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We left Christchurch by train - the TranzAlpine, a spectacular journey that goes through 18 tunnels between the east and west coasts of New Zealand and takes about 4 hours. A great trip.
On arriving at Greymouth we picked up our hire car, a Toyota Corolla. As we are travelling for over a month I had done a lot of research on cost and this was by far the cheapest quote, NZ$40 a day (about 16 quid). When we picked it up we discovered how they had managed to achieve these fantastic cost savings - our car is about 16 years old and has been round the clock a few times. Going uphill can only be achieved by turning off all the electrics - aircon, radio, windscreen wipers etc., and the combination of its sluggishness and Brian's careful driving have ensured we have been overtaken by every vehicle on the road. We are constantly pulling over to let a long line of impatient drivers toodle on past but, as Brian points out, it gives us ample opportunity to appreciate the scenery, of which there is a great abundance and it's all fabulous.
The photos may look as if they are reproductions of postcards, but it's true - New Zealand really is like this. The Glacier however is a little over-rated; it's just a pile of dirty old ice, which you have to walk quite a way to see. See how jaded you can get after a few months travelling, oh a glacier, how nice, tick, let's do lunch…..
The Fox Glacier, handily just down the road, is more interesting and beautiful, but very cold, prompting a quick scurry to shops to stock up on fleeces, windproof and waterproof garments, the odd scarf. Suddenly the packs are again rather full and it may be time for another visit to the Post Office. Particularly as I am carting around a Balinese antiquity/piece of old tat that has caused us to join large queues at Customs at both Sydney and Christchurch airports to make sure we are not importing anything that might spread diseases, and Brian has fast lost patience with me. Luckily he is far more taken up with wedding matters these days. He's started reading The Groom magazine at bedtimes and pointing out the latest styles in buttonholes.
Lolling around our hotel room the other day, bemoaning the fact that the laundry women of Asia have systematically depleted his once vast and unrivalled collection of underwear, he was suddenly galvanised by a TV news report that Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed to his girlfriend and had received 'an expensive watch' as an engagement present from his fiancée. Looking pointedly at me he flicked swiftly through his wedding magazine collection to see if this latest trend is reflected in them. Meanwhile I'm hoping I might get away with presenting him with a tube of sandfly repellant.......
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