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Round-the-south

February - July 2017
A 145-day adventure by Sara Read more
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  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 136

    Tekapo and St Johns

    July 4, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The next day we wake up in out cozy hostel, looking at the animals int heir hutch. We drive up to St John's observatory for a view of the snowy landscape, a proper winter wonderland. We sneak in and grab a table at the restaurant and enjoy a brownie and hot chocolate.Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    111
    Day 135

    Pukaki and tragedy

    July 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After a relaxing morning having well crafted pancakes from chef James we headed towards Tekapo. In no hurry we stopped for photos at the end of lake Pukakai which has Mt Cook visible at the other end.

    Arriving in Tekapo we dumped our bags in our room and said hello to the hostels gorgeous giant bunnies. They all slept on a wheelbarrow snuggling each other to keep warm!

    A drive down to the lake shore and we came upon the famous chapel. Very picturesque but very hard to get a shot without a tourist in it! We decided to go back to Lake Pukaki to try and get nice sunset photos of Mt Cook. It was a bit far away and mist rolled in but the colours behind the other mountains was fiery orange!

    Feeling the cold I'd run back to the car and knew there had been an accident when I saw an ambulance followed by a police car whizzing by. As we drove towards it a full blown emergency response was ongoing. Walking to the front to see if help was needed it was obvious they had it all under control as the firecrew broke the roof off one of the cars. A civilian walked towards me, a nurse she was one of the first cars on the scene and sadly confirmed that two had died.

    Walking back to the car with the somber news, the fire coordinator followed and explained that the road would be closed for at least 6 hours. No diversions were possible for us without 4WD and snow chains so we turned back round and headed for Twizel. We found the local sportsbar which made a good roast dinner and wittled the hours away playing pool against anither stranded couple Emma and Fergus. The owner was very kind and kept the bar open and gave us the money to play pool.

    At 23:30 we headed back to a still closed road, pulling in to the layby at the head of Lake Pukaki I pulled the sleeping bag out and snuggled in for a few hours wait. At 2 the road cleared and we were back in our beds and very thankful to be there    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 134

    Mt Cook

    July 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Waving goodbye to Tony and Dave, the NZ road website declared the roads open, and we were driving towards Mt Cook. We stopped a few times for photos of the crisp white snow against a clear blue sky before arriving in the small alpine Mt Cook village.

    With some persuasion from James we headed for the Hooker valley track, with an added 2km due to the access road being snowed under. Armed with walking poles to help my terrible balance we crunched our way to the beggining. Suprisingly the path was clearly marked by a 1 foot across depression in the snow by the morning trampers so there was no way to get lost off the trail.

    We crossed 3 swing bridges with Mount Cook looming ahead before finally descending to lake hooker shore. The lake was frozen solid and the glacier beyond was buried under the snow. Mount Cook dominated the landscape and looked amazing in the late day sun bathing its snow covered slopes.

    Turning back as sunset the colours on the mountain turned orange whilst the sky beyond turned a deep purple. We reached the car as darkness set in and drove a small distance to the YHA. Setting out soaking boots in front of the fire we toasted another brilliant day in NZ.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    1
    Day 133

    Travellers rest

    July 1, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Rain had finally arrived coating the area in grey dampness. After driving from Oamaru we parked at the end of Lake Pukaki hoping it would clear. It didn't, so we headed to our hostel for the night. More a farmstay we drove 4km off the mainroad to Buscot Station and were welcomed by Tony.

    A retired farmer and widower Tony started the backpackers when times were hard and now enjoys the company of 3000-4000 backpackers a year. A keen traveller Tony had been to the 4 corners of the world usually on farm tours! Uncle Ed would be jealous!

    He had a cosy lounge with a log burner in the middle, El the other guest was already curled up in the sofa with a cup of tea, and in the oppisite chair lay Frank the cat heavily asleep. We joined them with a steaming cup of coffee and photography books of NZ to flick through.

    Supper was had with all around the table including Dave a longterm guest who has been working at the farm on and off for 10 years. Falling asleep we hoped for better weather the next day.

    Setting off the grey clouds were still ever present as we started our drive up to Mt Cook Village. The snow turned to sleet and cars covered in snow passed by. If those cars could leave we hoped we could continue. We hit the snow and it came down fast. We got as far as 10km away from the village before we had to make a retreat.

    A quick phonecall to Tony and we were back in front of his fire along with 4 other stranded by the weather as they closed the roads. Luckily he has Sky TV so with some beers we enjoyed the Lions test match and hoped for cleared roads in the morning.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    1
    Day 131

    Dunedin, Moureki and Oamaru

    June 29, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    A drive across the island and we arrived in a very cold Dunedin. A university town we had a pleasant walk through its centre "the octagon" and a walk down to thenstation where the smell of chocolate wafted from the Cadbury's factory.

    The hostel we stayed at "The chalet" was much friendlier with a ling dining table and we met a young couple who were studying photography. They were hawking their talent and were getting paid to create videos for local buisnesses as they travelled around. Very enterprising! They also gave James some good tips for astral photography when we get to Lake Tekapo.😊

    Across the table lay Tenner from Germany who had worked in the North Island for months and was now looking for work in Dunedin to fund travel Asia. Craig had left the UK a year and a half ago and worked as a chef/ hostels and had qualifications to work with thise with mental health. Henhad a wonderful energy and had been to a few of the same places as us in the US and Fiji. He runs a travel blog and was coming to the end of his time in NZ. Hitching his way to Christchurch James offered him a lift so we had an extra passenger for the next day.

    Setting off as a trio on a icy morning we headed out to the Otago Penninsula. With the sun low in the sky and a mist lying over the water it was a beautiful view outbif the window. We crossed over to the other side and walked to lovers leap and the chasm.

    Passing back theough Dunedin (Pak n Save stop) we then beelined to the Moureki boulders, strange spherical rocks that sit on the beach. A lot of fun wasnhad climbing on and in the boulders before heading on to Oamaru. Dropping Craig off at the end of town he'd been a lovely addition to our travels and I hope he continues to have such fun travels.

    We spun back to Oamaru and headed down to the dock at dusk to watch the little blue penguin colony return from a days fishing. Watching the tiny little things waddle back was so captivating. They are little heroes. Heading back to our own hostel to crash for the night we lucked out with a homely place and drifted off very comfortabley in our bunks.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 130

    Queenstown

    June 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Welcome to the adventure capitol of New Zealand, also the money sucker of NZ (thankfully we saved a lot last week!) It was a liveky sunny day as we arrived and the snow was halfway down the mountains, a good omen for our chosen adventure sport, sking!

    Wandering around the waterfront we met up with Nick and El James' uni friends who's wedding we had unfortunately missed. We had a lovely hot choclate and a short catch up before organising to go out for drinks and food later in the night in a cery nice thai restaraunt.

    Next day after a lazy morning we headed up the cable cars and had a fun hour going uo and down the luge. After working up an appetite the next stop was Fergburger which was yummy with blue cheese! In the evening we walked up to Nick and Wl's Air BnB where we had a lovely meal with wine and wished them well in their continued honeymoon!

    Next day was sking day!! We boarded the bus which wound its way up to altitude and the snow. We broke through the clouds and entered the ski resort. Picking up our boots and skis we lined up with 7 others and were paired with Andrew from Scotland who would be our instructor. A very patient man he had us up the lift and down the begginer park slope within 2 hours.

    Unfortunately for me the angle of the ski boots left my calves screaming and when we finally stopped I became an old woman hobbling about. I couldn't carry on so thanked Andrew and sat myself down with some coffee and mulled wine stretching my calves back out. Watching James progress he soon disappeared out of view ip the big chairlift for a proper run. It's not fair how quick he picks stuff like this up!

    Back down in Queenstown exhausted we wolfed down our food in the hostel before heading out to watch the midweek Lions match, a draw. I'm getting nervous for Saturday!

    James has the ski and luge photos on his blog!    Read more

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