Everyone knew today was going to be a sad day. We would be saying goodbye to two Follow That Fire Engine so solid crew members. Kate ‘Extreme’ Bartishel has been an FTFE ambassador from the beginning and Chris ‘Danger’ Hallward up-ed his game by securing press coverage for our arrival in Auckland, amazing. These are going to be some pretty big shoes to fill for the stage 7 crew. Some how waking up in tents in Margaret’s back garden seemed to ease the pain, as did our trip to Oliver’s bakery for some of the most dubious breakfasts of the expedition so far; fish pie, cold pizza or cheese and mince pie anyone?
JUST PLAIN SILLY : Why go down river rapids on a raft, that would be far too straight forward. Grab a piece of plastic and chuck yourself down there, that makes makes far more sense. For 2 hours this morning we smashed our way down the Kaituna river, one by one taking it in turns to enter washing machine after washing machine. Exhausting stuff but proper comedy. Not sure if Kate and Amy had much fun for the latter sections as each of the rapid bashings took their toll. Battered and bruised but a great way to start any day …
Leaving stinking Rotorula behind, we heading up the coast towards Whangamata. Jamie has done a world class job as the Route Master General for stage 6. It has been flawless especially during the busiest period in New Zealand, the Christmas holidays. It has been showcase of just how incredible and exciting this superb country is. World class mountains, glaciers, beaches and lakes. With this back drop a ridiculous number of activities to thrill yourself silly. With all this in mind, the big man really let himself down today …. and so did NZ. Jamie and wifey Kate were both overly excited about the Giant Kiwi. Their description of this “attraction”was met with much mocking from me as I have been burnt before with the “big banana” in Australia. To keep Jamie and Kate happy we decided to stop off at the epic Giant Kiwi. From the road it was obvious that yet again, the giant pointless stuff in Australia and New Zealand was a bit silly. Read more →
No Point: Feeling sick as a parrot after my skydive
Day 165 was one of the shortest driving days of stage 6 but for me it was one of the hardest. Most people are aware that I have a rather competitive streak and within the FTFE crew it’s well known that I like winning, dominating, being noisy and excited. So when we arrived Queenstown – the adrenaline capital of NZ people people were a bit unsure of why I didn’t want to throw myself off a cliff, canyon or out of a cable car in the name off bungee related activities. Steve was not sure of whether to publicly mock me, goad me or laugh in my face for not being extreme. Instead of these, he decided to not say anything at all and opted for acting like he completely understood if I didn’t fancy being part of the extreme crew. This was worse than the public goading and he knew it.
We’re getting up at half five? On boxing day? OK then. And this is how it has generally been on Stage 6. Who needs sleep? We can do that later. The journey today is a biggy: Kaiteriteri to Picton and then on to the Tongairio National Park (for Lord of the Rings geeks – Jamie – that is where Mount Doom is). We’re looking at a travelling time of about 14hrs. Good job we didn’t celebrate Christmas too hard . Thank you South Island, action packed adventures in beautiful and dramatic landscapes.
Kate and I only have three days left? How quick was that. Feeling a bit melancholic as I write this, and thinking about the highlights my thoughts return to the good times with the Stage 6 crew. I think we have worked really well as a team with a lot of laughs and banter. Good natured banter, with the exception of an outrageous wide call by Steve during beach cricket on Christmas day. Thankfully we lost the ball, which saved me ruining the day with my petulance. Read more →
Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope Santa has been good to you this year!
Being on the other side of the world at Christmas time feels funny. They don’t really do it like we do. If you didn’t know it was ‘the season to be jolly’ it might feel like any other summers day. All week we’d been trying to make ourselves feel Christmassy; tinsel in the cab, Christmas songs on the radio and even a little Christmas tree from the 2 dollar shop. Nothing seemed to be doing the trick. We still missed our family and friends, the cold, crazy Christmas shoppers and even brussel sprouts.
On Christmas day we decided to trade in the traditional turkey and trimmings to do Christmas how the kiwis do it.
A blog from Barham (Back in OZ). Day 134 “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving…” Albert Einstein
I must have started trying to write this blog a thousand times. It is now very late even by my standards. However in this instance the delay is not due to having to write in the back of Martha as she hurtles along. I am now safely back in Blighty on a comfy sofa, tea in hand, laptop on my lap with a rapidly emptying biscuit barrel. It is because I still can’t quite comprehend what the hell just happened.
England saved the first test in Brisbane. I realise the third test is now underway but even so. To see the English cricket team bat with the mental strength of their Australian counterparts on foreign soil and smash numerous records has left me immensely proud but lost for words. Steve and I had the pleasure of witnessing this on Day 134 and my penultimate day on FTFE at the WACA in Brisbane and in its own right will go down as incredible experience. Singing with the Barmy Army to the glum faced but amused Aussies to the tune of Yellow Submarine, “Your next Queen is Camilla Parker Bowles” amongst many others as England dominated the day will live long in the memory of this proud Englishman. Read more →
After a big old day of driving yesterday, rest was on all our minds. No chance! After finally getting to bed at gone midnight it seemed almost pointless going to sleep as my alarm clock was set to silly o’clock (4.15am)!! But why I hear you ask… to swim with dolphins on Christmas Eve of course!
High Point: Swimming with hundreds of dolphins. It’s not often in life you get to do something so incredibly special on Christmas Eve, and we lapped it up realising how lucky we were. It is extreme sensory overload as hundreds of the excitable fellas jump and circle the divers.
Noisy Point: The only way to keep the dolphins entertained is to make as many ridiculous noises as possible. I sang Christmas carols in a very nigh pitched voice, which the dolphins seemed to like.
Risk enjoyment level: 1/10 (Jamie is dominating at the moment and making far too much noise about it)
Random Christmas celebration: We swung by the local fire station in Abel Tasman to say hello. Confused friendly faces as they thought we were some sort of surprise for their Christmas party
Jamie Abela reporting for duty. Hello Martha you beautiful young thing. So today was all about big scenery. BIG SCENERY. The Stage 6 crew awoke after a special night of celebration to a wonderfully glorious blazing blue sky day and Lake Tekapo was there for the taking. Thanks to the outstanding generosity of Richard Rayward and the awesome gang at Tekapo Air Safaris the crew were able to take to the sky for a scenic flight over New Zealand’s Southern Alps with magnificent views over Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and the big monster that is Mount Cook (12,316 feet). The scenery made our eyeballs explode and Steve and I needed a dip in the lake to cool off our excitement levels.
After chatting and snapping with the local reporter, we eagerly jumped back on board Martha for the next adventure on Stage 6. Domination Queenstown was almost complete. We’d jumped, fallen, propelled, jet boated, and sweated. We stared death in the face, and survived. There was just one more bridge to hurl ourselves off…
The Kawarau Bridge became the world’s first commercial bungy site in 1988 and a trip to the adrenalin capital is not complete without ticking off the original. At 43 metres it doesn’t have the same fear factor as the Nevis, or the health risk of the Ferg, but what it does have is bus loads of photo hungry tourists and a need for style. Kate B was on official camera duty as the rest of Team Extreme harnessed up and got in line to put on a bungy domination workshop. A couple of perfect swan dives and crazy backwards pin drops later and we hit the road, FTFE – 1, Queenstown – 0.
Caveat: Although we are raising money for three fantastic charities: MacMillan Nurses, The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and the Fire Fighters Charity, we are also trying to make this loads of fun. Plus 100% of all money raised goes to the charities as this trip is self funded.
Fun: enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure.
Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.
If you wanted to pick somewhere for the extremes of both of the above emotions, the best place in world is Queenstown. My name is Chris Hallward, I have vertigo and this is my story.
. Thank you South Island, action packed adventures in beautiful and dramatic landscapes.
