7 months down, 7 countries down and it's time for the bit I was most looking forward to - NEW ZEALAND!
We'd heard such good things about NZ so we always knew it was going to be amazing, but until you're actually here I don't think you can truly appreciate the splendour of this incredible country! We very quickly ran out of adjectives and had to have a bit of a brainstorm as we were using the words 'amazing', 'awesome' and 'incredible' far too much!
We started with a night in Christchurch which was quite a strange experience. Over a year has passed since the second big earthquake there, but the whole of the city centre is still blocked off and there's so much demolition/reconstruction work going on. The whole place has a very eerie feel with abandoned buildings, places left overgrown, scaffolding, temporary wooden boards as fences, bumpy damaged roads... It's crazy how quickly something like the earthquake disappears from world news, yet it's still very much a present issue for the people involved, and will be for a long time to come. We enjoyed a stroll through the Botanic Gardens and kitted ourselves out with wooly hats and gloves from the kids sale section in Kathmandu - in one of the temporary shipping container shops. Nicola joined us on the second day in Christchurch and we headed up the east coast in our hobbity hire car Bilbo for our second stop - Kaikoura.
Having arrived in the evening, we had a very pleasant surprise the following morning when we awoke to the most incredible view of the sea and mountains, all bathed in glorious sunshine. Nicola took herself off on a whale watching trip whilst Kirsty and I enjoyed a 3 hour hike around the peninsula - again with stunning views. I think it was at that point that we fell in love with New Zealand! Nicola had a successful whale watching trip which she very much enjoyed, despite being "violently sick three times" - a phrase we have since heard rather often! Our evening entertainment came in the form of a pub quiz at a little place down the road - combining our general knowledge with that of a Swedish guy, a South African woman and a Kiwi guy we became "The Foreigners" and ended up being placed third overall! (Out of 10, not 3...) The highlight of Kaikoura, however, has to be the seals... We were first treated to the sight of a few chilling out by the sea just along from the hostel, with a couple even snoozing on the wooden pedestrian walkway! But it got even better than that as we stopped of at a waterfall a little way up the coast and found heaps and heaps (adopting the Aus/NZ lingo!) of seal pups, just hanging out and playing in the water whilst their mothers are out at sea - it was such an amazing sight to see, a true natural wonder.
As we headed back down south we made a brief stop in Hamner Springs where we enjoyed some autumn colours, a dip in the hot springs from which the village takes its name and a walk up a hill for a beautiful view. It reminded us of a real life Centrparcs! Next stop was a couple of nights in Akaroa, a small quaint "French" town on the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. It was here that we picked up our first "hijacker" (as Kirsty announced to her friend on skype, obviously meaning hitchhiker...) - a German girl called Sophia who was staying in our hostel. Not only did she get a ride to Lake Tekapo with us, but she was also treated to an authentic British picnic - cheese sandwiches, salt and vinegar crisps and a flask of tea which Kirsty insisted be consumed on a picnic bench by the sea, despite the fact we were all shivering from the wind and freezing temperatures... The transformation is almost complete, we are definitely becoming our parents...
Lake Tekapo is a beautiful beautiful spot and I think my favourite so far in NZ. We got up early for sunrise (I was actually first out of bed this time, no dragging needed by Kirsty...) and sat shivering by the lake for quite a while before the rays slowly started creeping down the mountainsides and then suddenly the valley burst into light as the sun appeared - quite spectacular. We did our daily walk (once again a sign that we're becoming our parents) and after a tough climb we were rewarded with the most stunning view I think I've ever seen in my life, could've spent all day up there. I love that New Zealand is so unspoilt and peaceful (hmm, a phrase I can imagine my dad saying...)
On the way to Queenstown we stopped off at Mount Cook, the highest peak in Australasia, fittingly called Aoraki in Maori - meaning "cloud piercer". Queenstown is known for being adventure capital of the south island, and claims that you'll never be bored. We may not have done a bungy or skydive, but we had our own adventures in the form of riding the gondola and playing frisbee golf (Watching as the hired frisbee, and therefore the credit card she'd given as a deposit, left my hand and rolled down the hill towards the lake was almost as scary as jumping out of a plane for Kirsty...)
The furthest south we hit was Te Anau, from where we did a day trip to Milford Sound (as with a lot of places in NZ you have to go south to go north again, only one road in and out, and no short cuts across country!). Milford Sound is in the Fiordland area and is actually a fjord rather than a sound, so has been misnamed...as a fjord is formed by a glacier, whereas a sound is just a flooded river valley. We did a guided tour from Te Anau and so our friendly guide Chris gave us lots of information and made several stops for photo opportunities. At the sound itself we did a 2 hour boat trip, down to the Tasman Sea and back. It was stunning, especially as we had beautiful weather. We passed by several waterfalls, including one which legend has it makes you look 10 years younger if the spray touches your skin...I decided to avoid it as I didn't really want to wake up looking 6 years old! Having to pass through the 'Homer tunnel' (one of the few tunnels in NZ) on the road to Milford prompted a discussion about tunnels (another parent moment!) during which Kirsty learnt that you can't drive through the channel tunnel...they say travelling is all about discovery...
To break the journey we spent another night in Queenstown before heading further north, and made a trip along the lake to Glenorchy, for a spot of horse-riding. I think that was my highlight of the trip so far! The area we rode in was called 'Paradise' and it was aptly named...one of the most beautiful places I've ever been on earth! We did 'the ride of the rings' which covered areas where Lord of the Rings was filmed, as well as other films such as Narnia and Wolverine. The LOTR commentary was wasted a little on me but I learnt some interesting facts about the valley and about Peter Jackson's demands and directing. I very much enjoyed being back in the saddle! We also sampled the famous Fergburgers in Queenstown - I have to agree with the statement that they're the greatest burgers in the world!
We've seen more sheep than people during our time in the south island, but that's not surprising given there are 10 for every person... We even made it to a sheep shearing show along with a coach load of Japanese tourists, meaning we learnt all the facts in English and then in Japanese!
In conclusion New Zealand is a wonderful place and definitely has the "eh" factor...
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