Sue & Pauls' Massive NZ Adventure

Wednesday 13th April

Today we drove all the way back to Te Anau and used the very nice public conveniences as we hadn’t had a shower in over 48 hours! YUCK! DOC campsites are typically very basic and usually only have composting toilets and no running water. We drove almost 300km to Wanaka via Queenstown which was a beautiful and very chilled out city lined with buskers and beautiful folk.

The lake at Queenstown

Feeling rather out-priced, we drove on to the equally lovely Wanaka which is a smaller, quieter version of Queenstown. The car journey was particularly beautiful as the mountains were spectacular and the trees were starting to turn very vivid autumnal colours. We had our first close encounter with a flock of sheep on this leg as well! Very funny! We found a great campsite near Lake Wanaka were we stayed for a few days.

Sheep! =====>

Paul at the campsite next to Lake Wanaka

Thursday 14th April

We spent the day in Wanaka and updated our blog in an internet café. We visited Puzzlingworld which was ok… we spent the rest of the day reading and doing cross words in the tent!

Puzzlingworld – slightly lame…

Friday 15th April

We left a soggy Wanaka for Haast. We had another lovely drive through the autumnal countryside and mirror-like lakes.

The mirror-like Wanaka Lake

Driving on the mountain roads was a bit taxing but we finally found a campsite at Haast Beach and the sun finally came out so we could dry out our soggy tent. We spent the afternoon on the wharf at Jackson Bay fishing (rather unsuccessfully).

View from the wharf at Jackson Bay

Saturday 16th April

We left a wet and soggy Haast for a soggier drive to Fox Glacier to see glacier #1! We had a short walk to the terminal face of the glacier through the bottom of a steep valley, flanked both sides by sheer rock faces and tons of smashed up rock underfoot. The scale of the glacier is only appreciated when it doesn’t look that far away from ½ km away!

Fox Glacier

We also visited Franz Josef glacier which was bigger but situated in a less imposing valley. There was a large river outflow at the terminal face where blocks of ice the size of fridges are carried away from the face downstream as you look 2000m up the course of the glacier.

Franz Josef Glacier

After a short beer stop we set off to Pukekura where we found a small backpackers full of Germans who spoke perfect English! Each of the 4 rooms were themed and ours was some kind of bush theme complete with driftwood curtain poles and a mosquito net! See here.

Sunday 17th April

Still raining cats and dogs today! We left Pukekura in the direction of Greymouth and arrived there to find most things in Sunday-mode so we decided to catch a movie. We watched “Paul” (the new Simon Pegg/Nick Frost Movie) which was pretty silly but funny and a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. We had a short walk around town and checked into Duke Backpackers promising free soup in the evenings, toast and jam in the mornings and a free beer at the bar! We had bought ourselves a packet of bacon for a treat for breakfast but quickly realized that we were in a Jewish backpackers and it also happened to be Passover weekend so we decided we should hold out for our bacon sarnies! We spent a nice night in the hostel bar chatting to Dory (the host) and a slightly inebriated German guy.

Monday 18th April

Today we had the first lie in we’d had in ages! We drove out to Punakaiki to see the famous Pancake Rocks and blow holes. We had a massive hockey-pokey ice cream and went for a walk along the Porari River before a picnic on the beach.

Pancake Rocks

Blow hole!

Tuesday 19th April

Had an early start today to drive 30km north of Greymouth to Barrytown for a day’s knife-making! Nine of us were shown how to first forge then handle and grind our own knives! Our hosts, Steven and Robyn had helped over 17,000 previous customers and their patter was honed sharper than the cutlery! Steven kept us entertained all day and asked everyone what they got up to at home “in the real world”.

Everyone was so pleased to be there that we all got along famously. A kiwi couple, a lone German, a lone Canadian lass and belatedly, a trio of lads from Belfast.

We first bashed out the blade shapes with lump hammers on anvils and dropped them, red hot into a mixture of water and duck poo to temper (the poo contained something that helped harden the steel…). The handle was then sawn to length and Robyn drew an outline of a knife on the rough forged blade.

Me and Paul by the forge

All the dents and bumps on the blades were then ground out on a series of belt sanders. The handle is started by riveting brass onto the hilt of the knife. The wooden element of the handle is made from rimu pine (reclaimed from a local Victorian asylum!). Once the wooden handle was riveted on with brass cable, all the gaps were filled and Steven ground the knives up while we had lunch.

For lunch we had self-service toasted sandwiches and tea and coffee. After lunch Robyn showed us around their land and all of their menagerie, including horses (miniature and normal), ducks, chickens, parrots, dogs and a cat! We all then had a go on their HUGE swing made from telegraph poles and rope which took 5 fellas to pull you back before releasing you towards to sea! Awesome fun!

Paul on the mega swing!

There was also a wooden board in the courtyard where you could try your hand at throwing Steven’s James Bond style ninja stars and axes!
After lunch we wet and dry polished the knife blades until they were near mirror finish and Steven put a sharp edge on them after we had stained and polished the wooden handles. The day was toasted with a glass of “Barrypagne” which was their secret recipe which was so good I will probably be keeping to myself for now!

The whole group posing with their knifes around the forge

Everyone’s individual knives next to the same raw materials (steel, rimu and brass)

Wednesday 20th April

Today we drove via Westport all the way north to Picton. We stayed in a hostel and finally got to eat our bacon sandwiches! We went to bed early to catch a ferry to Wellington the following morning.

Thursday 21st April

Today was the day of the serious drive! Now completely poor, we decided to drive back to Auckland so we wouldn’t have to fork out for any more accommodation on the road. We caught the 10:30am ferry from Picton to Wellington, arriving 3 hours later. Then we drove some 600km to Auckland and arrived at my Brothers house at 10pm just in time for a bottle of beer! Driving past a snow capped Mt Rapahu was particularly amazing!

Now for a few days relaxation and quality time with the whānau!

Me and Paul on the road (we forgot the tripod…)

Monday 11th April

Today we drove to Te Anau for a picnic lunch and to pick up supplies and petrol for the long drive to Milford Sound. We headed north 60km or so and found a DOC campsite at Kiosk Creek and stopped off at Mirror Lakes. We made a fire and drank some Speight’s to keep warm!

Mirror Lakes

Campsite at Kiosk Creek

Tuesday 12th April

Today we drove all the way to Milford Sound and just made it onto the 11:45am boat tour with only 2 minutes to spare! The cruise included a BBQ lunch and was just spectacular, a real highlight of the whole holiday! The trip also included entrance to the deep water marine observatory where we saw lots of fish and coral in their natural habitat.

Milford Sound

The day was a totally brilliant experience and was well worth the drain on our dwindling funds! We saw lots of lovely waterfalls coming down off the surrounding mountains including the famous Sterling Falls and the equally lovely Fairy and Pixie falls and Lucy falls!

Sterling falls

Fairy, Pixie and Lucy falls

The tour boat went all the way out into the Tasman Sea where we saw lots of basking seals on the aptly named Seal Point!

View of Milford Sound from the Tasman Sea

Our tour boat with a cloud covered Mitre Peak in the background

Afterwards we set off back up the Milford Road towards the campsite (there is only one road to and from Milford Sound) and stopped off on the way at “The Chasm”, an amazing rock formation carved out by incredibly fast moving water pouring down from the surrounding mountains and glaciers.

The Chasm – the photos don’t really do it justice!

Had another night’s stay at Kiosk Creek, warding off a persistent army of sand flies.

Road back from Milford Sound

The exit from the Homer Tunnel on the way from Milford Sound

Thursday 7th April

Today we moved up the road into Dunedin and found a holiday park on the outskirts with small cabins. We felt a bit bummed out by our dwindling funds but were cheered up by the excellent Otago Museum. It had loads of cool stuff, most memorably an amazing collection of Victoria taxidermy, Greek/Roman urns from 300BC and even an Egyptian mummy! There was also an interesting exhibition about faces which included software to alter your own mug shot and include your face in famous paintings…

Paul as the Mona Lisa and as Vincent Van Gogh!

Friday 8th April

We moved into a backpackers in the centre of the city and spent a nice morning in the public library topping up our blog, checking emails and reading the papers. In the afternoon we had a guided tour of the local Speight’s Brewery, whose products we had been imbibing throughout our trip so far! The tour was pretty cool and included a sampling session!

In the evening we had a few beers in our room before catching the bus to the rugby stadium to watch the local team Highlanders beat South African team Cheetahs 24-21! We had a few more beers and were somehow picked up and taken back to our hostel by the Maori Wardens, a volunteer group that we still don’t understand the purpose of except walking around sports events and taking drunks back to their hostels! I think they are somewhere between the Samaritans and PCSOs!


Highlanders vs. Cheetahs at the Carisbrook Stadium in Dunedin

The “Worlds Steepest Street” in Dunedin (they obviously haven’t seen my Sisters driveway)

Saturday 9th April

Today we left Dunedin feeling a bit hung-over and drove to Curio Bay (near Waikawa) via Balclutha and the lovely Purakaunui Falls.

Purakaunui Falls

We found a campsite and set up our tent in a clearing in the flax bushes right on the headland. We drove to nearby Slope Point, the most Southern point of the South Island.

Paul and me at a VERY windy Slope Point

Me (and the trees) struggling to stand up in the wind

Nearby the campsite we walked to a local beach that was home to a colony of yellow eyed penguins and the site of an ancient, petrified forest.

Paul at Curio Bay Headland

Sunday 10th April

Today we drove to Invercargill and on to Bluff. We were hankering for some famous Bluff Oysters, chips and beer but were disappointed to hear that the oyster boats had been unable to go out for some days because of poor weather, so we had to make do with cod and chips. After taking our picture at the famous signpost we continued on to Colac Bay near Riverton.

Me and Paul at the Bluff signpost (similar to the one in the far North at Cape Reinga)

We found a weird little campsite in the grounds of a pub which we had entirely to ourselves so we stoked up the little wood burning stove in the TV room and watched films! All was going well until some Japanese tourists turned up at 2am and started putting up their tent and slamming their car doors…

Colac Bay: Happy house is happy!

Saturday 2nd April

After a FREEZING cold night in Kaikoura, we drove a long, long way in an effort to avoid the entire Christchurch area. We stopped half way at Greta Valley for a cup of coffee in a cafe obviously quite popular with bikers!

All the motorbikes at Greta Valley

We had another stop at Methven for a well deserved beer at the Blue Pub and drove the final few kilometres to Waihi Gorge scenic reserve near Geraldine. This was a lovely DOC camp-site with a lovely view but full of VERY vocal cattle! :s I didn't get much sleep!

View from our tent at Waihi Gorge SR (minus cows)

Sunday 3rd April

Today we drove to Oamaru and Moeraki to see the famous Moeraki Boulders! It started to rain heavily so we hung out in the only open business in the small fishing village: a tavern!

Moeraki Boulders

Monday 4th April

Today we drove back along the coast to Oamaru, the "Steampunk capitol of NZ"! As it was still pouring down with rain we did a lot of indoor things. We visited the North Otago Museum, the art gallery and a small car museum (which included a Peugeot 205...).

A tractor and caravan that completed a round the world trip!

We visited the Whitestone Cheese Factory and sampled a selection of award winning cheeses including the famous Windsor Blue which is apparently very popular on the set of Scrubs!

"Cat Mince" in the local pet store!

In the evening we visited a wildlife reserve that had a small hide to view the colony of yellow eyed penguins returning from sea to their nests. We only saw one come in but we saw a few nesting in the bushes that were pretty cute! We also saw lots of seals which lived all along the coastline.

A Moeraki seal!

We stayed another night in the same camp-site, did some washing and had a few more beers in the local tavern.

View of Moeraki village from our campsite

Tuesday 5th April

The sun finally came out for a few hours which allowed us to do some serious admin (the car was filled with a million tourist flyers and crap) and get all our clothes and tent dried out! We drove onwards to Dunedin, had a walk around and visited the Chinese Garden which was a nice shelter from the rain for half an hour!

The Chinese Garden and Paul feeding the gold fish

We drove out to the Otago Peninsula and found a camp-site in Portobello. We decided to stay in a small backpackers room as it was STILL pouring down with rain! We sat in our room reading all night lamenting the fact that our funds had dwindled...

Wednesday 6th April

Today we drove back into Dunedin to visit the NZ Sports Hall of Fame in the old railway station. In the afternoon we drove to the very end of the Otago Peninsula to see the Royal Albatross Centre which we decided was too expensive to walk around on a wind blown cliff face, so we walked to Victory Beach which was 2 miles of completely deserted white sand!

View from Albatross Centre

Me and Paul on the walk to Victory Beach including the "pyramids"

Monday 28th March

Drove down to Kawhia harbour on the west coast. Found some cheap digs and spent the afternoon fishing off of the wharf. Caught all of FOUR snapper but had to throw all of the little bleeders back as they were too small to take home.

Back at the camp site, Sue made a little friend!

The little kitten at the camp site named Snagglebumpkin (by Sue)

Tuesday 29th March

Epic 300km slog down to Wangnanui. In hindsight I wished we'd pushed on all the way down to Wellington. Wanganui basically stops at five pm. Went into town to try and watch NZ vs. Sri Lanka but the pubs were all shut well before 10 pm so we couldn't.

Wednesday 30th March

Arrived in Wellington for lunch. The change of pace is instantaneous. People milling around everywhere and we spend the afternoon walking up and down Cuba St. This is a lot like the North Laine in Brighton. Lots of 2nd hand and indie stores.

Wellington CBD

We have dinner in town and treat ourselves to fillet steaks served raw on 400 *C slabs of stone so that you can cook your steak to your liking. For us that meant eating the steaks before they got too hot! Night life exists here but we get it wrong as no one goes out in force before midnight here.

Our steaks!

Thursday 31st April

After breakfast on Cuba Street, we headed off to the Te Papa museum. This is a huge museum on the waterfront that covers the physical, political, human and cultural history of N.Z. All the 140 million years of it! There was more than we would see in a day so we may go back on our return trip up north.

We finally visited a "Burger Fuel", where they claim to be "engineering the ultimate burger"! It wasn't bad for $15 a head. We then headed out for a couple of beers in some empty bars promising entertainment until 3AM! For who, we don't know! We were back in our hostel room by 10:30pm ready for the early start for the ferry the next day.

Friday 1st April

Happy Birthday big Brother!

We caught the 10:30am ferry to Picton.

Paul on the ferry to Picton

As soon as you leave the ferry port you can tell you have crossed the water. The landscape is far more sparse here with almost no grass and the mountains here are really mountains! We travelled 150km south along the pacific coast where you can see seals laying on the rocks, out on the surf! We arrived in Kaikoura at 5pm just as the weather clears.

The beach at Kaikoura