NZ South Island so far....

---

The South Island - so far!!

Well we have just looked and it's a while since we last updated our blog or even looked at e-mails - it has been a hectic 2 weeks! So much to do and not enough time.....
Congratulations Alfie on taking your first steps (K's one year old nephew).

Mon Nov 3rd

Well after the much worried about ferry crossing out of the way (with good reason - Cook Strait is infamous for ' worst ever boat trips'- but thankfully ours calm!), we spent a restful day in Picton and enjoyed some much needed sunshine. Loosely planned our route for next couple of weeks over a beer at harbourside......

Tues / Wed Nov 4th & 5th

Travelled to Blenheim and visited a local winery en-route. All I want to say about that is that I (K) had to fill out a form where I had to indicate my age range - 41-60!! I was so depressed!!! Headed to Nelson and to the Coastal National Park of 'Abel Tasmin'. It hammered it down all evening and we wondered if we would be able to do anything the next day......but absolutely gorgeous sunshine when we woke up - so we did a very small part of the 4/5 day coastal route......Awesome! Sal took 3 million photos....

That afternoon drove to Westport where we we got caught in SNOW (yes was the same day)..and spent the night at a campsite in Westport where we had to hire a blanket as we were freezing!!!! Did not get too much sleep as golfball size hail kept us awake most of it...we were convinced we would wake up to find huge holes in the van!!! We visited the nearby seal colony twice. They never lose their appeal. Could watch them for hours.

Happy Guy Fawkes and Happy Birthday to my sister Jayne. Strangely they do celebrate Guy Fawkes here! The letters page of the local paper was filled with complaints about fireworks - just like home! We didn't see any though.

Thurs 6th Nov
The weather is 'unseasonably cold' so we invest in a blanket at a closing down sale. Turquoise and fluffy - so camp - we love it! Goes well with listening to our only CD - Priscilla the Musical! Visit Pancake Rocks and Blowholes (beautiful) on the way to Greymouth (or Greytown as we call it). Redeeming feature - met nice dog on way to the beach.

Fri 7th Nov
Drive to Franz Joseph - the glacier region. Awesome mountain views along the way. It's so cold despite the blanket so we wimp out and stay in a motel. K went to the loo 20 times in the middle of the night - just cos she could!! A perfect afternoon for a helicopter ride (clear blue skies). Birds eye views of the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers plus a trip to Mt Cook, NZ's highest mountain. We land for 8 mins and get to play in the snow. Unfortunately my land mammal wifie waits for me on the ground so I took lots of photos for her.

Sat 8th Nov
What possessed us to do the 8 hour guided Glacier walk I do not know. K and I were the oldest by about 20 years. It was tough but we climbed up and down on the ice with the best of them. Our guide was useless beyond belief but the glacier was awesome. We had to wear crampons and use an ice pick which took a bit of getting used to but we were like Edmund Hillary by the end of the day. We had predicted we might be feeling a bit sore at the end of the day plus the unseasonably cold weather was still around (i.e. -8 overnight) so had booked into a room with a bath. By chance the motel was run by 2 guys who know how to do things - we checked in feeling v weary to find a spa bath surrouunded by petals and the most gorgeous room ever. K wants to marry Billy! A night in with a pizza and the Priscilla DVD (no we're not bored of it yet!).

Sun 9th & Mon 10th Nov
K cannot walk. Seized quads. Drive to Queenstown via some beauiful waterfalls. Arrive at the adrenalin capital of NZ, home of bungy jumping, white water rafting etc to find a beautiful lakeside town surrounded by gorgeous mountains, the Remarkables. Apart from the views there's little to interest 2 scaredy cats! I go up on the Gondola for a breath-taking view of the town whilst K buys some deep heat for those aching muscles! K fits in well with the many injured from the adrenalin activities. Drive to Te Anau, gateway for Milford Sound.

Tues 11th Nov
Drive to Milford Sound as seen on Lord of the Rings. Unbelievably beautiful scenary on the way. Try to persuade K to join me on a boat ride but she's lost her sea legs after the Great Barrier reef escapade. As the ropes are being untied from the jetty she changes her mind. A comical scene follows as I am on the boat with all the money (as usual!) so I have to throw a credit card down to the dock. Her new name is Chaos Koala! In her words, "it was awesome!". We saw our first penguins (the rare yellow Fiordland Crested variety) both on the rocks and swimming alongside the boat plus more chilling NZ fur seals and the most amazing waterfalls, one 3 times higher than Niagra. K was very brave and stood at the front of the boat, a la Titanic, as we went under a waterfall. How wet was she?

Wed 12th Nov
We chilled out during the day, a gentle stroll on Frasers Beach along Lake Manapouri and a visit to see the rare Takahe bird. K was getting her sea legs back and braved a second boat trip in two days across Lake Te Anau to some glow worm caves. Like hundreds of beautiful green fairy lights!

Thurs 13th Nov
Drove to Dunedin via the beautiful Catlin coastline. Stopped along the way and found a couple of rare Hooker Sea Lions at Surat Beach.

Fri 14th Nov
Drive along the Otago penisula, (Dunedin's Gower). Unfortunately the Royal Albatross centre is not doing tours as it's the breeding season but we see plenty of the huge birds with a 3 metre wing span flying over the car park! Next stop Penguin Place, a conservation project to protect Yellow Eyed Penguins, acres of grass land right next to a beach set aside with hides and nesting boxes provided to allow us humans to view the shy birds without impact. We were treated to lots of penguins coming and going from the sea to their nests as well as views of chicks being fed. It was so funny to see penguins waddling across grassland - who would have guessed this is their natural habitat. We heart penguins!! As if that wasn't enough excitement we stopped off at a hideaway beach and see a lone male Hooker sea lion snoozing. Talk to a local who tells us about a place to look for Blue Penguins (a species we haven't seen yet). Spend the evening in Dunedin, including a Thai meal - it's been a while!!

Sat 15th Nov
Spend the morning in Dunedin at the Rita Angus Art Exhibition. She's a NZ artists famous for landscapes, feminism and love of nature (not up our street at all!). Absolutely fascinating! Her philosophy later in life moved us both:
- To cause no pain to others
- To accept myself as I am
- To be responsible to myself and to my work which is greater than I am
- Living simply, trusting and speaking the truth
- To live up to my history of women

Drive to Oamahru in the afternoon to see the hoards of Blue Penguins return to their nests at dusk. So sweet as they arrive from sea in groups or "rafts". They clambour up the rocks and wait until one brave soul decides to dash to the safety of their nests and the other crowd behind.

Sunday 16th Nov
Mad idea - let's drive to Mt Cook. Although I saw it by helicopter from the West Coast, there are no roads that way so we have to approach it from the east coast where we now are. Running out of time but my photos are not enough for K! She wants to see it for herself. Beautiful drive via Lake Omarama and Lake Pukaki which are a very vivid turquoise and gave fantasic views of the Southern Alps. Didn't get to see the summit of Mt Cook as it was covered in cloud and rain - a v common occurance. Bought a postcard! Still worth the trip. On the way back to the north east coast stopped by Lake Tekapo at the Church of the Good Shepherd and a statue of a collie dog, in gratitude for their role. Both think of our lovely collie, Mollie. Bless.

Monday 17th Nov
Drive to Kaikoura. The State Highway is closed and the policeman tells us to follow the truck in front (what happened to diversion signs?!). Both dying for the loo but can't stop or we'll get lost! Find a gorgeous beachside campsite and the sun is shining!

The last week in our campervan. It's gone so quickly and we haven't killed each other! It's amazing how much space you can do without.

---

Comments

[Mary]

Looks fab!
Sounds wonderful. Hope the next two weeks pass slowly, because though it will be great to have you back here with us, it's a typically wet and muddy Welsh winter here. Are you going anywhere near Nelson? My family's farm was called Sarnen, and it was at Motueka, near Nelson. I have stunning photos from the 70s and 80s and 90s. They moved away in the 90s, but it's still a gorgeous area. Now, we need to talk about the Chattery Christmas Cabaret... I was thinking that a little number from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, would go down well. Lots of love, Mary, Dee and Ruby