A 12 hour day trip to Milford sound is apparently one of the highlights of New Zealand, so we booked on, and it was!!!! We set off on a long coach journey down to Milford at 7am and basically enjoyed the scenery, stopping off at various points along the way for photos. We also got to pass through the Homer Tunnel which was dug out of the mountains years ago, very impressive. We arrived at the boat at 12.30 and were given a free lunch and a brew before we set off. The boat journey was just under 2 hours through [View Full Entry]

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So, next stop Wanaka, with a few detours on the way. So glad i took the Magic Bus now, if you did it alone, you'd miss out on so much. The drivers have so much local knowledge and explain stuff during the journey about the history of places, and stop off to let you wander around. The big stop this morning was Lake Mattheson, one of the most photographed sites on the South Island. Beautiful place, we had an hour to walk around it and get the essential pics. We carried on into Wanaka, not a lot of people got off [View Full Entry]

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Up early again after the Brewery tour, and a bus ride down to Franz Josef to go see a really big Glacier! Not a long journey today, so only 1 stopover in a sleepy little town for a breakfast break. We arrived at lunch time and immediately set off on a trip to the might Glacier, which is ridiculously impressive! We'd both signed up for the half day glacier climb, but at the last minute, Royston changed his mind! So, as i climbed the huge glacier, which was tough going, he took the public transport to the top.........public transport if you're [View Full Entry]

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So, off across to the other coast...The Wild West as everyone calls it. Bit of a long journey over, but again, lots of stops to watch seals, go for walks, so it breaks the journey up well! We were treated to hours of great views, and arrived in Greymouth early evening. Just a quick stop over here, not much to do apart from the Monteith's Brewery tour! So we checked in, and quite a few of us headed over. It was only a tenner, and you got the full tour which was ok, but the tastings were great! 7 different ales [View Full Entry]

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So after doing nothing but lounge in Kaikoura, we were up early the next morning for the drive to Nelson. We had to change buses for some unknown reason and the new bus decided to pump out thick black smoke and go at a maximum speed of 5mph after a while! So we had to limp back to the first bus, which took a good couple of hours, and set off again! The drive itself was stunning again, New Zealand really is the most beautiful place you can see! Not 1 part of the scenery is normal, everything is stunning!! So, [View Full Entry]

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WOW, the drive into Kaikoura was stunning! This really is a great place. Sadly, due to the bad weather, all whale watching was cancelled, still, i had the scenery. Found a great hostel and went for a wander, cut short by the hailstorm! Everyone was hostel bound, not a bad thing tho, as i plumped myself infront of a wood burner, fed it plenty of logs, and warmed up in an armchair! Later on i braved the weather, but was again beaten by the hail! Worth it tho, the mountains around there are something else, and managed to get a few [View Full Entry]

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So, New Zealand's pretty cold at the moment..... and it's prob gonna get to -5 with a -10 windchill!! I think i was the only person in Christchurch wearing shorts the other day!! The first night we stayed in Jail. Well, it was a jail till 1999, it's now a hostel, and a swish hostel. We were in cell 16, real authentic, but made a lot nicer. Proper cast iron cell door, and the beds were really comfy, the ones used in the athletes village for the Melbourne Commenwealth games no less! The place was great, and slightly cheaper than it [View Full Entry]

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So, the bus to Byron Bay!! Intresting to say the least! We got the bus at 3.30 in the afternoon, and arrived at 6.30! It was glorious sunshine as we left Brisbane, but that soon changed! From 5pm it turned pitch black and a storm hit big time! The rain was coming down hard, the driver had trouble controlling the coach due to the winds, and was constantly dodging huge fallen trees. The roads were dark as the power was out in pretty much every town, all the way to Byron! When we did arrive, it was like a ghost town! [View Full Entry]

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Flying out of the disaster zone was a barrel of laughs... the plane was all over the show, so i was more than happy when it landed safely in Sydney! We checked into a new hostel and headed out in search of cheap eats. I noticed someone holding a sign saying $2 steak night at The Shark Hotel! My backpacker side rejoiced at cheap food, my foodie side wondered how a $2 steak could possibly be any good...... We found the place, and it was suprisingly nice, i was imagining The Brookdale or The Sun Inn! Anyway, i ordered the steak, [View Full Entry]

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Brisbane It rained, all the time That's it! Well, a tad more...... We were up really early for the flight to Brisbane, and got a bus to the tin pot airport! However, the fog was shocking, so we thought the flight may be delayed, and it was. We were stuck in the tin shed for 4 hours. We landed in Brisbane in the late afternoon to be greeted by storms! We found a boozer right next to the Hostel doing cheap food, or so we thought, and settled in! The food ended up being not so cheap, clever advertising on their [View Full Entry]

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