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NZ part 2, live and uninterrupted (baring some kind of power cut) ?
We left Wellintgon after a couple of chill days and boarded the Ferry to the south island. Our first night on the south island was spent in Nelson which was pretty nice. Other than nearly getting run over on several different occasions by mullet wearing sheep !.. , we climbed to the centre of NZ and watched the spectacular sunset whilst also taking time to slowly adjust to the now somewhat freezing climate. The hostel in Nelson was pretty cool too, more like a hotel than a hostel. On our last night there we went for a wee drink in the bar and met some really cool people who we would travel with right through to Queenstown.
I'm Cold!!
Next stop after Nelson was Westport via a quick stop at the beautiful lake Rotoiti, it was a bit of a nothing stop if I?m honest. Went out that night and watched the rugby but were soon on our way again in the morning, this time to Lake Mahinapua. Our hostel in Lake Mahinapua was right on the beach, so we got to watch another amazing sunset, but the standout feature of the hostel was its owner Lez, who at 83 was something like the oldest hostel owner in the world, he was wicked good fun. That night we had a fancy dress/bin bag party. Everyone made a real effort and all were generally quite battered come 1am. I think a few people even went to the beach ? bloody frezzing.
I'm cold!!
In the morning, whilst nursing a few sore heads, the coach pulled into ?the bushmans centre? where we watched a video detailing the contract hunting of over populated dear in NZ during the 70?s (I think). The crazy b*****s used to jump from helicopters onto the backs of the dear to catch them, off their nuts!! We also watched Ashley feed what must be the worlds biggest pig. We then stopped at a sand fly infested lake for lunch before making our way through to Franz Josef. Franz is where we did our glacier hike. Half a day trekking on sheer ice walls, paths, stairs. We got given all the necessary gear including big spiked boots, sweet! To reward ourselves for yet another trek Alexia and I took ourselves to a local pub for dinner which was really nice, death by wedges and a pub quiz type thing was just what I needed.
I'm Cold!!
Wanaka was the next stop on the bus, again not too much going on here, that said I would have liked to have stayed in Wanaka longer as it was beautiful, right on a lake and just peaceful looking. We went to yet another cinema that night and saw blood diamond whilst eating freshly baked (maybe microwaved) cookies. On leaving Wanaka the next morning we stopped at puzzling world to endure an hour or so of seemingly impossible puzzles and a maze. Another hour or so?s drive after that brought us to within reach of Queenstown, but first we stopped at one of the bungy sights to learn about the history of bungy and watch two of the coach passengers jump off the Kawarau bridge. That night everyone from the bus went out to a number of bars as it was our last night as a group. Alexia and I however didn?t stay too long as we were up again the next morning for another 12 hours on a bus so that we could visit Milford Sound. Milford was stunning, a huge glacier formed lake, surrounded by mountains and cascading waterfalls. We took a 2 hour boat cruise around the giant ford before going below water level in an underwater view station to check out some of the wildlife that inhabits Milford.
I?m still cold!!
Another early start the next morning saw us on our way to Christchurch, where I now sit, one hour before I have to leave for the airport ? Fiji awaits. Since arriving in Christchurch we have shopped at the local markets, eaten lots of ice cream, been to a super 14?s rugby game, eaten more ice cream, hired a car and driven to Kaikora in the hope of swimming with dolphins ? the trip was cancelled on our arrival ? so we ate some more ice cream. I like ice cream!
And that?s about it I think ? oh, Alexia did manage to cover herself in spaghetti yesterday, that was highly amusing, and I?ve had the world shortest hair cut, which I?m incredibly upset about. Right, better go catch that flight.
Sunburn here I come. Adios!
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