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So i havnt updated in a while since i arrived on the south island anyways. So I was in nelson n started by waiting 4 my card to come bt turns out I really like the place- spec the place I was stayin! So started the week nt really doin all that much- went on a walk up the hill to the centre of new Zealand (conveniently located at the summit! Lol). N started looking 4 sum wrk until I realised nelson isn't the best place to find wrk as every1 looks there so gave up fairly fast! :-) The best part of my stay in nelson was the hostel I stayed in- the bug. Was a well nice place n met plenty of kl people throughout the week. Also think I managed 2 get through most of the board games during the evenings in the week bt we were a little out of town n had no tv so wat else were we 2 do! Altho a few nites we mixed it up a little into drinking games. Also had a football table n a few hammocks so gt pretty chilled out during the week. On Wednesday I tried my hand at bone carving. Was really gd fun n sumthing abit different 2 do 4 the day. Was also really kl 2 create my own necklace from my own design and carve frm this cows femur! The guy that runs the workshop was really nice n helpful and taught us all the main techniques 2 create our necklaces so they ended up lookin proper professional. Was well impressed wiv mine that I designed around a dragon n gave it abit of a Maori twist! So artistically talented! Lol.
On Friday I did my second great walk- the Abel Tasman. Was a beautiful
day n I got 2 c yet more spectacular scenery! Was an early start at
7am bt got a bus over 2 Abel Tasman n then got on board a boat n took
a cruise along the coast! Was really nice 2 be able 2 c all the bays n
beaches along wiv a visit to split apple rock. The walk itself wasn't
difficult and was very nice 2 stop along the way and relax on the
beaches.
The next day I was back aboard the bus and took it all the way down to
greymouth. Was a v long day bt we got to stop off at some kl places
along the way n the weather was fantastic yet again making the views
more spectacular. Mostly stopped 4 views of the coast bt we did get 2
go on a small 1 hour hike along the coast by this old lighthouse n
watch the sea lions down on some rocks below which was pretty kl 2 c
them in their own habitat. Also stopped at punakaiki 2 go n look at
the pancake rocks. These looked really odd how the sea had erroded the
rocks away 2 look like stacks of pancakes. Also made me really wanna
make pancakes as I've prob missed pancake day while I've bin away so
def in need of my yearly dosage! Spent the evenin in greymouth (or
dead city as i like 2 call it). There was literally no1 around here n
about the most exciting part of my stay was gettin a free cake frm the
hostel I was stayin at.
The next day I made the v short journey 2 franz josef where a real
life glacier lives! That afternoon I took a (wat was supposed 2 b
20min bt actually 2hour) hike 2 c the glacier even tho I wud b on it
the nxt day bt was kl as I found a small pool where the glacier was
reflected in the water. That nite I made my 1st casserole of the whole
trip n turned out really gd- jus wat u need on a cold nite! Also
watched batman (the v 1st 1) n pretty sure I've never seen it b4 as I
hav no memory of it so was all gd!
So came the day of the glacier hike- i was really excited about this n
it didn't dissapoint! Turned out 2 b 1 if the best things I'd done so
far. The day started wiv us all getting kitted out wiv our boots,
socks, ice grips and coats, before getting on a bus up to the glacier.
From there we had an hours walk until we even reached the glacier bt
we cud c it getting closer n closer. Was all v exciting n we all gt
split into groups of 11 to each guide depending on fitness which mine
turned out v well I'm plsd 2 say! :-) B4 actually gettin onto the
glacier we climbed up a small rocky hill that looked slightly bigger
frm below n I was afraid it was gonna b another mount doom bt it
wasn't as sandy so was all gd! There were a few rock slides b4 we even
gt on the thing which was wryin bt seemed all gd wen we gt on there.
Shud say at this point that my group were all pretty kl n included the
usual different nations bt also a guy frm bath uni who graduated las
yr! Obv never met him b4 bt was kl 2 relive the gd moments of bath uni
wiv sum1 who new the place as well as I did.
So once at the top of this rocky mountain we put on our ice grips n
got on the ice. Was really kl just to be walkin on ice bt there was
lots more 2 come. We walked slowly up the side of the glacier b4 goin
straight over the middle n working our way through various ice caves n
up n over icy cliffs. Our guide literally had 2 carve steps out of the
ice in order 4 us 2 safely make our way up the glacier along with our
method of walking up n down them- the franz josef shuffle! Some parts
looked impossible like how we were supposed 2 get up/ down them wen
they were so smooth n slippy bt we all managed it wiv no problems.
Also wat was slightly wryin was everytime sumthin looked abit
impossible I jus started laughing- think I may b goin abit mad- lol,
bt it did seem funny how we were supposed 2 climb up near flat pieces
of ice sumtimes. Near the top of glacier (or the top of where we cud
physically reach) we had 2 go through/ up n over lots of ice waves.
This was probably the coolest part of the whole hike as we got into
really narrow spaces wrkin our way through the waves and more n more
of the ice was a bright blue colour making it look really kl! We made
our way down the left hand side which was much flatter bt by this time
we were quite glad 2 b gettin down quicker. Overall it was a
completely unique experience n 1 I'm really glad 2 hav done as the
glaciers may nt b there any more in a few yrs due 2 global warmin!
The day after franz josef was another travellin day as I made my way
down 2 wanaka. Was quite a kl journey wiv views of the southern alps
looking more n more impressive as we gt further south. On the way we
stopped off at lake matheson which is supposed 2 b 1 of the most
recognisable places in nz due 2 the many photos of the perfect
reflection the mountains make in the lake. Unfortunately we didn't get
2 c this as was pretty cloudy this early in the mornin so the
mountains weren't even visible! However we made a stop at lake hawea
in the early afternoon n the reflection of these mountains in the lake
were just as spectacular which made up 4 the mornin. We arrived in
wanaka nt long after this n I quickly went around exploring. In the
evenin I went, wiv a few people I'd shared a dorm wiv on my 1st day in
franz n randomly met in wanaka, 2 the cinema! We went 2 watch Sherlock
holmes bt this wasn't the reason we went. We'd all heard this cinema
was special n it was! Instead of normal seats it had a mixture if lazy
boys, sofas n even a car 2 sit in! We sat in sum comfy sofas 2 watch
the film (which was actually ok) bt the best bit was the fact they had
an intermission where they sold pos the best homemade cookies n ice
cream ever! I'd died n gn 2 heaven- they were actually that gd!!!
So that's pretty much me up 2 date- went 4 a small walk up 2 the
nearest high point earlier on 2day n went n gt another cookie frm the
cinema on my way back- sooo gd! Anyways, im off down 2 queenstown
2moro- hope u r all well! Miss u guys! ;-)
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