Advertisement
Published: January 31st 2009
Edit Blog Post
Fancy a Brew?
AJ demonstrates the best way to hold a glass The only problems that I can really complain about as far as Kiwi Experience goes (apart from the office admin muck-ups) is that the pick-up times are NEVER very clear. To the point where after 2 hours sleep, we packed our things, headed down to the pick up point and waited for half an hour before growing suspicious.
The time was 7.45, so Andrew called the office and was told in no uncertain terms that the Bottom Bus would be picking us up between 9 and 9.30.
Fab. Once again the advertised time had been a load of old cobblers, so we mosied on into town to do some admin! Arriving at Base, we found that opposite us the YHA had been evacuated and Joel was standing outside in his underwear, looking extremely uncomfortable and confused. No-one knew what was going on, but I was glad that we hadn't been staying in YHA Queenstown...especially not last night!!
We caught Ryan and said quick cheerio before going back to our collection point, where low and behold we bumped into Seb and Somer having a cup of tea. Its a fairly common thing to warn people now that we are
Looking for Sealions
Our first stop with Steff, heading to Invercargill notoriously difficult to get rid of, and once you've met us on this trip we'll keep turning up. Just ask Gemma Leach, who we've been accidentally stalking since we left Auckland and who was only half happy to see us climb aboard the Bottom Bus when it rolled up to the Alpine Lodge at 9.45.
Again, 30 minutes late! Come on KIWI!!!
Eventually we were on our way to Dunedin, student town of the South and home of the Speights Brewery. Dunedin is known as the Edinburgh of New Zealand...not sure why...it has a couple of the same street names but it looks like Auckland on a budget...
The brewery tour was a good laugh (even with a raging hangover - never again!) but I did feel sorry for the poor girl leading the tour who kept trying in vain to get a laugh out of the useless group but only found me fecklessly grinning wildly to poor jokes. My sense of humour I guess? Either way the highlight wasn't the 'free' tasting (Summer Harvest is the nicest drink in the world) but the adverts, featuring two South Kiwi Cowboys and always ending in the raspy toned
Sealazy
A sealion just sits around on the beach... 'Good on ya mate'. CLASS!
Our accomodation was a bit crazy too - almost like a frat house. Interestingly, the people in the room next door, who we met on the balcony, were in Queenstown a few nights before, when AJ had stolen a girl's camera and taken random pictures...including some of the folks on the balcony! Small country...
The next morning took us to Invercargill with a new driver called Steff, who sped us along the Caitlins to see some penguins and a sealion who looked like he was dying on the beach. An interesting day, mostly spent on the bus, so that we were all run down by the time we hit Invercargill. Our moods changed though when the Keno ticket that we'd bought in Dunedin turned out to be a winner, bagging us 3 bucks! Who said that having no numbers was a bad thing? Turns out that the odds of getting no numbers at all are less than getting 1, 2, 3, or 4 numbers, so we won a grand prize of 3 dollars, which promptly bought another three tickets!
Lucky day! We celebrated with a pint at the Ale House with Steff
Kiwi Sign Language
Another EXCELLENT Kiwi sign! and the others before turning in.
Next morning was a late one, and it turned out that Steff wouldn't be driving us again. Another messed up itinery meant that she was supposed to be in Q-Town at 7.30...and had woken up at 9, VERY hungover, and had to race back up to Base. Lame! Instead we were blessed with the legend that is Don, and AJ is to this very moment convinced that he saw an open bus, decided he wanted to drive home to Te Anau, and came and collected us.
He was CRAZY! Loved using the phrase 'quirky photographs' and forgetting to take his headset off when he got out of the bus, flinging his head back when the cable went taut...
Eventually (incredibly) we got to Te Anau alive, and were offered the opportunity of a Jam Night at one of the local bars. After checking our lottery and discovering that lightning does NOT in fact strike twice (instantly ending the addiction) we headed over to The Ranch.
And into a Hillbilly Nightmare. It was the most surreal place ever, styled after a wild west saloon with mulletted men wandering around, but not
Monkey Island
That's the second biggest Monkey Island I've ever seen... quite matching the mullet of the bar man, which was massive! It was like a crazy time warp!
AJ played a few tunes with the band before we pushed off, both grateful to be out of such a surreal place. We needed to the energy too, the next day was our day trip to Milford Sound!
I had been looking forward to Milford since we left Auckland, and I wasn't disappointed. It was overcast, drizzly...the perfect day! The sounds are massive lagoons, basically, all connected by rivers and leading to the sea...so I guess its a bit like a massive estuary. Either way, the weather meant that the whole place had a mystical look to it - mist hung over the lakes and there were thousands upon thousands of massive thin waterfalls formed by the days rain. These are only common eveery few days (dependant on the weather) so not every group sees them! It was INCREDIBLE, and felt like something out of King Kong or Jurrasic Park. The place was almost overwhelmingly cool.
We jumped back on the bus and headed back to Q-Town for the last time before starting our trek north. I was still
Milford E
Our bus framed against the valleys of Milford buzzing as we raced through valleys, the mist still all around us and the beauty of the landscape seeped in mysticsm. I hope the Andes is a bit like this, because I'll be blown away!
LTYM
Peace out
xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.074s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0485s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Liz
non-member comment
JEALOUS
i may have to stop reading these brilliantly written entries as im very close to hopping on the next plane to come and join you! it VERY VERY cold in bournemouth =(( sounds bloody awesome!! keep us posted xxx