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I finally finished wrk las week (after making buckets lol- nt really bt enough 2 get me back 2 Auckland) n so my journey continues. Woke up bright n early on saturday n gt the bus 2 queenstown (4 a dollar I mite add- bargain). Was pretty knackerin bein so early n all bt spent most of the day jus chillin out in the hostel n down by the lake since it was a nice day. The nxt day saw me take on another hike as I did the ben lomond track. This track took me again along the rd up 2 the gondola (still 2 cheap 2 pay 4 it) n took a few more photos of this view as was even more spectacular in the sun. The track carried on climbing 4 a couple more hours (was quite hard actually) until I reached the summit of ben lomond. Frm here the views all around were amazin- lots of mountains, lakes n forests made 4 sum v gd photos. Once back 2 the top of the gondola I was pretty tired so thought I'd get the gondola back down. Obv I didn't want 2 pay 4 this so I didn't! :s jus jumped on the gondola n rode it back down. The funny part was at the bottom was this guy who was tryin 2 sell picts of u riding the gondola bt the picts were taken on the way up- he said 'wat time did u ride the gondola up' n I jus said I didn't n walked out! :-) I no- badass! Rewarded myself frm the hike by goin 2 get a fergburger! These r legendary huge burgers in queenstown that r supposed 2 b the best burger in nz (n every1 in te anau kept goin on bout them so I had 2 get 1). Hav 2 say they were pretty gd (n huge) bt nt as gd as my mums (u best nt hav lost ur touch while I bin away mum). My las day in queenstown was pretty much jus chillin out n hangin round the hostel- met a few kl peeps there over the las few days so had plenty of banter mainly between the americans n the english!
On Tuesday I made my way over 2 the east coast 2 Dunedin! Dnt really remember anythin that excitin happenin in the journey over- the scenery was pretty epic tho n we went through arrowtown on the way which was lookin nice n autumny! So Dunedin turned out that there wasn't much 2 do here- they had a cadburys choc factory bt since cadburys doesn't taste as nice here, didn't bother wastin my money. Dunedin itself has lots of pretty old buildings n I visited the railway station n botanical gardens 4 summat 2 do. Also took a walk across town 2 the worlds steepest street- Baldwin street! We also visited this the nxt day on the bus so ended up walkin up it twice! The best part of Dunedin turned out to be the hostel I stayed out- aka hogwartz! Had 2 stay sumwhere that was harry potter related n i wasn't disapointed- they even had a locked room that was labelled gringottz- v suspicious bout wat was actually in there tho! The hostel was a pretty old building- looked very English and we had a gr8 view frm our window as u cud c the whole of Dunedin.
So on thursday I left Dunedin bright n early as usual n made my way northwards! Other than the stop 2 walk up the steepest street, we also stopped at the moraki boulders. These r big rocks in the sand that r really round and kind of had a webbed pattern on them as if lots if perfectly fitting rocks had been stuck together. We finally got to lake tekapo l8 afternoon which is supposed 2 b the best place in nz 2 look at the stars as it is so remote. The weather was also gorgeous all day (n stayed this way 4 the rest of the week) so wud b perfect 4 a little star gazin. Wen we arrived in tekapo we visited the good shepherds church n a famous statue of a dog- both of which were overlooking the gorgeous lake. As sn as I had checked in at my hostel n bought sum food 4 dinner, I walked as fast as I cud up 2 the nearby mt john where a big observatory is located on top. I jus wanted 2 get 2 the summit so I could watch the sunset n I wasn't dissapointted! The view was spectacular frm the top n was so kl 2 watch the sun go down behind the southern alps. I was quite surprised no1 else was up there as well as was def the best place 2 b at sunset! Once the sun had gn behind the mountains however I had 2 run it back down b4 all the light went as I 4gt 2 bring a torch wiv me bt wud of jus used my iPod if worse came 2 the worse. Made it down jus in time anyway n instead of paying 4 the stargazin tour on mt john at night, I jus went outside n had a look at the stars myself. Was really kl n cud c so many stars lighting up the sky n the milky way swirling along across the sky! Def the most amount of stars iv ever seen.
The next day I took a day trip to the nearby mount cook- nz's biggest mountain! Was a really kl day as a few of us frm the bus the day b4 were all on the same trip n also turned out 2 b another hot n sunny day which the bus driver told us was v rare around mt cook. We stopped along the way 4 a few gd shots of mt cook across the lakes n we went past twizel where they filmed the battle scenes 4 the las lord of the rings film! The walk itself was pretty easy being only 4 hours return on fairly flat ground bt was actually a really nice day in the sun walking through a valley towards this huge snowy mountain! Also gt 2 c sum more glaciers n think there was abit of an avalanche at 1 point in the snowy mountains to the west as I heard this big bang n looking at then there was a big cloud of wat looked like snow so mayb. Had lunch at the bottom of mount cook n waited there 4 bout 2 hours so the sun wud come round so I cud get the best possible photo of the mountain- lol. Must hav taken bout 200 photos of the mountain that day bt dnt wry I wnt upload them all!!!
The nxt day I left tekapo n went 2 the capital of the south island- Christchurch. Nt 2 much 2 c along the way- jus lots of mountains 2 the west n big open plains as the Canterbury plains r the biggest area of flat land in nz. Christchurch itself is a really nice city. I only saw the very centre of it bt it seemed very English n had lots of old buildings n a huge cathedral in the v centre. Whilst there I visited the arts centre which was a pretty kl place n gt 2 meet this japanese artist that was really gd. Went 2 the botanical gardens 4 a walk around n jus generally walked round the city.
Tis nt all that much 2 do in the city so I was sn heading north again n visited the town of kaikoura on my way back up. This town was a really nice place n although I new it was rite by the ocean, I wasn't expectin huge snowy mountains 2 b all round the town so close 2 the sea. Kaikoura is 1 of the best places in the world 2 c dolphins n whales bt I didn't c any while I was there (think u need 2 do a whale watch trip on a boat 2 properly c them bt it was 2 expensive). However, I did get 2 c lots of seals at a small beach jus along frm kaikoura n they were v close. It was really nice 2 c them relaxin in the sun in their own habitat n nt jus in a zoo. Cud of spent the afternoon doing a hike along the coast bt decided 2 jus relax on the beach which was so nice as yet agen it was a boilin hot day.
So today turned out 2 b much better than expected as i made my way 2 picton as the bus stopped along the way 2 do a small walk up 2 this waterfall. This was full of young seals n was very kl as we got so close 2 them n they were jumpin in n out of the water. Also a brave lookin 1 came right up 2 us n started following us round. He would even let us stroke him which was so kl!!! And so nw I'm in picton where nt much is goin on bt nt much happened las time I was here! N 2moro I'm takin the ferry across back 2 the north island where I will b making my way back 2 Auckland b4 the dreaded flight over the pacific 2 l.a. The clouds hav bin comin in 2day so it may b abit stormy on the ferry 2moro which shud make it interestin! Hope every1 back homes all gd! :D
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