Middle England to Middle Earth
After 18 months of planning and paying, the day had finally arrived! We were off on what was to be a momentous adventure, for me at least.
After all the things that the girls had had arranged for our Centenary Celebrations in the 2010 it was felt that something should be done for the leaders. A tour of New Zealand was suggested and all the interested parties gathered at Ashby HQ to discuss this possibility. Leaders from all over the Midlands Region attended and plans were outlined and information as to estimated costs and a timetable was discussed. Within this group were a small group, 12 of us, from across the region who, under the leadership of Jo Ross, aided and abetted by Sandra Collins, suggested that perhaps we could do something extra to the tour and make this a real mountain top moment. So the ideas were put forward. A visit and cruise to the islands of Fiji, the tour of South Island of New Zealand and finish with three days in Australia! Wow. What a great opportunity!!
We left England on January 12th and landed in Fiji on the 14th what a country! The weather was perfect although it was the rainy season. The three day cruise proved a five star experience. We were able to snorkel, swim, explore the Yasawi Islands and be entertained by locals with traditional songs and dances. Giving our own performance at an ‘International Evening’!
Before we left Fiji we were treated to a trip to Sabeto, a nearby village where we were to meet some guides and their leaders, this had been arranged by Jo who had contacted the local HQ and spoken to Elena commonly known as Hibiscus. What a great day we had. The girls welcomed us with traditional songs and dancing. The whole village turned out and we took part in their Kava ceremony. After a tour of the school and village we were treated to afternoon tea, all prepared by the girls. It was a magical day for me. It was a fitting end to a wonderful stay in this great group of islands.
So on to Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand the next leg of our journey. What a wonderful country. We arrived on the evening of January 19th where we were to meet the rest of the party. We made up a party of 38. After a welcoming dinner and introductions to the tour organiser, Susan Treacher and our tour guide Jenny, we were ready to start. The following morning at around 6am we were rudely awakened by an earthquake! It measured a whacking 5.1 on the Richter scale! Undaunted we left the hotel and started our tour.
We travelled down the East Coast all the way to Stewart Island. We stopped at various familiar named township such as Dunedin, and Invercargill. At each stop there were wonders to see and landmarks to photograph and memories to store. Both the driver and Jenny gave us snippets of history as we visited each place. We saw rain forests, crickets, heard bird song and marvelled at the exotic flowers and trees; and all the time the sun shone. We swam, walked, climbed and explored the coastline. A visit to Stewart Island meant a boat trip and a bus tour of the island and then a visit to nature reserve with a guided tour.
On our route up the West Coast of this Island we saw more wonderful sights. It was certainly a great contrast to the east side. There were lakes, mountains, and lots of blue sky!
We saw fur seals, wading birds, and Albatrosses and the blue penguins.
In Queenstown we went shopping in the town and then had dinner in the Skyline restaurant. This was reached with a trip in a gondola to the top of the mountain! The food was very good but the views from this height were better. Again activities were arranged such as heli-rafting, and a wine trail
After leaving Queenstown we made our way to the Fox glacier passing through towns such as Arrowtown, and Wanaka. Here some walked to the glacier, and others were taken on a ‘heli-hike’ they flew to the glacier and then explored it on foot for 2 hours. The others were driven to Lake Mathieson. We saw Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
We then visited Abel Tasman National Park, another wonderful day. We were ferried along the coast and dropped off, some of the party were kayaking, some were walking and some of us went swimming.
Driving on we visited Nelson, Picton and stayed at Hamner Springs. Here we enjoyed the natural thermal hot springs and so back to Christchurch.
Here we enjoyed another dinner which included an 80th birthday celebration for Geraldine, one of our group!! After all our goodbyes were said eleven of us made our way to the airport and on to Sydney Australia
Arriving at The Rocks a YHA hostel in Sydney, we quickly settled in. We could see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We now had some free time to enjoy Sydney. Two members climbed the Harbour Bridge, two members went on the Skywalk at the Sydney Tower, we explored the botanical gardens, used the ferry to Manly and visited the cathedral but highlight of all this was that we were able to attend a meeting of a Junior Guide Company. It was their first night back after their summer holiday. We were made very welcome and joined in with their activities
We all renewed our promise with the girls.
What a great ending to a wonderful adventure. One Mountain Top experience again!!
We arrived back in the UK on Sunday 6th February. Thanks to Jo and Sandra a good time was had by all!!.
Yvonne Hutchins, Uttoxeter Division