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We said goodbye to Australia and hello to South Island, New Zealand on Sunday afternoon. We waited at Christchurch airport for Em and James (My best friend from school and her boyf) who we would be spending the next 6 nights with and travelling in their campervan (Though Jack and I would be staying overnight in chalets and they would be staying in the camper :-)). After stocking up on food we drove the 4 hours through Arthurs Pass, which was beautiful with huge snow topped mountains, to the west coast and stopped overnight in a small town called Hokitika. It ended up being pretty dead here but we woke up to see the small beach with a backdrop of snowy mountains and got on our way south down the coast to a place called Franz Josef.
Franz Josef glacier is probably the most famous in NZ and on our second day we did the 4 hours hike up onto the glacier which was just unreal. They gave us all the kit including crampons to walk on the ice. It was so so cold but the skies were beautifully blue and we were lucky enough to see lots of blue ice on the glaicer. We went through ice tunnels and caves and it was just such a fantastic experience. We stayed in the small town that night before getting an early night for the big event the next day.......
I'm sure you have all seen my skydive photos now so know that yes i did it!! I was so close to not going through with it but Jamana made me realise that i would regret it and James kindly let me go in the plane with Em otherwise that would have been another reason for me not to go! I didnt feel too nervous going up in the plane and the scenic flight over Mt Cook and Fox glacier was fantastic. I remember looking at the altitude thinking wow were only at 4000 ft and need to get to 12!! Then we got there and he opened the door and i can honestly say ive never experienced fear like it!! I was first out before Em and getting my legs out of the plane to dangle down was just ridiculous!!! But that bit was over in seconds and we were out!!! The freefall was such a strange feeling and i felt a sense of relief when the parachute opened! I was very proud of Em doing it for her Grandad and raising money for charity!! We then watched James take off and land which was cool!!
After Fox Glacier we drove to Lake Wanaka before heading on to Queenstown. We stayed in Queenstown down in the snowy mountains for 2 nights. Its not quite ski season here yet so the town is pretty empty but we explored, played mini golf (which is the best mini golf in the world!), ate the famous Fergburgers, drank more teapots of cocktails from another world bar and went to the casino where Em was the lucky one and walked away $60 up!! The biggest event in Queenstown however was Jack winning the local pool tournament (Those Grove Hill sessions have paid off David!), out of 17 players! He won $170 and will be in the local paper on Tues! Of course he hasnt stopped talking about it since!!
Yesterday we left Queenstown and drove a couple of hours to a town called Te Anau which is the gateway to the famous Milford Sound which is one of the main locations Lord of the Rings was filmed! We then drove to Milford today thinking the scenery could not get any more beautiful but it really was amazing! The photos dont do it justice but will hopefully give you an idea of how picturesque it is. We took a short cruise around the sound seeing seals and amazing waterfalls before heading back to Queenstown for our final night all together :-(
New Zealand honestly is the most amazing place and has the most beautiful scenery any of us have ever seen. Snow covered mountains everywhere, lakes, creeks, waterfalls and rainforest. We are so pleased to have seen it all with Em and James (Jamana) and have just had the best time!!! We fly to Auckland tomorrow. One final thing.....please stop telling us how hot it is back home!!!!! We have had thermals on all week!!
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