24th November 2006

Hello Again

It is that time of the week where I need to make you all envy me and my travels and trips around the globe. I always enjoy writing these emails as it is nice to tell the world what I am doing and it is always nice for the world to tell me what they are doing as well travelling can be a bit tiresome and just because I see and visit and experience so many different things dont think I am not interested in what everyone else is also doing and sometimes a little communication from you guys goes a long way......... So thank you to those that do email me as your emails and notes really do make me smile and help me through my busy days.
Well thats enough of that. I am I think on a road trip interwoven with as many boat trips I can muster and that so far has been many. New Zealand is all about the water and the mountains. This country may not be the biggest but it is very tall in many parts of it.
I am in Queenstown. In an internet cafe which is just that nothing else which is nice. Yesterday I was in shorts today I am in jumpers tomorrow I am in the mud but thats tomorrow.
I should really get on with this but I have all day today not doing a thing, well maybe a Starbucks and so bird watching and go and chat up some germans as there are more of them here than Kiwis and I not talking little brown birds.
When I last emailed you I had pretty much just got to Wellington and I had really had 0 sleep on the way down from Auckland. I was meeting Tony and his friend for a few days before I venture south so it was good to catch up with him and meet his Kiwi Friend Julian.
We do coffee and see some sights and then visit some sights in the capital so that was good. In the afternoon we went to see some of Julians friends in the city and that was good to meet some really NZ people.
A few beers as expected and that was the first day spent in Wellington the next day was spent looking at the museum Te Papa and then we went on a free air flight from Masterton to Wellington which was really good and we flew through a valle and then over the sea and then into Wellington. A great flight.
Then a meal and that was Wellington in 2 days. The next day was a flight to Christchurch and then I picked up my Green Toyota Corrolla 1.3 4 speed car which was the cheapest heap I could find so that was cool
I was given directions to Oarmaru via Twizel so I follow the instructions and well to be fair it was the best journey I have ever taken on road. Imagine long straight roads, snow capped mountains in front and valleys and plains all around then add a clear blue sky and lots of sun and you have the most picturesque journey ever. It was jaw droppingly awesome, some pretty it even shut me up.
Oarmaru is a town between Christchurch and Dunedin and it has many many Victorian buildings all in excellent shape, steam trains, real trains and not much else and it was my first real 1 horse town in the south.
I stayed there a while and visited the Moraki Boulders, which are large stone balls in the sand and very odd, the limestone elephant rocks in the middle of nowhere ( a phrase to be used a lot I think as I spent a lot of time there) and these are made famous from the film the lion, the witch and the wardrobe.
Saw Mauri cave drawings as well so very exciting.
Oamaru is also known for its colonies of rare Blue penguins and the yellow eyed penguins but I only saw the yellow as I did not want spend 3 hours in the dark and cold waiting for them although I was told it was worth the wait, the yellow penguins were good enough.
I moved from there to Dunedin (Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinborough) and the city is laid out as per the Scottish capital and the buildings equally impressive.
I spend about 2 nights there and then move on, but not before visiting the Albatross colony, seeing Albatross, yellow eyed penguins, blue penguins, seal lions, fur seals, other birds and lots of trees and plants. The wildlife around the area is really amazing and the excursion was cool.
The next day I moved into the Catlins and I spent my time in Surat Bay where I could see Sea lions from my Chair. The Catlins is the south east of the south island is full of golden sand and bays and coves. My first day there was spent by the open fire as it was really raining and it was nice to relax. The next day I spent as much time as possible visiting the sights, of Kaka Bay, Nugget Bay and the Lighthouse, Cannibal Bay, False Island, several Waterfalls and then a good walk along Surat Beach stepping over the sealions. All the places I visited were amazingly beautiful and I wont go on about them as well this will be a huge email anyway.
I moved onto to a tiny place called Niagra and this is just short of Curio bay where there is a petrified forest on the beach from about 50 million years ago and despite the horizontal rain was worth visiting that’s for sure. The rain this day was terrific and I still got around to see more waterfalls and bays but eventually gave up and spent the rest of the day in the 3 bedroomed house that was my place of stay for the night and played draughts and drank beer with another English guy. Not the most exciting night but considering we never heard or saw a car from 6pm till the morning I would say it was hetic!!!!!
The south Island is huge and there are not many people living there. 4 million people live in NZ and 1.4 million of them live in Auckland, so you do the math!!!
Then to Invercargill and the route to Stewart Island. Invercargill is a nice place to visit but not for long. I visit Bluff to find out about the ferry to Stewart Island and then well apart from go to the cinema to see the Departed with some Germans that was it really.
Stewart Island is NZ 3rd largest island. And well it is an island and there are about 30 buildings, including 3 places to eat, a church, hotel, shop and hostel.
The best thing about the Island was the ferry trip which is 1 hour on crashing through the waves and been hit by 6 m swells, it was kinda fun watching people being sick for the journey and the crew said it was not that rough!
The lodge was ok I guess, so that was nice. I was there with a german girl Claudia (not the same one from Malaysia and no Lucy I never). Our first place to visit was Ulva Island which was a taxi boat ride across a bay. The island is totally forested and that was cool. We tramp about the woods and see all the local bird life from big parrots and pidgeons to robins and a flightless bird called the Weta which spent most of its time trying to steal my food.
The island was a good place to see how the forest used to look and here birds in their native environment so that was good.
The next day I watched the Kiwis stuff the French again and that was good to see. I then caught a water taxi to Whalers base which was a trip around the island to visit an old whaling station and not much else. I was left there for 2 hours on my own and there was not another soul nor a bird. It was the most quiet place I have ever been.
I stayed 2 nights in Stewart Island, Claudia only 1 as she had stuff to do back in Invercargill.
So I went to the pub and joined in the quiz night, read a book and that was about it.
The ferry journey back from the island was terrific as the swell was about 8m and on all sides and the ferry got well lashed and the waves were crashing over the front and sides and we all got tossed about for an hour, top fun.
The plan today was to pick up Claudia and then drive to Te Aneau and then for me to go on to Milford sound. So that is what we did, driving the southern coast road as we went and it was ok. Bit fed up with bays of golden sand and impressive mountains so I wont mention them for now!!!
We did go caving at Clifden caves. We got a map from the local information centre, got our west gear on, torches out and then went head first into some caves with any concern whether they were flooded or safe.
It was an amazing experience with the caves covered in glow worms and we had to wade through ice cold cave water with our trousers rolled up and carrying our boots and socks as the water was really deep. The adventure lasted about an hour and we went in total about 300m but we had to crawl, climb, jump, use ladders and scrabble about in the pitch black during the whole of the time.
My journey to Milford Sound was amazing. Another beautiful evening. A 2 hour drive from Te Aneau and well even better than my journey from Christchurch that’s for sure. Heading toward Milford you have to go through the Homer tunnel, which is 1200m long, not lit nor paved but it does go down hill and was an experience as once through it you are in a different world and that was the approach to Milford Sound.
There is an airport at Milford Sound and about 10 other buildings, A pub, 2 hostels and the wharf buildings which you need to go through to get a boat, other than that nothing. I stayed in the lodge. It was ok but not great.
The sunset was cool.
The next day the trip through the sound was wow. And whilst I never had the rain and so no waterfalls it was just great to travel through. I suggest you look it up on google earth and then get some appreciation of it as I cant really describe it. I can tell you it was huge and also cold and it harbours seals and leopard seals were there as were the rare crested fjord penguins.
I went to the observatory as well which is a very large steel tube with windows and you could see all that lives in the sound swimming. Also they have black and white coral which is normally only seen at 80m deep but the sound allows it to go at a higher level so that was good.
That was Milford Sound. Fantastic. The journey back also fantastic with lots more photos and the day was again close to excellent.
I stayed in Te Anaeu which is a lake side town and a starting point for lots of famous walks like the keppler track.
I saw a film in a cinema called Shadowlands and it is a 35 minute film shot by a local helicopter pilot of the fjords and the place is truly isolated, desolate and wonderous. The rest of the night was spent drinking beer and doing the washing!!!
The next day I went on another cruise this time to Doubtful sound. Another Sound but different. The trip involved a boat across Lake Manapori and then a bus to Deep Cove and then the trip.
The weather was changing rapidly so luckily I had all my cold weather gear on.
We went to the power station 800m into the mountain. It was great. All we saw was darkness in the tunnel and then the viewing showed us 7 blue bits of metal which were the ends of the turbines and that was it, almost interesting but only almost.
The bus driver was rubbish as well as he struggled to change gear and get the bus going.
But Doubtful sound was completely different from Mliford in that the channel was wider and the fjords less steep and more rolling and that was about it really. It was bloody cold I can tell you that. When I get my photos on ringo you will see.
I enjoyed Doubtful for the quiet and the peace and the beauty. The trip was organized and I felt that is was more like a production line with us being pushed from here to there and not really given the time to enjoy which was a shame. But I guess I have been lucky to visit most places at my leisure and so not hurried and that was the difference.
And so that is where I am. I am now in Queenstown and I am here for a few days before heading north.
This is a long email but it could be longer as I have seen so much and done so much and traveled so far but I have had to reduce the content.
Christmas is almost upon us and over here it is quite strange, it can be really hot and then you walk into a shop and see a Christmas tree. All the shops have the decorations and stuff for sale. This is my first Christmas where I am not working so I am going to enjoy it.
There will be maybe one more letter this year and if demand dictates a few next year but I am not sure as I am moving on to other things but it hey that’s up to you.
So enjoy where ever you are and what ever you are doing.

Catch you all later

Luke