Where do we start?

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Where do we start?

Well, we arrived safely in New Zealand, and having now received a sufficient amount of email abuse about the lack of blogs, we have finally been able to tear ourselves away from the fantastic scenery and write one!

Unlike Australian customs, New Zealand was a doddle, and allowed us through, tent and all without a hitch. We grabbed a coffee and collected our thoughts and caught a bus into the centre of Christchurch. As mentioned in the previous blog, we were after a spaceship for our travels, and popped into the shop just before it closed, en route to finding some accommodation. We managed to secure ourselves a spaceship, but the woman calling around couldn't for love or money find us a room - it is peak tourist season here, which we hadn't really considered. It then dawned on us that we were carrying our tent, so the kind spaceship lady took us to a nearby campsite, where we based ourselves for the following 4 nights.

It was like camping in the UK - cold and wet!

We treated ourselves to a meal at a local restaurant as we couldn't face camp cooking the first night. This place served the hugest portions that I have ever seen - To qualify that, neither Rob or I could finish our meals (ribs stacked high and a huge steak respectively). It certainly satisfied the potato craving! Lone Star is defiantly a decent place to eat. Lone Star I think I love you!

We picked Sally up (the name we have given to our spaceship), and headed to Akaroa, the little nubbin below Christchurch. We got our first taste of the fantastic scenery we had surrounding us. Lunch was had looking down over the harbour, and the campsite had fantastic views - that is until a campervan pulled into the space opposite!

After a walk around the tiny town we booked a trip for the following morning - to swim with the Hector dolphins, the smallest and rarest in the world. Thankfully they were not that rare, and as we sung into our snorkels to attract them we were surrounded by about 9 for an hour. The water was cold, but kited out in wetsuits and with our excitement, we barely noticed it. We had been told not to touch them as they have delicate skin, but this is easier said than done when they come swimming right across your face for a closer look. For the rest of that day we couldn't help but keep smiling!

From here we headed to Lake Tekapo, which was a fantastic blue. We went on a walk to the observatory on top of one of the peaks - there was a lot of uphill climbing, and at points it seemed never ending, but the views were worth it.

The next stop on our travels was Mount Cook and the surrounding glacier area. That afternoon was another 3hr walk, and our new mantra is, 'walking means eating!' This time it was a lot easier on the legs as it was flat, ending in a lake with some icebergs in it at the bottom of Mount Cook.

We had booked another trip, and this time it was sea kayaking across the glacier lake. The water really was freezing, and we stayed well out of it! We saw the terminal face of the glacier changing, as bits slid off into the water. It is moving about 30cm a day, which is obviously enough for our guide to notice the difference over the course of the season.

Oamaru was the next point of interest, as here they have a blue penguin colony. These are the world's smallest penguins, and they really are tiny! Each evening, after a long day at sea fishing, they come ashore. We watched as 68 came ashore - they don't do anything in a hurry! We were concerned for 2 little chicks that were waiting for their parents to come and feed them, as we had to leave before the parents returned - we hope that they are not still hungry!

The same evening we went to a viewing point where you can see yellow eyed penguins - these are the world's rarest penguins, and we saw only one. He was not doing a lot, and it did make us question whether he was just a glove puppet! Walking between the penguin places we must have clocked up at least 15km - that is a lot of eating!

Dunedin was the next stop, which we reached via Shag point. Here we saw loads of fur seals, once our eyes adjusted to picking them out as they are quite camouflaged. We then went to another hide, and en route we spotted a moulting yellow eyed penguin. Not the most beautiful of penguins, but a rare one nonetheless! This one allowed us to sit about 5m away and watch him.

In Dunedin, we visited the Cadbury's factory, where they have a tower where you can watch one tonne of melted chocolate fall (and splatter all over you), just for fun. This tour was followed by one of Speight's Brewery which was good, and ended in a self pouring tasting session and an evening in the bar with 2 people, who we have no idea of their names!

We moved further south, into the Catlins. The day was miserable, but we did venture out to the beach, but quickly returned, soaked to the skin. Just as well we had invested in a bottle of Brandy to keep us warm! Rather than put the tent up in the wet we slept in Sally.

In the morning we had breakfast, got talking to another couple and before we knew it, it was midday already and the day was cheering up. We went to Nugget point, and then carried down along the coast, stopping at some waterfalls. The campsite was by the beach and we went for a walk, spotting another yellow eyed penguin - we only ever seem to see one at a time, so are wondering if it is the same one all the time!

Today we have mooched along, stopping at a lake, then at the Cathedral Caves. To enter the caves you have to wait for low tide - we were a little too eager to start with, having to clamber up some of the rocks to avoid getting wet! We then went to Curio Bay, where there is a fossilised forest, aged about 160 million years old - pretty old!

We are now in Invercargill, the most decent sized town in the vicinity so we can give you all some reading material! Hopefully the photos will do some justice to the sights we have seen.

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