5,179km Later

OK, so we’re currently in Port Macquarie and I’m about 3 weeks behind in what we’ve been up to. I have decided to use this blog to catch up and do the last 2 and a half weeks in NZ, and try to keep it as short as possible since a lot of the feedback although good has been critical of the length (one particular reference being that a friend required more insulin before he could complete one, banter!).

(Monday December 6^th). Moving on from Franz Joseph our next stop was Wanaka as a mid point before Queenstown. Arriving in Wanaka, we decided that we would only pay for one person at the campsite rather than two since we are tight, thus I ended up lying on the floor of the van whilst Soph managed to smuggle me in. The evenings activities consisted of cooking and a bit of cricket.

The next morning we headed into the town of Wanaka where during the Millennium the local town had created a pathway of tiles stating important events to have happened in the preceding years leading up to it. As afternoon approached we had lunch over the picturesque view over Lake Wanaka with some snowy mountains as the back-drop. A few hours later and we had arrived at our campsite in Queenstown.

As Wednesday arrived we had decided that we wanted to do a number of activities during the next few days. Unfortunately, not a lot was done towards doing any of this and instead was spent lazing around, although Tom and Caroline did turn up later in the evening and we decided to do a bar crawl around town. With 7 bars lined up we headed off into Queenstown to experience the night life. Along the way, there were a number of similarities to British drinking culture (not a surprise as most in the area are British themselves) although heading to our third bar was an unforgettable experience. Named the -5ºC bar we were given winter jackets and sent into what can only be described as a human freezer. With iced sculptures, an iced bar and ice glasses we were treated to ice cold cocktails (corny I know!). Leaving the bar we headed to a number of other bars before heading back for the night, not before of course upsetting the local corner shop through alcohol induced mischief. With Marvin serving us, who I referred to as Marvin Atapatu (former Sri Lankan cricketer), we attempted to serve ourselves ‘Slush Puppies’ and steal Ketchup sachets, woops.

Soph literally chillin' in the Minus 5 bar!

Out with Tom and Caroline

Waking up and feeling rather fresh, our day was set for a canyon swing and luging along the Queensland hilltops. Choosing a canyon swing rather than a bunjy jump (mainly due to both the scariness of a bunjy and the cost) we arrived at the Nevis Arc – the worlds largest canyon swing. Opting for the honeymoon position the young guys running the swing decided to try and spice things up a bit by joking around claiming it was their first day. Then asking us whether we wanted a surprise or a countdown, of course Soph said surprise and a split second later we were gone. An incredible adrenaline rush and we were falling to our potential death perilously close to the rock face before the swing kicked in and we swung for about 300 meters. Although it all happened in seconds, it was probably more scary than our skydive experience.

Me and Soph just after we are sent swinging! Notice Soph's rather scared face!

In the evening we took the gondola up to the top of Queenstown where we had 3 goes at the luge around the hilltop tracks high above the town. Not such a rush as the canyon swing but nonetheless good fun.

The next morning was our last in Queenstown as we took the Skipper’s Jet Boat across the shotover river. With only 10cm of water needed to move along and capable of 360º turns made it an enjoyable way to spend the morning; although the group we were with were pretty boring.

Later that day we headed towards Milford Sound, an entrance along the Tasman Sea to the West of the Island surrounded by magnificent mountains. Staying the night for free, we again bumped into Tom and Caroline and spent the evening playing Yahtzee with them, exciting times!

In the morning we headed off along the road to where we were scheduled for a cruise along the Milford Sounds. Since the previous day had been a wash out, it made the scenery even more incredible as hundreds of waterfalls had been created, which in turn produced some amazing rainbows along the way. At some points there were also permanent waterfalls which the captain manoeuvred the boat into to spray some of those who chose to stand at the front of the boat…as you do.

Me and Soph at Milford Sound

In the afternoon we headed away from Milford sound to Te Anau for a bite to eat as well as catch up on some emails. Later the in the day we went to the south-most point of the Island to Bluff which thanks to the incredibly clear day gave us some impressive views to Stewert Island (NZ’s Third Island). As the evening approached we arrived at Curio Bay where we attempted to watch the rare yellow-eyed penguins come in to shore. However, due to lack of light and a lack of penguins we only saw a couple.

We decided to take Sunday easy as we moseyed on along the coast, first stopping off at “The Lost Gypsy.” An old bus and gardens which had been converted by a chap into various electronic and moving gizmos; sounds odd but it was really interesting. Later on we headed to Purakaunui Bay, another free campsite on a beach front. On our arrival we were fortunate enough to see a couple of Sea Lions play fighting with one another which was really cool.

Sea lions fighting

 The next day we headed up to Dunedin via a few stop offs in an attempt to spot some more penguins as well as seals and sea lions. Arriving in Dunedin, we yet again bumped into Tom and Caroline as we ended up at the same campsite. As evening approached we decided to head out along the Otago Peninsula to Pilot’s Bay (thanks to Tom and Caroline’s navigational skills) to see the blue penguins come in. Reading in the Lonely Planet guide (or our bible) that over 100 penguins come in to feed at night we were amazed by the shear numbers! Arriving in ‘rafts’ of 20 or more the tiny little creatures stumbled up the rocks until eventually finding their nests high up in the hills; in fact on our way home we even saw 2 penguins having a cheeky kiss in the middle of the road! 

Blue penguin making it's nest

As Dunedin is known for its Cadbury factory and Speights brewery we decided to do both tours. In the morning we opted for Cadburys where although our tour guide was incredibly boring, the free chocolate to go along with it made it worthwhile. Giving ourselves a few hours to get over the chocolate we headed to the brewery where we were given an historic tour explaining both how the company was created and how the beer was brewed. Although no free chocolate this time we were given free booze instead and being allowed to pour our own drinks from a choice of 6 different lagers and ciders was a good way to finish the tour.

In the evening we went to the other side of the peninsula where there were some yellow-eyed penguins. This time having the stay in a hide there we were lucky to see quite a few coming in to feed their young. Although I did have to usher some stupid (typically arrogant) Frenchman away from the beach and into the hide since the penguins would not come in otherwise.

With Wednesday arriving, the day began with a brief visit to Baldwin Street – “the steepest street in the world” where we saw another slightly arrogant Frenchman who decided to ride his bike up the ridiculously steep streets. Geed on by Soph, upon reaching the summit, slightly out of breath, he merely looked at his watch and coolly said “two minutes, 30 seconds,” good for you I thought (or words to that effect). We then headed to Omarou, an incredibly old fashioned town, where we visited a few shops including a Penny Farthing shop. In the evening we again headed to a penguin colony to spot some more yellow-eyed penguins. 

Baldwin Street

In the morning, we briefly visited Omarou again, before heading off on our final voyage in the campervan to Christchurch. Deciding that we should stay at a campsite with Sky (for the cricket) we arrived at one before having to move onto another which had the correct sports channel.

The next morning we had to return the camper; a sad day, however having covered 5,179km it was time to say our goodbyes. Obviously the heavens decided to open as we left the van and were forced to walk to a bus stop and use ‘public’ transport. I highlight the word public because I suppose you get what you pay for, and as we took the free bus, we had little to moan about. With a number of odd people choosing to take the bus, two of them were sat next to one another and were the size of maybe four people. Both armed with supersized drinks, they decided to recite the entire bus route…as you do.

Eventually arriving in the city we did the touristy things and visited the cathedral and then the Christchurch museum before being picked up by our host for the next few days – Mira. That evening we settled into our surroundings with a view over the city as well as meeting her other housemate Doug.

The next day was spent with Steve (a friend of Soph’s dad) and Sally who showed us around a few areas around the city as well as taking us out for a nice lunch. In the afternoon we headed into the mountains where there were some pristine views over the city. In the evening we went out with Mira, her sister and Doug which was an interesting experience. The bars we went to were good, however with Mira’s colleagues thinking it would be funny to get involved in some ice throwing, but instead caused confrontation with some other girls whilst me and Doug sat there finding the whole situation rather amusing.

The next day we headed to Mira’s family home where we met her other sister and her parents as well as all her pets which consisted of birds, a chicken, a rabbit and two horses. After an amazing authentic kiwi BBQ we headed back for the day.

Just showing some of the earthquake damage, notice the building at the back on a slant!

The next morning we dropped Mira off at work before taking her car out for the day, a 1990 Peugeot 205, an absolute classic. Having never driven a car with a choke before it took a while to get going, however we eventually headed to Lyttleton – a town built in the picturesque back drop of mountains whilst also having a port of its own.

A hot chocolate later and a brief trip into town to see Tom and Caroline before they headed back to Holland and we were back at home having picked Mira up from work. That evening me and Soph treated Doug and Mira to an authentic English roast dinner with all the trimmings, lush!

With our last full day arriving we firstly helped Mira attempt to move bedrooms, unfortunately however, having spent nearly an hour getting the bed out, we reached the conclusion that regardless of what angle we took, it was not getting out! The remainder of the day was spent in Christchurch where me and Soph went kayaking before heading out for dinner.

Me and Soph kayaking on the River Avon

As our final night disappeared following a rare Lunar eclipse we packed for the last time before heading to Australia the next day.

Overall we would have to say that New Zealand has been an incredible place to visit and would recommend it to anyone who has not had the chance to go there yet. Both the North and South islands were interesting in different ways. Personally our highlight of the trip would be the skydive in Taupo, what an incredible thing to have done. In terms of less-adrenaline based activities our favourite would have to be Abel Tasman which was incredible in its beauty. The only regret we have from our trip was not doing the Tangariro crossing, which we were told after was a must-see, however on the whole New Zealand was great!