New Zealand - South Island (Fri 12th Dec - Sun 21st Dec)

We have spent the last 9 days travelling around the South Island. We reached our first destination Nelson after a blustery 3.5 hour ferry crossing across the Cook Strait followed by a 2 hour car journey. A notice board in a local park claims that the first ever rugby match in NZ was played here but then I heard a similar claim in another town later that week. We climbed the nearby hill which has a statue at the top stating that this is the centre of NZ- no idea how you can measure that !

We then headed down the west coast. Two things struck me when driving on the South Island - firstly how deserted it is. You can drive for miles without seeing any traffic on the roads. The size of the island is probably similar to England but with a population of less than 1 million. The second impression I got was that the whole island is just one big adventure playground with everything geared to tourism. Half the population (when you do come across them) are either providing accommodation (of every kind) or organising tours/trips/adventures for every possible eventuality. Every village/town seems to have a brochure selling either walking tours, helicopter rides, glacier walks, spas, bungee jumps, hang-gliding, paragliding, jet boat trips, wine toursetc. If it is in the middle of nowhere it is described as being a wilderness experience.

We stopped to look at the Pancake Rocks (see photos) before reaching the small town (village?) of Fox Glacier. (I thought it was a mint but no there is a place) We met up with Sam who has also been doing a fair bit of travelling recently. Not sure who's idea it was (Gwen's) but the 3 of us booked a half day trip to walk on the actual Fox Glacier. This involved a lot of hiking and climbing 800 steps including at one stage a ladder in very wet conditions before we were able to step onto the glacier. It was very hard work and dangerous (2 tourists were killed the following week) and I'm not sure if it was worth it. Probably one of those things that you are glad you have done but would never want to do again.Tired and wet we headed immediately for the Glacier Hot Springs in Franz Josef for a leisurely relaxing dip in their pools. After that we headed to the lovely small town of Wanaka where Sam had been staying with friends John and Moira who emigrated to NZ about 15 months ago.They were happy for Sam to make dinner for us all and we had a very pleasant evening.

The next day Gwen and I drove to the adventure capital of NZ, Queenstown. The only reason for going there is if you are looking for adventure or want to try some ridiculous new sport. Just outside of Queenstown Gwen did her first tandem paraglide flight (see video) which she enjoyed and later that day we both went on a fast jet boat ride (Shotover Jet) that travels along the river at over 55 mph in sometimes very shallow water (see video) - great fun and according to the press handouts good for your mental health ! Back in Wanaka Sam joined us again to see a rubbish film (Day the Earth Stood Still) at the delightful Cinema Paradiso.

Last week on the North Island we were staying in motels/hotels and paying about $100 per night. However on Dave and Helen's recommendation we decided to try the BBHs (Budget Backpackers Hostals) for the South Island and we were very impressed. They are basically upmarket Youth Hostels and in general we found them to be excellent - very clean, well organised, good loos sometime ensuite , friendly staff, well equipped kitchens and this for about $65-70 per night.

From Wanaka we headed back north to Christchurch on the east coast - on route driving through beautiful scenery with great views of Mount Cook. It has a good feel about it and Cathedral Square in the heart of the city is a great place to hang out. Unfortunately the weather was crap for the 3 days we were there. It rained most of the time but despite that we managed to do all the touristy things such as punting on the River Avon, taking the Gondola cable car to the top of the Port Hills giving 360 degree views of the city and Littleton Harbour, Hagley Park which has its own golf course and botanical gardens, the Arts Centre and saw our second film of the week (cinemas seem to be flourishing in NZ). On the Saturday we took a day tour to the Port of Akaroa about 1 hour south of Christchurch where you can go swimming with dolphins. We were out on the boat for 2 hours, Gwen in her wetsuit and me with my camera. Although Gwen went in the freezing water for 20 minutes the dolphins were not in a playful mood and we returned to shore disappointed. The $50 dollars refund was little consolation.

Finally somewhere I can recommend to eat. Round the corner from our hostal we came across Keothai thai restaurant - service a bit slow but food was fantastic - so good we went back again on our final evening in Christchurch and on the South Island