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Published: November 20th 2006
We landed in Christchurch the afternoon of Saturday 7th October. There is now 12 hours difference between us and home so we really do feel like we're the other side of the world! We had already booked a hostel so we caught the shuttle to it and were very impressed (we had been told that NZ hostels were great and ours was!)
We headed out to explore the city. We spent the next few days in Christchurch and we really liked it. We looked around and went on the tram, to the botanic gardens, and the art centre. On the Sunday we found a lovely english pub and had our first roast dinner since we left home - delicious!!! On the Tuesday morning we picked up our campervan and were ready to explore New Zealand! We would spend about 2 weeks on the South Island and then 2 weeks on the North Island.
The South Island was just absolutely beautiful. It lived up to all the expectations and more; as we had heard so many good things about New Zealand. The scenery was lovely and, at times, astounding - just when you thought it couldn't get any better it
Karen in Christchurch
Karen enjoying the nice architecture of Christchurch!!!did! The campervan was a great way to get around and for sightseeing it was perfect for us. We set off from Christchurch and went down the east coast. The first night we stayed in Timaru - just as a stop-over on the way to Dunedin really. The next day we arrived in Dunedin and spent 2 nights there. It is a very nice city with a lot of 19th and early 20th century architecture. It was very pretty and quite Scottish! In Dunedin we went to the Cadburys factory and had a tour (it had to be done!) . We also had a brewery tour of the Speights brewery which was brilliant. Speights is a very popular beer in NZ and its brewed in Dunedin. The tour was great and we finished it off by sampling 6 of the varities of beer that they sell, followed by a meal in the Ale House. We were a little tipsy! We also visited the Otago Peninsula which was beautiful and it was also where we saw our first Royal Albatross (a native bird of NZ thats like a huge seagull, with a wingspan of upto 3 metres!)
After Dunedin, we
Cadbury's Tour, Dunedin.
Karen finds the Easter Bunny!!! drove across from the east coast to fiordland (on the west). Our next stop was Milford Sound. After negotiating the tricky Milford pass (one of the highest in NZ with a long scary tunnel through the mountain), we stayed at the campsite at Milford Sound and booked our cruise for the following morning. We were up early and on the boat the next day and it was amazing. For starters we had got a nice early cruise so there were only 4 others on a huge boat. The weather had cleared as well. It had been raining the day before and now the sun was shining nicely! The cruise was beautiful - on the Sound it was so calm and peaceful, with stunning scenery. As there had been a lot of rain the days before, water was running down all the rocks into the Sound. There was a huge waterfall which they steered the front of the boat right into and, to top it all, there was a lovely rainbow in front of the waterfall - magical! The crew had put glasses on the front deck to collect the water from the falls, so we all drank the fresh water
Otago Peninsular
Just one of the great views along the Otago Peninsular. afterwards. We also got to see New Zealand Fur Seals 'lounging' on the rocks as we passed. On the way back, the cruise dropped us at an Underwater Observatory where we spent an hour studying all the unique marine life. It was quite fascinating.
Later on that day we had to back track as the only way out of Milford is back on the same road we came in on (many of the roads here are like that). It was late afternoon when we arrived in Queenstown. We liked what we saw as we drove through the town centre. Queenstown is very much like an alpine town - similar to places in the Alps. It is on the northern shore of the serpentine Lake Wakatipu with stunning views of the surrounding mountains including 'The Remarkables' and it is the home of the bungy jump! It is also one of the main places to take a ski-ing holiday. The campsite was in a very handy location - just a stones throw to the town. We headed out for a walk and booked ourselves for a ride on the Shotover Jet boat for the next day. There was a jazz festival
Speight's Brewery Tour Dunedin.
Karen makes a great Barmaid! We had 6 different beers to choose from. on so we watched and listened to the music in the park from a nearby pub (with a nice beer!) The weather here wasn't too great and it had rained all night the night before our boat ride, thus meaning the water was too high in the river for the boat ride to go ahead. Therefore, we had to re-book for the next day. So, we spent a little bit of time in between downpours wondering around the town and admiring the surrounding views. The next day we had good news even though it had rained all night - the Jet boat ride was going ahead!
The shuttle bus took us to the nearby Shotover River and we had the most amazing jetboat ride. It was such a buzz as we 'zipped' in between the canyon walls and narrowly avoided rocks! The jetboat is also famous for the 360 degree turn which was an adrenalin rush. They did the turns several times throughout the ride and we were in fits of laughter each time! After all the excitement, we were back on the road again. We stopped off in Arrowtown which is a lovely quaint old town from the
Speight's Brewery Tour Dunedin.
The taste test! Jamie did taste a lot of the ales - I couldn't decide which one I liked best!!! goldrush era. Then we went to Wanaka. The drive from Queenstown to Wanaka was spectacular - some great views as we went along the windy (and high) Crowne Pass. Wanaka was beautiful too. It is set around a big lake with Mount Aspiring National Park as the backdrop. We didn't do an awful lot in Wanaka - just spent our time walking around and enjoying the scenery.
Next, from Wanaka we dove up to the Fox Glacier, via Mount Aspiring National Park and the Haast Pass. Again this was amazing scenery (probably some of the best we'd seen). Each time we turned a corner, the view just got better. You could see the contrast between the habitat and landscape - it went from mountainous ranges to green terrain and a mild climate. We stayed in Fox Glacier Township for the evening. The following morning we were supposed to be going on a helicopter ride but, again, there had been non-stop rain all nigt and day so the flight wasn't going. Still, we had also booked a Fox Glacier walk for the afternoon and these rarely stop for the weather so that went ahead. We got all wrapped up and
Us two
Wrapped up warm on our Milford Sound cruise! equipped with our waterproofs (they were much needed) and set off on a 3 hour guided walk of the glacier. It takes about an hour to walk to the glacier as you have to walk through the rainforest to get around to the face of the glacier. We got absolutely soaked but it was worth it and it didn't actually spoil it. When we reached the face of the glacier, we strapped on our cramp-on's and set off on the ice. It was great to walk on it and hear all the amazing facts about the glacier and the rate at which it is moving. Its almost like a huge, living monster! You could hear gurgling sounds of the ice/water and the pressure underneath at some points. The size is also impressive - its 13km long and you could fit the whole of Christchurch into it! We walked for about 1 hour on the actual glacier, steering our way through crevasses and some tunnels. There was even a little tiny cave! Then it was time to walk back through the rainforest. Back at the camp we had a very long hot shower - it was so wet that the rain
Spectacular!
Milford Sound Scenery. had soaked right through our 2 layers of waterproofs!
The following morning, we were grateful as the weather had brightened up and we managed to fit our helicopter flight in before we left Fox Glacier. It was awesome - an absolute highlight of the trip. It was a half hour flight over the Fox Glacier and Mount Cook (the largest mountain in New Zealand). The pilot was brilliant and managed to get us right up close to the mountain-side and let the tail-wind lift us right up above all the mountains. We then had a snow landing next to the Neve' of the Glacier. It was like another world on top of the snow - it was so peaceful and quiet and our footprints were the only ones around (in lovely fresh, deep snow!) After the take-off we flew back down over the top of the glacier (and saw the small part which we had walked on the day before), and the pilot did some acrobatics and gave us some great views. Brilliant!!! After the helicopter, we visited Lake Mathieson which is near the glacier. It is a very calm, peaceful lake which has very reflective water. We then
Marvellous!
Milford Sound scenery. drove up the road to see Franz Joseph Glacier. We just viewed this one from the viewing platform but it was equally as impressive as the Fox. We then had lunch in the Franz Joseph Township.
After the Glaciers, we drove up the west coast, making a stop in Greymouth. We then started the drive back across to the west coast and stayed in Reefton for the night. The next day we drove to Kaikoura. It was a really nice small town so we had a look around and booked a trip to swim with the dolphins and go whale watching the following day (what Kaikoura has become famous for!) In the evening we brought a whole crayfish for dinner as Kaikoura is a big crayfish fishing town. Luckily it was cooked already so we didn't have to do the hard bit. We just had to crack it open and enjoy the contents (it was messy though!!!) It rained all night and, once again, the weather wasn't very good the following morning. The dolphin trip was still going ahead though so it was an early start.
When we arrived at the centre we were fully kitted out with
Magical!
The beautiful rainbow under the waterfall in Milford Sound. wet suits, a hood, gloves, flippers and a snorkel. We then had the briefing about the trip afterwards so we all looked like right wally's sitting in our wetsuits and gear in the mini theatre - watching a video !!! Then it was time to get on the bus that would take us to the boat. We had been advised that there was a mild seasickness risk and there was a "bit of swell" due to the weather. Once on the boat, a "bit of swell" in their eyes turned out to be a LOT of swell in our eyes and the boat was really rocky - especially the initial part of the trip! It calmed down after a while but was still swaying a lot. Poor Jamie got seasick quite soon into the trip and, quite quickly afterwards, several more people followed suit!!! We spent about 40 minutes or so going further out, looking for the dolphins. We did see some on the way but they weren't interested in the boat at all so we carried on (they had a baby dolphin with them). The trip is completely natural - the company does not do anything to attract the
Awesome!
The waterfall close-up, Milford Sound scenery. dolphins and they are completely wild. When the dolphins are spotted, they stop the boat and, if the dolphins are interested and come along and swim with the boat, then we all got in the sea and swam with them. After a while, we saw another group of dolphins and, this time, they were interested. We all got in the water and swam frantically to be near them. It was much harder than we thought because the sea was still really rough and it was freezing. When I first jumped in the cold was such a shock that I froze and couldn't breath through the snorkel so had to get back on the boat! We got the hang of it slightly better though and had a fantastic time. It was such a great experience - especially as it was all so natural. We each had a chance to swim really close to the dolphins and it was brilliant. The boat moved around a few different times so the group of people swimming all managed to get different experiences and have their 'moment' with the dolphins. People woule all swim off in different directions so we were lucky enough to each
Refreshing!
Probably the freshest water we have ever drank! be in the right place at the right time. Jamie couldn't do too much swimming because he felt so rough but he swam once and had all the dolphins to himself, circling around him! Karen also had a time when the dolphins were swimming with her on her own. It was amazing - they were all around you and there was about 6 at a time - fantastic!!! The whole thing was awesome! Back on boat, we also got to enjoy the dolphins and saw them doing some acrobatics. It was less effort than swimming with them too as they swam so fast! We then had about 30 minutes or so back to the shore and, by this time, about 90% of the boat were being sick!!! Back on dry land, Jamie started to get some colour back in his cheeks and feel better but we decided against doing the whalewatching trip that we had booked for the afternoon (he would have felt really bad again). Turns out that it was cancelled due to the weather anyway. We had lunch in Kaikoura - trying to take in what we had just seen - and were then back on the road.
Queenstown
The stunning surroundings on Lake Waikatipo, Queenstown. The next destination was to be the last on the South Island. We drove to Picton and spent the evening there, ready to catch the lunchtime ferry across to Wellington on the North Island the next day. The ferry was huge and like a floating village! It was a bit choppy so we consoled ourselves by spending it in the bar drinking the nice Speights Gold Medal Ale that we had grown accustomed to!!!
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Jealous
Woweeee!! Can't believe the piccies they're amazing!! Sounds like you're having a fantastic time still, has reminded me of my trek on franz joseph glacier, pretty spectacular i seem to recall. Missing you guys LOADS now, and well looking forward to a reunion in the new year. Plans for Crimbo Eve are not looking good at the moment :( Bloody squirrels. Take care guys, see you in couple of months xxx PS. Had an embarrassing proclaimers experience on a recent hen-do. It happens on this side of the world too!!!