New Zealand Volume 2

We took the ferry towards the south island from Wellington and were greeted by unbelievably breathtaking views as the boat meandered its way through the Queen Charlotte Sound towards Picton – it was so beautiful that the photos look faked! We regrouped with the group from the bus and drove on to our first South Island stop - Kaiteriteri in the Able Tasman National Park. The next morning we woke up all excited and ready to go Sea Kayaking along the coast only to step outside into the driving rain…

The trip was going ahead regardless so we gritted our teeth and went and got kitted out, repeating the mantra that we WOULD have a good day. By the time we got in the boats we were soaked to the skin and had to put our hands in the sea to try to warm them up. By lunch time our spirits were waning and we were struggling to maintain that we were having fun. We pulled up in a deserted cove for lunch looking like frozen drowned rats and you can imagine our joy as the sky finally began to clear. The afternoon was beautiful and after a last stop to visit the seals on a small island we completed our 14kms and picked up a water taxi to take us back to base for a hot shower and a well-deserved good dinner.

The scenery as we picked our way along the West coast was magnificent and it is hard to pick out anything as more impressive than the rest. We had the chance to walk around a fair few places and our overnight stops included watching the Rugby world cup final in a pub in Westport, and a rather bizarre place known as the ‘Poo Pub’ (a pub in the middle of nowhere run by 80-year-old Les who does a fantastic bbq dinner) where we won the fancy dress competition and a 200 dollar canyon swing in Queenstown so we were pretty chuffed!

Soon after we made it to Franz Josef Glacier and spent a couple of nights in a rainforest retreat and a full day glacier walking. Having never been on a glacier before, it was a great experience and knowing my clumsiness I was pleased to finish the day without stabbing myself in the leg with my crampons or falling down a crevice. Soaking in the hot pools back in the town later that evening was the perfect end to the day.

We had one day in Wanaka relaxing by the lake and a trip to Puzzling World (my inner child was very excited about this) before cruising into Queenstown where the group of people we’d been travelling with started to split up. Having not made too many plans in advance and being pleasantly surprised upon our arrival, we ended up spending a week in Queenstown. Despite being a big tourist spot the town retains it provincial feel and is an easy place to while away a good few days. We tried a fair few bars, played Frisbee golf in the park, sampled the world famous ‘Fergburger’ (it really is that good), Nico spent an afternoon mountain biking and I jumped off a cliff (see Facebook for the video)…

We squeezed in a day trip to Milford Sound – a Fjord on the South West coast where thousand-metre-high mountains drop dramatically into the sea. The journey there in itself is spectacular (if not a little long for a one day trip) and then we took a boat trip through the sound to see the waterfalls coming down the cliff faces.

Eventually though, we realised we had to make a move and so off to Christchurch it was to end our bus ticket. Despite the fact nearly 8 months had passed since the earthquake last year, we were surprised to learn that the heart of the city centre remains closed to the public. We had heard lots about Christchurch before the earthquake but with the situation as it was there was nothing to make us stay more than one night on route back up north.

Having heard there was work to be had in the Marlborough vineyards we took a bus up to Blenheim and checked into a place specialising in work for travellers. However when we arrived, it soon became apparent that the season was late this year and that we would probably be waiting around for quite a while before anything came up. With this in mind we walked into a travel agent’s ‘just to get an idea’ and walked out again with a ticket to Thailand for two weeks later!

So with only two weeks left in New Zealand, we hot-footed it back to Wellington where we spent a few days enjoying the excellent Te Papa museum (and especially their ASEAN film screenings), and a lot of good food, before booking another bus to Waipukurau in Hawkes bay.

Why Waipukurau you may ask? A long story, but basically the parents of a friend we’d met at Ayer’s Rock had invited us to stay when I met them at while they were staying at the resort. We weren’t sure what to expect and felt a little rude just showing up after only meeting them so briefly, but we were welcomed whole-heartedly and spent the best part of a week having an amazing time on the farm. It was a fascinating experience and very instructive; we were able to help out with the lambs, explore the farm at our leisure, learn a lot about farming, New Zealand and Golf amongst other things, and were generally treated as part of the family. Once again Tracy and Alastair – we cannot thank you enough.

And there you have it – our two months in New Zealand were finished already and we were soon back in Auckland ready to fly off on our next adventure!