Caroline Motel Timaru

... went up to Christchurch from there. And he even took us the scenic route by Mount Cook which we couldn't see completely because of the clouds, but it was still really beautiful. We also stopped for a few pictures at Lake Tekapo near an old church. Also, the first time he stopped at a supermarket, he brought back out juice, chips, and chocolate covered marshmallows for us to snack on. Then, when we arrived in Timaru, he traded us NZ $10 for NZ $40 ...

... Cook has almost no light pollution being the only town in 50 miles and geared specifically to seeing the stars, so much so there is a proposal to make the night sky in this area a world heritage site, meaning that light pollution would be strictly controlled for years to come. We have a relatively small group of around 15 people doing the star gazing and with the aid of two telescopes, one spotting scope and one high powered thing on a tripod, we are taken through what we can see above us ...

... but it was refreshing :) Tomorrow I am going to hike Mueller Hut - a pretty exhausting and difficult mountain hike - bright and early in the morning and camp overnight. I can't wait for the beautiful views and exciting snow camping :) I will have pictures to share soon, but I am very tired and a little sunburnt from today so I'm off to get rested for the big hike tomorrow. Lots of love and goodnight :) Andrea Kay.

... and this was meant to be fun!! I didn't rush to sign up - although I suppose it could have been a cheap nosejob. The good weather continued as we approached Mt Cook - and we dashed out the van to take photos at every opportunity - having learnt that you have to take photos while you can. We stayed on a holiday park about 20kms from the mountain, but incredible views. Apparently there were ...

... no American beer of any sort. At restaurants, the water for your table is presented in a chilled, empty liquor bottle. There are lots of one lane bridges, some with wide spots in the middle so you can pull over to let the oncoming car pass if you both arrive at the middle at the same time. The people wave and smile. The food is mostly not so good. The white wine is excellent and red wine is almost non-existent. You order your food (in most places) at a counter ...

... their journey to the coast of Chile. We got to watch them through binoculars. They are officially my favorite bird. I never knew I had a favorite bird, but now it is the Albatross. This was an interesting place, but we had to move on. We headed up the coast towards Christchurch and along the way we made some stops at points of interest. One of them included to Moeraki Boulders. If you ...

... 1-2 hr) hike. We walked along a trail and saw some amazing sights and absolutely beautiful views of Mt. Cook. As we were hiking back to the van we heard a loud rumble behind us and looked back just in time to see an avalanche! Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains are covered with glaciers and apparently one of them gave way. We looked back and saw the ice fall and a big puff of white snow rise into the air. Luckily for us it wasn't too ...

From Lake Tekapo we start our we toward Timaru. On the way we stopped to look on the church of the good Shepard. On the way we also took a detour to Pill forest and walk the Rata falls walk. The walk was fun and we got out dirty from the mud(thank you Gesa) but happy all the same. The way ended in Timaru in a very nice backpacker, with even nicer owners.

... the Eatery on the Rocks but we did have good food in Auckland and Bay of Islands. However, we are amazed with the number of sheep and lack of lamb. Where is all the lamb??? It is not on the menu where is it? For the most part, food her is poorly prepared (deep fired seems to be the only method of cooking), poorly presented and served by surly wait staff. However, the wines are excellent and relatively cheap and that does make up for some things.

... you shallow idiot," I said to myself. "You're supposed to be feeling something here. What's the matter with you?" Then I went back to the car, ate crisps and fiddled with the air-con, feeling box-empty inside" Anyways, the Boulders were mildly diverting for a while, before my ears started to freeze off. Then I hopped back in Brid and continued on the drive to Christchurch. Maps are very deceptive in NZ, as the road ...