Edinburgh of the South

Dunedin

After partying hard in Queenstown we headed south for a couple of days of R and R while exploring The Catlins. We noticed that the southern coast of New Zealand tends to be a tad colder (not surprising because the next stop is Antarctica!) and we were welcomed into Dunedin by rain. Again this is not surprising because Dunedin is the Edinburgh of the south, ie. the street names are the same and the rain made it seem even more like home! We dragged ourselves up the steepest street in the world (Baldwin Street) before running to the Cadbury factory just in time for it to close. Apparently we missed a chocolate waterfall. So after that disappointment we made a huge curry with a couple of friends and spent the night swapping travelling stories with our dorm buddies, which we have to admit is one of the  great things about travelling.

Cadbury Factory

Not quite the same shopping as home

"Thats a sea-lion!"

Looks more like a bear

Pretty well camouflaged

Lonely penguin

Petrified forest

Mirror lake

Monkey creek

Invercargill
The next morning was an early start so that we could make the most of the Catlins before reaching Invercargill for the night. We stopped for more than one walk along the coastline to see rock features, a mirror lake, a petrified forest, lots of fur seals, dolphins and a penguin. We had been promised more than one penguin but he was all by himself so we left him to it. Another stop was to visit a beach that was home to a few unexpected animals. As we wandered along the beach we suddenly noticed quite a few big rocks...only they weren't rocks, they were in fact sea lions! It's recommended that you stay at least 10m away from them but that is pretty difficult to do when they are camouflaged with the sand! We stayed and watched these magnificent creatures for quite a while before one spooked us and we ran to catch up with our bus mates.

Milford Sound
On our third day it was time to visit Milford Sound, supposedly the most beautiful place in New Zealand. We drove for hours on the only road through the Fiordland National Park and lets just say that the glaciers did an amazing job in this area! The sheer valley sides and rugged peaks seemed much closer than they were because the expansive valley floors made it difficult to comprehend distances. We even stopped at Monkey Creek to fill up our water bottles with the coolest, crystal clear glacier water. Then we reached Milford Sound which is actually a misnomer because it is actually a fiord. We jumped onto the Pride of Milford, a huge catamaran, and drove out into the sound while munching on an awesome buffet lunch. We spotted even more seals and went right up close to a waterfall so that we got soaked. To be honest though, a picture tells a thousand words so just take a look at these!

When in New Zealand...

Queenstown

Leaving Wanaka we stopped for an hour at Puzzle World..."eccentricity at its best". They had four rooms of illusions and one of the world's first mazes. We wandered around being wowed and then attempted the maze...to little avail in the limited time available. I maintain we could have managed it if we'd had enough time! But as it was we made it to one of the four coloured corners and then had to use the emergency exit.

After a stop at a fruit stall for some YUMMY mandarins, we headed to Arrowtown, a small town just outside Queenstown. Here we were just wandering around when we spotted in a shop window...Irn Bru! So Sarah was straight into the shop :)

Next was Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand. Unfortunately, by this time we had spent far too much money and we are big wusses anyway so no adventure sports for us. We will definitely be coming back to New Zealand however, and then we'll try the river surfing! This time round though, we tried what else Queenstown is famous for...the bar crawl. Cocktails in teapots, dancing to live music and freezing out toes off in the minus 5 ice bar guaranteed it was a memorable night.

Having spoken to other travellers throughout Asia and New Zealand we had gathered a range of activities to do, and in Queenstown this included going to Fergburger! There is always a queue coming out of this place and it's easy to understand why once you have set eyes on their burgers. We have never sen such a huge burger and it took Katie three attempts to finish it! Then of course it was Cookie Time.

Christchurch

We left Queenstown after our trip south and spent a whole day on the bus, but our driver Poncey was quite amusing. He'd be speaking on the microphone about some scenery or something and then all of a sudden he would go off on a tangent about a person he had spotted. It makes the hours of driving bearable if you have a good driver! We stopped a few times throughout the journey, once to take a photo of New Zealand's highest mountain Mount Cook, and the bluest lake we have ever seen. According to Poncey the bluer the water the more "Scottish" it is - ie. the colder it is, and he was right about this lake!

Unfortunately we didn't get into Christchurch (ie Shakin City) until 5ish and so we quickly checked in before dashing to the Quake Museum that closed at 6. The museum not only tells of the 2011 earthquake and the rebuild, but of many previous earthquakes that have rocked the city. The museum is situated in the re:start mall which is a shopping mall made entirely from shipping containers. Even though the mall is a sign that the city is slowly being rebuilt it is situated right next to the red zone. The red zone is a part of the city that to this day is still cordoned off, barely touched since the earthquake. It has an eerie feeling about it as the buildings are just deserted and there is rubble everywhere.

Re:start Mall

Red zone 

Kaikoura

The last stop in the South Island was Kaikoura. It is a small seaside town originally created and sustained by the whaling industry which now uses the whales for tourism. Since we were lucky enough to see whales in South Africa we decided to save our money and go sunbathing instead of whale watching. This turned out to be a very bad decision as the whale watchers returned to tell us they had not only seen the usual sperm whales but they had spotted a killer whale! Yet another reason to come back to New Zealand. We commiserated that night with a couple of Norwegian friends by eating chocolate Easter eggs and watching a movie.

Fur seals are not afraid of humans in Kaikoura

The rest of our time was just spent travelling back up the country on the bus. We stayed in Wellington for a couple of nights to catch up with friends before heading for our flight out of Auckland.

"Everything is gonna be alright now"

Kaiteriteri

On the ferry

Our ferry journey to the South Island unfortunately took longer than usual. A poor man had a heart attack and so we had to turn around an hour into the journey, but we made it eventually and enjoyed watching the stunning coastlines as we sailed through the Cook Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Sadly, because of our delay we missed out on the opportunity to go wine tasting but reached our destination of Kaiteriteri around dinner time. This is a small coastal village with a beautiful beach, situated 13km from the Abel Tasman National Park. Unfortunately Katie became very ill and basically stayed in bed until Queenstown, missing the entire West Coast. So Sarah went with a friend into the national park, walking for a few hours before reaching Apple Tree Bay. This beautiful bay is a popular site for visitors but we were perfectly spread along the beach. After lunch and a swim in the freezing water we headed back towards the cafe at the entrance to the park because we had been told of the the awesome crumble. Turns out that food is a really good motivator!

Abel Tasman

Apple Tree Bay

Kaiterteri Beach

Later in the evening we met yet another Wiggle! The owner of our hostel was the first ever Captain Feathersword of The Wiggles and so he's a pretty good singer. We listened to him and some kiwi passengers singing along with the guitar, while Katie drank a hot toddy that Mr Wiggle (as we called him) had very kindly made for her.

Westport

We hopped onto a new bus to head down the west coast and we soon made some really good friends. Our driver, Bex, was a bit of a nutter and insisted on wearing a small top hat with pink feathers all the time but she was fantastic. She kept us amused on the bus with games and chocolate rewards as she drove along the most stunning coastline. That evening we reached Westport and ended up staying in a huge dorm with its own kitchen, which a group of us decided to make the most of. After a slightly stressful shop (we will never shop with 6 other girls again) we cooked and ate a huge spag blog while telling embarrassing stories- what a great way to get to know people haha! Then after dinner we took the  opportunity to view some of the locals that Bex had warned us about. Apparently because the west coast is so sparsely populated, the locals in Westport tend to have six fingers or other mutations of the sort, so we set out to find some. Unfortunately we met only one, but he was an interesting character! He kindly invited us back to his for some moonshine and to get naked...needless to say we declined!

Lake Mahinapua

Our next stop was the legendary Poo Pub which Kiwi Experience rate one of the best evenings on the trip. It is a shabby hostel and bar run by the oldest business man in New Zealand (he's 87!) and lets just say it was unique. We had stopped earlier in the day to grab some supplies because that night was a costume party. Luckily for Katie and I, inspiration hit us and we spent hours creating and perfecting our outfits.

Can you guess who we are?

Costume creation room

Unfortunately we didn't win the competition...appparently our idea was lost on the non-British members of our bus, gutted! (we were Bill and Ben the flower pot men, just incase you did't get it!)

Franz Joseph

Sarah, Alice, Cath and Hollie are prepared

While travelling around New Zealand you can't help but notice the stunning scenery of the country and most of it cn be attributed to glaciation. So it was time to check out some glaciers! The Franz Joseph glacier is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world an descends to only 300m above sea level. Unfortunately it is retreating at an alarming rate (not surprising considering the number of people hiking up and down it), but exploring the ice was one of the best things a closet geography geek could do! Leaving Katie in her bed, we got kitted out in some great looking jackets, trousers and boots before we were marched over to the helicopter landing site- yup, to get onto the ice we took a helicopter :) It was my first time in a helicopter and it was great fun, even when we flew really close to the valley walls...right up until we flew round in a circle and we tipped to the side. I think I have finally learnt from this adventure that small aircraft are not for me! Anyway back to the ice- we jumped out of the helicopter onto the ice and were immediately cold. It was the first time in 6 months that I really wanted a scarf! Even though we were hiking on ice our guides had told us that it would be warm because of the sun, but they were wrong as it had clouded over. Luckily we met some fellow kiwi passengers waiting to take our helicopter back down and they kindly gave us their hats and mittens. The next 3 hours were spent clambering up ice steps, squeezing into ice caves and admiring the view. Not only was the glacier and valley breathtaking, but our guide was rather beautiful too!

From the helicopter

Tight squeeze

Risky?

Then later as part of our glacier ticket, we got free entry into hot pools which was just the perfect way to heat up and relax our muscles.

Wanaka

The Cinema

Today was the day! After travelling down the entire west coast but missing it all, Katie got out of bed and went to the doctor. We have traveled in both Africa and Asia but Katie decides to get ill in New Zealand- typical! Luckily a short course of antibiotics was all that was needed to perk her up in time for Queenstown. So while she spent her last two days in bed, I wandered around the town of Wanaka and enjoyed sun bathing by the lake with friends. The town itself is lovely but what really makes it a spectacular place to visit is its setting. Surrounded on three sides by truly impressive mountain ranges is Lake Wanaka which is a fantastic blue colour. Then the thing to do in the evening is go to the cinema..this may sound boring but this cinema is unique. To watch the Life of Pi I sat in an old car with the roof missing! The fact that part of my view was blocked by the windscreen frame didn't even phase me as I sat and munched on the best cookie I have ever had. You see this cinema is also known for its homemade cookies which are made fresh for each film. All in all, it was a fabby night!

Lake Wanaka

View from our hostel