So since deciding we wanted to travel around 4 years ago, we have finally got around to actually jetting off! Been a hectic few months of planning and saving and not to forget getting married! An amazing year so far and time for some new adventures! Read more
  • Day 157

    Trip to Middle Earth

    February 19, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We set off on a trip to Glenorchy today. It was a really lovely sunny day and we were hopeful of great views on one of New Zealands most scenic drives.
    At first we were a little unsure. Lots of trees and bushes obscured the view to my left that should have looked onto the lake. Fortunately a little further along the winding roads the bushes began to thin out and the road crept up higher to reveal some gorgeous and stunning scenery. The beautiful lake was so still and had a cloudy but glassy sheen to it that made it look a lovely silvery blue/purple. With the backdrop of the mountains it was very Middle Earth. But we were headed for Isengard!
    On route to Isengard we came across the spot where Sam and Frodo spotted the Oliphants. Looks exactly the same. We could have done a walk too to more locations on our way back but the sandflies were out in force by then (clouds had come in) and we just weren't up for that, they were there everytime time we tried to snap a shot on the way back, especially loving Robs arms, that we kept having to run back to the shelter of the car.

    St this point in time we stopped for photos without the sandflies and moved on to the Misty Mountains. When the snow capped mountains came into view it was stunning. We wanted to keep stopping for photos but with such a narrow and winding road there were fewer opportunities to.

    Eventually we got to glenorchy after passing lots of little bays with turquoise blue water. It honestly looked like a Caribbean shoreline in places but with snowcapped mountains in the background. We hoped to stop for a swim on the way back biy yup...the sandflies ruined that too! (plus it got a bit cold).

    Glenorchy is a tiny, tiny town with a population of around 400. Cute though, lots of little cafes and whatnot. We had a picnic by the Lake and then followed a long dirt Road further along towards the location for Isengard. We actually thought we were going a much farther distance to get to another cool film location for Letherien but it turns out there is no road to get there and that the guidebook wording wasn't quite what it should have been. It should have said it is a five day hike to get there! Still...we parked up with a good view of Isengard and took in the very moody and dramatic scenery. You can see why they chose it, especially with the clouds rolling in.

    As previously mentioned, the way home was a little less sunny and filled with sandflies. Nevertheless we did stop on several occasions to wander to the beautiful bays and take in the surroundings. Oh and I also managed to successfully skim stones too! Yay!

    After Glenorchy we headed to Arrowtown to see yet another location filmed by the river. It was bloomin freezing and we had to wander through the river at some points which actually just made my feet so numb I wasn't sure I could walk. Rob managed to stay in for quite some time somehow but didn't use the opportunity to pan for gold. Maybe we could have made our fortune...who knows!

    Back in Queenstown it was a beautiful evening and so we enjoyed cooking dinner outside and chilling to some music.
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  • Day 154

    From Fox to Queenstown

    February 16, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We both must have been exhausted last night because after deciding to watch a TV show before bed, the next thing I knew I was waking up gone midnight, curtains all open and feeling groggy. I think our heads had barely hit the pillow before we fell asleep. It's a good thing though because today was a day of driving. We set off at around 10am, stopping to refuel and pump up the tyres before leaving town for the long journey ahead.

    Once again we drove the Haast Pass. The sun was out for us again so the views going back were pretty much the same as before, still beautiful.
    We stopped at the Blue Pools on route as we had missed this before and we watched people jump into the freezing water below from the swing bridge. The water here is a gorgeous turquoise blue, hence the name, and those flat round stones are once again everywhere, perfect for skimming. Rob as usual skimmed perfectly and managed to get a few to the other side of the river.

    Rob contemplated jumping in, he really wanted to but we still had ages to drive and it meant a trip back to the car for the only just dried out swim shorts, also I don't think the thought of driving for the rest of the day wet and cold was too appealing (or he is just chicken like me).

    I built a tower out of the flat rocks to join the others whilst Rob filmed my efforts via time lapse, it was way harder than I had anticipated and it's quite an amusing video to watch back as I keep rearranging the rocks.

    Once in Wanaka I decided I was hungry but couldn't bare another peanut butter and jam sandwich. I wish so much we had something else! After sitting for some time trying not to admit that I just wanted to just spend some money on some nice food, and Rob somehow managing not to get too annoyed with me, we eventually found a place I could get some nice slow cooked lamb and delicious salad.

    After this it was on to Queenstown...Finally a new stretch of road! The first stretch of road surprised us with another strange roadside oddity, a fence full of bras. So so many! Apparently they have tried to remove them but it fills uo.again so quickly they have given up. No idea how it started but now they seem to be trying to raise breast cancer awareness. Very odd and obviously had to take a snap.
    After a shirt while on the flat we took the Crown Range Road, which has the highest point of any main road in New Zealand, just over 1000m so Rob wasn't impressed at all! The view was stunning though. The mountains all opened up into a huge Valley basin and you could make out some of queenstown in the distance. It was beautiful, gorgeous little rolling hills in the valley that shone with a golden hour glow, sheep and hay bails and the Lake in the distance.

    The next part of the drive was downhill and we had read it could be a bit tricky with lots of hairpins so we were prepared for it to be a bit if a mission. It really wasn't hard at all though, especially after some of the winding and unsealed West coast roads. The hairpins were hairpins, but they weren't hidden and so we're easy to manoeuvre. I can understand in winter that it wouldn't be great, they get snow falls too, but right now it was just a really great view.

    We drove through the main town on route to the camp. Civilisation like we haven't seen in days! An actual countdown supermarket, a McDonald's, and just actual shops! It is a serious tourist town and it is so clear from the minute you get there. Nice lakeside apartments and hotels and so many shops and eateries. I know I loved it here last time so hopefully our wander through town tomorrow will be nice, at the moment it is a but of a shock to see so many people!

    We have just enjoyed (I use the term loosely) a tomato and beef soup sauce with noodles and rice pudding for dessert. Turns out creamy chicken soups with rice taste good but strange stew style sound are not good with anything.

    Bed time now..looks to be a clear sky so fingers crossed for some star gazing.
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  • Day 153

    Franz Josef Heli Hike...part 2!

    February 15, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    We also came across a pretty big ice cave/passageway that we had to step down into and then slide through on all fours/on your side to get out the other side. It was pretty tricky and very slippery but equally fun. I found that I had to remind myself during these little adventures to also look around me and take in what I was actually clambering through as it would be easy not to. The shapes and curves, the different shades of the blue ice, it is beautiful.

    Rob made this beautiful section of the glacier slightly less graceful when he stumbled on through and decided to toss his pole forward and let go of it, only to see it slide away down the slippery ice and fall almost out of reach. One of the other guys managed to grab it with their pole for him so at least he didn't feel stupid for too long! We also managed to capture this moment seconds before my gopro ran out of battery!

    Soon enough, after walking through yet more crevasses and taking in the sheer awesomeness of this strange landscape, we were back near the helipad and waiting for our flight. This was where we wished more time had been set aside earlier for photos as we ended up waiting for quite some time, surrounded by towering walls of ice, for others to make their way off the ice. We also got an explanation of blue ice at this point which started out good, but then lost me and Rob completely when the guide tried to tell us if there were more bubbles in the ice it might look red. This was shortly after she had correctly explained that when there lots of bubbles it scatters the light more and leads to white looking ice.

    Anyhoo, eventually we made it to the helipad and removed out crampons. It felt weird to have them off, a lot lighter but also we had got used to being much more sure footed on the ice than we now were. We also had to contend with the wind from the helicopters again and I almost got blown over this time!
    Heading back I got the front seat to myself and made the most of the views once again, only with Robs phone instead of my gopro this time. Taking off this way you really realise how steep the glacier is as you lift off and then drop a little as you go down. We took a different route this time, following a path that went more down the middle between the two mountains that flanked the glacier. We could see the river all the way to the sea and the pilot explained how a lot of the lakes we could see were formed from large chunks of ice that had once broken off and melted, long, long ago. It was a stunning view, and crazy to think how close we are to the sea when we have just been walking on ice.
    Approaching the landing pad we were treated to a large and very steep turn that practically had us sideways which was fun. It must be a pretty awesome job getting to fly this all day.

    We were thankful to finally get out of the boots, especially as my feet were wet and cold and headed straight for the hot pools next door that we got free entry to. We couldn't wait!
    Compared to the last lot of hot pools we had visited, which were in the middle of nowhere, smelly and muddy, these were the total opposite. A very luxurious version, but then it was also far less natural and housed more people as a result. It might not have had the same authenticity as the other pools, but it was still delightfully warm and was a great place to just relax.
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  • Day 153

    Franz Josef Heli Hike...at last!!

    February 15, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    So finally the day had arrived where we would get to take a helicopter onto the beautiful blue ice of Franz Josef Glacier. Neither of us has ever been on a helicopter before so we were excited for the ride up as well a the hike itself.
    On arrival we were all weighed and given wristbands to detail which of the two helicopters we would be riding on. I found out later that the 'F' printed on mine was code for getting to sit in the front - yay! We weren't allowed any backpacks, just a big bumbag that we could fill up with essentials.
    We were shown into a changing room which smelt of a school cloakroom, lots of smelly shoes and socks, and given some lovely boots to wear that smelt like a million people before us had worn them (I imagine they had) and some thick but clean socks, so at least there was a barrier between you and the stink. We also were given some over trousers to wear to keep us dry and a waterproof jacket. I was fortunate enough to get a nice new jacket which looked like it might be breathable and had some sneaky pockets so I had some additional space for my go pro gadgets.

    After a briefing on how to put on our crampons once on the ice we headed through some rainforest to the helicopter base. There are so so many helicopters taking off and landing and flying around here all of the time. There are multiple companies which offer tours on the ice and then there are many more offering scenic flights of the glaciers and surrounding mountains as well as snow landings up high on the neve of the glaciers (a big lake of snow basically that feeds the glacier).

    We watched a few before us take off and land before it was our turn. The wind from the helicopter wasn't as bad as I had expected when getting on, but it was pretty noisy, thank goodness for the headset. Being in the front seat I quickly got ready to film the awesome views we were bound to see on the way - and then quickly found out that the WiFi on my gopro had been on for ages and my battery was almost nil. Safe to say I was very annoyed at myself, especially as I had also left the spare in the car. I was going to have to be very choosy.

    Take off was smooth, obviously, you just simply lift up into the air. It was pretty strange though to take off like that when you are used to feeling the rumbling of a plane engine and being pushed back into your seat with the acceleration. It felt quite weightless.
    What was also strange was being able to see both ahead and even down below through the many glass windows in front of me. Certainly better than the snippets you see through a small plane window. We took off and headed toward the glacier, turning was also a strange feeling as you tilt sideways. We approached the glacier by following the rainforest covered mountains that stood sentinel either side of it. An incredible view from up here, the trees, the river running from terminal face and the ever increasing expanse of ice that was coming into view the closer that we got. It felt like we were awfully close to all the trees that sat below us and extended up the sides of the mountains to our right, in reality I imagine we were quite far away. It was also a bit turbulent when so close to the mountains and you could feel a few shudders and bumps. I don't much like turbulence on a plane so this made me a little tense to be honest, still, the view was incredible at least.

    As we flew closer to the blue ice of the glacier, its scale became even more obvious, it was massive! Still, it was only when we could see groups of people ahead on the ice that you could really appreciate it. Without the people there you could have thought that a certain patch of ice was only a couple of hundred meters away, but in reality it is far enough away that the people look like ants. The fact that it all looks the same and goes on for so long, there isn't much to offer perspective.

    After only a few minutes in the air we were about to land. The landing pad was barely even possible to make out, save for the people gathered near it. It was a small section of ice, just big enough to land on, that had been levelled only 3 days ago. The glacier moves so much they usually change the landing pad and some of the pathways every 3-5 days.
    On approaching the pilot informed us we should try to move faster than the last group once on the ice as they were about to know what it felt like to have a whole load of wind land on them. Sure enough, just before landing there was a swift response from the people sat around putting on their crampons, all suddenly trying to shield themselves from the blast of air. It was quite amusing to watch.

    We got out pretty quick and made our way off the landing pad whilst trying not to slip on the ice. Within seconds of us getting off the helicopter was back in the air with a lot of noise and a lot of wind. We tried to take his advise, the next copter would be landing soon, but as there seemed to be a backlog of people getting their crampons on, we were like sitting ducks when the next one came in. I knew it would be windy and faced away, but I wasn't really expecting the force and the noise that it brought. The wind was so strong and although didn't last long it arrived with a hell of a force and a lot of noise. It made your whole body vibrate, Rob even found it hard to breathe and it kicked up bits of snow and ice too. If you were standing without crampons I reckon you would have just slid off the ice!

    Once we all had attahced our crampons and had them inspected (and almost been blown away another couple of times), we set off up the Glacier.
    We were quite a young group which was good as we were all able to keep some pace, although in hindsight we could have been a bit more relaxed as there was a backlog of people at the end and a fair bit of waiting around which could have been spent taking in the even more. We learnt that we were only our guides 5th tour group on her own though so I imagine she is still getting used to the pacing and probably thinking more about making sure nothing goes wrong than making sure we all get good photos. It always happens on a tour though, it was the same at Hobbiton. We learnt this time around to stay at the back, that way you can take photos without people in them and there is no one behind you trying to hurry you along. We missed out on a bit of the info and some group chatter at times, but hey, we wanted to see the ice!

    The hike up had less stopping than on the way down as there was less to see in terms of cool crevasses and caves. The view every step of the way was incredible though, the blue ice mixed with the white and the lines of mud that crept in between. Our guide described it as a slow motion river and you can see all the so called waves arching around you, splitting or rising depending on the speed of the glacier.
    Along the way we had to wait while our guide used the heavy pick axe to keep the path usable and had to be a bit careful holding onto guide ropes for certain parts that were a little precarious. For the most part we were not surrounded by towering pieces of ice at this point and so had great views all around. We stopped at a pretty cool carved out section of ice for a photo, it was so brilliantly blue, and then crawled through an ice tunnel which was awesome! Again - just so blue!!! It was pretty cramped to crawl through it and despite the crampons the rest of you just slid about on the walls as you moved through, I made sure to stop a moment to take it in before exiting into the bright sunny light again.

    We stopped at the highest point of our walk where we sat and shared a few silly things about ourselves, for example which mix of animal we would want to be and why. I chose a wheagle, a whale to dive deep and an eagle to fly. Rob chose to be a mix of a Beluga whale and a sloth, because the whales always look happy and sloths love to snooze...typical!

    From where we had stopped we could also see a huge section of rock that was exposed right in the middle of this section of the glacier. It is a steep glacier so from where we were it looked almost like a vertical face half way up. We weren't allowed to go near this section as it is where a lot of ice is carving away and bringing lots of rock with it. We were told if we hear rumbling or crashing that that is probably where we should look. Sure enough we were treated to a huge ice and rock fall shortly after, it didn't look all that massive from where we were (it is still hard to get perspective), but I reckon it was probably bigger than a car and the sound of it cracking and then crashing and rumbling seemed to radiate from all around. We saw another smaller fall a little later and heard a couple more too. They only think they have another 50 years of guiding on this glacier before they will no longer be able to safely do so due to the melting rate. There are some hopes it will start to accumulate faster than it disappears though soon...we will see.

    Eventually we set off back down to the helipad. This time we were walking through crevasses which towered either side of us, we avoided the dangerous ones that seemed to continue to the depths of the earth of course! The ice here was even more blue than before with less of the mud running through it. We were even able to fill up our water from a flowing bit of the ice - it was delicious and so clear compared to our bottled water. IT was a bit tricky at times walking in crampons between these great big ice walls. There was sometimes only enough room for one foot and so you had to shuffle forward without crossing your legs one over the other. Even where you could try to walk normally you had to be careful not to catch a crampon on your trousers or other shoe and go flying. Rob managed to fall over a little of course, he is a bit like a newborn giraffe on his feet at times!
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  • Day 152

    The day that went a bit wrong

    February 14, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    So today is Valentines Day, we were supposed to be heading on our heli hike of Franz Josef today, but as the weather was set to be awful we rescheduled for tomorrow. As it is we made the right choice. Although the day began with cloud and some hints of sunshine, the rain did eventually set in.
    Our day though started with much worse news, our car wouldn't start. Similar to the other day, it just made a whirring noise instead of kicking into action. Thankfully we had it parked on a pitch in a campsite so there are worse places for this to happen, but we were also miles from a proper city and so we had to hope that it was nothing major. We thought it was likely the battery, a kind woman knocked on our window in the night to let us know that our lights were still on (Robs fault that one!) so fingers crossed we only need a jump start. We also had to hope though that the one local garage in town could fix it before tomorrow morning otherwise we would have to postpone our heli hike once again!
    With no answer when we phoned the garage we ended up walking into town to see if we could find them in person. We found out that he was currently in Franz Josef on a job and so we would have to wait an hour or so before he would be back.
    We walked to the cafe next door for some brunch and a cup of tea and just to make the day even better, my flip flop broke. I knew they were on the way out but really!? Today!? It was a bit of a walk back to camp and I didn't really fancy it barefoot, especially as it was beginning to rain.
    I bought some more from the shop by the cafe explaining my situation. The guy behind the till had a look to see about fixing them but there was nothing to be done. Turns out the only flip flops in my size were bright barbie pink and had been squished int he tub so I found out after putting them on that they also hurt my feet to walk. Urgh!
    What was good however was the delicious breakfast. Rob had a full English and I had a Rosti with bacon and egg. There was far too much for me to eat but it was really really tasty! Thumbs up at last!
    Once the rain let up Rob decided to go back to the car and grab a couple of things, he also promised to bring back my trainers so I could walk home comfortably, not before I went and bought some nice thick Merino socks though as the cold had now set in and my feet were both frozen and been attacked my sandflies! I was determined that they would not be having my blood today, not on top of everything else.

    Later in the day when the sun finally started to shine we eventually got a call from the mechanic to say he would be able to come around to take a look. A couple of reminders later and he was at the camp. Rob was right, it was a flat battery. He also said we had a loose terminal, so it wouldn't have been charging properly either. Also we had flooded the engine trying to get it to start so many times so my goodness did it make a noise and kick out some fumes when he tried to get it going. I was worried he would break the thing he had to rev it so much. Eventually though, after some coughing and spluttering, she started up. Thank god!

    He advised we drive her for at least half an hour so we set off up and down the very straight road by the camp, up and down, up and down, up and down. The views from here of the Mountains and Glacier are pretty great though so it wasn't too much trouble. We also spotted the biggest bull we have ever seen. He had so much muscle you could have drawn around them and got one of those drawing showing you all the delicious cuts of meat.
    With a working car and a sigh of relief we decided to go and enjoy a celebratory burger and pizza for tea from one of the local restaurants. We opted out of the higher rated trip adviser ones due to ques and one being quite generic looking and went back to Cafe Neve where we had been before. So glad, they were very rushed it would seem so service was a little slow and the waiter kept forgetting things but he was too nice and apologetic to be annoyed and the food was great.
    All in all a bit of a mixed day considering it was Valentines day but it ended well and we were still able to get on the Glacier tomorrow. Can't wait!
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  • Day 151

    Aaand back to Glacier country

    February 13, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Well last night was not great. Sleep was hard to come by, mostly due to the never ending buzz of mosquitos in the camper, which makes a change from sandflies. There must have been a cloud of them as Rob put the kitchen stuff in the boot because we honestly killed over twenty through the night and this morning. I swear they enjoy just hovering infront of your face or ringing in your ear before somehow disappearing and leaving you on edge. So we spent ages turning the roof and windows into a bug gravryard and then tried to sleep whilst sweltering under the blanket that we were using to cocoon ourselves against the bugs.

    Just as we were drifting off... Zzzzzzzzz... Another one!!!! It was gone 2 before we gave up. Then I needed to escape to the loo and let even more in on my return!

    Morning brought to light that we had failed misersbly in our efforts, at least another 10 had hidden themselves and were making themselves known. I have some juicy bites and they seem to have had a good meal, which is now all over my jumper which unfortunately was maimed in the frenzied efforts to grt rid of them. I didnt dare leave the camper this morning and so we just drove straight to Franz Josef once Rob had showered.

    A few more came out on the road and I think we got them all as I am now in the dark and can't hear any.

    It had rained basically all day today, it is the rainforest I guess. Absolutely heaved it down, clouds mingling with the tree tops and thunder and lightening to top it off which wad awesome!
    We rescheduled tomorrow's heli hike for Wed as rain is due again then went for lunch. We had a huge pizza to share that was delicous and then after more rain I went and enjoyed the rare delight of a very long shower whilst the site was pretty empty.

    Not much else to tell, just more rain, now for a movie and bed.
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  • Day 150

    Twizel then back to Haast

    February 12, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Breakfast in Twizel, they can't do bakeries here so was a bit disappointed but how can you not like a town called Twizel. The drive back through Lindis Pass was nice to see from a different angle and once again we passed through rhe same landscapes used for the Pellanor fields in Lord of the Rings. We also cane across a stupid driver overtaking on a bend that fortunately managed to avoid colliding with us. Lots if foreign drivers doing stupid things here.
    Back in Wanaka we stopped for lunch by the lake where I got swamped by little gulls while trying to feed the ducks. We got more bug spray (we will win the sandfly fight!) and checked out the market. We found a stand with some prints we had seen and liked at Matheson, it turns out it was the artists mother selling them, and so we bought a sticker for our window and took a card so we can order one online.

    We decided to drive some of the way back to the glaciers this afternoon to save time tomorrow and so once again took the Haast Pass. Before we set off though we stopped for smoothies in an attempt to quecnch our fruit craving. When I returned with the smoothies I found Rob looking worried and when he turned the key I could hear why. The motor was making a noise but the engine was kicking into life. Oh no. Rob had a look around underneath and under the bonnet and had me roll back out of the parking space a little in an attempt to push it back forward and start it again. Ended up that we just got the car stuck halfway out the space as it is too heavy to push and all it did was dent the boot.

    In the end Rob looked online and suggested leaving it 15 minutes. It worked!!!! We left it running a while, turned it off and then tried again....it still worked. We left it off for a while and then tried again....still worked. One big sigh of relief and we decided to continue on the drive back over Haast Pass.

    I won't go into detail again but this time we had moody clouds which cast amazing shadows on the mountains (we could see how the artist we liked was inspired with geometric shapes) and it rained in the rainforest. Low wispy clouds clinging to the trees and lots of waterfalls up in the mountains and falling by the roadside. Very impressive in the rain, so can't complain.

    Back in Haast and we have chilled at the campsite that has a cosy set up inside but where nobody seems to speak. A bit odd but then it is a nothing little settlement I suppose.
    We have just finished ridding the van of biting flies and now it is once again bed time.
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  • Day 149

    Mt Cook National Park

    February 11, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The road to Mt Cook wasn't particularly long but it was pretty dramatic. Not in the same way as normal, where the winding roads reveal more and more of the hillsides and coastlines, this was a pretty flat road, quite high up on a plateu of golden grasses and tussocks that blew in the wind and caught the light as far as the eye could see. Small alpine forests dotted the landscape too and then in the distance to mountains range revealed the stunning, snowcapped Mt Cook on the horizon. It was perfectly framed by the mountains around it and the expanse of grassland around us, the road ahead heading straight down the middle. There were barely any cars on the road and it felt pretty desolate.
    The closer we got to the mountains the more amazing they looked. Then we got to Lake Pukaki, a huge lake that the road hugged on route. It was the most amazingly bright aquamarine shade of blue that it just didn't seem real. The dull green and golden grass landscape with rocky grey mountains was cut through the middle with this brilliant blue that really should have belonged to tropical islands.

    We stopped for several photos on route and eventually arrived at the village of Mt Cook where we stopped lunch with the amazing backdrop of the mountain. Barely a cloud in the sky!

    A man eating next to us advised that we do the Hooker Valley walk as you get amazing views and you can see the Glacier at the end with icebergs in the Lake! We were sold, so off we went as it was a 3 hour return and we didn't have hours to spare.

    We heard another siren at the beginning of the walk, they are like air raid sirens and you can hear them all through the valley. We have since worked out they are to alert of an emergency as many emergency services in the remote areas rely on volunteers. Still kept a lookout for an avalanche though! Just in case.

    The walk to the viewpoint was beautiful. Not to up and down which was good, today was meant to be an easy day after all the walking.
    The valley was filled with grasses, tussocks and flowers including huge daisies and dandelions. We also managed to find one Mt Cook Lily which I was on the hunt for, it was a very beautiful flower.
    Every turn looked like a postcard picture, the mountains, valleys and little rivers of milky blue and grey just creating the perfect frame.

    The mountains were just incredible to look at and I counted at least 8 glaciers in view at one time. I also managed to fall over whilst looking up in awe and counting.

    The wind on the walk picked up massively the closer to the mountain we got, it was like a huge wind tunnel. The swing bridge closest the viewpoint was so so windy whuch meant it moved even without you walking. Very entertaining to walk across! You might as well be drunk.

    The view of the lake and the Glacier that terminated there at the bottom of the huge Mt Cook was awesome. It was a perfect cliff of ice that just disappeared back into the crevices of the mountain. And there were the icebergs too, three of them floating in the Lake, all shades if white, grey and blue. A pretty awesome sight.

    On the way back Rob chambered over rocks in streams to get some great shots and we watched as the once clear mountain tops started to gather cloud. They were just hugging the very tops and then been dragged down the sides by the strong winds. It looked a bit like they were falling down, like a cascading river of cloud that eventually disappeared into a wispy nothing.

    After seeing My Cook in all its glory we headed towards Tekapo. It is another stunning lake and a bug tourist attraction. It is quite amusing what people find so fascinating in these places. The Church of the Good Shepherd is one that draws crowds of photographers so that you can't really photograph it without several people in the way. We weren't too fussed. It is cute, but the crowds lessen the attraction. What was most strange was the people.in the wedding dress and suit. They quickly changed out of it at their car so who knows...maybe just a photoshoot? Very odd!

    Our drive from Tekapo to.our free camp for the night took us past more amazing lakeside views and we saw lots of eagles too. In fact one such eagles flew right across the road ahead and had we not slowed down we would have smushed it, it was big!

    After a very bumpy Road down the bluest canal I have ever seen, we pulled up amongst the many other campers and enjoyed some soupy rice before settling down to sleep as we were once again exhausted!
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  • Day 148

    Mountain hike and Lindis Pass

    February 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    This morning we got up quite early and left the campsite after making a nice cup of tea and watching some sort of bike race roll through. Not sure how serious it was as most of the competitors seemed more keen to just chat with their fellow riders as loudly as possible.

    We headed back to the musical robot toilets in town...who doesn't want to listen to a nice tune in the bathroom...and then set off for the Diamond Lake Track. We decided on this track over the Mt Iron one after reading some reviews. We got a bit lost on route and ended up on an awful gravel track, but soon corrected ourselves and eventually made it through more mountainous scenery to the car park. After taking a lot longer than probably necessary to pack our bags (more my fault than Robs) we set off uo the mountain.

    The first part of the walk was a fairly gradual but quite steep gravel track that led up to the lake. After no more than about 10 steps I was already warning Rob that all the walking over the past two days may have been a bit too much too soon as I already felt worn out. Seemed pathetic to say so but I felt exhausted. We carried in though, can't give up that quickly, and we eventually got to a path that was flat and bordered the Lake. There were some gorgeous sounding warblers in the trees darting about and you could make out the Lake through the branches. I think being flat this also gave me chance to get a bit more energy back and when the decision cane we followed the signs away from the easy lakeside loop and to the Rocky Mountain Trek that headed to the viewpoint or the summit. We soon found ourselves heading up steps (yay!) so so many steps, up and up and up. Every corner revealed yet more and I was again questioning why u was doing this. I had to stop a couple of times and we let a couple of people over take us before we got to the first viewpoint. It was an OK view of the lake below but not spectacular.
    We carried on up a slightly sloping path now that ran along the mountainside. There was tussocks and grasses blowing in the wind and it had a beautiful golden colour in the sun. Not being stairs this once again allowed me to somewhat recover, though only slightly, when we reached the next fork in the road a huge part of me did not believe I could continue uo any further. I rather fancied the short and flatter walk to the view point, but we had chosen to climb to the top and the view was looking more and more amazing the higher we got, so we continued.
    We chose the East route and began to ascend the rest of the way to the top. It turns out this half of the walk was just one long and very steep walk/clamber to the top. Lots of precariously narrow and loose mud switchbacks and plenty of steep natural steps which were massively testing my tired legs. We stopped a few times on this route, personally I felt like crying several times but Rob kept me going, as did my decision to just pretend it didn't hurt (strangely powerful mind tool). We also saw other people exactly the same so it made me feel a bit better too. The worst thing was that every steep climb to the top of that section just revealed yet another one behind it, the view that were wanted to see was just always another little climb away. We did get a stunning view from the side we were climbing though and that definitely made the climb a little easier. A beautiful view of the lake and mountains and even a white sand river that looked like it belonged in the carries with turquoise water.
    Eventually we could see the summit...a Swedish couple we kept seeing in the way up were waving for us to get up there and the view that revealed itself on the other side would have taken my breath away had I had anybto spare. This side was much more rugged mountain scenery with deep golden and brown grasses against rocky summits and ridges that still held the snow at the top. A 360 degree view of amazingness!
    We chatted a bit to the Swedish couple about the horrendous climb up and then sat and enjoyed the view and recovered a while
    Then was the walk back down. We chose the west route this time. It started lovely and gently and we thought we had been hard done by, but eventually we were clinging to branches to lower ourselves down large scree and mud slopes and steps that just seemed to drop down the side, so I think we chose the better route.
    We made it back in 3.5 hours so for a 3hr return route I think we did good! I could barely stand however without my legs quivering away!
    Time for lunch to refuel and then a drive towards Mt Cook.

    The drive took us almost 1000m as we drove over the Lindis Pass, a route through more golden and grassy mountains that seemed very very barren. It was a beautiful drive once again but not quite as dramatic as some of the rocky mountains we had left behind. The best views were towards the end when the landscape opened out into a vast plain bordered by mountains in the distance.
    We stopped in Omarama to camp for the night which is where we are now, about to sleep to recover for an early start to Mt Cook tomorrow.
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  • Day 147

    Haast Pass to Wanaka

    February 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Next up today was the drive to Wanaka. We knew this would be a long drive as there was a lot to see on route, mostly waterfalls, as we drove through the Mt Aspiring national park via the Haast Pass.
    The first part of the journey took us past more of the West coastline. Only one lookout that wasn't really anything special, just smelt of the toilets there and was an excuse for the swarms of sandflies to attack.
    Eventually we got to the tiny tiny place of Haast, we thought it was quite built up but couldn't be more wrong, the West Coast apparently only has one substantial town the whole way down and this is miles away. No fuel for 85km from this point and boy do they hike up the price here, we had no choice though.

    After Haast we set of to the East, away from the coast and into the rainforest of the national park. We had a sunny day which was great considering how many stop offs we had on route and the lush green forest looked inviting, minus the sandflies that we knew were lurking. Each stop had us spraying the deet and covering up despite the warm sun.
    First stop was Roaring Billy Falls. A very short walk through a patch of forest that brought us out onto the wide, grey, pebbled riverbed. Lots of the rivers here are like this, in wide, flat valleys that are lined with flat round stone, a bright blue and shallow river running down the middle, occasionally banching out and then back again. We walked toward the river over the stone and saw the falls spilling down the mountain opposite through the trees. We also realised that we were surrounded by thousands of perfect skimming stones and a river that was so shallow and flat it would be criminal not to have a go.
    We ended up skimming stones for ages, it was too much fun, and we also enjoyed watching a guy try to teach his girlfriend, despite him being worse than me, and I rarely get it right. Rob however is a champ, as much as it pains me to say, I dont think I have ever seen stones skim so far.

    Next stop after this was Thunder Creek Falls. This was just one long drop that gushed out from very high. A much better photo op with the dense forest and boulders surrounding it. I couldn't stay though for long, the sandflies were EVERYWHERE here, so I escaped to the car whilst Rob took photos. Even when asked to take a couples photo on route I couldn't stop fidgeting. A tour much like the one I had been on years ago had pulled up and I remembered the photo here from then, the day Hull were due to play and were promoted!

    Next up was the Gates of Haast, not a location from The Lord of the Rings, but a bridge of the Haast River. Another photo of this very much roaring, rapid like river that was cutting through the rocks and forest.

    After this came Fantail Falls. As you can imagine this was more of a cascade that halfway down a large section of the fall split over a rock to form a sort of fantail. This fall, like Roaring Billy, also fell into a wider and flat, shallow riverbed that had the same flat stones which lots of people had taken to stacking into little mounds.

    The last planned stop and still in the national park was the Cameron lookout of the Makarora Valley. Here the rainforest began to open out into more of a flat and wide Valley floor covered in gold, brown and green grasses, the odd livestock and another wide, shallow pebbled river that ran down one side. It was pretty awesome to look back and be able to see the forest banketing the mountains. Until this point we had only seen snippets whilst driving through the forest, so opened out like this you could appreciate better the scale of the rainforest here.
    On a different note, we also had fun watching as people arrived to use the first set of toilets in ages and each time left swiping the air, slapping their skin or simply running away from what must have been swarms of sandflies just waiting. We chose to hold on a while longer.

    After this the rainforest featured less and less and the grasses crept further up the mountains revealing a little more of their shape, folded and ridged where rivers and streams had carved paths down.

    Even further along and the mountains got bigger, dotted with golden brown grasses and shrubbery, but with exposed grey rock higher up. Even more now, you could see the smooth folded mounds and troughs as well as sharp and jutting rocks and ridges up high. All this surrounding a huge, beautiful and calm glacial lake that the road now hugged. We couldn't help but pull over to take it all in. It was stunning. The sky reflected in parts of the glass like lake and the water was so clear and still you could see sraight down at the edges. We considered camping by the lake but the sandflies would be too much to bear we decided.

    This landscape continued to amaze us the rest of the way, more and more mountains appearing and disappearing behind each other and more stunning lakes.

    Eventually we got to the town that sat in the large valley basin by Lake Wanaka. It was very resort like, but then it is a ski resort in winter, and we decided to have some food out at one of the restaurants that looked over the lake. Rob had a delicious chicken burger and I had some amazing beef ribs, twice cooked in their own juices and so succulent they just fell apart.

    After spending money on dinner we opted for a cheap camp for the night, just a large field with a small toilet section that we never needed to use. People here were crap at working out how to pay and just clogged the entrance, but we eventually found a spot and set about getting to bed.
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