South Island Adventure Part 1

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We left Christchurch on the 8th march.

The first 35km bike ride the following morning nearly killed us! Even though the road were straight and misleadingly looked downhill the wind was extreemly strong making it almost impossible to get anywhere! You would have thought this would put the average traveller off cycling for a while, but not us! The very next day we got up at 6am before the rest of the tour and cycled off before the bus towards Mt Cook. Even more pain and two hours later the bus caught us up and saved us from the agony! The same day we went on a 3hr hike to a glacier near Mt Cook which was in a stunning mountain valley. Woje fell over her shoe laces twice and managed to break both boots, whilst I, not being an early morning person later discovered I had put all my clothes on inside out!

Recovering from the trauma of the previous day we visited the Moeraki boulders, spereical rocks which have fallen into the sea (see photo!). Then we went on another cycle ride to Dunedin, but this one was all downhill so we assumed it would be uneventful in comparison. We were wrong! Soon after we started out a gust of wind blew me off the road and almost into the hedge. Then the hail began, by the time we reached the bottom we were drenched. At Dunedin we purchased a brand new pair of boots ready for the Routeburn track. A short 3hr walk the following day was our training.

We had one more uneventful cycle downhill to Milford Sound where we went on a boat cruise. The whole area is fiords so spectacular cliffs and waterfalls. Then the Routeburn began. 36km of steep rugged terrain. The walk was tough but the veiws were worth it. I'd bought a bird book the day before so could identify what we were seeing. Two nights in hut and a ridiculous number of cookies later we reached the finish line. Have a look at our photos the whole place was amazing, temperate rainforest, alpine and flats.

Safely in Queenstown now, the extreem sports capital, we plan on doing our laundry! All of our exciting sports start in a couple of days; glacier hiking, kayaking, horse riding, sky diving. So hopefully when we next write we will have so exciting stories to tell. Hope everyone has survived the gales in england, speak to you soon xxx

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Photos

Mount Cook
Woje, Brad, Mike. The glacier and mount cook in the background.

Milford Sound
Wojie on the boat cruise in Fiordland, Milford Sound.

Takapo
The campsite was right near this lake. With Mt Cook in the background.

Moeraki Boulders
Doing the tourist thing, climbing on the boulders!

Routeburn Track
The beginning!

The first day
The rainforset.

Day 2- Routeburn
The lake near the hut where we stayed on the first night

Day 2 - Routeburn
The view from the top

Day 2 - Routeburn
Exhausted at the shelter!

Day 2 - routeburn
The view from conical hill. Abel tasman sea in the background.

Day 2 - Routeburn
Nearing the end of day 2, exhausted. Our hut is on the flats in the background.

Comments

[dawn woj]

Kate
The mountains look very steep - be sure you don't trip! The huts look very draughty too! What are the toilet facilities like?