Happy Apple Backpackers Motueka

... then left, then right again, and it felt awesome! I would totally do it again, I wish I could afford going again...Maybe some time later in life...I hope. Well it's good to know if I do want to do it again, I get $50 off so I mean, there's some incentive. Also it's much more expensive everywhere else in the world, apparently...

I can't even describe the feeling of sitting with my feet dangling out of an airplane at 13,000 feet. Incredible. Even better...Falling out of one.

... Uf, que sufrimiento... pero llegamos!
Os aseguro que despues de esto reservamos con cuatro dias de antelacion
y ponemos gasolina cada vez que estamos a medio deposito. Visitamos los
glaciares mas famosos de Nueva Zelanda, el Fox y el Franz Joseph. Los
glaciares son espectaculares, pero disfrutamos especialmente de los senderos
que nos llevan ahi, a traves de unos bosques donde parece que te tenga
que salir un elfo de detras ...

Woke up at 630 to pack up and head down to the interislander by 730. Feryy was smaller than expected, about the same as the van-vic ferry. Got seats with a view and a plug in the solarium. Uploaded and organized photos while clemens drank 3 beers with a nice moari guy. Really calm ride on the boat, maybe 1m waves(not exactly trecherous). Got a view of snow capped mountains from ...

... shopping and enjoyed the scenic drive down towards Buller Gorge unsuccessfully trying to spot the forest where Lord of the Rings was filmed. When we got to Buller Gorge we stopped off at New Zealands longest swing bridge. Lee confidently strolled halfway across it - after some of the bridges which we encountered in South America this one was a doddle as it felt really sturdy! Another 20 minutes on and we arrived at our campsite for the night.

... with George the dolphin in tow) into the rocky inlet on Tonga Island where a colony of seals lived and where a few curious pups came out to greet George. The rest of the ride back to base was equally enjoyable, with Justin sharing local knowledge and fishing insight with me.

Although trying at times, all-in my hike through the ecologically diverse and serene Abel Tasman National Park was yet another highlight of my time in this great country.

... After walking for about an hour, we decided to head over on our own. We just had to cross over a few sand dunes. Let me tell you, sand dunes are a lot harder to cross than one would think and what doesn't seem very far away really is! It took us about half hour to cross and get to the other side to the beach. It was once again, an absolute stunning beach! One of the best. We wondered on there for quite awhile ...

... girl power...hahaha...all the german men were like laughing cos we were using the bbq but we had a damm good meal....wings and limb (lamb) burgers and also corn on the cob on the barbie...yum!!!) we headed into town again as there was an open mic night on at the brigand pub!! it turned out to be a really great night!! such a cool atmosphere with all the locals there....we even saw gandalf....hahaha an old man with a long white beard, dressed in long robes ...

... the driftwood. We saw Kerry's house and stopped for lunch at his hostel and bar, although most of us had packed our own lunch. Then we passed by the Abel Tasmen memorial, remembering the Dutchman who "discovered" this area (after the Maori were already here of course) and went to a lookout over Golden Bay with some very strange and interesting rock formations. Then we boarded the boat. This seemed like a very bad idea with the waves sometimes bigger than the boat ...

... in a shed to chill & relax. This evening we all had dinner and a few beers together. We are travelling with this group for a few days, so I ought to mention who they are. There is : Laura from London Kerrie from Huddersfield Chris from Thirsk Rebecca from Sweden Siobbhan from Ireland Lauren from Canada Chris from Liverpool Barbara from Holland Lisa, Marcus & Stefan from Germany Adam from Somerset Matil from France It's quite a good group really and should be fun for the next few days.