NZ South Island Part II

We arrived in Wanaka which is very similar to the Lake District back home. Very beautiful place with lots to see including some fabulous lakes.

Wanaka also has 'Puzzle World': fab place with lots of weird and wonderful illusions for the eyes and mind. Here are Kenny and I in a room together; me on the left Kenny, on the right. For once I feel taller!

Another odd illusion of the mind.

There was also a maze that we completed in well under the average time - Go team S/K!

As it was still school holidays the local cinema was holding drive in movies in the park. We watched 2 of them, I was laid down in the back of the van, best movie seat ever.

The tallest mountain in the area is 'Mount Roy'. We decided to head on up it early one morning. The walk zig zagged up the mountain side.

And gave us the most amazing views.

How incredible is this?

The view from the top was picture perfect.

The way back down is always the bit I dislike the most. I decided to half run it, half walk as it was a grassy track (something I would later regret as my thighs were burning for the next 2 days and I could hardly walk - great fun though).

Tea by the lake - by heck this camping is hard work.

Fabulous lake.

Looking out wistfully. (You can tell by the socks that we were in sandfly country again! - K)

Kenny noticed there was an RAF museum here so on our way out we stopped off so he could see the planes. (Technically RNZAF, the empire not being what it once was, and all! - K)

A little further down the road, on our way to Queenstown, we came across the world's oldest bungee. We had to stop to take a look and watch as person after person flung themselves off the ramp. Looked like great fun but at £90 a go, we decided our budget would not stretch.

The chap who developed the bungee had obviously become a rich man and so he also had a vineyard right next to it. Of course we had to pop in and sample his wine.

We finally arrived in Queenstown, and what an amazing place.

The lake was so clear we decided to jump in for a swim (it was very cold - in fact Kenny only lasted a few minutes before getting out!)

Yet another fabulous place for tea.

The lake.

Wish you were here?

The town was also so pretty with a long boardwalk lined with bars and restaurants.

A great place to spend some time, so we stayed here for a few days.

Finally we had to leave to head off to Milford Sound. heading passed the 'Incredibles'.

Near Milford on one of the famous tracks. We could not do an overnight walk, as most of our camping kit was back in the UK, so we settled for a day walk up the track.

Through the woods. (All a bit Lord of the Rings, I thought - K)

Near lakes.

More lakes.

Secluded and relaxing. (A bit of a Forest Gump moment. That's all I've got to say about that. - K)

This place just gets better & better.

On the road up to Milford Sound at Mirror Lake.

So clear you can see the fish.

Where we camped that night - jealous or what (mind you the flies were so bad we had to stay in the van all evening!)

The road to Milford Sound.

The weather here is so bad it rains almost everyday, they get 720cm or rain per year. Of course it was misty and rainy when we were there. (Let me do the maths for you - that's 24 feet a year! - K)

However it did not stop it being incredibly beautiful.

If you look closely you can see the seals.

A cascade of water.

It was cold and the wind started to pick up.

Then the real rain came!

Getting wet Kenny?

Such an amazing place, despite the rain.

Back on the road away from Milford Sound.

Massive shear roack faces.

Later that day we came across the oldest bridge in NZ, no longer allowing traffic over it but with lots of charm.

We had been to the most northerly point and here we are at the most southerly, Bluff.

The huge chain, supposed to be some sort of myth where Mauri gods were anchoring to NZ so not to lose it (or something like that).
(I think it had something to do with one of the Mauri gods sailing NZ from their home in Polynesia, then anchoring it to Stewart Island, just off the coast here. The chain sculpture is symbolic of this anchor chain. Anyway, it's on Billy Connelly's World Tour of New Zealand, so just ask him. - K)

An Invercargill sunset.

Cooking dinner became a challange if it was windy as the flame would blow out. So we developed lots of solutions over the weeks but all meant bending over the stove until the food was cooked

I had been desperate to go to a rodeo while we were here, but all along we kept missing them. However we were just on time in Invercargil. The events are incredible, using skills from cattle rearing activities. The men and women performed in all sorts of events.

The cow & bull riding were the best to watch. This is just a small bull, later on the big ones came out and when I say big I mean HUGE!!!! The idea was to stay on for 8 seconds to qualify and then you were given points on style and technique. On the big bulls most were bucked off in 2 - 3 seconds, they were crazy bulls who often chased the cowboys after they had fallen off.

The girls performed in the barrel racing where they had to go round 3 barrels as quickly as possible. Other events included, calf catching from the saddle where the cowboy had to jump from his horse onto the calf and wrestle it the the ground, the fastest that day was 6 seconds! Others involved lasoos and bucking horse riding.
I have spent most of my riding career just trying to stay on where these guys have mastered the art of falling off.

Now was the time to start heading up the East coast to Dunedin.

We stopped off on the way at some interesting places - here I am at 'Niagara Falls'.

No - seriously!

We also found this little shop that sold lots of crazy trinkets that the chap there had made out of scrap.

Inside the shop. (I'd like to point out that this "shop" was actually an old Bedford bus! - K)

Dunedin was a beautiful city with the most spectacular station.

We were there over Chinese New Year and as there are lots of Chinese in NZ the celebrations were big.

We followed a parade through the streets holding red balloons.

The gates of the Chinese gardens.

Where they performed the waking of the lion dance.

Various drums.

Tai-Chi

Caligraphy.

All finished off with fireworks.

The station at night.

In order get to Christchurch without delay we set off up the coast once more and found a ramdom car park to camp in. However when we woke up we realised we had parked in the most beautiful bay.

So pretty.

Again we stopped off at some places of interest up the coast, the worlds largest jersey.

Before long it was time to hand the van back. I cannot say we were sad to see it go. 7 weeks sleeping, eating, dressing etc in a small space was enough for us!

The parents of a friend of mine, Elise, had agree to put us up (or put up with us) for the weekend before we headed off. It happended to coincide with their employees bar-b-que which they very kindly invited us along to. The tug of war.

Christchurch was a beautiful city, we saw it post the September and December quakes but before the recent one. Greg & Rita showed us around where all the damage had occured. While it looked OK from the outside it was evident from all the 'condemend' signs on the houses that the devastation had been extensive.

We were so lucky to see the catherdral and the city centre before it was destroyed. It was a beautiful, cultural place which is now the scene of one of the worst disasters in NZ history. Our thoughts go out to all the people we met in Christchurch. The city will once again bounce back from this disaster but it really is a cruel twist of fate.

Huge thanks to Greg & Rita who not only put up with us for the weekend but also drove us to the airport at crazy o'clock on monday morning.

We both loved NZ, I can totally see why people settle there so easily from the UK. The countryside is fantastic, the driving is so easy, as there is no traffic, and parking is a breeze! The nature and the diversity of landscape are all amazing. But by far the greatest pull is the friendliness of everyone. Everyone is so happy and helpful and so quick to start conversations. We will never forget this kindness.