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Published: October 23rd 2005
Apparently, there are more sheep than people in New Zealand. Having spent the last two weeks driving round the southern part of the South Island, I reckon it's true. I counted loads of sheep and only 6 people.
I bring this episode to you from somewhere in the vicinity of the Fox Glacier (so called because it resembles a mint, allegedly). Haven't seen it yet, as there has been a load of cloud, but I will check it out tomorrow and let you know how it is.
Our camper van is slow but methodical and we are enjoying life in it immensely, apart from when the toilet cassette is full. We have already covered a fair distance in it and will need to cover a fair bit more if we are to fulfil our promise and drop it off in Auckland on November 7th. We picked it up in Christchurch on the somethingth of October and our route has taken us to Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook, Oamaru, Dunedin, Invercargill (via the Southern Scenic Route), Te Anau, Milford Sound, Wanaka (a place that had to be visited for the name alone, but happens to be on the shores of a stunning lake) and now Fox Glacier. For those not familiar with the geography of the South Island that sentence could well be the most uninteresting ever written. For those who are familiar, ditto.
There are some beautiful places here, and some fantastic wildlife. We have seen yellow-eyed penguins (the second rarest breed of penguin), blue penguins, seals, keas (alpine parrots that eat rubber for some reason), and others, with more to come as we venture ever northward. The landscape is equally amazing- mountains, pounding surf, deserted beaches, petrified forests (we have touched trees that could be up to 180 million years old)....oh yes, it's all there. And apparently, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in this country. They've kept that one quiet, I can tell you.
Mia and Jake, however, seem remarkably blase about it all. Seen one stunning mountain backdrop, seen them all, I guess. Mia has become more interested in the roadkill (of which there is alot). As we drove up to Mount Cook, with the southern Alps glistening on the horizon, her attention was caught by a hare splattered on the road. She was most concerned that the other hares haven't yet come to bury it. A fair point.
We now play Roadkill- the Game on a regular basis. It's very easy- you get a point for every piece of roadkill you see. Mia is the undisputed champion, but I have a hunch this is because she phones ahead and gets the locals to throw out their fresh roadkill in places only she can see. It is only a hunch, mind.
Jake, on the other hand, likes playing with his cars, and hasn't participated much in the game so far.
Apart from the overwhelming beauty of the place, New Zealand is just like Britain. Same language (albeit with a bizarre accent), same side of the road for driving and same weather (cold, rain, occassional sun- we've actually been very fortunate in that respect since coming to the South Island, and I even had shorts on yesterday). But it feels very far away from anywhere- which is interesting, as it actually is very far away from anywhere. Also, they write their road warnings bottom to top instead of top to bottom. When approaching a one lane bridge (for example), instead of writing
ONE
LANE
BRIDGE
they write
BRIDGE
LANE
ONE
But they also have Tim Tams, so all is forgiven.
Thanks for the comments, emails etc. Next entry sometime soon.
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Imogen
non-member comment
To Mia
mia jake i hope you are having a good time. I have made you a bracelet and two cards - but I cannot send them as I do not know your address. I will save them for when you come back. I am now at school - its fun and I am learning lots. Not too grumpy. I can now swim with out armbands Sounds like you are having great fun - when I play with my toy camper van I can pretend it is you Imogen xxxxxxxxxxxxx