Howdy, so we left Sydney at 5am to get to the airport to catch our flight to Christchurch. We checked in and proceeded through security without any problems only to find that Sydney International airport is the smallest we have seen, as it was so early most of the shops were shut and there was only one cafe to get breakfast from and they only served coffee and sandwiches.

We left pretty much on time, the flight was average and we landed in Christchurch at about midday, it was cold but not as cold as we imagined but it was raining. We made our way to the shuttle bus to take us to our hostel, checked in and then headed for the supermarket and phone shop to sort ourselves out with being connected with a NZ phone chip.

We then had a walk around the town and chilled out in the hostel. We were in Christchurch for two more days before we were to leave for our bus trip around. During those two days it was Seems birthday so we had a very relaxing day went to a shopping centre and out for a very nice Indian dinner (it was no way as nice as home cooked food but it was close!!) and then to the cinema. The weather continued to rain so there wasn’t too much to do, we visited the Cathedral but the tours were not running.

On the morning of the 23rd June we were picked up at 8am to start our tour with Magic, our first stop was Kaikoura, we got there around lunch time so checked in to the hostel had lunch and then had a mooch around the small town. The weather picked up as soon as we left Christchurch and the sun was shining, it was still cold but it was manageable. We went to the beach and sat around for a bit until the cold got the better of us so we headed back to the hostel and got comfortable in front of the log fire. We spent the rest of the evening there and got chatting to Dan and Rebecca who were on the same bus as us, they are a lovely couple from Wales.

The next day we did a four hour hike along the peninsula to a Seal colony and then up the cliff to do a walk around there, we then went to a lookout and then got back to the hostel before sun down. That was our time up in Kaikoura and we left there on 25th June. We headed for Nelson stopping off at another Seal colony and a bridge and then Picton where we picked lots of people that had just come from the North Island. We then arrived in Nelson and had a wander around the town and then headed to the Sprig and Fern pub with Dan and Rebecca and Marissa the American that was in our room. The pub was recommended to us by our first tour guide Karl, it was famous for their berry ciders and demon ale which was alcoholic lemonade. We had a couple there and were chucked out at 10pm as last orders were called. It was a good thing as the next day the two of us and Rebecca were doing another four hour walk in the Abel Tasman National Park.

So on the 26th we got up and ready early for us to be taken to the National Park, we got to the marina at 9am where we were going to catch a boat up to Anchorage point of the park, we stopped at the spilt apple rock for some photos and then headed off again. We also got talking to anther couple of girls from our bus, Jo and Caroline. We ended up doing the walk together, it was a really lovely view of the smallest National Park in New Zealand. The walk only took us four hours but the company allocates six and a half hours to do it in to cater for all abilities, so we were told that if we finish early there is a café with a fire that we can lounge in until the bus comes to collect us. However when we got to the end the café was shut and all there was in the area was a tiny shop to look around and that’s it. We weren’t impressed seeing as we’d just walked for ages and you can’t really sit around in a shop for over two hours, so we ended up sitting under a rotunda until the bus finally came. Aside from that it was a really good day, but tiring so we went back to the hostel and relaxed.

The next day we had a lie in and then had a mooch around the local markets tasting fudge, bread, oils and vinegars and avoiding the peanut butter stand. We spent the rest of the day just walking around the town, went back to the hostel and made some dinner before heading back to the Sprig & Fern for more fruity cider. There was a nice one that tasted just like ribena, it was yummy. At 10pm we got chucked out again seeing as they were closing, but it was probably a good thing seeing as we had to be up early to get the bus again.

The next morning we set off for Greymouth stopping off on the way at Cape Foulwind, where we did a little walk and saw some nice views and Seals and then we went to see the Pancake Rocks, which got their name because they look like stacks of pancakes, but really its just the sediments of rock and the way they were formed. Later that evening we got to Greymouth which was so quiet that we spent the whole night in the hostel chilling. The next morning we left for Franz Josef which we were very excited about seeing as the night before we had decided to do another skydive over the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. We stopped of on the way at a Greenstone Factory where they make authentic Maori symbols into pieces of jewellery, bookends, paper cutters and lots of other things for around the house from Jade. After that we got into Franz Josef at around 11.30am and got straight on to the bus to take us to do the skydive. It took 25 minutes to get there and we got kitted out with jump suits and given a brief talk about what we will need to do.
There was only room for two jumpers in the plane so we went up together and were allowed to take our own cameras, they were secured around our necks. We were able to take photos in the plane, we saw Mount Cook and Tasman and the glaciers. Seems jumped first and Sheens followed shortly after, we both did summersaults out and had 45 seconds of freefalling. Once the parachutes were pulled we were able to take some photos, Sheens got some good ones of Seems in her parachute. Sheens also landed first and got some of Seems landing. It was totally amazing and so much fun, the view was so lovely. That evening we met up with the rest of the people from our bus in the bar and had a few drinks.

On the 30th June we were doing a full day glacier hike over Franz Josef, we had to get kitted out with waterproof trousers and jackets, boots and crampons to walk on the ice. It was the most amazing day the sun was out but it was still cold. We were able to go through some man built caves and through some very small spaces. It wasn’t as tiring as we thought it was going to be, a shower was much needed after it though. We had a chilled out the day the following day and left Franz on the 2nd for Wanaka. We stopped at Lake Matheson and after that had a bad journey to Wanaka as it started to snow up the mountains. So we had to stop and put chains on the bus and then had to drive at 20 kmph. We arrived in Wanaka at about 16.30 and as there were a few of us stopping we decided to cook a roast so we went shopping and got everything we needed. We decided on lamb as we were in New Zealand!! It took forever to cook as the damn ovens in hostels are not the best, but we had wine to keep us going, but it was definitely worth the wait, it was yummy!!

The following day we went to Puzzling World and had our minds boggled by some of the things in there. Then had to get back to the hostel as the bus was picking us up at 14.30 but then the guy there told us the same thing happened and it was snowing again so the bus would be late, we were waiting until 18.15 when it finally arrived and we were on our way to Queenstown.