Soggy Bottom - 11th - 20th Dec 06

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The journey down to Queenstown was broken up by a couple of stops at Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. The lakes in this part of the world are truly stunning - pools of icy blue water, as it's generally glacial run off, flanked by snow capped mountains - just beautiful! We made a brief stop off in the very picturesque Wanaka where I ran around like a mad thing trying to organise some fizz and plastic glasses for one of the girls on the bus, Matilda's, 19th birthday. It was here that I was reunited with Vic and Dutchie who had gone ahead at Franz Josef and spent the night in Wanaka. One final stop was made at the Kawarau Bunjy Bridge, where the more mentally challenged members of the group chucked themselves off whilst only attached to an elastic band - apparently it's what all the cool kids are doing nowadays - not me brother - it made me feel sick just watching Dutchie, Matilda and Neil leaping off there, although this could have had something to do with the fact that Neil did his jump in a lycra one piece -his fancy dress outfit from Barrytown!
I was slightly unsure of what to expect from Queenstown as Vic hadn't liked it on her previous stay there, but I found it to be a really pretty place with a lot going on - it's an adrenaline junky's mecca, and it had a very definite ski resort feel to it. I can imagine it would be great in the winter months during the ski season, although skiiing was the last thing on my mind as it was boiling hot! Sitting outside the legendary Ferg Burger at 8pm it was still so hot that we could easily have sunbathed on the beach! Of course, this being New Zealand, the weather didn't sustain for long and we were treated to torrential downpours when we woke up the following morning, after an evening spent in the pub with Hedda and co who were also in Queenstown. As the weather wasn't really conducive to much at all - poor Steve had 3 of his trips cancelled - a very lazy day was spent not doing a great deal , followed by an evening attempting the pub quiz where my knowledge of useless facts such as Elephants are the only mammals that cannot jump, contributed towards us coming a not too shabby 3rd!
The next leg of the journey was exploring what's commonly known as 'the bottom' - the southern part of the South Island. Our first port of call was Milford Sound, after a brief stop in Te Anau to purchase tickets for a cruise on the sound itself. Despite the fact that we'd been warned that it rains on average 300 days a year in these parts, I was looking forward to the cruise knowing I'd still be able to take in the sights through the window, sheltered inside the boat. We were sorely dissappointed then, when we saw that all of the window seats were reserved for Japanese tour groups who proceeded to spend the afternoon munching on their bento boxes, taking no notice of the scenery outside and talking very loudly so that we couldn't hear any of the commentary- we may as well have been on a floating restaurant anywhere in the world! I did brave the elements at one point on the top deck and managed to glimpse a beautiful waterfall, in full force thanks to the rain, as well as a couple of Dolphins and Seals, so all was not lost.
That evening was spent in Tuatapere, 'The Sausage Capital of New Zealand'- an accolade apparently heralding back to the late 80's when the local butcher won a sausage making competition .... not a lot happens in Tuatapere. We'd been warned that our huge orange bus arriving was cause for all of the locals to emerge from nowhere and stare at us - I was half expecting them to have 3 eyes or 6 fingers or something - but they seemed ok, with the correct number of digits! Keen to avoid the hammering rain, we spent the evening in the hostel playing cards, and got to taste a local delicacy, Muttonbird. Delicacy? How about revolting?! It smelt like fish and tasted like fish, even though it was a bird - not my cup of tea at all, I guess it's an acquired taste!
En route further south to Bluff we made a brief stop at a local farm to see a newborn Lamb, which we named Stray, before reaching the most southen point that you can drive to on the South Island. It was from here that we caught the ferry to the very remote Stewart Island. The crossing was extremely rough, which I loved, although I was much less keen on all of the people throwingup around me - my worst nightmare! 6of us had decided to stay for 3 nights in order to get a proper feel of the island, and we were lucky enough to have our own self contained cottage for the stay, which was great! Stewart Island is tiny and it was quite reminiscent of Salcombe with its quaint little seaside village feel. We arrived mid afternoon and had a wander around to get our bearings and make some plans for the next couple of days. The main thing to do on the island is walking, so we checked out the tracks we wanted to do We'd also got it into our heads that when in a quaint little cottage by the sea, you need to cosy up and play Scrabble- one problem ... no Scrabble set. But after a chat with the lovely ladies at the information centre, one was sourced from the library and we were good to go!
Unusually, we woke up to glorious sunshine and it was the ideal weather for our walks around the island. We'd opted to head over to Golden Bay firstly and then onwards to Ackers Point, a walk which according to the brochures should take 5 hours, but realistically it was more like 3! We were treated to some lovely views along the way with the sun glimmering over the water and shining through the tree canopies as we made our way through the forest, and we spotted all sorts of wildlife including the infamous Tui and some Muttonbirds. Unfortunately, the lighthouse at Ackers Point was a bit dissappointing - it looked like something they'd make on Blue Peter, but the panoramic views more than made up for it.
Back at the cottage, we'd worked up quite an appetite and tucked into a humongous dinner, complete with trifle that Matt had decided to make - what a treat!
The next day the weather did the usual, and it hammered it down continuously. Thank Goodness we'd done our walks and had Scrabble to while away the hours - it was actually quite an enjoyable day of relaxation!
We were on the first ferry early doors the next morning and had a remarkably flat crossing back to Bluff, and were even joined by some very playful Dolphins at one point. Back on dry land we made our way through the Catlins to Dunedin, the 5th largest city in New Zealand, and about the size of Sutton Coldfield! Various stops were made aliong the way: a walk along the beach where we encountered a Seal who seemed to be posing for the cameras; a look at a 'petrified forest' of old tree roots etc that over time have become covered in stone, but still look like wood - very strange; and some Yellow Eyed Penguin spotting at Nugget Point where we were lucky enough to be joined by some of these notoriously shy creatures.
Before leaving Dunedin, we took a drive out to the Otage Peninsula via Lanach Castle, New Zealands oldest castle at a 'whopping' 135 years old!!!! Out at the Peninsula we tried to spot some Albatros, but failed in our mission, mainly due to the fact that it's nesting season I think. From Dunedin we had to endure a very long drive back to Queenstown which seemed to be punctuated by lots of pointless stops. It didn't help that we were desperate to get there in time to visit the British Lolly Shop to stock up on Pickled Onion Monster Munch and Cheese and Onion Walkers (oh the things you miss when you're away from home!) before it closed. Luckily for us (and everyone around us!) we made it in time - phew!
When we finally got on the bus the next day (our driver was an hour and a half late - he claims because the bus wouldn't start, but the general consensus was it was more like he'd got lucky as he turned up in the same clothes as he'd been seen in the night before, looking very dishevelled and hadn't been answering his phone!) we made our way to Christchurch where we would be leaving the bus. As usual we made some stops along the way, this time to check out the spectacular Mount Cook, which we were lucky enough to view on a clear day, as well as the beautiful Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo which didn't fail to impress. We finally arrived in Christchurch early evening and checked back into the luxurious Sanctuary at Base for 2 rain sodden days of doing very little before heading to Picton to catch the ferry to Wellington.
Haere Ra

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Photos

Crystal Clear
The beautiful Lake Wanaka

Can you tell he's a fitness instructor?!
Neil treats us to a spectacle for his bunjy jump!

Reunited once again!
Me and Hedda in Queenstown

A night out in Queenstown
L-R: Steve, Me, Dutchie, Vic and Matilda

So cute!
Stray the one day old lamb

Tee hee!
An amusing road sign in Te Anau

On Stewart Island
Me at Golden Bay

Oh dear!
Vic and Emma get a little over-excited at the prospect of trifle!

Smile for the camera
The posing seal in the Catlins

At the Otago Peninsula
L-R: Me, Emma, Vic and Matilda and our big orange bus!

Mount Cook
Luckily viewed on a clear day

Comments

[Lydia]

Loving the blogs!
Really enjoyed your tales of the south island, brung back a few memories! Hope you had a good xmas and are still enjoying New Zealand! Make sure you stop at "smelly" Rotorua! Very interesting but stinks! Take care and play safe x