Southern Beauties!

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So here comes country number ten! Arrived at Christchurch airport after probably best flight so far; Qantas seriously get 10 out of 10 for their food and ability to make decent goblet sized G & Ts! Now I am not going to blame either those at the quarantine station or indeed those who made the goblet size G & Ts; though what happened next might have something to do with one or both of these factors! Whilst my tent was being thoroughly inspected for obvious various diseases bought over from Australia (nevermind the clothes from south east Asia!) I swung my rucksack onto my shoulder and heard a strange crunch coming from the collar bone. Bugger.... So a little trip to A & E started our New Zealand adventure. Though I must say such trips are adding to my soon to be published "Lonely Planet: Your guide to medical facilities around the world". Though once I was all sorted and equipped with my sling for the next 4 weeks; it was all systems a go. It had been our plan to use public transport around the south island, but due to miss calamity jane here we opted for a bargain campervan at a bargain price!
Christchurch was a little dose of home; very much a Stratford upon Avon feel to it with a river and gothic style buildings and cathedral. We spent about 3 days touring the Art galleries; Art centres; Botanical Gardens and various Kiwi shops! Our first stop in our van was to be a place just north of Christchurch; Hamner Springs. The only reason you come here are for the hot springs. So we did our duty and visited the various sulphur pools; some of which got up to temperatures of 41 degrees! Though you do have to battle with the smell of egg which lingers around for a few days after! From here we travelled to the north of the south island and went across to Malborough Sounds. Having seen a good chunk of the south island by now; I would have to say this is a must see. The sounds are a beautifully peaceful area which you can spend time exploring whether by road or boat. They are also the gateway to the wine regions in this area. For those of you perhaps thinking about visiting wineries; may I suggest you use a sling or bandage of some kind, these kind kiwis like to add a little extra in for you! Heading West we made our way across to Abel Tasman National Park; only accessible by water taxi. We were planning to stay in a place called Motoeka but actually found a gorgeous little bay a little further West called Kaiteriteri which is well worth the extra Km! Unfortunately however the rain then seemed to catch up with us and we were unable to go out onto the boats. Next time! From the north; we drove down and through the various mountain passes which take you directly across to the West coast. Driving over here can be a little difficult and scary at times. Due to the massive amounts of water which came down over us in two days, there were a couple of landslides across the passes. One of hich we had to clear the rocks away with our bare hand (s)!
The West coast, I found varies a lot. The northern most towns such as Westport and Greymouth are not that spectacular; infact I would miss them out completely but there are a few gems hidden in and around them. Such as the Seal colony with the Kekeno seals which literally come up onto the beach with their pups to play in the surf! There are also the pancake rocks which at high tide make an awesome noise through their blowholes (no comment). If you are looking for a bit of Jade; Hokitika is the place to find it; just south of Greymouth. The Jade here is a little dark for my liking but the town is also home to other artists who do some weird and wonderful things with simple rocks from the beaches.
The highlight by far for me of the south island were the glaciers; Fox and Franz Josef. We visited both, with Franz Josef being a lot more touristy (both the glacier itself and the town) and although it was impressive; I still feel the Jungfrau in Switzerland is much more awesome. We had also heard that Fox glacier was a lot cleaner so we headed there and stayed at the foot of it. In the morning, we managed to get onto the first helicopter flight of the day and we travelled over the glacier and were lucky enough to witness the sun rise over Mount Tasman and Mount Cook! Simply breathtaking! As part of the flight we also got to land at the top of the glacier and walk around up to various crevices and have a look into them!!
Our next stop was Lake Wanaka (no jokes please I think my Dad has exhausted them all!) which was beautiful again, very tranquil and the scenery around it was stunning. Wanaka itself was just like an alpine village but a little more modern than anything else we had come across. There is also a brilliant cinema there called Cinema Paradiso....a very unusual experience! Our penultimate stop was in Te Anau; the last point of civilisation before Milford Sound. We had a very long journey to get out to the sound which is one of the most tourity parts of NZ. I am still holding judgement on the day itself. Whilst the boat journey around the sound and the various waterfalls was good; I am not sure it is worth the time or the money. The Marlborough Sounds were just as good, if not better! Finally we headed to Queenstown; the place to be....if you haven't got your arm in a sling! I had planned to do the 135m gorge swing but again I'll just have to wait. Queenstown is very modern, very chic and much more expensive than other parts. Though there are just as nice villages around it; one in particular called Arrowtown was like being on a set in one of the Back to the Future movies! Probably made better by the fact that we managed to see a mountain marathon taking place and blagged our way into a function especially for cricketers!
If anyone is planning a trip to NZ I would definitely recommend doing it via a campervan. We have stayed in everything from a deer park, the foot of a glacier and with fairground people. Though it just means that you can have the freedom to do what you want when. We have met a lot of people being dictated to with various tour and bus timetables and New Zealand shouldn't be seen like that. The South Island has been completely different and completely what I had hoped for. I hear the North Island is completely different.... so watch this space!

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Photos

Malborough Sounds
At an idyllic spot called Portage

Mirror Lakes
Taken with the good arm!

Fox Glacier
Up there for sun rise...

Milford Sound
For that dramatic effect..