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Just before heading south to the eagerly awaited South Island I spent an afternoon with David and Linda - some old friends of my Mum's who kindly showed me the sights of Wellington in the sun and fed me a good home cooked meal so a big thank you to them both.
Onto the ferry the next day and back with the Kiwi bus - meeting new people again.We stop off at a vineyard for a spot of wine tasting on the way to Nelson where we stay at a lovely home from home hostel with lavender on my pillow! Meet up with Kath, Sonya from the 'roadtrips' friend.Straight back on the bus the next day down to Westport…..stop off to do some jetboating in the Buller gorge - fun but a little disappointing as guess I've been spoilt rotten for adrenalin fuelled activities in NZ and this one was just a little bit too tame for my liking!
Straight back in the saddle the next morning for second horse trek in NZ.Fantastic scenery again and even take the horses for a little swim! Well they took us really! Back on the bus we stopped off at the pancake rocks and blow holes - an amazing rugged coastline with layers of rock squashed together just like pancakes! Stop in a very grey Greymouth to buy supplies for a fancy dress party at the next hostel - hmm the theme was 'tight and bright' so pretty easy to find a cheap original outfit of fluorescent pink kids leggings, luminous wool, scarf etc and just threw myself into the spirit as there wasn't really an alternative!
Little worse for wear the next day arriving in lovely Franz Josef a small, tourist town servicing the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.Meet up with all the old crew from the last bus and enjoy catching up and comparing stories over a curry.
Climb up the Franz Josef glacier the next day - crampons and all! Amazing views back down the valley and inside crevices on the glacier, an awesome and very unique experience.Relax in the evening in some luxurious hot spa pools - water 40 degrees and pools all outside, beautifully lit, so nice not to feel like a backpacker for once!
Early start again as off down to the posh ski resort of Wanaka today.Stop at Matheson lake to take pics of the reflection, not sure I'll ever tire of stunning lakes, mountains and beaches they are everywhere you look in NZ.All feel very silly when we turn up to feed at the edge of the lake to feed the dolphins - a total wind up by the driver of course! Dolphins in a fresh water lake hmm how silly we felt!
Left the next day bound for Queenstown - somewhere I had heard a lot about and wasn't to be disappointed.We arrived mid afternoon with the sun shining down on the beautiful orange and yellow trees reflecting perfectly in the lake, what a spot.Decide to get into what Queenstown does best - party! Get dressed up as much as you can when you've been living out of a bag for five months! The night was reminiscent of my ski season - drink promotion and gimmicks everywhere including cocktails in a teapot!
A little jaded, Alex,Kelly and Lucy (friends made on the bus) and I head out to the airport to collect the hire car the next morning ready for road trip number two.Head off after many hungover snacks for Dunedin, driving through baron, desolate landscape arriving to rain, lots of rain! Don't manage a lot that evening but wake refreshed ready to drive out to the Otago Peninsula.A stunning area known for its sea lions, penguins and albatrosses which we do see some of, especially sea lions as we drive to a remote, secluded bay where we have a magical time just us and the sea lions chilling out in the afternoon sun on the beach.So fantastic to be so close to such wild, huge and slightly intimidating animals with them all to ourselves.
Take a bit of a detour that afternoon on the way to Curio bay in the far south and end up driving in the middle of nowhere, in the dark and dense fog - oops! After possum and rabbit roadkill and a near miss with a sheep we arrived at Dolphin Lodge.Lovely quiet hostel with views over the bay - bliss.Up at sunrise to watch the very rare yellow eyed penguins heading out to sea to hunt.Another magical wildlife experience - very spoilt!
Head on through Invercargill later that morning and stop off in Rivertorn - South Islands oldest town and spend ages checking out 2nd hand book shops - so nice to have the time! Arrive in Te Anau early evening, a nice tourist town - the 'gateway to Fiordland'.Beautiful sunsets across another lake and we treat ourselves to a chalet type room complete with fridge and t.v ah the luxury!
Back to Queenstown the next day but decide (not planned) to take a three hour detour - oops! Not naming any names! But drove north thinking we could cut across but that involved driving on a walking track Lucy! So of course when the road said 'roadend' it dawned on us, only a few hours too late but we did get the car back to the airport in time so was all fine…. Another fab mini trip and very fun having the freedom to go wherever you want - a nice change from the bus.
Next day join a trip out to Milford Sound of course along the road we had travelled the day before so scenery pretty familiar - oops again! Great day out though, such an amazing valley carved out by a huge glacier millions of years ago, very touristy but well worth the effort.
Next is onto Christchurch- a long journey with loads of stops so seems to take forever to get there! Pretty quiet time seeing the sights and saying farewell to more of the group.The next day was my last bus journey up to Kaikoura - a lovely coastal town based around dolphin swimming and whale watching.Lucy and I decide to brave the 14 degree water and swim with the dusky dolphins.So glad I did as was probably the most special experience of my whole time in NZ.The pod of around fifty 'duskies' were totally wild and for about forty-five minutes swam all around us, checking us out and sizing us up.Had great fun with an underwater camera, mainly filming lots of blue as they are incredibly quick but have a few good ones so check them out on here or facebook.
Last stop in NZ is back to Christchurch where my friend Ali flew down to see me and we stayed with her boyfriend's Mum, Sharon.A huge thank you to her, Dan's sister Sarah for picking me up, putting me up and for being so hospitable.A lovely way to end my time in a fantastic country - thank you.
Next stop Sydney ….
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