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Oh, there is so much to see and so much to do here!!
We arrived 8 weeks ago to New Zealand South Island and time just flew by we have not even noticed it is over. We started off at Christchurch visiting Kriszti's relatives whom she hasn't seen for a long long time. Needless to say we had a great relaxing few days there during which we have also bought our nice 1989 Honda Accord as transportation is anything but cheap in NZ. The car proved to be a great investment, no problems with it whatsoever and fun to drive (at the end it was not easy to sell, but it was off season).
Then we headed off to Akaroa a scenic little town at the gate of Banks Peninsula. After spending a lovely night at Le Bons Bay backpackers we had a little boat tour to watch the world rarest dolphins the Hector dolphins. They did come indeed, curious little creatures.
The main reason we came to Akaroa was to walk the 4 day Banks Peninsula Trek, due to time constraints (yes, time constraints!) we did it in two. The scenery of native bush, fern forest, tussock fields
and the coastline and a seal colony was amazing. The atmosphere of the huts were so romantic, it was a pity that we didn't try out the outside heated warm bath because it was raining.. and it was also cold on the way to the bath:-)
Next stop was Dunedin on the east coast as a stopover towards Te Anau the gateway to Fjordland National Park. The park itself receives the highest precipitation in a year, luckily we did not have any, not yet. To avoid the "crowds" and do something more challenging we signed up for the Kepler trek. 4 days with various landscapes, heavy packs and long days. Not counting the sandflies, the trip was worth every step. Obviously we arrived back to Te Anau quite wasted, so why not join a relaxing group tour, we told each other, and go check out the nearby glowworm caves. These amazing little animals hang on the walls of the dark cave like the lights on a Christmas tree. They lure insects to themselves by glowing, the insects think the light they see is the way out and that is their fate, they are eaten.
Milford Sound, one of
the nicest fjords in New Zealand was the next step. Everyone talked so much about it so we are pretty excited to arrive there. The best way to explore the fjord is by sea kayak! We signed up for a day trip and off we went. We have not seen dolphins, but did see a lot of seals, even one playing with the fish he caught, tossing it up into the air and of course gorgeous scenery. Rough weather came in for the second part of the day unfortunately so we had to turn back. Luckily we avoided capsizing the kayak and landed safely. We did go back with a small cruise ship though to explore the more distant parts of the fjord and finish the trip with a small underwater observatory. It was a cool little observatory but we did except more from it, oh well.
Queenstown was our next stop. A lively little town with lots of night life which we were not interested in at this point and good cuisine. (They also said it is the best town to work in, in whole NZ). Walking through some of the Lord of the Rings shooting sites, visiting
a Deer Park where we finally got the chance to pet the tamed sheep, were the main attractions for us. During our whole stay we wanted to stalk and pet a sheep out in the field, we did not succeed...so much for our hunting skills.
Days went quickly around town, and time was up again for another trek, a very wet one indeed, the Rees Dart Trek. 4 days through creeks and rivers with lots of sandflies. The first day it rained all day and as we had to cross bigger creeks we got a bit worried. The memorial plates of people who have perished on the trek due to flooding did not help it. But we got on all right and have seen some mighty scenery. No wonder one Lord of the Ring scene was shot here.
After completing this trek we ended up in Wanaka, where the weather let us do limited activities like Puzzle World, Warbirds Museum and a relaxing outside spa in the afternoon rain.
Now we were getting close to the big mountains, the Mount Cook Region. We did not planned to climb Mount Cook but we did want to do some nice treks in the mountains. No way unless our aim was to get fully soaked in the rain. For 2 days it rained continuously, higher up it snowed. So we got upset and left for Arthur's Pass, another mountain region, higher up north. The fresh salmon we bought on the way there was a real feast for dinner.
We arrived to Arthur's pass to find out that the trek we wanted to do was closed because of high avalanche risk so we ended up sitting in the car in the rain or chasing the cheeky keas which came close and wanted a bite out of the car (they do eat rubber!). Heavy clouds lifted the following day and managed to do a short trek but still left a bit disappointed with the weather.
Well, the next town we stayed in was really a weird town, everybody was telling this before we got here, now we have seen it with out own eyes. The town is called Greymouth. Everything we did here turned out to be a mistake, so no more on this!..... at least the drive on the coast to Westport with the pancake rocks and the ocean view compensated us on the following day.
We finally arrived to Nelson, a friendly nice town on the northern part of the south island. Since we left Milford Sound, we were continuously looking for sea kayaking possibilities; this place is the Mecca for sea kayaking. The Abel Tasman coastline is renowned for the best kayaking possibilities in NZ. We couldn't miss it. This time there were not tours no groups we rented a double sea kayak and explored by ourselves. Starting from Kaiteriteri we slowly paddled up north passing small islands with seal colonies. Seeing the seal puppies play a few meters from us was an amazing experience! In Shag's harbor they even came to sit on the kayaks, swam up to our hands and were jumping around like little kids in the water (ok, bigger kids who can already swim). We camped on the beach of Te Pukate bay and watched a full moon coming up from our tent. This was a very special evening! Next day we headed back to port.
Picton came next, it was also a pearl, worth to visit. After a beautiful day trek in the Queen Charlotte sound, we took the ferry to Wellington, a wonderful trip through the sound and the Cook Straight.
We had only two weeks left on the north island unfortunately, and we also had to sell the car, so time was running out.
After a quick tour of Wellington, we headed up to Taupo to fish for trout and do the famous Tongariro Crossing. Well we did fish, for a few hours at least I was trying to catch one, but trouts avoided me. Then guys next to us caught a big one, they didn't want to eat it so they gave it to us. We went back to camp with lot's of food. The following day bad weather came in so Tongariro crossing did not have the privilege to have our footprints 😊
Before arriving to Auckland we stopped at Rotorua to try out the famous bath and see some volcanic activities. After a few hours we got used to the rotten smell that penetrates the whole city.
Bath was refreshing also because by this time winter was approaching and it got colder and colder each day. Our time in New Zealand was up.
We arrived to Auckland to friends who were kind to offer us a place to stay. Selling the car was not easy. It was not easy because nobody wanted to buy it, and it was not easy because we got to like it so much that we did not want to sell it. Finally 2 guys drove away with it satisfied.
The next day we were on the plane towards Australia.
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Istvan Maly
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What a great trip in NZ
Everyone who I am talking to is envious about your journey. I am frequently asked and I have to tell long stories. At lunch time your trip is the main topic in the canteen. We all press the button for you and hope everyday it will be a great success. Best regards from home.