Nelson to Dunedin

Little did we know but Nelson is actually the home of the centre of New Zealand. It was quite a hike up the mountain but the views were worth it. Plus we got to have a guilt free couple of beers and fish and chips at the worlds coolest pub, The Spring and Fern. We also had a game or two of Chess. I lost everytime, until Ross got drunk. 

Greymouth was our next destination, which is home to the Monteiths brewery. As you can imagine we made the most of the tour an Ross ended up a mess, cuddling a couple of Americans as though they had been friends forever and then peeing in the garden of the hostel as he couldn't get to the toilet!! Was a funny night though.  

The next morning landed us in Franz Josef, home to one of the 2 glaciers in NZ. Sadly due to weather conditions causing ice and rock slides we were unable to do the ice hike. Instead we took off on our own walk to the bottom of the glacier. It was quite an incredible sight. A mountain of ice just sitting there as though it belongs. Plus there was a mysterious look about the mountains that had clouds draped around them. It was like a magical land from far far away.

Queenstown, the land of adventure! We can see why people don't leave here, it's a special place. It has so much beauty and diversity. Ross got to do the worlds second highest Bungy, I couldn't do it unfortunately as I had to take pictures of Ross ;0) We went on a day tour around Milford Sound (good advice Tamasin, thank you) which is pretty spectacular. It rained all day, but that made hundreds of waterfalls form down the cliffs so it was a bonus really. We also saw dolphins, penguins and seals around the fiord. Even the journey to and from Milford was facinating. We saw so many avalanche ruins and drove through a tunnel dug by men in the 1940's. The old New Zealanders were pretty handy people. 

We had planned to do handgliding on our last day in Qurenstown but the weather was too windy so that was cancelled. So instead we went Luging again, as Ross loved it so much in Rotorua. This time was different though as I had learned a few skills and upped the ante. I won't boast but the final score was 5/1 to me. :0) infact the whole day was all about my superb sporting as that evening in the pub we played pool and whooped everyones butt there too. Ross was proud this time though, as he was on my team.       

We then headed for Dunedin where our lovely Tony is from. (Tony is Ross' cousin for those of you who don't know.) Dunedin is a pretty cool place too. It's a city and was pretty lively when we walked through town, but 10 minutes in the car lands you back in the glorious countryside. Ross and I did a wildlife tour here and saw penguins, seals, sealions and albatross. It was wicked. Our guide was so passionate about everything and really helped you appreciate the local wildlife. Turns out that between the Maori's (native New Zealanders) and the European settlers, NZ have lost 42 species of native birds. What a cock-up!   

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