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Sea sickness my a**e! The journey across the Cook Straight was certainly choppy and the ferry moved about a fair bit but thankfully I was fine and there was minimal sea sickness in our group. That said I did sit between the two worst affected people from our bus which wasn't the greatest! We walked off the ferry to be greeted by sleet and a biting wind! The promise of better weather seemed a long way off as we trudged across a big car park to pick up our bags so not a great start for the South Island. We were met by our new bus which had 5 trainee drivers on board and one of the bosses who was there to observe them. We were told that the trainees would be providing commentary and leading us on some of the stops which made me a little wary but I guess we all have to learn sometime.
We had a windy trip to our first stop at the Abel Tasman National Park where we had a great BBQ and a few beers to settle us in. I put my name down for a microlight flight over the park for the next day but knew it would be totally dependent on the weather. We were once again promised that the weather would improve but I was starting to lose faith in the New Zealand weathermen at this point. Amazingly we woke to glorious sunshine the next day so after a walk on the beach we jumped into a bus for the ride to an airfield where three of the guys were going skydiving and I was (hopefully) taking my flight. The wind had picked up a little bit and my flight was on and off about four times but I finally got to take the flight and it was fabulous. The weather was great and we could see for miles and it was a great feeling to be 3000ft in the air in little more than a hang glider with a propeller attached. It was certainly a memorable experience and the views across the park were truly stunning. There can't be many places in the world where you can see snow covered mountains in one direction, thick forests in another and sandy beaches in another. Brilliant!
We set off on a long drive down the West Coast the next day with yet another collective hangover after the previous night's activities. The journey was broken up nicely by the guys (these trainees weren't all bad!) and we stopped at lots more great places like Buller Gorge, Paparoa National Park and the Pancake Rocks along the Truman trail all of which were beautiful and reinforced the view that the South Island is even more scenic than the North. We were told that only 5% of the entire population of New Zealand live in the South Island and this was evidenced when we went through Barrytown (population: 40) on the way. We ended the trip in Greymouth which certainly lived up to it's name and we were there for 30 minutes before we saw another person! We were only there for one night and the hostel had a free food offer and cheap beer so it wasn't all bad. A group of us went to a local bar that evening had a good laugh although we almost got into trouble with a couple of local rednecks who were intent on starting something with the out of towners but it all passed off without issue thanks to a rather feisty barmaid who swore more than any man I've met!
After our 'local' experience, we headed further south to Franz Josef where we were booked in to climb the Franz Josef glacier the next day. This was one of the things I was looking forward to the most and it certainly didn't disappoint. Luckily, the weather had turned and we had a lovely clear day to climb the huge and very impressive ice mountain. We were shown how to walk in cramp-ons (attachable spikes which you strap to your feet) which took a little getting used to and then set off following our guide to the top. It was hard graft getting there but it was a great feeling to look down to where we'd started and see the now very small people far below. A few of us had an hour in a hot pool to sooth our aching joints after the hike which was much needed but I must have complained too much about my aches and pains as I took yet more abuse for being old. The 'apres hike' activities were great fun too and I got a full house playing bingo where the prize was a bungy jump only to lose out on paper rock scissors to a guy from a rival bus tour who had the same! Needless to say I was the subject of much more abuse after that!
The rain returned as we headed off the next day and we disappointingly missed out on seeing Lake Matheson which has one of those world famous mirror image scenes of mountains and trees. I made do with taking a photo of a poster in the gift shop which turned out surprisingly well! After a stop in Makarora where I impressed everyone with my karaoke skills we moved on to Wanaka which was another beautiful place set right next to a lake. It's hard to explain how nice many of these places are without repeating words like stunning, beautiful, picturesque etc etc but hopefully my photos will go some way to conveying the scene. After Wanaka it was off to the legendary Queenstown where I was planning to get my adrenaline fix in a big way.
Queenstown is renowned for two things - adrenaline sports and nightlife and the whole bus went out when we arrived to make the most of the latter for a briliant night out. I'd booked myself in for a bungy jump and a canyon swing on the way in to Queenstown and, feeling a little fragile from the night before, a group of us headed out to the outskirts of town to do the world famous Nevis bungy and the world's biggest swing. The bungy jump was quite simply the scariest thing I've ever done and it took all of my courage to jump out of the cable car and plummet 138m down towards the valley floor. I also did the Nevis Canyon swing after the bungy which was almost as nerve wracking and made even more 'fun' by the guy running the ride as he took great delight in scaring me silly before and during the whole thing. The buzz I had afterwards though will live with me forever and it was made even better to do it as a group as the banter and morale support helped everyone through. Once again the videos are available on request! The tour would take us on a loop back to Queenstown after our trip to the far south of the island so to continue the fun, I booked myself in for a skydive on the return leg. I also loved Queenstown as a place and decided to use up some of my spare days there on the way back.
Next stop was Milford Sound which involved a breathtaking drive along what is considered one of the most scenic roads in the world. Milford Sound itself was very impressive but the cloudy weather spoiled any chance of the picture postcard photographs I was hoping for. We stayed the night at a Gunn's Camp that evening which is a renovated camp where the original workers who dug the Homer Tunnel stayed. It was certainly back to basics there with log burners in the huts, wood burners to heat the water in the main building and no electricity after 10pm. All in all a great experience and an early night which was most welcome for most of us after the previous few nights excesses!
We headed to Stewart Island after Gunn's Camp which is the southern most point in New Zealand and is home to only 420 people. There are only 22km of road on the island too but we rented a car and toured the island as best we could finding the scenery and landscapes were (here's that word again) beautiful. We also took in a quiz night at the local hotel where we came in second to some locals after a (fixed) tie breaker. This was certainly another odd experience with most of the bar filled with rather frosty locals in wellies and fishing jumpers and a couple of women (one hosting the quiz) who swore more than the men! Apparently, there's a big shortage of women on the island too and they have an annual dance there every year when they invite ladies from the mainland to come and find a potential partner.....weird!
After the delights of Stewart Island we headed back towards Queenstown taking in Dunedin (staying in a haunted hotel) on the way. Dunedin was a lovely town with lots of Scottish influence in the architecture and it also played host to a Speight's Brewery tour where you could pour your own beer for half an hour after the tour. Happy days but needless to say the sightseeing around town the next day was accompanied by a hangover! We took a walk up the world's steepest street (Baldwin Street) on the way out of town and then stopped off to try our hand at curling. It was good fun and involved lots more skill than you may imagine. The work with the brushes was also much harder than it looks on TV. After all this we got back to Queenstown for what would be the last night our entire bus would be together. Ricky our driver had sorted out free drinks and tickets to a couple of clubs which made for another superb night out.....can you see a theme developing here yet?
I woke up very excited the next day as it was time for me to do my long awaited skydive. It was something I'd wanted to do for many years and the adrenaline was pumping as soon as I hopped on the bus to the airfield. Unfortunately I got as far as getting strapped to my jumpmaster and sitting in the plane when the jump was called off due to high winds....very disappointing! Thankfully the next day was perfect weather for a skydive and I got to achieve another of my lifetime ambitions over the stunning scenery around Queenstown. I was surprisingly calm on the way up in the plane but the first few seconds of freefall as you watch the plane disappear into the distance was mind blowing. I couldn't shake the smile from my face for hours afterwards and would jump in a plane tomorrow to do it all again. Bungy jumps on the other hand are another matter!
I stayed in Queenstown for four more days after the skydive and had a fabulous time with the few remaining guys from the bus. We rented a car and had a cracking day in Wanaka, I took a ride on the shotover jet boat and generally just relaxed and enjoyed not having to plan anything for a few days. When it was time to leave we headed off to Christchurch for one night. Christchurch is a very English type of city and a lot like Cambridge in places so we felt quite at home wandering along the river and sampling a few local brews. Sadly the last few of us from the original bus went our separate ways from here but we all vowed to stay in touch as we'd all got along famously over the previous few weeks. The tour would take me back up north to Auckland from here so, after stopping off to do some amazing dolphin and whale watching in Kaikora, we headed back to the dreaded ferry across the Cook Straight. The crossing was a little more bumpy this time but I managed to get a little sunbathing in on the deck before the winds picked up and the boat started rocking! Another good night out in Wellington and we were off back up to Taupo where I was hoping to do the Tongararo Crossing after we were snowed off previously. Sadly the snow had returned in the hills and the trip was cancelled once again. Despite the setback, a couple of the guys and me decided to make the most of our time and we took a trip to some hot springs and then on to the Huka Falls which were very impressive.
Next stop was Auckland where I would eventually fly out from and head to the USA. Before that I took a three day trip to the Bay of Islands where the weather took a turn for the better and I enjoyed the beaches and scenery of New Zealand's Northern-most area. Once again I met some great people on this leg of the trip and had a couple of great nights out but the highlights were sandboarding down huge sand dunes and a drive along 90 mile beach in Cape Reinga and a walk to the tip of the island where you can see the point where the Tasman and Pacific Seas meet. All in all a great way to end my 5 week stint in New Zealand where I quite possibly had the best time I'd had since I left home. Booking myself on the Stray bus was certainly a great decision and I met some great people along the way many of whom I'll stay in touch with long after I'm back home in England. The scenery and people of New Zealand truly lived up to all expectations and I'd like to think I'll definitely come back in the future.
Next stop was the USA for the last leg of my journey which would include visiting places I'd always wanted to see (LA and New York) along with a stag week in Vegas. Hopefully not a bad way to end the trip..........
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