The Wild South

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island
March 10th 2006

Published: March 13th 2006

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Swedish Emma

Marlborough Sounds

The first glimpse of the south island.

I left the North Island and moved on to the South, starting off with Abel Tasman National Park. Here, I decided, the best way to see the area was by kayaking, walking and sailing. So that's what I did, all in one day. It was, like all days so far, a beautiful, sunny day. The kayaking was the first activity on the Abel Tasman schedule. We kayaked for a good few hours, before we stopped at a beach for lunch and tea. We enjoyed the view and the sand and breathed in the fresh air. A short walk through the bushes took us to another beach, where a sailing boat was waiting. It took us to several beaches and islands, sailing alongside swimming seals, and inviting us to a feast of freshly caught, and cooked, mussels. It was such a gorgeuos day, I didn't want it to end. The sun, the warm water, the breeze and the tranquility. This is life!
After Abel Tasman, I set off along the rugged and wild West Coast. They get an average of about 5-10 metres of rain annualy. The land rockets up from the ocean, trying to reach the sky with the Southern Alps.

Abel Tasman National Park

Kayaking on a wonderful day.

The slopes of the west coast is covered by rainforest and only inhabited by 40'000 people. The narrow and winding roads offers great views of the rocks and the sea. Only a short stop at Punakaiki, then on to Fox Glacier. Here I could enjoy Mt Cook from afar, and walk the second fastest glacier in the world. It was exciting walking that huge chunk of ice, even though the rain was pouring down. It was really cold in Fox Glacier, and my next stop, Queenstown wasn't much better. It was a lot colder than normal and the mountains were covered with snow.
Queenstown is an amazing little town, the adventure capital of New Zealand, and I dare almost say, the world. So, I grabbed the moment, and went for a skydive. I was so nervous, but the jump was great and one of the best experiences ever! My heart was pounding the whole way down, but my smile went from ear to ear. I stayed in Queenstown for four days, and apart from the skydive, I did some mountainbiking and tramping. I biked up to Deer Park Heights and enjoyed more LOTR-views.
I was sorry to leave Queenstown, but

Beaches

They were lovely in Abel Tasman.

I had a few more stops before returning to Australia. First up was Mt Cook, which in hindsight, I could've skipped. It was literally pissing rain and the clouds covered New Zealands highest peak for my full stay there. I was happy to leave for Christchurch. I really liked Christchurch. A very English town with some nice architecture (and some awful), a huge cultural area and great restaurants. I took a sidetrip to Mt Sunday, aka Edoras, on Thursday, and enjoyed the same views as Eowyn. A little less wind though; we were ridiculously lucky with the weather. Practically no wind (compared to the quite "normal" 180km/h winds they can get there), warm and sunny.
After three amazing weeks it was time to return to Australia, but I would have like to stay longer in this gorgeous country!

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