walking and a lot more water. Luckily I had my friends from the Brasilian side and 3 new girls from the states joined our bus trip that day to so we all stayed together and had lots of fun. UNfortunately we were not blessed with the glorious weather we had the day before and when walking back from "the devils throat" the heavens opened and absolutely soaked us. I found it very amusing and exciting and got some funny pictures. We arrive back to the train statioon with hair and clothes stuck to our body. After this i decided it would be worth buying a crappy little plastic bag jacket to put over me ... of course it didnt rain again after that!! Some more falls and lots more pictures later we went on a boat ride and got right up close and person with the falls. We went right into one of them and even though my plastic bag jacket was on I still managed to get completely soaked.. just after I dried off from the first water spell. We then jetted off down the river before getting off the boat and walking up way too many steps and getting a 4x4 through the rainforest and back to where we started. A fun day altogether. Back at the hotel myself and my enw friends decided to walk down to the 3 fronteers... this is where Brasil Argentina and Paraguay all meet. It was soo cool! Dont think Ive ever seen anything like that before. After some more picture taking we went back and I for the first and last time in Iguazu did not eat dinner on my own! It was such a pleasant evening, we sat and laughed lots and lots and talked and finished off the evening with a walk down through the top to look at the stalls... notice the lack of ice cream in this trip!??! Really enjoyed my time in Iguazu and was sad to leave the next day.. one more day would have done me nicely!!

Iguazu: Day 1: Brasilian Side

Last Wednesday I flew up to Iguazu in the north of Argentina and the border of Brasil to go visit the largest falls in the world: the Iguazu Falls. There are over 275 waterfalls here between Brasil and Argentina. I had the privelage of going to both sides.

I arrived on Wednesday with the sun shining and hardly a cloud in the sky. I was greeted in the airport by a man holding my name on a piece of paper-this was exciting as id never had that before and I always wanted it!- who brought me, along with some other people there, to the Hotel Saint George, where I was going to stay for the next 3 nights. In the mini bus he gave me my itinerary and I was horrified to see the times 08.00 and 08.10 there. That meant I was going to have to get up at 7 to have breakfast and be ready to leave at 8... I havent been up at 7 since I cant remember when. Even when i was working I didnt get up that early.. OR when I was in school!! And im supposed to be on Holidays!!!

But I dealt with this issue when I saw the pool and the big comfy loungers beside reminding me that I can relax all day and then go to bed early and I can come back after my adventures in Iguazu and relax some more. And that is exactly what I did. I sat and soaked the sun for the afternoon, relaxed in my room for awhile and then headed down to dinner. That was interesting. I arrived and had to ask for a table for one and when I sat down at the table the man took away the other place that was set. I felt like a girl that had been stood up on a date or something. Luckily I had my book to keep me company so i didnt look like a complete loser. I ate my buffet meal and headed back to my room and chose between my 3 beds before "hitting the hay" to get a good nights sleep before horrible sound of the hotel phone being my alarm clock woke me up at 7 AM...

And at 7 AM it did wake me.. Oh and can i just say I actually set my phone alarm for 6.45 just to wake me up a little bit, now that is really ridiculous! I literally pulled myself out of bed at 7 and managed to get myself dressed. Luckily breakfast made me feel better, lots of nice fruit and sweet food and by 8 i didnt feel that bad after all! We headed for the border between brasil and argentina, handed in our passports, waited for ages, got our passports back, drove, got off the bus, filled in some paper, waited some more, and then I was next to get my passport stamped. I get to the lady she looks at my passport.. and asks me where my parents are. I explained I was on my own and this girl is staring at me and looking at my passport showing my date of birth to the girl next to her and shaking her head. Eventually my tour guide had to come up and say that I was only going to brasil for the day and that I was returning to Argentina that day, and the passport was stamped and I was on my way! It was almost 10 by the time we reached the park.

After a little bit of a walk we were finally able to see the beauty of the waterfalls. It was breathtaking! a fabulous panaromaic view. The fabulous day contributed majorly! We walked along side the falls for awhile before getting pretty close where there were rainbows everywhere! it was truly fabulous! Words cannot describe how fabulous it looked! Lots of photos were taken to try and capture the beauty of it all! The trip was finished off with a wuick trip in a lift to get a view from up high and then it was off to lunch before more passport stamping and heading back to Argentina to relax in the sun for the afternoon. And then have dinner on my own...again.

Jardin Japones Y Zoologico

When the sun is shining in Buenos Aires thers no better way to spend the day then exploring the greenery that this Enormous city contains. For me it was going to the japanese gardens and the zoo. I set off on my own one morning.. with my walking shoes-well I wouldnt exactly call them walking shoes but Id say there the most suitable shoes for walking that I have here!-to explore these fine places, with the sun shining brightly and my earphones in my ears it couldnt get any better. I got off the bus and walked the fine streets that i walked to Museo Malba and more before I reached the Japanese gardens. If your not a fan of fish...dont go there! I learnt this the hard way. The pond in the middle of the japanese gardens is filled with dozens upon dozens of these huge fish staring up at you opening and closing there mouths looking for food. Walking across the bridge I was terrified I was going to fall in and be eaten alive by these not so appealing creatures. Apart from that the gardens were beautiful. The sun showing off every beautiful aspect there! A pleasant but quick trip, plenty of photos taken- especially of those fish, and lots of sitting in the sun.

After that I set off to the zoo. With a brief explanation from the girl in the Japanese Gardens of where it was I set off to find it. It didnt take me long to find the zoo, but it did take me awhile to find the entrance! I walked the whole way around the zoo before I found the entrance!! But the fabulous animals I saw inside made it worth it! The Toucan I loved, and the fact that you could buy special food for feeding the animals was pretty cool. Although i didnt do that..Maybe next time! I spent hours taking in horrible smells and wandering around looking for animals that are on the map, I felt like a child again. It was great fun! Although the walking around for a very long time is something Im not used to, and walking all the way to the other end of the zoo and back again..just to get to the exit and walk all the way back to the other end on the outside is not the most fun!! BUT when you finish it off with a trip to an icecream parlour... it just makes it all ok!!