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Our recent travels have taken us on a grand tour of the South Island, leaving Greymouth on 29th January after our last day at work. Although sad to leave everyone at Grey Base Hospital and the blue box (home for the past few months) we were excited about the trip ahead...
Travelling down the west coast on a hot, sunny January afteroon we stopped off in Hokitika to look at the various contraptions people had made out of driftwood on the beach before continuing on to Fox Glacier and Lake Matheson. We visited the lake at sun set which was stunning - see picture above. We spent the first weekend walking the Copland Track where we stayed at Welcome Flat Hut which had amazing natural hot pools with views of the southern alps. Unfortunatley the sand flies also thought it was a nice spot and I was eaten alive while trying to take some scenic pictures. Overnight in the hut I was bitten by several more all over my face so I woke up looking less than attractive the following morning! Definitely worse than midgies! So what with me and my swollen face and Emma falling over in the mud every 5 minutes we looked a bit of a state by the time we got to Queestown where we had a much needed shower, Winnie's pizza and Dux de Lux cider and watched Andy Murray lose the Ozzy Open Final.
Our next walking adventure took us from Queenstown to Te Anau to start the Routeburn Track. Comedy bus driver on our trip across who took the time to point out the various differet fields of sheep we passed and the 'weathered hills" - "not sure what they're called or how they get like that" - very informative. As we boarded our next bus to the start of the track we realised that everyone else had a lot more stuff than us. Emma consulted the guidebook and on closer reading we realised we had none of the "essential" gear other than a very questionable pairs of waterproof trousers ad plenty of extra food! Fortunately for us we had 3 days of glorious sunshine so our shorts, t-shirts and bikinis were adequate! Again in much need of a wash we stopped in Arrowtown for the night where we enjoyed wine and a cheese board at the local art house cinema.
Excitement was building at this stage as Ronan Day approached. We made our way north east via Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo to a wee place called Waipara where we stayed in converted railway carriages. The day seemed to drag as we waited until it was time to head to the Mud House Winery for the main event! We enjoyed dinner on the patio with a wee bottle of wine before going off in search of the free shuttle bus that our hostel owner reliably informed us would pick us up on the man road. We stood for a while but no sign of the bus in question so Emma enquired at the local garage where she was told we could just walk up the highway so off we went. The sun was shining, the wine was flowing and we were gettig very excited! Unfortuatley the wine may have been flowing a little too freely and our memories of the rest of the evening are hazy to say the least... we were issued with yellow bands when we arrived at the concert and were told that they would be removed if it was felt we had had enough to drink... needless to say we awoke in the early hours minus the yellow bands and several other personal items which are still missing in action!
A couple of days of recovery followed in Kaikoura. We did make it out for our dolphin swim which was amazing although Emma took to the whole thing a little more naturally than I did. I freaked out everytime I put my head under the water and a million dophins swam towards me and tried to play! Remember that this all happens in the middle of the ocean where there are also large whales which I was not so keen on havig a close encounter with! So I did spend a lot of time bobbing around above the surface with full wet suit and snorkel mask on trying to deter the dolphins from interacting with me too much!
We were back on the walking trail the following week this time leaving from Picton to tramp the Queen Charlotte Track. Emma was already suffering from ongoing knee pain due to too much running and an injured toe following the ronan day disaster! So to top this off she decided to slip down the hostel steps the night before the walk just as I was about to say "did you see the slippy when wet sign?" Evidently not! Partially recovered the following day we walked the track taking in beautiful coastal scenary and instead of the usual huts with no hot water or electricity we stayed at backpacker lodges which felt very luxurious and we got chocolate cake and ice cream! By the end of the 3rd day after 45 miles up and down hills we were very glad to see our wee boat that took us back to Picton.
The next leg of our journey took us north to Nelson and then onto Golden Bay where we satyed in a very cute backpakers in a place called Pohara. From there we visited local beaches and Farewill Spit before heading south again to Kaiteriteri on the outskirts of Abel Tasman Natioal Park where we had a lovely dinner with Lorna and Kevin. Our next stop was Blenheim for the Marlborough Wine Festival....
Second half of the South Island Blog to follow...
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