We arrived in Christchurch late at night,
and despite the initial confusion whilst attempting to locate some sort of
transport into the city, we had booked accommodation ahead and thus it turned
out to be a relatively easy process. A quaint hostel exuding comfort, we spent
the next day catching up on sleep and didn’t emerge from our beds till well
into the afternoon.
We started our Kiwi Experience on day
two. We were picked up by a shuttle bus in the early morning and after a few
hours, joined the main bus. We spent the evening in Westport, a small town on
the north west coast of the south island. Our room was pretty much a hostel in
itself: 10 beds, a working fireplace, television, toilet, and kitchen. The
following day we stopped in Greymouth for a quick pick up of clothes and
accessories for the night’s theme party: Superheroes vs. Villains, or Frat
Party (a lack of decisiveness resulted in two themes). We then made our way
down to Lake Mahinapua to stay at the ‘Poo Pub’. A night of Jägerbomb, vodka Red
Bulls, dressing up as the queen of hearts, and losing various belongings
including a brand new camera followed! Luckily Les (the angry owner) managed to
find my various possessions scattered outside the next morning!
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| The Kiwi Experience bus |
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| Lake Mahinapua |
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| En route to Queenstown |
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| Milford Sound |
We set off early the next day and headed to
Franz Josef. Upon arriving, HT set off to prepare for her skydive, whilst I
went to bed for the afternoon. Famed for the massive ice glacier in constant
flux, the small town is nestled at its base. We spent the next day hiking - a
tremendous experience that involved crawling through crevasses and climbing up
ice. A tricky process which required mastering the use of crampons and picks –
skills that massively escaped me and resulted in me falling over my feet…a lot.
Definitely wasn’t helped by the fact I can barely walk properly anyway!
The next day, we carried on making our way
down south to Lake Wanaka and eventually, Queenstown. Surrounded by the most
stunning scenery, it wasn’t hard to understand why New Zealand’s south island
is so famous! Unfortunately, the cold had finally got to us and we both fell
ill, which meant we weren’t able to go snowboarding. Even so, Queenstown lived
up to its reputation! Ferge Burgers, teapots, pick n mix, Milford Sounds, the
discovery of Dotti, posing with scarves, and just general awesomeness ensued!
Our five days passed by in a complete blur, and we were both pretty heartbroken
to get back on the Kiwi Experience to head back towards Christchurch, and
eventually the North Island.
From Christchurch, where we very nearly missed our bus, we went up
to Kaikoura for a night, then on to Picton to get the ferry across to
Wellington. Just as we were getting off the bus, I managed to knock a box of
eggs onto the floor – needless to say, (stinky) Steve was not all that
impressed that there was raw egg everywhere! Luckily we were changing
busses…not so lucky for the next group of people. After Wellington, we stopped
off in Taupo for a night. After massively chickening out of a skydive in Franz
Josef, I attempted to try again but due to the temperamental weather it was
cancelled. Moving upwards, our next stop was Rotorua. The town is built over a
geothermal hot spot and therefore famed for its rather unique aroma, which can
only be described as reminiscent of rotten eggs.
After two nights in Rotorua, we stopped in Auckland for a night
and then up rainy Paihai. Our New Zealand experience was quickly coming to an
end. A sun worshipper to the core, I must admit that whilst New Zealand was
very cold, I had the most incredible time!
