Day 1
Once off the plane I met my travelling buddies; Juliette (French), Lisa and Lexi (both American). After a lunch of fish and chips on the lake side we set off up the mountain on the Gondola where we were greeted by fantastic views across Queenstown before bombing back down on the luge run. Once back down we went for warm cookies and milk, bringing back childhood memories :)
In the evening a group of about 10 of us from Vic uni went to an Ice bar (-8oC) then a place called cowboys where we tried out the rodeo bull before returning to our hostel.
Skydiving! The most amazing, breathtaking (literally) experience. Lexi and I set off in the minibus with worried grins on our faces; the whole experience seemed so surreal. Once we arrived they kitted us out in jump suits and harnesses then within no time we were taking off; wedged in between my instructor and camera man I watched as we climbed to 12000ft., too busy admiring the view to fully comprehend what I was about to do. The jump was amazing (as I kept screaming all the way down); an uninterrupted, 360 degree view of the mountains and Wakatipu lake and the biggest rush of adrenalin I've ever experienced.
Once down Lexi, Wolfgang, Kat and I met up with Lisa and Juliette for the famous, must-try Queenstown Ferg burger: it lived up to my expectations.
After taking numerous photos of Queenstown and stocking up on food we set off in our van (home for the next four days) towards Milford sound. Cooked tea at the side of the road whilst watching the sunset then arrived at Lake Gunn campsite at about 10pm and squished into the back of the van like sardines to sleep the night. The stars were the brightest I've ever seen with the Milky way stretching right across the sky and reflected in the glassy lake.
Woke to a rather chilly but beautiful morning. Turns out Lake Gunn reflects the surrounding mountains in its water in the mornings. After much coaxing I managed to get the other three up and out of bed so we could catch our Milford Sound cruise. I now see why Rudyard Kipling named it the 'eighth wonder of the world'. We were fortunate enough to have completely clear skies so the fjord (not actually a sound as it was carved out by ice not rivers) looked stunning, hence my camera was constantly clicking.
We then set off on our journey to the Catlins on the South coast; stopping off at the mirror lakes, Te Anau, Invercargill and countless viewing platforms along the way.
After hours of driving (Automatic is so simple compared to manual!) we found a campsite with hot showers right on the beach to stay the night.
Drove through the Catlins to Dunedin. Sadly we didn't manage to see any penguins but we did see seals on our way up to the lighthouse at Nugget point and we also visited Slope point - the Southern tip of the South Island (could see Stewart Island from here), Purakaunui Falls and Curio bay.
Finally arrived in Dunedin around 7pm, craving something that wasn't bread and Nutella or pasta so we went for a Chinese.
After following the satnav to a 'campsite' we ended up parking up the van down the end of a cul-de-sac for the night.
Up at 6am in order to get to Christchurch by 2pm to drop off the van. The weather was miserable with constant driving rain from Dunedin right the way up to Christchurch.
We made a few short stops on the way, including the Moeraki boulders, amazing, perfectly rounded boulders; but we mostly just drove due to the poor weather and lack of time.
It was strange and sad driving through Christchurch seeing all the buildings still demolished after the 2011 earthquake.
Spent the night in a hostel, was nice to be able to move in the bed after the squeeze in the van!
5.30 start in order to catch our bus to Nelson. We stopped off in Blenheim on the way and eventually arrived in Nelson around 2pm having seen yet more fantastic coastlines and intensely green rolling hills.
Nelson's a really pretty city, made all the more great by the fact we were staying with Lisa's friend's family in a proper home! Debbie had three children (13,14 and 15 years old) and a french husband which Juliette was happy about.
They were so welcoming; as a thank you we cooked them a pasta bake then for dessert Debbie's daughter Margo had made us a chocolate fondant, delicious!
Lexi and I stayed just down the road at Debbie's friends' house where again the family were so welcoming. It was so nice to be in a big comfortable bed and sit round a roaring fire after the nights in the campervan and hostels.
Day 7
Abel Tasman time! Took yet another bus to Marahau where we were staying. After dumping off our stuff we set off to the Abel Tasman track. Spent a while looking around a natural sculpture park before making our way along part of the track.
The beaches were fabulous with golden sand surrounded by small rocky caves looking out on a clear blue sea with snow capped mountains beyond.
We spent the day slowly strolling from beach to beach, exploring the rocky coves and catching up on some sleep under the intense sun (much sun cream was needed even though it's only just getting into spring).
In the photo to the right we've spelt our nick names out in rocks; when the tide comes in the rocks are covered but can be seen from the bridges above.
Cooked up our last meal of copious amounts of packet soup before retiring to bed around 9.30.
Day 8
Spent the morning kayaking, seeing plenty of sea birds and split apple rock. The weather was great for it, really calm and pretty sunny with turquoise water and yet more golden sandy beaches.The guide took us through a cave and up an estuary.
After our final lunch of bread and nutella we wandered back to the abel tasman track and relaxed in the sun until our bus took us back to Nelson at 4pm.
Debbie's husband had made us proper, French boeuff bourguignon for dinner which was super tasty then for dessert we made chocolate chip cupcakes. Slight mistake in that I used baking soda instead of baking powder but they still turned out just fine.
Final night in the extremely comfy bed down the road before returning to Wellington.
Took a bus to Picton then waited in the glorious sunshine for our ferry which had been delayed by an hour and a half. Felt like spring had properly arrived as I sat on the waters edge licking at a liquorice allsorts icecream, watching people sailing past in the sun.
Finally took the ferry back across to Wellington, saw the North of the South island and the South of the North. Arrived home around 6pm exhausted but extremely content.
Phew! So that's it, my trip to the south island, I had the most fantastic time, saw the most fabulous scenery met many wonderful people and experienced so much. Thank you to everyone who made it possible to go on this trip and here's to much more travelling to come!
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