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.

New Zealand – 29th Nov 2008 - Day 37

It’s so strange waking up at the end of November at 6am and it’s already light and sunny. Even though we have been in NZ a while, it feels odd to have so much light at this time of year. The TV is full of adverts for Christmas with images of snow etc. It all seems very out of sync with our idea of the pre Christmas period.

After breakfast we checked out and drove to the other side of the road where our bike hire shop was ready for us. The bikes were in great condition. $60 rented us two bikes for the day. We saddled up and decided to do the river side track first followed by the railway trail. If your interested in riding this unique trail, see: http://www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/ .

The first track followed the River Clutha for about an hour and a half. What a great track. We cycled through small streams, passed waterfalls and enjoyed the rollercoaster track riding up and down small hills. The bright green river was flowing fast and looked fantastic in the sun light.


We crossed over a main bridge into a small town called Clyde. Nice place. It felt a bit like a typical Yorkshire Dales village, with post office and tea rooms to match. We sat in the sun sipping a beverage and reading the Saturday papers. They are full of the Air New Zealand plane crash off the French coast and the killings in India. John stayed at both the hotels targeted by the terrorists, so could visualize the hellish situation those caught up in the event must have found themselves in.

We jumped back on our mountain bikes and joined the railway track. It meandered out of Clyde, taking us back through the outskirts of Alexandra before heading out to the mountains. Fiona could not stop singing the Casey Jones theme tune. John had no option but to join in.

To start with the weather was perfect and the cycling easy. The tracks are well maintained and not at all busy. The town of Alexandra is overlooked by the biggest clock you have ever seen, set into the mountain that overlooks the town. No excuses about being late here then!



As we cycled the clouds began to gather into strange shapes, like huge flying saucers, so we had to keep stopping to take a few photo’s.



After a couple of hours cycling the weather changed and the wind kicked in with a vengeance. Within half an hour, the cycling had become hard and less enjoyable. We stopped for some lunch by which time a gale was blowing. So, we turned around and cycled back to Alexandra with the wind behind us. Cycling was easy again.



We arrived back at the bike shop, only to find it closed. The owner had not told us what to do with the bikes and had not given us any locks. We ended up leaving then at the motel we stayed at.

The drive back to Wanaka was easy and soon passed as we sung along to Duran Duran.

Once in Wanaka, we went shopping for a summer dress for Fiona to wear at Hamilton Island were it will be very hot and humid. No luck!

We drive to tonight’s hotel and checked in. Very nice too. See: http://www.edgewater.co.nz/ . Our room has a pristine view over lake Wanaka and a bath. Most places in NZ only have a shower, so a bath is something to celebrate.

We updated the blog and then soaked in the bath. The last two days have been hard on the legs so a long soak was just what the doctor ordered.

We drove back to town and to our favourite restaurant in Wanaka, The Reef. It looks over lake Wanaka, serves great food and wine.

We went to the local supermaket, bought some munchies, relaxed, watched a film and zonked out again!

Tomorrow we head for Queenstown and then our five day hike on the Milford Track. We probably will not have internet access for this time.

New Zealand – 28th Nov 2008 - Day 36

At 7.30 the firm alarm went off, a loud hooting with a voice asking us to leave the building pronto.

We all collected outside. It turned out that someone had burnt some clothes in one of the rooms. The fire engines turned up pronto and we were back in our room within ten minutes. That’s some alarm call.

The sun was shining for a second day in a row. We had some breakfast and drove to the hiking area. We had opted to take on the Wanaka, Roy’s Peak track, taking us up 1578 meters, then on to Mount Alpha at 1630 meters along the Skyline Track. We started out on a steep track and were soon amongst the sheep and alpine tussock grass.

The entire track was steep, but every time we looked up the views over lake Wanaka and the valleys just got better and better. It took us 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach Roy’s peak. We chilled out for a while taking in the stunning, massive views. No matter how long we looked at the views, we still couldn’t take them all in. The waters in Lake Wanaka were amazing.

After a wee rest and a bite to eat, we set off for Mount Alpha. We were not expecting such a hard hike. We ended up walking down steep grass lands for about half an hour before taking on some the steepest dusty rock tracks we have ever seem. At times we were on all fours, pulling ourselves up rocky outcrops. We reached the top of Mount Alpha, absolutely knackered. The views were, as ever, breathtaking!

We rested for a while before beginning the journey back to the car. On the way back, John invented a new way of walking down steep tracks. He has called it micro stepping! You take lots of very small steps, making sure you don’t go to fast. It seemed to work, helping you to grip and control your decent on steep surfaces. Fiona discovered that singing Chinese songs as you stepped also helped! We found the song “I am Chinese if you please” was particularly good.

Almost three hours later we arrived back at the car park. We had started at 9.30am and finished at 4.45pm. What a hike. We had met some others on the way, including a German chap and three Israeli guy, everyone agreed, this place is wonderful, the views unbeatable and the mountain air and lakes a joy to be in.

We have fallen in love with Wanaka, so much so that John has written a short Poem about the place:

Ode to Wanaka
If your travelling in New Zealand,
And you like to play the harmonica,
Do yourself a favor,
Visit Wanaka!

for more infor about Wanaka, see: www.lakewanaka.co.nz

We jumped in the car and drove for an hour and a half to Alexandra, not far from Queenstown. When we arrived the temperature was twenty nine degrees Celsius. Our Motel was nice enough, but Alexandra is not as picturesque as Wanaka, so we decided to only stay here one night and to return to Wanaka tomorrow evening, after our days cycling on the Otaga Central Rail Trail.

After a spot of clothes washing and a well needed shower, Fiona made a great Spaghetti Carbonara, which we washed down with a glass of wine. By 8.30 the days walking had taken its toll and we collapsed into bed and zonked out!

New Zealand – 27th Nov 2008 - Day 35

It was only after we had turned the lights and the TV off, that the low level hum nit our ears. We had not noticed it before, but our room had a machine like, low level hum to it. John looked everywhere, both in and out of the room, but could not find where the hum was coming from. After half an hour he gave up and we tried our best to get off to sleep.

At 7am we woke up, opened the curtains and, Wow, it was a sparkling day for our helicopter glacier hiking adventure.

After breakfast we headed to the Fox Glacier Adventure office where we paid our money and soon after jumped onto the bus for a ten minute journey to the helicopter pads. Once there, we changed into woolen socks and proper leather hiking boots and had a quick safety presentation.
If your interested in this event, see: http://www.foxguides.co.nz/helihike.asp

We were in the third group to fly up to the glacier. The helicopters were very well organised and soon it was our turn to jump into the six man machines. Fiona, being a wee girlie was allotted the front seat with another wee girlie. John was in the back but managed to bag a window seat. Within two minutes of shutting the door we were off the ground and flying a roller coaster of a ride up to the glacier, via the mountain pass. What a buzz! The weather was perfect, with no wind, so we wafted around the glacier head, flying from waterfall to waterfall, reaching the top of the glacier, turning a 180 degree spin on a pin head and then back down the big glacier water fall, “Victoria Falls” and then onto the lading point, on the glacier itself.

Once out of the helicopter, we were rushed into a small groove in the ice and told to crouch down. When the helicopter took off we could see why, the wind caused by the machine whipped up the ice and snow. John had been trying to video the thing taking off and received a face full in the bargain. He also forgot to secure his hat, so that flew off, landing behind a section of glacier.

We were given small crampons and a wooden hiking pole and then we were off, retrieving Johns hat on the way! We soon met a couple from the UK who had been working in Australia for six months and were now doing some travelling. He was an accountant, she a teacher and both in their mid twenties. We also had an elderly German lady with us who found the going tough. She had not tightened her crampons up enough. Once that was fixed she was not so bad.

We made our way to “Victoria Falls”, with our guide at the head of the chain, axing steps into the ice where the walking was tricky. Progress was slow as the ice was slippery in places and you have to watch out for dangerous crevasse and ice pools. The weather was great, quite warm and very, very sunny.

The glacier moves at different speeds at different places. At the crest it moves as much as five meters a day, lower down it can be two meters a day. The ice can be up to 250 meters thick. The ice is a mixture of white and deep blues, with rivers of water cascading over the surface.

After taking a few photo’s of the falls, we moved to a higher section of the glacier where we reached what were supposed to be some wonderful ice caves. However, the NZ weather had been up to it’s tricks again. The massive falls of rain in the previous days had not only washed the car park away in the Fax valley but had also trashed the ice caves. They had collapsed in dramatic fashion. They looked dramatic, but caves, they were not.

Our guide took us to another section where we found some caves, so everyone was happy. The caves are magical places, changing all the time, dripping with melt water and showing off the amazing blues you get in this type of ice, especially when the sun shines.

After two and a half hours of hiking on the glacier we were ready to fly back to base. Our helicopter took us on another roller coaster ride back to the helicopter pad and the adventure was over. We had made a good decision to go on the early flight as, when we reached base, the clouds had rolled back into the valley. We said goodbye to our English buddies, who are also staying in Wanaka tonight, so we said we would look out for them.

An unforgettable experience!

We were soon back in the car driving to our next destination, Wanaka, that that far from Queenstown. We took the National Route 6 road all the way from Fox, via Haast, where we stopped for petrol. What a magnificent drive. The southern alps are very impressive, on the scale of the rockies in places. We also passed some great waterfalls and stunning lakes, especially lake Hawea, post card perfect with deep blue, calm waters, surrounded by lush green forest. When the sun shines here, you see a different side to NZ altogether. It is truly stunning with a unique vista, a cross between the European Alps and the Rockies. We had to keep stopping the car to take more photo’s and video.

We checked into our new Motel and what a place. It is the most modern pad so far. Wonderfully fitted, very new and only $139 a night. If your intested in see what a great place this is, see: http://www.wanakaedge.co.nz/ .

We quickly unpacked and then headed down to the lake front for a glass of wine. Today we fell back in love with New Zealand. It’s taken some good weather to odo it, but today has been wonderful and Wanaka is just the most picturesque place we have been so far.

The bar we sat in over looked the lake where a local sailing race was underway. The whole lake is fringed with mountains, capped with snow and the lake is crystal clear.

We liked it so much, we stayed for dinner and then went to the lake edge to watch the sun go down. Fifi posed for a photo in the tree and John had a paddle in the lake.

We came back home for 8.30pm and chilled over a bag of sweets and some TV. Great day. Great Place. If you want to see how lovely this place is, see: http://www.lakewanaka.co.nz/ .

New Zealand – 26th Nov 2008 - Day 34

Our Motel had a very comfy bed, which was just as well, as we had not realised that we were also opposite a railway terminus until just after midnight, when many of the trains hooked up their cargo and set off. What a noise! Still, once they were gone we soon went back off to sleep, lulled by the sound of rain falling on the roof.

In the morning the sun was shining but the air was really cold. After breakfast we headed up the road to the Information Centre where our hike began. The hike was set to take 6 hours. After half an hour on the trail, we realised it was going to be too hard. It was like rock climbing, with very poor track conditions and difficult terrain. We came back down and found two other Arthur Pass hikes. Just before leaving the car park, we were surrounded by ten large local parrotts. They immediately began to peck at the car windscreen.

The frist hike took us to the Devils Punchbowl waterfalls. The hike was just an hour each way. The waterfall was very impressive, fueled by yesterdays heavy rains. The wind was whipping up the spray and we got very wet, trying to photograph the falls.

Once back from the falls we took another hike, The Bridal Veil Track. What a great walk it was. The rain drops were still sitting in the trees and the sun brought the forest to life.

We walked up small streams crossing beautiful fast flowing streams. After two hours we were back at the car park. A twenty minute ride took us to the Temple Basin Track which takes you up to The Temple Ski Area.

The hike was quite steep, it felt like we were walking up a winter ski track. It took an hour and a half to reach the empty ski resort buildings where we were joined by two Kea’s. These very impressive parrots are only found in the mountains of the South Island in NZ. They are about a foot tall, very inquisitive and very friendly.

Fiona and l explored the basin and then returned to the sun terrace of the ski Bar ate lunch and sun bathed with the parrots. As long as we were out of the wind, it was quite warm. If your interested in finding out more about this area, see http://www.apinfo.co.nz/ . As we climbed down the clouds moved back in. We were hoping to get some good photo’s of Mount Rolleston but the clouds had other ideas.

We arrived back at the car park for just after 2pm. We began our drive to Fox Glacier, for tomorrows helicopter hiking on the Glacier. As we drove to Fox, the clouds thickened up, making the mountains look very uninviting.

We drove through Franz Josef, stopped for some shopping and arrived at Fox for just after 6pm.

We checked in and relaxed after our days hiking and driving. The hiking is fine, it’s the driving that’s tiring.

New Zealand – 25th Nov 2008 - Day 33

Over night the wind had howled and howled. A big storm was forecast to effect both North and South Islands. When we opened the curtains the sky was blue and the sun was bright, but the wind was still strong.

After breakfast, we headed down to the local store to log onto the internet, book some Motels, check out the cash situation and update the blog. Whilst John finished off on line, Fiona went shopping. “Do you want the bad news” Fiona announced. Fifi had managed to bend the car key (our only one) in the car door lock. It was hanging on by a tread of metal. The store manager sent us to the local garage, where they cut us a new key. The fist attempt did not work. John had to run to the other end of town, try the key, and then run back. On the second attempt it worked.. So for $8 we had a new key!

We left Akaroa in stunning sunshine, travelling back through Christchurch and onto Arthurs Pass. As we approached the snow capped mountains, the clouds began to gather and by the time we hit the mountains the rain has sheeting down and the wind blowing the car all over the place.

The rain just got heavier and heavier, falling in sheets down the valleys. We reached Arthurs Pass after three hours of driving. The weather was now so bad it was hard to drive. We passed a small Motel in Arthurs Pass Village called Arthurs Pass Alpine Motel (see: http://www.apam.cp.nz/) . They had a room, so we booked in. The owner said it had been raining like this for three days and the west coast was no better.



We checked out a few other options for later in the week, booked another Motel and went to the local store to get some wine and crisps. The motel has a stack of DVD’s so we plan to sit out the storm with a little tipple, corn snacks and some good films. In this weather there is simply nothing much else to do in NZ. It’s all about the big outdoors, but in this weather, that’s just not an option.

We watched the The Bourne Identity, pausing it half way through, to go out and get more crisps. At the end of the film, the sun peeped out for a few minutes before it began to pour down again. We have never seen it rain this heavily for so long.

It rained into the evening, so we watched another DVD and some TV, read some books and tried to keep the boredom at bay! When it rains here it really rains. Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow as we are planning to hike in this area.

New Zealand – 24th Nov 2008 - Day 32

After breakfast we set off to climb to the summit. A small mountain behind the town of Akaroa. The weather was cloudy but very mild.

What a climb. It started off on a road out of town, but within minutes it became almost vertical. We were soon out in rolling hills and the steep climb continued. After a couple of hours of vertical, we came to a crest and decided to walk down the other side before coming back to do the summit.

The bay side went through forest but it went down again. After a wee spot of lunch, we walked back up to the crest and then tackled the hike up to the summit. The track was through thick brush and broom. At times we were on all fours, clambering over rocks. Our legs were being scratched by the bushes. When we reached the top the wind was howling. We had to sit down in the gusts which blew you over. We were surrounded by bright yellow broom which smells of peaches.


It took us as long to get down as it did to get up. Once off the summit route we headed back to town. The steep tracks made our knees ache. WE met a couple of horses on the way down. The horses here are huge and sleek in NZ.

Akaroa is a very quaint place with good quality houses with the most amazing gardens. Lots and lots of roses and some of the biggest honeysuckle you have ever seen. Beautiful place with very friendly people.

We made it back to the Motel, showered, put a wash on and John had a snooze. We popped to the local internet café to upload the blog and to book our Helicopter Glacier flight and hike fort this Thursday, on the Fox Glacier. The weather is supposed to be good on Thursday.

Todays hike was probably the steepest hike we had done so far in NZ.

We relaxed in the evening. We wanted to use up some of our food, so Fiona mad a rice, pea, Sweet Corn and Chicken thing. Very nice!!

New Zealand – 23rd Nov 2008 - Day 31

Cloud and rain greeted us this morning. It had been raining over night as forecast and John had forgotten to get his T-Shirt off the line, so it was soaking wet.

We had a quick breakfast, paid up and began our Journey to Christchurch.

As time went on the sun came out and as we neared Christchurch the petrol station thermometers read 28 degrees. We took route 75 to a place called Akaroa which looked close to Christchurch and had been mentioned as a place to visit by a few people. It took over an hour to get there which made our driving time over five hours.

Akaroa is certainly a pretty small coastal town, sitting in a small bay. We phoned our Motel in Christchurch who were quite happy for us to cancel our reservation. We booked another Motel in Akaroa for at least one night and then popped to the local info centre. They have a lot of good hiking in the area and the next few days here look good, weather wise.

We did some shopping, checked that our room would be available for another night (which it is) and returned to our room. We have a great view over the bay, so we opened the windows to get some air in. Big mistake, they have flies the size of helicopters here and within ten minutes we had twenty helicopters flying around the place.

Fiona made a great spag bol and we relaxed the rest of the evening.

New Zealand – 22nd Nov 2008 - Day 30

The weather was not so good this morning, cloudy, windy but dry. After breakfast we checked out of the Lodge and started the hour long trek back to the Queen Charlotte Track. Once back on the track, the steepness began and continued until after the next bay, Mistletoe. Not too long after here, the track became easier and we began to cruise back to the start. We met a lot more people today including some Germans, Aussies, English and a few from the Netherlands.

On the way back, we stopped at Davis bay, where a whole family of ducks took to us. They sat with us for about 20 minutes. We also got bitten by the dreaded sand flies!


We finished the walk at 14:10 having started at 09:00. Not bad. We were too early for our water taxi back to Picton, so we sat in a small hut with a few other hikes and chatted. Much to our surprise, a water taxi arrived a whole hour early so we were able to jump on and get back to Picton early.

Once back, we checked into the Motel, purchased salad stuff for dinner and then soaked in the huge whirlpool hot tub. Wow, it really helped to soak away our walking aches.



The weather was expected to turn nasty late afternoon, so we washed a few clothes, had a very healthy chicken salad and then watched some TV. If anyone reading this want to do some serious hiking in NZ, you must do the Queen Charlotte. It is challenging but well worth it.

New Zealand – 21st Nov 2008 - Day 29

The alarm buzzed at 6.30, so we could wake up, have breakfast and get down to the Water Taxi for 7.30am to catch the 8.00am boat to Punga. We arrived on time, checked in and waited for our boat. We had been told we would get to Punga for 8.45. However, the skipper said we would not get their until 9.30. We had hoped to start earlier as the hike today is expected to take at least 8 hours. The water taxi was just about to set off when John felt water under his bottom. A bottle of water in one of our back packs has leaked all over the pack and onto the seat. We had to empty the pack and then try and dry it out in the wind as we flew to Punga.

The boat did not arrive at the Punga Lodge until 9.45. We set off pronto, hoping we could make up some time. The weather was perfect with blue skies and a strong breeze. We found the directions from Punga Lodge to the Queen Charlotte Track almost non existent and we had to back track a bit in order to find the start, putting us back even further.

Once on the track he hit it hard. Wow, this is challenging walking. For the first three hours it was almost all up steep hills. The views were stunning but the climbs were so exhausting. After four hours we were beginning to tire. Still the views and weather kept us in good spirits and we kept meeting other walkers who agreed it was a hard hike.



Hours five and six were painful. We left a place called Portage heading for Lochmara bay and the track was almost vertical for two hours. At the end of this section we could hardly talk to each other and were dripping with sweat. We had not expected this to be so hard and we had now run out of water. We eventually came across the sign to our Lodge. We had another hour of hiking to get to the Lodge, but at least it was down hill. It seemed to take for ever to reach the lodge. We booked in and went straight to the bar to rehydrate. The walk had taken 7.5 hours which was apparently a very good time, according to the Lodge staff.

The sun was still out, so we flopped into the sun beds and had a cold drink. We also met a lady w had met when we had kayaked here a few days previously.

We had a shower and flopped into bed, falling fast asleep until 7.20. We had booked into the restaurant for 7.30. Our meal was very good ,we both had steak. As we ate a large group of people arrived by sea boat for a social evening at the lodge. They had some TV chap presenting a motivational talk. We were just too tired, so we hit the sack at 8.30. What a wonderful day of breathtaking views and hard hiking.

New Zealand - 20th Nov 2008 - Day 28

Kayaking is beginning to get into our blood! We had seen a few kayakers yesterday as we walked along the Queen Charlotte Trek.

So, this morning, after breakfast, we drove to The Sea Kayaking Company to pick up our two man kayak for a day in the sound.

We met with our guide who was just there to take us through the safety stuff, as we had opted to kayak on our own today, such are our confidence levels!

After driving to the launch site, we donned all our equipment, Fiona popped herself into the front, John in then back (so he has to steer as well) and we were off. The sun was shining and the wind was gentle, so we felt good. However, after just half an hour, the clouds began to gather and the wind increased. After an hour the wind was whipping the sea into white horses and was blowing into our faces. We kept ducking into bays on our way up the sound to our destination, a resort called Lochmara Lodge (see: http://www.lochmaralodge.co.nz/) in Lochmara bay.

It took two hours of hard paddling to reach our lodge and Fiona had became quite cold as she kept getting sea water blown into her from the wind and wild sea’s.





The clouds were still with us when we reached the lodge, so we had a cuppa and some cake (which was wonderful) and then went outside to warm up in the sun which was beginning to peep out.



After half an hour, blue skies returned and we joined another lady on the sun bed terrace where wed all chilled and chatted for a couple if hours. By the time we left it was hot and very sunny. On the way back, the wind was behind us, so the journey back was easier, we reached base in good time. We met our company rep, helped her to load up the kayak and then drove back to our Motel in Picton. The weather is looking to break down again this weekend (late on Saturday), so we decided to walk nearly all of the Queen Charlotte Trek in a two day event, staying at the Lochmara Lodge overnight on Friday night. We booked our water taxi to Punga Bay tomorrow morning, the lodge and a water taxi back from the end of the trek (Anakiwa Beach) back to our Motel in Picton. The Queen Charlotte walk is really something (See: http://www.queencharlottetrack.cp.nz/), a joy for anyone who likes hiking.





We will be off tomorrow for two days hard walking, day one will probably take 8 hours and day two about 6. Fingers crossed for good weather! We will not be taking the laptop, so for those reading this on a daily basis, we will not upload anything for a couple of days.

New Zealand - 19th Nov 2008 - Day 27

After a quick breakfast we headed off to the beginning of today’s challenge, The Queen Charlotte Track. The track can take up to three days to complete, so we had decided to tackle just part of the hike, from Anakiwa to Mistletoe Bay and back.

The sun was out in force and as the hours past the sky became cloudless. The hike was along forest tracks next to the island inlets. The sea was the most amazing aqua and the hills and mountains looked amazing.



We arrived at Mistletoe Bay for 12:30. What a wonderful place. A lady was cooking BBQ at the camp site. We needed to phone our Motel to book an extra night. She found the number and let us use her mobile. She would not take a penny from us. We sat down by the small bay and within minutes we were surrounded by a group of very cute ducks. We gave them some of our apples, which they loved.



We sunbathed for 45 minutes before beginning our hike back. We said hi to a donkey called Willow who lived in a field with two lama’s.

The walk back was equally as spectacular and we met a few Americans and Aussies on the way. This place is simply amazing to look at when the sun shines. We have seen so many amazing places this year and New Zealand is different yet again. It is so clean and the waters so clear.

After our walk, we went to a local Kayak rental company and reserved a two man Kayak for us tomorrow. We want to kayak to another bay along the Charlotte Trek.

After visiting the supermarket we came back to the Motel and had one of Fiona’s Fish Pies, using up some of the fish we caught the previous day. John is going to use the last of the Fish tomorrow, throwing together a Fish Curry.

Terminator Three is tonight’s movie. After a six hour hike, we think we deserve it!!

New Zealand - 18th Nov 2008 - Day 26

The wind had been howling around our chalet during the night. The alarm had beeped at 5.30am, as we had a two hour drive to Kaikoura for our deep sea fishing trip which kicked off at 8.30am.

We pulled back the curtains nervously. Blue sky greeted us. We had a quick cuppa, filled the car and began our journey. As we pulled out of Hanmer Town, the mountains were cloaked in a wonderful glow of red and orange. What a great sunrise. We pulled over and took a couple of photo’s.

The journey to Kaikoura was very enjoyable and we arrived at 7.30am. We went back to the Dolphin Discovery Centre for a muffin and a cuppa. We realised that we di not know where to meet our fishing bloke. The Dolphine Centre would not let us use their internet or telephone (we have gone right off them), so we found a public telephone. Luckily our guy was about to leave to get the boat. He met us on the main town road and we all went down to the beach. Hi mate, Tom, was going to take us out. Another English chap joined us, plus a second boat hand. They were very pleased to tell us that, next week, they are taking the actor Ewan McGregor out for a days fishing. Fiona was most upset we had missed him. John thinks he’s over rated!

We flew out to the middle of the bay in calm weather. Once at our fishing spot we cast our lines over the side. Within minutes, we were catching Blue Cod, Dog Fish (which we did not keep) and John caught one large Grouper. After an hour we had a crate full of fish. After almost two hours we had caught more than you could possible eat in a week. As we fished, the boat became surrounded by a whole host of bird life, including three different types of Albatross. We also got friendly with a lovely wee seal who hung out with us for much of the morning.



We travelled back to the beach to pick up the owner. All the way back, one of the crew cleaned the fish we had caught. Once back, we picked up the boss and then took a small ride to the Cray Fish (Like lobster) pots. Both pots had about 10 crayfish in them, most of which we easily big enough to keep.

When we arrived back to the beach, the tractor pulled us up onto the sand and we were given our part of the catch, about a pound of fish and two large crayfish.

After some lunch at Dolphin Encounters, we drove to Picton in heavy rain showers and checked into our Motel room. Luckily for us, the room with the full kitchen was now available, so we swapped to room 10.

John realised that he had lost his rain jacket, so we popped to the local supermarket then to Blenheim, where we purchased a new waterproof for John and got John a hair cut. John hasn’t shaved for about a week, so now he has more hair on his chin than on his head!

The sun had reappeared by the time we arrived back in Picton so we walked down to the beach and sat on some rocks and watched the ferry and other local boat trips come and go from the bay.

We came back to the Motel and John began to prepare the crayfish. Unfortunately, they can live out of water, so when John got the first one out of the plastic bag, it was moving a lot. The boat skipper had told us to put them in fresh water for 15 minutes which would kill them. The whole process was not pleasant. Fiona suggested we go back to the bay and out them back in the water, but the process was already underway. After killing the crayfish, John popped it into boiling water for ten minutes and then cold water for another ten. All the meat is in the tail. It was OK but nothing to write home about. Fiona made John prepare the second one immediately after dinner so as to put it out of its misery. We baked the Cod and Grouper. John liked it but Fiona thought it was not very tasty. Fifi is planning to make a fish dinner with flavour tomorrow.

After dinner we watched the directors cut of Saving Private Ryan and then passed out!

New Zealand - 17th Nov 2008 - Day 25

Well, the weather in the South Island has now returned to North Island status and now the North Island is having good weather. Last night the rain began to pour and this morning it is still raining and blowing a gale. It wasn’t supposed to be like this today but some forecasts are suggesting it may improve later in the day. However, the general weather trend is not good. Ho Hum. Just before breakfast, a wonderful rainbow appeared over the valley.

After breakfast, we popped into the local store to purchase goods for this evenings dinner, one of Johns specials, Spanish Omelet. We came back, kitted up and drove to the starting point of today’s hike, climbing up Mount Isabel the highest mountain above Hanmer Springs. The walk starts at 450 meters and peaks at 1490 meters. The sun and showers were trying outdo each other at the beginning of the hike which, almost from the start, was steep. As the hike continued the path became very steep. When we neared the top of the mountain, the wind took us by surprise. As we reached the top, the wind was almost unbearable. A constant force which almost blew us off our feet on many occasions. We found a small space on the lea of the plateau, where we escaped the wind for a spot of lunch.



As we began our return hike, we came across another couple of Brits who were also sheltering from the wind. They had planned to take a different route down, via the top ridge, however, when we looked behind us they had decided to follow us. The wind was now dangerously strong and we all hiked as quickly as possible to get off the top. We took the waterfall route home, a steep route through the forest. The waterfall itself was worth the walk.



We then walked along a gravel road back to Brian, our car. The perfume from the broom bushes was amazing. It smelled of peaches and nectarines and was the deepest yellow we had ever seem. At times, the broom reached up the mountains, as far as the eye could see. Some of the branches were so full of flower they looked like they would break.



The hike took 5 hours and 15 minutes and the rain had kept off for most of it. At times the sun was quite warm but the wind was always there to take the edge off.

We popped back home, showered and relaxed.

New Zealand – 16th Nov 2008 - Day 24

Our unwanted holiday companions, Mr. Rain and Mr. Wind were back with us this morning. The alarm had beeped at 7am as we had to drive out of town for our cave rafting adventure (see: http://www.caverafting.com/). It ‘s a three hour combination of caving, canyoning and rapid riding in rubber tubes.

We arrived at 9am, paid and then changed into our wet suit stuff, plus hard hat with light and special webbed gloves to help you navigate when in the river.

After a quick bus ride, we mounted very small open carriages on a small gauge railway. The train whisked us up the mountain in 15 minutes. We passed rain forest on the way. Our guide explained that the BBC had been in this area for three months, filming for the “Lost World” series. They filmed all the real stuff here and then superimposed the dinosaurs after.

Once at the top, we met all our fellow adventurers, three English, two Aussies and some locals. We walked up a steep incline for another fifteen minutes to arrive at the cave system entrance.

We checked all our lights and in we went. It soon became dark but our wet suits kept us nice and warm. We walked through two upper chambers. A few sections were very low but still wide. We had to bend down and roll our inner tubes in front of us.

We came across some good examples and stalagmites and stalactites as well as other weird forms. In one of the chambers, we all switched off our lights. It was the inkiest black. Fiona was not too happy about this but she got through it without any problem.

We then walked down to the lower chamber where a river runs through the lower section. We turned our lights of again, but this time to see the unique glow worms that live in the cave. The ceiling had about twenty sparking bright blue lights dotted around. Very impressive. We walked down even further until we came across the underground lake. We all jumped into our inner tubes and were positioned so that we formed a long chain by sitting on our backs in the tubes and holding onto others legs.

We slowly floated down the cave river with our lights off. Suddenly we entered a large cave. Wow!! The whole ceiling was covered in the glow worms. It was like watching stars but much brighter and more intense. The went on for about twenty minutes and was a wonderful experience. We have seen quite a few caves in our time, but have never seen this before.

We eventually came across the cave system exit point. We jumped back into our tubes and rafted down the river.

It had some rapids but was quite tame, but still good fun.
The train and bus took us back to the centre where we got changed, said our goodbyes and began our journey to Hanmer Springs (see: www.hanmersprings.co.nz ).

It took us four hours to reach the town and what a great place it is. As our journey continued the weather improved. The scenery was breathtaking with whole valleys of bright yellow broom. There is some skiing to be had close to Hanmer in the winter and it really feels like a wee ski resort (no surprise really).

We had a beverage in the sun, soaking up the higher temperatures. We checked into our Motel. Great place. It’s a good size, has great views over the valley and has a full kitchen. After being here a while we decided to stay an extra night.

Fiona felt tired, so she stayed at our Chalet to read in the sun while John popped down to the local Spa where they have natural springs, hence the name Hanmer Springs.

We had a healthy salad and chilled out with a DVD.