NZ - South Island
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
18
22
Trip End
Jan 20, 2009
Blenheim,
South Island,
New Zealand
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Get a large glass of vino for this one!
It's true; New Zealand is every guide book superlative you can throw at it. It's plentiful fresh air, acres & acres of rolling green hills with hardy sheep, cows & deer, imposing snow capped mountains, azure blue lakes, miles of unoccupied highways, wild sea's, remote town's & outdoor adventure. It stands up to it's motto of being "green & clean", local papers even specifying "oil free chain saw's" & "poo pots" are for sale at counter sides. Kiwi's are welcoming & friendly & the wine is excellent.
Rather than the de rigour, gin palace, winnebago stylie motor-home, Michael & I plumped for a "spaceship" called "Kodos". Kodos is a bright orange Toyota people-carrier, who after many nights of practice can be converted into a double bed, boasts a fridge, 2 burner gas cooker, water storage, CD/DVD player with 15cm screen, 2 cup holders, 196+++ kilometers on his clock, so many stone chips it was impossible to mark them all off at the pick up inspection & a missing hub cap cover. Needless to say, we now suffer from a serious form of camper-van envy!
New Zealand's famous weather has not disappointed & it's fair to say, "4 season's in 1 day", sums it up perfectly. We've been rained on, hailed on, snowed on, rocked to states of full alertness in the middle of the night by 90kph. NE's, leaving us wondering whether blown over 'Spaceships' is included in our insurance small print.
Evil Kineval at Lake Wanaka!
We've purchased hot water bottles, swaddled ourselves in highly unflattering tramping gear (that's Kiwi speak for walking, hiking or trekking), we've counted clearly the 7 colours of a rainbow & sadly "no pot of gold" to report but most of the time the sun has shined, bringing out with it our Aussie impulse "Oakley"-shades.So far our adventures have taken us;
- To Queenstown "Adventure capital of the World" for a shot of aviation fueled jet boating adrenaline. 35 minutes of hurtling along Skippers canyon on the Shotover river at speeds of up to 85kph. Skimming & swerving around boulders, towering rock faces brushing past our cheeks with numerous 360 spins - WOW! On a more relaxing note, we've hired mountain bikes spending the day exploring Lake Wanaka, surrounded by the stunning backdrop of the "Remarkables & Eyre" snow capped mountain ranges. Checked out the views of Queenstown from on high courtesy of the gondola & then raced along the 800 meters of luge track
- We've learnt that our hand-brake was no match for the "Worlds steepest Street", Baldwin street
- Spent a rainy day sampling the "Pride of the South" at Speight's brewery, eventually pouring our own!
- We decided that bungee was for wimps & a 15,000ft (4575metres) "ultimate" tandem skydive with 60 seconds of free fall over lake Wanaka at 200kph was more the NZ adrenaline buzz we were seeking. Well, now that my feet are back on terrafirma & time has softened the almost overwhelming feeling of nausea & returned my hearing as my ears failed to equalize I can actually smile & say "yeah, that was OK!" And Michael - loved it, Awesome, lets go again-20,000ft!!!! And me, I know that my comfort zone is all about being firmly strapped into all small air crafts all of the time!
- Managed some tramping at Milford sound, despite the weather & Michael's mantra - too wet, too muddy too cold! It would almost be disappointing if it didn't rain in a place that has given up measuring annual rain fall in MM preferring Meters!
- Taken an over night cruise of Doubtful sound.
Franz Josef - before the all day hike!
Our journey in was perfect, it had snowed all night & the sun was now shining but as soon as we entered the fiord mist began to cling to the sides of the cliffs obscuring views & scale, bringing with it deathly silence only fractured by our kayaking in water that looked like strong black coffee but tasted mildly salty. I also especially enjoyed the unlimited flow of electricity, steaming hot showers & the ability to stand up straight until I fell asleep- Visited Glenorchy - population 215 today. Remote is what Glenorchy is. Sat in a lush valley at the head of lake Wakatipu surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery. But what truly touched me, was amongst all the timeless beauty & isolation there still stood a monument to all the men of Glenorchy that lost there lives in WW1. I felt small.
- Taken a de-tour to deserted Cannibal bay. Our luck was in, as lazing on the beach were 7 massive hooker sea lions. Amazing. We spent several hours watching. Michael had one adrenaline moment which caused him to turn & run VERY quickly - those massive bulls can shift! I have to admit to a little giggling!
- Made hay whilst the sun shined in the form of a 40 minute helicopter flight over Fox, Franz Josef glaciers & snowfields, Mt Cook & Mt Tasman ranges with the addition of a snow landing above the ice falls - I'll let the pictures do the talking. Decadent - definitely, worth it - hell yes!
- And finishing off our glacier adventures with a days tramping on Franz Josef. Donning several layers, crampons & heaps of enthusiasm we headed up the glacier field. As they say in Kiwi - awesome. And for the romantics within us, the Maori legend - "the tears of the Avalanche girl", goes that the beautiful Hinehukatere so loved the mountains that she encouraged her lover, Tawe, to climb along side her. He fell to his death & Hinehukatere cried so copiously that her tears formed the glaciers (courtesy of the Lonely planet)
Finally rounding off Sound Island in Marlborough - wine country, developing our Sauvignon Blanc palettes.
Our only complaint so far, not enough time!
We head for North Island Monday.
Lots of love
The 'happy' & 'reluctant' campers!
