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Published: August 15th 2007
Paradise
Literally...We flew into the South Island and straight away, the difference in scenery was evident, the South Island is definitely much more mountainous and browner than the North Island. The views from the aeroplane were amazing and the plane had to completely turn on one side to fit in between the tight nest of snow capped mountains so as it could land. Queensrown was crazy. Being the holidays, the town was fully booked and David and I couldn't get two dorm beds in the whole town for one night nor the next town over. The place was bedlam and apparently it was going to be like that for the next week or so. We decided to cut our losses and make our way up the east coast and hopefully manage a stop in at Queenstown towards the end of the journey.
We were so pleased with our hire car...I was sure that David had booked us a real junk heap because we managed to grab what seemed like a dodgy deal as the car was so cheap, I was sure that there must have been something wrong with it. Luckily however, it was just a good deal, low season or
Paradise again
Token Kiwi sheep in the shot too... something and we had a brand new, green, Hyundai Getz (complete with the much needed snow chains & ski rack!).. We drove out of Queenstown and the scenery ws awe-inspiring...I have never seen landscape like it in my life....huge mountain ranges in all directions, which were snow capped and huge lakes everywhere you go. We drove route 6 up the west coast which is apparently one of the most famous drives in the world as the drive is so beautiful. David and I couldnt believe it. Also, there were even less cars on the road in the South Island than there were in the North Island. New Zealand is a very sparsely populated country!! The drive started off well and and then as soon as it got dark, it turned into one of those drives you would expect to see in a horror movie. We had been driving for hours through thick forest and hadn't met another car on the road for ages. It was pitch dark and as we were in the middle of nowhere, we had no signal on our mobiles and we weren't picking up any radio signal, so it was completely silent in the car, no
Milford Sound
Huge cliff faces in the fjord...it dwarfs the boat alongside it one around, trying to follow a map in the dark, driving along winding roads and no sign of the forest ever coming to an end. And then, the car turns up out of nowhere behind you flashing its headlights! Luckily for us, the car behind was just driving over some bumps so there was nothing to be worried about! Ha! We arrived in Haast which we thought was a nice town but turns out, our hostel was pretty much the only thing there. So we set off the next day, continuing up the coast to the next town of Franz Joseph which really only exists due to the tourism of the two glaciers. This town was very much like the other towns we were going to visit. Very small, basically exists for toursists but plesant all the same. The whole way up the west coast was beautiful but there were no big towns or cities, just small villages and very few people. Quite nice all the same..makes the journey peaceful and not very stressful and we could just take our time driving the whole way up the coast stopping wherever and when ever we wanted to have our picnics etc.
West Coast
beautiful scenery... Hiring a car was definitely the best option in New Zealand and is the best way to see it. It saves lots of money on tours as you can drive to everything by yourself and all the national parks and sights etc are free to get into.
The glaciers (Franz Joseph and Fox) were really cool, again strange to walk into a forest and then out of nowhere lies these huge glaciers but they were not as impressive as the Moreno Glacier in Argentina. It definitely stole the show, the fact that it is much bigger and its location as well, both in forest and on the water. We coninued up the coast to the towns of Greymouth and Westport and again the drive up along the coast was just amazing. We stopped and had a walk around Lake Matheson which is really famous for it water reflections and the famous Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. We stopped in between at Punakaiki where the famous pancake rocks are. We stopped for a picnic, and admired the strange rock formations and the geysers that explode threw the tiny "blowholes" in the rock and went for a few
Picton and Seumus'!!
Jenni with her family... stroles through the rainforest and along the beach. The weather was fantastic for the entire duration in the South Island which made it really pleasant but obviously still really cold!! What makes New Zealand so amazing is that not only is its scenery stunning, but the whole way along the coast, there are a few surprises like huge seal and penguin colonies whcih you can see from the road over looking the beach and the sea and there are lots of pods of dolphins swimming around. Just so fantastic that so many many creatures are living naturally by the coastal roads...we would just pull up and stand and watch them and try get some quick pics etc.. You would never see that in Ireland!
From there, we went further up the coast to Nelson, another delightful little town before heading on towards Picton to visit some of Dads relatives, Liz and Alistair Hawthorne. We loved Picton, just a small fishing village (although the ferry from Wellington arrives twice daily) on the coast and staying with Liz and Alistair really made us feel at home. We stayed with them above their Irish pub, "Seumus's" which meant that there wasnt too
Skiing
Jen posing on the slopes... much of a walk home from the bar at night. We spent the next week seeing the Marlborough Sounds which were amazing, drinking coffee in cafes, we visited Blenheim, a nearby town and went to the Prenzel store where we could test all of their drinks which were delicious. Just disappointed that they dont have them at home..probably a good thing as I would drink them all the time! We also spent a couple of days skiing in the Rainbow ski field and we managed to drag Stephen out with us. The skiing wasnt so bad, there wasnt much snow and it was a bit of an event trying to get the chains on the car...chains on, chains off, chains on and wait...pull over because the chains are off again...nightmare....but eventually someone told us that we didnt need them and we made our way safely to the top of the mountain. It took me a while to regain my confidence but after I had mustered that, I was back on the lifts taking myself up and down the intermediate slopes....needs to be said though that i was really scared at times as it was so difficult to stop it so
Shotover Jetboat
Flying down Shotover River...thought we might die... little snow and a few times, i thought I was dead!! I was supposed to be teaching David to ski and that didnt go well...in fact we went up the lift one time on to the beginner slope and I told David to go slowly. The next thing, he took off at like 50km an hour down the slope and I had difficulty catching up with him. After he fell for like the 5th time, he lost his temper completely, took the skies off and decided to walk back down the mountain. I on the other hand was no help as I was doubled over laughing...I wish I had of taken a video as it was absolutely hilarious!!! He doesn't like not being able to master something...Lessons next time i think!! haha
On down the coast to Christchurch which was nice but we were only there for one night. We moved on to Dunedin to meet Davids friend Tyler for a few days. We had a great time there, as it was a univrsity city and there was lots of cheap drink on the go an it also looked very much like Edinburgh so I felt at home. They
even have the same street names...pretty freaky alright! Managed to fit in a random night out in the local student bar where all the medical students were in fancy dress ...theme....things beginning with "P"...hmmmnn...the mind boggles! We went to Dunedin castle and we saw the steepest street in the world..Baldwin Street! Although we didnt chance taking our little Hyundai Getz up it...dont think we would have made it!
Leaving Dunedin with heavy hangovers we made our way over towards Te Anau, which is the nearest town to the famous Milford Sound...which is in fact fjordland, but was wrongly named!! Anyway we arrived in Te Anau only to be told the treacherous mountain road had been closed due to an unforseen Avalanche!! Thank god we hadnt left to go a day earlier!! We spoke to a few people who had friends who needed to be airlifted out so we counted our blessings. With the road closed we decided to head off back to Queenstown until the road reopened as Te Anau, much like the other towns such as Fox Glacier etc dont have an awful lot happening, apart from the obvious natural attractions...queenstown on the otherhand is completely bouncing...you can do anything from leaping off bridges, planes or cliff sides to flying down Shotover river in a jet boat...
Queenstown was great fun and while we were there we ventured to a few bars to sample the apres ski as well as doing the Shotover Jetboat, the Luge on the mountaintop which we ventured up via the gondola...all great fun..
The road to Milford Sound eventually reopened and it was just the most awesome scenic drive culminating in cruising through the Homer Tunnel and through the other side down to the Sounds...the only way to see it really is by a boat cruise, so we set off and again it was just beautiful, huge cliff faces and the most tranquil waters...the pictures will hopefully do it justice!!
On our last day before we caught the flight to Sydney we headed out of Queenstown and towards an area named Paradise to see the views and treat ourselves to lunch...Again the views are just breathtaking....really cant describe the scenery in the South Island...Every turn was something else that was breathtaking, the mountainous peaks and shimmering lakes...
We had a total blast in NZ as does everyone that comes here, I've yet to hear a bad word said, and we're so glad it lived upto its reputation...off to sunnier climes though, as we ve been well and truly freezing for a few weeks now and we re desperate to try regain a bit of a tan!!!
Hope everyone is still doing well and once again we're so sorry to have not updated sooner!! Theres just too much to do here!!!
Talk soon
Jen & David x
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Rhian and Dave
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What's wrong wit da car mann!
Hi Guys So good to read your adventures in NZ. You will be charged damages on that limo when i get home! There were no dings, broken windows etc when I left it! Mint it was. Ha, ha! Glad it held out for you and didn't kick the bucket wjile you were in the middle of nowhere. Can't wait for you to return to NZ when we are there and give Dave some proper skiing/snow board lessons. We have made it to sun at last in the French Riv. Look forward to seeing you around xmas. Keep enjoying those travels Love Rhi and Dave p.s Rhi's car is a lot nicer!!!!!