Americans, sheep and changing lightbulbs...

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Moving directly on from my last post - I had just set off with Austin and Anahita, two Americans, down to Fox Glacier. These guys were really nice (well of course I knew that given they were giving me a ride to Fox!) and Austin especially was extremely well-travelled so we spent some time talking about different places we'd been. He wanted to go to India so i told him a little about that, and he and Anahita told me about their experiences in South East Asia.

The high point of the trip was the excitement expressed by Anahita at the New Zealand livestock. And I'm not talking the deer farms or the wildlife. Oh no. What enthralled these guys were the SHEEP! They raved for a good 10 minutes about the sheep (Anahita particularly likes the ones with black heads and legs but still WHITE wool). I had to remain silent during this exchange, I just found it too funny. I guess, in their defence, California and New Orleans aren't exactly sheep rearing areas, but even so, I couldn't quite get over their sheer delight at the sheep scattered across the landscape (all ensuing conversations were interrupted at intervals with 'look, there's some more!'😉. I advised them both to visit Wales.

It only took a few hours to get to Fox (even taking into account the sheep-spotting) and on arrival we bumped into a guy who had been at the GreyMOUTH hostel that morning. So we all sat down to a few pints and some dinner at a small bar in Fox - the sun was out, after all! I was then able to share the sheep conversation with Will, a fellow brit, and Anahita and Austin realised why I had been quiet during that part of our journey (Austin thought I'd dozed off). Will found it quite as funny as I did.

The following morning I had booked to go on a half day glacier walk. On our last trip to New Zealand I'd had a leg injury which had made me hesitant to join the family on their glacier walking expedition, so I thought it only right I should do it now!

We headed up to the glacier with our VERY loud Aussie guide and she warned us on a few occasions that we were approaching a 'really steep' bit, but not to worry because we'd have a break at the top. I guess they have to warn of these things in case they've got any very unfit people - and up until that point I would have included myself as one of those - but whenever we stopped I found myself wondering if we'd reached the steep bit yet. Needless to say it was a pretty easy walk!

Once we got on the ice it did get pretty cold (shocking i know!), especially as our guide kept stopping to tell us about the different features. All very interesting but i was glad I'd just done the full day as, by the time we were off the ice, we were all freezing! In the tour before us we'd seen an Aussie girl heading back down in tiny shorts and her legs were bright pink. The temptation to slap them would have been too strong had I been in that group - she'd worn the full coat, hat and scarf but evidently felt her legs were immune to the cold. Turned out Will was in her group and he did say she was a bit of a bimbo and had refused the warm trousers she'd been offered at the start. I don't know how long it will have taken her to thaw out but I didn't envy her!

When I got back to the hostel I went to the TV/cinema room where a German girl, Lisa, was halfway through watching the second part Lord of the Rings. So I sat down and we ended up watching the rest of that and then the final part ot the trilogy. Hey, I was headed to Queenstown next so had to refamiliarise myself with the scenery, ok?! We got chatting and it turned out we were on the same bus to QT the following day too.

That evening I had dinner at the hostel with Will and two other brits, Kerry and Steve. Kerry was a teacher and very nice. I'm still not sure what it was that Steve did and he was nice enough but unfortunately was one of those people like those on the film element of my degree who were only happy if they were watching/referencing the most obscure films ever made - eternally smug when they were able to come up with a film nobody else had heard of. He was quick to ask us what our top 5 films were - Will was first to go and his included, among others 'Water the Elephants' as he called it. A much better title don't you think? Kerry was next and, love her, promptly stated her top 3 were the three Toy Story films. This was met with a snort from Steve, who was obviously desperate to be asked for his top five-and he predictably began with 'oh you won't have heard of any of them'. He was a little put out, to say the least, when I'd heard of 3 of the 5 (total fluke I have to say but satisfying none the less). So the conversation promptly moved on and I wasn't asked for mine. Tee hee!

Incidentally, you probably won't have heard of them. HA! just kidding (for reference - Finding Neverland, Romeo & Juliet, Kick Ass, Inception and the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. NOT the stupid Keira Knightly version. And yes it does count even though it was made for TV).

So next day Lisa and I boarded the bus to Queenstown - took about 6 hours given that the buses stop every 45 minutes or so to give the driver a break, plus having a half hour lunch stop. No wonder my waistline isn't getting smaller - every time they stop there's a small cafe nearby (incidentally, said cafes seem to provide free food to the driver).

Arriving in Queenstown brought back a lot of great memories - it was my favourite place last time I was in New Zealand. It's maybe become a bit more of a party-town since then and the focus is obviously all the adrenaline-fuelled activities, but that doesn't take away from the fact that, with the lake and mountains as a backdrop, it's stunning. My hostel was a few minutes' walk out of town on the lakefront so really beautiful and a lot more peaceful that the central hostels, without being miles away. Had a nice dutch girl and two Americans in the dorm when I arrived, all of whom were very friendly and sociable. I went for a wander to the supermarket and when I got back there was also an english girl, Megan, just moving in. She had landed in Queenstown that morning and it was her first time travelling alone. She was from a tiny village called Wool in Dorset and so New Zealand, and especially Queenstown, were feeling pretty far from home!

We stayed up chatting quite late - Megan revealing a rather 'dizzy' side to her character when she began telling us a story which started with 'well I was changing this lightbulb with a screwdriver'. Fortunately Alex, one of the Americans, asked the vital question, to which Megan just responded quietly 'I got confused'. Alex, Emily (his girlfriend) and I found this hilarious and Megan, bless her, still couldn't quite see what was funny, but laughed along just the same.

I was aiming to go for a walk the following day so Megan and I decided to go together. We walked up the track that takes you to the top of the Gondola (wasn't going to pay $25 for a gondola ride when the walk only took an hour!) and had lunch at the top in the baking sun. Then we decided to take a different path back - it ended in us scrambling down banks and over roots and tree stumps, as well as some old rusted pipes. I still say it was the path but Megan wasn't so sure. In any case, as I pointed out, if we keep following the river we'd get back to the lake eventually! And we did. Ha!

As it was such a beautiful day we headed down to the beach and got an ice cream from 'Patagonia Chocolates' - highly recommended! Then we lay by the lake reading for a bit, followed by another wander round the Queenstown gardens. All in all a very pleasant day!

The following day I showed Megan where the supermarket etc. (she'd spent her first afternoon playing frisbee golf and so had just been buying things from the expensive convenience store near the hostel). So we stocked up and wandered back into town where Megan was finally convinced to book an activity for the following day - jetboating and rafting. She'd been hesitant since arriving, partly because of the cost but also because she was a self-professed wimp who was scared of heights. But she ended up loving it as expected so it all worked out!

I was already booked on to my horse trek so was very excited about that!

And now I'm going cross-eyed so think I'll stop and continue another time! I'm sure there's plenty for you to be going on with for now!!

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