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Rain, rain and more rain - it's fair to say that New Zealand's been a bit of a wash out (at times).
The ferry ride from the north to the south, via the Cook Straight ferry, was horrendous due the the violent thunderstorm and after about 4 hours we were both feeling quite queasy from the stench of other peoples sick (the sea was so rough that the boat would rise out of the water, fall back down again then the waves would crash ferociously against the windows on the top deck - the staff were handing out sick bags like they were going out of fashion!) so we were pretty happy when it was over and we could escape back to our campervan. We drove out of Picton towards a place called Nelson where we found a MacD 's, used their WiFi, moaned some more about natwest, skyped Mum so she could sort it all out for us (love you Mum) then drove towards a free campsite. Shortly after finding said campsite, I had my second breakdown of the trip as I desperately wanted a hot shower. Bless George, he jumped back in the driver's seat and drove for another half hour to find what I wanted.
The following day, feeling fresh, we headed up north to Abel Tasman National Park. George had made friends (again) with the campsite owners and they had told him that we had to visit Golden Bay and that it was the right time of year to spot baby seals. We drove for a while, stopped to make lunch by a beautiful sandy beach, then drove some more in to the forest. It was starting to get late so we followed directions and signs to a free campsite in the middle of the national park, a few hours drive from Golden Bay. The sign said we were 21km from the site but it didn't mention anything about the steep winding gravel road that went 21km up in to the clouds with a sheer drop to the left of me. That was fun, just as it started to get dark. We made a delicious dinner of beans (spaghetti for me) on toast then had an early night as we wanted an early start the next day.
That's when the relentless rain started. There was no point trying to do anything that day. We stayed in the campervan, read books and watched films on our flickering DVD player. Later that afternoon, we drove to Golden Bay, parked up for the night and hoped that the rain would stop in the morning. We did manage to have a fun little walk in the rain along the beach, just to stretch our legs, on which we spotted some penguins (that were actually birds that looked like penguins) and a rare nz kiwi (that actually turned out to be a woodhen or as the Czech people we'd met called it - a kiwi from China (a fake kiwi))
We were incredibly lucky the next morning to wake up to glorious sunshine! The walk to see the seals was a 4 hour round trip, apparently, so we headed off straight away. It started out pretty easy with a small incline, then before we knew it, we were practically rock climbing through the rainforest! It was ridiculous and life threatening in parts but we were determined to see those damn baby seals. We walked up and down mountains, across golden sandy beaches, through streams and rainforests and we finally reached the home of the seal colony... only to find a gathering of rocks - no seals. Feeling dejected, we were not looking forward to the walk back. It took us 5 1/2 hours in total and just as we arrived back to the campsite, George realised that he'd lost his hoodie along the way. Knowing that we were on a budget and the weather meant that he'd need it, he ran back to find it. It was another hour before he returned with his Czech friends in tow - they'd found it and were bringing it back for him. We spoke to them for a while then made a late lunch and got back on the road again. We drove to a sweet little town called Takaka to look for a free place to stay. We couldn't go any further as our fuel was low and the petrol station had shut at 4. Unable to find anywhere and just as we were starting to panic, our Czech friends showed up again and directed us to a place they had found - a car park. That's right, we spent the night in a car park.
I woke up desperate for the loo, in a hurry to get out of there and, again, in need of a hot shower. Our first stop was the fuel station, then we drove through Motuake and stopped at the market to get some fresh fruit and veg before starting our journey down the west coast. Our final destination of the day was Westport, in a campervan site with nice hot showers and a mini golf course. It cost us $35 for the night but we definitely made the most of all of their facilities - cooked a nice meal in their kitchen, borrowed one of their dvds and played a round of golf (which I let George win).
The next day saw the return of the rain, followed by a blazing row. Cabin fever - the tiny van was starting to take its toll. When it rains in nz there's not a great deal to do, especially when your backpack is full of sundresses, denim shorts and bikinis. We shouted at each other for a bit, made up then decided that we'd just have to brave the rain to get out of the van and do something fun. That something fun was heading towards Franz Joseph and planning our glacier climb. On the way we stopped at pancake and blowhole rock - an incredible site, made even better by the amount of rain. Then we stopped in Greymouth, a town that can only really be described as grey, to stock up on fuel and food before heading in to glacier country. After an eventful day, it was then time to stop for the night in the next town - Hokitika.
Hokitika looked quite fun so we hung around for a bit, walked around the town (the rain now being just a drizzle) and visited a live kiwi centre where we saw lots of unusual animals (like Tuatara), fed 100 year old eels (horrible slimy things) and watched a kiwi forage for food in a dark enclosure. Next stop - Franz Joseph. With both spirits and rain lifted, we sat outside a bar by an open fire, patio heaters and a glass of wine while we booked our Fox glacier climb.
We woke up the next morning feeling eager and excited (and a little anxious on my part) for our full day of glacier climbing. We'd been told that the Franz Joseph glacier was a must do but, as glaciers do, it had moved and was no longer climbable unless you wanted to pay $400 each to get a helicopter to the top, which was out of the question, so the next best option was the Fox glacier. All I could think about was how cold it was going to be and how much hard work it was going to be climbing up and down a glacier all day. We had very little warm clothes with us so we layered up the best we could and hoped that they would have something we could borrow. We drove to Fox township, got our picnic lunch ready and went to the glacier visitor centre where we then waited for our group to be called. This was when we met our group leaders -Scott and Kuba. They explained how the day would work then kitted us out with wind and waterproof coats and trousers along with hiking boots and crampons (the spiky mental things you attach to shoes to walk on ice) and warm hats and socks. There were 8 people in our group in total; consisting of the two leaders, myself and George, a German couple (who barely spoke all day) and a sweet middle aged Irish couple. The trip started with a 20 minute bus ride to the base followed by a steep uphill 30 minute walk to the ice. Feeling extremely unfit and in no way prepared for the next 7 hours, we fitted our crampons and started on the ice. Once I got a full view of the glacier, I forgot all about the hard work and enjoyed exploring the various natural caves, cravasses and mulans. We barely noticed the cold until we stopped for lunch and then, in no time, we were off again. Scott told us about the numerous no stopping zones where the surrounding mountains would randomly shoot out rocks like a canon along with lots of other cool facts which I wish I could remember. Before we knew it, 7 hours had passed and it was time to go home. But for me and George (in true Leigh and Clint fashion), it was time for a celebratory beer. We sat by the fire in a little pub, drank beer, ate crisps and played pool while we basked in the glory of our achievement and marvelled at Scott and Kuba for doing it every day.
We were lucky on our glacier climbing day as the rain seemed to have calmed down a bit but the following day it was back with a vengeance. We'd stayed the night near Lake Matheson (a famous mirrored lake) and wanted to see it dispite the rain. It took an hour and a half to walk around the lake and, its safe to say, we didn't choose our timing wisely as the clouds and the rain meant that there was little to no reflection. We saw a great picture of what it should look like though :S The rain then turned in to a thunderstorm as we drove towards Wanaka. We gave up just before Wanaka and stopped for the night at a DoC campsite where we made dinner and washed up in the rain, then got chatting to a guy who'd found nz's only poisonous spider right next to our van. That thought, along with the thunderstorm, led to a restless night. We'd been told a few days before that the Haast pass (the road towards Queenstown) had been closed due to a slip (like a landslide) which proved fatal for a young couple in a campervan. It had since reopened and we were staying just off of it but with every clap of thunder I woke up certain that history was about to repeat itself. Luckily, we made it through the night and continued on our way to Wanaka where we found the most perfect campsite. It not only had hot showers but also a Jacuzzi, a sauna, a dvd room and a laundry room. It was still raining but it didn't matter as we had plenty to keep us entertained. We cooked lunch in a warm room, watched one of the dvds we had bought that refused to work in the van while we put on a load of washing then had a Jacuzzi, a sauna and a lovely hot shower before we got ready to go to Cinema Paridiso - the best cinema I have EVER been to!! We had been told about the cinema by someone in a shop in Wellington and had driven passed it on the way to the campsite. On the outside, it's not special at all. It looks run down and tiny. The inside is another story. We ordered a pizza, which we ate on a tray on a sofa in the cinema along with hot popcorn and wine. There was then an interval where we had freshly baked cookies and a chance to get some more drinks. The cinema was kitted out with sofas, old fashioned cars which had been modified and had sofas in them and lazy-boy recliners. We watched 2 Gunz, with Denzel Washington and Marc Wallburg, which I'm not sure I would've liked had I not been so happy about my surroundings but taking all that in to account, it's now my favourite film! Writing this now is making me want to go back there. It was still early(ish) when we got back so we went to the dvd room and watched another of our dvds although this time not so peacefully as we were joined by a group of extremely noisy Spaniards who cooked and smashed and banged and spoke throughout the whole film despite my obvious discontempt. In the end they won the war and we went to bed. With headaches.
We loved Wanaka and the sun was poking his little head out so we sat outside of a cafe by the lake with a view of the mountains for breakfast. We looked around the shops, bought some souvenirs (which we have now posted and sent home and should arrive in 25 days -Mum) and then drove to Queenstown.
Who's the first person we should meet upon our arrival? Big Dave, the stud and a lookalike of a certain person from home (although much nicer than the real said person nevertheless I think he might be stalking us ;)) We parked up, wandered around and had a world famous Fergburger before we met up with Dave for some beers while we watched the All Blacks rugby game. Prior to the game we got to enjoy the wonderful site of a stag in a mankini joining in with the haka - a true nz experience. I drove back to the campsite so George could drink - which doesn't sound like much but I was pretty impressed with myself.
Upon the advice of my cousin David, our next mission was to book a trip to Milford Sound. We found an internet cafe, booked our trip for the next day then uploaded all of our pics to Facebook. We spent the afternoon playing frisbee golf with Dave (which sucked because I was terrible at it!) We got to have a nice stroll around the park though. We thought about joining Dave and his friends for a few drinks but neither one of us wanted to be designated driver and our camp was too far to walk plus we had to be up at 6 the next morning for our Milford trip. Instead, we drove back to the campsite and I beat George at cards 6 times in a row :D
Our Milford Sound day was the worst day we've had on our trip so far. It was a total wash out. 60mm of rain fell that day. It felt like more. We were wet, cold and miserable for the entire boat ride and the 6 hour coach ride back. The visibility on the boat was rubbish so we couldn't enjoy the so called incredible views but we did see some pretty amazing waterfalls and a seal colony. I was sure that we'd end up with colds out of it but we both seem ok so far. Our driver said it was the wettest he'd ever seen it. We got back to Queenstown at 7.30pm both sniffling and feeling sorry for ourselves so we treated ourselves to fish and chips and a warm Fergbakery pie. We ate dinner by the lake with the heat on full blast then drove to our DoC campsite.
We both wanted somewhere closer to town so we paid $50 to stay in a campsite by the skyline gondola. We then wanted to do something exciting, as we were in the adrenaline capital of nz so, instead of bungy jumping or skydiving, we decided on luging! We got the gondola up to the luging track where there was the most incredible view over the city and across the mountains and I did my best to try and keep up with George on the fast track! We had so much fun going up the chairlift and back down the racing track 5 times with the sun finally shining then we went to the bar for another celebratory drink - this time I had bubbles :D I'd made rice for lunch and we had left overs so we got some take away masala and samosas to go with it for dinner then I did my best to get glammed up (as glam as you can when your living in a campervan).
George has decided to snatch the kindle and finish off this blog. It's been a really sunny day so we've parked up by a river and he's had a few...
We left the camp and trotted down into Queenstown, this town is so frickin good btw. It has everything you need; casinos, clubs, pubs, fergburger, amazing views and more ways to chase death than you can shake a s***ty stick at! This place would be epic to go ski/snowboarding to and I'm adamant we will return some day in their winter.
So we went to a bar called the find (world bar) and it was pretty good. We met back up with dangerous Dave had a few, and watched kel cut some shapes on the dance floor. For her troubles she was grabbed by the hand by some drunk dude with a beard like the guy from hangover and was almost taken away! Luckily I wasn't as drunk as kel (for once), I grabbed her back and we laughed about it after.
The next morning we rose with the sun shining gorgeously off the top of the mountains (the remarkables) and we checked out and played mini golf at 11am. We then went back to fergburger like a right pair of fattys and got more BURGERS!! Honestly this place is a burger sanctuary where I felt right at home. Kel opted for the 'sweet bambi', savage! Then we got back in the camper and embarked on our journey to Christchurch.
We started off by getting fuel and I got talking to the lady who does it all for you. When I told her we had been to Wanaka she asked, like many others if we'd gone to PUZZLEWORLD which we hadn't because at the time we thought it was just for kids so we made the 40 minute trip back and it was worth it. The reception area was full of tables that had numerous puzzles on. We started off in the illusion room that seriously messed with ur mind but was good fun all the same from holograms to balls and water rolling uphill and a room where you looked like a giant on one side and a hobbit on the other. After we'd stumbled around all the weird and wonderful exhibits we went back to the reception room and played with the puzzles which reminded me of Christmas day at kels house. After the puzzles we tried out the giant maze but after drinks the night before, not much sleep and all the cold and rain I wasn't really up for it so we made our way to the nearest DoC and had an early night.
The 24th of October bought more blue skies and sunshine which instantly put us both in a good mood. We drove north east to the moeraki boulders, had some cereal and took some epic snaps with random spherical stones on the shore. We then drove further north, up the east coast, passing through more spectacular countryside and quirky towns, stopped in a small town to send some bits we'd bought home then we found waihi gorge just outside of Christchurch. I've spent most of the day sitting on a large stone in the middle of a bustling river, in the sun whilst kel wrote the blog and I truly I'm truly happy...
- comments
Laura x Got a bit jel reading this but glad you've managed to do some of the things i recommended! Makes me laugh how differently you both write in this blog. Hope you have a good flight to Oz xxx
jack absolutely loving this blog guys. shame you have had bad luck with the weather but still sounds like you have had a good time. dont forget to check out the whale watching opportunities in Kaikora. If its the right season for it hopefully your luck will change and you'll see some cool stuff. if you have time to explore christchurch as well, its well worth it. there is a gondola ride you can do which takes you to the top of a cliff/hill and overlooks the whole city and is pretty cheap. avoid if raining though!
Jamie Really enjoyed reading this guys.. Gutted about the weather for you both too! There's another good Queenstown guide I've read which I'd recommend: http://www.travante.com/guides/queenstown-city-guide/ - check it out if you get a few minutes spare!
Dad Another great blog,not sure you should be doing all this dangerous stuff though.It's raining here to ! Xxx Dad
Ann Really great blog Kelly and George. Just wonderful imagining you two doing all of the things described!! Dad and I laughed at you two arguing in your campervan because we could visualise the van rocking from side to side with all the shouting!! What are you like? Shame the weather's been a let down. Pleased you are happy, all sounds fantastic. Love you! Mum n dad xxx
Ann Just Googled Milford Sound and it looks stunning! What a shame! Perhaps it will seem better when you get home?
Clare My favourite so far. So glad you are having the time of your lives. Love every second, thanks for sharing Xxx