Flight of the Conchords - Comedy Genius

  Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

when i was in kunming in china i invested in a rake of cheap E1 CD's (one euro that is for double albums which were basically the best of the artists - totally illegal CD's but fine to play.) i also tried to only pick music i dont

Waikama Bay

already have at home which was tricky cos it meant no radiohead, muse, zero 7, air, groove armada, pulp, the list goes on.  ANYWAY i got some good stuff but after almost 2 sold weeks in the

Humboldt Falls

car between here and australia im kind of sick of them all. and i dont think theres an aerial on my little toyota vitz cos the radio never tunes in anything. so ive resorted to singing aloud to myself in the car to pass the time. and im sorry to report that its at times like this that you realise that maybe youre not as good as singer as you had originally thought.

Milford Sound

and that infact the person hitting the high or tricky notes all those other times you were singing with the music was actually infact not you, but the person on the CD.  its been demoralising to say the least.  yesterday for example i treated my non-existent passengers to the whole of jesus christ superstar disc 2.  it was fun though not as tuneful as id hoped.

so anyway here i am in te anau where i only intended to stay one night but am now on my third.  id booked a "female dorm with ensuite" but that turned out to be a completely self-contained cottage with its own fridge, toaster, kettle, sandwich maker, crockery, tv, DVD player and the biggest bunk beds ive ever seen.  and theres only me and one other cool irish girl staying there.

Milford Sound Waterfall

so apart from cooking dinner (theres no cooker) we are pretty much living in our own place and its super.  theres heaters and hot water bottles so we've indulged in nightimes in PJ's soaking up the genius that is flight of the conchords (if you havent seen it, watch it.  NZ comedy at its best, you'll laugh so much you'll cry (like i did this morning). unless you dont like dry comedy in which case you probly wont like it.)

i left dunedin and headed on the road down to invercargill.  stopped along the way to check out the stunning views at waikama bay and had a lovely picnic lunch at curio bay (in the middle of a rain shower).  i also took

Slope Point

edwin (the car) along the 16km stretch of dirt track (its technically a road on the map but believe me, if hire car companies could see the state of it they wouldnt be letting people travel onit!!) down to slope point which is the most southerly point here on the southern island.  it was a windy 15 minute walk down to the actual point, though yet again i was blessed with glorious sunshine and little wind.  i also questioned yet again why on earth i left my hiking shoes in lijiang when ive needed them so many times here.

Cool Forest near Slope Point

 as there was noone else when i got there (there are so few tourists here in general its mad but also good cos everywhere is deserted) i was delighted to find that some ingenius person had constructed a little stone pile that when you balance your camera on perfectly faced the sign and i was able to get a picture of me at said sign.

invercargill isnt really worth a mention.  the kids drive their souped up shit-mobiles up and down the main dee street until all hours of the morning with their stupid loud exhausts and music.  on the positive side i had a whole 6-bed dorm to myself which was class, esp considering i was originally going to pay 3 times the dorm rate for a single room. 

from invercargill i came up here to te anau, gateway to milford sound and doubtful sound.  its so beautiful (and

Manapouri

deserted) here. theres glorious walks along the lakefront, incredible scenery and then yesterday i made the daytrip up to milford sound stopping along the way at many random places including

Manapouri 2

the stunning eglinton valley (which im SURE was used in LOTR?).  milford sound itself doesnt really have anything in it apart from the cruising. i just did a little one for over an hour and that was more than enough.  not in a bad way but its more than enough time

Road to Milford Sound

to see the whole area and get the pics.  and it was damn cold too!!!  based on that ive also decided not to do a doubtful sound cruise (i figure itll just be more of the same?)

Eglinton Valley

and instead to head on over to queenstown tomorrow (though im loathe to say goodbye to our lovely cottage!!!)

Sunset over Milford Sound

thats about it for now. sorry for more boring scenery photos 

A Lake whos name i dont know

but seriously here youre stopping the car like every 5 minutes cos theres just so much beauty all around you and you just have to take photos.  til next time...xx