Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

We have finally arrived at our last stop in New Zealand and god it's gone quick. As usual it was raining, something we know only too well but being English we are quite used to it.

It took us about an hour to find our hostel in the middle of town via the one way nightmare and many streets names that didn't match the map we had. After dropping our bags off we had to navigate through the one way nightmare again to find the airport (which was where the car hire was) to drop the hire car. A sad departing to Dave the Daewoo he will be sadly missed!

Well for the past five days we have mainly just chilled out and done bugger all! What a life! Did manage to blag ourselves on another free city tour this time by a company called Stray!
We thought they would take us to all the wonderful sights Christchurch has to offer but instead the guide was more interested in telling about the price of property instead of the history of Christchurch, and to top it off we made a scenic stop off for lunch in the lovely port of lyttleton NOT! what a dump! fish and chips weren't bad though! Spent the rest of the day chilling in the square watching people play big chess and the street entertainers, very amusing!

We were entertained on one day by a very funny fellow called Bruce, who did everything from juggling to throwing knives to some amazing one liners but you had to be there to appreciate the comedy value! As the finalle Lee's services were called upon along with another guy from nz and a v pretty young lady from sweden! who lee and the other guy had to kiss!! but i know he loves me! Bruce stood on Lee and the other guys shoulders whilst juggling knives quite scary but he achieved and they got a great round of applause for their services from the audience Lee was now a celebrity in Chirstchurch!


Fab hostel we were staying in called Base Backpackers. The view was fantastic. We had a view of Cathedral Square and of the great Cathedral that god love it deceided to ring its bells at some ungodly hour of the morning! the only drawback was the dirty kitchen but when i complained it was soon cleaned and we were much happier!

As a treat decided to have my hair recoloured and cut. What should have been a relaxing enjoyable experience turned out to be a nightmare. I am now blonde! Instead of colouring my already blonde bits she decided to do the brown bits as well impressed i was not but i was so in shock i said thanks paid and ran out! Hoping to find a miracle stylist in oz who can rectify this disaster!

On the second to last day we met up with a couple from back home, Raffs and Vicky, who are also travelling around NZ. Its always good to see a familar face and we had a good long chat over a few beers.

So basically Christchurch is a lovely place and we had a very chilled out stay but having no car made it a little frustrating and i think we are both ready for moving on to Sydney for christmas and new year and to meet up with a load of friends from back home. Bring it on

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love Lee and Sonya xx

Timaru

This is our second to last place we are to visit in NZ and again another stop off on the way to Christchurch. Very much similar to Omaru, but this time no Penguins. So just had a few games of pool and relaxed with a movie, a great saturday. Sorry but nothing more i can add from this place. Only 6 days left before Australia.

Lee

Omaru

We stayed here just for the night as a stop off on the way to Christchurch. Not a great deal to do here other than going to see the Penguins (which by the way i think are genius and funny). There are 2 kind here both living wild, the Yellow eyed penguins who look quite evil when close up (see pics) and the Blue penguins which are about 30cm tall and great to see. We had to see the blue ones at a local conservation (set up to help them breed as they were becoming rare) at about 9pm and had to sit quietly waiting for them to arrive. You could see lots of little heads popping about in the sea in the distance and then they arrived riding the waves, walked up the ramp, they then stopped to chat with each other for a while then walked across a little unused road before saying their goodbyes and scampering off to their little homes. I absolutely loved watching these little birds and they don't half make some noise. We could hear them from our bed which was a mile away from the sanctuary. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the Blue penguins at night as the flash scares them but we have some good memories and glad we made the effort to see them.

Lee

Dunedin

It was a wrench to leave Queenstown after having so much fun there, but we did and travelled south east for 3 1/2 hours to Dunedin. The look of the place with its hills and harbour resembled Wellington and it was just as windy but not so cold. The hostel was an old mansion with very big rooms and all beds (no bunks) which was nice for a change. The town seemed to be filled with some strange and ignorant people, which came as some surprise as NZ has been such a welcoming place.

The city is of Scottish decend and Dunedin is celtic for Edinburgh. Its also full of cathedrals and plenty of steep hills and is actually home to the STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD (in the guiness book of records) The street is called Baldwin Street and at the most steepest point is at a gradient of 1 - 2.86. We managed it to the top for some good views, Sonya was struggling slightly with pulled calf muscle from the Queenstown Hill walk, but she still made it.

After this we went for a drive to St Clairs Beach, where there was a massive bay with gorgeous sand and a clear blue sea. Unfortunately it was little to windy to stay and relax, so just had a walk around and headed back to the hostel to watch the final Lord Of The Rings which made Sonya cry. This was probably the highlight of Dunedin.

Lee

Queenstown

Only took us about an hour to travel to Queenstown from Wanaka, our shortest journey so far on the South Island. This is the place a fair bit of filming was done on the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and the Adventure capital of the world, containing the place of the first bungy jump aswell as the highest (i think) at Ben Nevis, 137 metres high from a cable car. Also there are skydives, white water rafting, paragliding, jet boats and of course great skiing in the winter on either Corenet Peak or The Remarkables (the backdrop to the battle in the final LOTR).

We arrived on the friday, checked in to our hostel and went straight to the Ben Lomond hill and travelled to the top via the cable cars, approx 850 metres up. From the top you had great views over Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. As in Rotorua there was a Lugeing track, this time with just 2 tracks, simply fast and slow (scenic). The scenic route was ok but nothing special, however the fast track, having started slow suddenly turned the corner and dropped down 2 very steep hills and in to a fast corner, nearly chucking me off the Toboggan. Made it down safely, and then back to the top via a chair lift to do it all again.

Having been rudely awoken at 7.30am by some Italian guy talking as loud as he could on his mobile right outside my window, we decided to get up and climb Queenstown Hill (900 metres high) Firstly we had to walk up 2 streets which were 2 of the steepest streets i've ever encounted and we nearly decided at this point to turn back. We finally made it to the base of the hill and started our walk, which was fairly difficult and as we neared the summit it became as steep as the streets we had climbed below, but none the less we BOTH made it to the top, with Sonya desperately seeking oxygen and a lay down. Again the pain was worth it with views over the town and surrounding areas. Thankfully the decend down wasn't too bad. Sonya decided the least she deserved was a Kentucky Fried Chicken meal for her efforts, a meal well deserved. In th evening we decided to hit the town for a few beersand ended up at a place called The World Bar, where they serve you cocktails in TEAPOTS, which was pretty cool. So we decided to have a couple of pots (only seemed right) before staggering back to the hostel.

As Sonya was struggling with a hangover on the sunday morning we went for a game of Indoor Crazy Golf. 18 holes of some genius designs including Rockets that take off when you put through it and holes where your ball gets on a ski lift, taken to the top of the ski slope and then released to roll down and hopefully land somewhere near the hole. I won this hands down with Sonya blaming the hangover. So after her hangover cure of a McDonalds strawberry milk shake we just headed to the beach. We had also checked into a quieter hostel as the previous place seemed a bit of a young persons place and we like our sleep (age beginnig to show)

Theres still more, after a lie in, we went white water rafting down the Shotover River. Having got on all our gear (wetsuits, hats, life jackets etc) we were taken by coach to the beginnig of the trip. We went along a notorious stretch of road called Skippers Road which goes around the cliff edge a few hundred metres up and with nothing to stop you going over. One wrong decision by the driver and its all over, for good measure he wasn't going slowly either. We made it safely to the start (Sonya absolutely shit herself) got our instructions, got in our raft with our team and guide and off we went. about 2 mins in and we got stuck on a rock and couldn't move, great start. The rest of the ride down was quite strenuous of the body but great fun going over and down the rapids, nearly falling out on a few occasions. At one point, 2 of us got out the raft and went down the rapids clinging to the side of it. I caught by backside on a rock though which hurt a bit and made me decline the offer again of going in. After about 2 hours we made it to the last rapid where we had to go through a large dark hole in the mountain and come out straight down the biggest rapid on the otherside. Basically just hitting a wall of water but fantastic fun. We went back had a sauna warm shower and some free food and drink.

Finally on our last full day in Queenstown we went for a drive to Arrow Town, a very small but beautiful town with an old Chinese settlement which was used during the Gold mining days in the late 1800's and early 1900's. We then went up Deer Park Heights where they filmed some of the LOTR's. Finally having dropped Son off at the hostel i walked in to town to collect the photo's from the rafting trip and decided to walk back through the park, having watched some lads playing football, i went to walk over the bridge and bumped into a girl called Sam who had lodged with me 5 years ago, and hadn't seen or heard from since, and didn't even know she was living in Queenstown Very freaky. It was great to see her again and to find out she was now a resident in NZ living in Frankton (10 mins from Queenstown). After a bit of chatter and introducing her to Son, she invited us to have dinner and stay the night at at her house. We were introduced to her fiance Matt, who was a top bloke and he cooked us a great Thai chicken curry. We spent the evening chatting, catching up and finding out how great there new life was. It was also great to spend the night in a really comfy bed, and when we awoke in the morning, we had the view of The Remarkables right out of our window. (Thanks Sam and Matt). Unfortunately that was to be our last in Queenstown and after collecting our stuff from the hostel, we headed off to Dunedin.

Lee

Wanaka

We spent 4 nights in Wanaka, mainly just chilling out and trying to recharge our batteries. Believe it or not, this travelling lifestyle certainly takes it out of you. Yet again we were stunned by the amazing scenery, especially the view from our breakfast bench at the hostel (see pic with sonya and stunning background) The lake was really clear but very cold and the place was just very chilled out as we'd hoped. For the first 3 days we did nothing but relax either at the hostel watching films, laying on the beach or taking a leisurely stroll around the small town. On our last full day we decided to visit a place called Puzzling World. THey had some weird stuff on show, which i couldn't get my head around and too weird to explain. One room was very steep but made to look normal and sent you way off balance (see pic of Lee leaning forward, room seems normal but is at a very steep angle) It also had a pool table where the ball seemed to roll upwards into the pocket and a chair slide that when you sat on it, you slid upwards. Felt very dizzy after leaving this room.

There was also a very tricky maze to walk around. You had to get around the maze and up each of 4 Towers and then back to the finish. It took us about 1 and half hours to complete and at times was very frustrating. Even more frustrating was the fact that Sonya beat me to every one (see pic of sonya at top of tower), but i did beat her to the finish, so decleared myself the WINNER!!

Lee

Frans Josef and Fox Glaciers

wow wow wow!!!
After our four and a half hour journey from Greymouth we fnally arrived at Frans Josef Glacier Village and checked into the Glo Worm Cottages still with Declan. We had a four bed self contained unit with its own kitchen and ensuite and TV!! for only seven pounds a night with free spa pool.
The weather had follwed us down the west coast and it was absolutely chucking it down with rain but still warm. Decided to go and check out Frans Josef Glacier you can walk to the base of the glacier takes about one hour and after that you need a guide and proper footwear and clothing to climb the rest of the glacier. Frans Josef was absolutely spectacular was unable to see right up to the top due to the low cloud but it still had the wow factor. After that treated ourselves to the free spa and just relaxed. The n next day after much deliberation and being told the heli hikes had been cancelled we decided to book ourselves on a full day hiking trip up fox glacier the second biggest glacier in new zealand the first being the Tasman. The weather was awful rain rain and more rain. The guides insisted that it still would be good so off we went and the were right it was superb was of the best things i have ever done in my life. Steps had been cut out for you by the guides to make it easier to walk on but we were still knackered and extremely wet and when we got cold the guides made us do aerobics on the glacier great fun. Spent most of the time on my arse falling down with the rest of the group laughing.
We saw loads of cool things in the ice like cravesses ( not sure how you spell it) and the bluest ice you have ever seen and loads of cool whirlpools. Throughout our climb you could hear what sounded like thunder until we were informed it was just part of the glacier breaking off and if we saw ice or rocks coming towards us then we should run! Luckily we didn't have to do this though! When the hail started to come down as well as more rain the guides decided enough was enough and we headed back down for hot chococlate as we were absoultely freezing and wet despite five layers of clothing plus waterproofs! but an experience in a lifetime definitely to be repeated!
The day in all was just amazing and difficult to describe just hope the photos help.

Sonya x

Greymouth and Buller Gorge

We sadly left Nelson and headed for Greymouth. On our way we checked out the pancake rocks they are flat rocks built on top of one another hence like pancakes without the maple syrup and the scenary of the west coast was amazing even though it was raining and cold! We checked into Global Vilage backpackers in Greymouth absolutely fantastic. Aboriginal art throughout very cool and our room was superb we had a four bed room with loads of cool wooden statues of new zealand art. Didn't really get to do much in Greymouth as we were only staying one night and then we were off the the glaciers.
Accompanying us on our road trip was an irish guy called declan who we met in Nelson and in exchange for a lift we got petrol money so not too bad and he was a good laugh especially the singing in the back of the car out loud!
One of the best things about the hostel was the free fresh hot chocolate home made muffins given to us and when we woke in the morning there was free home made jams and marmalades bless em!!
After leaving Greymouth we headed for a quick stop at Buller Gorge where we were going to walk across a very high swingbridge and then fly back over it. Lee was not too keen his face was a picture on the bridge but he overcome his fears and achieved. Coming back across it was me who was scared as we decided to fly across the bridge superman style (see photo) but i managed to do it after several attempts and was very proud of myself!

Sonya x

Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds NZ South Island

We had to get up early (6am) to drive to the ferry terminal so we could catch the ferry across to Picton on the South Island for the next stage of our travels. The journey took approx 3 hrs and took us through the picturesque Marlborough Sounds. When we landed in Picton we pretty much drove off the ferry and and headed straight for Nelson which is on the North West coast of the south island and a 2 hour drive from Picton. We booked into the hostel which was as good as a hotel, extremely clean, very modern, downstairs bar and great hosts. It was located right nest to a beautiful park and a minutes walk to the town centre. The first day we just chilled out in the park still recovering from the early morning rise and then had a few beers with fellow backpackers in the hostel bar.

The following day we took a stroll down to the beach to just lay and sunbathe and the odd occasional swim in the sea, take a few photos, you know how it is!!

The third day in Nelson we drove to the Abel Tasman National Park which is right on the coast with some amazing beaches. We got aboard an Aquataxi (yes a boat) and this took up the coast to various bays explaining the history of each one before taking us to Tonga Island to see the Seals laying on the rocks soaking up the rays and some seals splashing around in the sea. Finally we were dropped off at Anchorage Bay, another stunning beach where had our lunch and a lay down for a few hours before walking the 12km back along the coast and up a few steep hills to the taxi base and our car, this took us about 3 and a half hours but was a very relaxing walk and from up in the hills the view was fantastic and the weather red hot. Having left the hostel at about 8.30 in the morning, we didn't arrive back till about 8 in the evening, so a very long day. We decided to reward ourselves with a bag of fish and chips, or fush and chups as they are pronounced here. After a shower and a cold beer (wine for Sonya) we hit the sack knackered.

The forth day in Nelson was the day we were supposed to leave but as our legs were still a little tired plus the hostel being so nice we decided to put off the 4hr drive to Greymouth for a day, so instead just chilled out during the day, and then we went for a walk to a place which is supposed to be geographically the centre of New Zealand, typically it was at the top of a very very steep hill which took about 40 minutes to climb, but we did it and the views over Nelson were worth the effort.

Lee