Rosario

By the end of the first week in B.A. my digestive system was waving the white flag. Time to go! What a week though. All that alcohol, coffee, eating late and sleeping all hours has certainly not helped overcome the jetlag. Anyway we went to the main bus station which admittedly I was slightly nervous about. We had hear that it was mayhem, bus transport being the modus operandi of Argentinian domestic transport.

I had one phrase memorised in Spanish ´dos bileto, de ida a Rosario por favor´ so by the time we reached the top of the queue I spat it out quickly only to be told something in Spanish which I didnt understand... so then the fun began! Between the two helpful guys at the counter, some miming and our phrasebook we managed to purchase the aforementioned tickets, wuhoo!

We had heard about Argentinian buses and their relative comfort to other Latin America buses. Our curiousity was satisfied quickly and they met their reputation. It was only four hours to Rosario but we slept for most of it in our large reclinable seats.

We arrived into the city late and checked into Hostel Llanura which I have to plug here for the sheer efforts of it´s non-English speaking owners who go to every length to help you. It is also quite a new establishment and so our sheets came straight out of a new packet which made me very happy. There was a bunch of Americans in our dorm who informed us Manu Chao was playing that night in the city and tickets might still be available. They were living in B.A. and taking Spanish classes. After a quick shower we took advantge of them and their Spanish speaking ways in order to secure two tickets to Manu Chao. He is a French musician who has played all around the world, inlcuding Ireland where James saw him and he is particularly popular in South America. We were pretty excited about seeing him. We bought tickets at the door and as we queued to go in I observed the police everywhere all dressed in riot gear, helmets on and shields at the ready and couldn´t help think ´what the hell are we getting oursleves into here!!!!

However the atmosphere was jovial and so it made me feel more at ease. In hindsight the riot police were clearly scaremongering and also helping with crowd control.

On the way in the thunderous noise of drums and thousands of people chanting was resonating throughout the stadium and making the hairs on my arms stand on end even though there wasn´t a breeze in the air. The atmosphere was electric. At every entrance the doors were squashed with people. J pushed his way though to suss out the lay out and after a quick discussion we decided upstairs was better. The weather was pretty sticky outside, inside there was no air con., combined with alot of smoke made the place incredibly stuffy. It reminded me of gigs in the point back in the day when we all could smoke indoors. Glad those days our gone! The majority of the male contingency were topless in an effort to combat the overwhelming heat. The whole place was filled with topless, attractive, Argentinian males bouncing up and down singing at the top of their voice. It was a sight to behold let me tell you!! I think I stood with my mouth agape for a good five minutes we first got in! When Manu Chao came onstage the place went nuts, watching the antics on the ground floor was as entertaining as the gig itself. The whole floor seemed to move in waves, it was unbelievable. J and I were pretty happy we were above it all.

It was hot where we were I couldn´t even imagine what it would be like on the ground level surrounded by all that body heat too. That coupled with the fact that they were moshing and throwing themselves around the place like there was no tomorrow. Crowd surfing (long since banned at home) was a regular occurance here. Most people spilled over the barriers at the front where they were picked up by a bouncer and given a kick up the arse before being sent on their way. Only to get back into the crowd and do it again!

The crowd were very good spirited and there was no fights, when people fell others bent down to pick them up, when peoples faces met other peoples knees, it was all laughs and slaps on the backs, no aggressiveness at all which was the most amazing part. The gig itself was great. Really good dance/ reggae music, very cool. No alcohol is served either. A few very brave guys make their way though the crowds to try sell cups of coca-cola, holding their trays high above their heads. It was hilarious to watch them hesitantly make their way into the crowd on the ground floor, and then try scurry out with their wares intact when the crowd went nuts.

All in all it was a fantastic night. It was completely unexpected which made it even sweeter. We grabbed a quick bite to eat en route home about midnight (things were only kicking off at that hour) and fell into bed. I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. Damn jetlag.

The next day we awoke and headed out to explore the city. It is infact the birthplace of Ernesto ´Che´ Guevara and so I was half expecting to see shops/ stalls everywhere selling Guevara badges, tshirts etc but that wasn´t the case. It was also Sunday, everything closes down on a Sunday in Argentina we quickly learned. We made our way down to the riverfront to where there is a large monument, Monumento a la Bandera, comemorating the spot where in 1812 General Belgrano first raised the Argentinian flag when they were liberated from Spain. We took the lift up this 70 metre tower for panormic views of the city and river.

It´s a big city, not as bigh as B.A. but lots of highrise and other similarities. It´s situated on a delta so there are many islands scattered in the river which have beaches and quite popular with the locals. The brown colour of the river did not however entice us!

We wandered around to other points of historical interest, the main plaza and it´s buildings down at the riverfront being very Stalinist in appearance surprisingly enough. We grabbed a late breakfast that day in a place called Newport cafe, nice spot with breakfast for less than five euro. We took a stroll around to the house where Che Guevara was born and lived in until he was two years old. It now houses offices and is not open to the public. A few blocks down the road there is a mural of Che´s face, so we had a quick gawk at it before heading back to the hostel.

We took it easy for a change that night, and got some much needed sleep! Our last day in Rosario was spent hanging around waiting for our bus that evening to Mendoza. Having pretty much seen all that Rosario had to offer we hung out in the hostel for awhile and strolled around Calles Cordoba for a few hours. The difference in the city from a Sunday to a weekday is incredible.

We also ventured into a supermarket out of curiousity only to be stunned by the prices. We had been spending what would be the relative equivalence of about 300 euro on meals in BA! The most expensive bottle of wine we could find in the supermarket was twelve euro!

Later that evening we boarded the night bus to Mendoza. Dinner, breakfast, blankets and pillows all inclusive in the price! The ticket was approximately 35 euro for a 14hour journey. They kicked off the journey with a game of bingo which was hilarious but it helped us practice our Spanish numbers, after that dinner was served and a movie switched on. Then lights out.

Argentina - No hablo espanol!

Buenos Aires - open 25 hours!

After a monster of a 13 hour flight we hit the pavement in Buenos Aires at 11 am local time fairly wrecked. We took a bus into the city centre. I slept for the whole journey and only really realised I was on another continent when the heat and dirt hit me during the taxi ride to our hostel. We had booked into Millhouse on Hipolito Yrigoyen. In an effort to put our body clocks on the right path we had showers and headed out to look around the city.

The hostel is only a block or two from one of the main drags - Av de Mayo so we strolled down towards Plaza De Congresso on the hunt for some asado (bbq beef). It didnt take long to find an agreeable place with streetside seating. We were served up a parilla por dos for about 9 euro. It consisted of about 2 lbs of beef, a heap of offal and basket of chips. Just what we needed...well maybe not..

Afterwards we waddled our way around the Congresso where there were protests afoot at the presence of Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres in the capital. We skirted our way around the crowds and made for Plaza De Mayo and the pink facade of the main government buildings at Casa Rosada. At this point we were too tired to contemplate anything but bed so reluctantly trudged back to the hostel for a sleep.


First impressions: it´s a very big, busy city. It´s dirtier than expected, the pavements are broken up and generally a lot of dog shit everywhere. After the clean towns and cities of Oz and NZ the differences in basic sanitation is stark I suppose. It´s very humid, about 60% at the moment. Normally in new places we´re constantly talking and observing as we walk about but that first day we were so tired we were barely able to string a few sentences together so we wandered, nodded and pointed to each other. No major consensus was reached that day, but as the week progressed we liked this city more and more.

The exchange rate is great to the euro, approximately 5:1. Breakfast costs as little as 15 pesos and a main course in a basic restaurant can set you back as little as 20 pesos!

We need to brush up our Spanish pronto though. Smiling and pointing will only get us so far!

We took a walking tour of La Boca the next morning from the hostel. This is the poorest area of the inner city but it has partly converted itself into a tourist haven of a few blocks where colourful buildings mix with locals and con artists of all shapes and sizes in a neighbourhood called the Caminita. Home to the tango - which originated between drunken sailors and prostitutes here on the site of the original Spanish port - the streets are lined with restaurants and bars offering live music and tango shows. The area is equally as famous for its football team of course - Boca Juniors, and we went into the museum at the Bombarino. This is Maradonna´s stomping ground, and garish statues of him abound around the cobbled streets. Unfortunately there wasn´t to be a game for about a week so we missed the experience.

After lunch in a small restaurant near the stadium we bussed it back to Millhouse. If you are up for drinking and dancing till dawn, then Buenos Aires is the place for you. If you are up for drinking and dancing past dawn, then stay at the Millhouse.

We took a free tango class later that evening there and after a few beers five of us jumped into a taxi in search of one of the best steak houses in town. An American in the group had been to Restaurante La Cabrera a few months previously, so on his recommendation we sped towards the upmarket Palermo for some beef.

I have never tasted steak like it. I was in heaven. You could cut this stuff with a wooden spoon. Washed down with a few bottles of Malbec (possibly the finest wine on the planet) we struggled to get through 3 main courses between the five of us. The bill came to about 70 euros all in, including a generous tip. If you could find an equivalent standard of service, food, wine anywhere in Europe you would be doing well to get away without dropping more than four or five hundred euro. I can´t rave about this place enough. Go there. Save. Catch a flight to Sao Paolo, connect to Buenos Aires, eat steak, go home. Say no more.

So suitably delighted with ourselves (ourselves being myself, S, a Yank, a Danish journalist and a spaced out Swiss fella who had spent the last 10 months in Bolivia) we fell in and out of numerous bars on the vicinity until 6am. I love the light and the emptiness of big cities at dawn, and apparently I shouted as much repeatedly with my head out the window in the taxi all the way home, a big shit eating grin on my face. Viva la vida. Viva beef!

4pm- sore heads, discombobulation. Walked though the beautiful San Telmo, along Defensa to Plaza Dorrego for coffee and food (again..yes..) We sat on the plaza for about two hours watching a couple tango and taking in the atmosphere. Later that night (at about midnight - restaurants generally wont serve dinner until at least 8.30pm and don´t stop until maybe 1 or 2am) we found Museo de Jamon - another excellent restaurant. Very underdressed, and still slightly ´confused´ from the night before we were seated and made our way through another beef/Malbec combo spectacular. Ahhhh, its tough..it really is.

Determined not to turn into absolute messes and to educate ourselves a little on Argentinian history, we set off bright and early the next morning on a mission. Unfortunately the museum that we were aiming for was closed, so we ended up walking along the pedestrianised Calles Florida through to Recolletta. The cemetary here has about 5,000 mauseleums where the great and good of B.A have been entombed for over a century. Among the most prominant of these are two Irishmen, Fr Antonio Fahy and Admiral Brown. The former was a missionary, the latter founded the Argentinian Navy and both did tremendous work for the Irish community here. The interesting thing about the Irish in Argentina is that they are amongst the only emigrating Irish who were proactive colonisers, and not the displaced colonised. The bulk of the population came from Westmeath, Longford and Wexford and established significant land holdings and estancias (ranches) in the Pampas within 20 or 30 years. There are 70 year old men out on farms here who are third generation Irish, have never left the country and speak broken Spanish but great English in broad Westmeath accents.

The most famous tomb here though is that of Eva ´Evita´ Peron, the subject of much controversy and national emotion of which I wont go into here. Next to the cemetary is the second oldest church in the country, the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar which stands on the corner of a leafy square where we paused for coffee and a bite to eat. Then on to Puerto Madera, which was a fairly big walk in the heat. This is a regenerated dock land area which is fairly upmarket and full of bars and restaurants. We hung around there for an hour or so before strolling back to the hostel with the intention of taking it easy for the evening. Ha.

I bumped into a friend I hadnt seen in about 5 years - Ben. A Canadian who I´d been in college with on Erasmus in Copenhagen, we immediately made plans to meet for a beer. We had played a gig together in a dump of a bar in Denmark and when he found out I was travelling with the guitar..well you can guess where this is going. A few hours later we grabbed another ridiculous dinner in a nearby restaurant, the Swiss spacer and Ben´s mate from Toronto in tow.

Then back to the hostel where there was a DJ and bar set up for a few hours of gyrating, then on to a nightclub (Club 69...cheese haha) for more of the same. Driving in Latino countries is great - you have to have completed Mario Kart to get a licence over here. There is a 14 lane highway stretching through the centre of the city along Av 9 de Jullio (the widest boulevard in the world) and nobody pays any attention to lanes, indicates, or bats an eyelid at almost certain collision. Its marvelous. We got to the club in about 45 seconds. It reminded me of clubs I have been to in Madrid - with painted and feather bowet clad tranny hosts/hostesses running around to Samba techno. The kind of place a typical God fearing Guinness loving shirt wearing Naas man would faint in. Tommys to Club 69..taxi! haha! We lasted an hour or so before myself and Sarah ducked and dived home at about 4am, leaving the Canadians to their sordid devices.

Uruguay for a day!

Unfortunatey Millhouse was full for Friday night so we arose bleary eyed to make a move across town to the welcome calm and quiet of Hostel Arrabal. After showers we rushed to the docklands to catch a ferry across the Rio del Plata to the town of Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay.

The ferry across was nice and smooth, apart from the giddy madness of the underage Uraguayan national rugby team who were clearly the worst for wear after presumably being hammered by their beef laden Argentinian counterparts. We slept and arrived in Colonia after about 1 1/2 hours. The ferry crosses the stretch of water where the Parana River and Uruguay River converge into the Rio de la Plata.

The Barrio Historico de Colonia is a world heritage site, and is a charmingly beautiful cobbled town with colourful buildings and a great atmosphere. Only having 4 hours to play with before returning to B.A, we made our way from the ferry port to the old town, through its stone gates, and explored the place. The town changed hands between the Portuguese and Spanish a number of times before finally being settled by the Spanish in 1777. The Brazilians had a go until the Uruguans took over in 1828. So we whiled away a few relaxing hours there, taking a break from the beef with a few burritos con pollo in a restaurant with a view of the water. The boat was running on South American time (ie anything between an hour and a week late) so we were late getting back to B.A were we were to meet my uncle Noel for dinner.

It was great to catch up with him and we had a fantastic meal (have a guess...) down at Puerto Madero before making it back to our hostel at a by now very respectable bed time of 2am.

Buenos Aires..jaysus!

moving

We had a 24 hour stopover in Sydney before we caught our flight to Buenos Aires. it was just enough time to catch up with a few friends for drinks and say final goodbyes. That we´re on the homeward stretch it further compounded the wonderful memories we have of Oz and now NZ and how sad we were to leave. The past year has been phenomenal.

It was a case of Christchurch one day, Sydney the next and then Buenos Aires the day after. We didn´t know what to think or what to feel, we were all over the place in terms of emotion as well as physically.

But hey South America baby, here we come, yahoo!!!

Queenstown

The lovely Queenstown, where to begin. The drive there from Te Anau is relatively quick (approx. 2.5 hours) the last stage winding along the lake side road of Wakatipu before coming the town centre is a beautiful drive. We stayed in the Southern Laughter Lounge, another nice spot. The level of backpacker accommodation in NZ is probably the best we´ve come across in terms of cleanliness and general services offered. Better than Australia I would even say.

The adrenaline pumping in the town is infectious. By this stage I was actually keen to get involved. The long and the short of it is James and I signed up to do the Nevis Arc and enquired after more sky-diving opportunities only to have them all cancelled due to high winds. We even got so far as getting to the Nevis Arc, up what was a very dangerous, rocky road to have it all called off. It was very disappointing. We had really psyched ourselves up to do what was probably one of the bravest/most stupid things I would have ever done and then we were told we couldn´t.

James responded by signing up to do a bungy. Ilena joined us in Queenstown the night before and she decided to do ittoo. Myself, Debbie and Niamh went along for moral support. My heart was in my mouth watching them do it. We must have watched about 20 jumps before theirs. I´ve never seen James more terrified. It was the site of the first ever bungy which was the creation of AJ Hackett. It´s off a Kawarau bridge just outside Queenstown. It is 43 metres high over a river gorge.

On the drive back from that we got a call from a paragliding company imaginatively monikered 0800 FLY WITH US whom had cancelled on the girls that morning to say they were back in action and were we still interested. I at that point was eager to do anything adventurous and so off we all sped to have these guys who were parked at the base of Coronet Peak awaiting us.

Coronet Peak peaks at 1650 metres. We took off maybe a couple hundred metres below that. It was a tandem paraglide. Niamh and Debbie went off first and we drove down the road to a field to watch them land. They did so safely and soundly and were very enthusiastic about it so Ilena and I went off in the van with nay a bother! Bit of a funny set up though. In the van was the guy running the show, his wife who was driving, their baby in the front seat and a dog, which took a liking to me but whom which I did not take a liking to!
Anyway en route we picked up a guy from some random house who turned out to be my tandem partner, very reassuring! So arrived at the top of the peak more or less, covered in dog hair I jumped out all of a sudden feeling a little nervous about the take off.

My guy kept telling me ´´just keep runnning Sarah even if you fell we´ve taken off´´ and so I did. It culminated in me running in the air before he told me to stop, very exhilarating! The funny thing was at the top there were two very old women in their flowery frocks oohing and ahhing and taking photos as we prepared for take off. Once airborne I realised how high we were, sitting there with my legs dangling in the wind was a little scary I have to admit. At one point he let me steer but I was more keen to hold to my handles than have any part in the operation of the parachute. As he yapped on and on about the wind direction and the logistics of the whole operation I took in the view of Lake Wakatipu and some of Queenstown and the surrounding countryside. It was great. On a good day he travels from Queenstown to Lake Wanaka like that! The landing was the craziest part, we spiralled down at an alarming rate. It was nauseating and exhilarating at the same time. I pretty much screamed my head off much to his amusement. More running in the air before we reached the ground for a smooth landing. Great fun, I highly recommend it.

The rest of our time in Queenstown was spent in the many bars and restaurants there. Fergburger deserves a mention. James had heard about this place from friends so we checked it out and yes they are the best burgers I´ve ever tasted.

James and I also caught the cable car up one of the mountains for views over Queenstown and Lake Wakitipu. Absolutely spectacular. We also caught up with Aine, an old work colleague of James from AIB. It´s very much a party town and so there were plenty of options both evenings. It´s a great spot in general and not hard to see why it´s such a tourist trap. The whole town is centred around adrenaline pumping activities and beautiful views.

From there it was goodbyes to the girls and a long drive back to Christchurch the night before our flight.

New Zealand is an incredible country. We were there just short of a month, and it was the most varied few weeks I could have imagined. From beaches up north, to glaciers and fiords down south the abundance of things to do is overwhelming. We certainly did the place justice and covered good ground. I´d go back in a heartbeat, we had an amazing time

Wanaka & Milford Sound

So after a few days of carnage onwards we went to Lake Wanaka with Niamh and her friend Debbie in tow this time, the company was great. It was all a bit surreal seeing Niamh again, I can only imagine what it will be like seeing the rest of the clan, nuts springs to mind.

That morning when we woke up Roz's cat had mysteriosuly died over night. It was dead in the driveway,no obvious signs of trauma. It was a bit sinister, very sad too. She was the cutest little thing whom we had all fallen in love with over the three days prior. Myself and Niamh and Ilena were huddled around her in our pj's with our mouths open wondering what had happened.

I then opened my cards and presents! I love birthdays. I'm never one to shy away from birthday celebrations and was very much looking forward to our stay in Wanaka.

James had been to Wanaka before and had very much sold it to me. On the drive there I was psyching myself up to doing a skydive and as it was the first building practically on the way into town we pulled in, only to be told it was too windy. We re-scheduled for the following day but it was not to be, windy conditions prevailed.

We stayed in the YHA aka purple Cow, which I highly reccommend to anyone heading that way, it is not your average hostel and suited to any age group really. Rooms one and two come with a view and seeing as it was my birthday we all splashed out and took the two best rooms. From there it was on to a bar near the lake front, cocktails in the mexican restaurant and dinner in a restaurant called Reef, I highly recommend the surf n' turf if you should ever go there. It is divine!

It was however a Monday night and so after dinner we were homeward bound as all the pubs were closed. Another very memorable birthady however, in another beautiful place.

We drove via Arrowtown the follwing day to Te Anau (gateway to Milford Sound) We stopped en route to do the Shotover Jet which I know some of you have done! It was great fun, we felt it was the best way to ease ourselves into the adrenaline fuelled fun that is on offer in Queenstown. Those jetboats only need four inches of water to operate over. They zoom in and around the rocky gorge bringing you within a hairs breadth of the rock face, or so it seems. Lots of 360's and screams!

We stopped in the picturesque Arrowtown after for some lunch/ dinner before heading onwards to Te Anau. We stayed in the Lakefront backapackers there. Ours was a 4 bed fully self contained unit so a nice little set up.

Milford Sound

We set off before 7.30am the following day. That time of the morning is too early for the tour buses so traffic is light and you have the road to youself almost. The mist was still lifting from the meadows as we drove. It was really, really beautiful. That road between Te Anau and Milford is the most avalanche prone road in the world apparently. It costs the New Zealand government over NZ$1 million a year annually to keep it open. It is the one of the highest highway in NZ and it rises 940 metres above sea level at its´ peak. Tree avalanches are a common occurrence too. A certain type of tree (whose name escapes me)wrap their roots around each other for support so when one dies it lets go and tends to bring the others with it. A recent one they had there made the road impassable for 7 days! It basically causes a big landslide as it falls downhill.

We intended to drive straight to the wharf and do our stopping and photo taking on the way back. I do however advise any future visitors to stop at the Mirror Lakes in the morning, the sun is on the right side, there ain´t no mirror in the afternoon. It´s 120km drive and takes two hours at that hour of the morning.

We took a cruise with Red Boats at 10.30 for two hours. We went out along the south side of the sound to the Tasman sea and back in along the north side to the wharf. There was plenty of stopping at points of interests, mostly waterfalls. We were incredibly lucky to have a sunny day and blue skies. Nine days without rain is considered drought in Milford. There is in fact a lot of mineral wealth to the area, all protected due to it´s World Heritage status. Iron ore, copper and gold seams can be seen on some rock faces. Lots of waterfalls, Stirling being the most famous. Mitre Peak rise 1692 metres from the sea level. It´s quite an impressive sight. Mostly what is so stunning is the sheer beauty of the surrounding landscape enveloping the sound.

Techinically it´s a fjord we learned. A sound is a u-shaped valley filled with ocean cut by a river, and a fjord is a u-shapd valley filled with ocean cut by a glacier. It is the kind of place that you can´t stop taking photos, at every turn is more stunning views. I had to stop myself from viewing it all through a lens and just experience it too.

On our way back in we saw some fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks. The boat we were in was small enough that the captin gets it right up to the sheer rock faces of the surrounding mountains which is great. Interestingly enough there is up to 6 metres of freshwater on top of the seawater in the sound from the surrounding rivers pouring in, so it makes for a pretty diverse marine environment. At it´s deepest the water is almost 300 metres!

The overall experience that morning was fantastic. Indeed the weather played a massive part but the sheer enormity of the landscape is as much of a draw as anything else I reckon.

So anyway after that we drove to the start of the walking track to Lake Marian. This is about half an hour back along the road to Te Anau. I had been told about this place by a guy in a shop where I bought a rain jacket in Wellington! James and I were really keen to do some kind of hill-walking/ trekking in the fjordland area, but hadn´t really any of the right gear and were reluctant to buy some (extra baggage). So this guy told this walk was great, and we could do it unguided so it sounded perfect. I did some research and the photos further sold it to me.

He did however omit that is quite a steep incline on the way up to the lake. It´s pretty much an uphill climb for an hour. Personally I love the challenge and it makes the view at the top that bit more rewarding. The walk up is all through rainforest and covered for the most part. At the top you emerge into a large glacial basin where Lake Marian is sitting in the middle surrounded on all sides by mountains with snowy peaks. Breath-taking. Nothing I could say would do the view justice. At different times of the year the levels of the lake vary and so sometimes it can be right up level with the clearing. There is a waterfall coming down from one of the nearby mountains too. Another surreal moment where I wonder to myself at the amazement of the place. We didnt meet many people on the trail or up there. There´s no chance the grey army would make it up that hill and the Chinese coach tours don´t stop there! So you can easily find a patch of grass to plonk down on and relax. Which is exactly what we did.

We toasted that day back in the room over a cooked dinner, followed by some more drinks in the local ´Moose Me´. We were challenged my the locals to a game of pool. Team Morrin stepped up to the mark and did Debbie and I proud. They very narrowly lost but not before Niamh could show the lads up with some killers shots!

Hokitika & Timaru

We made it to the coastal town of Hokitika at nightfall, absolutley wrecked after the glacier hike. We found a really cosy hostel called Birdsong, and after a warm welcome there we drove down the road to a glow worm dell for a look. We spent a few minutes there and headed back, chatting to a few people for a while before hitting the leaba.

Next morning we took a quick look around the town itself. It is famous for its Jade production, so Sarah got her birthday present there! The plan was to hit the road and get to Timaru to meet Niamh, Debbie and Ilena there later that night. We were very excited to catch up and made good time there. The drive across Arthurs Pass and the Southern Alps is amazing, and takes in some of the nicest scenery in the country.

We caught up with the girls that evening, and after a trip to the supermarket to pick up supplies we settled into Ilena´s house and started to catch up over a few beers. Niamh and Debbie were pretty tired after the trip, so they slept for a few hours before we all hit the town for the night.

Timaru is a small town, there doesnt really seem to be a hell of a lot going on to be honest. We drank in the Sail and Anchor for a few hours, and called into a kebab shop en route home! The next day we farted around the house before heading to a bbq at a friend of Ilenas for a house warming. We turned up with a lot of booze, and pretty much sat in a corner consuming it for the first few hours. There were a few interesting characters in attendance, and it wasnt long before large middle aged ladies and gents were practising scrummaging techniques on each other in the living room. Nice.

Again to the Sail and Anchor where it was a fair bit more lively. Silly dancing with silly people dressed up for the night.

Next morning we all piled into the car for the hour or so journey to Lake Tekapo. First stop a beautiful stone chapel that looks out onto the lake. The colour of the lake is surreal. It is a bright almost flourescent blue, and it contrasts wildly with the surrounding landcape. Then up to the Mt John Observatory for spectacular views of the region (including Mt Cook in the distance). Undoubtedly The highlight of the day were the hot baths by the lakeside. We spent about 2 hours soaking between the three large outdoor baths and an indoor sauna and plunge pool. Back to Timaru and a slap up Indian meal before turning in for the evening.

Franz Josef - November 09

We arrived into Franz Josef early having made our way an the coastal road from Punakaiki that morning. The intention was to do a heli hike on the glacier that afternoon, but alas the weather gods conspired against us and all flights were cancelled. In fact we were to end up spending 3 nights in Franz due to the weather. Our first preference was to fork out the cash and take in the glaicer from above before landing about three quarters of the way up it and hiking for two hours before being whisked back to town. We spent the first afternoon walking up to the terminal faces of both Franz Josef and Fox glaciers (Fox is only a 30 minute drive away).

The glaciers were amazing. Like giant tsunami´s frozen in time the sheer power of their destruction is breathtaking. To get to Franz takes about 40 minutes walking along the valley floor - a gravel strewn testament to the might of the billion tonnes of ice that slowly ground its way overland. Franz moves a staggering 1 metre a day, and a few reckless tourists have felt the wrath of its unpredicatble movements in the past. You are strongly advised therefore not to go more than about 40 metres from the terminal face without a guide.

We stayed in a hostel in the town centre called Rainforest Retreat, and took advantage of the sauna there later that night before hitting the hay. Unfortunately the weather did not improve sufficiently the next day for us to get airborne, so we took the day off and read/drank coffee. It cleared up in the afternoon for a short spell. Just enough time for us to get to Franz Josef and see the top before the clouds moved back over again. We decided to book a day hike for the following morning, hail rain or snow, and wrote off our hopes of aerial views.

We set off at about 9am in a group of 20 with three guides. We were fully kitted out with gortex jackets, water proof pants, socks hats, gloves..the works! The first stretch of the hike is up to the face itself, which we had done twice at that stage so we were eager to get up onto the ice. After stopping to put on crampons the toughest part of the day was getting up the steep grey face. It is strewn with rocks and gravel until you get a few hundred metres up and when it begins to level out and the ice becomes cleaner. After about 2 hours we stopped for a rest and a bite to eat, and to take in the view. The further we moved the more amazing the ice formations and colours got. There are only 6 glaciers in the world where it is possible to get a commercial guided hike, and with most of them melting away at alarming rates if you are keen to do it I´d advise taking action sooner rather than later, and snapping a few pics to tell the grandkids all about it!

Progress was slow with constant stops to allow the guide to cut more steps into the ice with his pick, so there were plenty of opportunities to take photos. We squeezed through crevasses no wider than about half a metre, and maybe 10 metres deep in places - not for the closterphobic! Rain and more rain is great for tourists on the ice - cave formations are at their best after a few days of precipitation. The constantly changing landscape makes guiding a joy I´d say - virtually no two trips up are the same with crevasses and new caves appearing and disappearing all the time. Its a big winter wonderland up there, and we finally came to a halt at 600 metres above sea level to have lunch.

Initially the crevasses run vertically because of the way the glacier fans out in wider parts of the valley. As you go higher and over the mountain ridge, the ice breaks in such a way that the crevasses run horizontally and so it´s a case of up and over them. That part was great, stopping waiting for the guides to figure out the safest way over, chiseling out steps and securing rope for the climb. On the lower part of the glacier there are guys chiseling out steps full time because the glacier is moving and changing everyday. It´s incredible. Further up is where the good stuff is, the blue ice. We were lucky to see a cave and a tunnel, mostly due to the previous few days preciptation.

A green parrot with streaks of red under its wings had joined us - Kea´s are the planets only alpine parrots, and the last kind of creature you would expect on a glacier. They were almost hunted into oblivion by farmers here because of their tendency to chew on the backs of sheep, and peck lambs eyes out. Now they just annoy tourists and eat windscreen wipers. For the princely sum of $2000 you can send one of these fellas to parrot heaven, and I´m sure a few farmers still do on occasion!

So we made our way down fairly slowly, and were suitably wrecked by the time we fell back into the hostel at 6pm. It was a fantastic experience.

Punakaiki - November 2nd

On our last morning at the Barn we opened our door to find the resident ducks waddling towards us looking for some breakfast. We obliged them and fed them bread for awhile. Funny, because James smacks his lips together when he sees duck, I know he's picturing it roasted with some plum sauce whilst I'm thinking aww little ducks lets feed them. He had his hands around the fattest at one point but they all escaped with their lives this time!

We were heading south down along the west coast of the island that day. The west coast and Punakaiki were highly recommended to us by our different guides in Abel Tasman. It was a mostly inland winding road heading south coming out onto the coastline less than 100km north of Punakaiki.

The Lonely PLanet came through for us big time here. We found Te Nikau retreat which had a glowing review which it more than lived up to. The retreat consists of 9 different buildings and hideaways. We were in the Magnolia room of one such cosy house. The rainforest completely enveloped it right up to the edge of the wooden decking surrounding the house. There are other small cabins dotted throughout the property which is nestled in amongst the rainforest halfway between the main road and the beach. We decided to grab a bottle of wine in Punakaiki Tavern before settling in for the evening. As we walked in the door and spotted the fire blazing, a dog panned out in front of it and rugby on tv I knew we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

After we pulled ourselves away from there we took a stroll down to the beach. Now let me try paint a picture of the beach. It was a far cry from those we had grown accostomed to over the past year or so. If you can think of scenes from 'The Piano' which was filmed in NZ, the enormous mountains covered in green lush dripping wet rainforest which rolls down to the shore almost. The dark,muddy, brown colour of the sands with grey and white foamy water crashing upon it is wildly beautiful.

The stretch of coast along the SH6 is covered with this type of scenery. This is dubbed as one of the best coastal drives in the world by our water taxi skipper. We unfortunately had a very cloudy day and the cover was so low in fact the mountain peaks were fully obscured. At times the ocean was almost invisible. But it was an impressive drive nonetheless. The misty clouds lent that whole stretch of coast a moody feel! A black and white version of Australia's Great Ocean road!

We settled in for the evening and got chatting to a couple other backpackers in our house, a Spanish and a German couple, and freakily enough a guy we had spotted on the west coast in Oz at a roadhouse, and then later again in Coral bay. Lets just say he's a very recognisable person. I couldn't believe it when he came in the door. What are the odds?!

We hit the hay soon after looking forward to reaching Franz Josef early the following morning. Punakaiki had turned out to be one of those lovely unexpected, unplanned places that occasionally you come across when on the road.

New Zealand - South Island Nov '09

Abel Tasman National Park

The ferry crossing over to Picton passed by fairly quickly and the views coming into Picton through the sounds was great. We made our way to Marahau which is where we were booked in to stay for three nights. The village is the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. There is very little to it, it's the ideal place to stay if you want to be on the parks doorstep. We stayed in a place called The Barn which was a backpackers plus they had small wooden cabins so we splashed out (NZ$60) and got ourselves one! They are backed by gigantic mountains covered in rainforest and mist and through the trees in front of us we could see the ocean. The communal area inside was super cosy with a fire burning and it was possibly of the cosiest places we've stayed.

On our first full day we headed down to the water taxi base and were loaded up on the speedboat/ water taxi and towed down the road to the beach by a tractor. As we sped along the coastline the skipper informed us that Abel Tasman has the greatest tidal range in NZ, it stretches out as far as 400m on the beach in Marahau and the depth is between 4-8 metres! So you want to make sure you know you're tide times in the park when hiking!

Abel Tasman himself arrived here in 1642 but he in fact never came ashore. He instead anchored offshore and the Maori people of the area sent a boat out to meet him. To cut a long story short his intentions were lost in translation and whilst he blew his trumpet to welcome them and sent a boat of men to meet them, this was interpreted by the Maori tribe as a declaration of war and they murdered everyone on his small convoy bar one dude who somehow made it back to Abel who was probably swilling gin somewhere aboard only to be told 'we need to get the feck out of here!' And so they did. Off to Austrlaia he went, but that's another story.

Why you may ask have they named a national park in his honour. Well some lady whose name escapes me wanted to establish the area as national park back in the 1942. She contacted the NZ government regarding it only to be told they were far too busy with WW 2 issues. So she contacted the Dutch government and told them her wishes, and also that it was the 300th anniversary of Abel's initial arrival and they were only too happy to get involved. In fact the Queen of Holland came out and officially opened the park. The park itself is therefore relatively young, and for that reson the trees aren't massive as it's only in it's second generation of regrowth apparently. Before it was national park much of it was burnt or chopped down by the people of the area.

On the way along the coastline our water taxi stopped in various bays to drop off people, and also sped past Adele island en route. Adele was the wife of Captain Dervail (a Frenchman, who actually managed to come ashore here). The island directly across from what is now called Watering Cove (where Dervail gained fresh drinking water) has two distinct humps, he was clearing missing his wife when he thought of that one!

Abel Tasman looks a bit like Jurassic Park when you see it from the water. The trees and ferns grow right up to the waters edge. We didn't have any very sunny days there unfortunately, but even on the cloudy ones you could see the beautiful blue/ turquoise colour of the water. I'd love to go back in the summer and make more use of those stunning beaches.

We got up close to Tonga Island and saw a few seals chilling out on the rocks which was pretty cool. James and I jumoped off in Tonga Bay and hiked 13km back to Anchorage Bay. It was a lovely hike challenging in sections but for the most part easy. Whilst walking through the park is great and occasionally you traipse acorss a beach or past a lookout point, we were to learn the following day seeing the park is much better on water.

We rented kayaks the following day and had our own personal guide to bring us out and along the coast. It is sea kayaking which we've never done before and luck was on our side that day. When we arrived at the beach the sea looked like one giant lake. The paddles sliced easily through the water as we headed out. James and I were in a double kayak too which halves the work. Our guide was an Aussie who been livig in NZ for years, and besides sea-kayaking he was also quite proficient in mountaineering and advanced snow-boarding. Yes he was one of those types that follows the seaons for his work. Pretty sweet existence eh.

It felt like we had the water to oursleves that morning, it's still pre-peak season which is why it was just the three of us. Plus we headed out earlier than the other tour groups. It felt like we had the water to oursleves that morning. Plus we headed out earlier than the other tour groups. We were kaykaing about 10km from Marahau beach to Watering Cove. We also went out to Adele Island and got up close and personal with the seals. That was amaaazing! The papabears are beasts weighing up to 160kgs, whilst the mamas are 40-60kgs. One curious mama came out to have a look, she swam around our kayaks and under them. It was incredible being that close to them. They are called New Zealand fur seals but in fact are actually sea lions. The difference is that sea lions have external ears, and they have a nail on their flippers, their flippers are used like limbs to get about the rocks, they don't wiggle and squirm like seals do. Fascinating stuff. They can dive down to 200m metres too!

We saw lots of wildlife that morning, including cormorants/ shags and variable oyster catchers! Now those birds are funny. They mate for life and when their partner dies they become a widow/er. They live in the same place all their lives, and so are very territorial. If you walk along their end of the beach they will run alongside you. We paddled close to the shore peering in and out of crevasses and caves in the karst rock. We saw a billy goat at one point perched on the rock face shaking his hairy chin at us.

We came ashore at Watering Cove after three hours of bobbing and paddling about. It is far better to see the park like that. It's all about the coastline of the park, the beautiful colours of the water, the lovely yellow beaches, and the rocky outcrops of limestone, granite and karst. However from there we had to hike back to base. It was about a 12km hike so we were pretty pooped when we finally got back to the Barn.

The Barn had the perfect solution to soothe away the days work - outdoor baths. Now these are not the fancy type, they are merely stand alone bath tubs that are cordoned off to some extent. So we filled them up with hot water and sat across from each other drinking wine and periodically topping up on hot water. Bliss!

Abel Tasman has been the highlight so far since getting to NZ, fantastic spot.

Wellington

This was my second time in Wellington - the previous being a blustery and disappointing few days there in 2005 watching the Lions lose a second test to the All Blacks. Happily this was a better experience!

We stayed in Base, a huge hostel on Cambridge Terrace, and wandered around the city centre for a bit, taking the cable car up to a lookout point at the Botanical Gardens. Then afterwards to the awful looking Beehive, the not so awful Parliamentary Buildings & Library and a quick drink in Room on the wharf. Again the weather was grim, so we chilled out and decided to go to the cinema to see This Is It. I was moonwalking in my sleep that night;)

Again with time to kill and the elements against us we had a lazy morning over a slow breakfast on Courteney Place, followed by a few hours of wandering aimlessly.
We met a Ed, a friend from home in Macs Brewery for dinner and drinks that night. It was good to catch up, and we made it back to Base a few hours later to pack our bags for the morning ferry southwards.