Firstly, apologies. I know that you are all hanging on the next installment of our adventures, but a number of factors has influenced by lack of blogging (namely, not being anywhere near blogging appratus).
Christchurch was the first of the big cities that we're visiting on this trip. To get there, we took the Tranz Alpine train from Greymouth. This train trip is one of the best in the world as it crosses the Alps through some amazing scenery. Although I fell asleep for some of it, the bits I saw were good. At one stage we passed through an 8km long tunnel - so for that part the scenery was very unexciting.
Once we got into the Big Smoke, one of our first jobs was to find somewhere to eat. We arrived on at Saturday night as we assumed that it being Saturday there would be lots of people around. Wrong. We found a nice Indian place as well as a bar that sold food, which we resolved to eat at the next day but alas, it was closed when we went back (if anyone is in Christchurch, please let us know what The Bicycle Thief is like). The Indian place was good. Quite spicy food, prompt service etc.
The next day, we thought we would explore the city. Apparently, we were the only ones who had this strange idea because again, there was hardly anyone about. After an hour or so walking around, we came across people, lots of the them heading towards us. We figured we must be heading in the right direction for something interesting so we kept going. We ended up at the Arts Centre Markets. They were good, but small and a bit touristy. There was some good things there like a guy who encases small objects in plastic makes them into jewelery (braclets etc). My favourites were the braclets made out of licqourice allsorts. We had lunch and wandered around some more before heading back to the hostel for napping and organising onward accomodation. That night for dinner we had tapas-style food which was also good.
After Christchurch we headed to Kaikoura, a little seaside town that is blessed with all sorts of marine life. It was here that I had one of the highlights of the trip - I went swimming with seals. You can go swimming with dolphins but there this a two month waiting list and the are quite flickle so you may not actually be swimming with them so very long or even not at all. My seal swimming trip had just two people in it which was good as we got more time in the water. To go swimming with the seals, you need to wear a full wetsuit as it's freezing but it's well worth it. The seals are very inquisitive, and will come up to you and see what you're all about. The younger ones will play as well, but I didn't see any of them. Right at the end of the trip, our guide told me to swim over and have one last look at a seal in the water that was quite near. As I started to swim up to it, it started to swim towards me. I could have touched it, but chose not to as they are actually very large. We swam together for a bit then, it decided it wasn't actually all that interesting and turned around. It was all very exciting.
I should take the time to mention the place we stayed in at Kaikoura. It was called Dolphin Lodge and we had a really nice double room with ensuite. All was going well until about 2am that morning when the siren in the tower in the paddock next to us went off - loudly. We woke up (well Tom woke up, I was strangely already awake), put on clothes and went outside. After what seemed like forever, it stopped. Nobody else there knew what it was, I take a guess that it was a fire siren as soon after it started we heard sirens of the fire engine variety. The siren went off again in the morning as we were about to leave and again, there were fire engines.
Our last bus trip on our journey was from Kaikoura to Picton from where we would be catching the ferry to Wellington. I was very pleased when that trip was over - I now have an intense dislike of buses. At Picton we boarded our ferry 'Pride of Cherboug' - sorry, it was actually called Kaitikia which is Maori for challenge. I can only assume it was a challenge getting it to New Zealand as it would have to have been sailed. I wondered if this ferry was the same one I caught across the English Channel however I can't remember enough about that trip to know the answer to that question. The trip across was calm. I had a nice nap until Tomas woke me up to nap in what he though were better surrounds. He was wrong and I was grumpy. I was quite comfortably contourted in my chair in the 'Recliner Lounge' and found the Irish Bar where I could lie down, both cold and noisy. Tom was happy because he was watching the cricket that was until I told him of what I thought of my surrounds then he was grumpy.
It was windy when we arrived in Wellington. Very windy. I almost got blown over as I wasn't expecting the wind. Tom laughed - not so grumpy anymore now that Amanda is struggling to stand in the gale force winds. Wellington is much more of a big city than Christchurch. It has people. After a brief tour of the city and a ride on the cable car. We had dinner at a very funky establishment called Chow. Highly recommended.
On our second day in Wellington we started off by visiting Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. It was really good, we didn't get to see everything though. I wanted to see the exhibition on genetics but we ran out of time. Had lunch at Castro's another funky establishment that was on the other side of town to the museum so we got to see more of the city on the way. After lunch, shopping. Tom bought shoes, I tried too but they were all too big.
The next morning we picked up our rental car. A white Mazda 323 sedan. It has so many things our car doesn't. Central locking, four doors, power windows, intermittant whiper speed, pace and best of all, a radio. I am regretting not buying an FM transmitter for my ipod before we left as NZ radio has bad reception (it's all of the those mountains) and in general isn't very good. Tom is pleased because he can listen to the cricket on Radio Sport however, that's about as good as it gets here. Even the equivalent of Radio National doesn't stack up and don't even ask about the FM channel. It's either More FM which is just like every radio station in Australia or Christian radio playing "god-rocking beats". There is one thing we don't like about the car - it is an auto. We've gotten over this though.
Before I go want to say a few words about New Zealand drivers - they are crazy. Road rules have no meaning over here. The speed limit is optional. Overtaking is madatory if someone is going the speed limit or heaven-forbit below it. Overtaking lanes must be used when encountered regardless of the speed of the car in front. If you are a vehicle that can't exceed the speed limitas everyone else on the roads does then it is your duty to drive in the shoulder until all cars behind you have passed. Crazy overtaking occurs frequently and often without use of indicators. Indication is also optional at roundabouts. Finally, the bizzarist of all: If you are turning left into a street and a car in the opposite direction wants to turn into the same street then you have to give way to the other car. Think about this for a while. It makes no sense! This one is actually a road rule. Lonely Planet describes this as '...interpretation of the give way to the right rule to the extreme'.
Whilst I have been typing, Tomas has dutifully been preparing dinner. Now it is almost ready. Last thing for today though: Why are our calf muslces called calf muscles. What relation if any, do they have to cows. Dad, can you help here?
Hope everyone had a great Christmas, you will here about ours in the next blog from me. Happy New Year if I don't get around to blogging before then!
Back in civilisation again. We are in Wellington tonight - not that Christchurch doesn't have the Internet, but the place we were staying at didn't make it easy to connect.
Anyway, back to the bits of our travels I haven't yet filled everyone in about. Firstly Milford Sound. Well, it lives up to its reputation - it really is amazing and beutiful. All of these cliff faces and mountains that just rise up out of the sea. The road to Milford Sound is also really impressive - again lots of mountains (some of them have glaciers at the top of them which is impressive). Our driver stop lots to let us off the bus and look at the sights which is nice but a little annoying. Once we got there (after about 3 and a half hours) we boarded our boat - the Milford Marnier. It was really nice. On entry they offered everyone muffins (which Tom enjoyed, I didn't) and gave us a quick talk. Then we cruised for about an hour to a bay near the ocean where Tom and I kayaked. It turns out that kayaking isn't one of strengths. I eventually managed to propell my kayak but wasn't able to control which direction I was travelling in very well. Tom says I need more practice. Had a nice dinner (not fantastic) and chatted to a really nice Dutch couple. After dinner we finished our bottle of wine on the top deck. We saw dolphins and heard lots of wildlife. It was a really fantastic way to finish the day. When the sun set (around 10pm) the whole sky went a dusky pinky-purple and the glacier which we could see went pink. Tom ran down to get the camera but he was too late so you just have to take my word for it. Had a good night's sleep and a decent breakfast before more cruising the next day.
Went straight to Queenstown after Milford. Not much to report. Still the same touristy town. Had dinner at Dux de Lux - the Christchurch branch of which was recommended to us by Tom's Aunt and Uncle. It was really good. I had some kind of fish that you don't get in Australia and it was nice. Tom had mussels.
After Queenstown we travelled for most of the next day to get to Franz Joseph. It seems as though all of the bridges on the South Island are one lane affairs and that most of them were built close to the turn of the last century. We passed over one bridge that was not only one lane but shared by cars and the train. What a delight! Thank goodness for seatbelts. Franz Joseph was a quiet little town. One surprising thing though was that the supermarket has more gluten free stuff that any supermarket in Brisbane. We did a half day climb on the glacier. That was amazing. It's literally a river of ice. Currently Franz Joseph is advancing not retreated so that makes it special.
Anyway racing the time on my internet quota here. More later.
It's taken me so long to get around to posting about Te Anau and The Kepler mainly because I've been so tired. More on that later.
Te Anau is a quiant little town. Not much there execpt for things for tourists and of course a big lake. Not a lot of food options for me surprisingly. One good thing about New Zealand is that most supermarkets, even in little town's like Te Anau, stock a good range of gluten free stuff. The hostel in Te Anau is quite nice - it has a good atmosphere. The walls a little thin though (on our second night the people in the room next door had an argument that involved a lot of door slamming) and our double room was tiny. The showers aren't much to brag about either. I should mention that my high opinion of the hostel may be affected by the presence of two cats.
So, the Kepler. Let me say this, I think it was the hardest thing I've ever done but also one of the most rewarding. It was like three days of constant boot camp - the kind of bootcamp where you carry tyres and other heavy stuff. The first day was hard - we walked most of the way up a mountain - not a hill, a mountain. We started at around 200m above sea level and finished at 1085m. The climb took us about 3 1/2 hours. I was quite surprised by the hut though. The kitchen was big and there were enough cookers for all - around about 40 of us. The bunkrooms were basic but had mattresses and fantastic views. We were on top of a mountain looking out over other mountains and down into valleys. Some of the other mountains had snow on them - ours didn't thank godness.
Day two was at least 10 times harder than the first day. To start off with we climbed the rest of the mountain which was about another 400metres. Tom and I went up to the summit (1490m). That was good - made me feel like a mountaineer. After the summit it got really hard. We were walking in the Alpine section of the track and the one saving grace was that a) it wasn't raining (or snowing) and b) it wasn't windy. This meant that we got some amazing views. We were walking along the ridges of the mountains and there was a lot of walking down and then back up again. The last back up again section was very steep (or at least it seemed so after all of the other up and downs) and it was after this section that we though it would be easy.
After a brief water stop at one of the shelters (brief because there were millions of sandflies) we started walking down the mountain. All was going good until we reached the steps. The steps were very steep, had no handrails and a drop on either side of them. I'm not good with walking down steps especially not without handrails and with a pack on my back. So we went slowly. By the bottom, Tom was complaining that his back was sore. If you know Tom, then you know that his back must have been very sore for him to complain. Things got worse after the steps. We had to walk down to about 200m in a very small about of track. Walk downhill is really hard with a pack on and it was murder on our knees, thighs and calves. After about a quarter of the way, my legs were shaking involuntarily. I let Tom go on ahead as he can walk faster downhill than I can. We met up somewhere near the bottom. I was getting a bit worried about Tom as he was showing signs of dehydration. Made him drink more water and then we headed off again.
Finally, just we were both about to drop, we turned a corner and saw the hut. The DOC has a habit of hiding their huts around corners so that you don't know how close you are to them. Tom laid down straight away. I got him some water and let proceeded to boil some water for myself (despite the assurances from the rangers, I didn't trust the water). Had dinner (yummy dehydrated meals) played cards and talked to the other trampers and went to bed. We managed to get a private berth which was good because Tom was up all night.
Tom walked himself to the point of exhaustion and his body retailated - Tom picked up a tummy bug complete with stomach cramps and a fever. Not what you want when you have another 5-6 hour walk to the next hut. I made sure we had plenty of boiled water in the morning and set off relatively early when Tom was feeling a bit better. Made sure Tom had lots of water along the way and we walked fairly quickly to get there but once we were there - Tom went straight to bed and slept. There is a lake at the third hut and when Tom woke up we attempting swimming but it was far too cold. Instead we stood in the cold water which was a great relief for our extremely sore muscles and feet. Had dinner (this time pasta in pumpkin soup) and sent Tom to bed. I stayed up to watch the sunset over the mountains across the lake which was quite beautiful then went to bed myself. More stomach cramps, fever and discomfort through the night for Tom.
The last day was thankfully a short one. More boiled water and an early start so we could get the 10am bus off the track. Our original plans had been to walk back to Te Anau, another 5-6 hour walk but Tom was sick and I was tired. One the last day, I carried a lot of the weight in my pack so on the last day it was supposed to be easy with light packs, I had a heavy one. Crossed a wetland (the first of the track which had all been beech forrests and alpine scenery) and then a swing bridge (another first) and made it to the bus stop. A 30 minute wait and a 20 minute bus ride and we were back in civilisation.
After five days without a shower (I didn't shower the day before we left) you would think that the first priority would be a shower followed by clean clothes but at 10:30 it wasn't check-in time at the hostel so we did the next best thing - a cooked breakfast. After that, Tom wasn't feeling very well at all, so we stopped in at the chemist for some Immodium and electrolyte juice and went back to the hostel to hang around until we could check in. Finally, we checked in and Tom went straight to bed - the best thing for him. I did the washing, cleaned our boots and had a shower (washed my hair for the first time in literally weeks - you don't know how good that feels), and kept waking Tom up to take his medicine and drink his electrolyte juice. Finally, I collapsed into bed. Sleeping in a real bed was one of the best things even if Tom wasn't feel.
Luckily, the medicine made Tom feel better and apart from a brief relapse after eating some very rich food in Queenstown he's doing okay. There's nothing like being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a sick person - all I could think about was: what are we going to do if he can't walk out of here.
In the next installment, Milford Sound, a brief stopover in Queenstown, and Franz Josef.
Funny New Zealand-ism: hot chips come in pottles and everyone says wee to indicate something small.
After my last complaint, Dunedin actually cleared up a bit for our last day there. The sun was actually shining. Tomas felt it necessary to walk me up at 7:30 to show me that the sun was shining - he meant well, but I was nicely asleep.
We decided that this morning we would do separate things. I wanted to go to the Cadbury chocolate factory and Tom didn't. So I went on a chocolate factory tour. I really enjoyed it. Yes, we did get to get to eat chocolate although I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get any Cream Eggs. We saw how chocolate is made and how the different types (there are 75 different types that the factory makes) are concocted. The people in New Zealand eat what are called Perky Nana bars. The name is amusing but the chocolate is not. It's very sweet banana filling coated in chocolate. Yucky. Everyone on the tour loved them. I told them all how much I hated them. On the other hand though, New Zealand doesn't have Curly Wurlies. The factory makes them but doesn't sell them in New Zealand. Interestingly, the majority of Easter Eggs are put together by hand or wrapped by hand. At the end of the tour, there was a chocolate waterfall. I didn't really understand the purpose of wasting that much chocolate just on a waterfall but it was a nice spectacle.
Whilst I was at the chocolate factory, Tomas went to the Sporting Hall of Fame. Apparently it wasn't all that special. After that he had a coffee and waited for me. Nice Tomas.
Next we had lunch, won't bore you with the details, and then we boarded one of the highlights of our trip, the Tarei Gorge Railway. It's a train that runs on some privately owned railway that was once part of New Zealand's railway. I really enjoyed this. The scenery was amazing, and the sun was shining so that was a treat. The train goes over some viaducts and through some long tunnels. Tomas had a beer on the train and I had some beer ice cream.
After about 2 hours we reached a place, not even a village, called Pukarengi (I think, I'm not good with the place names around here). From here we got on a mini bus that was to take us to Queenstown. The journey took around four hours, but it was pleasant. The bus driver gave us a running commentary on the scenery and the places we were passing. The river that comes from the lake in Queenstown (don't remember its name) was the most amazing blue colour. Really spectacular.
Finally, we arrived in Queenstown - not much to say really. The mountains around it are nice, the town is purely a tourist haven though. We had dinner at the Speight's Alehouse as Tom wanted pub food. I am not joking when I say that the meals we ordered could have easily feed 5 people. They were the biggest I have ever seen. I made it through a third of my ham steak with salad and chips. Tom fared better getting through two thirds of his lamb's fry. Interestingly we both ordered food that the other doesn't like.
Later I'll tell you about Te Anau and the Kepler, right now I am tired.
Dunedin is cold and it is raining most of the time. It is like living in a perpetual cloud. Even when it is not raining properly, there is still a thin veil of precipition in the air. The wind is also cold. As soon as we arrived, it started raining.
Apart from the weather, Dunedin is a nice town. It isvery commercial - kind of like Melbourne. There are lots of little shops everywhere. In the centre of the town there are at least 5 antique shops. Interestingly, one of the main old buildings now houses a strip club.
We have done a lot of walking around the city, and seen some really good buildings. Dunedin has better graffiti and stencil artists than Brisbane. We took a picture of a really big stencil so you can see what I mean. One of my favourite pieces of graffiti is one of a crudely drawn octopus saying - I like food with acronyms. I think its funny.
Last night (Day one) we went on the Speight's Brewery tour. It was really good. I had previously eaten far too much (a result of not having lunch or snacks) and was in a little discomfort until about halfway through. The building was really good. A great example of 1940's industrial architecture. Unfortunately, went we left the hostel we didn't think we would be going on the tour so we didn't have the camera with us.
This morning (day two) was an adventure. We were up a 3:30 NZ time - 1:30 back home to see the penguins. Dunedin was really in the middle of a cloud at this hour of the morning. Luckily, we didn't have to wait outside the hostel for too long before the tour operator arrvied. We drove out to Sandfly Bay (there were no sandflies this morning) and hiked down to the beach. Along the beach we came across three huge sea lions lounging on the beach. We gave them a wide berth as they are very big and have teeth. We then climbed up to the penguin hide and waited. As soon as we got there we spotted penguins. They are cute. We saw about 5 make their way down the beach which is good considering how cold and wet it was that morning. There was also a big sea lion on the beach near where the penguins come down, so that was slowing them down a bit. We also saw fur seals on the rocks and in the water as well as two oyster catchers and their chicks. It was good - I really enjoyed seeing the animals in the their environment. We walked back to the dune which we came down, bypassing the sea lions again. We came across three penguins making their way back up the beach which is the wrong way for that time of the morning, they spotted us and ran for their lives, it was funny. We saw one more penguin before we got to the cliff we had to climb.
Now I don't use the term cliff lightly. Went we came down to the beach in the dark it didn't seem so back, but now that it was light, the sand dune was quite omnious. Nethertheless, we solidered up it and there were some really nice views. We also had our first close encounter with New Zealand sheep on the way back up the cliff. They had tails and were scared of us - funny sheep.
Back at the hostel, we had a nap and then headed out for lunch. We walked around for a bit and then went to the Otago museum. It was good but the displays repeated themselves a bit. There were stuffed birds there.
More later, internet time running out
I have officially completed my wedding preparations now. All i have left to do now is pick up my dress and check into the hotel.
If you are coming tomorrow i ask two things of you: enjoy yourself and please don't tell me you are either glad that it didn't rain or that it's a shame that it did.