Advertisement
Sheep!!!
and Beth-she is the one in the silly hat!!! So we are now in the land of Kiwi's.
We arrived at Christchurch as it was pouring with rain-where has the sun gone??!!! Thank goodness we had a very nice couple called Sue and Ron who took us in. ( Beths boyfs parents friends as i tried to explain to customs ). Customs was interesting as the sniffer dogs liked the olives we brought over and so had to declare them as well as processed cheese and walking boots-are they not supposed to be looking for drugs???
Sue and Ron were lovely. They cooked us roast dinners and lots of tasty puddings. They MADE us try the local wines and they gave us our own room. Was so weird sleeping on my own again!!! The first thing we did was go out and buy thermals-very sexy!!
We did a trip to Hamner Springs where there are thermal heated pools. You sit in a 36 degree pool with icy mountains all around. (I wont show those photos as you can tell we have been eating well that week!-nothing to do with the vast amounts of wine tasting in Oz) Ron then took a sicky and they kindly took
Akaora
Just outside Christchurch. Sue and Ron took us on a little jolly. us to the peninsula and "hurrah!" the sun came out. Fantastic bays and green hills came into view as the mist blew away. They also took us to a museum which was very educational.
From Christchurch we started our bus journey of the south island. We stopped at Oamaru to see the blue penguins ( and watch Da Vinci Code in the cinema as you could take wine in!). We waited until after dark and saw them come out of the sea. They are so cute!!!
Next was the scotish town, or they call city, of Dunedin where we did a wildlife trek. We found sheep, the rare royal albatross and yellow eyed penguins, sheep, fur seals and moody sealions...and sheep. We also found the local Speight beer and oops had to do the brewery tour and oops had to go the the brewery pub after! Well it was all cosy and had an open fire!!!
We continued down the east coast to the town/city at the most southery point of the mainland-Invercargill. From here we got a 6 seater biplane to Stewart Island. Amazing views and
Dunedin-Sealion
She had just woken up and was abit grumpy so we didnt stick around too long! ...i dont mean Beth by the way! very good service by the pilot who was also the check-in guy and air steward. On Stewart Island we were kiwi hunting! ...well actually just getting very muddy ( It would not have been good terrain for Jo O and my white trainers would not have faired well). As it was low season there was hardly anyone on the island and we kept being given the 'youre not from round here look'. We had lots of bearded fishermen eyeing us up ( apparently there is a shortage of women there-hmm i wonder why?). Alas we didnt spot any kiwis....no one told us they were nocturnal!
Next destination-Millford Sound. We got a bus tour that took us along the Millford Road-no one warned us it was avalanche season!-to the famous sound, which is not really a 'sound' but a 'fjord' as was created by glaciers ( thats the geography bit). We had a cruise around it. Was just stunning. So quiet as only 20 of us on a large boat. We saw the high peaks and waterfalls. The crazy skipper decided to drive into one of the waterfalls as apparently the water on your
face makes you look 20 years younger ( great i now look 6! ). We got to see more fur seals and dolphins!! Back along the track we bumped into the more mischeivious local wildlife-the Kea birds-who decided to start removing the rubber seals from the bus!!! Very funny except for the driver!
After Millford Sound we headed to the adventure capital of the world-Queenstown. "wimp" i will hear you all cry as no i didnt do a bungy jump. I value my ankles and my eyeballs!!! I did do whitewater rafting which was wicked, apart from my toes turning to ice! Didnt fall out at the large rapids so was very happy. Falling into glacial water would not have been fun. I then decided to go on the jet boat, easy i thought, especially as Beth was about to do a canyon swing ( crazy girl!! ) but was actually quite scary. The mad driver kept doing 360 degree spins into the canyon rocks only just missing them. "Dont worry" he kept saying " ive been doing this for 2 weeks now and im just trying out some new spins"!!!!!
While we were
A bay at Stewart Island
Can you see the kiwi??? no we couldnt either!!! there we also visited the old gold minning town of Arrowtown. Was very exciting when a 4x4 pulled up next to us, a couple and then a camera crew jumped out and they grabbed a 'ticket' from a mail box. After they left i peeped in the mailbox to see ' The Amazing Race' clues and an angry director shouting at me to get away!!! ( not sure if any of you have seen that show of Americans going around the world looking for clues? ). Another team later came up to us asking if we were locals. Was going to be subtle and point to where the clue was but i think i would have really pissed off the show then!...so me and Beth may be on TV.... or more likely edited out of it!
From Queenstown we vistited the town, really village, of Wanaka to see its beautiful lake. We were recommended to go to the cinema as its seats are all sofas, apart from the car in the corner, and they have an interval where you can get homemade cookies, pizza and wine!!!!-why dont they do that at home????? We saw Mission Immpossible
Stewart Island
Mum i got all muddy!!! III which has a very freaky reference to Lake Wanaka in it!!!!
Next we started our visits to the glacier country. We went to Mount Cook, the highest mountain in the sounth island. We did a vary exhausting walk uphill to get some great views of the icy mountains and highland pools. We also walked to a river that was so blue because it was full of glacial water-really pretty. We then heard a loud thunderous noise and realised there was an avalanche ahead. We walked back to the village rather quickly after that!
From here we moved to Fox Glacier. I did a full day glacier walk and was amazing. Have added quite a few photos of the ice. Is weird to think it is moving underneath you, allbeit very slowly. The guide told us lots of scary stories about people falling down the holes and crevasses and ending up dead or brain damaged! He could have told us after!!!!! Was a very carefull walk due to the steap slopes and slippery surface. The guide had to pick axe steps to climb the bumpy terrain and we had to wear crampons
Millford Sound
This photo doesnt quite give it justice. on our feet ( metal shoes with spikes ) to walk on the ice. Wish i could have spent more than a day on there but a day was exhausting enough! The next day we vistied Lake Matherson which you can see the mountains reflecting in the water....well you can if there is no cloud doh!!!!
Beth did a skydive! Am very jealous as she said it was the best thing she has done. I am now at the stage of having to juggle pennies and so had to pass....
Well we have done losts of walking since he have been in NZ. My thighs will be cracking by the time i get home. A fellow backpacker even commented that i looked like a proper trekker the other day, with my hiking boots and winter woolies!!! - i hope Lisa and Paul are proud of me!!!!!
I have just got a few things to say to some lovelies.......
Jo O- cant wait to see you soon. Not long now! Please, please bring me some Marmite as its just not the
A kiwi!!!
okay its not to scale and made of stone but he was a good kisser! same here-its vegetarian for god sake!!!! Youre going to have to have fast initiation into backpacker life! The worst is the bag ( my back will never be the same, i hate it and want to burn it!) and then dorm rooms! ( those that snoore, sniff, fart or generally move alot in their sleep should be shot!)...... See you in Wellington!!!!
Ruthie- I hear you are ready to pop. I hope you are feeling well and am thinking of you!!!
Vicky G- where in the world are you???? Am very confussed?????
oh and.....Come on ENG-ER-LAND!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.149s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 62; dbt: 0.0899s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jo O
non-member comment
3 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!
I'll have you know Miss Marks, I am going to come well prepared for mud and other scary things that assist me on falling on my bum!!! I have Ketchup and Marmite on my list so will be packing it just for you!!! Cannot beleive I am nearly on my way - scary!! NZ looks beautiful. I am sooooooooo excited. Have invested in a bag on wheels so will be the envy of the Travellers World! Be good, take care and ensure Beth gets all of those scary jump things out the way before I arrive!!!!!!! Love, Jo x