le tour de burt

So, after 5 weeks of apple thinning it was all over on Friday afternoon and yesterday Neil and I got back into backpacker mode and dug out our rucksacks and got packing.

Today we left Te Kohanga Lodge (home for the last 5 weeks) and headed back to the big city of Auckland to sort out last minute bits and bobs for Japan (we will be there this time next week – argh!!) and to have our lazy kiwi Christmas on the beach at Waiheke….weather permitting!! I’m doing a snowdance for Japan so lets just hope the weather doesn’t get confused and we see snow on Christmas Day!! Now I wonder what the odds are on that??

It’s strange to think that after all this time in NZ we are down to our final week…how things have changed. Winter to Summer. Two islands, two very different experiences. Playtime to work. And what really makes it feel like it’s been a while is the thought that we have been here long enough to hear two singles released from both Katy Perry and Pink!! I am actually compiling a soundtrack to our time in NZ – I’m just glad that in the closing weeks The Killers and Kings of Leon have graced the airwaves otherwise it may have been a little pop plastic sountrack!!

Anyway – hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year. I will do my upmost to get something on the blog in Japan… If not, as soon as i’m home I’ll put a little overview and some pics!! But for now I will leave you with a pic taken last night, after a few beers – and with our lovely Chilean room mates Sebastian and Marcela.

Just to let you all know, Neil and I managed to get ourselves some work to get us through to our kiwi Christmas….working in the apple orchards in sunny Hawkes Bay!

We are now heading into our fourth week of apple thinning, basically just taking off small and bad apples from trees and getting paid for the privelage. The mercury has hit the 30’s this week and it’s really hotting up now summer is on the way!

For those of you who would like to indulge in a little kiwi christmas, head off to Waitrose and pick up some Monteith’s beer – or make some red wine with strawberries (chop strawberries small, add lots of red wine, chill – and enjoy!!) – I have a feeling Neil and I will indulge in both over Christmas!

First and foremost, apologies in the delay – it’s been a bizarre few weeks (so i’ll keep it brief).

I left off after the mammoth drive, and from happily returning our little Jusy rental Neil and I headed to Auckland, a city which we surprisingly found ourselves liking. We enjoyed the little markets (and the cheap food on offer), the waterfront, the buzz of the city – and the views from the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, The Sky Tower.

However Auckland doesn’t have to be all city lights and noise, and we took a trip over to Rangitoto Island, NZ’s youngest volcano (no longer active we are told – but still something niggles at the back of your mind) – and completed the summit walk. This offered some lovely views back over to Auckland and all it’s city glory.

After the shambles that was the road trip, we decided to really take some time out and head over to Waiheke Island, 40 minutes by ferry from the Auckland Ferry Terminal. It feels a million miles apart though, the hourly bus service that meets the ferry, the lack of emergency sirens and the general slower pace to life. Neil and I stayed over on Waiheke for 3 days, just lazing out on the beach when the weather permitted (getting very sunburnt legs – Laura, not Neil) and when it didn’t we spent our time booking an apartment for Christmas. Overcast afternoons really aren’t that good for the bank balance!!

So with our decision to stay for Christmas we now had a lot of arranging to do when we got back to the real world in Auckland, changing flights, booking JR Rail Passes – and the hard task of trying to find a job…..This is where things started to get a little out of hand.

Hours trawling the internet and making calls to vineyards, agencies and the like did nothing for moral as all we heard where the same words “maybe call back next week” or “nothing at the moment”. So it was time to hit the sweeties and make ourselves feel better…….and then it all seemed to slip into place. A job came up on a backpacker website, kiwi flower picking, starting that weeked, up in the Northland – the only place Neil and I still needed to visit. Perfecto…..but how wrong could we be.

We headed for Kerikeri, and settled into Honeheke Lodge, the work that was due to start at the weekend had now been put back til Tuesday and to top things off the backpackers we were staying at had a party, outside of our room that lasted until 6am. I just knew that wasn’t for me…..so, Neil and I headed to a new backpackers, which just happened to be in the middle of nowhere.

The Valley has been an art centre, healing retreat, every hippy hangout you can think of, and now, it’s being turned into a backpackers. They also had work Kiwiflower picking, which had also been put back, this time until Wednesday…..so, it was agreed that we would work for our accomodation until the work started. Can you imagine, Neil and I, out in the open air, digging, painting, cleaning out spa pools – well you name it, we did it!! We met some interesting characters up in the Valley, and in hindsight, maybe this was part of the real adventure, when things don’t work out quite as planned and how you get around the problems.

We did finally get to pick some kiwi flowers, I won’t even tell you how much we got paid for our nine hour day, because it’s just laughable…well you can only laugh or you’d have to cry!!

For now though we are apple thinning, down in Hastings, I have a feeling that I will never want to see another apple again in my life after this – but at least it’s paying minimum wage and keeping us ticking over to get that down under Christmas on the beach that we want!! Waiheke Island here we come!

So, flying around the North Island and spending a lot of money “doing stuff”, Neil and I decided to get out and about and see some of what the north had to offer. The guidebook steered us in the direction of Coromandal Peninsula, around the Bay of Plenty and along the East Cape. But I’ll hold my hands up now and say this road trip was far from what we were after. I’ll just give a brief overview of where we went and some of the highlights!!

Our little Jucy rental was collected at Auckland Airport, and surprise, surprise, it was raining…..and it rained most of the way to Thames along the Pacific Coast Highway (which if we’re honest NZ, does not hug the Pacific Coast at all!!).

With severe weather warnings over night, the walk we had anticipated carrying out was off the cards, I heard the possibility of fords and was not taking a chance with the Jucy lunchbox car – and we opted for a walk closer to Thames. It turned out to be the most bizarre walk we have done since arriving in NZ, spending most of it walking through cobwebs and then worrying about where the spider was…….We arrived in Whitianga, a little down hearted with more bad weather on the way, so headed out to the one attraction that we did want to see. Cathedral Coves – this was all very impressive, and I have to say with the stormy skies rolling in off the Ocean made for some nice photography!

Now, day 3 – we stopped at a market where Neil and I taste tested numerous jams, chutneys and the likes, never ones to turn down some free food! We arrived in Tauranga and ventured to the hot salt pools to chill out, relax and keep reassuring ourselves that this road trip would improve.

So, day 4, we did manage to make the summit of Mt Manganui (a bump in the road in comparison to some climbs we have done), but it did offer some nice views along the Bay of Plenty and was a good way to stretch the legs before a mammoth day of driving. After a brief stop in Whakatane to look at a statue out in the water we continued our travels on to Tiki Tiki, half way around the East Cape. The rain set in for the day, as did the constant road works, dropping us down in speed from 100km to 30km, the journey was never ending. So much so that when we got to the East Cape lighthouse neither Neil or I could be bothered climbing the 700 odd steps to the top – something that I think both of us now regret, but at the time we just could not face! 

Labour Day (bank holiday Monday to you and me) brought some nice weather and we managed to get out and have a stroll along some beaches, but with more driving to do, we could never hang around for long! We had a wander (and an ice cream) in Gisborne, this is where Captain Cook first landed in New Zealand and there is a statue to commemorate this – although the statue was modelled on an Italian Explorer – oops! Our last stop on the East Cape was Wairoa where we stayed for the night before heading back inland!

Heading back to Taupo down the Geothermal Highway we stretched our legs at a small lake, but nothing more, just more driving…..and even more rain if I remember correctly. So I’m sure you get the idea, that this was far from perfect, and far from the seeing the North – most of the time we couldn’t see for rain, but we did see something fairly spectacular before getting the car back to Auckland.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves, hundreds and thousands of glow worms, lighting up the cave. We were taken on a little raft around the wet cave, with nothing more than the glow of the worms to light the way. It was spectacular, and I have to say really worth the lengthy de-tour around the North Island to see!

Aftet the mammoth road trip it was off to the City of Sails…..we will update you next week with our adventures

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was a “must do” on the list before we came away, and arriving in Taupo we were lucky enough to get a break in the weather and get booked onto the Tongariro Expedition bus the next morning.

An early start saw us leave Taupo under cloudy skies (forecast was showers in the morning easing to blue skies in the afternoon). We were briefed about the changeable conditions, the point of no return and that the organisers were in no way responsible for the weather forecasters ability!

So we left Mangatepopo car park with the low clouds all around, the rain changing to snow as we headed up from our starting elevation of 1000m. However within half an hour of setting off and walking through the tussock landscape the clouds were easing, sun out and we were stripping off the layers. Shortly after the last loo stop and the start of the ‘devils staircase’  the weather changed again, hoardes of happy trampers stopping to redress themselves. People will have you believe that the ‘devil’s staircase’ is a hard climb, obviously they’ve never ventured onto the Queen Charlotte track!

Having completed the staircase we were at the base of Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in LOTR I’m reliably informed) and heading over the south crater which was still covered in snow…after what seemed like an endless walk across the expanse of white we started ascending again, this time to the Red Crater. This is still an active part of the volcano, and from the smell emerging from it I can vouch for that. The descent was not something I enjoyed, the small track had a steep drop into the crater, the scree was loose, and my walking pole was not helping at all! I think I just wanted to take a walking pole so I looked like a proper rambler!

At this point the clouds came tumbling back in, looking back behind us we could not see the other peaks and after we passed the Emerald Lakse (still frozen in parts) we were back into snow, about a foot of the stuff. We had asked the Expedition company what the track was like, we had been reliably informed that there was still snow on the track, but we hadn’t anticipated quite so much! The walk to the final hut was pretty much covered in snow, and the snow was also falling all around us – but we happy trampers come prepared, plenty of Scroggin to keep energy and spirits high!

The final push from the hut and we were out into tussock and steaming hot streams, heated from geo thermal hot springs, Neil was convinced that our boots would melt if we walked through them, although I have to admit my walking pole didn’t look all that healthy after going through the water!! The lower we went, the wetter it got, from snow to hail and finally to pouring down rain, so yes, weather forecasters in NZ do get it wrong, but it was worth every minute to complete the crossing, and yes, I’d do it again tomorrow given the chance!

Our final day in Taupo was spent seeing some of the sights, we headed for Craters of the Moon, a geothermal area, huge craters, hot steam all make for a terrain similar to the moon (hence the name). Next stop Huka Falls, this is where part of a huge river gets squeezed through a tiny gap (in comparison) to cause the volume of an Olympic sized swimming pool to fall over the waterfall every second. I have to say, despite seeing many waterfalls on this trip so far, this one was fairly spectacular! We even manged to get a view of Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro for the first time as the clouds cleared over Lake Taupo!

Next stop Rotorua, just 80kms away up the Geothermal Highway. Now, as soon as you arrive in Rotorua you can’t help but notice the smell of sulphur, this is from the hot pools found in peoples front gardens, back gardens, just generally everywhere! Rotorua is also Maori show central, and where we were entertained at the Matai village, basically a very tongue in cheek show, starting with the Maori warriers arriving in a traditional canoe down the stream. It then got a little hollywood as we ploughed into a purpose built arena to watch traditional dance, fighting techniques and the tribes own Haka. More importantly though we had come for the Hangi which was up next, a traditional meal cooked in the ground (they now have a concrete pit instead of just placing the food in the ground in bags to steam) – and I have to say it was delicious. Lamb, chicken, kumara (a type of sweet potato) and stuffing, which I’m not sure is so traditional, but yummy all the same. As you can all imagine, I went back for seconds.

I then had the pleasure the following day of driving us around the out of town attractions in an automatic!! It’s just un natural, but it did the job, and we headed out to Wai-O-Tapu, the geothermal village which shows off the Lady Knox Geyser. They basically pour soap powder into it, which causes a reaction under the ground in thermal chambers and the result is a 10 metre high explosion of hot water - very impressive, and if you are on the front row a cheap way of getting your washing done!! The village itself also has other attractions to show off, mostly very smelly affairs, but some of the pools are impressive. As I’m not a science buff I can’t explain why the pools are all pretty colours, and how the minerals make the colours, so I’ll just put a piccy on so you can see for yourselves!

Next stop, Zorbing. Effectively an inflated hamster ball, with room for two, rolled down a hill. We opted for Zydro, the hamster ball basically has some water in it, which causes you to slip and slide as you roll down the hill. Neil did very well to get us rolling and even managed to keep standing for a short time, whereas I fell straight away and just laughed all the way down! It was well worth every $, although I was aching for days from laughing!

Our last stop of the day was at the Polynesian Spa, where Neil and I tried out a heated mineral pool. We paid for a private pool so we could just laze around for half an hour in the steaming hot without being disturbed, easing our zorbed muscles!

And that was that, the auto was handed back, our aching muscles eased – and a giant chunk was taken out of our bank balances.

So the North Island adventure began with a slight culture shock – a city, traffic lights, shops and more importanly the Golden Arches of Maccie D’s!! Wellington is a nice city – plenty of green space with the Botanical Gardens (accessible by Cable Car) and the Skyline Walkway to Mt Victoria lookout. We took advantage of the good weather, heading out early to the markets (currently working our way through yellow kiwi fruit jam at breakfast) before continuing on to the Botanical Gardens and enjoying the peace and quiet before making our way up Mt Victoria to take in the views of the city and Cook Strait.

Day 2 took us indoors – making use of the free entry to the Parliament Buildings and Te Papa Museum (we even got a free hot drink in the museum for filling in a questionnaire – bargain)!!

Before heading off to Wanganui for our canoeing adventure we took the bus out to the Weta Caves and Museum, home to the horrid wax works from films like Lord of the Rings and other Peter Jackson movies. I have to admit, it’s all very clever stuff that they do there – they do lot more than waxworks – but all the films were a little gory for me!!

Onwards and upwards to Wanganui, this was a flying visit to get us out on the longest navigable river in New Zealand – it has been used from Maori days to travel the lower half of the North Island. An early start took us out with the mailman, a nun we were dropping in Jerusalem (this is no joke) and off we went dropping mail and supplies at the handful of homes along the River Road. Our stop was Pipiriki were Neil and I headed out with our Maori guide Tim for a few hours along the river, taking in a fair distance and far too many rapids for my liking. I have to say, at the time it’s a bit scary, but once you’re over them the adrenalin kicks in and in a sick sort of way you want to have another go!! 

As a reward for our hard work on the river we headed across the country to Napier, the art deco region (rebuilt in the style after a HUGE earthquake many moons ago!) and in the Hawkes Bay wine region, to sample some of their finest wines! Our intention was to cycle around the local vineyards (although Neil wasn’t keen on the tandem idea), but mother nature was not playing the game and it rained all day. So we decided to play it safe and head off on one of the many tours…we chose Vince’s World of Wine as it looked more on our level (no mention of floral aromas in his literature!!) and trusted him to get us through the vineyards and back to Archies Bunker!

I will come clean at this point and say I don’t really remember much after the third vineyard…..but here goes with the list of vineyards we visited. Moana Park was the first stop – a nice boutique little vineyard that had by far the nicest wines – including a scrumptiously sweet desert wine that would be perfect with a chocolate cake (in my wine tasting opinion). Next stop was Trinity Hill, a little more stiff upper lip in my opinion – all talk of “floral hints on the nose” – hmm whatever that means. I remember the next stop, Frank was the guy in charge at Ngatawara – an old stables, I also liked the bottles on his Farmgate range of wines (how I pick my wine at home!) and he was the most generous in his measures! Last stop was at Matanki, where I do remember being told that everybody is a wine connoiseur – you either love it or you hate it! I have to say that after 4 vineyard stops that I have to agree with him! 

Vince was a responsible tour guide and at this point decides to break the journey back to Archies with a stop in a brewery – just so that we could all sober up!!

So next stop Taupo, the Tongariro Alpine crossing awaits us tomorrow (weather permitting) – Neil as always gets the best blogs to write. Check in next week for his update!

As far as I am concerned, tramping is called tramping for one reason only.  By the time you are finished hiking for several consecutive days through the searing heat, the pouring rain and the resulting mud you wouldn’t look wholly out of place in a gutter or sleeping on a park bench.

The Queen Charlotte Track is a 3-5 day tramp through the Queen Charlotte Sound, just outside of Picton.

We opted bravely for doing it in 3 days.  Mostly to save money but also to escape Picton.

Having arrived on the Sunday morning, we made enquiries and arrangements to start the walk on the Tuesday.  We passed the time by spending 20 cents (8 pence) each to ride the model railway and paying a visit to the Flying Haggis, a Scottish pub.  ‘Scotland on steroids’ is how the owner described New Zealand.  Och aye he’s right ye know.

With Pictons main attractions exhausted we were chomping at the bit to get tramping, but unfortunately Tuesday morning brought torrential rain and heavy winds, so we had to postpone until Wednesday.

Our water taxi dropped us off at Ships Cove at 10.30am.  We were fully loaded with water, scroggin and newly purchased waterproof kecks.  Even our backpacks were being delivered for us so all we had to worry about was tackling the first 27km and reaching our accommodation before nightfall.

There is little point denying that the first day was knackering… the track was wet and muddy from the previous days rain and there were some real killer climbs with little reward for the effort except for getting to the finish at Noeline’s homestay.  Noeline is 77 and shares her home with a small dog named Tuppence and each evening, backpackers .  We we greeted with scones and a pot of tea.  Someone described the experience as like staying the night at your grans.  Quite true.  Very homely and it was great to kick back and watch some mindless telly whilst Tuppence bit our toes.

Day two was shorter, just a meager 23kms.  However we had several climbs, peaking at 500m, which for NZ is like a speed bump, but after the third speed bump we were in need of an MOT.  The views from the top were well worth the effort though and seeing the kilometers ticking over spurred us on.  Luckily our accommodation was empty except for ourselves and we managed to sleep for 10 hours to re-energise for our final day.

The route from Torea Saddle to Anakiwa was the final push, a leisurely 20kms and a pleasant finish to the walk.  We smashed the estimated time and had to hang around for a couple of hours before our water taxi picked us up and returned us to Picton, where we enjoyed a curry and a beer (flying haggis again) for our efforts.  Jobs a good’un.

Today we boarded the inter-islander to Wellington, at the Sourthern most tip of the North Island.  Who knows what we will get up to here.

Kaikoura is a special place – 1km off the coast is an underwater canyon, that brings in the big fishes close to land. So our first stop naturally had to be a whale watching cruise – in a bid to see the resident sperm whales! We were lucky enough to see two whales just before they arched their backs and dived into the ocean – giving us that perfect tail in the air photo!

As Kaikoura is on the eastern coast it also gave us perfect opportunity to see the sun rise up from the ocean, luckily daylight savings time is here so we didn’t have to get up and some silly time of the morning. We just raced down to the beach in time to see the start of a day – it was nice to know we were one of the first people to see in that day in the world!

Now – Hapuku Lodge, very expensive, very out of our league, but an experience not to be forgotten. Our tree house was nestled high in the treetops, overlooking ocean from the balcony/shower and from the lounge we could see the Kaikoura ranges. The place was unbelievable, spa bath, ipod fully loaded with tunes, underfloor heating, and our own log fire (which we couldn’t get to light, but at least we gave it a go)! It was heaven to take a dip in the bath, in fact we used it that much we must have had a direct impact on the worlds water supply!

Dinner was served in the lodge after drinks with the manager (how posh is that!), smoked salmon sushi roll appetiser, followed by our starters of lamb sweet breads. For mains I tried the pork belly in a red wine sauce and roasted leeks (the meat was just delicious) and Neil tried out the Butterfish (which was also delicious). And for those of you who know Neil and I, the dessert, the most important part of any meal, did not disappoint – Jack Daniels and Walnut chocolate cake (yummy yummy yummy)!

Neil decided that he would have a spa bath before bed (hangover prevention he told me) and I drifted off to sleep. Next morning we were woken early by the winds battering the tree house, and yes it moved, so we decided it was time to make use of all the little extras, like coffee grinder and press to make fresh coffee – it was silly, but you have to make use of everything on offer! Sadly after breakfast it was all over and time to head back to our backpackers, Sunrise Lodge (which was lovely) and head out for fish n chips for lunch…freshly battered blue cod for me and groper (maori name hapuku) for neil!! We had just enough time to stop at the local winery and discover that we are much better at beer tasting than wine tasting!

Next stop was Nelson, a city (it has a Cathedral) that boasts the jewellers, Jens Hansen who made the ring for the Lord of The Rings films….in all honesty, they made a selection of them, for all different cast members!

We didn’t hang around for long as we were keen to get on to Abel Tasman National Park and our sea kayaking trip. It was a great two days out in the park, water taxi out to Onetahuti beach, then sea kayaking out from there, around Tonga Island to see the seals and little blue penguins before heading along the coast to a lagoon for a spot of lunch. At this point I think the sandflies got their spot of lunch as I am now covered from the waist down in bites (including the soles of my feet)!

Our afternoon was far easier ,cruising down the coast, through rocks (and hitting them most of the time) before taking it easy down the river. Final stop was Anchorage bay where we were spending the night on a house boat, converted catamaran that now houses backpackers like me who do not want tp spend the night out in a hut with a long drop loo and no electricity. We were treated to a bbq as the sunset and quiet fell in the park – heaven!

The second leg of our Abel Tasman National Park experience was walking back along the coastal track from Anchorage to Marahau. It was nice to be able to divert off the track onto a secluded beach for a break, just take in the surroundings, sandy beaches and crystal blue waters. Sadly it was all over to soon, and before we knew it we were on the bus heading back to Nelson – the only plus point being the Tasman Bay Backpackers free chocolate pudding and ice cream at 8pm!!

However the 2 day trip into the National Park gave us the tramping in style bug, so we are now heading off to Picton, hoping to undertake the Queen Charlotte Track before we head overseas to the North Island.

Ok so we lied about leaving for FJ straight away.  Two nights were added to the Wanaka Backpacka diary whilst we waited for good weather for one of us brainless idiots to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet.  Sadly it wasnt to be.  

Tuesday morning brought rain, lots of it.  Luckily our 7 hour journey to the West Coast was spent relaxing at the back of Jim’s Intercity Coach.  By the evening, someone up on high had turned the tap on full blast and we had torrential rain (1″ per hour) accompanied by some thunder and lightning. 

Unfortunately we had pre-booked our heli-hike for the following day and having checked with the tour operator it appeared that rain may have stopped play, with the weather forecast not looking so hot.  However by morning the sun had come out to play and our guide made the decision to ‘chance it’. 

Its amazing what you can see from a helicopter, even when you are shoved in the back.  Laura rode shotgun but failed to fully appreciate the scenery from behind two hands.  

Equipped with crampons and a quick guide on how to walk on ice (John Wayne stylie) we set off to explore the glacier and its ice caves.   We did check with the insurance company to see if it was covered but im not sure they realised we would be sliding on our backsides through holes in the glacier whilst parts of the ice collapsed here there and everwhere around us… (our guide was ace)…. it was fun though until the weather turned and we found ourselves standing in a cloud with sleet hammering down. 

The chopper was called in before we got stranded and it was back to base.  

Helicopter lessons next me thinks )

Leaving FJ we headed up to Greymouth where we would catch the train back to Christchurch.  Our comfort stop was in a small town called Hokitika where we stumbled upon Sweet Alices Fudge Kitchen… it would have been rude not to me thinks.  Loaded with some chocolate caramel fudge we continued on to Greymouth and to Neptunes Hostel which is very (un)tastefully decorated with a fishy theme.  Nevertheless, one can forgive and forget these little matters when they provide you with enough free cakes, bread and pies to feed Laura for one meal ) 

Two days passed by relatively easily with a visit to the Monteiths Brewery, where for $25 we got a tour, seven small beers to taste and then a minibus to a local pub for a free BBQ and a Pint.  Nay bad.

With it being cheaper to hire a car for a day than to take the bus, we took a Mazda Familia up the road to Pancake Rocks, which are blowholes in the rock that spurt out water at high tide.  Quite cool to see.

18 holes of crazy golf helped to kill some time the following morning before we boarded the Tranz Alpine train back to where it all began, in Christchurch.  It is supposed to be one of the top 5 most scenic train journeys in the World, but with low cloud and rain it failed to live up to the hype.  However at its highest point, at Arthurs Pass it was snowing quite heavily which got everyone rather excitable. 

So with the loop complete, we have headed North to Kaikoura… next weeks exciting installment )

The Jucy Compact was our rental vehicle of choice for our third and final road trip in the South. Jucy Compact in reality is a Diahatsu Sirion, a little box on wheels (which I sadly admit – I enjoyed driving!). Driving out from Queenstown we were heading to Lake Tekapo, which took us through Cromwell (fruit farming territory) and the place where we happened to stop for our sweeties (Jucy don’t give away complimentary Mint Imperials)!

Just out of Cromwell we lost the radio, and noticed the noise that this beasty vehicle was making…..and upon close inspection we realised that the underside of the bumper/wheel arch was detached from its original location and rubbing on the tyre. So, what do you do in the middle of nowhere, no reception on your mobile phone and a dodgy car….just rummage around in your rucksack for some duct tape and make some temporary repairs! I was personally very impressed with my repairs (we all know Neil isn’t one for manual labour!!).

Repairs carried out we were cruising along in the beast (we named the car this for its supreme acceleration), slowly making are way over the Lindis Pass, a fairly dramatic alpine road, with lots of steep inclines that caused tailbacks as we struggled over the pass. Once over it was downhill all the way and on the the open road, with nothing but views of the Southern Alps to keep us company. The drive to Tekapo brought us to Lake Pukaki, a turquoise blue lake fed by glacial waters, with a backdrop of the Alps, and Mount Cook, the cloud piercer coming into view. A short drive up the road brought us to Tekapo, a small town on the lakefront, with a good backpackers called Tailor Made (they did free soup, so it got my vote!) and some pretty amazing views. We headed up to Mount John Observatory, where I let Neil loose with the camera, and we now have a very extensive collection of Southern Alps/Lakes pictures!

Day 2 – We headed out from Tekapo, to Mount Cook village. Luckily I was the passenger and therefore got to marvel at the scenery before we parked up and headed out onto the Tasman Valley to check out the Alps up close and personal. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere as windy as the Tasman valley, we struggled to stand up at times as we attempted to take pictures of the icebergs in the Terminal Lake. It was a truly amazing place to be in, and to see, its just such a shame that our photos won’t do it justice! We then took to the road, heading back South to Wanaka, for our fish and chips by the Lake!

Day 3 – After two days of perfect blue skies, we awoke to a cloudy Wanaka. By the time we hit Arrowtown in search of hobbit land we were in the rain! We didn’t find any hobbits in Arrowtown, but did come across an old Chinese Settlement, complete with old toilet and shop!! Never ones to let the weather stop us we headed on to our next stop, Glenorchy, with roads that really weren’t a good idea just after lunch! We managed to sneak a little walk in at Glenorchy around the lagoon, and to up our spirits headed for afternoon tea and cake (well it was raining – and we were wet!)! Our place of rest was Kinloch Lodge, a little further up a dirt track from Glenorchy. Had it not been raining there would have been some lovely views on offer, but instead we retreated to the bar for happy hour, enjoying a bottle of Monteiths (the West Coast beer/ale), before sitting down for our first meal out since arriving in NZ! Yep, you guessed it – Lamb!

Day 4 – The day started off in an interesting manner, Neil had a visitor in the bathroom, in the form of a frog, and neither of my credit cards would pay the outstanding bill from our meal. However the staff of Kinloch Lodge sent us on our way – just asking that we paid the money into their account back in Queenstown (very trusting indeed!). So we headed out, managing a couple of short walks, before attempting to drive the beast to Paradise. This was another dirt track affair, and sadly we were stopped in our tracks by a small stream that I was too scared to cross! I had the pleasure of driving the road back from Glenorchy to Queenstown, ensuring that we were in good time to pay our debts and return the beast for 5pm! 

We are now back in Wanaka, again at Wanaka Backpacka, just chilling out. Neil played a round of golf on the local course yesterday were we were chased around by some nutty bird (no, not me!) and this morning we headed to Mt Iron, for a gentle stroll and to ease the shame of not making the ascent of Mt Roy last weekend!

Tomorrow its off to the West Coast, Franz Josef Glacier being our first stop before Greymouth, where we will have to stop at the Monteiths Brewery (well it would be rude not to)!