Ashburton

After the fun of Christchurch it was off to Ashburton to meet up with Craig and Jaquie. After a day in the Canterbury museum we were kindly picked up buy Craig and taken to our home for the week. on the 13th we went exploring the town which didn't take too long, turns out there not a lot to do in ashburton, but not to worry Craig had quite a bit install for us so there was defiantly no chance of us getting bored, quite the opposite. In the evening it just so happened that Craig was going to Methvens local radio station to do his show so we went along for the ride. the studio itself wasn't the most flash or roomy but it did the job and as the sun was shinning we relocated outside cranked up the volume and enjoyed the evening sun sitting back with a few beers listing to the show, with the odd local popping by to pass there compliments. but it wasn't all listen and no play (well it was for me) but for Davey he was a special guest and was given a 4 song slot in which to do his thing. which was done very nicely if i do say so myself. the following day we took to the tennis courts and after eventually getting in to the courts no thanks to the grumpiest hag in New Zealand we got our game on. well at least until we lost all the balls over the fence but by then we had had a pretty good session so headed home before another evening of entertainment. this time we drove out well into the foothills of mount cook and near to one of the many sets from the lord of the rings movies. the following day wasn't the most eventful apart from a bit of awesome off-roading, driving down river beds and what not we didn't really do much. After a day of rain stopping all procedures we were up at 3.30am on the Saturday to go fishing. the weather was perfect (not raining) and thing were looking good until about the 2nd hr of not catching anything and having freezing cold wet feet, so for a bit I was wondering why people did this for fun. But after a chance of location i suddenly discovered why. The new spot was sheltered so now waves lapping over my boots and had a wonderful view of the mountains behind the lake. the only problem was there was a slight lack of fish. so for the 3rd time we changed location, not as pretty but i caught a fish, which i then proceeded to drop, through rocks at to try and halt its get away; this failed so it was back to fishing again. However my luck was in as in the last few minuets I hooked a beauty of a Salomon which wasn't going any where but into my belly. After the fishing trip the fun was far from over as we had a waterfall to walk to and then a private bar to attend before going home and cooking up the salmon before finally getting to bed around the reasonable time of 11.30pm.

Catch Up



mega meal



Recently we've been rather busy lads so busy infact that to recount the hole venture would take to long, so your getting the abeviated version. From Fox we bused to QT (Queens Town). Named not due to a large homosexual population but rather because it was fit for a Queen. Next it was bungy time not sure how I jumped but I did. So we celebrated with a mega meal. On the 6th we were off to Milford sounds for the day. 4 hrs on a bus, 2 he cruise of the sounds ( which are actually a fiord but dose it really matter obsessive locals?) seeing pretty hills, dolphins and a large seagull called an Albatross then 4hrs back and to bed. After that excitement we took the following day to unwind eating a Mr Big Ferg Burger, lots of meat in a bun. Followed by 2 games of frisbee golf which after a frustrating start was surprisingly fun. In the evening it was off to the pub a QT way of life. Next it was back on the bus to earthquake centural. After 10 house on the bus we arrived in Christ Church where we met up with Mark ate a venison pizza then picked up P to he Clark before going on a pub hunt. This was harder than expected but after an hr we found one it was Irish with a band but by then we didn't really care and to be honest it was quite a good pub. The following day we all drove to hammer springs with the Christmas playlist blasting out the one working speaker. The springs we a bad spa crossed with a bad water park so made an alright place. We spent a few hours there sliding and chilling befor more Christmas tunes stoping for beer tasting, getting a bit lost trying to find a resident that was shut when we did find it befor stumbling across a good Thai eatery. In the evening we entertained the Dutch playing a game of 'who am I?'  on the Sunday we swapped hostels found a fancy chocolate shop complete with chocolate chia before saying goodbye to Parb's and Mark and catching up on our sleep. The 12 was spent time killing in the rather interesting cantbery museum and surrounding park before meeting up with Craig and starting our stay at Ashburton. Oh we also went to the antarctic exhibition but that was a bit of an over priced excursion so enough said.



QT sunset




said dolphin




said albatross




unsaid waterfall




milford sounds





earthquake central



Foxy Glacier

It seems everywhere we stay in New Zealand we don't want to leave, but the trip must go on, so on the 1st of December we said goodbye to Greymouth and made our way south to Fox Glacier. Not as popular as Franz Joseph but unlike Franz Fox had other attractions within walking distance. We arrived on the 1st quite late in the day to find a small alpine village and our hostel complete with free hot tub so not a bad place at all. The following day we had booked ourselves in for an ice climb. Instead of just going prancing around the glacier taking pretty pictures (which we did as well) we got the chance to climb all over that bad boy, much more exciting than a stole on ice. When we arrived at the base camp we met the fellow climber an Asian family complete with grandad, so quite how they though he would get on with an ice clime i don't know but that was up too them. From the base the bus took us about half the way to the glacier but eventually it could go no further and we had to walk the last few kilometres to the glacier. Once on the ice we were shown the ropes and then let loose to clime some ice. The first wall wasn't too challenging only a 10 meter face and the one after that was even easier but our guides had a surprise lined up for us. The final wall was about 40meter of hard ice (so getting a grip was a bit tricky) and too make things more interesting the was a slight over hang. On my first attempt after a few falls i came agonisingly close to the top but as i went to pull up my axe lost all its grip and i found myself dangling a good 35meters up completely exhausted and had to accept defeat. But the second time i change the route slightly and made it up with no hitches; well i nearly put my axe though the rope but will ignore that part. After this we called it a day and slowly made our way down off the glacier then back on the bus to the village for a relaxing evening it the hot tub. The following day we walked to lake Matheson. Only 6km from the village we still got there surprisingly fast so took the pace down for a strolled round the lake taking in the stunning views of mount cook in the background. For the keen you can get there for sunrise and use the lake as a mirror in the still of the morning reflecting the mountain range behind, but personally a 4am start was a bit too keen. Once we'd got our fill of lake view we headed back just getting caught in the starts of a storm. But back at the hostel we saw how lucky we were as the storm worsened into a proper down pour. So this would be the perfect chance for a hot tub session right? Wrong, the last person to use it had left the standby temp too low and the cover slightly open so it was a rather disappointing luke-warm tub. But still we'd enjoyed our time in the foxy glacier even if we didn't get the goodbye hot tub session in the rain we wanted.

Greymouth...!

Why on earth are yo going to Greymouth. Well thats what every kiwi we spoke to would ask us and when we arrived on the 23rd of November for our final wwoofing sight we saw exactly why there was such supprise and confusion that two tourist would want to go to Greymouth. Its and old mining community on the coast and upon first arriving gave an ipswich vibe. Once we reached our new location thing didnt get much better. There was no one to greet us, the hostel didn't look the most flash and nobody seemed to know what was going on. However from here thing started to get better. This time we were cleaning and making beds for a backpackers the work itself was rather simple and a bit boring but i said it gets better and here's the good news. We were working with 4 other people 2 Germans an American and for the first few days a Fin. So with our fellow wwoofers we were able to have a laugh, relax watching movies of an evening and make a few friends. Our dinner of an evening was soup, the same soup everyday and it wasn't the most appertising soup, but we seemed to be a charmed pair and the evening we arrived and on several other evenings we were treated to pizza, so know complaints there. After a few day there we were introduced to the Stray bus. A tour operator that shows young tourist the sight and activities of New Zealand; so why they were in greymouth i dont know but they were so that irellivent. Anyway something of relivance is that on sight there is a bar, at which we got a few free drink each day. So everyday the bus was in town, Dory would open up the bar and put on a fancy dress party. But not any old fancy dress, oh no you have to fashion your costume out of a bin bag. The first night the bus was in we joined the spirit of the dress up but unfortunately the bus didn't so that night ended a bit early. However the following time the bus was definitely up for it. Two Brits, of course, had put together the most impressive us of a bin bag id ever seen, using the base as a little black dress and detailing the edges and main body with tinsel and other glittery items. Most impressive and quite rightly they won best dressed. But everyone who dressed up was entered into the bingo game. Which with the help of our new kiwi friend we won both the straight and full house, so a most enjoyable night was had by all. The following night we were at it again but this time we had no such luck with the bingo, but did put in a good few games on the pool table. On our last night we decided to take advantaged of been on the west coast and watched the sun set over the sea. It was quite a beautiful sight watching the sun set peacefully behind the raging Tasman sea. So a fitting end to our staying Greymouth, and after a grey start it had definitely been a worth while place to visit. 

Welcome To The Tasman

Once upon a time a man by the name of Aebl Tasman discovered the northern tip of the south island but ran away as he was too scared to discover more. For this Honor he has had the Abel Tasman national park named after him and on the 19th of November we bravely went where Abel Tasman never reached and begun our exploration of the national park A.T-ing as we like to call it. Upon arriving at our hostel we dropped our bag and head straight for the beach. Apart from consistent smooth sand it has everything you could possibly want from a beach. Rocks to clime, room to chill and good clear waters to swim in. At first we stuck mainly to the rocks. At just the right size to climb over we made our way round the coast and tried to get to a small island. But our plans met a comeuppance when the water which from a far had looked passable was in fact quit a deep rivine with a distance just that little bit too far to jump. Frustrated we headed back to the beach and relaxed there for most of the day. In the evening the kiwi experience arrived, a tour busy with quite a reputation for mischief. But to our surprise our room mates were incredibly well mannered, easy to talk to and they didn't stay up all night drinking. The following day we took a water taxi deep into the national park to walk an 8hr section of the track. We were dropped at Tonga bay and steadily made our way up and down the hills that littered the coast line. The path itself stuck mainly to the shore line but at points veered more inland to give a lovely mix of forest and coastal views with some points providing both. One of the highlights of the walk was crossing the suspension bridge which dangled around 100ft above the raging waters on there way to the sea. But by far the most interesting discovery was what seemed to be a memorial to ships lost at sea. Each ship had had its name carved the rock of one remote bay that was only accessible at low tide. After completing the walk we waited at anchorage bay to be pick up. While waiting we discovered why people had such a dislike to sand fly, having not encountered them before it sound like they were just been a bit squeamish but those little chaps sure pack a good bite and are relentless in their numbers. Eventually we were saved from the onslaught of flys and went back to our hostel to find it deserted. Without the experience the place was empty. The following day we took the opportunity to go waking closer to home, however it seems the local council didn't have the same idea as no more than 10 meters out of the center of the village the footpaths all but disappear and on those wiggly windy roads it would be suicide to try walk them, especially with tour bus after tour bus trundling by. So instead we found a local park at the top of a cliff and spent most of the morning exploring that. After lunch it was time for a round of golf, but not golf as the chaps from the club house would know its. Opposite the hostel there was a small, but fun crazy golf course and as we had the place all to our selves we took the opportunity to pass the time with a few rounds. As this was our last full day in the A.T. and we got a 10% discount from the golf people we decided to eat out at a rather nice restaurant which looked our across the bay. The following day we still had a bit of time before the bus arrived to pick us up so we hired two kayaks of the morning and explored the coast line closer to home. firstly heading for split rock, apparently created when them Maori gods were fighting over the magical ball, one wanted it for the sea one for the forest and in the argument it was spilt and lost its powers so neither wanted it thus it was left between the forest and the sea. After our cultural lesson we braved the open waters and went round the bay a bit to discover some cool rock to explore and arch and our own private beach to chill on. Groovy baby. After living the dream we haded back, got ourselves and ice cream and chilled next to the sea waiting for the bus to, get us out of there!

You Dont Go South Of The River

queen charlotte sounds

After our 4 hour crossing we had arrived in the south island. taking the bus to Nelson we arrived at probably the nicest youth hostel we've been to so for complete with ping pong, darts and proper showers. As the sun was shining we decided to go for a stroll to see the local area, however this soon turned into a 3hr walk along the cost line to a rather lovely sandy beach then back into the valley taking in the views from a high point. So our 'stroll' defiantly achieved it purpose. The following day we visited Christ Church Cathedral, not to be confused with the cathedral in Christchurch especially as that ones seen better days. The church itself was quite interesting work had originally started in 1920something but due to argument with the design on weather it should be traditional or not it was finally finished in the 1960s and contained aspects of both old and new, so rather cool for a church. Next we made our way to founders park, going past one cool street. it had a furniture shop selling a sofa made for buffalo horns and furs, the a cafe by the name of Lambretta. Once at the park we discovered it was not what i was expecting. from the guide book we had believed we could get in free and go to the brewery and enjoy a tasting. but we couldn't. Instead we had to pay for both. but the park was kind of worth it containing country and western typed buildings with various displays and so forth. But the highlight of the trip was defiantly the beer tasting. Although I might have ended up in the gallows after. leaving the park we took the long way back to the hostel going via the Japaneses garden, free, excellent and they had some awesome features, zang. From here the path took us along an old railway line, so we took this opportunity to play on the track, it just had to be done. Eventually we made it safely back to the hostel and prepared for our adventure into the Abel Tasman.

beer tasting

Christ Church Cathedral

uh oh

ying and yang in japan

Picture This

a day in december



freezing cold weather



tongariro national park

thermal park pool

rainbow mountain

river of heat

apple tree house

wellington sunset

wellington by night

fierworks

Mr Cool

im go lick your hand

sun bear

wellington

groovey flower baby

not gay in any sence

cone head

cable car

wellington city lights

parliment

goodbye wellington

umbrella in a bin

on track

50ft fool



Rotorua

climbing the walls



highway to mordor