My Wee Trip

Since the last one, we stayed in Te Anau for 2 nights. It seemed the easiest base from which to see Milford Sound and the caves. Went diving again at Milford Sound and really enjoyed both dive sites. They were so different even though they were pretty close. That is a lot like the New Zealand landscape in general. We have found that driving from one coast to the other, the landscape can change dramatically. The backdrop of the Southern Alps is stunning, with Mt Cook standing highest and clouds tumbling over the peaks. Then, a glance towards the Grampian mountains finds rolling hills and blue skies. Further into the centre, the roadside view becomes rocky and almost desert like, then the drive out to the east point lands you in a volcanic valley, again, lush and hilly.

The main constant we have found in New Zealand has been the hospitality of everyone we have come across from the smallest of villages to the main towns. Everyone is pleasant and helpful. Things you would think twice about asking from customer service people at home, just aren't a problem. Practically every town we come to, I find myself thinking, "I could live here."

However, we only have 4 days left now. We're still not planning anything but after we go on another boat trip this afternoon, this time to see a volcano, penguins and Hector Dolphins, we'll set off again and see where we end up.

Oh... I finally had apple cumble and custard yesterday! I've been thinking about it since I got to Australia and finally found it in Timaru for lunch yesterday... Aah... very good! However, I did also realise that since Jess left, I've not been having nearly enough fruit and veg or water... and i'm not being fed my daily multivit either. Therefore I have ended up with another cold. You'd think, at 28 I'd be able to do those things myself!

I am currently staying in a place called the Glow worm cottages (i had to didn't I!) and I'm on an internet bus... actually an old bus which now houses 9 pcs... odd huh!?

Well, so far New Zealand is being utterly amazing! We drove up to Kaikoura as planned and ended up staying there for a few days. There was just so much to do there, we didn't want to leave. John Boy did his Open Water course in 2 days! Very proud of him especially since his first diving experience was negative. I also got to dive again which was great... However, it was incredibly different to diving in Fiji! The seaweed and general underwater plant life was so hard to wade through and made swimming out to the dive point really difficult. I managed 2 of the 4 dives before my little legs just wouldn't kick anymore.

We went swimming with the dusky dolphins in the morning of our second day there. An unbelievable experience! There were litterally hundereds of them and we are just dropped off a boat into the middle of them. At first, it is so cold and the visability under the surface is so bad, it's a bit unnerving but i warmed up very quickly when a group of 5 dolphins started playing with me. You are told to make noises through the snorkel to keep their attention and I was mostly laughing the whole time, which seemed to work obviously! We swam with them at 4 different points each one getting more exciting. Apparently the dolphins like to circle you to see if you can keep up... it is so tiring! It really is no wonder my legs were giving up on me!

This was followed on the 3rd day by whale watching! Could it really get any better?! We saw 2 sperm whales on the surface of the water. Although you can really only see the top of their backs as far as the dorsal fin, it is enough to imagine the size of them under the surface. They are magnificent, I had never imagined how huge they really are! The second one we saw was being irritated by the dusky dolphins playing around it so it didn't surface for long, it got annoyed and flicked its tail and humphed back down into the water.

The night of the last two dives, myself, John, and Jack, the other guy doing his course at the same time, didn't get out of the water until 8pm, so Nigel, the instructer, took us back to his house for dinner. There was nothing else open in town so we bought some easy food between the 3 of us and his wife helped us cook up dinner. It was so kind of them and we had such a lovely night.

I was quite sad leaving Kaikoura, I hope we get to go back there soon.

At the minute, we are in Franz Joseph having just climbed the glacier here. Started out at 8:15am and got back around 5pm... it was pretty much a solid climb for the whole day! I had really no idea what to expect from a glacier, having never seen one I had no picture in my head of what it would be like. It was breathtaking! The guides were actually hacking out steps for us to climb as we went! Through huge valleys and crevasses, up steep inclines and down sheer ice faces... It was hard work but utterly worth it. I am falling asleep as I type now but what a day!

Heading down to Te Anau in the morning, planning to dive in Milford Sounds on Monday and then visit the caves on Tuesday before heading off. The plan from there is that there is no plan, and I love it! I'm not sure when I'll get online again, so it may be a week till the next blog again... I'll work on getting more photos on as well.