Monday 28th August 2006 I left Dunedin on the Stray bus heading north for Christchurch. A compulsory stop was a visit to the Moeraki Boulders. These strange orbs of stone are a unique oddity. The small cafe nearby tries to collect money from visitors with a conveniently placed 'payment' box, but it is actually free to visit the 'balls'. They are a real marvel, but only for a few minutes. We are soon back on the road heading north. We got to Christchurch and I dumped my bag at Coachman hostel (the one I had stayed at before - very clean and tidy and nice people) and caught up with my friends from the city. Tuesday 29th August 2006 I went to the Post Office and picked up a package (sent to Post Restante at Christchurch ... read more

Saturday 26th August 2006 I was due to try to go to Milford Sounds again, but the road was still closed due to the avalanche and there was a good chance to road out Te Anau could go the same way. So I decided I would miss out Milford this time and not risk getting stuck at Te Anau. So the Stray bus took us south towards Invercargill. But first to Bluff - the most southern town in New Zealand. It is famous for it's Oysters and has a seafood festival once a year that must just about keep the place in business, as right now it looks very dead. We go for a walk (I run most of it) through bush and along the coast. I remember feeling that I had done enough of Strays ... read more

Wednesday 23rd August 2006 We got on the Stray bus and left Franz Josef heading for Queenstown. We stopped off for a walk round Lake Matherson, with it’s mirror image of Mount Cook (highest mountain in New Zealand) in the background. We also stopped off briefly to look at the other glacier nearby - Fox Glacier (where the mints are named after I guess?). We also stopped at a really nice beach called Ship Creek, where I spotted a dolphin. On our way between Hasst and Wanaka there was some incredible scenery - enormous lakes surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Lake Wanka and Hawea were very picturesque - see here and here. When we arrived at Queenstown we booked into one of the biggest and busiest hostels in Queenstown - which had it’s ups and downs. On ... read more

Sunday 20th August 2006 After a shower I stood outside to eat my breakfast, I could hear and see the sea nearby - I like that :-) Barrytown is more of a village, not even that. It is a tiny little place by the sea on the West Coast. But it is has a really nice feel to it and the locals (met all ten or so of them last night in the bar!) are really friendly. Across the road from the bar/lodgings is a little place with a shack out the back. I wander round and meet a really friendly guy called Jimmy. He offers me a cup of coffee - hot water provide from the stove in the middle of the shack. After coffee he is going to teach me bone carving... I sipped ... read more

Friday 18th August 2006 We caught the 9.30am ferry over to the South Island (Picton); I slept most of it. We headed off from Picton to Abel Tasmin, stopping for wine tasting in the Marlborough Region. I tried everything and bought nothing, in typical backpacker fashion! We stopped off for lunch at the Perilous Bridge Reserve and campsite. It was a really nice stop if you were camping, next to nice lush bush and a river. We got to Old McDonald's Farm at Abel Tasman and had a group BBQ and sat drinking and talking around the fire into the night.... read more