Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Well from leaving Picton, we have had an extra companion....the rain clouds. We headed to Abel Tasman via a vineyard where we got to stop and try some wines from the local area. We thought we might leave a little tipsy but they were a bit stingy on the wine so we were all stone cold sober. The drive was quite long and not very scenic due to the clouds and the fog and the atmoshphere on the bus wasnt great, which made me a bit sad to have moved on. But it turn out the the bus driver had offered to do a group meal the night before which they had all paid $10 for, and they soon realised that the total cost of the food he made came to barely half of what they had paid and he had refused to give them the difference until they threatened to complain to the company. Definitely a recipe for a bad atmosphere. On reaching our accomodation for the night, we were a little underwhelmed given the price, the rooms looked like transport containers and were a bit damp and the 2 toilets for the whole place were a good walk from the accomodation. Despite this, we had a nice evening chatting and attempted to watch a film on the TV, soon to be scuppered by the fact that all of the buttons on the TV didnt work, nor did the batteries in the remote. The following morning the rain was near torrential so we all sheltered in our rooms hoping for a break in the weather. Unfortunately things got worse when the power went off. There had been some power line work scheduled and they have forgotten to mention that to the driver so we spent the next 12 hours or so without power. A few of us braved a walk mid afternoon but soon turned back due to the rain and the fog obscurring the view. Dinner that evening was an interesting challenge, trying to cook using only the flash lights on a few peoples phones. Thankfully the power did eventually come back on shortly before bed so we could turn the heaters on before bed.
We were glad to be leaving, but sad to have not seen anything in Abel, we moved on to a place called Punakaiki via the pancake rocks (again in the rain). We arrived in the most lovely of hostels, a collection of separate houses each sleeping about 8-12 people. As there were 9 of us it was perfect, warm, cosy, working showers and electricity and a lovely log fire. We had also decided to cook our own group meal and had the best meal i have eaten in NZ. One of the dutch guys made dinner and a german guy made apple strudel for pudding and someone donated a bottle of wine so we all had a small glass. Amazing.
We left the following day in good spirits after a comfy and warm night's rest. We set off on an hour long walk through the rainforest which was made even better by the sun choosing to join us for about 1/2hour. The clouds had lifted a bit so we got some views of the scenery coming into Franz Joseph and visited a jade carving factory to break up the journey.
Tonight has been a good night having backpackers meal deals at the restaurant on site. Again the hostel is lovely so I think we will be happy here. The weather isnt looking good so I think I will stay back a few extra days. Will update again soon!
- comments