New Zealand – 13th Dec 2008 - Day 53

Today is our last full day at Hamilton Island. We had breakfast and went down to the harbor to meet our Kayaking host. We had booked a days kayaking around the Whitsundays. The brochure promised, turtles, good snorkeling, a tropical lunch and at least three hours kayaking during a six and a half hour day trip.



Within a few minutes of meeting our host we grew worried. Darran was a nice enough chap from New Zealand, but he said we had to provide our own water as he had nothing for us to drink. He also mentioned that the tides were very high today so the Kayaking would be challenging.



We wasn’t wrong! We spent the first hour battling against string currents to get to our first beach and snorkeling stop. The beach was OK but nothing special. Darren assured us it was one of the best beaches in the Whitsundays, which kind of says it all. The sea life was almost non existent. We say a couple of rays and a few small fish but no coral. He assured us the coral was there, but due to the high tides, it was way down deep. The tides had also stirred up the water, so the visibility was poor.



We sat on the island for some time, whilst Darren phoned the weather station to check on the increasing wind. A max wind of 15 knots was forecast, however it was already reaching twenty. Darren decided we should start to head home, even though it was only 11am.

So, we headed back against strong currents for Pudding Island. We eventually reached the island, which it minute. He said we would do lunch here. However, when he picked up a tiny dry bag and began to climb to the top of the island we wondered about how tropical our lunch was going to be.



Tropical lunch = processed chicken roll. That was it. Nothing to drink and certainly nothing tropical. The lunch was pretty much the same as the snorkeling, a big disappointment.

Once the roll was consumed, we headed back across the bay. By now the water was racing through the gap between the islands. We had to battle to get back across. By the time we reached the harbor we were exhausted and mighty disappointed. Darren had been a nice enough guide, but the trip was a big let down.





Once back at the hotel, John went to reception and explained what had happened. Within an hour, the told John that the tour company would offer a 50% refund. After mulling this over, John phoned back and said that only a 100% refund would suffice as the trip delivered was not as advertised in the brochure.





Eventually the tour company manager phoned to speak to John. At first he was quite hard nosed about it. John explained the facts and within five minutes he had offered us a 100% refund.

Having arrived back at the hotel early, we chilled out around the pool reading our books. John updated the blog and uploaded it to the website. We met a very nice couple from Ireland who were here as part of their honeymoon.

In the evening we ate at the Beach Club restaurant. Very nice indeed.

We have enjoyed the sun and heat at Hamilton Island but would never ever come back. The island is way too expensive and simply does not deliver on any of it’s hype. It must said that the staff have been marvelous. It’s the island and its expensive, very average activities that disappoint again and again.

New Zealand – 13th Dec 2008 - Day 52

Today is our last full day at Hamilton Island. We had breakfast and went down to the harbor to meet our Kayaking host. We had booked a days kayaking around the Whitsundays. The brochure promised, turtles, good snorkeling, a tropical lunch and at least three hours kayaking during a six and a half hour day trip.

Within a few minutes of meeting our host we grew worried. Darran was a nice enough chap from New Zealand, but he said we had to provide our own water as he had nothing for us to drink. He also mentioned that the tides were very high today so the Kayaking would be challenging.

We wasn’t wrong! We spent the first hour battling against string currents to get to our first beach and snorkeling stop. The beach was OK but nothing special. Darren assured us it was one of the best beaches in the Whitsundays, which kind of says it all. The sea life was almost non existent. We say a couple of rays and a few small fish but no coral. He assured us the coral was there, but due to the high tides, it was way down deep. The tides had also stirred up the water, so the visibility was poor.

We sat on the island for some time, whilst Darren phoned the weather station to check on the increasing wind. A max wind of 15 knots was forecast, however it was already reaching twenty. Darren decided we should start to head home, even though it was only 11am.

So, we headed back against strong currents for Pudding Island. We eventually reached the island, which it minute. He said we would do lunch here. However, when he picked up a tiny dry bag and began to climb to the top of the island we wondered about how tropical our lunch was going to be.

Tropical lunch = processed chicken roll. That was it. Nothing to drink and certainly nothing tropical. The lunch was pretty much the same as the snorkeling, a big disappointment.

Once the roll was consumed, we headed back across the bay. By now the water was racing through the gap between the islands. We had to battle to get back across. By the time we reached the harbor we were exhausted and mighty disappointed. Darren had been a nice enough guide, but the trip was a big let down.

Once back at the hotel, John went to reception and explained what had happened. Within an hour, the told John that the tour company would offer a 50% refund. After mulling this over, John phoned back and said that only a 100% refund would suffice as the trip delivered was not as advertised in the brochure.

Eventually the tour company manager phoned to speak to John. At first he was quite hard nosed about it. John explained the facts and within five minutes he had offered us a 100% refund.

Having arrived back at the hotel early, we chilled out around the pool reading our books. John updated the blog and uploaded it to the website. We met a very nice couple from Ireland who were here as part of their honeymoon.

In the evening we ate at the Beach Club restaurant. Very nice indeed.

We have enjoyed the sun and heat at Hamilton Island but would never ever come back. The island is way too expensive and simply does not deliver on any of it’s hype. It must said that the staff have been marvelous. It’s the island and its expensive, very average activities that disappoint again and again.

New Zealand – 12th Dec 2008 - Day 50

We were joined at breakfast this morning by Bubble and Squeak, a couple of local parrots who pop in from time to time. They are the most colourful we have ever seen. Blue, yellow, green, red, it’s like someone had taken a paint brush to them.

Fiona had a small pot of honey which they soon eyed up and tucked in to. Apparently they love honey and milk, neither of which does them any harm. They are so tame and very cheeky to boot. When fiona tried to cover up the honey pot, they complained loudly and simply worked out how to get back into the goodies. Very funny indeed, the whole restaurant was laughing.

After breakfast we took walked to the harbor so we could catch our yacht for a days sailing around the Whitsunday’s. Our yacht, almost 80ft long, looked good in the sun. About 20 of us fitted on board and their was plenty of room.

After a safety briefing, we were off. There was plenty of wind but it was head onto the craft and we needed to be at Whitehaven beach for swimming and lunch. This beach is rated as the third best beach in the world. The sand was very white and the waters quite clear and warm. We swam and chatted for an hour before going back to the yacht for lunch which was simple but very good. The king prawns were MASSIVE and in plentiful supply. We has salads and cold meats too.

After lunch we sailed to another beach called Chalky Beach for some snorkeling. The visibility was not great but we managed to see lots of reef fish, two turtles (from the boat) and some lovely hard and soft corals.

Once back no board, John helped the crew to run up the main sheet and the spinnaker which caught the wind and took us home.

We were on board for about six hours and it was a very good day. Gino and Melisa, both Aussies and on their honeymoon were also on the trip. We had met them the previous day on the dive boat. We had a good day with them.

Once back on dry land we begun our walk back to our club when John realised we had left our books on board. He went back to get them!

We were down at the club pool for 5pm as today we have a free happy hour between 5pm and 6pm, where we get to meet the management!!

We met the manager during our free champers happy hour, a lady who originally comes from Holland. She had also been travelling for two and a half years with her husband who is the chef at this club.

After happy hour, we took the buggy into town for a steak dinner followed by some of their delicious ice cream which we ate on one of the harbor jetty’s. Very nice indeed!

We walked back to the club. John went for a swim under them moon and met a couple of Aussies. Fifi watched some TV and fell asleep.

New Zealand – 11th Dec 2008 - Day 49

During breakfast we discussed our half day snorkeling trip to the outer barrier reef and wondered why we had not gone for the full day option!

So, John went to the very helpful front desk and asked then to phone the boat owner to see if we could swap to the full day option at this late stage. Five minutes later we were on the full day excursion, which is a different boat as they also take divers.

After breakfast we hopped on the buggy and were soon at the diving shop getting our equipment which includes stinger suits. Australia specializes in growing creatures that like to maim or kill you in nasty lingering ways. They have two very small but nasty jelly fish at this time of year. One is the size of your nail and the other even smaller. Both will sting you upon contact and one can kill you. The pain is said to be excruciating and they will leave you with nasty scars!! So, we were pleased about them supplying us with the full body stinger suits.

At 9.30 we were off with about another twenty divers and snorkelers. The weather was perfect and after two hours we reached the outer barrier reef.

Once at the dive site we donned our suits which have hoods that squeeze you face together and make your face look very fat!
The visibility was pretty good and within ten minutes we were surrounded by the biggest shoal of bait fish we have ever seem. These inch long shiny, blue fish, swim is shoals of over a billion. As they approach you they look like a black cloud, but they move as one and the colors and shapes they make in the sun beams is mesmerizing. John took a few deep breaths and dived down through them.

Soon we were looking at a very large, adult white tip shark. It was resting on the bottom of the sea bed. Our guide swam down and soon the shark took off, swimming around the reef, looking for another sleeping spot. We also saw large wrasse, tuna, whole host of colorful reef fish and some brightly colored soft and hard coral.

After 45 minutes we were called back to the boat for a spot of lunch, after which we kitted back up and went for our second snorkel.

After only five minutes in the water, a strong current came out of nowhere and we were struggling to keep to the right side of the reef. We began to swim back to the boat, swimming hard but not making much progress. We eventually reached the boat rope. Some of the snorkelers decided the current was too strong and got back in the boat. However, to toughed it out and eventually the current subsided.
We swum out to a few coral heads a bit further away from the boat. The visibility was much better and we cruised around the shallow reef looking at all the clown fish. The barrier reef has it’s own family of reef fish which have not seen for over 15 years. They have a very large clown fish with a vivid turquoise band around it’s head. Stunning!!

After an hour we were back in the boat and heading home, which took another couple of hours. We chatted to some Aussies who are here on their honeymoon. They were not happy with their accommodation as the currently had no hot water and blocked drains!!

Hamilton island is a great place to get heat and sun, but it is certainly over marketed, over hyped and very much over priced. For the money many spend here you could have ten days of exclusive luxury in the Maldives. After New Zealand, it’s been great to see the sun, but we never come back.

After chilling on our balcony with one of our regular cockatoo friends, showering, and changing, we popped down to the main restaurant for our seafood Extravaganza evening. It is sold as the best seafood event on the planet (no pressure then).

The views over the bay were wonderful tonight. The sky was clear, the moon was full and the water glistened. The seafood we got was good. Lobster, tiger prawns, chowder with grouper, salmon with capers, peppered squid, oysters and mussels. But for the price you did not get much and it certainly was not the BBQ that the hype had promised. We have done this kind of seafood thing in the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius and in Europe fro a lot less money and they would all beat this attempt hands down.

We came back to the room feeling not quite replete. John went down to the pool to relax in the warm water bathed in moon light. Fiona watched some TV and then we feel into another wonderfully deep sleep.

New Zealand – 10th Dec 2008 - Day 48

Another great nights sleep. We popped down to breakfast, said hi to Richard, Kerry and Steve’s parents then chilled out around the pool.

John met Richard in the lounge to confirm hooking up Friday week in Sydney. Richard suggested we test him, but John explained that our phones were taken in the bag. Within half an hour, Richard lent us a pay as you go, he had bought his Mum, so she could phone him whilst she was is Australia. All we had to do was buy a $2 Vodafone SIM card and we had a mobile phone again. What a generous couple they are.

At 11am we went to the water sports hut, jumped on our Hobby Cat and flew out into the bay. We were out for an hour and sailed past a good sized leather back turtle and a small black sting ray.

The sailing area was not too large, so we had to do lots of jibbing and tacking. All good practice, as we want to take our Day Skipper exams in 2009.

The breeze was quite strong so we had a great time flying up and down the clear, warm waters off our resort. The water here is very warm, probably warmer than the Maldives but they are also very tidal. When the tide is out here, you can walk for ten minutes before you reach the edge of the reef.

After sailing we looked into chartering a catamaran for a few days but everyone was already fully booked. So, we shilled out around the pool chatting to some of the staff and other quests, mainly about travelling. Australians love to travel, it’s almost a right of passage for them. Everyone has stories to tell. It’s a great way to hear about other parts of the world we might like to visit.

At 5pm we went to our room, soaked in the massive bath and had a wee glass of Chardonnay on the balcony.

Tonight’s dinner was at the Italian restaurant by the harbor. Some very rich people have private houses on this island. They leave their ridiculously large gin palaces in the harbor. Some are simply HUGE.

Our kiln baked pizza’s were OK but not a scratch in this years “pizza emporium of 2008” award, which goes to the pizzeria in Florac, southern France.

After our pizza we had the most amazing silky smooth ice crème. Fifi has chocolate, John Run and Raisin. We sat on the harbor front watching the sun set. The clouds lit up and looked like the sky was on fire.

We walked back to the resort, chilled out over a DVD and fell asleep.

New Zealand – 9th Dec 2008 - Day 47

The bed in our room is wonderful and the resort very quiet at night, so we slept like logs all night. We woke quite early due to us being a few hours ahead here than NZ. So, we finished watching the Batman film over a cup of tea and coffee before popping down for breakfast.

The breakfast looked good and is included in the price. During breakfast we mete Richard’s parents who live in Leeds. Today was Richards 33rd birthday, so we will be buying him a drink this evening. After breakfast, we visited the main reception to book some activities and then logged onto the free PC’s in reception so John could send our insurance company details of the theft. We also picked up the newly charged battery for the camera Steve has so kindly lent us.

A couple of sun beds on the beach looked an ideal spot to enjoy the great weather. Although storms were forecast, the sky was blue and the sun very hot. What a nice change from our last week in NZ.

We borrowed a couple of snorkels and took a swim out to the reef. Not very impressive at all. They say the real snorkeling is a boat riad away and it looks like they are correct. Still, the water here is like a bath and the resort itself is fine. The staff are very helpful and our room is great. We just want to relax here in some heat!

We moved back to a shady spot in one of the beach front gardens and another wedding took place right before our eyes. This couple had nobody else with them but they looked very happy in deed. A few tears were shed by both parties. The lengthy photo session ensued which was amusing to watch. The photographer gets them to dance, jump into each others arms, walk along the garden etc. etc.

Fiona’s book turned out to be a real stinker, so we ended up getting reception to buggy us to the local shop called Traders Point. Another book was purchased, this one is apparently a lot better.

We came back to our room, updated the blog, showered and went down to the bar for a wee drink to celebrate Richards birthday.

Richards parents joined us. We had a fun time chatting about travel. Richard and Kerry have suggested we hook up in Sydney next week, which would be fun. They all went off to the Beach Hut restaurant and we took our free buggy ride down to the harbor area for a meal at Mariners. The meal was very good indeed, we both had seafood Risotto.

New Zealand – 8th Dec 2008 - Day 46

During the night the weather matched out moods. Heavy showers kept falling during the night and the roads around the hotel were very noisy. Our room turned out to be a smokers room, even though we had asked for a non smokers room. They had no other rooms to offer and what with the stolen bag fiasco to handle, so we had no choice but to accept it. We had not slept well at all. So we got up, showered and headed back to the airport for a second attempt at getting our bacg back.

We had hot expected much and that’s what happened. John went to all the agencies that might have found it but nothing had turned up. Lost and found was or final hope. The lady took all our details again and said that we probably would not get the bag back.

We think it was taken by opportunists, looking for a chance to steal travelers items, cash and credit cards. Luckily our cash and credit cards were elsewhere.

We now had to get form the International arrivals to the Domestic departures for our flight to Hamilton Island. The terminals are ten minutes away by bus. We found the bus stop and arrived at the departures feeling disappointed.

We checked in, went though to the lounge and waited for our flight. The two and a half hour flight to Hamilton Island was fine. Hamilton island was basking in sun and was a balmy thirty two degrees.

After waiting for our luggage, we jumped aboard on of the many buses and soon arrived at the Beach Club Resort. Hamilton Island is a big place with many different types of accommodation available. Luckily we have a nice beach front view and our room is very comfortable.

After a quick resort briefing we changed and headed for the sun beds. We looked though the various activites and within an hour had booked three events. A days sailing and snorkeling, a half day snorkeling safari and a days sea kayaking with snorkeling.

John went to reception and asked them if they knew anyone who had a charger for a Dell Laptop. Luckily the laptop was in Fiona’s back pack, but the charger was in the bad that got stolen. Within, ten minutes, the girl had found us a spare charger, so at least we can keep the laptop charged now.

Later on John went for a swim in the affinity pool whilst Fifi leaxed with a book. As always, John got chatting to a chap called Richard who is originally from the UK but now lives in Sydney. John told him about the bag and the lost camera’s. Within a few minutes, Richard and introduced John to his partner Kerry. She comes from Perth. Five minutes later Richard had popped up to his room and handed john a spare digital camera with a spare memory card in it. The camera need charging and Richard did not have the charger. John went back to reception and within half an hour had been to the local Photo centre and got them to out the battery on charge over night. Now we have a digital camera for our stay on Hamilton Island. What a lovely couple. They are staying for three nights, so we will have to take them out for a drink. They are happy for us to give it back to them when we get back to Sydney. They live near the bridge.

The clouds began to come in so we went up to our balcony to read. They are forecasting thunder storms tonight and early tomorrow, then the weather is looking great. Mainly sunny and thirty degrees.

John phoned the lost and found at Sydney airport to see if anything had been handed in, but nothing has!

Whilst sitting on our balcony two large cockatoo’s. Both white with light yellow crowns. They were very tame and looking for something to eat. Not long after, the sound of romantic music filled the air and a small party of guests arrived on the beach opposite our balcony for a wedding. Pity the sun had gone. A few tears later, the deed was done and the whole thing was over.

We watched the happy couple leaping about in front of the camera whilst the skies above grew darker and darker. The camera man was rushing to beat the impending storm. Suddenly we could smell the rain and electricity in the air and the island turned to night and someone turned the wind up. Within minutes we had gone from a balmy summer day to storm force winds and coco palm trees bent in two. The rain lashed down. The sky was black, but we had no thunder or lightening, just vicious wind and rain which continued into the night. We ate in our room & watched the latest Batman film, falling asleep before the end.

New Zealand – 7th Dec 2008 - Day 45

Today is our last day in New Zealand. We feel like we have been here for ever! We have had a blast although it has to be said that the weather has done it’s best to spoil things.

Six weeks is definitely too long. The North Island has some great places to hike and see, but is not as interesting or appealing than the South Island. We think we could have completed everything in about a month, maybe even three weeks if your happy to drive long distances. The Tongariro Crossing and Nelson Lakes managed to evade us due to the bad weather. We would love to have done both but will have to leave that for another day. See: www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz .

We liked the South Island a lot. Wanaka and Queenstown are great and the hiking here is plentiful. It’s a long way to come but well worth it. Just make sure you come here between mid December and mid March, to get the best of the weather on offer. As for Kiwi’s? They are wonderful, friendly people, pleased to help you out and chat away. They seem to have a better work, life balance than us.

We phoned Pat & Ad and Dick and Jeanette this morning. Sounds like the weather in the UK is typically wintery. After uploading info to the blog, we went for a good walk in Christchurch Park. This park covers 33 hectares and is a great open space.

We dropped of Brian, our trusty rental car, received our $460 refund for bringing it back early and took the free shuttle bus to the airport where we checked in for our flight to Sydney.

Whilst at the desk the lady asked us for our Aussie Visa! What Visa!! So, John had to go and purchase two visas for Australia. Luckily it all went smoothly. We then had to go back and give the visa details to the check in staff who were then able to issue our tickets.

We purchased a few more Christmas T-Shirts and headed to the Qantas lounge. Very nice. Not as big as the BA but fine. We are now flying back all the way to London with Qantas, due to BA being bloody awful. They have gone way down in our estimation. BA no longer seem able to spell or understand the words “Customer Service”. They are great at talking the talk but seem unable to crawl anywhere. In contrast Qantas go overboard to help you out. How embarrassing!


Our plane left on time and the service was great. You get personal DVD players with all the latest films and a nice big seat.

We reached Sydney a wee bit late due to strong head winds, collected our luggage and went through security to the taxi rank. We arrived at the International arrivals hall and headed straight for the cash machine so we could pay for a taxi. We got our cash, headed to the taxi rank and were just loading our bags into a taxi when John realised that the camera bag was missing. It had been on the trolley when they reached the cash machine, now, two minutes later, it was gone. John went back into the airport, checked around the cash machine and then managed to get staff to take him back through the route we had taken from the plane, but the bag was nowhere to be seen. Some bugger had swiped it from our trolley whilst we were getting cash. The lost and found was shut and nobody else could help.

We got to the Hotel Stellar and checked into our room. Unfortunately they had allocated us a smoking room and had nothing else left! We went into town, purchased a phone card and called O2, to put a bar on Johns phone. We then had a quick curry and returned to the hotel to phone the police help line and enter a report about the camera bag. It has all our camera/video equipment, iPod’s, iPhone, headphones and all our chargers in it. We had not been able to back up the video on the laptop due to lack of space, so most of our NZ video is only the lost camera. Luckily, we had backed up all the pictures.

After half an hour, we had filed the report. We went to bed feeling very angry and mighty fed up.

New Zealand – 6th Dec 2008 - Day 44

The views over the lake were wonderful this morning. We slept in until 8.45am.

We packed and headed down to town for breakfast. We sat in the sun reflecting on out hiking and our the next leg of our trip. Australia!

We jumped in the car and began the 6 hour drive to Christchurch. The weather was great and we were rewarded with great views of Mount Cook and the bright blue lakes that lay at it’s base.

The drive was spectacular, passing acres of Natural Lupines, snow capped mountains and ice blue lakes. As we neared Christchurch, the clouds increased but it stayed dry. We kept stopping to take pictures of Mount Cook. Today’s papers are full with reports about two Japanese tourists who became trapped by the weather at the top of mount cook for almost a week. Yesterday, they managed to reach them by Helicopter. One of the died. Looking at the mountain today, it looks calm and beautiful.

We reached Christchurch for 4.30pm and headed for the airport to find the hotel. The hotel was not looking good, so we popped in to cancel our reservation, which they were happy to do.

We drove into the Centre of Christchurch, but could not find a good hotel. The Lonely Planet Book suggested going to a small costal town called Lyttelton. After a half hour drive we found the trown, but it was more like a port town. So we drove back towards the airport and found a good hotel called the Copthorne Hotel Commodore, see: http://www.commodore.net.nz/ .

John negotiated a better rate and we checked into a very nice room. Very modern with a space age bathroom and nice views.

We ate in the hotel restaurant which was fine. Food in NZ has been fine, but nothing special. Maybe we have been to the wrong places. It makes you realize how good most places are in the UK!

We chilled out with a DVD and zonked out.

New Zealand – 5th Dec 2008 - Day 43

Bucket loads of sunshine greeted us this morning. The views from our room were stunning. A good day for five of our fellow hikers who were treating themselves to the 30 minute helicopter flight back to Queenstown. We had decided to take the coach instead as the flight back was almost $500 each. We took a wee stroll along the water front to stretch our legs.

After breakfast, we returned all our hiking stuff before heading down to the docks for a boat tour of Milford Sound. We saw a couple of Dolphin’s, some seals and even more waterfalls. By the time we reached dry land, the clouds were moving back in.

We said goodbye to the helicopter team and boarded the coach for a five hour trip back to Queenstown. As we neared our destination, the clouds melted away. We sat at the back with Quentin, Katrina, Liz and Angie chatting, sleeping and having a few laughs. On the way back we came across miles and miles of Lupins. Wonderful!

The coach stopped at Queenstown airport for Angie and Liz to catch their flight back to Auckland. We said our goodbyes. They had been a good laugh. Liz visits the UK once a year on business, so we hope to see her in 2009. if we ever come back to Auckland we will definitely look them up.

Once back at the Ultimate Hikes offices in Queenstown, we said goodbye to everyone and walked down town for a coffee, before visiting a dress shop Fifi had eyed up before the hike. When we started this trip, Hamilton Island in Australia was not on the cards. Fifi has not packed a summer dress, so now she had to buy one.

We found the shop and after trying on about ten dresses, she found one she liked. Fewwwww!!

We took a taxi back to the Mercure Hotel, as all our hiking stuff weighed a ton. We relaxed in the bath, repacked some clothes, put a huge wash on and then walked back into town for a curry.

During our meal, Quentin and Katrina passed by, so popped in to recommend another restaurant in Queenstown, should we by staying another night.

After dinner we walked back up the hill to our hotel, retrieved our washed clothes from the dryers, packed and fell into bed.

On reflection we would not recommend the Milford Track, due to the area’s high rainfall. The guided option is too expensive. There are far more enjoyable places to walk in New Zealand, many of them for free. Certainly most have a choice of lodges you can stay in. The problem with the Milford Track is that just one company holds the contract to offer guided walks and huts. This company have a 50 year contract and they are making as much cash as they can. If there were more lodges and competition, the walk would be much cheaper. Unfortunately, the unguided accommodation on this track is pretty poor, with no heating or hot water! If you are still interested in this guided hike see: http://www.ultimatehikes.co.nz/ .

New Zealand – 4th Dec 2008 - Day 42

The rain was bucketing down when the alarm went off at 6.30. everything was damp and cold and the wind was blustery.

After getting our dry clothes on we headed for breakfast, sitting with the guys from Japan. Just after breakfast, the guides announced that the rain was so heavy and the rivers so high, they we could not begin our last days hike. Apparently, the rivers had begun to wash across parts of the track, making hiking dangerous. If the rain did not ease, we would have to be taken out by helicopter. Not long after, the thunder echoed around the valley. John had only seen rain like this in India during the monsoon. The torrential rain had now been falling for almost 24 hours.

Just over a hour later, the rain began to ease. Half an hour later, we began our last hike. The rain was still falling but not as heavily as before. Due to the dangerous conditions, we had to walk the first part of the track as a group, sticking lose to gether. Many sections of the track we small streams, our feet were soaking within minutes.

After a while, we were able to strike out on our own. We walked with American John for a while. We came across a group of independent walkers standing around a building, sheltering from the rain. We walked through them, reaching a suspended bridge over the river. As we crossed, American John mentioned that one of the independent walkers said they were being held back, due to the conditions.

We pressed on, assuming that our guide, Emily, was ahead of us. We came a cross a section of track knee deep in water. Not long after crossing it, Emily appeared behind us! The building we had passed was a hot drink stop for us. We had to wade back through the water again, back to the hut, where we had to await the green light from the Department Of Conservation, as another part of the track was waist deep in water and potentially dangerous.

After a hour, we were able to continue the hike but again in one big group. We reached the deep water which had subsided a tad. It was still quite deep but tame enough.

After a while, we were able to stride on. The rain began to ease and at times it stopped. The views of the waterfalls were wonderful. Fiona thought the mountains looked like they were bleeding water. If you like waterfalls, you will love this place in the rain. However, we would have like less rain and more sun.

We strode out, reaching the end of the hike, Sand Fly Point, for 3.30pm. During this last section, we came across a family of Weka. These medium sized, flightless birds are very tame. They came up to us, had a good look and then disappeared back into the trees. We were the first out of our group to finish. Angie and Liz came in second, followed by Quentin and Katrina.

After a cuppa and scone, Nick directed us to the ferry. Bang on 4pm, the ferry took us on a quick tour to Mitre Peak Lodge, our final lodge.

We hung our clothes and boots in the drying rooms and jumped into our hot bath. For the first time in four days, our room was warm and dry. After relaxing as met with others in the lounge for a celebration drink of bubbly. Everyone had made it, including Mervi and Gale. Mervi’s feet were playing her up, but she was all smiles. Gale was so pleased with herself, she bought a bottle of Champers.

After another hilarious dinner with Liz and Angie, we returned to the bar to receive our certificates. Angie and Liz had written an amusing poem about the trip. Much of it was about Nick, who Angie had taken a bit of a shine too, even though she was old enough to be his grandmother!!

After much hilarity, some of us went to the local bar for a celebration drink. By 10.30 we were back in bed enjoying the warm dry bedding, glad the rain soaked even was over. We had really enjoyed meeting everyone and the hike had been fun, but the walking is not that challenging and the rain had taken some of the fun away. The guides told us that, although this area gets almost constant rain, it was not normal for it to be so heavy. We certainly would not do it again. We also felt it was over priced and over hyped. Queen Charlotte an Abel Tasman were both more challenging and more enjoyable and free!!

New Zealand – 3rd Dec 2008 - Day 41

Our alarm screeched into action at 6.30am, so we had time to get our clothes out of the dry room, create our lunch pack, pack our back packs, eat breakfast and get hiking. The rain was still falling and the temperature had also fallen.

Today’s hike was set to be the hardest as we rose some 800 metres to get over the MacKinnon Pass, named after the Scottish chap who discovered the route back in 1888. We were looking forward to this section as the previous sections had been a little too easy.

We hit the track at 7.30am in heavy rain. One of our guides, Emily, walked with us for the first few hours until we hit the zigzag trails, taking us up to the pass. The climbs were not too steep, but the weather was awful. We were already soaked through by the time we reached to less protected area of the pass. We stopped and put on our hats, trousers etc. to protect us from the weather. As we neared the top of the pass the horizontal sleet was stinging our faces. We were wet and fed up at trying to hide our faces from the weather. After touching the Mackinnon Memorial stone, we headed for the hut.

We were so looking forward to getting our wet stuff off and warming up. We were to be disappointed. The hut was large but cold, with concrete floors and a minute gas heater. We took our wet boots off and rung out our socks. We tried to dry some of our clothes infront of the heater but it was too small. We had a couple of hot drinks, but the longer stayed in the hut, we colder we became. This hut is being replaced next year, it bloody needs to be. For a place like this, the hut is simply not good enough.

We put our wet clothes and boots back on and headed out into the high winds and heavy sleet. We couldn’t talk for about half an hour, until we had dropped low enough in the valley to het out of the wind.

We walked down hill for another to hours in heavy, driving rain, reaching our Quintin Lodge for 1.30pm, again, far too early.

We hung our clothes in the drying room. This time a boot drying room was available. We showered for ages, getting warm, again. Some cakes and hot drinks helped to get us warm as we sat in front of the fire waiting for others to arrive.

After a few hours, the rain began to ease, so we put dry walking gear back on and headed for Sutherland falls, just 40 minutes walk away. They are the 5th highest falls in the world and due to all the rain, they looked very impressive. We walked back with Angie and Liz. As we reached the lodge, the rain set back in again.

We sat around the fire, drinking wine and chatting. After dinner, one of our guides called Nick, gave a wee presentation on the next days hike. He is a great lad. Angie had a few jokes with him during his presentation which had us all laughing.

We went to bed praying for a good last day. After half an hour in bed, we were so cold, John indeed up finding some spare duvets in other rooms which kept us warm. During the night we kept being woken up by the heavy rain and wind. At times, we thought the roof was going to cave in with the volume of rain.

New Zealand – 2nd Dec 2008 - Day 40

Some blue sky greeted us this morning. GREAT!! After a hearty breakfast, we donned our back packs and set off. Along the first stretch of the Milford Track are many stopping points where you can study the environment. Although they were not that interesting.



We soon came across a small local bird called a South Island Robbin. They are so tame. We just stood around. The bird came right up to us, standing right by John’s foot. Very cute.

After a few hours, the clouds gathered and the rain began to fall. We pressed on and reached our next lodge for 2.30pm. Way too early. The hike was mainly flat, not at all challenging. Again, our room was fine, but damp. We hung our wet clothes in the drying room, but we were not allowed to put our boots in, which were a tad damp. This seemed crazy. Lodges on walking trails where you can’t dry your boots!!

We were eating cheese scones and enjoying the lounge fire for most of the afternoon whilst other hikers arrived. Mervi was finding things tough going due to problems with both her chilies tendons. She is determined to complete the hike, but it is not easy.

Another hiker, Gale, is also pushing herself. She is on a fitness regime and this is the first time she has attempted such a hike.



By 4.30, every one had arrived. So we all sat in the lounge, having a wee glass of wine and a chat. American John played the guitar. we decided to gete a photo of us by the helicopter. It seemed to worry the Lodge staff! Dinner was fine. We had a small presentation by one of our guides and we all retired to bed, hoping the rain would stop soon.

New Zealand – 1st Dec 2008 - Day 39

The weather was not looking so bad for the first day of our Milford Track hike. We stopped off at a wee café for a spot of breakfast and then met our fellow hikers at the Ultimate Hikes head office. If your interested in this hike, see: http://www.milfordtrack.net/ .

We said a few hello’s, boarded the coach and were on our way to Te Anau, a two and a half hours drive from Queenstown. On the way, the drive gave a running commentary on local flora, fauna and history.

Once at Te Anau, we fist had lunch then a team photo. We are team 31! The drive to ferry was quick and we were soon cruising over Lake Te Anau to our starting point, Glade Wharf. During the cruise we got talking to Quentin and his daughter Katrina. They come from Sydney. The weather outside grew chilly, so we popped inside and met Angie and Liz. Turns out the met at Uni, studying Law and then finished their masters in the UK at Cambridge Uni. They have remained goods friends and live near each other in Auckland.

Once on dry land, we put our back packs on walked for just twenry minutes before arriving at our first lodge, in a steady rain. Glade House. Our room was fine, if a bit chilly and damp. We showered and headed for the lounge where we met with a few other guests. By now, the rain was quite heavy, so we decided not to go on the hour long nature walk.

Once everyone was back, we had a few glasses of wine and chatted with our fellow hikers including a couple from near Darwin, Australia called Bruce and Rebecca. Bruce is a policeman and Rebecca a nurse. Wed also met John and Lynn from America, Mervi and Ali from Australia and Ian and Anne, also from Australia.

We sat with Angie, Liz, Ian and Anne for dinner, which was a lively affair. The Kiwi’s were very interested in Gordon Ramsy’s affair. John tried to see both sides of the situation and was soon being verbally battered by Angie and Liz in a good natured kind of way!

After dinner was had to all take our turn standing up in front of our group and introducing ourselves.

We went to bed, praying from fine weather.

New Zealand – 30th Nov 2008 - Day 38

Queenstown was today’s target destination and at only an hours away, the drive was easy in the good weather.

We found our hotel, which, from the outside, was not so nice. We thought about swapping to another but it turned out to be too complicated so we stuck with the Mercure Hotel.

We popped down to town for a quick drink and then headed out to the base of the main gondola to walk the gondola link track and then the Fern Hill Track.

We were pleasantly surprised with Queenstown. Quite a few people had suggested that Queenstown is too busy and touristy. However, we found it to be a very pretty place with a good vibe, great Indian food, good bars and not at all busy.

The fern hill track and link track were supposed to take over three hours but we managed to hike both in just over two hours. The hike was quite hard but we were rewarded with great alpine views as we walked though the forests into tussock grass land. Queenstown is a small ski area in the winter, so the area felt very alpine indeed.

We popped back to the hotel for a shower before driving back to town for our 4pm Milford Track hike briefing. Our group was smaller than some, only 22 of us, which was good. After a brief video and chat about what clothing to take etc. the event was over. Fiona and l bought some ice breaker walking tops. Fiona also bought a pair of polyprop leggings.

We wandered around town for a bit, purchased some Christmas presents and then went to the local Indian restaurant for a great curry. If your ever in Queenstown and want a good curry, go to the Tandouri Palace.

We went back to tour room, packed our back packs and went to bed quite excited about tomorrows Impending Milford Track five day hike.