Blogs from Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 19

I arrived at the ferry terminal in Welly only to bump into a couple I'd met in Taupo. Small world. Turns out we were planning on walking the Queen Charlotte Track on the same days and staying at the same hostel in Picton. And it was a lurvely hostel - free tea/coffee, free breakfast, free pick ups from the ferry (only 500m away but excellent for those of us with so many bags!!) and best off all - free apple crumble and ice cream every night.... yummmmmmmmmmy. Could have stayed here a while, almost did.... ahhhh On my first day in Picton I went on the post boat around the Marlborough Sounds and discovered 2 things - the Sounds are flooded rivers rather than glacial valleys and despite the number of homes around the Sounds comparatively ... read more

About a week and a half ago I left the North Island from Wellington city and arrived in Picton. This ferry trip was filled with beauty all around. Upon arrival there were no longer any buses and I wanted to go to the town of Kaikoura right away, so I stuck out my thumb and was picked up in less than 30 seconds. It took three rides to make it to the town but what a great experience to be able to still hitch hike in this day and age. (By the way I have been hitching the whole time since then and have met marvellous people who have even opened up their homes to me.) In Kaikoura it was a dream come true for me, I swam with the Dusky Dolphin which is known to ... read more

So today we came back from this wonderful 4 days hike. As I mentioned before, we walked a lot... The first 2 days were very tiring, walking 51 km total (plus some uncounted track to get to the place you sleep...). The nice thing about this track is that you sleep in backpackers, with a shower and a kitchen, and not in a "mountain hut". In additon, the big bag is transferred by a water taxi from one point to the next. So it was just us, some water, some lunch picnic and some goodies (we love marshmalloes here!). The views on the way are, as usual, so beautiful. It's very different from the previous places, as we are by the sea and we see it all the time, bays and coves (=small bays), blue and ... read more

Is a lot of walking for one day!!... read more

Dearest woo-foos! Back to Queenstown, though my body has left the seductive deathwish capital where I lept to my demise via Canyon Swing, my heart still beats with its life force. Thus, I'll write in the present tense: This town crackles with energy. It's the 7th most popular vacation destination in the WORLD and it's not hard to see why. It's nestled at the base of the Remarkables mountains, home of Mordor for you Lord of the Rings freakies, and one of the only two mountain chains in the world that run true north and south.(The Andes sharing the honor). They look quite sinister with their jagged peaks looking like giant gray teeth chewing the sky to bits. Lake Wakatipu serves as the waterway that the town wraps itself around. Come nightful, everyone here is ... read more