Monday 18th Andrew dropped me off in town shortly after 7am, head into Downtown Backpackers to wait - can see the bus outside. Bus due to leave 745, by about 720 check and see the driver is onboard, so can go get rid of my bags, and grab the front seat. Today we have James as a driver - turns out to be a little mad! After quite a long time driving round collecting in Welliigton, we're on our way out through some picturesque countryside, which becomes a bit lost in the mist & rain. We get a good stop-off at [View Full Entry]

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Friday 15th Flight was with Sounds Air and was $61 with Magic, a whole $2 more than the ferry! The ferry was due to get in 415pm, but after waiting an hour for our flight, everything was stowed in the hold and we grabbed one of 12 seats... Think the more spectacular scenery may have been on the other side of the plane but never mind - still some nice views from my side, and thankful the weather was so good. Plane ride still a bit bumpy, especially as we landed in 'the windy city', but we were soon down/off with [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 13th So, a nice trip on the bus again, a short journey this time, stopping for a bacon and egg toasted sandwich, and to see the seal colony shortly before Kaikoura. Kaikoura is the place to swim with dolphins, go whale watching, or fly over whales. Also spotted a wine tasting place. Who knows, but today I fancy checking out the information centre, posting off yet another parcel (so I don't have to have it in my bag when I fly to Wellington on Friday), and going for a 3.5 hour walk round the coastal pathway. Picked up some leaflets, [View Full Entry]

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Monday 11th Lot of noise 630 as a big group leaves the hostel, get up 745 (lie-in for a bus morning!), ready in plenty of time and get the front seat on the bus. Back with Ryan, who was driver from Nelson to Franz Josef. Expecting to get into Christchurch by 1ish so not too much travelling today. Find I'm not on the travelling list, so probably not booked in my hostel either... If you want something done, always do it yourself!! We stop 10ish at Geraldine, café/souvenirs and 5 people are getting off for a days rafting. Am in my [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 9th Thank goodness I woke 650am, as my alarm clock has stuck at 1130! Quick dress/finish pack/brekkie before Campbell, with Isaak/Luke, takes me into the city centre to catch my bus. I'm fairly sure the bus time is 815, but it could be 8am so I want to be sure I'm on time. We get into town and the Octogon, where my stop is, is blocked off, so we find the 815 backpackers and wait there and sure enough the bus turns up on time! Waving goodbye, I find out our driver is Greg before we stop at our first [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 6th Onto the bus, and there's Netty again! Bus makes a stop at Cromwell for breakfast - I resist more, but not the stop in Lawrence where they have an amazing choice of Tip-Top icecreams - and end up with the biggest amount of ice-cream ever - and for one of the cheapest prices! Then, before you know it, we're in Dunedin. It's Waitangi Day (when Europeans/Maoris signed a treaty - NZ's birthday essentially), so there's some extra stuff on/some stuff closed! I collect some info from I-Site, drop my bags off and wander round the central area, before collecting [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 5th Great sleep, wake up pretty early, and by 830 am breakfasted and out the door. Wander around the top of town looking out for the Queenstown Hill walk. It's a pretty hot day so hope the timings are about right and that I have enough water. I meander up, stopping at good viewpoints to read a chapter of my book before reaching the top where I sit for an hour or so contemplating the view/reading my book, before heading back down at a relaxed pace. Into Fergburger, which was even better than I expected, then onto the waffle/ice cream [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 3rd Get up early to do my washing, have brekkie and pack my overnight bag. I'm a bit late checking out but they weren't worried as I said I would be. Bed had been nice - nice mattress/sheets, etc so slept pretty well. Shame can't come back (except to pick up my bag!) but never mind! Netty turns up so have a nice chat... Again. 1130 am picked up by Real Journeys and we head for Manipouri where we have 45 minutes of shuffling around and find out that we've all been told different things about room prices - I [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 2nd Early start - we've got a long way to go today. We have a very talkative driver, and a second driver who's being trained on the route/bus. We get lots of info about the lake, the route, New Zealand drivers (much higher fatality rate than in the UK, as no formal training require), lots of comments on tourists, and the guys obviously a 'huntin, shootin, fishin' kinda guy. Very beautiful area with lots of low-lying cloud. Takes best part of a couple of hours to get to Te Anau, where we take a half-hour break. Back on the bus, [View Full Entry]

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Thursday 31st January Bus is 20 minutes late and the driver has no record of us to be picked up, which I find quite worrying, but still, we're on the bus (only because he was dropping some others off), and off we go. Bus is pretty full - most seats double occupancy, rather then 2 for 1! Find a double seat free though - bonus! Bus sets off en route. Bus driver Karl points out a few things, then stops at Mrs Jones' fruit stall - plenty of fruit, but also the option of a freshly made ice cream. I opt [View Full Entry]

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