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April 29 Mount Cook, Kaikoura, Blenheim and WellingtonSo, after leaving Dunedin, we drove up towards the centre of the South Island and to the Mount Cook National Park. Here we stayed for two nights in a campsite about 20k from Mount Cook village. After setting up our tent (and worrying about how cold it would get that night!), we drove up to the village for our first look at Mount Cook from the east. Lucky we did, as we actually managed to see the peak of Mount Cook, which is very unusual as it is usually covered by clouds (it's Maori name, Aoraki, means 'cloud-piercer'). After popping into the local DOC office to pick up maps on the local walks, we had a coffee in a famous hotel there (the Hermitage) and then decided to check out another cafe as it advertised internet. This was a really nice little cafe/restaurant, so we decided to head back there the next night for a rare treat of a meal out! Back at the campsite we bumped into a really friendly English guy we'd met on Stewart Island who now lives in Nelson and was in the area to do some hunting.
The next morning (after a pretty chilly night) we were up fairly early to do a number of the local walks. The first one was up the Hooker Valley towards Mount Cook. Here you can see the glaciers coming off the mountain and the lakes formed by those glaciers. We then climbed a nearby mountain (well, part of the way up anyway!) and had some fantastic views down the nearby valleys. We then finished up by driving to the next valley over and saw the Tasman glacier. That night we ate in the nice little restaurant back in the village.
After packing our tent up we headed off on the 6 hour drive to Kaikoura (on the east coast, north of Christchurch). On the way we stopped off at Lake Tekapo, hoping to see the blue, glacial-melt colours of the lake. Unfortunately, the sun was hidden, so it looked a bit more like a normal lake - nice enough spot though. We arrived in Kaikoura a few hours later and booked ourselves on a whale watching trip the next morning. We put our tent up in a nearby campsite.
Next day we wandered into town and then got taken to the port to join the boat that would take us out to the whales. After a relatively short trip out into the sea we saw our first whale! This was a Sperm Whale, the most common in the area. You could see its back a short distance away and, after some minutes watching, it flicked it's tail up in the famous pose (see photos!) and dived to feed. It was a great feeling to see the huge animal for real and to see it gracefully diving. We then headed off to where another had recently been seen and, after a short wait, we spotted our second Sperm Whale. This one was slightly larger and this time I filmed its dive. Two sightings is pretty normal for a three hour trip like ours so we started heading back to shore. Nearer to land we got a bonus treat of a pod of Dusky dolphins. There were maybe 20 of them diving all over the place. I tried to get some photos and film of them, but they were so quick and unpredictable, it was nearly impossible (see photo section for some of my better attempts!). This was a real bonus. Suitably pleased and excited we returned to land. That afternoon we booked a wine tasting tour at Blenheim for the next day and just chilled out for the rest of the day.
On Friday we cleaned the tent (as we hoped to give it to some friends of ours who were living in Wellington - we wouldn't really be able to use it in Australia) and then drove the couple of hours up the coast to Blenheim. We just had time to throw our bags into a cabin and then we were picked up for our tour. After a nice lunch with a couple from the south of the island, we joined the rest of the tour and started making our way round some of the Malborough region wineries. Quite a few tastes of wine later, we were dropped off back at the holiday park feeling somewhat merrier than we started...
Next day we got up and drove the last half an hour on the South Island back up to where we had started six weeks previously - Picton - to get on the ferry back to the North Island. Three hours (and a viewing of a pretty good film, Blood Diamond, in the ship's cinema) later, we docked in Wellington and drove through town to Claire and Robin's, where we would be staying for the next two nights. It was really nice to see them again and that afternoon we went for coffee and cake in town and then had a meal back at theirs.
On Sunday we drove up to the Wellington Botanical Gardens and went for a walk around. It was a bit chilly, so we decided to go into the Parliament building for a tour of the NZ government headquarters. The tour lasted an hour and was quite interesting to see how their system worked, but the tour was made by a hilarous (although not, we think, intentionally so) tour guide. She kept repeating herself, obviously had a script she was sticking to, no matter what, and would check that we were all okay every two minutes. She raced around the tour and kept us all most amused. We needed a drink after the comedy interlude, so decided to go down to the dockside for a couple. After that we wandered back to the car and then had a really nice meal in a nearby restaurant called Tinakori.
Today, we've checked out the weather for the Tongariro crossing (one of the best one day walks in NZ), but have decided that the weather is too bad, so will head to New Plymouth for two nights instead then on to Auckland once more before heading to Australia.
April 23 WildlifetasticSo, after our night in the cabin, we packed up all our stuff again and sorted out what we would need for our five nights on Stewart Island. We then drove down to Invercargil, where we had a couple of hours to kill before catching the ferry over to the island. Invercargil seems pretty quiet for a largish town, so we were glad we had decided not to spend the night there, but go straight over. We then drove down to Bluff (a very 'end of the world' feeling place) to leave the car and then jump on the ferry. The ferry ride was only an hour and a quarter but it was probably the roughest journey either of us have ever had! There were people throwing up all over the place! The smell onboard was not good...
Having recovered from the journey, we walked through the tiny village of Oban to our backpackers. It was absolutely stuffed full of people as there were some students from a mainland university on a field course there. We subtlely enquired as to when they would be leaving and, once we'd found out that it would be before we returned from our three-day hike, decided to book two more nights there for our return.
Next morning we were up early and down to the DOC office to book our huts on the Rakiura Track (one of NZ's Great Walks) for that night and the next. We knew that the huts didn't have any cookers, so we would need to hire a gas cooker as well. So, once that was all sorted out, we set off on the track. This took about an hour and a half on roads before the track proper started. The first day was mostly along the coast, but there were a few places where, if the tide was high, you had to detour inland and take a high-tide route. And this was where we discovered mud - lots of mud. We had been warned about the mud before but in some places it threatened to take our boots off! There was a particular spot with yellow mud up to our ankles. Nice for the first day! Luckily that was the worst of the mud, but it was to remain a theme for the rest of the track. By about 2.30 we arrived at the hut for the first night. There were a couple of hunters staying there, plus a few other trampers. There was no electricity (or hot water), so we ended up playing cards with one German/Israeli couple by torchlight. The toilets there were 'drop toilets' and the smell was incredible. We hoped for better at the next hut!
On day two of the walk, we got up about eight and, after a quick breakfast, headed inland. This day featured the only viewpoint of the whole walk (up a viewing tower), with the rest of the day through nice, if relatively unchanging, temperate rainforest. As usual we arrived at the next campsite well ahead of the DOC estimated time and got talking to a Brazilian woman who we had met on the track the previous day. She was living and studying at Dunedin, doing a Phd in the conflict between users of NZ National Parks (specifically trampers and hunters). We chatted for a while about Brazil and also about the conflcit. We hadn't seen any examples of this, despite being with two hunters last night and a group of seven at that nights hut. They were fairly loud, but good-natured (exactly what you would expect a group of 7 middle-aged blokes away from home together to be like) and we all got on fine. This hut was a bit cleaner than the last, but the bed area was not divided from the kitchen (which made for any early waking when the hunters cooked their breakfast at 5.30 the next morning!). After another home cooked (!) meal, we hit the sack.
Next morning we got up fairly early (no point hanging around if you've been awake listening to other people since 5.30!) and set off on the way home. This route took us along the coast again. This time along the main inlet. Once back in Oban, we told DOC that we'd made it safely back and hosed our boots down. We then booked a boat trip the next day to a small island in the main inlet, Ulva Island, which is a bird sancturary and has none of the usual predators which have decimated birdlife in much of NZ (stoats, rats and possums). That evening we cooked up some pasta and had an early night.
On our final full day on Stewart Island we took a small boat across to Ulva Island. On the way over we saw tiny Blue Penguins swimming around us. We then arrived on the island and were straight away aware of the difference from the rest of NZ. In most other wild places in NZ there is next to no birdlife. The forests are all very quiet. No such problems here, we saw Weka, Saddlebacks, Robins, Blue Penguins, Wood Pigeons, Tomtits, Oystercatchers, and more! The weka were particularly amusing as they tried to sneak up on us as we sat and had our lunch. They even fought with each other over us! Ulva Island was a really nice spot - definitely the highlight of Stewart Island. Back to Stewart Island and we saw more penguins. We then took a short walk up to a viewing point. That night we had some lovely fish and chips - locally caught Blue Cod. Very nice.
Next morning we were up early to catch the ferry back to the mainland. The journey this time was much smoother and we were soon back by the car and on our way to Dunedin. We drove up through an area known as the Caitlins, stopping off along the way to see a few viewpoints and beaches. We were really glad we did as we managed to see seals, Yellow-eyed Penguins (one of the rarest in the world) and Hector Dolphins (again, one of the rarest in the world!). We also walked down one beach and saw three large Sealions laying around on the beach. They were massive, but very peaceful! We made sure not to get too close, but got some good photos. We then arrived in Dunedin, where we had hoped to meet the Brazilian girl we'd met on Stewart Island. Unfortunately, we couldn't manage to get through to her, so ended up staying in at the campsite.
April 16 Doubtful and KeplerSo, after arriving in Manapouri, we found somewhere to leave the car overnight and then walked down to the dockside to pick up our boarding passes and have a last cup of coffee before boarding our boat for the first leg of our journey to Doubtful. This was a smallish motor boat that took us across Lake Manapouri to meet up with the coach. This took us up over the pass and down to meet our home for the next 24 or so hours. This was a 70-odd berth motor boat. Xana and I had booked a four-bed cabin, but as the boat was only half full, we had it to ourselves. The weather wasn't great, with clouds covering most of the mountain tops and rain falling every so often. We got to see a lot more waterfalls though, that wouldn't otherwise have been there. We steamed (or motored, to be precise) up towards the mouth of the Sound. We couldn't go right out beyond the end of the Sound as the sea would have been too rough. We still enjoyed the trip, but it wasn't that special as we were so limited on what we could see. After some soup some of us aboard boarded the small tender boat and took a small trip to the shore. There we saw the trees coming right down to the edge of the water, clinging on to the almost sheer-cliffs by intertwining their roots. We got back onto our main boat and then it was time for a very nice buffet dinner - roast beef and lamb! We then spotted a seal in the water by the boat which was attracted to all the fish attracted to our boat. It played and caught fish for some time next to us. A real nice surprise. A couple of drinks and slide show on the local flora and fauna later and we were looking for something to do for the rest of the evening. Xana had previously spotter a 1980's version of Trivial Pursuit, so we grabbed that and were about to start playing when we got talking to a Canadian family sat nearby and invited them to play. They were lovely people and it was very funny playing a game that was not only orientated to the 80's, but was also very strongly Australian and New Zealand orientated (sample question: which New Zealand 1980's politician was better known by his nickname 'Piggy'? - any ideas?!?). It took us a couple of hours to get the right number of questions right to find a winner (Xana and , in case you were interested...) and by this time the rest of the boat had already gone to bed! Next morning we had a full cooked breakfast and sat and watched (with the weather slightly better) the landscape slide by. We were soon back our moorings and ready for the transfer by coach back to Lake Manapouri. By this time it was snowing up on the pass back to the lake, so we stopped for five minutes and had a quick snowball fight in the 3 inch deep snow. Another unexpected treat - our first snow since Perito Moreno glacier! We sat with the Canadian family on the boat on the way back to Manapouri and now have somewhere to stay next time we pass Toronto! That afternoon we checked into our hostel (a nice place five miles out of town, with cabins on the hill overlooking the lake) and bought some provisions for the next couple of days. On Saturday we had a day off to prepare for a two day hike on the Kepler Track (one of NZ's Great Walks) the next day, so we lazed around a bit, bought some food for the hike and watched a film at the local cinema, Shadowland, which is by a helicopter pilot and showcases the great scenery of Fjordland. Sunday saw an early-ish start to get all our stuff together for the next two days up on the track. This would be the first multi-day trip we would do where we would have to carry all our own food (not tent though, we would be staying in a DOC cabin on the track - for 80 dollars! 20 dollars more expensive than our double room with en-suite at the hostel!), so we concerned as to how our backs would cope. We drove into Te Anau and left our car at the DOC carpark and set-off. The first two hours took us along the shore Lake Te Anau - fairly flat. Then we headed inland and up the side of Mount Luxmore - our final goal. This was just under three hours of fairly hard (but not that hard) climbing - two and half hours under tree cover and the last part beyond the tree line (about 1000m high). We then reached the DOC hut, a bit surprised as the guide side it would take 5-6 hours to do the climb! Still, we were pleased to be there with plenty of daylight left, so we dropped off our bags and then started climbing towards the summit. This was another hour or so to the top, climbing over rocks and past some of the recent snowfall that was still left. From the top we had some great 360 degree views over the lake and all around the surrounding countryside - lots of mountains in every direction. It was really still and clear so we stayed up there for half an hour or so, before heading back down to our hut. The hut was not too basic - mattresses and gas cookers, and we shared it with about 30 other hikers. We had an early dinner, read for a while, took in the stars and then turned in early. It turned out the mattresses were harder than we thought - surely they should be softer than staying in a tent?! We didn't get the best nights sleep but were up at 7.30 to pack up, quick breakfast and then head back towards Te Anau. This was a less interesting walk as we had to retrace our steps and it took us less than four hours to be back to our car with some weary legs and sore feet. We had then planned to camp that night, but decided we needed a decent night's sleep (we are going to do a three day hike on Stewart's Island, starting Wednesday), so upgraded to a cabin at the campsite for an extra twenty bucks. April 13 Onto FjordlandAfter the trauma of our canyon swings, we decided on some retail therapy. I needed some new sandals for the upcoming kayaking trip to Doubtful Sound we had just booked and Xana needed a new bag (her precious bag bought in Peru was finally giving up the ghost). A couple of successful hours later we had a coffee in a cafe (and then had to leave promptly as cafes in NZ all seem to close at 5pm). So, after a quick walk along the lake front, we decided to do the natural thing and find a pub to escape the cold from. We had a quick beer and then spent half an hour deliberating over whether to splash out on a pizza at the bar, or to be good and go back to the campsite and have our already bought dinner. Cooler heads prevailed and we headed back for a quiet night. Next day we packed our tent away again and, after a quick trip into town, we drove off to Te Anau - the gateway into Fjordland. This was a nice easy 2 hour trip, so got there in plenty of time to put the tent back up again before any rain threatened. That afternoon we wandered into town to check out what was going on (not a lot...) and then had an early night in preparation for our early start the next day to go to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is the most famous of fjords (it's not actually a sound...) in the region, so we wanted to get to our planned boat nice and early before thousands of coaches descended on it. We drove the two hours up the Milford Road, seeing beautiful landscapes and views up the mountains. It was raining - which was, unusually, a good thing. The more rain there has been, the more waterfalls there are in the fjord. After driving through the 1.5k tunnel under the Southern Alps (it's strange to be in a tunnel that actually goes downhill), we emerged safely in Milford Sound and boarded our boat. The rain was to continue on-and-off all morning, so we couldn't always see some of the peaks of the mountains, but there were lots of waterfalls to go and look at. It is a really impressive place, with the mountains rising straight out of the water. After returning to the car, we drove back to Te Anau and got ready for our 5pm briefing on the next day's two day kayaking expedition on Doubtful Sound. Unfortunately, we had an idea that the weather might be against us with a cold snap predicted for the next few days and, sure enough, when we arrived at the kayaking office, we were told that our trip had been canceled. This was a real shame as it was a trip we had had recommended to us by several people and we had been really looking forward to seeing a fjord from a different perspective. Still, at least it would mean that we didn't need to spend two days freezing in little kayaks and tents! After a while faffing over what to spend the next two days doing instead (we had already booked, and paid for, some accommodation in Te Anu for our planned return, so couldn't leave town earlier), we decided to still go to Doubtful Sound, but to do it on a ship instead. The only one that had any space left was one of the larger boats which took seventy people - so we hoped that it wouldn't feel too touristy and removed from what we had intended. Anyway, as we now didn't have to get up at 4.30 the next morning, we decided to commiserate with a bottle of wine back at the campsite. Next morning we packed up the tent again (grateful in the knowledge that we wouldn't be staying in it for another four nights!) and drove up to the nearby small town of Manapura, where we would catch the boat for the first leg of our trip to Doubtful Sound. Anyway, the internet place we are currently in is about to close, so I'll have to write up on the actual trip another time. Ciao! April 09 Wanaka and on to QueenstownAfter our hike up tricky trek up Mount Roy, we followed that up the next day with an easier 3 hour return hike along the Rob Roy track. This takes you up a valley to some great views of the Rob Roy glacier. The glacier is high up on the opposite side of the valley and you can occassionally see (and hear) chunks of ice falling. It was quite a long drive back into Wanaka down a very bumpy gravelly track, so we put off our planned visit to Puzzling World until the next day. Instead we went to the local cinema to see 'An Inconvienient Truth', a very good documentary by Al Gore (see Xana's previous post for more info). The cinema is really cool, with sofas instead of the normal cinema seats, so it was really comfy. You can even have food served to you from the next door cafe whilst the film is running! That night we had some of the left-over bolognaise from earlier in the week (it's not all flash-packing, you know!) and then went for a walk down to the lake's edge, where there was a display of photos by the artist Yann Arthus Bertrand. They are all taken from the air, demonstrating different aspects of sustainable (or, usually, unsustainable) development. The photos are amazing and we actually saw the same display shortly before we left the UK down in London, along the Thames. It was weird seeing them in a very different context!
The next day we packed up our tent and headed towards Queenstown. About 2km out of Wanaka is Puzzling World. This is tourist attraction with a large, 3D maze (that it took us over an hour to get around!) and a few rooms with holograms and other optical illusions. The maze is the best thing about it and we just about made it out before getting too frustrated! We then drove the 1 hour to Queenstown to find the town absolutely jam-packed. It is the Saturday of Easter weekend, so I guess it's not too surprising. We had previously booked into a YHA hostel (partly to give us a break from the camping!). That afternoon we took a quick powernap and then met up with Leanne (who we met on the Oasis Overland trip back in South America) and a couple of her friends. We had a really nice burger and then went to a local bar for a couple of beers.
Next day we moved out of the hostel and up the road to a campsite (about a third of the price!). We then hiked up the nearby mountain overlooking Queentown (no cable car ride up for us!) and then had a couple of goes on the luge (a kind of small go-kart that runs on gravity, rather than with an engine), before heading back down. We then took a bit of time to sort out what we would be doing for the next few days and booked a boat trip on the Milford Sound and a two day kayaking trip on Doubtful Sound. That night we phoned home, before having an early night.
Today we got up and jumped in the van to take us fifteen minutes out of town for our canyon swing. This is where they attach you to a cable, you then jump off a ledge 100m up and then freefall for 65m, before swinging at the bottom. Kind of like a more gently (but just as scary!) bungie jump. It was pretty terrifying standing on the edge of the ledge, trying to find the courage to jump! Xana and I both took a while to muster up the courage, but eventually made the jump. Xana jumped like a pin and I did the 'John Travolta' - one arm up with a few swings as I fell. We had a chance to jump again, but decided once was enough! We are now recovering in an internet cafe...
April 08 An inconvenient truth - global warmingFor a change, I (Xana) have decided to write an entry on the blog. Whilst in Wanaka, we watched the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. You may have heard of it - it won an Oscar for best documentary. It's a film about global warming and it shows Al Gore's campaign to raise awareness about the subject and get people, in particular the US congress and US nationals, to take action. Although it concentrates on the USA's contribution towards the phenomenon, the subject is relevant to everyone on our planet as all of us contribute towards it. Whatever your views about Al Gore or his motives behind making the documentary, global warming is a reality. I agree with Al Gore when he says that each of us has a moral obligation to help reduce and, hopefully revert, the process. It's easy to shrug your shoulders, say it's inevitable and decide not to do anything. I disagree. We can and must do something. We have been privileged to see some amazing natural wonders during our trip, such as the Perito Moreno and the Upsala glaciars in Argentina. If we do nothing, those beautiful places will disappear within the next 50 years and millions of people will die or will be displaced. I'm not suggesting you start writing to your local MP or running for Parliament, only that you watch the documentary, ask everyone you know to watch it, log on to www.climatecrisis.net and see what you can do. While you're at it, you may also want to check the work of the photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand at www.yannarthusbertrand.org. He's done a project called Earth from Above - it is a collection of photos from around the world raising awareness about sustainable development. April 05 Jumping out of a planeOn Monday we spent the day on a hike on the Franz Josef glacier. An early start was followed by getting kitted up with crampons and then a bus journey to near the start of the glaciers. We walked for half an hour or so, donned the crampons and began climbing the glacier. Unlike our last walk on a glacier (Porito Moreno in Argentina), the weather was fantastic - lots of sun and only a little cloud at the summit. In our group of ten we climed into the glacier. The ice is not as clean as Porito (the valley is much narrower, so more rocks and dirt fall into it), but we had a good time climbing through tight crevaces and up steep inclines, our guide leading the way. We stopped for lunch at the furthest point (about a third of the way up the glaciers) and saw one of the local parrots, a Kea, trying to steal our lunches. The clouds started coming in by this point and by the time we reached the foot of the glacier again there was steady drizzel. That night we stayed in to have some microwaved pizza (yum - we had belatedly realised that the oven in the hostel did not work...).
Next day we got up to see if the skydiving was an option but were again told that Wednesday would be the first opportunity. We decided to drive half an hour down the coast to Fox, to see the other glacier in the area. We didn't climb onto this one, but got to within 40 metres of the glacier snout. The day was pretty wet, so we watched a DVD back at the hostel (Fargo) and then had an evening meal and an early night.
Wednesday saw us up an packing to leave to go to Wanaka, about 4 hours away. On the off chance that the skydiving would be on today, we got the hostel to phone the skydive people up and all of a sudden that was it, we were booked in to jump from 12,000 feet from a plane with no problems at 12.30!! What had we done! It all happened very quickly. After a quick check on the net, we drove down to Fox town, had a juice (a last drink?!) and then made our way nervously to the runway. The guys there were very friendly and, after a check attempt to purduade us to pay 50 quid extra each for a video, we got into our flight gear. Seconds later we were all crmmed into a tiny Cesna, just Xana and her jump buddy, Rod, me and my buddy, Trevor (from Blackpool, of all places) and our pilot. We took off and circled over the start of the Fox glacier, then up higher to the source of the glacier (the neve, if you want to get techinical). Here we saw the massive expanse of snow driving the glacier and all the surrounding mountains, including the biggest in New Zealand, Mount Cook. The views were amazing and helped take out mind off the upcoming act of stupidity... Then, a tap on the shoulder from Trevor and I knew we were nearly there. I donned my hat and glasses, Xana did the same and then they cracked open the plane door, Trevor hung his first leg out, then both of mine went, his other leg came around and all of a sudden I was hanging off some guy I had only just met, from a plane that had not mechanically difficulties (the pilot claimed to have been drinking until 4 that morning, not sure how the landing would have been...) and was supposed to smile at a camera attached to the wing, whilst not paying any attention to the screaming wind and distinct lack of ground below me (apart from that very far below me...). A couple fo attempted thumbs up and grimaces at the camera later that was it, I was gone! 45 seconds of free fall had started and once I had gone through the first 5 seconds of mindless panic, I could settle down a bit and enjoy the view of the mountains, glacier and sea - all visible in one 360 degree swoop. Soon enough the parachute opened, I readjusted my straps to make the rest of the journey more comfortable and then Trevor pointed out Xana under her canopy circling above us. I got my camera out from around my neck and took a few pictures of the amazing views. Rod then moved himself and Xana closer to us, so I was able to take a few pictures of her from however many thousands of feet up! Too soon the ride was over and we smoothly touched down - a great rush for both of us (I think Xana enjoyed it more though - she wanted to go around again!!). We had time to calm down, get changed, pay, and then we were back in our car and on the drive to Haas Pass, over the Southern Alps and on the way to Wanaka. The views on this trip were also great, passing beautiful lakes and mountain views.
Wanaka is a small town near Queenstown, perched on the edge of Lake Wanaka. We checked out a campsite recommended by Trevor, before deciding on somewhere closer to town with better facilities. That night we cooked a meal in the kitchen and had a bottle of red wine to celebrate our jump.
Today we decided to climb a local mountain, Mount Roy. This is nearly 1600 metres and has great views over the lake, the town and over to the Southern Alps. The weather was so good that we could even see distant Mount Aspiring (one of the tallest peaks in NZ). The climb was a killer (over 3 hours straight up), but the views were spectacular. A quick hike back down saw us back into Wanaka and to our campsite.
April 01 North of the South Island and starting southSo, Hot Fuzz is very funny - well worth watching! It was very English - lots of cups of tea and cake!
Monday saw an early start to leave Nelson and get across to the Abel Tasman national park. We got there earlier than we thought, but it gave us time to set up our tent before getting ready for the day's activity of kayaking and walking. The six of us in our group went through the process of learning how to get in and out of our kayaks with our guide, Ali. We all looked very fetching in our rubber spray skirts and life jackets. We were then on the move, walking out over the long beach at Marahau to meet with our kayaks. We then jumped in and paddled out over the incredibly flat waters. We then proceeded to follow the coast line for two hours or so, stopping off for a tea break mid-morning and then stopped for lunch. We even saw a seal (albeit a little way away). The sea was so flat, which made it much easier for us to paddle along. The beaches were beautiful. We then left our kayaks and the two of us headed inland a bit to follow part of the Abel Tasman track. An hour and a half later we were sat at the beach waiting for our water taxi back to Marahau. Xana was braver (more stupid?) than me and decided to go for a swim in the decidedly chilly waters. There were quite a lot of people waiting with us and water taxis came backwards and forwards picking other people up. Once our taxi arrived we sped back to Marahau and decided to have a few beers to relax and then a nice meal in the only restaurant for miles around. The food was really good (if a bit pricey).
Next day we packed up our tent and headed back to Nelson (unfortunately, Xana had realised she had left her watch at the previous holiday park. Whilst we were in Nelson we picked up another torch and an extra sleeping mat for me - one thin one, definitely wasn't enough! - and then drive back through the north of the island to Golden Bay, right at the north-west tip of the island. On the way we stopped off for a walk at Harwood Hole (one of the biggest caves in the southern hemisphere) and walked through a forest where they filmed part of the Lord of the Rings. You couldn't see all the way down into the cave, but there was a really nice view point near the cave, where you got a great view over a nearby valley. We then got back on the highway and drove the rest of the way to our hostel in Takaka, Golden Bay. The hostel had table football, pool and a table tennis table. I managed to beat Xana at table football and pool, but couldn't get near her with the table tennis, losing 4 games to 0.
Wednesday we drove up to the most northerly spot on the South Island, Farewell Spit. From there we headed to nearby Wharariki beach. This had great walks whilst the tide was out and we could see all the offshore stacks being eroded by the sea. We then decided to walk a little way along the coast towards a lighthouse. The first part was pretty steep (and involved leaping over a pretty wide stream - only one foot got wet, I won't say whose...), but we were then walking right along the cliff edge (helpfully marked by a sign saying 'Cliff!') and saw a little beach exposed by the low tide that was inaccessible from the shore. It was empty. We reached a point where we could see the spit to the north and decided to head back. This time when we passed the same little beach, we saw that it was occupied by about twenty seals! We sat and watched them waddle up and down the beach, sleep and generally laze around. Very nice and very unexpected. We then made it safely back to the car and drove back towards Takaka. On the way, we stopped off at a pub we'd had recommended to us, the Mussel Inn. We had a drink and noticed that there would be a live singer there that night, so we thought we would head back after some food back at the hostel. We drove past Takaka and saw some unusual rock formations, but it was a bit wet and not massivley impressive. Afetr a meal in our crowded communual kitchen, we drove back out to the Mussel Inn. It was packed out , but we managed to squeeze in just in front of the singer, a Canadian singer-song writer called Romney Getty. She had a great voice, but was a bit too country for us. Still, it was nice to see a bit of live music.
Next day we headed back over the hills and onto St Arnaud in the Nelson Lakes National Park. Here there is a large lake, Roitoiti. We took a couple of short walks around the lake and planned to do a longer one the next day up a nearby mountain to get an overview of the area. Unfortunately, when the next day rolled round, the weather hadn't improved and although we headed up the hill, we got to the first viewpoint and decided that, as we couldn't see anything(!), it was time to turn around and head back. Good job we did as as soon as we set off again (after a half hour lunch break to see if the clouds would break), the rain started coming down really heavily and we dashed for the tree line and cover.
Saturday we left St Arnaud and drove past the nearby Lake Rotoroa, which looked exactly the same as Roitoiti. We had planned to do a two hour walk around the lake, but the fact it looked the same as the lake we had just left, the fact that the weather wasn't too great and that the sandflies were out in their thousands was enough to persuade us to head back to the car and on to Punakaiki. After a quick stop off in Westport, we reached Punakaki and took a look round the pancake rocks (rocks formed over millions of years in thin layers to look like pancakes). This took half an hour or so and, as we were staying in Punakaiki that night, we decided to drive on down to Hokitika for the afternoon so that we could give it a miss the next day and drive straight on to the glacier region. Hokitika is famous for it's jade stone carvings, so we took a look round the shops to see if anything caught our eye, but nothing did and there's not much else there (the place had the feel of a deserted, wild-west town), so we drove back up to Punakaiki, stopping off along the way to enjoy the great views and the, unusual, blue skies. We checked into our hostel and, whilst Xana was washing her hair, I wandered down to the nearby beach to catch the sunset. It wasn't the best as there was too much cloud around horizon, but the beach was lovely, with lots of small waterfalls from the day's earlier heavy rain.
Today we drove down to Franz Josef to see the glacier. We gave a lift to a very nice, but very quiet Swiss girl who was staying in our Punakaiki hostel. We want to do a sky-dive and glacier walk here, but the weather isn't good enough to do the sky-dive at the moment, so we are doing the walk tomorrow and will then see if we can do the jump later in the week. Fingers crossed!
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