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Kate,Jo and Bronagh Get Around
Hey everybody!
Right, we have so much to tell. Firstly, we went to see Milford Sound, the 8th wonder of the world. We went on a boat tour with the English Girls to see it, and it was really beautiful. There were all these dolphins, which were swimming around the boat and jumping out of the water. On either side of the water were cliffs, formed by a huge Glacier, with enormous waterfalls everywhere. It was really amazing. At one point the boat got really rocky, and waves kept splashing up over the sides. Claire and Laura both got really seasick, and went so white. We of course found this hilarious and spent the rest of the trip making videos and taking pics of them. On the drive home, we saw a warning sign saying "No stopping for 5KM, Avalanche danger" so we decided to stop, get out of the car, and play with these cool wee birds called Keas, which chase snowballs when you throw them. You hear on the video camera Bronagh saying "Oooo Jo aren't we rebels?!", then theres a big rumble, some words we won't repeat from Laura, and we run very fast! Turns out they weren't lying about avalanches, but at least we got to see one.
The next day, we left for Franz Josef. It was a pretty longdrive, but luckily Claire managed to get us there without crashing. There was just a few burning smells on the way which we all chose to ignore. The hostel we stayed in was really nice and really cheap. We had a room for just the four of us, with a TV, ensuite and kitchen. There was also a free spa right next to us which we took advantage of!
We went to bed pretty early cos the next day was the Full day Glacier Hike. We all looked funny because we had to wear so many layers. Bronagh thought we'd be supplied with all the clothes we needed, so she ended up in 3/4 lengths tucked into huge hiking socks and horrible old hiking boots. She also had on a bright green jumper and a yellow hat. As you can imagine, Bronagh looked the coolest.
Anyways, the hike started with a trek through the rainforest, which we weren't expecting, and which Claire made clear she didn't enjoy. "When do we get to the Glacier?" "Are we nearly there yet" "More bloody steps" "How far now????". Yes Claire became THAT person in the group. But when we got to the Glacier it was amazing. The whole thing was glowing blue. We had to squeeze through all these really narrow cracks in the ice which was actually quite scary. The guide kept saying things like "Stay away from the right side, theres a big drop there, if you fall, you'll be gone for good." This didn't impress us, but it made it more exciting.
That night we jumped straight into the spa, and then, as we were getting ready for dinner a strange girl walked in. It was only kate Skehin!! SHe must have known we were going out for dinner, her and Ricky arrived just in time. So we had a really good night and it was great catching up.
The next day was the English Girls last day, so it was a sad morning. But in the end, after a bit of a disaster with the ATM, we ended up in a completely different town, minus Kate (who was climbing the Glacier), but still with the English Girls. The town we stayed in was called Punakaiki, which is famous for having these rocks which shoot water out of them, but thats about all it had. We stayed in a really cool cabin in the rainforest, with an upstairs and everything! It was lovely, but by night time we had convinced ourselves that it was like a cabin from a horror film. We were sure there was a man lurking in the kitchen, and several rats. So we didn't sleep too well.
The next day, we said our actual goodbyes to Claire and Laura. It was really sad seeing them leave, we've spent so long with them. We stayed in a town called Westport for a few days, and Bronagh discovered she has no money. (There was "insufficient funds" when she tried to get out 20 pounds, thinking she had 250!!) There was a bit of a panic that day.
So thats why we are where we are now. In Motueka. Its a town famous for fruit picking, which is exactly what we're doing. We now work on a vineyard, which is pretty tiring, but the money's alright. We started on Easter Sunday, when we were picked up in a dirty white van, by four Indian Men. The thought of jumping out the window to save ourselves crossed our minds as the wee van just kept driving further and further out of town. It turned out fine though, but if we see any official looking people we have to "Stop your working, run here and there, and get out". (It sounds even funnier in an Indian accent). We don't have working visas so we are working completely illegally. If you don't hear from us again soon, we're probably in jail. Please get help.
Jo and Bronagh xo
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