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Published: August 9th 2009
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So that night in my car was probably one of the worst sleeps I have had in a while. I doubt I will do too much more of that unless I have to. It rained all night and the next day making my glacier experience at Franz less than reputable. The glacier was barely visible and the streams were all big to cross and get a closer look so I just packed up and drove north. I stupidly missed the panckae rocks which were only an hour out of my way but I will just have to get them next time I come here.
The rain was just coming down in sheets all day and since the weather was horrid I missed a great deal of the scenic drive and the mountains through the pass. I see why they are the misty mountains from the Lord of The Rings though. I drove through Arthurs Pass to Christchurch which was a great drive despite the rain. As soon as I crossed the pass however, the clouds just stopped and the scenery opened up again. It was great to see the mountains loom up out of nowhere and stretch for several hundred
kilometers. It was a nice drive but took a while. My radio is broken and you have to physically hold down some buttons to get any sort of noise so I have basically been driving without any music in silence and just my thoughts to keep me company since there are few people travelling in my direction I can give a lift.
I got to Christchurch, picked up some mail from the hostel I first stayed at then had a quiet night at my friend Teri's place. It was nice after the night in the car to have a good bed to sleep in and some time to catch up on my emails and chatting with a few people via skype. She left for work the next morning, and I left to drive north to Nelson. It was a nice 4 hour drive through Lewis Pass and was great until I got to the top of the pass and then I hit the same clouds from the day before. Once through the pass the scenery stretched open again and I did a few treks in the mountains to lookouts and made my way into Nelson at sunset.
Nelson
is a beautiful town kind of like Salmon Arm, surrounded by mountains and open on one side to the water. I checked into a great hostel witha pool, a volleyball court, several lounges, great open spaces and even received noodles on my check-in. I think it is a place I would lvoe to go back to in the summer to fully utilize a place as great as that. I wandered the town, bought some food, made dinner for the next few nights which I am almost finished now, and had some beers from a local brewery. I convinced some guys from the hostel to go on a scenic drive to north Abel Tasman. The road was super whindy and took forever to cross but once we got there it was amazing. The beaches were like something you'd expect to see in Thailand. The roadside next to the beach georgous, the water comfortable, the day warm and cloudless. I regret not going to Golden Bay further north but one of the guys had to go back early and we had to go with him. I invited these people along so we could split fuel and so I wouldn't be alone on
my drive =) You meet very unique people on these trips.
I decided the next morning that I would try to go kayaking but I wasn't able to go alone and had just missed the kayak tour that left so I decided to leave too. I was sad because ABel was such a beautiful place but it is on my list of things to do when I come back. At least then I will have more money and won't have to worry about going over budget, I hope. The drive out of Nelson was just as amazing. The water was calm, the sky was clear, and the mountains in the distance looked as if someone had spent several lifetimes trying to paint them. I sat and admired them for a fair while, picked up a hitch hiker and drove to Picton. I dropped him off in Queen Charlotte's pass and spent my day doing some hikes to scenic look out points again. Absolutely amazing. I think I found my new favorite place in the world. Not because it was spectacular mountains or landscape. It just reminded me of my cabin in Shuswap. Though in a range with 5 day
hikes, roadside drives around parts of it, more interfingering wiht mountains and much muh larger. I sat at the lookout for almost an hour and loving it. Again great weather and mirror reflections made the sight even better. I ran out of camera memory so had to buy an external hard drive meaning I can take plenty more pictures =).
I arrived in Picton at sunset and it reminds me of a larger Sicamous. Again with the cabin theme. I was torn between choosing my hostels based on free apple crumble and on free kayaks. Kayaks eventually won after a heated internal struggle. I spent the night as the only person in the hostel as it had just opened up that ady from renos and spent a night exploring the town and drinking at a pub watching footy with locals. I got up early, made breakfast and grabbed the kayak to explore. I went about an hour up to the mouth of the bay but couldn't go further because the water got rough and ferry's were crossing the area so I got out and explored the beaches and had some fun. The mountains here are noticeably older because they
are quite round and squashed but it adds to the magic making them completely different then the ones down south. There was also another earthquake in Milford around this time, only 5.2 but enough to cause a massive avalanche which has closed the road for almost a week. I was lucky enough to paddle right up next to some seals and watch them swim around me very briefly before they swan off. I also got to watch some birds swimming under water chasing fish. I think I will be taking up kayaking when I return to the rockies.
Hopped on the ferry, it's wierd that a student fare is more expensive then the adult on some days, and enjoyed the three hour cruise through the Sound, to the open ocean and into Wellington. It was a busy night in Wellington and it took me over an hour to find a parking spot before I settled into my hostel. I met up with some people, went out to some Irish pubs and have just returned from the Te Papa museum which is absolutely huge and has a fair bit of geology stuff, however basic, enough to keep me interested.
Tomorrow I drive off in search of LOTR stuff and to go on some day hikes. I think I will stay in Wellington another night and leave the following night to New Plymouth to meet up with my flat mate from back home's parents.
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anonymous
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I agree, i absolutely loved Nelson. Wasnt as much of a picton fan, but it was a quant little town. And see, kayaking is amazing. I would take it up with you! Auntie Viv and Uncle Tony are big into it as well, and can probably give some tips about where to go. So glad to hear that everything is going well and that you have found a few people to break the driving silence. Hope that the Magic Bus book i gave you is helping out, and that you have a smooth ferry crossing! Take care, and know that i am insanely jealous that your getting to go to the North island. Be safe and have fun!