As we arrived in Wellington we came accross the Rugby 7`s parade – we didn`t know it happened to be on the next two days and unfortunately we were too late to get tickets but all the same there was a good atmosphere about and we saw the parade too. We checked into the YHA (again!) and spent the next day at the Museum which is really good. It is huge and kept us busy for hours and hours.
Next long trip to Napier now…..
28.01.2008 – 30.01.2008We drove up to Nelson which took about 6 /7 hours and had booked into a nice campstie where we spent another relaxing evening. The next day we had a good look around the place which to us felt very similar to Salisbury.
After Nelson we drove to Hanmer Springs where we spent the night in another nice campsite and then on to Christchurch where we had to say goodbye to the campervan. We both thoroughly enjoyed our time in the van and miss it lots!! We decided to go to the International Antarctic Centre as well as it was my Birthday too. There was a room there which is like a giant freezer but with snow and a slide, it also puts on a blizzard similar to that in Antarctica – it really was freezing! We also saw some blue penguins and bumped into Mizz again. After a good catch up and Mizz amusing us with her travel stories so far we collected a really good curry and a few beers to celebrate my Birthday.
The next day we got a rubbish 7 hour bus journey to Picton so that we could catch the boat back up to Wellington. We didn`t do much as we are trying to save our money now for the rest of our journey, so the next week may be a little less interesting.
About 5 minutes after Fox Glacier there is Frans Josef. We checked into a really nice campsite and got a couple of hours sleep after our early start and long drive. We spent most of the evening sorting out our stuff, washing, showering, cooking etc! We also booked a tour for a hike on the glacier.
‘S’ thought it would be best to do a full day`s tour of the glacier which required advanced fitness levels – to which I was quite nervous about! We started at 9am and were given our hiking boots, coat, gloves, hat and crampons. We got to our drop off point just before 10am and it was a good hour`s walk to the glacier, including climbing up boulders and through some woodland – I was tired out before I’d even set foot on ice!
We gradually made our way up the clacier withg the help of our tour guide picking his way through the ice. It was freezing and hard on the legs but really good. At about 1pm we stopped at the top to eat our sandwiches we brought with us. After this it started to get a bit more tricky! Our guide was exploring the ice and making new tracks whilst we were following him. Some of the crevices below us were really deep and we had to squash through long, narrow gulleys. Luckily ‘S’ was a helpful hand! It was hard to hold on anywhere as the ice was freezing (obviously!) so you soon became numb! We got back to the bottom at 6pm after a very tiring but good day!
Once we got back to our van it was really warm so we enjoyed a nice meal and glass of wine outside. Heaven!
After a flying visit to Dunedin we travelled to Wanaka again, just to break up the journey to Frans Josef. We didn`t do a lot (apart from drive!) and we had a quiet evening. The next day we got up super early (so that we could avoid the camping charges!) and drove to Fox Glacier. We parked up, a bit tired after our long drive which took about 5 hours and then we went for a walk to the end of the FoxGlacier – the pics really don`t do this justice!
A flying visit to Dunedin, mainly to stock up with food, get showered etc. We did the usual trick of smuggling me into the campsite in the back of the campervan so that Steve only had to pay for himself – looking like billy-no-mates holidaying by himself! We had to go to Cadbury World (of course!) We went on a tacky factory tour which was good fun and also had a quick look around the city. Unfortunately we didn`t have much time here but we would have liked to stay here longer. It`s a very nice place and the Scottish influence here is huge….. off we go again! …..
When we woke up in Milford Sound the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it poured and poured with rain – all the way to Gore in fact! Somehow ‘S’ shoe had also ended up outside the campervan all night so was soaked so I drove most of the way. We headed to Gore and had a quick look around the strange little town and found somewhere to park alongside a river. It was really, really cold here and we cooked our dinner and then tried to keep warm inside the van!.
(We were also shocked to hear on the radio that the most popular mens haircut in NZ is a mullett??!!)
The next day after a freezing night`s sleep we set off for The Catlins along the south coast. We drove to Curio Bay where there is a fossilised forest from 180 million years ago which stretches for 22km – it was a really amazing place to wander around. We then headed further up the coast to Nugget Point where we were also lucky enough to see two penguins waddling along the shore (you`ll have to look closely at those pics!)
We set off from Queenstown for the drive to Milford Sound. The scenery along the way was really crazy, like something from the Jurassic Period! We also had to go through the Homer Tunnel which goes right through the middle and down a very steep and dark hill through one of the peaks – quite an experience in itself! We got there and had a panic for the first 30 minutes as we had run out of petrol and the petrol pump there which was self service wasn`t woking – anyhow we got there in the end and parked up. Unfortunately Milford Sound is crammed with millions of biting flies, as soon as you walk anywhere they surround you! We had a quiet evening checking our emails and got to bed!
20.01.2008
Our night`s sleep in Wanaka was freezing and we set off for Queenstown. Along the way we came accross a parking area wih a great view over Queenstown, ‘S’ had a god idea of going for a walk to the top of the hill. I had the silly idea of carrying the backpacks too!! Anyway, after a good hours uphill trek in the sun with our backpacks we got to the top!
We then drove to Queenstown and found a campsite for the night and. We also met up with my friend from years ago, Mizz. We had a nice time catching up over a few beers. Whilst in Queenstown we also went on the skyline which is a very steep cable car that gives you great views and was good for a look around. The town is actually quite small but very quaint and pretty and hugely popular with backpackers and tourists.
We woke up early after an okay night`s sleep considering we were in the van. We set off early for our drive to Wanaka. On the way we came accross a salmon farm, so we stopped off and bought nearly a whole fish for £7!! – should keep us going for a while! It was really warm and as we drove into Wanaka we came accross “Puzzling World” Quite a strange place with lots of weird puzzles. We had a look around this tiny town and then found a campsite just outside for the night.
After our first drive, which took about 4 hours we got to Lake Tekapo, we didn`t read up on the place and we were really surprised when we found this beautiful place. We booked into our first campsite and spent the evening having a nice walk around the waters edge as well as working out how to work our new kitchen appliances! The Lake was just stunning and it was really spectacular to watch the clouds come rolling over the hills and mountainous background behind. We were both in really good spirits and very excited about our new campervan.
Cooking dinner was good novel fun and tasted pretty good too considering! We had a lovely evening watching the sun go down and having a stroll along the pebbles before snuggling up in our van – bliss!
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