Hello everyone,
Just got back from my tour of the South Island of New Zealand and had a really great time.
I started my trip in Christchurch, which is the most English city outside of England! You can go punting on the river Avon! From there I caught the Stray bus to Kaikoura where I finally managed to swim with dolphins. It was worth the wait, I had loads of dolphins just swimming right underneath me and brushing past me. It was pretty cold in the sea though, but well worth it. In Abel Tasman national park I went sea kayaking so we could just sail to our our private beach and look out at incredible views. It was even sunny and warm! Though it wasn't so warm in the evening when I stayed in a tent wearing 7 layers!
From the wine region of the North of the island it was down the deserted West Coast where there isn't much internet or phone reception. We stopped in a place called Barrytown which has a population of 65! We had to make our own fun by dressing up, I dressed up as T for Tiger and made my own tiger fleece out of the fancy dress box. I also did bone carving in Barrytown where I carved my own Maori necklace out of bone.
The next stop was Franz Josef glacier where you can hike up the glacier in crampons, I felt like a real explorer climbing through ice tunnels and crevasses.
After a few more stops in the middle of know where among the beautiful mountain scenery of New Zealand I arrived at Queenstown. Actually before I'd even arrived at Queenstown I threw myself off a 43m bridge, just for fun! It was such a good feeling, it felt like I was flying until I suddenly had the feeling I was falling but before I had time to panic I was bouncing back up again! I'm glad to say I've done a bungy, I never thoughtI would. Queenstown itself was great fun, lots of drinking cocktails out of teapots and eating giant Fergburgers (the biggest and yummiest burgers ever!)
I then went into the deep South. First stop Milford Sound, where I did a cruise out in the fjord. The scenery was amazing, the fjord was surrounded by snow capped mountains down which massive waterfalls thundered. I saw some seals and dolphins but sadly no penguins.
There were a few more stops in the South but there wasn't much happening there, other than being interviewed by a local paper about what I thought about the election! Then it was back to Queenstown for more burgers and tea pots and then back to Christchurch.
Next stop North Island, I will keep you posted!
xxx
