A Rushed Ending

Oooh, we've been having all sorts of blog dramas over the last week or two (you might have noticed the dramatic decrease of postage) Lack of internet access and spending hours trying to unsuccessfully upload pictures means that I only have 40 minutes to try and get you up to speed with all our adventures... and this may well be my last blog, as Katie and I are parting in a days time!
Hopefully pics will appear soon to illustrate our high jinx on the Great Ocean Road outside Melbourne and Waheike Island. We headed straight to Waheike on our return to blessed New Zealand soil, and had three great days enjoying beautiful landscapes and an entire hostel to ourselves (apart from a lovely Scotsman called Craig and a lovely dog called Jess). Then we headed to Kate and Pheebs for a weekend of fun (see below).
Now we are in the absolutely stunning Coromandel Peninsula, which is one of the most breath-taking places in this most beautiful of countries! We are staying in a tiny seaside town and have hired a car (the very sexy and hip-hop Carnye), and have spent the last few days bezzing about the countryside. On Tuesday we drove to Coromandel town down the 309, a slightly terrifying track complete with blind hairpin bends and landslides over the road; however, we arrived safely at Coromadel, after stopping in at an ace water park, which had the most amazing playground for adults- flying foxes, a huge hamster wheel, and a flying bicycles ride (wait for the pics, they are awesome!) At Coromandel we went to the Driving Creek Railway, which is a tiny railway built by a sculptor to bring wood and clay down to his pottery. It runs through gorgeous woods and hills, with lots of sculptures nestled in to the bush as you pass- an absolutely amazing place! To top off a simply ripping day, we grabbed fish and chips and ate them by the seaside as the sun went down.
Yesterday we awoke to rain that would not stop for the entire day. We decided that the only thing to do in such weather was eat A LOT of food. So we hot-footed it down to New World supermarket and had a roast chicken dinner for lunch (and scones with jam and cream for afternoon tea). OH MY GOD! The biggest news that I can't believe I haven't mentioned earlier- I have started drinking tea! (Okay, so maybe only Newsomes will understand the hugeness of this event, but believe me, after 24 years of never touching the stuff, this is a big change!) Hello, kt here. Sal didn't know how to continue this post because she didn't know how best to mention the latter part of yesterdays events (hee hee). After our chicken lunch some new folks arrived at the hostel, one of whom was a gorgeous young man by the name of Scott. We had a jovial game of NZ Genius Edition trivial pursuits with said hottie, and his dad Steve, and later that evening we accompanied them to the local karaoke, along with their travelling companion Helen. To cut a long story short, myself, Helen, and Steve went home to bed about 12, but Sally and Scott stayed out and took the long way home, not returning until 3.30ish. I'll leave her to tell you what happened when she sees you. Oy oy!!
Today the sun came out and we had a gorgeous day. We drove to Hot Water Beach and dug a little pool to soak our feet in, very enjoyable. We then drove to hahei (great name) with the hope of having a chocolate fudge brownie at luna caf, but it was closed. Nevertheless we had a scrumptious meal at another caf. We then walked to Cathedral Cove, and then winded our way home for our penultimate night togther before the parting of the ways. More about that above. Adieu. xxx