West Coast Road Trip - just a few pics!

We decided to drive the next leg of our trip, from Queenstown up to Nelson along the West Coast of South Island. Most people seem to be doing the trip the other way round, judging by the traffic, so we have the road to ourselves a lot of the time which is great! Stayed in Queenstown the first night, which is right on Lake Wakatipu. Very lively town, buzzing with energy and definitely the place to get your adrenalin rush any which way you can! Bungy jumping very popular here! However we decided that whatever brain cells we have left were better left in peace rather than rattling around upside down at the end of a rope! We then drove through picturesque Arrowtown and CK found a shop she liked(!) onto Twizel, our next stop. From here we could visit Mount Cook. The drive up to Mount Cook National Park was fantastic, passing by Lake Pukaki where the water was the most amazing shade of pale blue you have ever seen! We have since seen it again in other places, as you will notice in the photos of Fox Glacier Lake and again at Hokitika Gorge - how beautiful is that colour?! Then it was a brief stop for the night in Haast, another one horse town(!) and onto the Glaciers. You can see CK posing up close and personal next to Fox Glacier! Franz Josef Glacier we viewed from a distance but it was still just as impressive! Then it was onto Lake Matheson for a great reflective view! Next stop Hokitika (where we are at the moment!) We just missed the "Wild Foods Festival" last weekend where they serve up all kinds of bush tucker such as stir-fried possums, goat kebabs and other such delicacies! What a pity we weren't here a few days earlier eh? (Hmmm!) Came across a few kiwi zones on our trip but wasn't too hopeful, being as they are nocturnal. We have kind of seen one in a wildlife place (although they were behind glass and it was pitch black!) but once your eyes adjusted to the dark I guess we can actually say that we have seen one! Wasn't allowed to take a photo though - guess the flash would frighten the living daylights out of them! Not a good idea! Visited Hokitika Gorge today - note the fabulous colour of the water again! Finished off the day with a Hokitika Sunset! The old bus is one of several similar ones we have seen throughout our travels in New Zealand! Seems to be the thing to do over here. Rather than buy a camper van, people seem to buy an old bus and transform it! We have seen all kinds of weird and wonderful ones! Then they drive along towing jeeps, boats and all manner of things behind them! I kind of like the idea! Wonder if it would catch on in the UK - what do you reckon?!

Magical Milford Sound!

We left the rain of Dunedin behind and took the Intercity coach across country to Te Anau, the nearest town to the spectacular Milford Sound. Te Anau is the small, laid-back, chilled out kinda town that we have come to love in New Zealand! It's right on the edge of Lake Te Anau, which is the largest lake in South Island and the 2nd largest in New Zealand, after Lake Taupo. We arrived to blue skies, sunshine and to see the little seaplane coming in to land as we drove along the lake front! Couldn't have asked for a more perfect arrival than that! Our main reason for coming here was to take a trip on Milford Sound, which is a definite "must see" if you're in New Zealand and is simply stunning! To get there we took a 2 hour trip by minibus along the Milford Road, otherwise known as State Highway 94, which has been described as one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand. 940 metres above sea level at its highest point! Also one of the windiest roads, as you can see from the photo! (Can't take credit for that one myself unfortunately - searched it out on the web to show you what it was like!) Setting off on the boat we got a great view of the magnificent Mitre Peak which totally dominates the skyline. Awesome! (to quote a well used expression over here!) After that we thought we would be settling down for a leisurely, relaxing cruise but, due to the strength and direction of the wind on the way out, we spent the first half of the trip ducking out of the way of the huge amounts of spray coming in bucket loads over the side of the boat! It was an amazing trip though along the fiord - random waterfalls, sheer cliffs rising straight up out of the sea and fur seals sunbathing on the rocks! Then on the drive home we stopped off at various scenic spots along the way for a few photos. We've also been trying to fit in some walks while we're here as there are some great walking tracks in the area. Have been a bit hampered by the weather though as some days it has been solid rain - and when it rains here it REALLY rains! I think this area gets more than it's fair share of rain most of the year, which is why its so green and lush and beautiful!! Still, we did manage to do part of the Kepler Track - up to Brod Bay, where you can see CK relaxing on her log on the beach! At least until the sand flies came by to say Hello! (Tiny but persistant & pesky little critters that actually draw blood!) That drove us off the beach quite quickly(!) despite coming across one of the many ready-made BBQs that are prevalent on the beaches over here - perfect if you happen to be carrying a slab of meat in your backpack! But, being as all we had were 2 bananas and a muesli bar, short of killing a possum (which is quite a sport in some parts over here as they are considered a pest!) we decided to give it a miss and headed down the track for home!