New Zealand - Part 3

South Island

Entering the South Island was like going into another country. There were rolling hills and mountains all around, with fields of golden grass swaying like a big fur coat next to the road. We drove down the east coast and the ocean was a spectacular blue all the way. The journey lasted about 5 hours and it was sunny the whole way.

Christchurch

All of the well known hostels in town had been booked solid for a while, so I headed over to the lesser known 'Occidental Backpackers'. There was nobody manning the desk on my arrival and I was told to wait in the lounge for half an hour! When the chap did finally come back I was greeted with a smile, and managed to convince him that I deserved a beer for waiting so long. Nice. Not nice on the other hand was the actual hostel; manky beds, TINY kitchen, and damp dark bathrooms. They'd obviously put all the money into the bar - it was a good bar! Wooden chairs and tables, good choice of beers and fantastic food. ($4.50 for a BBQ dinner or $6 for a roast, and big portions too.) But anyway I met some nice people and we had fun chats in the bar. I also met some weird people, one chap from Germany was travelling with only one set of clothes, which he wore every day and slept in. 6 pairs of undies and 6 pairs of socks. Each to their own!

Matt and Benny arrived the next day, although the hostel had messed up their booking and almost had them sleeping on the sofas! (There was a free beer in it for them for the mix up.) The owner didn't have a clue what was going on and the poor guy who worked there had to sort out her mess all the time. Talking to other people we found out that sort of thing happened a lot! But they got beds in the end thanks to a nice Irish couple who let them use their room. But it was cold at night, you could definitely tell the south island was colder than the north one.

Enough of the hostel: Christchurch seemed like a pleasant town, although incredibly English. All the street names were of English cities. The buildings and parks looked English. It was nice but I didn't go away to find England! On my first day I went over to the Gondola where you got great views of the Canterbury Plains which Christchurch is built on, and the surrounding mountains formed by volcanoes. Then I went through the tiled tunnel under the mountain to Lyttleton, a quaint port town that was one of the first settlements in NZ. There was an interesting walking tour of the town which I did, and the maritime museum was fascinating. It showed how the town had built up through immigration, and all the boats that used to come and go. Another claim of the town was that 'The Frighteners' was filmed there. (ok, busted, that was the main reason I went there!) It looks pretty much like it does in the film.

The next day me and the boys took a stroll through town. We saw the botanical gardens which were lovely, you can even go punting on the river Avon (Avon, isn't that at home?!). The museum was quite interesting if a bit of a maze. I stumbled across a fantastic arts and crafts centre too. It was a building filled with little shops each with their own craft. The crafts men/women were in the rooms too, you could see the bone carver at work, and the potter spinning bowls, and there was even a fudge factory with free fudge tasting! The kiwi flavoured fudge was gorgeous! There were kite makers, jewellery makers, weavers, all sorts. I bought a strange kit to make a 'pokey doll', bits of fluff you poke lots to form shapes. Sounds odd but is great!

Arthurs Pass and Mahinapua

I was glad to leave Christchurch, it was nice but there wasn't a lot of interest to do. We were picked up by the Kiwi Experiences 'Rocket Bus'. A strange big wheeled tank looking thing. It had funky fluffy seats that were very comfortable! I was quite apprehensive about getting on the kiwi bus due to it's reputation of being filled with annoying 18 year olds, and that the company try to pressure you into booking trips with them. There was a fair amount of clipboards being passed around the bus to book visits, tours and future buses, and accommodation. I'd already sorted the accommodation and I wanted to see what else was available on arrival so left the activity sheet blank. It wasn't my way of travelling as they also stopped the bus often for hours on end at cafes. I much prefer getting where I'm going quicker and sorting myself out. But it got us from A to B and we did see some nice things.

Anyway, Arthers Pass: it rained the whole day and the mountains were engulfed in cloud. So I'm sure it's a spectacular place to see, but we didn't see much of it! That was shame as the bus normally stops and the passengers go for a walk to some waterfalls, but it was pouring with rain and would have been a miserable walk. Instead we sat at a cafe. The end part of the drive was impressive through a rain forest and past lakes. Over on the East coast we met up with the normal coaches in Greymouth and continued (after a long wait) to Lake Mahinapua. It was only a one night stop at the oddly named 'Poo Pub' but it was a good one. This place was only frequented by Kiwi Bus passengers, and every night they have a party where the boys go in drag and the girls in outfits made of bin liners. The BBQ provided was tasty and the beer cheap. It was lots of fun and much drink had (including some great shots: Baileys, banana liquor and cream on top was my favourite! yum!) Les the owner was a character, he's 72 years old and still up for a party. He allowed the Kiwi bus to stay 12 years ago when it first started up, and they've taken a polaroid photo of every party since then. The walls are lined with the photos and each one dated. The next day most people on the bus looked a bit worse for wear, but we made it over to the cafe for breakfast (another long stop). The museum bit was quite fun though, I got to feed a large pig! and possums.

Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph was a tiny place, a main street and then one other street behind it. It acts as the gateway to the glacier. Our hostel was fantastic (Glowworm Cottages), a 6 bed dorm which had a TV, kitchenette and was ensuite. The hostel had a lovely sky TV lounge, big kitchen and free spa, plus free soup every night at 6! I booked my glacier hike ($105 for a full day) and a morning kayaking ($49) then headed off for an early night.

Up early for a 7.30am check in with the hiking company. We were issued with our kit (coat, boots, socks, gloves, hat, ice pick and spikes) and bussed it over to the glacier. The day was miserable weather wise, it didn't stop raining. But we loved it none the less. It started with a hike to the base of the glacier (4km but it didn't seem like it) and we were split into groups of different difficulty levels. We were in the medium to fast group. From afar the glacier looked like a white/bluey/brown smudge on the side of the mountain. It was a surprise when we reached the ice so suddenly, it was covered in rock and mud lower down so didn't look like ice as much. Putting the spikes onto our shoes helped loads with walking on the ice, it didn't take long to pick up the best way (stomping feet!). You could see a seam of rocks in the middle of the glacier where it picked them up off the ground and spits them out at the top. As we got higher the ice became cleaner, it had a strange blue glow as if there was something blue encased in the ice. The guide cut steps out for us to make it easier, but we still had to climb up steep bits and squeeze between pinnacles. It was an awesome sight, ahead lay hundreds of ice towers that looked like they'd been carved out, and under your feet you could see crevasses going down into black. At one point we had to go through an ice archway and climb down a steep set of steps on the other side. It was quite hairy but you felt so proud after doing it! It was lots of fun and the group we had all helped each other along the way (even if we were all soaking and freezing!). I had never seen anything quite like what I saw that day. Glowing blue ice, deep gullies, towering ice and huge caves with water running under them. It was definitely worth doing, even though it cost me my knees and energy! The walk back was the hardest as going down ice was much harder than going up. Plus that last 4km to the bus seemed to take forever on the way back. As a souvenir we were given a brochure of the trip signed by our guide.

Back at the hostel we made good use of the spa pool to warm up again, and the soup went down well. Plus it was Oscar night and we settled in with the others in our room (3 Scottish girls) to watch them. Good old Return of the King stole the show with 11 awards. Great to see Peter Jackson being recognised. (Plus nice little quip he made thanking the academy for not recognising his earlier films!) NZ were reeling in the glory of that win for a long while after. The boys left but I stayed for my Kayaking trip. It was moved from the morning to the evening due to a cancellation so I spent the day pottering in Franz Joseph (not that there was much to see!) The day was glorious (typical!) and I prayed it would stay that way for the kayaking. Which it did. There was a friendly bunch going, 2 Aussies, 2 Taiwanese and 2 other Brits. The instructor was friendly too and we had a fantastic time. It was on what is known as 'mirror lake' due to the mirror image reflections it has of the surrounding mountains. (It's caused by the tannin in the water (like in tea/wine) which makes the lake dark.) The kayaks were fairly easy to get used to, we had pedals that controlled a rudder to steer with. We paddled across the lake leisurely and chatted on the way. Over the other side the forest was so dense that any noise you made was echoed straight back out. It was amazing hearing the forest talk back at you! We went down a tributary which was lovely and calm, plus fun avoiding the reeds. All the while the instructor was taking photos with a digital camera that you got for free at the end (not the camera, the photos!) Paddling back was great chatting and splashing, plus it was a gorgeous sunset which turned the few clouds bright pink. After such a wonderful evening we then headed over to the pub and spent the night talking about travelling. Fantastic! :-)

Wanaka

On the way over to Wanaka we stopped (yes at another cafe!) by a lake for a fantastic view of Mt Cook. It was another clear day so as we were driving I could actually see the mountains. It was wonderful to see the lakes and hills all around, we stopped for various photo opportunities. Wanaka itself was a lovely lakeside town. My hostel, the 'Purple Cow' had a great spot overlooking a park and the lake. The town had a nice relaxed feel and there were various activities on offer. We went for some lovely walks, saw an amusing Dutch country band (?!), and visited puzzle world (with the Scottish girls from Glowworm Cottages). Puzzle world was great fun. It had odd rooms with holograms and illusions in, plus a big maze you had to find your way around. Even the cafe there had puzzles on all the tables to play with. My dad would love it! My favourite bit of Wanaka was the Cinema Paradiso. It was funky cinema set up by a Scotsman a few years ago. The building housed a nice cafe that did fantastic home made ice cream (Baileys and white choc - yum!) and the cinema itself - well the seats were all old sofas and armchairs, and there was even a yellow Morris Minor you could sit in to watch the movies! There's always an interval in the film to allow you to buy more wine or a cup of tea (and ice cream!) and take them back into the screen. I saw 'Calendar Girls' there and loved the film and the experience. I'd say go there even if you weren't interested in the film, it's an experience in itself!

 

Queenstown

On the way into Queenstown the bus stopped at the Karawau bridge, home to the first ever bungy. It was 43 metres high and we got to watch 10 people from the bus jumping (including the driver!). It was great fun to watch, some people got dunked in the water, others went off backwards. Not that I was convinced to do it myself.

Queenstown was really nice. It was bigger than Wanaka and on a slope. My backpackers (Scallywags) was on the hill overlooking the lake and remarkable. It was an amazing place. Evan the owner was quite a character, and the place was pretty much his home. I was in a girls area with 4 beds and our own kitchen and lounge. The main house had a lovely BBQ area and lounge too. Everyone was friendly and I found myself spending time with most of the 'long termers' whilst there.

There was so much to do in Queenstown and everyone is trying to convince you to do their activities. You could easily spend a month there and still not do everything! There was of course the bungys (Karawau bridge, the ledge, Nevis off the gondola and the parabungy off a parasail) two jet boating trips, much white water rafting, white water sledging, luging, walking, fly by wire, canyon swing. I could go on and on. Plus the bars are all in competition so you could always find cheap nights out.

The gondola up the hill was nice with spectacular views. Plus there was a luge up the top which was ace fun, two tracks, one scenic and one advanced. We were racing down there! We also spent some time watching the paragliders taking off from there.

Matt and I went on a tour called 'Paradise Found' which was a nice morning spent seeing the area and having a couple of walks. We got to see a few Lord of the Rings sights, like the Isenguard set, and where Frodo ran to the canoes at the end of 'Fellowship'. The guide was very friendly, but I already knew most of the things he told us about the film! Matt and I also went on a jet boat trip which was great fun whizzing through 4 inches of water and skimming close to the rocks. However one silly lady on the boat decided to projectile vomit over the driver! I have to say it was fairly amusing, but that meant we couldn't do any more fun spins on the way back. Typical!

The next day we went white water rafting. The drive to the river was incredibly scary along Skippers Canyon, a dirt track with a sheer drop down the side. We didn't die though and managed to make it to river and meet our guide. We were in a raft with 3 other visitors and 2 guides. They spent a while teaching us all the commands and what to do if we should flip. When it came to the rapids they weren't the roughest ones in the world but it was great fun! We got spun about and ended up going backwards fairly often! I loved it. At the end there was a tunnel (created by old gold diggers) with a set of cascades after it. We got engulfed by water, the photos prove that! (when I manage to download them) After the trip we were even given a sausage roll and a cookie. Nice!

Although not in the same scale as rafting or parachuting (which Matt and Ben did!) I had a great afternoon playing 'Frisbee Golf' around the purpose built course in the Queenstown gardens. Eating ice creams on the beach was good too (and less expensive!).

Kaikoura

We stopped for a night in Christchurch again but this time in the YHA (much better. at least so I thought, keep reading...) Then we coached it up to Kaikoura for one night. It was lovely and hot, but there was a fair amount of wind which meant all the whale watching trips were cancelled (one went ahead and everyone was sick on it!) The town was pretty small and based around the sea activities there like whale watching and swimming with dolphins or seals, so we pottered about. We were put onto the waiting list for the next morning's trip, which meant being at the centre for 6.15am in case somebody didn't turn up! Luckily some people didn't, and we got to go! It was stunning jetting out into the sea whilst the sun was rising. We were shown clips of information about whales whilst the crew looked for them. We saw 3 sperm whales in the end. You couldn't see much of them from the boat, the occasional spray and view of their backs. But the amazing bit was when they dived down and flicked their tails! We also got to see some dusky dolphins and a few seals. Even a wondering albatross flew by, it's the largest sea bird. And to top it off, I wasn't seasick!

We were very lucky to make it on the whale watching trip as the weather turned later on in the day and a few people from the hostel had their trips cancelled. We left Kaikoura and went to Christchurch (again!) for our last night in New Zealand.

New Zealand

So that was it. My time in New Zealand. I'm glad I had more than a few weeks here, but I also wanted more. There was so much to see in the country even though it's not a huge place. I found the people to be very friendly; everyone is laid back and helpful. I will definitely return, next time with a working visa and do everything I missed (Coromandel, Milford Sound, Abel Tasman, East Coast, etc etc!) In all, my time in NZ was (as the Kiwis say) 'Sweet as!'