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Published: January 22nd 2008
Well, Happy New Year, We saw it first :P
It was nice to hear from people we miss on new years day, a bit surreal really receiving messages at 1pm our time when we were on a ferry. Anyways, the ferry got us into a town called Picton which we pretty much drove straight out of towards a place called Nelson which is a sunny beach town with some nice restaurants and lots and lots of Motels. We had booked onto a boat tour of the Abel Tasman national park which was a couple of hours drive away the next morning so we got up and got going to this beautiful national park. Mum and Dad did the ferry tour and got off at Torrent bay to enjoy the sunshine and have a swim whilst Debbie, Alicia, James and I (Jon) took the boat towards the top of the park and then walked along the coastal path. The walk took about 3 and a half hours but gave us some beautiful views of the coastline and the chance to see some relics from rock mining era's which have since been abandoned.
The next morning us kids were rather knackered
from the activities of the last couple of days so had a lie in whilst mum and dad went and had a blustery round of golf. After re-grouping we explored Nelson town centre which was very nice and happened to be hosting a Jazz festival which was very nice to listen to whilst browzing the shops. The rest of our time in Nelson was spent soaking up the sun on the beach, enjoying the spa pool in our motel and seeing the kite-surfers racing along in the shallow bay near to our place.
From Nelson we drove south along the west coast to Franz Josef glacier. Unfortunately all of the heli-hike tours were fully booked so we were only able to walk along the public paths to see the glaciers and learn about them, it was a bit colder the closer you got but we had some good views of both the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, as we were leaving the Fox Glacier we also were lucky to see a group of Kea Birds misbehaving and messing about in the car park. They are very playful and tend to tear anything they can from cars much like the
monkeys at Longleat, apparently it was quite rare for us to have seen them up close so... another box ticked!
From Fox Glacier where we stayed in the town, we moved onto Queenstown and a Very nice hotel (Thanks daddo). The drive between Fox glacier and Queenstown was about 5 hours but we kept stopping at some beautiful scenery including 90ft falls (pretty much a 90 ft waterfall), Gates of Haast falls and Puzzle world which was surprisingly good fun! When we did reach Queenstown we had a walk around the ski resort-like town and booked a skydive for Debbie and myself! The next day we did some more exploring and drove around the area before taking the very steep gondola to view the sunset. I was not so well this evening possibly the result of a 2 day hangover - perhaps the food, I blame the food.
The 6th of January was meant to be the day Debbie and myself did our skydive however it had to be postponed due to the weather. Mum and Dad had to leave the same day on a 32 hour journey back to East Horsley and James had to fly back
to Wellington for work the next day so after saying byebye Debbie, Ali and myself carried on our journey to a town called Dunedin.
Dunedin is an odd place, we were there during the summer vacation for universities and since it is a university town which has about 10,000 locals and 20,000 students (something like that - the students make up a 5th of the population anyway) we didnt experience it at its busiest! In fact the streets were deserted almost everywhere we went! After a nights rest we decided to do some sight seeing and visited Cadburys World which was fairly rubbish since the factory tour was closed whilst they were making some changes. Debbie and I did tour the Speights Brewery which was very fun and interesting, best of all we got to sample their beers and lagers of which some were very odd and others delicious. Later that same day we drove up the peninsula to an Albatros colony and spotted a few of these endangered yet enormous birds as well as a very cute baby Blue Penguin and some fur seals.
From Dunedin Ali flew back to Wellington leaving Debbie and I to continue
our southern exploration in James' car (thanks Jimbob). We pre-booked a tour of Milford sounds for the next day and then drove to Te Anau for that evening. The journey was quite long so we split the drive (Debbie got pulled over for speeding) and ended up in the lovely town of Te Anau which sits on one of few very large lakes. To save missing out on anything we booked onto a glow worm cave trip for the same evening and squeezed in a 3 and a half hour walk along the river to a remote hut in the afternoon. Needless to say we slept very well before waking up very early to make it to milford sound before our sightseeing cruise. The Milford Sound is beautiful and words nor photos can do it no justice. We highly recommend a Red Boat (Encounter - longer) cruise to anyone who can make it. That afternoon we made the 5 hour drive up to Queenstown so that we could do our Skydive the next morning!
So from the hostel in Queenstown we got up again quite early and were in the second plane-load of nervous people jumping out at 12,000
ft. I had a german guy called Volcon strapped to me who I asked kindly to look after me, Debbie had a rather perculiar guy strapped to her who didnt say much and had been praying earlier (worrying). We both loved the whole trip, I found the initial accelleration and drop absolutely petrifying but from then onwards incredible. We had a camera man jumping at the same time as each of us so have DVDs of us pulling faces (well why not?) and some awesome photos. After the minibus back to Queenstown we commenced the drive back up the west coast to the Glacial region where we stayed overnight for the next days adventure...
It was now the 12th Jan and we got up early again for our Helicopter ride to halfway up the Franz Josef glacier. The helicopter ride was amazing! Very noisy, very fast, very stomach turning at points but the views of the glacier were incredible (and being in a helicopter is just good fun!). Once we had landed on the ice we put on our cramp-ons and hiked around for a few hours with our english guide. We saw Caves and Crevices as well as pressure driven tunnels and ice turrets and falls. The ice was beautiful and had a really strong blue tint to it which apparently becomes even more vivid in lower light and rain (god I am a geek)... Anyways, our hike was cut slightly short due to an incoming weather front and reduced visability - we didn't complain because it was bloody freezing! Once back at ground level we made a speedy exit out of the region north to a town called Hokitika for a short coffee and sight stop before driving 4 hours across the island to Christchurch on the East coast. The road connecting the two coasts is known as Arthurs pass and has incredible views almost all the way along it. Since we were pushed for time and the weather wasn't at its best we didn't stop for photos too much and made it into Christchurch for that evening. Once into our boiling hot room we had dinner and some wine before sampling the local Saturday nightlife. This is again a university City (personally I'm not sure it qualifies as a university town since the uni is actually out of town and a fairly self contained area) so not as busy as normal but still the bars were quite good, we were both knackered so didn't last too long before crashing to sleep (yes we made it to bed).
The next day we soaked in what Christchurch had to offer and enjoyed the arts centre where there was a fudge factory (no jokes please), and lots of food stalls for free-bee's. Christchurch is very pretty and reminded me quite a bit of Oxford. The University and Museum look like some of the Oxford collages and the river has various old boat-sheds along it, where you could go punting. We ambled through the botanical gardens and the Rose gardens whilst being entertained by a concert which was on in the gardens themself. This took a surprisingly large amount of the day so it wasnt long before we were tucked up in bed (after dinner and a few films at the hostel). The next day we got the city tram tour which was only half an hour and took us to a lot of the places we had been the previous day but also to a few places I dont think we would have found such as a quaint street in spanish architecture with buildings in all different pastel shades, and the tram terminal itself where there was a kiwi egg clock which performed every half hour. You could hop on and hop off for this tour giving us a good chance to explore these places. We also went on a tour of the fudge factory where we saw them make a batch of fudge and got to sample many many flavours (we left feeling a little bit sick!)
The following day (the 15th) we were continuing our journey north to kaikoura however we took a little detour on the way to banks peninsula where we went up a timeball clock tower which was surprisingly interesting considering it was in the middle of no-where - Jon has decided he wants to build one on top of the hill he's going to buy to live in! We also went to a cheese factory although unfortunately they only make cheese on alternate days and this wasnt one of them - we still sampled a large selection of tasters though! We then backtracked through christchurch and arrived in Kaikoura early evening. Staying in a brilliant hostel (although our room was a bit dingy - but cheaper than the others and we were hardly in there so it didnt really matter) with a swimming pool and sauna and spa pool! We got chatting to some Israelis (one of whom told jon he didnt have a very British accent - I honestly almost spat my dinner out!!) and ended up going to bed a lot later than we should have considering we had to be up at 4:50 the following morning for our Dolphin swim!
We got up feeling a little grumpy (Most of you know what I'm like in the morning) but it was definitely worth it. After discovering we were in the wrong place we made it to encounter (the tour company) and donned our wetsuits. It wasnt long before we were in the water swimming with the wild dusky dolphins (jon even swam with a seal). We were in amongst a pod of about 250 and the tour operators said it was the biggest friendliest pod they had experienced for a while so we were really lucky. There were literally dolphins everywhere and they are such amazing animals - they love to perform for you and are really intrigued by you so they swim up really close and do flips out of the water etc. We were told that they would be drawn to you if you made dolphin noises - so this provided much entertainment listening to everyones attempts! They are also more interested in you if you maintain eye contact and 'act like a dolphin' - cue looking even more like an idiot! Unfortunately the combination of early morning, choppy seas and swimming round in circles didnt do me much good and after our 40 or so minutes of swimming was over I was promptly sick!! Nonetheless I think it was my favourite thing that I have done in New Zealand! For the rest of the day we were a little tired so just chilled out by the pool enjoying the sunshine, before watching a few films and going to bed!
The next morning we drove up to Blenheim which is in the Marlborough region famous for wine - we got there just after lunch and hired a tandem to cycle round the wineries. (I know what your all thinking - getting back on a tandem after what happened last time but I felt Jon would have learnt his lesson - little did I know...) So we went round a few wineries - in my opinion the buildings werent as attractive as in Napier but the wine was much nicer. We were pedalling along towards Fromm winery and had a little bit of pace when we turned a little sharply and a little fast into a gravel drive. We then toppled and skidded along the gravel for about 2 feet. Jon got away relatively unscathed with a cut on his elbow. I on the other hand am now sporting a 4 inch long cut on my elbow (which you will be pleased to hear has been oozing and hurts a lot and a huge cut/graze/mess on my leg about a foot long and about 3/4 inches wide - making it very painful to walk! On the upside though the woman in the winery took pity on me and after giving me dettol and bandages (which hurt - a lot) - gave me an extra large glass of wine for tasting! We hobbled back to the bike shop (luckily the bike got away undamaged - i think I took the brunt of the force!) and showered - which again hurt a lot! That evening we chilled out watching films and eating pizza whilst a big storm kicked off outside.
The next day we were to drive up to picton to catch the ferry back to wellington however on the way we stopped at a chocolate factory where you could see them making the chocolates and have several tasters - was delicious but very very expensive so we didnt buy anything. We also went to another winery and to a country preserves shop where we sampled about 20 different chutneys. Then we got on the bout and began the 4 hour cruise back to wellington - where we arrived greeted by Ali and James who cooked us yummy thai green curry - and chilled out for the evening after a very hectic 10 days!
Saturday 19th - Got up early and went on a sight seeing tour with our tour guides Ali and James so some look outs and a tour of the bays collecting paua shells (I slipped on a rock and cut my heel open - interestingly on the same side as my tandem injury so now I walk with a rather humorous limp!). We then went and watched a break dancing competition before taking a cable car up the mountain and taking a walk through the botanic gardens. After another gourmet dinner of satay chicken we commenced drinking for the evening. The account of the evening will be brief as memories are hazy but we did a tour of a large amount of bars where we had a good dance and a good few drinks. I climbed a giant umbrella and after recognising a man was from hull got into a club for free!! We staggered home about 6:30 in the morning - needless to say Debbie was not at her best the next day! Consequently the next day we took it a bit easy -Jon got up early (why?) and walked around the boat sheds in town and saw the Sunday markets and then once back we went to hire a row boat (not the best solution to a hangover to Dub quickly exited and sat on the shore while the others rowed!) we then went to a bar for a drink before returning home to chill for the evening.
Monday 21st - we were nearing the end of our time in NZ so we hired croc bikes (like chuckle brothers bikes) Jon and I were in one with James and Ali in the other (needless to say - it being an item with wheels I was petrified) we cruised round the harbour, down stairs and through tight gaps and I'm pleased to say no-one was injured. We then went to the beach where Jon and James flew the stunt kite until the wind dropped and we headed home where Jon and I made a banoffee pie for dessert.
Our last day in Welly on Tuesday - Jon and I went to the 'te papa' museum which is the biggest museum in NZ and absolutely huge. Was really interesting though with lots of different areas - interesting seeing European impact on the country etc and how the maoris live etc. We then went round the shops but since there was a cyclone brewing we were almost blown off our feet on several occasions! We returned home and ordered a Hells pizza which was described by them to be absolutely covered in toppings however I have to say they werent - but they were yummy! We then did our packing etc before bed - due for an early 5am wake up to catch a flight to Aukland before catching our connecting flight to Cairns.
New Zealand is a fascinating and beautiful country which is more beautiful than it looks on the telly, its also incredible how untouched and unpopulated places are with there often being only one road between the major towns - so only one way into places - and highways that go straight through tiny villages. It has been an incredible experience and personally I would love to come back in about 10 years and see how its changed - hopefully tourism wont have destroyed its beauty!
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is Richard, what's yours?
non-member comment
Thanks...
.... for the update. Could you perhaps extapolate on a few areas next time, I think it lacks a bit of detail. Overall B+