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Hello there!
So, where was I…..Charlie and I left Nelson and from there through to Queenstown you're with the same people.Unfortunately for us, the bus wasn't full of particularly nice people, especially one large group that always sat at the back and made no effort to speak to anyone else. The atmosphere on the bus just had a really horrible feel to it and after a few days it really got me down.I wasn't myself at all and people who knew me from previous buses noticed too. Turns out Sophie and co weren't having much fun either, they stayed an extra night in Franz Josef to escape their group as they were so evil! It did however make me appreciate how lucky I have been over the past five months meeting the wonderful people that I have.
En route to Westport, we went to the Nelson Lakes National Park for a walk in the forest and a picnic lunch. Charlie and I made friends with two girls called Claudia and Rosie and the four of us stuck together for pretty much the entire week.Once we arrived at the hostel, I got chatting to two lovely girls - both called Laura at the hostel and we spent the afternoon drinking beer, and chatting.Charlie cooked dinner that night, Spaghetti Bolognese and we shared a bottle of red wine!! Was a good evening. The next day and the drama began!! It seemed two of the guys from the 'backseat crew' weren't booked onto the bus and there were tears and tantrums before leaving to Lake Mahinapua.
We spent the morning doing a couple of walks including the Cape Foulwind seal colony & the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks & Blowholes. In the afternoon we stopped off in Greymouth to get fancy dress outfits for the 'p' party that night at the legendary Mahinapua Hotel known as the "Pooh Pub" (a traditional West Coast Pub). The theme was anything beginning with 'p', I was going to dress up as a pooh (thought it appropriate based on my renowned toilet humour) but then decided it much more practical to go as a princess!! At least I would be able to wear the clothes I bought again and would look somewhat attractive!!!
We had a group meal which was yummy before getting into fancy dress for the party.Charlie went as a prostitute and us girls had great fun doing his makeup for him and selecting an outift!! Lots of the lads dressed up as prostitutes and princesses but the winner was a guy who went as Paris Hilton and even shaved his legs for the event!! That is dedication!! Everyone made a real effort with the costumes and the games were fun!! But by half eleven I was well ready for bed.
The next day we set off early and our first stop was the Bushman's Centre where we got an insight into helicopter deer recovery - known as New Zealand's last great adventure. The DVD was highlighly as entertaining as was watching Dan feeding bread to a giant wild pig!! The pig is trained to sit when told and then eat bread from your hands. I've never seen a pig sooo big and Dan looked petrified when the pig charged at him, he leaped out of the pen sooo fast!! I have a really good action shot of this which is really funny!!
In the afternoon we arrived at the Franz Josef Glacier Village, nestled in the Westland National Park and I spent the afternoon chilling out.I had an early night too in preparation for tomorrow's hike.
Franz Josef is a 12 km long glacier located in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Together with the Fox Glacier 20 km to the south, it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 240 meters above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest. Nearly everyone on the bus signed up to the full day glacier hike. I was in a group of ten people and our guide was called Brett. He was a really nice guy and made the day very entertaining.We spent around 5 hours on the ice exploring cracks and crevasses! Some were a little too small for comfort but I got through it! It was sooo cold and in the afternoon it decided to rain (so glad I decided to wear the very unsexy waterproof trousers!) but I had a great day. It was definitely my highlight of the South Island.That evening the famous four had a nice dinner in the bar and drank as much $2.50 glasses of wine we could before calling it a night.
We left Franz Josef early the next day in order to catch the perfect mirror reflection of Mt Cook and the Southern Alps on Lake Matheson, near the village of Fox Glacier. I also got some amazing pics of the sunrise.After tea and bacon butties we cruised down the last stretch of the West Coast Road stopping at popular scenic spots along the way before arriving in Wanaka. The place we stayed in was actually a hotel so it was a real treat. Charlie cooked a curry for dinner and we shared a bottle of wine again. We then had tea and scones and watched TV in bed!! By the end of our few days together we were like an old married couple!!
Saturday - Our last day on the bus with the horrible horrible people!! A short but action packed drive through to NZ's adventure capital, Queenstown. We spent a couple of hours at Puzzle World before pulling up at the world's first commercial bungy site - the Kawarau Bridge. I had sweaty hands just watching the DVD of people doing bungy jumps and although I had the very occasional pang to do it, I don't think it's something I'd actually go through with. We watched a few of the people from the bus jump, and unfortunately survive!! (Ok ok, I'll put the claws away!) and then set off to Queenstown.
It was a lovely day so Charlie and I explored the town which was surprisingly nice & then said our goodbyes. I spent the evening chilling out with the guys from my room, Kelly, Amy, Steven and co. Steven cooked us all a lovely Irish Stew for dinner and we spent the remainder of the evening playing cards and eating cookies !! Very rock and roll eh?!
That's all for now folks! Take care of yourself and each other xxxxxx
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