A Foggy Welcome to the South Island!

Having got an overnight ferry from Wellington to Picton, we started driving down the West Coast to Franz Josef in the glacier country.

The west coast drive is supposed to be filled with dramatic views of the coastline with beautiful rock formations and crashing waves ... but unfortunately most of our view was obscured by thick fog!!  We still managed to glimpses of stunning scenery at certain points on our drive.

Punakaiki, aka Pankake Rocks is seen on the left.  This is home to the dramatic scenery of the limestone country of Paparoua National Park.

These formations seen are limestone, and began forming 30 million years ago when lime-rich fragments of dead marine creatures were depostited on the sea bed and became overlaid with soft mud and clay.  This sead bed was raised above sea level by earthquakes and this formed the dramatic coastline we see today

Tongariro National Park

This is where Mordor was filmed!!! And it is home to Mount Ngauruhoe which is Mount Doom!

This is the oldest National Park in NZ and is acknowledged as a mixed world heritage cultural and natural site.  The three active volcanoes are found in the centre of the park and can be seen in the picture on the left.

Mount Ruapehu in the centre is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and is the largest most active volcano in NZ.
Alex aka Ankit attempted the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in full snow gear as seen on the left.  Marty, Melman and I drove part of the Volcanic Touring Loop starting from Turangi.

A 1 hour walk in the snow from Whakapapa village, led us to the Taranaki falls, seen on the right.  Tumbling 20 metres over the edge of a large lava flow which erupted from Ruapehu 15,000 years ago, the falls plunge into a boulder ridged pool. This pool was half iced over - it was stunning!

Look who fell out of the sky?!?!

Taupo

Geothermal activity at Craters of the Moon

We learnt a lot about geothermal activity at Taupo and Rotorua.  This is common in New Zealand because it lies on the edge of two colliding tectonic plates.  Large pools of magma, heat underground water to extremely high temperatures.  When this water rises rapidly through cracks and faults, its boils produces steam and results in steam vents, hot springs, mud pools and geysers.

Craters of the Moon, near Huka falls in Taupo, is a perfect example of this.  This area is still very active and expanding.

Waio-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

At the Waio-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, we saw similar wonders.  This is also an active geothermal area, which has many hot springs noted for their colourful appearance, as well as boiling mud pools.

Huka Falls

Huka Falls are situated near Taupo, on the Waikato River that drains the lake Taupo.  The volume of water flowing through approaches 220000 litres per second!!

Fishing lines of the Glowworms

Waitomo caves are a cave system thought to be over 2 million years old.  The main caves are the Waitomo glowworm caves, Ruakuri cave and Aranui cave.  There are fantastic stalactite and stalagmite displays in the limestone.  As well as this, there is a fantastic presence of glowworms, providing light in the darkness.  Below you can see a photo of the glow-worms and their fishing lines - which are used to catch food for the glow worms!

Takapuno and Devonport

Leaving our mark at Muriwai

Muriwai beach is situated on the West Coast of Auckland.  We visited this enchanting coastline, on our way out from Auckland, afterwards heading down South.

This beach is famous for its black sand.  This is due to the iron content derived from the volcanoes in the surrounding area.  The sand is eroded igneous material from volcanic areas.  Longshore drift, causes this black mineral sand to be carried up the west coast from Mount Taranaki.

The magical Muriwai beach

The beach is also known for surfing, fishing and sailing.  It also houses the region's only gannet colony.

As you can see from this picture, the place was magical - the black sand added a mystical quality to the scenery, and this combined with mist surrounding the distant scenery, made us feel we were looking out onto an enchanted land.

It was truly bewitching seeing the landscape and watching the sun set over this enchanting beach,

Narrow Neck Beach at Devonport

Earlier in the day, we visited a more traditional beach - Narrow Neck Beach - in one of Auckland's suburbs.    This was actually a location we hadn't intended on visiting, but stumbled upon on our drive to Takapuno.  It was deserted!

Beautiful clear water, golden sand ... and not a person in site!  Definitely worth a visit ... and there's a lovely cafe there too :)

The disappearing Cannon at North Head

At Devonport, we visited North Head - which has a disappearing gun, used in a war against the Russia, and also underground dungeons.

Pretty cool - plus the views of the harbours and islands of the gulf were stunning.  The only downside was it was pretty windy up top!!!!

More soon xxx

BIG NEWS - Reunited with Alex in New Zealand!!!!!!!

After a LONG, gruelling flight ... via Dubai and Melbourne - the Madagascar crew find themselves in the beautiful country of New Zealand!!!

As a lover of nature, wildlife ... but most importantly, volcanoes - Gloria is super excited!!!  Marty and Melman are not only excited to skydive and bungy etc etc, but for the group to be reunited with Alex the Lion, who has been in America all this time!!

Look who fell out of the sky?!

It's Alex!!! Flying like a bird with Kim over the beautiful Lake Wanaka :)

So, what have we been up to in New Zealand so far??

Albert Park ... we saw some girls climb in, swim
and drink the water as a dare for their 21st Birthday!!

I'll cover Auckland in today's blog update.  Auckland was very cosmopoliton... quite like the UK but as it's much newer, has more modern less traditional buildings.  We walked all over town, sat by the harbour, visited Albert Park and went up the SkyTower.  

 We even managed to watch a show at the Civic Theatre - The Illusionists.  The theatre itself was beautiful, with Indian inspired motifs in all the public foyers including seated Buddhas, twisted columns and domed ceilings.

View from the Sky Tower in the evening...
looking over the central CBD of Auckland

The show featured 7 internationally renowned magicians performing a mix of unbelievable optical illusions including acts of levitation, mind-reading and death defying escapes.

We also explored the area around Auckland - going to Mount Eden and also taking a ferry to the beautiful volcanic island of Rangitoto.

In a lava cave

Rangitoto is the youngest of the islands from the Hauraki Gulf and emerged from the sea around 700 years ago in a series of volcanic explosions.  It is visible from the mainland and looks particularly impressive from the skytower.  Rangitoto's name has been translated to mean the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed, relating to a major Maori battle at Islington Bay about 1350. 

The island is uninhabited, and has an element of tranquillity.  There is solid cooled lava all over the island, and lava caves which hikers are able to explore.  

A geographers paradise!  Who knows when this beautiful dormant volcano will erupt again ... maybe next time we visit, the land will look different...

Jumping for joy

We also visited Mount Eden - which is the highest volcano in the Auckland region.  It has erupted several times, with the last occasion 15,000 years ago.  

As you can see, the view of Auckland CBD was great - despite the rain clouds!  Mount Eden is known as Maungawhau in Maori, the English name honours the first Earl of Auckland George Eden.   The huge crater is 50m deep!!!!

Mount Eden crater

Mumbai Madness

We were lucky enough to spend a few days in Mumbai with Gloria's family.

Marty, Melman and Gloria flew with JetKonnect from Delhi to Mumbai, but also had to take a bus in between to get to the right terminal!  It was scorching hot!  We met so many curious people in the airport who asked about our onesies, and why on earth we were wearing them!  A few brave little girls came to have photos taken with us, and asked us lots of questions - was great to see such young inquiring minds at work.

 At the Mumbai airport bag collection, we met an attendant who came up to us and gave Melman a hug!!  At first got confused and thought he knew us from somewhere ... but actually he was just super impressed at our costumes!!!!!  We spent quite a while talking to him, and he was friendly and promised to spread the word re Plan-UK.  Lets hope he does!

In Mumbai, we spent lots of time with Gloria's family whilst also eating LOTS of amazing food, visited sites all over Mumbai and relaxed a lot.

We visited Elephanta caves in South Mumbai, via ferry.  The island probably houses more monkeys than residents!  The monkeys are so used to visitors bringing food, that they know how to steal food and open cartons etc etc.  We saw monkeys opening bottles and drinking from them - like humans! ... eating Kulfi ice cream, and creeping up on unsuspecting picnickers.  It was so funny to watch!!

We also visited India gate, Dhobi Ghat, Victoria Terminus, Crawford Market, Hanging Gardens, Colaba Market - to name just a few!

The few days we got to spend in Mumbai, were fantastic.  Seeing family, relaxing and sightseeing - the perfect recipe for a good break!

A Weekend Trip to Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the North West of India in the state of Punjab, found on the border of India and Pakistan.  It is home to one of the most beautiful temples in the world - The Golden Temple - a Sikh Gurdwara.

Marty, Melman and Gloria took a flight to Amritsar from Delhi - causing much amusement as usual!!!  The JetKonnect flight crew were really interested to know about the fundraising we were doing and also the work of Plan-UK.  Unfortunately this was the first time we faced any negativity to our cause.  We were in the Delhi airport and a curious child was asking us why we were dressed as we were.  He seemed quite amused by our rationale and was very interested in seeing our pictures.  Later on, his father then came and asked us about our fundraising and where we were from etc.  His response was "I suggest you go and clean up your London slums, before ours" and then walked off.

Unfortunately there are always going to be some that will oppose good work and continue to work.  However I would urge all those that are negative towards the cause, to imagine if their children had to grow up living with 5 others in a small room, made from corrugated metal, with no running water, animals living next to them, faeces on the floor, no education etc.  We are lucky to be born into families with opportunities for work, access to education, safe water and food.  Everyone has a right to this.

Rant over ... sorry.

In Amritsar, we visited the Wagha border and the simply stunning and magical, Golden Temple.

To get into Wagha border there was a crowd of at least 5000 people.  No orderly queuing seemed to exist ... just shoving.  Pushing and shoving.  It was insane!!  The Indians waiting to get through to see the parade were incredibly patriotic and desperate to get into the small 'stadium' with limited seating.  As soon as the gates opened, the crowd began running through to get to the next security station.  As British Indians, used to queuing, we were completely out of our comfort zone!!

The parade consisted of lots of bollywood and bhangra dancing, displays with the India flag, patriotic songs etc.  There was also a ceremony involving soldiers from both the Indian and Pakistani sides, and a ceremonial handshake between both sides.

There were some foreign visitors (us included) who had to sit in a designated foreigners area, some VIPs, and thousands of Indians who had come to see the show.  It was fascinating the range of individuals that had come - small children, schoolchildren, parents, grandparents, able-bodied, disabled etc etc.  Although it is amazing to see such dedication, to me, I found it saddening at the same time. What once had been one united country, had been split into two, and with such animosity.

We visited the Golden Temple twice - once in the evening and once in the early hours of the morning.  It was one of the busiest yet most peaceful places, I have ever visited.  The temple is sort of hidden, in the depths of the town, surrounded by shops and restaurants.  Once you enter, the magnificence of the building, and shimmering reflection in the water, strikes you.  So many people were visiting the temple, but yet there was a beautiful tranquillity about the whole temple.

There were people bathing in the water surrounding the temple - considered to be holy nectar; children praying; individuals in deep meditation; parents teaching their children about traditions; the langar canteen.  The temple itself has 3 different floors. Each with the holy manuscripts and gurus.

The early morning visit, meant we went at exactly the right time for one of the religious ceremonies.  Even at 4am in the morning (when we expected fewer vistiors), there were thousands of people.  Not just adults - children too!  We joined in with the ceremony, following the actions of those around us.  Although we felt slightly out of place, we were privileged to experience an aspect of the culture.

Truly amazing.

Don't forget to donate at www.justgiving.com/onesiesaroundtheworld.  

Marty, Melman and Gloria go to the IPL

This is a post-dated blog!  On May 10th we went to see Delhi Daredevils play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi.

It was an extremely hot Friday evening, despite the match starting at 8pm.  In our onesies - we were ROASTING!  Sweating bucketloads and attracting a LOT of odd and concerned looks we settled down to watch the match.

The match was AMAZING.  RCB batted first having lost the toss.  Chris Gayle was out cheaply but Virat Kohli, captain, scored a mammoth 99 with some huge sixes off the last 2 overs.  AB de Villers also contributed with some impressive sixers too.  Gloria tried to make Marty and Melman join in with the Jumping Japang dance ... but was unsuccessful.  See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOjOK9ujw-o for some funny viewing!!

Delhi put up a good fight, keeping a high run rate but unfortunately losing wickets regularly.  The chase went right to the last over of the match, with RCB successfully winning off the last ball.  It was truly brilliant experiencing the vibrant, noisy and enthusiastic atmosphere.  And despite it being a mainly home crowd for Delhi, the great performance by RCB was applauded and appreciated by all.

We had an amazing (but incredibly sweaty!) evening :)

Please keep donating at https://www.justgiving.com/onesiesaroundtheworld for this amazing cause.  As shown in my previous blogs, the living conditions in the slums are dreadful.  By empowering these children with an education they have the opportunity to move out of the slum and improve their quality of life.  Let's work together to make this happen.  

A Life-Changing Day

Today we went out with the Smile Train Charity car!

Marty, Melman and I, went out to the slums with Kanaya and his driver. Kanaya is employed by the charity to explore villages and some of the poorest areas of Delhi to find children or adults with cleft lip or cleft palate related problems.  On paper this sounds easy.  In practice, this is very very difficult.  Imagine facing 40 degree heat everyday without air conditioning or a fan.  Not only this, but walking so many kilometres in the sun, through filthy slums trying to convince the poorest of poor to make the journey to the hospital.  For those individuals, it means a day not earning money, and some are even unable to pay for the journey itself.  Even those who are convinced to have the initial operation are lost to follow up afterwards, and it is up to Kanaya to visit their homes and to try and convince them to return for follow up operations and speech therapy etc.  The word is spread via leaflets and also word of mouth.

I consider myself fairly well travelled, however nothing could prepare me for the sights and smells of the slum.  Small shops lined alleyways, with small homes either alongside or behind.  Children running along the alleys in dirty clothes, with no shoes, picking food off the ground.  Water being delivered to areas of the slum by hose, and lines of people with buckets queuing to get enough water for the day.  Animals were living in people's homes - chickens, goats etc.  Tiny babies were being looked after by children under 10 years whilst their parents were at work.

I don't know how to describe what we saw that day.  The horrific living conditions, the children running around amongst faeces and animals... the list goes on and on.

The one positive thing, was Kanaya's work and commitment to this amazing cause.  

Temples & Gandhi Museums

Apologies for the delay in writing the blog!!!  But on a good note, we have lots to update you about!!

In this post I'll share with you our visits to Delhi's two Gandhiji museums, as well as our sightseeing to Birla Temple and the Lotus Temple.  

Having finished early at the hospital on Saturday, we set off to the National Gandhiji Museum near Chawri Bazaar.  We took the Metro to Chawri Bazaar and stepped out into the hubub.  The station entrance was amongst stalls in narrow alleys with traffic everywhere!!!  It was around 2pm and the sun was beating down relentlessly.  The heat was suffocating as we were weaving in and out of the stalls trying to find an auto-rickshaw (which unusually seemed to be a rare mode of transport in this part of Delhi!!).  In the end, we ended up braving a cycle-rickshaw to the museum.  Possibly not the best of ideas in the searing heat, but definitely was fun!!! (Not for Marty, who was sitting at the back with no shade from the sun)

The Gandhi Museum had different exhibitions - one for the different charkhas that were developed; one for photos from significant moments of his life; philosophical quotes, items of memorabilia and artwork of Mahatma Gandhi from all around the world.  The whole museum had so much information, but it was all presented in a very wordy fashion.  Great if you have a long concentration time - not so much, if you're like Gloria and get distracted easily!!

Birla Temple is also known as the Laxmi Narayan Mandir.  It is devoted to the Goddess Laxmi - Goddess of wealth and prosperity.  Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated this temple in 1939 on the condition that people of all castes were able to enter the Mandir.  Inside, there are beautiful murtis and paintings of hindu mythology.  Truly beautiful and peaceful - architecturally the temple is like no other I've visited.  

The Gandhi Smriti Museum, is situated where Gandhiji spent the last few years of his life, and also where he was assassinated.  There was a whole multimedia show here was interactive and informative.  Different modes of presentation were used to put across the information in a fun way, using all 5 senses.     

Lotus Temple is a Bah'ai House of Worship located in South Delhi.  It is open to all regardless of religion and is a place of meditation.  The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practised.

Ok... More tomorrow .. We're visiting the Delhi Slums!

xxx   

The Smile Train

On Wednesday, I was privileged to watch cleft lip and palate surgery by the hospital's plastic surgeon who is heavily involved in work for The Smile Train charity.  Meeting Dr Sood was inspirational.  Not only was his work delicate and amazing, his passion for the charity work he has undertaken, was inspiring.

A cleft lip and cleft palate is a congenital abnormality caused by abnormal facial development.  A 'cleft' means a 'gap', and causes non fusion of structures that are formed in the mother's womb.  Approximately 1 in 700 children are born with either a cleft lip or palate.  There are lots of different variations in location and severity of clefts.  These deformities are not just an aesthetic annoyance.  Secondary effects include speech articulation errors and mispronunciations  impact on their self confidence and can cause social anxiety.  Other complications cause trouble feeding and so malnutrition is common in these children.

Many children all round the world, with clefts, go untreated because the family is too poor to afford treatment.  Smile Train aims to provide children born with a cleft, the same opportunities in life as a child born without a cleft.  This involves offering completely free cleft surgery, with comprehensive rehabilitation including speech therapy, general dentistry and orthodontics.

Children from all over Delhi, and surrounding villages and slums are brought to Sant Parmanand Hospital for this fantastic charity work.  In fact, on Wednesday I will be lucky enough to visit the slums to find children who will benefit from these services.

What an amazing cause :)

The Smile Train - Preview

Today I met a really inspirational man who works for The Smile Train charity.  I'll write a full article for tomorrow, but in the mean time, please watch the video above.  

Gloria xxx

A Weekend of Taj & Akshardham

Having had a busy week at work, we were ready for a much needed 1 and a half day break.  Marty had been in the operating theatre by 7.30 am every morning, so relished the idea of a lie in!  Melman and Gloria had to attend the hospital briefly in the morning but were soon back at the hotel in need of rest.

Much of Saturday was spent resting - which involved watching The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum; napping; ordering room service; watching cricket etc etc etc.  We did however have exciting evening plans!  My consultant had invited us to accompany her to a wedding at the famous Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi.  For those of you unfamiliar with the location, let me enlighten you.  This is one of Delhi's finest 5* hotels.  It shows of stunning Mughal architecture, and is situated in one of the most distinguished areas of the city.  Needless to say, it's a high class venue ... and we had not planned on attending weddings, so had only work/casual clothes with us!  Cue panic.

We felt so privileged to be invited, but did not want to embarrass our consultant!!  So we rushed to the shops, bought some shirts for Marty and Melman, and a kurti for Gloria.


Having gotten dolled up, we were collected by Ma'am and taken to the hotel.  The decor of the hotel lobby was stunning ... lavish and contemporary but with traditional warmth and an elegant feel. We were still definitely undressed!!!! The wedding celebrations were a Sangeet evening for both the bride and groom's side of the family.  Exquisitely colourful sari's filled the banqueting room.  Flower arrangements on all the tables, and hanging decorations, added to the vibrant atmosphere.  There were dance performances by many  members of the immediate family, and this was followed by a buffet dinner.  The buffet dinner had stalls with different world cuisines.  There were chinese, italian, indian and chaat main courses, followed by an extravagant array of mithai and desserts.

The evening was a new experience for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Despite looking a little out of place, people were friendly and warm - encouraging us all to eat more!


Sunday, was spent at Akshardham Temple.  This beautiful complex was opened in 2005 and sits on the bank of River Yamuna in Eastern Delhi, adjacent to the 2010 Commonwealth Games village.  This is not just a temple, also onsite is the life story of Swaminaryan shown as a model exhibition and as an IMAX feature.  Not only this, but there is a boat ride which explore Indian culture and heritage; a musical fountain; the 'Garden of India' which has 65 bronze statues of major Indian leaders, politicians, scientists and other greats; a sunken garden and an extensive food court.

Inside the temple itself, there is a huge murti of Swaminaryan himself - 3.4m tall - and there are also other Hindu deities.  Intricate architecture can be seen throughout on the 234 pillars, 9 domes and 20,000 murtis.  Despite being full of visitors, the temple had an aura of peacefulness.  We explored the temple, and for me it was a place to reflect.  I am not particularly religious, but for me, visiting temples - or any places of worship - brings a certain calmness for the mind.  In fact, I always feel disappointment when I leave the temple, as I can feel the weight of my thoughts and troubles on my shoulders once more.

The musical fountain was a show held in the evening at 7.30pm.  The Yagnapurush Kund is the largest step well in India.  The kund measures 300 ft by 300 ft, and has a 27 feet murti of Neelkanth Varni.  The show was stunning.  It began with a puja.  This was a puja like none other.  Firstly, it was outside, and secondly the aarti was sung with such reverence you could not help but be in awe.  After this, there was a story of the circle of life regarding the Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.  This same story was then depicted using music, lights and water fountains ... in a fantastic show.


Once again we visited Connaught Place for dinner, and this ended our lovely weekend.

Lots of love,
Marty, Melman and Gloria.

PS - Sorry no cameras were allowed at Akshardham so we couldn't take pictures in character :(