Maureen's Travel Blog

We set off from Invercargil in the pouring rain, not looking at all hopeful for our special day ahead Roger drove us for about an hour to meet the Kiwi Milford Sound bus. It rained heavily all the way.

As soon as we boarded the big Kiwi bus, the sun came out. We had obviously left one microclimate and entered another. I was praying for this. God is showing me all nature’s wonders on this trip so why would he not show it at its best!

We stopped for a coffee break at Lake Te Anau and it was a beautiful clear but chilly day.

Then we proceeded into Fjordland and one of the Seven Wonders of the World! While we had had rain, the mountains here had had a good dusting of snow overnight and with the now clear blue sky, the peaks looked majestic.

It was a long drive through the beautiful Fjords consisting of scenic rainforests, lakes and mountains, and we stopped a couple of times to take photos and to drink from the mountain streams.

We entered Homer Tunnel which had been originally dug out by hand by only 5 men in the early 50s, quite incredible as they had to overcome many obstacles. Many men joined them to finish the job.

There were some very cheeky Kaka birds interacting with the motorists as they waited to go into the tunnel.

Finally we boarded the ferry for our two hour cruise and were immediately served with a most delicious and substantial buffet lunch.

The mountains towered high above us on both sides of the turquoise water and many were covered with snow.

We delighted in see seals sunning themselves on some rocks and a couple of little penguins.

But when a huge dolphin swam at speed beside the ferry surfacing every so often to blow, well this was just magic. He was so fast the photo is a not great!

We could not ask for better weather which made such a difference to the colours here.

On our return journey we stopped off at the Observatory Centre where we heard about the history of the Milford Sound and were able to see corel and tropical fish 20 feet below the surface.

We eventually returned to the Kiwi bus which was waiting to take us back to Queenstown. It was a four hour journey but despite it being a very picturesque one, many had already done this journey in the morning while four of us had come from Invercargill so the scenery was new to us.

However, the Kiwi Experience had a movie ready for the return journey which was good but quite sad. The evening sunshine casting long shadows across the hills and mountains looked absolutely stunning and I found it difficult to take my eyes off it all the way back to Queenstown, which looked as beautiful as ever beside the lake in the evening light.

We were getting a little concerned as it neared 11am and our Bottom Bus, due to collect us at 10.30 had still not arrived. As we left Queenstown behind us, Josh our new driver was telling us how the bus had broken down the day before and had just had a new fan bet fitted, hence the delay. This was a minibus carrying just 4 of us on this extra bit down to the most southerly part of New Zealand.

Fruit of all kinds is grown in this area especially peaches ad kiwi fruit, Josh told us as we sailed past a huge effigy of fruit. I mention that I had collected quite a few photos of these huge statues and he immediately turned the bus around.

The joy of being in a little bus and with only 4 of us we were obviously going to get the individual treatment.

It was quite a long journey to Dunedin through fairly mountainous terrain and our next stop for lunch, was at Clyde. This was a sleepy little town made famous by its huge dam built in the 80s which apparently supplies 40% of New Zealand’s power.

We found a wild west type pub, well it was the only pub, in the centre of the this little town which was about 3 shops, a garage and a café, and sat outside in the rather hot sunshine enjoying our Speights cider and a toasted chicken sandwhich. Sunblock is very important in this part of the world.

Our next stop was at a narrow bridge over one of these viridian rivers, where some workmen were doing some repairs. We were kept waiting for about 20 minutes and Josh chatted happily to the old boy with the STOP sign. Everyone is so laid back and friendly here.

The sleepy little mining town of Laurence was our next loo stop and we took the opportunity of buying an ice cream cone each in the heat of the day. I chose Boysenberry flavour. Josh stopped the bus just outside this town to show us a water gully, one of many that had been manmade to sift off the gold in the old mining days.

We continued on through bright yellow gorse-clad hills, a blight on the landscape to New Zealanders. The farmers have difficulty keeping it at bay since it was introduced to the country by the Scots and thrived too well.

We passed through various small towns before finally arriving in the city, including Milton near Waihola Lake, a great place for holidays and containing many holiday homes, then we slowed down as we passed through East Tairea, before entering the suburbs of Dunedin.

This university city, known as the Edinburgh of the South, was far bigger than I had imagined with a population of 140,000, 25,000 of those being students.
Josh drove us around the city pointing out its major features before dropping us off at our hostel. These included St Pauls Anglican Cathedral right in the Octagon In the centre. Then there was the gallery and museum, the Flemish designed railway station, the University area which had major connections with the hospital also built in this area.

He took us out to Baldwin Street which was known to be the steepest street in the world and used locally for many charity raising events.

We returned to the centre past the Botanic Gardens and the famous Cadburys Chocolate Factory although being 4.30, we had little time to investigate this or many of the other attractions the city had to offer. We would be leaving at 7.30 in the morning for Invercargill.

I woke up fairly late, unusual for me, and even then I lay in for a bit, then grabbed a late breakfast of toast and tea which was offered free in this hostel. I couldn’t find my bag of goodies in the hostel fridge as the fridge had been filled with other people’s bags and a lot of beer bottles.

I got up to date with my internet and blog stuff while chatting on Skype to Leigh who reminded me that I was leaving the country on the 2nd December. Argghh I thought it was the 4th but that’s when I arrive back in the UK! Then met up with Emmajane and together we booked a horse trekking afternoon in the misty mountains of Hobbit fame.

A quick snack and then the minibus picked us up to take us to Glenorchy for our mountain trek experience.

It is unfortunate that the mountains were so misty we could hardly see them and the mist was more like rain by the time we crossed the river on our steeds. Despite this we used our imagination.

The scenery was pretty awesome and made colourful by the hundreds of various shades of pink, blue and purple Lupins which were blooming everywhere along the river in the valley. I was offered the chance to canter up ahead, having a little more experience than Emma and one other rider, Michael, who came along with us and I thought what a wonderful place to ride a horse.

It was rather amusing that a couple of Oyster Catchers flew at us as we passed their territory because on a previous ride in the River Valley, we had been attacked by a Magpie. We also saw a pair of Paradise Ducks and a brand new foal, apparently born in the early hours of the morning.

This evening we decided against the in-house hostel cuisine for a famous Queenstown Fergburger! This was local New Zealand beef with a good helping of salad and onions in a crusty homemade style bap. It was huge for $10 and delicious.

I must now go and prepare to leave in the morning on the Bottom Bus!

We found ourselves in Puzzling World, first stop out of Wanaka. Buzz certainly knows how to wake us all up. First we were presented with a series of brain teasers and optical illusions,

then we had to deal with a seriously difficult maze. I’m not sure if anyone actually managed to complete it but we all certainly got plenty of morning exercise!

It was beautifully sunny all the way to Queenstown. There were vineyards on either side of the road and I noticed now that the Lupins were in bloom, lots of yellow ones but some blues and mauves. There were also Californian poppies on the grass verges.

Two guys at the front of the bus had taken my seat and I ended up behind Buzz but I just couldn’t believe how two blokes (one of these guys and Buzz) could sustain a conversation on rugby for over an hour!

Now we were following the Kawanau River which was Veridian in colour, in fact the colours on this part of the journey were more incredible than ever with the lupins and poppies, the river, the mountains and the heather and broom, all against a backcloth of snowcapped mountains and clear blue sky! I’m still in paradise.

We passed through the Gibston Valley to the Kowanau Gorge where some of our guys were planning to do their bungy jump – not for me! I chatted to a local. He had done this about 10 years ago and said he was too old now, it was not for the faint-hearted.

This would not have stopped me but I had absolutely no inclination to do it and especially at $195. Happy to have spent this on the Bottom Bus to see penguins and wildlife and the Milford Sound.

We eventually arrived in beautiful Queenstown. Wow! I wandered down to the lake only a 100 yards or so from the Nomads Hostel where I was staying.

I just sat on the beach and absorbed the scene before me for an hour or so before wandering up to the Botanical Gardens which was on a peninsular jutting into the Bay.

I found myself on the other side which gave a new angle to the mountains reflected in the lake. I was just in total awe.

The sun was dropping down behind the mountain although the paragliders were still floating on the thermals from the top, and I made my way back to the hostel.

They were offering free dinner at Nomads but I didn’t expect too much. However it was quite a substantial barbecued burger with salad and onions in a bap. I had to queue for it along with my fellow travellers.
Later I was invited to join a pub crawl, a regular event organised by the Nomads Hostel. I did question whether this was a wise move but decided to go with the flow. 130 turned up for this and we all marched around town in a semi-organised mob taking a different short at each venue. Each short was a different colour and taste although I haven’t a clue what they were.

By the fifth venue we were dancing on the tables and soon after this various competitions were announced. One was where the women were asked to supply some article of underwear for a prize. Suddenly all these bras appeared from nowhere! The next one for the prize of a bungy was the first into the lake stripped down to knickers. Five blokes took the plunge in the dark….. and one of them completely naked …… crazy!!!!

Although I’d had a fun time, I decided enough was enough by midnight when they all piled into a nightclub.
I fell asleep fairly quickly after disturbing one of the girls who was already tucked up in her bunk. However there were still two more to come in and they arrived giggling at about 3.30am.

We left Franz Josef at 7.30 on a mizzly sort of morning. It continued to drizzle on and off for a while and I had somehow mislaid my new breathable raincoat that I’d bought in Bicester just before I left the UK. This could be quite serious as I didn’t want to miss out on any of the little scenic morning walks we’d been doing, even in the rain.

I have noticed a great number of flat or nearly flat possums on the road in this area which will be a delight to the New Zealander as they are a great pest here.

We had a loo break at Haste, the last place on the West Coast and here I took the opportunity of buying a white bait pattie with a flat white. It was claimed this was the best white bait pattie in the area and white bait was just in season. I have to say it went down very well as I hadn’t made provision for breakfast this morning.

At the next little town, I spied a sale rack of raincoats. We had a 45 minute break here and I managed to get one for half price…. Still $20 but that was ok. Wouldn’t you know it, after this the sun came it and it was hot again.

We stopped to photograph the aqua blue river at Thunder Creek Falls

The scenery was very rugged here as we moved inland to the lakes. The snow-capped mountains became a constant backcloth by now and looked stunning against the blue sky but soon we were to have the addition of Wanaka Lake which was a sheet of turquoise glass. Wow a new chocolate box picture around every bend again, totally breathtaking.

I am noticing how tidy the countryside appears to be in New Zealand; you would almost think the verges next to the roads had been mown, and we were well into the growing season. The clear crisp colours are just exquisite! The sky a cerulean expanse broken occasionally with a fluffy white cloud; the lake a deep ultramarine with drops of viridian bleeding out in places and skirting the shallows around the edge.

I don’t think my eyes have ever taken in some much clear intense scenic beauty on a daily basis. I am having a love affair with this country!

After skirting the lake for quite a few kilometres we turned off to take a few of the kids for a Skydive which they did in Wanaka. The rest of us then went into town to check into The Base Hostel. Here I am sharing an 8-dorm room with girls I know quite well so it will be fun.

Next a stroll around the very nice little holiday town; skiing in winter and lake activities in the summer (which was now). I then went to the supermarket (New World) to stock up with basics before a blogging session.

And here is my steak being cooked in the hostel kitchen. It was quite busy tonight!

I sat down to enjoy my dinner and a French guy sat down beside me and I found myself striking up a conversation with him. He was just traveling and working alone around NZ. I think I may have converted him to the Kiwi Experience LOL!

Today I woke early and got myself ready for my hike up to the glacier. After a good breakfast of muesli with mixed nuts and yoghurt, followed by toast and coffee, I packed my lunch of sandwiches a banana and a picnic bar, along with topping up the Camelpak with fresh water (thanks for that Leigh). Three of us made our way to the Glacier Guide Centre where we were equipped with waterproofs, boots and crampons.

A bus took us as far as he could by road and then we walked the two kilometres along a dried river bed to the foot of the glacier. This ran alongside a fast flowing river with icy waterfalls cascading down the mountain into it at intervals.

We then climbed up the Glacier, the first part was grey rocks and stones on top of ice. This part was the hardest for me as we climbed to over 400 metres and the views from up there were awesome. Eventually we had to fit on our crampons and walk on the ice. It was pretty amazing, I’d never done anything like this before.

As we got higher the ice took on various hues of blue and there were some deep crevices and cracks. There were some very narrow cracks to negotiate sideways on and the finale was a sort of room of ice which we had to crawl into on our stomachs but there was room to stand up inside and again it was blue with a skylight above.

The whole area was a winter wonderland!

The sun came out at the top and we took the opportunity of having our packed lunch before continuing through further adventurous icy nooks and crannies and then finally descending the way we’d come up.

There were Lotus and violets in the vegetation as we came out of the river bed….

Our feet were a little sore and we felt tired but very pleased we had done the climb but we were now ready for the Hot Pools that were including in our deal.

Ooh this was so good! The Hot Pools were set in a mini rain forest and it actually rained while we were in them so it felt very steamy with pool water temperatures ranging between 38 and 40 degrees.

This evening I had bangers and mash using a Kiwi Experience discount voucher in the Hostel Bar. It was good to catch up with previous travellers who had arrived on today’s bus during the afternoon. They wil be going up the Glacier while we move on tomorrow.

On this palindromic day and remembering those who have died for their countries, I write the posting for today the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh year in 2000.

We had a fairly short journey to Franz Josef today and stopped only the once at The Bushmans Centre which was a Food Craft Museum.

We watched a short film in the museum about the history of the deer in New Zealand and how it was introduced to the country originally. The deer then began to destroy the country’s vegetation and so was hunting using various means including being netted by helicopter. Eventually it made sense to farm the deer rather than hunt it and now they are widely farmed in New Zealand. There were many other hunted animals kept at the Centre, including Possums chamoix, goats, and even a wallaby.

Leigh, do you know what these flowers are?

We then pressed on to The Rainforest Retreat, our hostel for two nights in Franz Josef at the foot of the Glaciers.

As you can see today has been a grey day but it makes us appreciate those beautiful summer days all the more!

Even though Brazils was an excellent hostel on my rating with a very quiet night in a 3 bed room, yes I even had a proper bed, I still hardly slept. That witchy hour again!! I was just so excited about all I was doing and will be doing.

And I thought about another FIRST that happened late last night. I went out to the decking which you had to cross over to the reception area to buy some more Internet time and part of it was wet after the heavy rain. This very nice young man from reception noticed I didn’t have any shoes on and only whisked me over his shoulder. Who said chivalry was dead???? I felt like 17 again….. perhaps he thought I was until closer inspection haha, but maybe not as I got the same treatment for the return trip!

Anyway, I managed to catch up with my blog and emails.
Today is a beautiful sunny morning. It seems to do that here, a country of so many microclimates. I took the opportunity for a walk this morning as we would be back on the bus before long. Westport is a very nice town on the most westerly point of New Zealand.

It is pretty well one long straight street down to the fishing harbour with a good variety of shops. I had just 45 minutes before my toasted egg and bacon sandwich and Feijoa juice I’d ordered and managed to take a few photos before getting back on the bus.

Our first stop was at Te Papa Atawbai where there was a beautiful coastal walk and we had the best weather for this. It was about half an hour with the most stunning sea views ever. I should stop saying that as the scenery just gets better every day.

Here was an amazing example of the varying turquoise colours of the water and the surf crashing on the rocks far below. The path meandering in and out with Punga and cabbage trees on either side. Funny little birds kept walking out in front of us, some with a string of chicks. These were the flightless Weka, and looked like a cross between and Moorhen and a Kiwi.

Along this walk we could look down on a seal colony and delighted in watching them swimming in the surf and then throwing themselves up on the rocks.

The bus was waiting for us at the other side to take us on to the Puparua Range of mountains where we stopped briefly at an old disused bridge next to a beach to take more photos.

Pokita was to be our stopping place for lunch. Here were the Pancakes and Blowholes, although the blowholes were not working as the tide was low. However, the pancake rock formations were pretty impressive and again the most incredible turquoise sea.

Tonight we were staying at Lez’s Pub where we were having a 60s themed evening. Buzz dropped us off in the town of Greystones, pointing out a charity shop where we could be inventive over our 60s outfits. I was the only one who’d actually lived in the 60s and experienced flower power but this didn’t help me much as all my original gear was back home in England! Anyway everyone boarded the bus with little carrier bags. I managed to get some flowers and beads in a nice little craft shop.

We arrived at Mahinapua Hotel (Lez’s pub and hostel) in time for a swim. I must mention at this point that Lez was 87 years old and has been running his pub and hostel for many years, especially for the Kiwi Experience backpackers. Noone else stays there apart from the occasional friend and acquaintance. It was so good to get out of the bus on such a hot day. I made my way down to the beach while the others headed for the lake in the opposite direction. It was a beautiful long beach and looked good for swimming at first sight but when I got in, I found the currents to be very strong and the waves powerful so decided to join the others at the lake, as there was no one around to save me.

The lake was a deep navy blue colour and like glass below the ice-capped mountain range. Some of the others had already been in and were dangling their legs over the jetty. I slipped into the cold water and swam out a bit only to find I had company. There towering above me with its head arched was a black swan. I felt quite vulnerable in the water with this menacing looking bird towering over me and flicked water at it to make it go away. But this only seemed to encourage it.

The kids on the jetty seemed quite worried for me and encouraged me to swim back which I eventally managed to do whilst all the time trying to ward off this aggressive looking bird. Eventually one of the lads put an arm out to me to help me out quickly. Phew, that was scarey but hey, three more firsts at once: swimming in a lake under the glaciers being chased by a black swan!!!

Dinner this evening was delicious steak cooked by our driver served with boiled potatoes in their skins, corn on the cob and coleslaw. Also there was a pot of stewed venison. Deer is farmed widely in this area. It was so nice to sit down to this dinner as we were all ravenous and a bottle of Shiraz from the bar was good too.

After dinner, a group of us went down to the beach to watch the sun set over the sea. Just beautiful with the snowcapped mountain range behind us where the moon was rising.

We returned to the hostel to get ready for our 60s evening. Everybody made a great effort, even the boys and it was a very good way to socialise.

The whole evening was great fun and there were a few hangovers in the morning.

I hugged Lauren and Lindsey, who were also staying on in Wellington, then boarded the bus for the Inter-islander Ferry.

The crossing was very smooth and picturesque, especially through Cooks Strait.

The ever familiar Kiwi Experience Bus was waiting for us at the Quayside when we got off the ferry at Picton, to take us to kaiteriteri. It was very warm here and we passed vineyard upon vineyard on both sides of the road. Some of which were very famous Marlborough Vineyards. I tried to photograph their signs as we whizzed past. This is Sauvignon Blanc country!

It was now beginning to get overcast as we pulled into Havelock for a toilet break. This town is famous for green-lipped mussels ….hmm. The road then became very winding round the mountains with many tight hairpin bends as we approached the city of Nelson. The first view of Nelson was of the bay with the tide so far out you couldn’t see the sea. We picked up a couple of backpackers here and then did a supermarket shop at Pik n Save. This seems to be the backpackers supestore. I managed to sort out my mobile’s internet problem here in a Vodofone store and bought a couple of nice looking pieces of steak for my dinner. Will probably be as tough as old boots. I would cook these with two big mushrooms and a sliced courgette, I thought. Chips would be too difficult and weren’t really necessary.

We then entered the area of Abel Tasman Park and the weather was just beautiful here…. I may do some Kayaking tomorrow, but I was the only one who put their name down for it. Where is your sense of adventure guys???

The hostel here was very nice just yards from the beach and a good room with just 4 of us and ensuite. I cooked my steak and I have to say it was absolutely delicious, very tender and tasty. All it lacked was that glass of Lindemans but this was a no alcohol hostel so just water for me tonight. But I had strawberries to finish… yum! And I was able to sit outside for dinner in the warm evening sunshine.

We are now in kaiteriteri. Although the accommodation here was great, I was unfortunate enough to be sleeping beneath a serious snorer (haha, I mean she was on the top bunk and I was on the one below). I did poke her several times to no avail so eventually I gathered up my duvet and pillow in search of quieter parts of the hostel, and found solitude bliss in the common room downstairs where I made myself cosy on the sofa and slept soundly til morning.

I was booked in for Kayaking at 8.30 so, after enjoying breakfast with a couple of interesting Canadians, I packed up all my stuff and put it on the Kiwi bus and checked out. The bus was waiting an extra few hours just for me as I was the only one adventurous enough to go kayaking. Buzz assumed I might not do it as no one else was and I think was a little surprised when I said I was. I just love taking part in everything!

Needless the say, the Kayaking with awesome, made even better by my gorgeous New Zealand guide who shared my Kayak. There were just 4 of us, 2 in each Kayak and after some initial instruction off we went into the beautiful turquoise sea, exploring little bays and coves and caves. We got up close to many different seabirds and experienced the swell of the open Tasman Sea.

I returned to a chorus of ‘Here she comes’ from my fellow kiwi backpackers who were sitting outside the hostel enjoying the warm sunshine, some of the blokes indulging in a bit of footie and others just having a last coffee before our journey.

(More pics to put in here but I need to get them off the camera for next time I get on the net but will upload this now as I’m getting behind….)

We headed off for our next destination, Westport, at 12.30. Buzz pointed out the hop fields and tea and tobacco plantations on either side of the road as we left the Abel Tasmin National Park. As the journey progressed I found my head nodding but I just don’t want to miss anything. There are such amazing views around every bend in New Zealand. I sometimes wonder how much my young fellow passengers appreciate this as most of them are sleeping or have their earphones in. I have to keep pinching myself that this is not a dream!

We followed Buller River where it meets the sea at Westport. It is a mighty river and the road fell away quite steeply down to it in some places, maybe 100 feet or more. This is a great coal mining area: it used to be gold mining until they struck coal. Buzz’s father works down the coal mines and said you can earn over $1000 a week. Sadly it has its risks as Buzz reminded us of the 29 miners who lost their lives in an explosion down the mines last year, including a 17 year old boy who had just started working there.