We spent the next morning in Hokitika as they had lots of Jade factories and a glass blowing shop which was really interesting as you could watch the men making things. Then we headed towards Franz Joesph Glacier on yet more mountain roads! It was a gorgeous day again and it was even warm enough to sit outside to have lunch which was fantastic. This was one of the first places where there were lots of other people (mainly from the big tourist buses) which was a bid strange - we went into the bar in the evening and it was pretty full which we have not encountered up to now!!!
In the morning we went on a glacier hike. We got given all our cold weather gear and spikes for our shoes again seeing as we were going to be walking on ice!, and hopped into a bus and were driven to the glacier. We walked about 45minutes through the valley to the terminal face of the glacier and then put our spikes on so we could start climbing on the ice. It was so warm the guides had shorts on and at one point I was only wearing one thermal (as opposed to about 3 layers on a normal day!). They had carved lots of steps in to the ice and where it was a bit dodgy there was rope handrails to hold on to. We spent a couple of hours up there walking around and through the glaciers which was fantastic.
In the afternoon we had planned to a helicopter ride over the Fox Glacier (the other one 20kms down the road) and up to Mount Cook but there was no one else who wanted to do that trip so we went for a different one where we went over both glaciers and the pilot went over to Mount Cook especially for us which was nice of him! It was brilliant! I have never been in a helicopter before but it was excellent! We went right up to Mount Tasman and Mount Cook and over the Fox Glacier and then we landed on the FJ Glacier and got out of the helicopter and walked around right on top of the glacier which was fab! We were the only people up there, the sky was bright blue
with no cloud and the views were stunning! Then we headed back over the FJ Glacier and back to base. It was only half and hour but it felt quite a lot longer as we saw so much and I'm such a sucker for snow covered mountains, of which there were hundreds dotted around!After all that excitement we got back on the road, stopping off at Lake Matheson which is supposed to be quite famous for being photographed so much as it is quite still and you get fantastic reflections of the mountains in the water. Then we drove on yet more mountain roads to Haast.
The South!
In the morning we drove onto Wanaka. The drive was pretty spectacular again, by Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. Wanaka wasn't as pretty as we thought it was going to be but it was still a nice place and set by the lake which was lovely. We were near to the Treble Cone ski resort so thought we would drive to it and have a look. The weird thing about skiing here though is that you have to drive halfway up the mountain to get to the ski fields, I guess as the snow doesn't come down low enough. So we got to the bottom and it was a 7km gravel track up to the base. I wasn't overly keen on driving up as I thought it might be a bit steep for the old camper but after talking to someone who had just driven down we decided to give it a go. Well that was possibly the worst decision we have ever made since being here! It was the steepest road we have ever driven on, it was quite narrow and twisted up the mountain - we were absolutely shitting ourselves! We eventually made it to the top but were so traumatised that we took a few photos and then drove back down again. It was just as bad on the way down and every time we turned a corner to the right it felt like we were going to tip over so I had to keep taking the corners wide which meant Grainne was closer to the edge which wasn't particularly nice but eventually we made it down! Then we drove back to the holiday park, dumped the van and went for a drink to calm our nerves!
The next day we went skiing at Cardrona but this time we decided to get the shuttle bus up there! The road was just as bad as the one we went on the day before so we were quite glad we had decided not to drive it! The day was really good - got kitted out in skis and then booked a lesson but got a few runs in first to make sure I could remember what to do! The lesson was really good as we went over all the technique stuff that I did know but had forgotten!! Met up with Grainne for lunch and then went back out again in the afternoon. I think I have been spoilt by skiing in Canada though as the snow over here isn't as good - well there isn't much of it to start with and there was lots of rocks and grass patches and some ice aswell which always makes things interesting!
When we got back from Cardrona we thought we would drive to Queenstown as it was only about 70kms. What we didn't realise was that it was yet more mountain driving and was probably the steepest and bendiest road (apart from the Treble Cone experience!) that we had driven on, and we did it as it was getting dark too, so another sensible decision! We were going so slow round all the bends we ended up with a little convoy behind us by the time we got back on to the main road, but at least we made it in one piece and relatively unscathed!!
Queenstown is a great place! I was expecting it to be really touristy as it's the adventure capital of the world allegedly but it's also just a pretty pretty town, set in amongst mountains and a huge lake. It's a lot colder down here though, although there is sun there isn't much warmth to it so the nights require both heaters on full blast!!
It's a bit of a party town so it seems whatever night you go out something is happening which is great! Did a mini pub crawl (couldn't go out too often as it was too cold!) and found a great bar with a band playing so settled in for the night!
Went skiing at The Remarkables the next day which was good, preferred it to Cardrona, although there hasn't been any snow since 6th July so the slopes are a bit packed by the
groomers and a bit icy in places. Had another lesson which was good, but it's hard work to remember everything all the time and every time I get to a hard bit all technique goes out the window as I fly down the slope!! Knees have held up surprisingly enough which is lucky seeing as my insurance doesn't cover skiing! But I'm not quite sure how much longer my luck is going to last so I might just quit whilst I'm ahead!Just to demonstrate how cold it is at the moment (apart from it being the coldest period in Queenstown for 15 years or something crazy like that!) our water has frozen! This means we can't empty our waste water or fill up our fresh water, and when we did put a little bit of water down the sink there was no where for it to go so it came up the plughole in the bathroom (when I say bathroom I mean toilet and shower room that you can barely fit into!)! So that has made life just a little bit more interesting!!!
We went for a day trip to Milford Sound which was good but a very long day. We had a very random guy driving the minibus who decided to talk incessantly for much of the 5 hour journey each way to Milford Sound, and most of it was either rubbish or was pointing out 'the best', 'the highest', 'the largest' etc etc etc lake, mountain blah blah blah... Surely everything can't be the best ever in the country down this way, although again the scenery was stunning!
Finally caught the boat at about 14.45 and then cruised round for a couple of hours. The scenery was great, but I think I've got to that point that I've seen so many fantastic snow capped mountains that it now takes quite a lot to impress me! The weather was beautiful though so it was lovely to be there. And then we had to endure the 5 hour ride home again, although at least this time we got a movie to watch (although couldn't really hear it which was useful!), and then back in Queenstown we found a few more bars to sample! I have found this great vodka that is flavoured with either honey, kiwi or passion fruit and it's really nice!!!
The next day we were going to stay in Queenstown and had even paid for another night at the campsite but then halfway through the day we decided that we had had enough of this crazy town and made a swift exit! We spent the day in Glenorchy which is a 45 minute drive north of Queenstown and a really lovely peaceful place with beautiful scenery. We drove further up the road to Paradise aswell which was lovely, but could only go so far until there was a small river which we had to cross but it was iced over and I didn't fancy my chances of driving over it o we went for a little walk instead! Then we headed to Cromwell for the night, which is a pretty uneventful town, other than it has a few pieces of rather large fruit welcoming you as you drive into the town which I thought was a bit bizarre! Also our water tank has finally defrosted so we have running water back in the camper which I found quite exciting!
The Road North to Christchurch
From Cromwell we started the drive north towards Christchurch. We were going to take a couple of days to get up there, but ended up doing a massive drive in one day to Methven, which is an hour or so outside of Christchurch and the closest town to Mount Hutt, another ski hill! It was quite a good day though as we stopped off in lots of places along the way - Twizel, Lake Pukaki, Lake Tekapo and Fairlie - and got some excellent views of Mount Cook from across the lakes. The scenery has changed quite a bit - there are still some mountains around but there is a lot of flat open space all of a sudden which was a bit strange to see but it made driving a hell of a lot easier!! Eventually we arrived in Methven and found a place to stay and organised transport up the mountain for the next day too.
Mount Hutt is supposed to be one of the best ski resorts in NZ and I definitely enjoyed it more than the others, but that could just be that I'm improving slightly! I had another lesson and there was only 3 of us which was great! At one point the instructor said I looked graceful coming down the mountain which I was quite happy about, as sometimes it does all come together and other times I am a complete disaster!!! She also showed us how to ski backwards which was great fun, although can't see there being much need to use my new skill!!! In the afternoon I went up on my own to the top of the mountain to do some more blue runs but the runs were full of rocks and ice so I was anything but graceful coming down!! But at least I made it in one piece so am thankful for that at least!!! But things are starting to ache now and am feeling a bit old so this time I am definitely going to quit whilst I'm ahead and took the next day off whilst Grainne went off up the slopes again!
Spent our last night in the van, eating and drinking our way through our supplies! Then in the morning we made the short drive to Christchurch and found our hostel. The hostel is OK but not great, although it has underfloor heating which I'm really looking forward to!, and it all just feels a bit weird! It was a little bit sad to give the van back after such a long time - we worked out that we drove 3,602kms in 29 days which is not bad going really!
Went to the Antarctic Centre which was quite interesting. They have a snow room where you put rubber boots on and a big jacket and they recreate the weather conditions in the Antarctic - -8 degrees and a wind chill factor of about 44kmph and it suddenly became about - 18.5 degrees which was a little bit chilly!!
The rest of our time in Christchurch was fairly relaxing. We wandered round the city taking in the sights and doing some last minute shopping. We had a night out to sample the delights of Christchurch and were slightly surprised by what we found...
We went out for a few drinks but everywhere seems to close early. We finally found somewhere that wasn't putting all the chairs up on the table (never a good sign!) and were sitting there chatting and having a drink. Suddenly these two guys came over - a guy called James and someone I shall refer to as the twat as I've no idea what his name is! I can't say I was really being chatted up by the twat as he just sat there playing with his phone and then asked me the odd question but was not in any way interested in my answers. I was getting slightly annoyed at all this and then I find out from the James guy that he has made a bet that he can pull me!!! So I told him he was wasting his time, but he thought he's try his luck anyway, clearly he thought he was irresistible but he really wasn't and he was only 19!!! After a few attempted maulings I managed to get him off me and fortunately he disappeared for a while! The next time I looked over he was snogging some girl who was apparently his girlfriend!! I couldn't believe this but felt quite relieved that at least I was off the hook! We were then joined by another one of their mates, and then the twat and his girlfriend came over too which was all very odd!
Later on in the night he sits next to Grainne and starts mauling her, despite the fact he's sitting there with his arm round his girlfriend!! Completely unbelievable! Even more so when his girlfriend doesn't seem bothered by it (and she was English so where was her self respect?!!). Later on girlfriend nipped to the loo and he turned all his attentions to Grainne. His mates, even though they were completely disgusted with his behaviour weren't doing or saying anything to stop him and Grainne couldn't really do much while he had attached himself, so it was up to me! I asked her if she wanted me to hit him as that was the only way I could think of to get him off her. However, it all got a bit confusing and Grainne thought I said was she OK and she said no, despite the fact she actually said yes to whatever question she thought I asked! Anyway, so I slapped him pretty hard round the face and told him in no uncertain terms to leave my friend alone!! Everyone, including me, was pretty shocked for a second, especially Grainne as when I slapped him his head ricocheted onto her so she got a bit of a thud aswell, opps! But he left her alone after that and actually apologised too so perhaps I did the right thing...!! Anyway, we left shortly after that as it was all just getting too bizarre! And then our last day in NZ was spent recovering from the hangover!!! Oh well, it was an experience!
Bit of a shame that we didn't do half the things we thought of doing (or what some woman from the tourist information had demanded that we do!) on our last day as I felt too ill but that's life I guess!! We had the joy of playing the oh so fun game of 'lets try to fit all our stuff in our bags' instead which was great!
So after nearly two months I'm off again to the next country. I really enjoyed NZ, it's a fantastic place. We might not have come at the best time of year, but the weather in the South Island more than made up for the rain in the North and we even managed to cope with the cold most of the time! I think some of the scenery is more spectacular when it's covered in snow but I definitely need to come back when the weather is a bit better so I will in theory eat less and be in the mood to do more tramping and appreciate more of the amazing scenery!
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