National park to Christchruch

I am never going to leave this much of a gap between my blogs again! It takes too much effort to update you when I have done so much since I last blogged. So here is the last eleven days... (sorry about the length and the extensive photos, but I am not really sorry it was great!)

I am officially sick of the bus! Though our drivers are mostly wonderful, funny and usually very entertaining I have grown tired of being on a bus not doing anything and still feeling tired afterwards. The best part of our travels on the bus and off has been the people. We have met so many wonderful people including but not limited to, Jack and Clare from England, Christian, Pia, Anne, and Magdalena from Germany, and a couple of Finish guys who we just kept running into.

We left Taupo and went to National park backpackers.

On our way there we got to participate in an adventure called Blackwater rafting.

I got to go with all of the German people I mentioned above and we had a blast. I got picked as leader and as such had to do everything first from falling backwards into a murky pool, sliding down a river slide, leading everyone along the passage way,

and singing to everyone while we looked at the glowworms on the ceiling of the cave;

and all done in the dark!

Here is a photo of the glow worms, though you can't see them the sticky web that hangs down is how they catch food.

It wasn't very scary but it was a lot of fun and I really got to know some of the people who I went with.

From National Park Tongariro we left to go to Wellington. We checked out the local area which was really nice with lots of fun things to do.

(picture of the Movie theatre)


We ended up watching a movie with our friend Jack, seen in this photo above, in this amazing theatre with leather seats and marble entrance.

We also got to go to the Tie Papa Museum where there was lots of amazing historical art, artifacts and artwork based on and in New Zealand. We also went to Sweet Mother's Kitchen for breakfast which was scrumptious I had waffles with back bacon.

From Wellington we decided to fly to Queenstown. This meant that we missed most of the West coast of New Zealand. Had I known we were going to be so tight for time I would have tried to get one more week in so we could see the Glaciers in Frans Josef and other amazing things along the coast.

The flight was short and sweet so we had extra time to explore the small down town area of Queenstown (in the rain) beforer settling down in our hostel. This particular hostel was a bit outside of town and had the essentials for you. We ended up changing rooms twice during our stay because the first room we were in had a snorer who kept us up and the second room had a few ladies in it who liked to spread themselves and in turn their things all over the room. This was so bad we couldn't access our beds so we changed again and met William a guy from England who was very friendly to us but seemed to argue he didn't like many people (only the people from Switzerland because that is where is girl is from). In Queenstown we book a 12 hour expedition on a bus (again!) to Milford Sound, a must do for anyone travelling to New Zealand. This area took us four and a half hours to get to and three and a half hours to return from, but the two hours on the boat and some of the stops along the way were breath taking. This picturesque area is what I imagined New Zealand to be like. It was filled with huge mountains with lush greenery that would often slip off the side of the steep cliffs and have to grow back eventually. From these mountains beautiful waterfalls would rush into the gorgeous blue water below. This water has so much fresh water running into it that it has several feet of fresh water that sits on top of the sea water causing a lot less light to penetrate the water and giving sea life the feeling that they are a lot deeper that they are. This means that it is one of the few places in the world that you can dive and see black coral and other sea life without having to deep sea dive. During out boat ride we saw a huge pack of dolphins that put on quite a show for us as well. This area was so beautiful I couldn't put just a few photos up so I have posted several please forgive my overzealous posting but it was an indescribable area and I need the pictures to attempt to do it justice...

We also tried some of the local cuisine in Queenstown. We went to the famous burger place called Fergburger.

This place had huge burgers with delicious toppings and a line up that went outside the building. I enjoyed the burger though I wasn't used to having that much tomato relish on my burger and could primarily taste only the sauce.

We also got to enjoy many cookies from cookietime!

After Queenstown we went to Dunedin where we saw the Cadbury factory

(though we didn't do the tour) and we got to see how a local beer was made.

Speights is made using a lot of science and technology as well as traditional methods. It was very interesting to learn about the process and we had a very funny guide.

We left Dunedin and got back on the bus (again!) and headed for Lake Takepo. Along the way we got to stop and walk up the Steepest residential hill in the world. It was a rough climb but so much fun and the feeling of accomplishment was great.

This hill has a gradient of 1 meter distance to 2.86 meters incline!

In Lake Takepo we had a bus BBQ at the local hostel. It was delicious! We had burgers, chicken, couscous, fries, salad, coleslaw, sausages and so much more. After all that food I was out like a light. The next morning we were on our way to Christchurch, the town that was hit by the earthquakes...

Here we stayed the night at a local hostel the Rollesten House YHA but it wasn't very nice and was very expensive so we decided to book at another hostel. Before we did I got in touch we a family friend and they were generous enough to put us up for both of the following nights at their house. This place is like a slice of heaven with beautiful rooms a beautiful view and beautiful people. We had amazing meals and got to work on our tans by the pool. During our stay in the town we ate some mouth watering fudge, checked out the museum and art galleries (both are by donations and well worth the short walk from central CHCH) and mail some stuff home. There have been some bumps along the road including my memory cards for my camera that I bought not working, my glasses being left behind at a hostel and trying to get them sent to me and the internet here has been an expense Devon and I weren't expecting. Suggestions to anyone who is coming to New Zealand; the south island is worth some extra time; bring a cell phone you can buy a Sim card and get cheaper calls; go to the library for internet or walk around to internet cafes or bring a laptop to catch some free wifi at a coffee shop; do some research as some friends who have been to be sure you hit the highlights; and be sure you have more time and money than you think you need!

Tomorrow, well today now, we fly to Sydney Australia. I am excited to spend some time there and not be on the go as much as I was here. I am sad to see the end of my New Zealand trip and will welcome the day that I return.

I want to say how wonderful it was to be in the company of these great people for my time in CHCH and to enjoy their generosity. It made the end of New Zealand a great finish. Thank you!