We decided to drive the next leg of our trip, from Queenstown up to Nelson along the West Coast of South Island. Mos
t 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 p
lace 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 fou
nd 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 shad
e 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 Glac
iers. 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 re
flective view! Next st
op 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 ac
tually 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 - n
ote 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?!
We decided to drive the next leg of our trip, from Queenstown up to Nelson along the West Coast of South Island. Mos
t 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 p
lace 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 fou
nd 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 shad
e 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 Glac
iers. 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 re
flective view! Next st
op 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 ac
tually 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 - n
ote 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?!
5 comments:
Gee guys can't believe I had to scroll all the way back to February to find the last comment and even then it was family!. Ooooh conch, you have moved up in the world, giving up on the simple things in life like pick and mix (extra shrimps) for the full chocolate hamper! However, the recession over here is taking it's toll and we are now resorting to sharing the odd black jack or packet of fizzers. Thanks for all the postcards by the way, makes us feel very priviliged. Take care and keep having fun. Lots of love Bridge, Antz, Macy & Jack the marmite monster XXXX
I get more and more jealous everytime I read your blog; the places you are visiting are so beautiful! I think you should both set up a 'bus' business when you get back. I think it would be very popular round the Highlands of Scotland! The photos are stunning as well! Are you keeping a diary at all? Just thinking you could write a book when you come back about all your travels! Look forward to your next instalment! Take care, Carol, Alan and Rachael xxx
Thanks for the comments Carol and Bridget! Keep them coming cos we like to hear from you all!
And Carol - I will bear in mind your idea of the 'bus' business!! Maybe Stagecoach might have a few old bangers they want to get rid of eh?!! Am using the blog as a kind of diary instead of keeping a separate one! So only have to remember what we got up to in the 6 months before I started blogging! (Must try and do that before early Alzheimers sets in!) Next instalment very soon as we have just arrived in Nelson where we are staying in the same apartment for a month with free wi fi! Nice to be settled in one place for awhile! Take care & lots of love Julie XXX
Oh and welcome to Bridget our latest follower! We are just waiting for your photo to appear! Thanks for getting us up into double figures again after the departure of our mysterious Chinese follower (we had no idea who he was anyway!!)
Julie & Connie XX
Just waiting for my photo..... clearly you are having a giraffe! Now conch you know I don't do photos! Sorry not had much time to look this last week or so, will try again shortly. Best wishes to you both for Easter if I don't get a chance before hand - obviously you will have given up chocolate for lent Conch!!!!!!
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