Lake Brunner Lodge South Island

... van when the wind picked up as it was pretty cold. As we headed into the town of Kaikoura which was our next destination we were driving along the coast when we decided to stop and take some pictures of a large group of gulls gathered on a big rock. It was only after we stopped that we realised there were also about 20 large fur seals sat out on the rocks along the beach. We got as close as we would by climbing across the ...

We were slightly taken back by how basic the campsite was. It was literally just a grass verge on the side of the road, however it was free and legal to camp there so we decided to stay. <br><br>The next morning we went for a walk which was signposted as taking an hour, however it only took us 15 minutes. We were a little disappointed but didn&#8217;t want to venture off the track as there were warnings that you ...

... there was tons and tons of snow the gritters had done a marvellous job in opening up the pass. The uninitiated who know next to nothing about driving in heavy snow were very thankful.<br><br>The road winds its way up into the mountains passing below huge peaks jutting up into the sky. In part it runs alongside a train track which apparently is regarded as one of the best train journeys in the world and it's easy to see why ...

... some natural geothermal pools of sulphurous water bubbling up from the rocks. Due to the cold we could see the steam. The water was pretty hot, especially compared to the freezing stream running past. <br><br>From here we reached Lewis Pass, a stunning area with high mountains, frozen lakes and snow. We kept stopping to take photos, sometimes going for little walks to frozen lakes and marshes. David of course had to throw ice at the lake ...

... t see the seal colony as it wasn't by the car park. After that I headed straight to Greymouth. To my surprise the branch manager, not even car mechanic, had only a brief look at the problem and told me to carry on driving. I drove back to must see places I had passed by on my way. I looked at Pancake rocks, had a stroll on Pororari river track with dense forest consisting partly of palms and ferns and bordered by limestone ...

Journal pour les 25 et 26 mars Une autre montée, cette fois c'est Avalanche Peak dans Arthur's Pass. C'est une des endroits préférés à Martin et sa famille, ce sont eux qui m'ont parlé en premier de l'endroit. Il y a un petit camping sans service juste à la base de la montagne, on y arrive tard le 25. Mais Avalanche peak, ce n'est pas de la tarte. Le sommet est à 1800 mètres et la montée est de 1100 mètres ...

... in alpine tussock. We got to the tiny little hut at 1 and settled in for afternoon tea waiting for the high clouds to clear so we could cross the saddle and explore the summit. After an hour 3 kiwi uni (university) students showed up for the weekend. And then a Swiss/Czech couple. And then a kiwi hunter. So much for some peace and quiet in the mountains! But we did have fun chatting and learned a lot about New ...

... en francais... ah ces faux amis ! Quoiqu'il en soit, la tempete qui s'est abattue sur le village le jour suivant était assez impressionnante... J'ai donc renonce a mes hauts sommets en raison du mauvais temps... Finalement j'ai fait une petite ballade en fin d'apres-midi (quand il ne pleuvait pas encore). Ce petit chemin menait a une tres jolie cascade... 20/02/09 : Les previsions du type de l'accueil se sont verifiees... Il pleut des cordes... Histoire de ne ...

... up the eight station chain in the Waitaki valley from Oamaru and spent an informative couple of hours at the Benmore visitor centre next to the huge dam of the same name. One massive terrorist target anywhere else, but here in NZ all it has is electric fences and one bloke in Twizel pushing the buttons.<br><br>Our cut through from Methven spat us out by Lake Lyndon and on to the twisty Arthur's Pass ...

... it look a lot older than what it really is. And as my usual line goes, as a building it is all very impressive but I have no idea how effective it is as an actual church &#8211; i.e. simply a meeting of Christians. But bear in mind this is coming from a guy who goes to church in a university lecture theatre. It was also very nice to wander along the banks of the narrow winding Avon River, stopping at the Dandelion Fountain at the Town Hall ...