Blogs from West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 38

We got up early for our drive and rang the bell at reception to check out, the chick was nowhere to be seen and after speaking to another punter we were told that she doesn't ever show face before 09:30, now that was no good to us as we paid a $20 key deposit and I wasn't leaving without it, helpfully the other punter offered us the $20 and said she'd hand the key in when reception opened and get the money back, we thanked her and hit the road. On the long road to Greymouth, about half-way, Fiona started panicking that the key deposit was in fact only $10, there's nothing we can do now though, so if we ripped you off by $10 in Nelson please get in touch so Fiona can appologise. The ... read more

Hi all Travelled over the Haast Pass from Wanaka to Fox Glacier yesterday. Wanaka very nice along the lake front - sat out and had a coffee and would have been nice to sit and relax there for a day but had to move on. Driving times are longer than you would expect despite very little traffic on roads but winding roads and lots of stops to look at views all take time. Arrived at Haast on West Coast at about 2pm and it started raining as we pulled into the local tourist office and has rained almost non-stop since. planned a flight over glaciers and alps for today but have rescheduled for 08.30 tomorrow if weather ok. If not we'll press on up the west coast and have to come back to do the flight ... read more

Near Fox Glacier is the haunting and much photographed Lake Matheson. On a good day with still water you can see the reflection of Mount Cook in the waters. Its a nice walk too around the lake and if you are lucky you will get some good photos. Fox Glacier is good place to chill on a sunny day .... there are plenty of bars and resturants on Main Street to kick back and watch the world go by .... enjoy... read more

We arrived in Greymouth on the 23rd of December, about 6pm. Had a nice meal of spaghetti bolognaise, and drank some wine, getting ready for Christmas. The next day, we went bicycling down to the beach, Robin booked a train to Christchurch, she needed to fly from there on Christmas day. We went to the Warehouse a New Zealand version of Kmart, where everyone gets a bargin. We got each other Christmas presents - I got a Plastic Kiwi Policeman to live on my backpack and a water pistol - Anders got a water pistol and chocolate, Robin who bought the water pistols got wet, she didn’t have one. Got my hair cut, and said goodbye to Robin as she boarded the Tranz Alpine Railway. Went out in the evening with everyone we could gather from ... read more