Well my last day in New Zealand and I’ve still managed to get in some exciting stuff. Unfortunately I wasn’t riding a proper Magic Bus as those on it the previous day had suffered it breaking down so it was a Nelson Coach which was a shame from the point of photographs. Looks like I’ll have to go back and get a proper photo in the future.

[thumb:1572:r] White water rafting was what I was up for and what better place to do it than on the Rangitata River which is supposed to be one of the best in the country. Stopping off in Geraldine I got off the Magic Bus for the last time on this holiday to head off to Rangitata Rafting. [newline]

Had a good fun coming down the Grade V rapids and managed to hang on most of the time. Only managed to get soaked three times. Twice jumping into the river from height and the other I did fall out once.[thumb:1558:l][thumb:1560:l] [thumb:1561:l][newline]

Getting dropped off at airport was the end of my adventure on New Zealand soil. From here on I’m flying back to London as the Magic Bus doesn’t go that far.

Having sacrificed the dolphins it was time to see if Mount Cook was worth it. So back on another, though smaller bus from Lake Tekapo off to Mount Cook via Twizle. We stopped off a number of times on the way to Mount Cook to get photographs with it getting ever larger in the distance.[newline] [thumb:1525:l][thumb:1524:l][thumb:1526:l][newline]

[thumb:1527:r]Getting out of the bus I got chatting to Jenna and we decided to go off and tackle the Hooka Valley Trail and see the ends of the glaciers. Quite close to the start of the trail we passed a monument to those that had died climing Mount Cook and other mountains in the area. Fortunately it hasn’t been covered in plaques yet and I hope it stays that way.

The area around the mountains was quite rocky with the perhaps the hardest part of the walk actually the crossing of the two bridges over the river with the high winds blowing along the valley. The mountains over head appeared to be covered in snow stopped in mid flow with ripples that had stopped moving. The water here was very much like at the Fraz Josef glacier, cloudy and full of glacier powder. [thumb:1528:l][thumb:1530:l][thumb:1531:l][thumb:1541:l][thumb:1540:l][newline]

On the way back we stopped at a hut, chatting to an American couple who were travelling round new Zealand. Trying to guess the age of the hut via the graffti was a challenge though I think 1976 was the earliest date I spotted.

Coming back to towards Mount Cook we took a detour up to Kea point to have a look at the end of the other glacier . Climbing up the viewing platform the glacier looks really mucky as if its snow. The only thing that gives it away are the lumps of ice floating in the lake at the end of the glacier.  The end of the walk was celebrated by a much deserved cup of tea.  Strangely though they had no concept of putting the tea bag into the tea pot.

Driving back it was goodbye to Jenna at Twizle.  Arriving back at the Lakeside Lodge, where I was staying at Lake Tekapo, I was pleasently surprised to bump into Lisa again.  You just keep meeting the same people again and again on the Magic Bus

[thumb:1505:l]Having had to trudge up the second steepest street in New Zealand I felt that I should atl least do the steepest street in the world whislt I was in Dunedin.  [newline]

[thumb:1507:r]On the way to Lake Tekapo we had a stop off at the Moeraki boulders.  Weird spherical concreations that have formed in the mud over millions of years and that have now been exposed.[newline]

Arrived at Lake Tekapo we found it was too windy to to go horseriding so I ended up walking round the lake for a bit with Cloe.

In the evening I received a bit of education going up Mount John for some star gazing at the observatory.  Finally I realised why Orion looks weird in New Zealand; it’s upside down.  As well as that the Southern Cross was also upside down which is why I didn’t recognise it compared to the New Zealand flag.  It appears the simple solution would have been to stand on my head whilst I looked at them.

Another early start mounting the Magic Bus to take us away from the adventure centre of Queentown over to Dunedin on the east coast of New Zealand. Had a fabulous Saturday morning breakfast on route scoffing a pancake with maple syrup, banana and ice cream.

Arriving in Dunedin and checked into the YHA with the delights of a room to myself I had a bit of a break to write out postcards and get them sent off. Apologies if they arrive after I get back but isn’t that always the case with postcards unless you send them on the first day.

In the afternoon I went on the Elm Wildlife in search of the natural fauna of the area. Hopping on the bus masquerading as a Cloe as for some reason they didn’t have my name we headed off to the albatross centre on the Otago Pennisular. On the bus over there I got chatting to Zoe.

We were very lucky as it was the first day in the year that albatross centre was open. We could see 4 albatross sitting on their nests. [thumb:1444:I]. Further down the slope is a colony of shags. [thumb:1445:I]. After a bit of a wait and nearly having to leave before we saw them in the air an albatross flew past. I was impressed at how they made the seagulls look small. [thumb:1450:l][newline]

Back on the bus we headed off for the second half of the trip. Here we saw New Zealand fur seal, basking on the rocks. We think one of them might have just given birth. [thumb:1455:l]. [newline]Yellow eyed penguins, [thumb:1456:l],[newline] New Zealand sea lions [thumb:1462:l][newline] and blue penguins. [thumb:1460:l][newline]

After a couple of hours out we boarding the bus and headed back spotting some teenagers heading out for a Saturday night out we thought in the middle of nowhere till we rounded a corner to find a party going at full pelt in a village hall. Getting back said goodbye to Zoe who was heading off to the south of the South Island to do some tramping.

It was an early start this morning to catch the bus to Milford Sound.  Again it was another of these times where I bumped into someone where I had met already.  This time it was Lisa who I had met at the Greymouth YHA.

[thumb:1416:r]First stop on the way out was Te Anau for coffee.  We had a nice clear view of the lake there and various boats tied up on it.  However this was all I had a chance to take with no time for the glow worm caves as we were off to Milford Sound.  [newline]

Second stop was a brief one to use the last toilets before Milford Sound, shortly after this we stopped in the Eglington Valley to take in the hills and the native trees.  Climbing higher, with the weather now having changed to rain, we had another stop to take a path through the forest to look at some waterfalls carving beautiful smooth depressions out of the rock.

[thumb:1419:r]Pressing on we passed through the first tunnel which at certain times of the year is closed due to avalanche risk.  A brief on the way was in Monkey Creek between the two road tunnels that give access to Milford Sound.  This is one of the two safe places where it is safe from avalanches.  The driver made the point to us that the spring water from here was giving him his youthful looks.

 Arriving at Milford Sound it was out of the bus and into the ferry terminal to board the Monarch for our cruise on the Fjord.  There a lots of beautiful waterfalls falling into the Fjord with the rainwater feeding them.  Most of the distant hills were lost in the mist however.[thumb:1426:l][thumb:1427:l][thumb:1435:l][thumb:1438:l][newline]

No dolphins, whales or penguins on this trip though.  Obviously too wet for them and they were keeping out of sight.

Trip back to Queenstown was quite uneventful.  No one on the bus wanted to stump up the $550 for the 40 minute flight by helicopter back to Queenstown.  All in all quite a 4 hour journey each way to see some beautiful sceenary.

I left Wanaka at 9 am this morning and got picked up to go White Water Sledging with Frogz over on the Roaring Meg this morning. I didn’t bump into Lisa, Calum and their Dragon Wagon this time though.

It was fun surfing down ths river, first time I did it on a sledz and the second time on a body board. I would have to say overall that I much more enjoyed the canyoning of the day before.[thumb:1396:l][thumb:1397:l][thumb:1404:l][thumb:1408:l][newline]

After this I got a lift to Queenstown where I managed to get booked onto the Shotover Jet Boat. That was fun with it’s high speed jinxs. However the Canyon Swing was fully booked which was a disappointment.

In the evening I managed to catch up with Briony, Roxie and Megan. I found the Briony in her three days in Queenstown had become a bungy junky having done the bungy quadrilogy. At the end of the evening it was sad to say goodbye to Briony and Roxie as they’re going to be a day ahead of me from now on.[thumb:1414:l]

This has been the best day of my holiday so far having been canyoning for the first time with Deep Canyoning near Wanaka.

Having spent a night in the Wanaka YHA I ended up having a late start with only needing to be picked up at 9:15 am as opposed to the usual Magic Bus early starts.  Waiting outside the YHA were three other people, a couple who had been in Australia for a few months and had moved onto New Zealand for a few weeks before having to go back to Australia for a Muse concert and Eliss a Belgium girl who had been Woofing and travelling in New Zealand.  Chatting away with them I told them how I was going round on the Magic Bus and kept bumping into a couple, Lisa and Calum driving a Bright Red Dragon Wagon.  Then the bus for the canyoning rolled up carrying Lisa and Calum.

All of us were very surprised to see each other again as I’d expected them to have already started to head north but they’d changed their plans to come south round the Southern Alps instead.

Canyoning itself was a great. A bit of a demanding trek 20 minute up the hill to begin with but the three hours we spent coming down the Niger Stream didn’t feel like that. The abseils, jumps, slides, drifting, climbing and death slide kept me wondering what was coming up next. I wished I tried this sooner. Once we got to the bottom the picnic lunch was much appreciated with all the energy I’d expended.[thumb:1485:l][thumb:1489:l][thumb:1493:l][thumb:1496:l][newline]

 Whilst Calum and Lisa were still there I took the opportunity to snap their Red Dragon Wagon. [thumb:1502:l][thumb:1499:l][newline]

In the evening I took another walk out under the stars trying to spot the Southern Cross.

Well it was an early start this morning, as the Magic Bus was for 7:30 am. A bit of tooing and froing for me between my room and the outdoors this morning as I nearly left my camera under the bed. I took the opportunity to ring my parents before the bus set off and have been told that the weather is rather cold back in England. With news like that I’m not looking forward to heading back.

Our first real stop this morning was by a kettle lake. As there is no water flowing out of the lake it is mirror like and supposed to reflect Mount Cook in its water. But you guessed it was cloudy so all we saw was a very black lake with some clouds viewable in it. Neverminding that myself, Briony and Roxie got some photos anyway and there was a very nice cafe by the car park which allowed us to refuel for the day.[thumb:1356:l][thumb:1357:l][thumb:1358:l][newline]

Carrying on there was some splendid views from the window of the coach of the glaciers in the distance on one side and the sea on the other. Our coach driver was very good at telling us the history of the area with the rivalry between the Dutchman Hass and John Cameron on who was to get everything named after them.

We had a brief stop off for lunch in Makarora where I plumped for some chocolate cake, which Briony stole a bit of and Roxie munched away on veggie pizza and somasas from our awesomely large meal at the the Franz Josef the night before. Before long it was time to move on again but not without a picture stop next to Lake Hawea.

Finally around 3 pm we arrived in Wanaka where I was sad to say goodbye to my travelling companions of the last few days of Briony, Megan and Roxie. However I will be catching them up in Queenstown so it’s not a final goodbye yet.

Alone in Wanaka by myself I’ve upgraded my room to a twin rather than a dorm in the hope of getting a good nights sleep for a change and booked myself in for canyoning tomorrow with sledging on Thursday morning. Having done this I headed out to Puzzling World.

Puzzling World was a treat. Just approaching it and seeing the leaning tower of Wanaka is intriguing. First of all I tried the Great Maze. Trying to do the Yellow, Green, Blue and Red towers in order. Normally one can follow the walls of a maze systematically and eventually get to the centre. Not this one as the creator, Stuart Landsborough has put in bridges to give it an extra twist. Needless to say I ended up doing Green, Blue, Red and then the Yellow Tower. [newline] [thumb:1371:i]

The next attraction was the Illusion Rooms, the room of the following faces was spooky that it really works. The Ames Room made me realise that the scenes in the Lord Of the Rings could be done without CGI. The Tilted House was so warped that several people I saw had problems handling it. Back in the foyer the puzzles there were quite fun to have a go at. If you go to Wanaka the Puzzling World is well worth a stop.

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Coming back down along the lake I spotted some tiles with writing along the pavement. Looking more closely and it turned out to be a history of the last 2000 years with a Kiwi slant. I also took the opportunity to take in the beautiful vista of the lake overshadowed by the snow capped mountains in the back ground.[thumb:1385:i][newline]

Cinema Paridisio I would have to say has become my favourite cinema ever. It entirely recreates the familar watching a film at home experience in a cinema with the proper treats such as fantastic chocolate cookies. Sitting on a proper sofa to watch a film was such a treat with real cushions and plenty of space to spread out in. I’m sure I’m not going to come across another indoor cinema that recreates the drive in feel by having a Morris Minor for seating. The film, Knocked Up was also very funny and well worth seeing.[thumb:1389:l][thumb:1391:l][thumb:1392:l][newline]

Walking back along the shore of Lake Wanaka the moonlight on water was beautiful. Shame the batteries in my camera choose that moment to go flat.

Today I’ve had an exciting day spending most of it clambering up the Franz Josef Glacier. What amazed me was the size of the glacier once you got close to it.[thumb:1302:i][newline]

Having donned crampons we started to walk up the glacier. I decided to join the front group that was going to go the fastest. In the warm sunshine the guides were having to recut a lot of the paths and. At the bottom the surface of the glacier was covered in rocks but you could see the ice below as the guides cut stairs in the ice. We were lucky enough to find a small ice cavern to crawl through in the snow. The blue colour of the ice was intense. I was told that in a couple of days time it would be likely to be gone with the roof having melted away.[thumb:1319:l][thumb:1322:l].[newline]

The crevasses were beautiful. I can imagine that going up there everyday it will be different with different hazards and new caverns and crevasses.[thumb:1318:l][newline]

Having got back from the glacier I decided that I’d give quad biking. I’d have to admin I’m not the best quad biker in the world but at least I didn’t flip it on our journey across grassland, river bed and forest. Certainly a varied terrain and I wouldn’t mind giving it another go in the desert where’s there’s less ruts and things to hit.[thumb:1353:l][thumb:1354:l][thumb:1355:l][newline]

After having a dinner out with Briony, Megan and Roxie I headed off to the Blue Ice Cafe where Caz was celebrating her birthday with Ruth. I was pleasently surprised to bump into Claire there as well. With the magic bus you can’t help bumping into people again and again. However it was an early night for me as the Magic Bus was leaving at 7:30 am next day.

It was another early start.  Got chatting to Lisa a Canadian girl who had arrived on the train from Christchurch the day before.  When we got on the bus it was quite a change as it was a pretty full Magic Bus with all the extra people that joined us having taken the train over the mountains from Christchurch.  No more being able to hog all the space you wanted and more. 

Another day travelling down the quiet west coast of the South Island.  Another day of single carriage roads spiced up by a couple of single track bridges shared with the railway line.  It was quite amusing to hear the Magic Bus driver ask is there a train coming the other way as he took the bus over the bridge. 

Hass country was very beautiful but empty.  Over the Hass Pass and onward to Franz-Josef.

Arriving in Franz-Josef the first stop was the Franz-Josef Glacier Guiding company to book ourselves onto the glacier hike.  Again another stay in the YHA for me.  Got chatting to two girls, Irina from Australia and Anna from New York. 

[thumb:1296:r][thumb:1298:r]After failing to persuade Roxie and Briony to go horse riding it we agreed on going for a walk up to the Wombat Pool. 

[thumb:1299:l]Got my first view of the glacier on the way up to the car park for the glacier.  The glacier just poking up over the hills.  Had a very pleasent walk up the hill to the Wombat Pool.  When we got there ended up chatting to an American family who had also walked up there.  Did manage to get a cheesey photo of myself posing just in front of the Wombat Pool

[thumb:1666:r]Coming back down th ehill The clouds hanging on the hills near the glacier

Going into the Landing Bar with Bev I was amazed to spot Calum and Lisa drivers of the Bright Red Dragon Wagon.  I knew that they’re plan had been to visit the South Island driving down the west coast but I hadn’t expected to bump into them again.  I was amazed to find out that they spotted me on the Magic Bus as it went through Haverley whilst they were eating green lipped muscles.  Found out that they were planning to go up the glacier the next day by helicopter to take a look at the glacier.  This time I remembered to ask them for their email address. 

So after having a bite to eat Bev, Calum, Lisa and myself headed up to hunt for wetas and glow worms.  Wetas being the giant inscects that had evolved in New Zealand to fill the roll that rodents had filled in other places in the world.  Along the way we stopped off along the way to buy a little torch as we weren’t able to borrow one off anyone. 

Heading into the forest we could see lots of glow worms amongst the trees when we turned the torch off.  Further in it got darker and darker but no signs of wetas.  In the end we had to turn back as our torch lights began to fail and we couldn’t see our footing.  So it was goodbye again to Calum and Lisa at the end of the evening and also goodbye to Bev who was heading off to Queenstown the next day whilst Roxie, Briony and myself went hiking up the Franz-Josef glacier.