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We have to apologise to you before you start reading this as it could quite possibly sound like an Anna and Tom love fest! But it's actually just that they have been following us everywhere and have most definitely turned into professional stalkers! Although you can't blame them! We are pretty fantastic people to know!
We arrived on the South Island on 1st March, us on the 8am ferry, and Tom and Anna on the 8:15, but whose ferry managed to overtake ours and dock in Picton just before us, and on we drove straight towards Nelson, a region that boasts as having more sunshine than any other part of New Zealand! Well it would appear that 1st March was not to be such a day as it absolutely chucked it down! The rain subsided enough for us to cook dinner at a basic campsite, but then came the news from the camp manager that a storm was coming in, and that the area was expecting a lot of rain! A bit worrying when you are camped next to a river that has a sign advising you that it can flood it heavy rain!! So a night of very little sleep was had due to the intense noise of the rain on the camper, and Sasha keep sitting up and turning the torch on to see if the camper was floating further along the field!
Next morning waking to a flood-less field we headed to Nelson town where we stayed a couple of nights, with a walk up Botanical Hill which claims to be New Zealand's geographical centre! Slightly ironic that it just happens to be at the top of a bloody great hill!
From Nelson we headed to Westport. The plan had been to camp overnight half way between Nelson and Westport at a DOC campsite in Lyell. But upon arriving at the site and opening the doors we were full on attacked by sandflies! So instead we had a fab drive through the Buller Gorge, stopping off to walk across New Zealand's longest swing-bridge, which Sasha gained much enjoyment from making it wobble as Ollie walked across!
Heading down the coast on our way to Greymouth we stopped off at an old Goldmine, being looked after by an extremely enthusiastic man who told us all about the geology of New Zealand and the different minerals found in each area. Ten minutes into his geography lesson we look down to see that our bare legs are totally surrounded by mosquitos! A quick walk around the mine and it's time to go!
Walking around the town of Hokitiki we were disturbed from our peaceful wander by the frantic honking on a car horn! Only to see the smiling faces of Anna and Tom driving past us and waving! And so to save them the embarrassment of following us everywhere we arrange to meet them the following night in Franz Josef.
Franz Josef was so much fun! We all had a great couple of days there! The campsite we were staying at was extremely basic with just a long-drop toilet and a lake! The long-drop being the smelliest we have come across, so much so that the ammonia stung your eyes! And the lake was full of ginormous eels!
The four of us managed to book on the same trek on the Franz Josef glacier which was just amazing! But pretty exhausting too! Thankfully however we also got free entry to the Hot Pools and so took full advantage of the pools and the changing room showers, especially as we hadn't had access to showers for four days!! And then to treat ourselves further we wandered over the road to indulge in a delicious curry!
From Franz Josef we drove onto the immensely stunning Wanaka and camped for a couple of nights next to the beautiful lake.
And now we find ourselves in the very lovely Queenstown, feeling a little delicate today after a drinking session two nights in a row with Anna and Tom! Saturday being just what was supposed to be a couple of drinks at the campsite to catch up on what we had all been doing since we last met, but turned into a vast quantity of wine being consumed, and having no memory of going to bed! And then last night we created our very own little bar crawl sampling the offers of the various public houses, and even managing to partake in a pub quiz, which we didn't win!
And so today is one to sit, read a book and drink lots of water!!! And to also plan what to do tomorrow and Sunday for our birthdays!
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Dee A great read as usual.