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Hello hello,
So I am now currently sitting in my hostel in LA, totally bored, sleep deprived and very emotional so i thought maybe updating my blog might make me feel a bit better! Can't explain why, but i just hate LA!
Anyway, where was I...?
Kaikoura. The first day we were there we ummed and ahed about whether or not to go whale watching and of we did would it be in a boat/plane/helicopter so in the mean time we drove out to the far end of the Kaikoura peninsula, saw more seals and set of on a scenic walk around the end of the peninsula. To cut a long and embarrassing story short, we ended up walking back along the beach only to find we couldn't get all the way round so i made mum and dad climb a grass cliff! Thankfully all we lost was dad's jumper and some of mum's nerves! After that, we went and had some lunch and i sampled some of the local green lipped mussels which were the biggest things i've ever seen and very delicious! Then realised I'd burnt my back to a crisp so we opted for the indoor activity of Fyffe House, a traditional whaler's house from the 19th century which was very cute and interesting. We ate dinner both nights at the Lodge and the food/wine were very yummy.
Our last morning, before heading to Christchurch we went whale watching in a plane and mum coped very well! After 20 mins or so, we'd all pretty much given up and were thinking we'd not see anything but all of a sudden there is was a lone sperm whale beneath us. It was amazing, much bigger than i thought it'd look. Then we headed off and saw a pod of dolphins which the pilot estimated to be around 200 dusky dolphins, some of which were right little show offs! We then drove down to Christchurch and pootled around in the lovely sunshine and enjoyed the lovely little city that it is and somehow managing to bag a penthouse suite in the hotel.
The next day we hopped on the Tranzalpine train to take us across to Greymouth. The first part of the journey was gorgeous with some spectacular views however as we travelled further into the alps, the weather descended and the rain began and continued all the way to Greymouth. We just put it down to one of those things...mountains create weather. We had a quick bite of something to eat and then headed off down the road to Franz Joseph.
Although we arrived at the lodge and the weather was rubbish we knew there were stunning mountains just behind us and sure enough when we woke up on Mum & Dad's anniversary, there they were in the sunshine. We went to Lake Matheson, the Mirror Lake and managed to get some postcard worth shots of Mount Cook and Tasman as we walked around the rim of the lake. We then drove to a viewpoint of the Fox Glacier before heading back and walking to the terminal face of the Franz Joseph Glacier. Unfortunately, Dad's calf and my knee meant that the climb wasn't really a possibility but was still v impressive.
We then drove back across the alps through to my neck of the woods. Mum couldn't believe the size of Lake Wanaka and to be honest, never having seen the other end of the lake, it was bigger than I anticipated as well! We drove down past Lake Hawea and I showed M&D my favourite bits of Wanaka before we headed over the Crown Range (NZ's highest road) and down to Queenstown.
The first morning, we woke up to a cloudy view which was not what we were hoping for as we were heading Milford Sound, thankfully when we arrived in Milford the sky was clear and despite the bumps we landed safely. We hopped on the boat ready for our cruise in the freezing cold. We saw penguins, seals an dolphins as well as the spectacular scenery! We then headed back to Queenstown, ate a fergburger, went up the gondola and sat on the beach in the sun. Our last day we pootled, headed to Kawarau Bridge, the original bungy over the most beautiful turquoise water and then off to Arrowtown. Arrowtown is like a town out of a wild west type film, complete with wooden posts to lash your horse to! Later we hopped on the steamboat TSS Earnslaw and sailed across the lake and back.
Lastly, we flew back up to Auckland, went up the SkyTower (tallest building the Southern hemisphere) which turned both Dad's and my stomach's as the lift had a glass floor! Got some amazing views of the city and across the harbour and watched the most gigantic yacht dock in one of the marinas. We had one final dinner and then M&D came with me to say goodbye at the airport.
I'm now in LA, having timetravelled back in time...i took off at 3pm Auckland on 9 October and it's coming up to 1pm LA on 9 October now and i arrived at 7am!!
Will do my best to keep you updated through Central America and will try to upload photos of the south island again soon! Love you all heaps xx
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