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Published: November 6th 2008
Hello all,
We have come to the end of our Kiwi adventure and are jetting off to pastures new tomorrow - Australia!! But what an amazing time we have had in New Zealand. We had felt a little disappointed not to have had a little more time on the North Island, but the South Island has been as amazing as everyone had told us it would be, and it was great to have two weeks to truly explore every inch of it!
We were at the Foz glacier when we last left off, and from there we took the most incredible scenic route through the Haast Pass towards Wanaka and Queenstown. Wanaka was a gorgeous little town on the shores of the lake - (apologies for having no photos of the town, I left the digital camera in the campervan so will have to wait until Albert's film pics get developed!) We moved onto Queenstown the next day, and to the adventure capital of the world!! As we had already enjoyed the thrills of a skydive, no other activities really looked that appealling - however, we did have a ride on Shotover Jet - a very high-speed jet boat
that takes you on a crazy 30 minute ride through narrow rock-filled rapids and performs 360 degree turns when you least expect it! After a quick bowling trip, we left Queenstown on the road to Te Anau and the area of Milford Sound.
Milford Sound was incredible - we couldn't believe our luck as the weather had been terrible for most of the South Island, but on the day we booked our Nature Explorer boat cruise on Milford Sound the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. As you can see from the pictures, this is an incredible part of the world, and we wont forget floating through the Sound - overhanging mountains and waterfalls at every angle and amazing photograph opportunities at every turn. We also visited Milford Deep - a fascinating underwater aquarium in the middle of the Sound.
From Te Anau we drove across the South of the Island and managed a fleeting stop at Dunedin. It was here, on the way to a brewery(!), that Albert managed to take a wrong turn up the steepest road in the world, as per the Guinness Book of Records...! He wisely decided to
reverse the van back down the road, after the realisation that a 180 degree turn could topple us!! We left Dunedin unscathed thanks so some 007-esque moves from my fiance...
Onwards to Oamaru, our favourite Kiwi town - home of the penguins.... We were lucky enough to see over 100 blue penguins at dusk coming home from their days out fishing in the sea, and returning home to their partners and young chicks at their man-made colony. Incredible to witness, but no photographs were allowed so you'll just have to believe us. We also saw the endangered yellow-eyed penguins in the wild in their colony, as they just walked right past me (see video). Some cheese tasting and a walk through the botanical gardens finished off Oamaru and we were on the move again, this time back to Christchurch to drop off the van... but not before a little more fishing in a strange little ghost-town called Twizel!! On our last night we stopped at Akaroa in the hope of booking another boat tour - this time to swim with dolphins, however our hopes were dashed as the snow, sleet and hail came...and did not stop...We will definitely not
miss the New Zealand weather and are excited to top up our tans in Australia (fingers crossed!)
After 2600 miles...21 days...too many pies and lamb shanks to mention, and the most incredible scenery we have ever witnessed, we have finished our New Zealand adventure. We bid a sad farewell to our trusty campervan, and now have only Australia and South East Asia left on our trip. Less than 7 weeks left, and 4 more countries and cultures to experience!!
Big love
A and A xxx
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Valerie (Babe #2)
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Meat Pies!!
I know a place in Brooklyn that makes NZ meatpies!!! I'll get some for your triumphant return to the states in.. like TWO MONTHS--your trip looks spectacular--I look at pictures whenever I am in my Corporations Class--it's my one bit of solace...Godspeed to you guys on your whirlwind global adventure fellow fiancees! Cheers!