New Zealand - South Island
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
1
5
13
Trip End
Jul 17, 2009
Christchurch,
South Island,
New Zealand
Monday, February 2, 2009
Most people stayed inside watching a movie but the Thwaites blood in us forced us out onto the starboard deck to endure the lashing of the cold wind and sea spray. As we entered the Queen Charlotte Sounds the sea settled, the sun started beating down and we got chatting to a nice guy from Leicester. A hippy family I had chatted to in Wellington were also on the same ferry - they had this old fashioned American truck with a house on the back ... completely off it!!!
We arrived in Picton around half 11 ... first stop ... Weetabix!! We gathered some info from ISite and then headed for Nelson.
Driving along through the vineyards I was just taking in the scenery when I noticed something strange in the sky. We pulled over at the side of the road and both sat gazing at what looked like a flash of rainbow bolting through the sky. Another marvel we have never seen before; New Zealand seems to be full of these!
We arrived in Nelson and after doing some food shopping and stocking up on bug spray as we were warned about the sandflies throughout the South Island, we opted for another night of freedom camping. Lois sourced a cold shower so we could get relatively clean, then we played the game of 'where shall we sleep tonight?' which involves chasing other campervans around in an attempt to find the hot spots.
We eventually settled at the beachfront car park as most campers were there but lived to regret it because loads of young campers were playing loud music until 4am and we were not in the party mood after very little sleep in the ferry terminal. Needless to say we got up a little grouchy!!!
After breakfast by the roadside in a small town called Richmond we were heading for the Abel Tasman National Park and Lois was driving. She wanted to give me a break as I had driven the whole of the North Island but on these roads and being the control freak that I am, we only made it to Ngarua Caves before Lois insisted that I drive as I had hardly spoken in over an hour and couldn't bare to look down as we made our way up the mountains. Even though she had been enjoying the drive and doing a good job she sensed I was feeling stressed and knew I would be happier if I was driving. Back behind the wheel after a small argument and we soon arrived in the Abel Tasman National Park.
After discovering that the water taxi and kayaking were a little bit out of our budget we opted for a walk along the pretty beach on the edge of the park, followed by a short hike through the forest to Porters Beach. There was a lot more to see in the park but as we only have a short amount of time in New Zealand we headed to Takaka in the Golden Bay.
Takaka is a nice little town (well more of a village by British standards) with lots of boutiques and galleries; there is a hippy feel to the place which makes it pretty quirky. We wanted to investigate the coastline so hopped back in our spaceship to Pohara, Tata Beach and Wainui Bay which were all very beautiful. Back at our chosen spot for freedom camping (Takaka ISite carpark) we were cooking our usual meal when the hippy from the ferry rolled up in his house truck ... it turns out he has a house (without wheels) not far from Takaka.
Both feeling a bit like we needed to spend some time outside the campervan we decided to get some beers from the supermarket as the cheaper option and then go to a local DJ set at 10pm after having a shower at a 1920's hotel. Surprising how a bit of mascara makes us instantly feel more human!
We walked down to the bar expecting it to be bouncing (well we can hope can't we) but the DJ wasn't even on. We chatted to the barmaid who arranged for us to get a courtesy shuttle to the River Inn - 5 mins out of town where there were 3 bands playing. Cover charge of $20 each ... no way!!! We stood outside discussing if to blag it or go back to the camper. Thankfully we managed to blag it down to $10 each (4 quid) and drinks were really cheap ... not that we overdid it of course!!!
Next morning we decided to blast back across the Northland; on the way we discovered Ruby Beach where every stone was perfect for skimming ... Dad would have loved it! We stopped at Blenheim on the East Coast but it was pretty much a small shopping town with no soul, so we carried on to Kaikoura.
Although the camper can be a real pain in the butt at times, the beauty of it is that if we arrive somewhere and think it's naff, we can hop back in and move on swiftly.
On the way to Kaikoura we enjoyed a drive along the coast, passing black sand beaches and the bluest sea we have ever seen. We stopped off at Ohau Point Seal Colony and watched the young pups flopping around on the rocks and learning to swim ... they were so cute!!! Lois was being chased by bees so we made it a short stop. We reached Kaikoura and mooched about and did the usual scouting for suitable camping spots. I had been really looking forward to Kaikoura because of the marine life so we booked onto a whale watching expedition - leaving 7.45 the next morning.
As we were sitting eating our budget baked beans for tea a familiar face approached ... it was the guy from Leicester we met on the ferry and his mates he had picked up in Christchurch. It's funny how you seem to bump into people even though it's a big country.
Next morning (Sunday) it was nice and sunny when we woke up in the whale watching office car park, so we only had a short walk to our departure point. A coach took us to our catamaran and we were given a sea sickness warning. We set off in search of a sperm whale ...
It was a very choppy ride; a bit like being on a speed boat. People were throwing up around us but thankfully we seem to have Grandad's sea-legs and really enjoyed the ride. After about half an hour we were ushered onto the deck as we were told there were whales close by. We stood at the front where it was really choppy and not long after that a sperm whale appeared, blowing spray high into the sky. It was difficult to see exactly how big the whale was, but after about 15 minutes of getting air and feeding on the surface we were treated to a flash of its enormous tail as it embarked on its journey back to the deep (sorry camera too slow to capture).
On our way back towards the shore we were again ushered outside where we were greeted by several pods of dusky dolphins ... how cute ... they were so playful jumping up alongside the boat ... can't wait to swim with them in Asia.
We had planned to have a chill out day and in an attempt to get some colour we sunbathed by the sea but we only lasted an hour as it was so hot ... bloomin hole in the ozone layer ... STILL WHITE!!!
With not much else to do without spending money we decided to make a start on our journey to the West coast. A few hours of sketchy roads later we arrived in Hanmer Springs ... not much there other than wasps and overpriced man-made thermal pools, but as the sun was setting we decided to kip there for free of course.
We woke up and headed for Greymouth on the West coast which wasn't great ... kinda like Blyth ... pretty unattractive and not much there. We continued on to Hokitika for a quick fruit snack stop and then made our way down to Franz Josef where there is a huge glacier.
We regretted cooking our tea in a car park by the river as swarms of sandflies got into the van (we have to have the door open to use the stove) so Lois was on a killing mission while I tried to boil the pasta ... somehow Lois didn't get eaten but I wasn't that lucky ... you can actually feel the little bloodsuckers biting you even though they are so small.
There wasn't much to occupy us in Franz Josef at night which didn't involve drinking so we opted for a relatively early night. Next morning we took a walk up to the glacier face ... it was very beautiful. We rang the skydiving company in Fox Glacier and booked in for 12 noon the next day. We set off to Fox Glacier early afternoon and took a walk to the Fox Glacier terminal face which involved crossing streams and rivers which ran down from the glacier. There were these pools of aquamarine water which were so inviting, but the 'no swimming' and 'rockfall area' signs put us off jumping in.
We decided to book into a motor camp because we hadn't showered in 4 days and we wanted to be clean for our skydive; plus we needed to do laundry.
I got talking to a guy from Hungary in the laundry room called Endie (Andy) who is traveling around New Zealand with his brother and actually hoping to settle here.
D-Day ... the day the girls flew!!!
We pottered around all morning killing time and not saying much (due at airfield at 12 noon). A gravel path and passed some dodgy looking caravans and we arrived at the office to sign our lives away. Within minutes we were in the most unattractive babygrows ... mine made me look like a tellietubby and after some brief instructions (and I mean brief) we were bundled into a tiny plane strapped to our dive masters CJ and Laslow.
Lois was first jumper so she was positioned next to a transparent plastic door which was only secured by a thin metal rod OMG!!! It provided her with a great view of the world below so she was pretty chuffed.
The ascent was magnificent - 12000ft. We got to see the glaciers, Mt. Cook, Tasman Sea and several lakes. I was at the back of the plane but still had a great view.
As we got close to the drop zone our nerves had settled and we felt surprisingly calm. The door was flipped open and Lois was suspended outside the plane while they did final checks ... and after a few snapshots ... they disappeared (on the ground I found out that CJ had back flipped her out for an extra rush). My turn ... so there I was perched on the edge ... a few awful photos later and me and Laslow were also back flipping into our 45 second freefall ... he flipped us back over and I could see for miles around. I could see Lois and CJ's parachute open below (Lois also looked up and saw me bombing through the sky on my freefall). Laslow released our parachute and as we floated through the sky he pointed out what we could see. CJ and Laslow then brought us close together (Lois got some photos of me in the air). I was first to land and saw Lois flying towards the ground. We were both totally buzzing and cracked open a cold beer.
We took our chilly-bin (containing beers) and had a long walk to Gillespies Beach where you can see the Fox Glacier from the shore. The beach was pretty much deserted ... we decided some beach graffiti was in order (see pics). Later in the afternoon we chilled on a bench in Fox Glacier and after a party in the campervan we went to the pub and hooked up with the skydive crew who bought our beers hurray!!!
The next day we headed for Wanaka (we didn't stop much as the sandflies are a nightmare in those parts). As we approached, the scenery around Lake Wanaka was spectacular. We arrived in Wanaka mid afternoon and as we were both still feeling a little ropey we just pulled up on the lakeside and watched the boats, windsurfers, etc until the sun set.
On Friday we went to Queenstown ... Lois was excited ... extreme sports and nightlife available!!!!
With budget in mind we opted for a quiet evening down by the water and treated ourselves to an ice cream (served by a hottie) and sat people watching. Lois tried to convince me that the Canyon Swing the next day was a good idea. $169 to throw myself off a cliff!!?? I think NOT!!! Give me a plane and a parachute any day!
Saturday morning came and Lois was chanting 'canyon swing ... canyon swing .... goooooo Sophie' and my response was a dismissive eye roll. Eventually she gave in and we went to book her in with me as a spectator at half 5. As I opted out of jumping we had a little budget free so I said I would treat us to our first (and last) meal out in New Zealand after she had completed the jump. Knowing we would have to be in the company of others later on we headed to a backpackers hostel for a shower. It felt so good .... first shower in 4 days!!!
So the time came and we were in the Canyon Swing office ... the staff are really torturous ... they play videos of people bottling it and screaming their heads off and generally wind up the jumpers. A short ride out of town along a gravel path and up a huge mountain we arrived at the Canyon Swing ... I was so glad it wasn't me who was about to jump off it!
A brief ground rules talk and everyone was harnessed up ... Lois went first ... there are about 10 styles of jumps you can do which range between 1 and 5 pairs of underpants on the scary scale. She was planning to go off forwards (2 pairs of pants) like you do with a bungee but knowing she could only afford one jump (some people paid for 2 or 3 jumps) she asked which one was the best ... answer: PIN DROP (5 pairs of pants OMG!!!). I ran up to the spectator deck and saw Lois on the edge and within seconds she jumped and disappeared ... I could hear a few blasphemies and then she reappeared as a dot swinging over the river below. Her screams sounded like her thrill seeking mission had been successful. If you want to watch the DVD of Lois throwing herself into a canyon go to: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKZB4qP1R4 but just incase this link doesn't work go to www.Youtube.com and search for Lois Thwaites Canyon Swing - Queenstown (New Zealand). We are new to youtube so please can someone try it and let us know if you can't view it. Thanks!
When we were reunited at the top she looked completely wired ... obviously all of the adrenaline had rushed to her head. She wanted to do more jumps but with the promise of MEAT for tea instead (for the first time in 3 weeks) I managed to persuade her otherwise.
Back in central Queenstown we were starving and it didn't take us long to decide on a restaurant. I went for the seafood platter and Lois went for the mixed grill ... maximum meat!!!
Both happily satisfied we went for a scout around town and went for the cheap option of drinking on the streets as it's legal in Queenstown. Later on we were given some vouchers for cheap drinks at a bar where a funky band were playing ... female lead was awesome!
Lois flung herself around the dance floor as usual and tried to get me up but as I am not yet feeling that confident I chose to guard our drinks instead.
Next morning we left Queenstown with the feeling that we would both like to go back with lots of dosh and stay in one of the posh hotels and try all of the extreme sports on offer. We would definitely recommend it even for a holiday.
Our drive to the East coast was pretty dull as a rainstorm had kept us awake for most of the night ... we had been expecting great views on the coast but Oamaru, Timaru and Temuka much resembled Redcar, Seaton and Hartlepool (prior to redevelopment) so we were a little naffed off and decided to bomb it directly to Christchurch (where we fly out from on Wednesday). As it was late when we arrived it was too dark to cook tea so we opted for a MacDonalds and regretted it!
Today we somehow slept until 11am ... must have needed it. Drove out to the coast not far from here; Governors Bay and Cass Bay are pretty but would look better if it wasn't so overcast. We sat in Hagley Park this afternoon, lots of people jogging past ... makes us feel we need to get on it too. The campervan has been great but has also made us a bit lazy ... think we will burn some serious calories just by heaving our backpacks around in the heat when we leave here.
Tomorrow is our last full day here so we are going to explore the city a bit more before checking into a campsite to do all of the thrilling tasks like laundry and backpack reorganisation in preparation for our flight to Australia on Wednesday.
All in all we have enjoyed New Zealand ... the beaches and scenery in the North Island are beautiful. The South Island also has some wonderful aspects including the glaciers and lots of activities (not just extreme ones). Really need a bigger budget and a lot more time to see and do everything New Zealand has to offer.
We would just like to say a huge thank you to New Zealand for having an abundance of public toilets (all with toilet roll) where we have brushed our teeth and washed our sweaty armpits and dirty feet on many occasions.
x x x
Comments
Hi gals
Hi this is Henry from Nigeria, .....You mum gave me this link ; it's wonderful to keep in touch with your loved ones while touring the world!!!. I still remembered the short stay I had with you at Stockton. I need your phone numbers over there and email. I need to talk with you. In the mean time enjoy you trip... Hope you plan to touch on Africa ...lol
Re: Hi gals
Hi Henry,
It's lovely to hear from you! How are you and your wife? We are having a wonderful time travelling so far. We will be heading into South East Asia in a week or so which should be fun. Unfortunately we do not have phone numbers while we are away. Please feel free to contact us via our blog or emails (not going to post on this message but you can get them from Mum). Anyway can't be online for long as we have to pay for internet now and it's very expensive. Love to you and your family ... Sophie and Lois x