South Island, New Zealand

Looks a bit too cold for a dip though
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Imagine if a brand new land rose from the depths of the ocean one day and appeared on the world map overnight.  A place of such arresting, unspoilt beauty that it begged to be explored.  A happy place that feels a million miles away from the rest of the world's turmoil and strife...

Then some chap makes a fantasy film trilogy set on this new land ... nine hours of enchanting, enticing footage ... seen by millions of people around the world.  Inspired by this film, the first few thousand explorers arrive .... they spend two or three weeks open-mouthed at the idyliic, unspoilt vistas around every corner, and return home to tell their friends.

New Zealand has reinvigorated the traveling spirit

And some more
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The numbers of visitors grows exponentially ... year after year after year ...

So I was expecting South Island in the peak month of January to be pretty clogged up with rental campervans.  Whilst we had no trouble spotting other tourists, it wasn't quite as bad as I expected.  I wonder what it will be like next year though, and the year after that... Will New Zealand turn into one big Queenstown, the "extreme sports mecca" - this place was horribly over-crowded.  We had been recommended Queenstown by a rather odd young English couple on a round-the-world trip, squandering inheritances and the over-generosity of 'mummy and daddy' - they said that we must go there and bungy, get the t-shirt, and it was de rigeur to go out drinking that night and congratulate other t-shirt wearers....  Needless to say that recommendations from people you don't like or respect are as valuable as recommendations from people you do.

Vic and Dan infront of Mitre Peak
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New Zealand is well geared up for the 25% increase in tourism it's been enjoying this year.  The road atlas has all the Lord of the Rings locations marked on it so you know when you are driving through Rivendell or Rohan.  New Zealand is most definitely cashing in on the tourist dollar - but who can blame them?

Arriving in New Zealand has reinvigorated the traveling spirit in both of us and it didn't take long for us to ditch our plan of finding work in Wellington - Instead we hired a car to take a tour around South Island.  How could we possibly settle down in this brand new land without seeing some of it first?

Mitre Peak
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We started in Nelson - a great little place.  We met a nice guy called Jim who showed us around.  We loved the way he left his chopper bike unlocked outside the pub - although after a few pints with him I'm not sure if this should be attributed to the low Nelson petty-crime rate or to his healthy philosophical attitude towards possessions.

I am going to sound like the biggest nature-philestine out but after a while you really do get a bit "moutained out" and feel a bit overdosed on beautiful lakes - but at least they are FREE - unlike the plethora of 'extreme' activities on offer- there are endless companies offering you ten minutes of brown pants for hundreds and hundreds of dollars.  We passed in favour of "Puzzling World" in Wanaka which was great fun - all except the maze which caused me a little bit of distress and Vic and I had to leave via one of the emergency exits.

Watch your hair Vic!
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Milford Sound was a bit disappointing.  The photos you see on the brochure occur perhaps once a year when it's a crisp, perfectly clear sunny day and the fiords are like mirrors.  On the other 364 days of the year there is a distinct possibility of clouds obscuring your views, rain, and the lake being a muddy brown colour from the silt picked up by the rain water as it runs down the mountains.  We were lucky enough for the clouds to clear a little whilst we were in the underwater observatory (Milford Deep) which was fascinating to visit.

Dan shields from the breeze inside
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New Zealanders are a friendly bunch.  They are a lot drier than both their weather and their Australian neighbours.  We're heading up to Auckland today to investigate the distinct possibility of living and working there for timebeing in order to top up the coffers.

It's time for a cup of tea and something to eat so I will leave it there.... wish us luck in our imminent house / job hunting!