Formerly the Blackball Hilton Greymouth

... they are really quite nice now I've got the hang of them - Book in a shared dorm - usually 3-4 people sharing - and it works out really cheap, plus you have access to a kitchen to cook your own food and a dining area and a lounge.. Plus they all have internet access.
Up early next morning for my eight o'clock crossing on the Bluebridge ferry, a journey of three and a half hours to Picton on South island.
I landed in Picton, looked at the ...

... Ausdruck dafuer. Ich liege im unteren Teil des Stockbetts, er liegt oben und ich kann durch das Gestell die Vibrationen vom Schnarchen spueren! ICh drehe selbst meinen iPod auf hoechste Lautstaerke, aber es bringt nix - ich hoere vor lauter schnarchen kaum noch meine Musik!!Ich geh nochmal raus zum Rest, der noch vor der Kueche sitzt und Mark und Greg (der Hostelmanager) lachen sich halb tot, als sie mal genauer hinhoeren und ihn selbst aus der Entfernung ...

... it was quite a vertigo filled extravaganza. Thankfully the latter part of the journey was much calmer as we headed through the Tory Channel and Queen Charlotte Sound.

From Wellington, the ferry took us to the town of Picton, which for a ferry terminal was probably no bigger than Torquay; it was tiny. After getting our bags we were escorted to our motor home which is really cosy; my bed is above the driver's seat and feels very much like an ice cold coffin. We then drove ...

... in Greymouth we decided to do the Monteiths brewery tour. Monteiths is one of the major breweries in New Zealand along with Speight's, Tui's and a few others. The tour was pretty cool but most of the 20+ people doing the tour were just anxious to get to the free tasting part at the end. There are six beers in the Monteiths range and most of them were quite nice except for the Ginger beer and the Lemon ...

This morning, my friend Grace and I woke up early and went for a walk. We took a hiking trail along the river that is a minimum of 3 hours; however, since we didn't have 3 hours, we just walked for a while and then turned back. Then, we met everyone for breakfast and had pancakes and eggs on the balcony of the hostel overlooking the ocean. Next, Grace and ...

... new people and the current magic bus driver and a driver from a previous leg who has now parted company with the firm after a disagreement there was a lad there from southend who supported the hammers so we had a bit of a footy conversation about west ham julian ***** etc an irish lad from dublin and a couple of others from san francisco etc a few shots were downed a game of killler pool was played - i was ...

... internally by plane is a joy and is as easy and quick as going by bus or train in the UK. East Coast It was Lyn's birthday on the 2nd and after flying to Christchurch drove to Kaikora on the north east coast via the Waipara wineries (excellent Rieslings) for a birthday lunch in the sun. It was a bit like being on holiday as there were other people on the roads and cafe's were quite busy! Very unusual, but ...

19 & 20/12/2008 South Island Introductions Picton is a relatively small town with not a huge amount to do - its key feature and benefit of course is that it's the port of entry to most people coming to the South Island. After a quick look round we headed for Nelson - a larger town and region famous for vineyards and wineries. It was a nice drive through and we arrived after a couple of hours. The town was okay, but not a huge amount to do unless ...

... seem to be a mix of curious and timidity all in a small chicken sized flightless bird. A final stop at Punakaiki to admire the pancake rock formations, unfortunately the tide was out so the blowholes were blowing. On the road through Punakaiki there is a sign warning of penguins crossing the road, I don't think ...