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Well, here we are in Christchurch, having made it all the way around the south island in one piece (just about!). It seems like a long time since I wrote a blog, and it probably has been, but we have seen and done some amazing things. The crossing on the ferry from Wellington to Picton at the top of the South island was absolutely amazing and luckily we had a beautiful day with clear blue skies and a bright sun shining on both us and all the cows that happened to be sharing our ferry crossing - I don't think they enjoyed the journey as much as we did! The Marlborough Sounds are so pretty and we saw an introduction to the amazing scenery the south island is known for. I also saw some dolphins swim past the boat which made my day! Picton is a small town and unfortunately we only stayed there for about 20 minutes before we headed off on the bus towards Nelson and Motueka, where we were to spend the next week. The bus driver stopped for a spot of wine tasting, always appreciated, and soon we were making our way to Motueka which was to be our base for exploring the Abel Tasman National Park. We found a family who owned an organic farm shop that needed wwoofers so we spent a few days preparing fruit for them and doing mundane and pointless tasks like picking stones out of mud and painting in the dark! The family were interesting to say the least, the only way to describe them nicely is completely bonkers and disgusting but we survived and were rewarded with a trip to Abel Tasman. We arrived in Kaiteriteri and boarded a boat which took us up the coastline of the national park, where we saw split apple rock and lots of seals as well as many golden sandy beaches and clear waters. We were dropped off in Tonga bay for a four hour hike back to Torrent bay to get picked up again. The hike was a lot of fun and the scenery was outstanding, and we still had time to appreciate it all whilst power-hiking back along the end of the track to get to the boat in time after a slightly too leisurely lunch!
Next on our agenda was a week at Punakaiki, home of the pancake rocks and some of the most amazing hiking ever! We were the only two to get off the bus here and the others certainly missed out! We stayed at a lovely hostel right on the beach and spent our time exploring underground caves, walking the long bush tracks, finding hidden coves (well Ellie found them and then showed me!) and jumping around rocks. There are only about 40 people in the entire place and by the end of our stay we were considered locals, with the barman in the local pub knowing what we would want before we even asked for it! The pancake rocks are a spectacular site and at high tide water sprays through the blow holes there, although not enough to make us wet. Punakaiki was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far as it is a complete showcase of the beautiful and wild nature of the west coast, with the tasman sea crashing on the rocks, the wild bush of Paparoa national park just waiting to be explored and the mountains of the southern alps in the distance.
Following this amazing week, we spent just over a week in Franz Joesph, famous for it's glacier. The town is slightly larger than Punakaiki but still small and friendly and in the surrounding area there are many more walks that we explored! A couple of these lead to lovely lakes including Peter's Pool which reflected the image of the glacier perfectly, and many hikes include creek crossings which are great if you want a very cold shallow bath...yes, I fell in the creek! We walked up as close as you can get the bottom of the glacier, following the river that flows from it most of the way, and saw so many large ice blocks that you wouldn't want falling on your head! We chose to do a heli-hike whilst we were in Franz Joseph which involved a 10-minute helicopter ride to the top of the glacier. This was quite strange, I'd never been in a helicopter before and it's so strange that they just take off vertically! When we got to the glacier, we landed about 300m higher than any people who do the guided walls go and the ice was really white and untouched. We got crampons for our boots which were amazing as once you find your "glacier feet" you're off! We could stand on the slippiest ice without falling over! Our guide was a lot of fun and took us around in a big circle on the ice so we could see the really blue, completely untouched stuff. There were tunnels and gaps to squeeze through, a natural ice slide to go down and many ice caves to go in. The day was a lot of fun and we managed not to fall in any icy pools! We were very glad to have a chance to do our heli-hike as you don't really get that opportunity in England! The glacier was different to what I thought it would look like, but it really looks like a frozen waterfall that decends into rainforest and it's incredible.
Our next stop was Queenstown, after a 10 hour bus ride which stopped at Lake Matheson, New Zealands famous mirror lake that reflects Mount Tasman and Mount Cook. The bus also stopped at Wanaka which looked like a lovely place although we decided not to stay there. Queenstown is a very fun place, particularly if you're looking for extreme sports! I think I'm all extremed sports-ed out though as there wasn't anything there I fancied doing! Ellie did a bungy jump which she thoroughly enjoyed and we explored the town and the gardens which are lovely. The town is on the shore of a lake with many mountains close by and it's very picturesque and reminded me of Lord of the Rings quite a lot. After Queenstown we went to Dunedin, the Scottish city of New Zealand (yes there was a Scottish shop and yes I did go in!) and the weather didn't disappoint - just like Scotland it was cloudy and wet! We stayed with a lovely couple in the city and Hamish took us on a couple of hikes with his lovely dog - the last one involved a lot of sliding down muddy paths and a very cold river crossing but it was a lot of fun and it's amazing how many walking tracks can be found so close to a big city. After Dunedin we went to Lake Tekapo for one night, where there are lots of mountains and, funnily enough, a very large lake. Although we didn't arrive there until late afternoon, in true Cat and Ellie style we couldn't resisit climbing Mount John for some great views across to the snow-capped mountains and the Canterbury plains in the distance.
Our final Magic bus journey took us to Christchurch and we are staying in a very big hostel with so many winding corridors that I have managed to get lost looking for a hot shower! We've seen a lot of Christchurch including the Cathedral, Hagley Park, the river Avon and lots of shops! We're also going to see the final of the super 14 rugby tomorrow night, as we couldn't come to New Zealand without seeing a rugby match and all the nice legs that will be on display! We have just over a week left in New Zealand, in which we hope to go to Kaikoura to see some whales and dolphins, so my blogging about this wonderful country isn't over yet!
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betty
non-member comment
drunken falls
Hi Cat you really sound as though you are having a fantastic time in New Zealand seen and done some great things, i was not drunk, but i was playing slides down a slope when i slipped and you know the result, what i will do for time off work. xxx betty