New Zealand South Island

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Nelson - Abel Tasman - Kaikora - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Mt. Cook - Lake Wanaka - Queenstown - Milford Sounds

14th February to 27th February 2011

The ferry ride to Picton was just as a brochure we had read described, 'one of the most beautiful ferry crossings in the world'. We arrived at Picton to sunshine and immediately set off for Abel Tasman. We stopped off at Nelson for some lunch and sun on Tahunanui beach, we swam at Tasman Bay and continued on to Marahau where we found a lovely small peninsula where we parked for the night just before Abel Tasman National Park. The next morning we had a beautiful forest walk into the outskirts of the park and stopped at Apple Tree Bay, a lovely secluded beach where kayak trips around the park would stop for a break. The water here was beautiful for swimming, crystal clear and post card perfect and we sort of regretted not doing a kayak trip here. We had lunch back at the entrance to the park and visited the quirky museum across the road full of fascinating wood carvings and pieces of art. We had a big drive ahead of us after this to Kaikora and made it as far as somewhere around 50k north of Kaikora on the east coast, a cul de sac that lead out to the sea open.

We booked a whale watching tour for the afternoon and this did not disappoint. There was a sea sickness warning before the tour but nothing could have prepared us for how rough the trip actually was. We all managed to keep lunch down though and soon we were at the sight where we could go on deck and watch the sperm whales as they came up for air. This would last a few minutes before their tales would spout out from the sea and they prepared to dive into the sea. We would then head off to the captains next sighting of whales. We were also joined by a couple of dolphins using the foam generated by the engine at the rear of the boat as a jacuzzi. We went for a walk to Point Kean after this to a seal colony. We walked along rocky terrain with no sign of any seals but then one popped up out of the water onto a rock right beside us. In the evening we had food in a bar in the town and went to another couple of pubs. What we didn't expect was to get chatting with a beer rep who bought us drink for the night, much to the annoyance of the locals who weren't too impressed by this big shot flashing the cash in front of the tourists. Some were so annoyed that they bought us drinks too trying to compete with him. Who were we to argue?

The next day with Kate nursing a hangover in the back and P and I not much better in the front we set off to Christchurch all unaware of one vital factor: no petrol stations from Kaikora to Christchurch. There was however loads of seals along the coast which distracted us from this. We had gone too far to turn back when we realised so we took a turn off for somewhere we thought might be a town having come across no petrol stations on the mainroad. This road went from a paved secondary road to a twisting lane to a dirt track to a driveway. This turned out not to be a town but in fact an enormous farm. We had little choice but to call in and hope for the best as we had gone so far that we would not make it back to the main road never mind a petrol station. We were welcomed by 'pigging dogs' which P informed us were bred purely for killing pigs and they wouldn't think twice about killing anything else for that matter. There was no one home and we waited an hour for the farmer to return from across acres of land, the dogs keeping a close eye on us. Luckily he did have petrol and after taking some time for him to comprehend how we ended up at his door step we bought a tank of petrol off him and were on track again. We got to Christchurch before dark but the drama of the day wasn't over yet. We parked up at New Brighton and were all tucked in when P went for a last minute piddle to disturb a few lads hanging around outside the van. They legged it but we were all a bit uneasy after it so we moved a little further north outside some golf club. The next morning we drove into Christchurch and parked up at a campgrounds in the city centre. A beautiful city and if we knew what was to happen in the followng days we would have appreciated it so much more. We hung out at cathedral square with impressive flower displays on show. We people watched as tourists joined in with locals in giant games of chess and street performers entertained the crowd with comedy and magic shows. We walked to the Statue of Remembrance and took in a city full of character and beauty. That evening we went to Sol Square for a night out with a variety of chill out bars and more cosmopolitan spots.

With another hang over in full swing we had another long drive and this is again where we perhaps messed up our route. Instead of heading west to Franz Josef Glacier we went south with the aim of getting to Mt. Cook. We first stopped at Lake Tekapo and then onto Lake Puaki at a great spot overlooking the lake where rabbits ran around outside the camper at a gorgeous setting. We stayed the night here and early the next morning continued to Mt. Cook. After not doing the Tongarrio Crossing on the north island there was no way P was getting away without doing a bit of a trek. We did a few short walks around the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier, picked up a french hitch hiker for the craic who stank so we had to swiflty ditch him, then did the Seal Point Trek, a tough trek with some rain which limited our views of Mt. Cook. It was now we realised we would have to detour enormously to get to Franz Josef Glacier so we opted to just keep headinh south. We spent the night in Wanaka, again set up at our favourite spot, i.e. the lake. It lashed rain the next day which ruled out any outdoor activities so we went to Puzzle World, full of optical illusions and a giant maze outside. Great fun, some of the rooms really messing with the head. The weather was no better after this so we had a go at some archery and P did some clay pigeon shooting. In the evening we drove to Queenstown and immediately booked a bungy jump for the next day. And just like the sky dive we had two options, 43m or 134m....eh we'll take the big one please. We parked at Q campsite, a new campsite in the town, a 15 minute walk from the centre. We went for a few drinks in Buffalo bar, well let me clarify: we went to go into World Bar but one of us (ahem Kate) wasn't allowed in as she looked too young, i.e. 17. We got good mileage out of this for the night.

The next day it was all about one thing; getting in the right frame of mind to jump off that bloody platform in the middle of a canyon. We went in order of weight so first up was the heavy weight Bull McCabe. No bother to him as he sprang off no problem. Next up was me. As I was given my countdown he stopped at "3, 2, ..." and just as I was about to jump he calls "No, no wait" as the bungy cord was wrapped around his leg. So a bit of a false start and if I wasn't felling nervous before this (which I was) I certainly was now but just jumped anyway on the second error free countdown. And last was Kate who I didn't recognise as I was pulled back up from the jump she was so 'in the zone'. Cool as a cucumber she was set up, brought to the platform, gave a casual wave to the camera and jumped as though this was an everday occurrence. 3 great jumps and thrills that equal that of the skydive although not comparable really. When we got back to the town that afternoon we had a burger at Fergburger, the nicest burger I will ever have but also learned of the sad news of a massive earthquake in Christchurch where we were only 2 days previously. We were glued to the TV in the campsite as we watched scenes from the square where we took pictures 48 hours ago. Such sad news and although not known then it turned out over 200 people would be found dead in the search over the coming week with untold damage to the city, unable to host games in the upcoming world cup later in the year.

Later that night we went to World Bar (with Kates ID) and endulged ourselves with tea pots of cocktails and jugs of beer. The night was topped off with my second Fergburger in as little as 6 hours. The next morning we travelled up the chairlift to get great views of Queenstown and had a go of the luge which was great fun. In the afternoon we hit the road for Milford Sounds stopping for the night at Mossburn.

An early start the next day and we were on the road again. We did some small walks stopping at Mirror Lakes and Homers Tunnel where some Kea's joined us at the car and we saw some spectacular landscape. A wet day, much like when at Mt. Cook, made for limited visibilty but this also caused problems for another rental car who ended up wrapped around a tree on the winding roads to Milford Sounds (passengers fine though). We drove back to Mossburn again to break the journey and the following day returned to Queenstown. Peter was flying to Sydney a day before us so it was our last night in NZ so we went out for a few early drinks at Pog Mahones watchng some Super15 rugby and then to World Bar again. We dropped P off at airport the next day and Kate and I spent our last day by Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown packing our bags and cleaning the van in the sun.

The scenery and landscape in NZ was the highlight and although covering 3000 plus km it was all a pleasure as the eye was always drawn by some valley, mountains or lake. It's not hard to see why thousands of Irish and other nationalities have fled here to live with quality of life high clearly high on their agenda.

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Photos

Whale Watch
Sperm Whale, Kaikora

Puzzle World
Wanaka