South Island - New Zealand (Part 2)

WARNING: Do not start reading this if you are in any way busy or important!! We apologise in advance because this is quite long... but we are marketing folk and we just can't help but waffle! - enjoy...

As predicted England got panned by the NZ Black Caps in Christchurch (we were in the front row so saw the disgraceful butter fingers in close up!)  Needless to say, Rob and Allan were delighted and proceeded to rub it in for the rest of the weekend.  Sport talk was banned however, as we said sad goodbyes to Linda, Allan and all the farm creatures.  Felt like royalty as we planted a tree to mark our stay.  Spent the Sunday afternoon exploring the beautiful Banks Peninsula - didn't quite get to the tip though as got sidetracked by yummy food at the Hilltop restaurant.

Monday morning saw us head southwards, cutting inland through the gorgeous rolling hills of the Mackenzie Country.  Stopped to stare in wonder at the stunning azure waters of Lake Tekapo (apparently the high mineral content of the water means it reflects the blue of the sky).  Had a wee moment taking in the view whilst sitting in the pews of the cute little Church of the Good Shepherd.  Carried on our journey to the equally turqoise Lake Pukaki where we wild camped on the shore, and watched the clouds shift and sun set over Mount Cook.  Woke up to a seriously impressive (if decidedly chilly!) sunrise over the snow capped mountain... which, as serious softies, we viewed wrapped up in our duvets!  Got up a bit closer to Mount Cook with a walk to Kea Point, where we saw the murky grey waters of the glacial terminus, contrasted against the brilliant white snows of the upper reaches of Mounts Sefton and Cook.

Headed back out to the east, through the great lakes and vast hill stations of Merino wool country, before taking the coast road southwards to Oamaru.  Oamaru is famous for its historic buildings and as a prime penguin viewing spot. One of the loveliest buildings there was an old bank which housed the wonderful (and free - get in!) Forrester Art Gallery, which had a really impressive collection of NZ and local artists, including a display of art inspired by our next destination - the Moeraki Boulders.  Unfortunately we were a little early for the penguins at Oamaru (they only come ashore at dusk) so we wound our way doon the road to Moeraki.  The beach there is strewn with giant, perfectly spherical boulders, which were formed under pressure thousands of years ago and are now being uncovered as the sea erodes the claystone cliffs.

Next day, we eeked our petrol out for the short drive south to Dunedin (Sam was particulary excited as Dunedin is apparently the 'Edinburgh of NZ'?!) where we were due to stay with some friendly students [Jeremy and Josie] we'd met at Nelson Lakes.  We found their place pretty easily, though secretly enjoyed getting a little lost amongst the familiar street names: Dundas, George, Great King...  Met up with J & J and all their lovely housemates, before heading out to our first 'potluck' dinner, where everyone brings a plate.  Predictably we made BBQ pasta and apple crumble - Wood specials!  Was lots of fun to be back in the realms of studentdom, with all the usual topics of heating (or lack of), free tickets to gigs, communal fridges and deadlines!

The next day, as the guys headed off to uni, we explored the town centre - unfortunately there wasn't a pretentious cocktail bar in sight on George St - dammit!  We did however stumble upon Cadbury's World!...  Had time for a wee trip out to the mysterious Tunnel Beach where the sea has eroded the soft sandstone into dramatic rock stacks and dark caves.  There's a steep tunnel down to the sand from the clifftop, which was supposedly built by a father to allow his disabled daughter access to the beach - spectacular place.  After rescuing Rita from a giant pig (!) we drove up the Otago Peninsula, with gorgeous views to pretty little harbour village of Portabello.

Back to the Big Red House to meet J & J in time for our planned penguin watching picnic.  Drove back onto the peninsula, along the beautiful High Road, to Allan's beach where we sheltered amongst the rocks to enjoy our picnic.  The light was already fading so we rushed back along the coast to Sandfly Bay to catch the penguins coming home for the night.  Yellow-eyed penguins are very rare - only 3,000 left in the wild.  They spend every day out fishing in the deep water gorges offshore, before surfing the waves back to the beach and waddling up the sands to their nests in the dunes.  We were a little late but saw definite penguin tracks (these guys have pretty big feet!) as well as a rather boisterous NZ fur seal, and a much more chilled out (thank goodness!) sealion.  Struggled back up the powdery white sand of the near vertical dunes and back at the house flopped down exhausted on the coaches.  In contrast, J&J and all the red house crew got home, got changed into full cowboy/girl dress and headed out to their mates gig! (it's official - we just can't take the pace any more!!)

Having said bye to everyone, we got on the road again along the 'Southern Scenic Route'. Stopped at the spellbinding 'Nugget Point' (top tip - thanks Allan!) where we got the timing right and were lucky enough to see 3 penguins waddle their way up the sands - a magic sight.  Had a walk along the headland to the lighthouse where we watched a colony of seals playing amongst the  rockpools.  Nugget Point is pretty special as its the only place where fur seals, hooker sealions and elephant seals co-exist (and by the sounds of things they all have a ball together! - there was a whole lot of hollering going on!)  Drove down the accurately named 'Long Beach Road' to a remote little campsite nestled behind a U-shaped bay.  Relieved to find other campers all the way out there, and got chatting to some nice Dutch folk, while Nen spotted a very odd sihouette moving on the beach!  Turned out to be a giant male elephant seal, repeatedly tossing a baby fur seal up in the air, catching him then shaking him around again. It was like something off a (particularly gruesome) nature documentary so, on second thoughts, perhaps those guys don't get along so well!

Braved the rain for a brief trip to the pretty Purakaunui Falls, before turning off for a quick look at the fossil forest at Curio Bay.  Heavy rain prevented further exploration so we retraced our steps to the ironically named Niagra Falls - so small it was really more of a trickle over a couple of rocks.  Although size isn't everything, we were infinitely more impressed by the coffee and cake at the nearby Niagra Falls cafe, where we sat out the rain and caught up on our letter writing.  Grey skies turned to sunshine as we rounded the southern coast of NZ.  Made a quick pit stop in Invercargill, weren't at all convinced (sorry), so we continued, bending north up to the edge of the Fjordlands National Park.  Rain was right back with avengance on so we sensibly decided to drive down a dirt track into the middle of the forest to camp at Lake Monowai, and park under a tree! Poor Rita got seriously dripped on!

Were very nearly stuck in the mud in the morning - but the Rita purple powerhouse got us through!  Reached our campsite at Te Anau, and proceeded to hide inside all day drinking hot chocolate.  Felt extremely lucky when the sun came out the next day (especially as it rains 250 days a year in Fjordland) - just in time for our trip to the famous Milford Sounds.  The 2 hour drive up to Milford was totally stunning - like no other landscape - 360 degrees views of waterfalls, mirror lakes, glacial plains & crystal clear creeks topped by snow-capped peaks.  We had a great guide who told us all about the area, plants, maori history (and obligatory Lord Of The Rings trivia of course) before hopping on a boat to explore the Sound.  Felt dwarved by the sheer size of the place, saw fur seals lounging on the rocks and got so close to the vertical waterfalls that we got soaked by the spray.  Took Rita on a spectacular evening drive to Queenstown, where we watched the sun sink behind the Remarkables mountain range and camped up at the remote and beautiful Lake Moke.

Climbed up through the forest to the famous Queenstown Skyline Gondola to soak up the amazing views over Queenstown, the mountains and Lake Wakatipu.  Watched everyone else being 'extreme' (paragliding, bungee, luge, wakeboarding) then decided to wuss out and go for coffee instead (for a change!)  Sat in the 1920s garden, overlooking the lakeshore, at Vesta cafe in Queenstown's oldest building - Williams Cottage.  Sad to leave Queenstown so soon but onwards to Wanaka over the Crown Range.  As seems to be common practice in NZ (nice work!), we made use of a very tenuous connection to find a bed for the night.  Our friend's nephew, Dan, and his friend, also Dan, put us to shame at pool in the pub, before kindly agreeing to let us stay in the sleep out at the bottom of the garden (aka 'the dolls house').  Had a great time exploring beautiful lakeside Wanaka and surrounding hills (more awesome views) before catching a Brit flick at the funky local cinema - where the plum seats are in a converted morris minor!  Met up with the Wanaka crew later - who turned out to be having dinner with our friend - Dave - from back home in Skipton! - small world! So we all caught up over a few drinks and more pool (no our game didn't improve!)

On the road early the next day heading northwards to the glaciers - one of our favourite drives of the trip, passing through stunning lakes, rivers and forested hillsides and through the imfamously steep Haast Pass.  Rita made it up and down the other side to Fox Glacier.  Took a walk up the valley to see the glacier's terminus and were pretty mcuh bowled over by the scale of it.  Were lucky enough to see a rather huge chunk of ice (probably a few tonnes) melt and fall - we heard the thud across the valley 5 seconds later!  From here we followed the sun and took a wee trip out to the gorgeous Gillespies Beach, where the natural driftwood sculptures were pretty spectacular in the afternoon light.

From Fox, it was up the road to Hokitika for the long awaited Wild Foods Festival, where we were meeting all our friends from Nelson.  Stopped off on the way to see the famous Franz Josef glacier (preferred Fox!)  Sun came out as we entered Hokis, so we set up camp on the rugby ground, stocked up on supplies for the weekend.  We didn't have to wait long before everyone else arrived, and Rita was dwarved by the giant campers they had hired for the weekend.  Woke up to the sun in place ready for the festivities of Saturday.  After queing for an hour and a half for a shower, we were ready to change into our costumes and get started!  The 11 of us were all dressed as the P.D.A Police (Public Display of Affection) - complete with guns, truncheons, badges and bobby helmets!  We all had so much fun 'enforcing the law' at the festival under the command of Sheriff Sam.  Took the odd break from duties to sample some pretty wild food - the list included kangaroo, sheeps testicles, crocodile and huhu grubs - yuk!

Back to Nelson for our last few days.  Gave everyone some proper food to say bye (full on roast beef and yorkshire puddings!).  Nen went on a bone carving workshop and made a pendent.

Our last day in NZ was spent with Zoe, Darrin and baby Bella up in Auckland - she's the cutest. We took her for her first walk on the beach where her parents were married last April and Sam was bridesmaid.

We've had the most amazing time in NZ and we'll be really sad to leave... looking forward to exploring Aussie though... but that's another story...