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In our last episode, Laura and Brian came face to face with deadly dolphins, perilous penguins and scary seals!!! They braved freezing conditions and trekked many kilometers through treacherous conditions...and now their time on South island is over...
Sorry, got a bit carried away there. After 2 weeks and just over 3000km of driving, we have reached Nelson, our final port of call on the South Island. We have had an action packed 2 weeks on the South Island. Where did I leave off??? Oh that's right...
After our Milford Sound overnight cruise, we spent another relaxing night in Te Anau. We bought a football and went to the local green and kicked about for half an hour or so thinking we were doing worthwhile exercise It made us feel good anyway!!! Locals had some funny looks for us in our shorts and T-Shirts...it wasn't that warm at all!! We whipped up another Ramsey-esque meal and wolfed it down. We haven't quite mastered the skill of cooking correct portions so we always end up stuffed after cooking enough rice or pasta to feed Africa!
Day 8-Thursday 23rd, we did the 2 1/2 hour to Queenstown...the "Party Capital" of New Zealand! After our customary late start, egg for breakfast and touristy stop offs, we arrived about 3pm. We footered (?) about and had to make a decision whether to do river surfing or white water rafting...tough choice I know!! We eventually settled on River Surfing-it sounded good!! We went straight away to the Gondola which takes you up to the Skyline resort which commands stunning views of Queenstown...bloody expensive though!! If we weren't both afraid of heights we would have taken the really really steep steps..pity! At the top we did a luge, a go-karty thing which goes very fast down a steep track....although it took some persuading for Laura to get on the skychair...I swear her fear has multiplied!! We went for a leisurely drive that afternoon to Glenorchy. It was a stunning 40 min drive. Well worth it even though we were both falling asleep!! We spent the evening with a few bottles of amber nectar and met up with two yanks we had met in Te Anau.
Day 9 was D-Day for me(Brian). It was bungy day!! Yikes. I was awake early trying to psyche myself up for my 9:30am jump. We drove to the bridge and got there early enough for a look around. When I saw the bridge...and then the river I seriously started bricking it!! To be honest it is the smallest (although the original) bungy in Queenstown but for me it was huge!! Laura couldn't even look over the edge of the viewing platform! I got weighed and then sent to the bridge with 5 other eejits. I requested that I got dunked right into the river...."when in Rome" eh?? Some old dude went first and it didn't even take a wrinkle out of him (you will seriously have to do it Da when you come-apparently the oldest person was 94 so you're sweet!!). I was next and as they started strapping me up I was shaking like a leaf. I shuffled to the edge of the platform and after smiling for the camera, took a deep breath and took the plunge! It was awesome!! I got dunked right up to my midriff. As soon as I finished I wanted to do another one...heart-stopping yet amazing!!
We didn't have long to chill out as we got picked up at 1 for our River Surfing. For those not in the know , it's like white water rafting except you don't have a raft...you have a bodyboard!! We got suited and booted and were taken to the river where after a crash course in how to "river surf", we plunged in and off we went. I'm not sure what Laura was expecting (probably something placid) but after the first bit of white water, the look on her face was priceless...she was crapping herself!! If only I had my camera. She was much much better on the second run I must admit and actually surfed a wave on the river!! Quality!! We finished off our Queenstown experience with an hour soaking in hot pools overlooking the mountains and sampling the nightlife with an Irish couple (the bloody Irish are everywhere) and our Yank companions and dancing the night away at several ale houses.
We had proper plans to leave pretty early the next day because we had a 6-7 hour drive ahead of us but we have become so lazy!! We passed through Wanaka where we visited Puzzling World. It has a brilliant maze which I thought would be easy....suffice to say it wasn't!! We spent 45mins wandering about and eventually got bored going round in circles. Ha ha. We drove over Haast Pass, another stunning drive, stopping to take photos of waterfalls and stuff (while Laura slept). We arrived at Franz Josef Glacier about 6 which allowed time for cooking and a few "O.J's" at the local "cafe". We arose early next day and drove to Fox glacier where we were doing our Heli-hike. Fortunately the conditions were perfect...blue sky and the sun was shining! The heli-hike started off with a ten minute helicopter ride to about 3/4 of the way up Fox Glacier...it was fantastic!! We were both in the front (we have been so lucky with things like this) of the helicopter and had breathtaking views of the scenery. It landed and we jumped out and put on crampons to help us walk on the ice. We spent about 2 hours scooting about and checking out crevasses and Ice Caves...we actually found one we could squeeze inside-it was beautiful with the clear, blue ice untouched by the sun. Hopefully the pics will look good!! We got the helicopter back down again and made our way back to Franz Josef, a 30 minute drive through the mountains. We hope to earn enough money while working to go back down some weekend and take a longer helicopter flight around Mount Cook!!
We left Franz Josef the next day with the intention of staying in Greymouth on the West Coast, about 2 1/2 hours away. However after consulting the Guide Book and following advice from my cousin Deirdre (thanks Perds) we came to the conclusion that Greymouth was a hole!! Ha ha. We bought supplies amid grey skies and continued on to Hanmer Springs another 2-3 hours away. It was an inspired decision because when we arrived in Hanmer, the weather was beautiful so we spent the evening soaking in the natural thermal pools...bliss!! It was some well needed relaxation after 7 weeks of travelling. The next day followed a similar pattern of relaxation. After a lie in we lunched, played a round of mini golf (Brian won -by 1 shot though) and soaked our weary bodies in the thermal pools again. All in all, a beautiful place and much needed rest
Our last full day was spent driving to Nelson back over the mountains. We didn't do much apart from cook and have a few celebratory beers to commemorate (any excuse!!) our last night on the South Island.
It has been a magic 2 weeks but we are looking forward to settling for a few months in Wellington. It's time to get a job and search for a wee appartment and hopefully squeeze in a bit of GAA training!!!
Wellington related news is in the pipeline...
Missing you all folks,
Love,
Laura & Brian
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